Immortal Cage - Chapter 57: Empirical Discipline
Under the bright oil lamp, Yu Lie held a silver mirror in his hand, completely absorbed in observing the surface of the mirror.
The method of transmission of this silver mirror both surprised and felt within reason to him. It was not about sending textual classics into Yu Lie's mind, but rather displaying vivid and realistic scenes on the mirror, not portraits but various bloody and real scenes.
Yu Lie watched continuously for several hours. The scenes displayed by the silver mirror were too captivating for his eyes. He was also unsure if the operation of the silver mirror could be interrupted or continued, not wanting to waste a precious opportunity.
In the early morning, Yu Lie sat in the stone room, his eyes showing a sudden realization:
"So, the so-called flesh and blood alchemy is not just about refining medicine with flesh and blood materials!"
Immediately, a look of excitement appeared on his face. In the recent observation through the silver mirror, Yu Lie not only saw various scenes but seemed to be immersed in the mirror, following the actions of the people in the mirror, performing actions like identifying, grinding, refining, and transplanting medicinal materials.
The identification and refining processes were not unfamiliar to Yu Lie. He had already tried them when slaughtering in the alchemy room and preparing detoxifying pills at home. The crucial step was the last one - transplanting!
This flesh and blood alchemy was not just a "dead" alchemy but also a "living" alchemy! Apart from using flesh and blood materials to refine pills and tools, the uniqueness of flesh and blood alchemy lay in being able to cut off organs and limbs of demonic beasts in an active state, then prepare them into medicines and tools for human use.
For example, the blood clam belly used by Yu Lie was a typical application of flesh and blood alchemy, producing blood tools. Even all eighth-grade blood tools were mainly due to flesh and blood alchemy.
The majority of blood tools were crafted through flesh and blood alchemy, or at least incorporated some aspects of it. Yu Lie's blood clam belly originated from the Beast House because the Beast House raised demonic beasts, closely related to the alchemy room, where some disciples also mastered flesh and blood alchemy.
In the stone room, Yu Lie held the silver mirror in one hand and touched the blood clam belly in the other, his mind filled with various thoughts:
"No wonder people say alchemy, talisman formations, and artifact refining are the three major arts of cultivation. Mastering one of these equals mastering all."
"The alchemy in the Mountain and Sea Realm, besides refining pills, can also craft tools... In that case, can talisman formations heal and can artifact refining be used for formations?"
The "Introduction to Flesh and Blood Alchemy" in Yu Lie's hands was not just a specific cultivation technique but more like a comprehensive university subject, not limited to "techniques" but almost to "knowledge."
However, Yu Lie briefly pondered and set aside these thoughts. Whether alchemy was a "technique" or "knowledge" was still too distant for him at the moment. After all, the entry standard for flesh and blood alchemy was whether an alchemist could independently craft a blood tool.
A blood tool could only be crafted by an eighth-grade disciple, requiring true qi as assistance. For Yu Lie at present, the greatest value of the "Introduction to Flesh and Blood Alchemy" was to guide him in the correct path of alchemy, allowing him to learn, practice, and assist in cultivation in advance.
For instance, the silver mirror displayed a complete set of techniques for harvesting flesh and blood, preserving vitality, dissecting organs, and making specimens, which were not taught in the alchemy room.
Especially the making of specimens. Practitioners learning flesh and blood alchemy needed to identify various flesh and blood materials, explore the internal structure of flesh and blood organs, and create specimens for further research and dissection.
The silver mirror also mentioned that the number of specimens possessed by practitioners learning flesh and blood alchemy often represented their proficiency in alchemy.
In addition, the "Introduction to Flesh and Blood Alchemy" introduced various related books that Yu Lie could purchase or browse in the book depository to expand his knowledge and understanding of flesh and blood.
All these contents were different from Yu Lie's understanding of alchemy, and even opened up new paths. He had thought that flesh and blood alchemy was merely about using flesh and blood materials from demonic creatures like hearts, livers, spleens, lungs, and kidneys to refine medicine through cooking and refining.
But it was more than that...
In the stone room, Yu Lie sorted through his thoughts, still filled with excitement. This complex and comprehensive alchemy, which involved a wide range even at the entry level, not only did not intimidate him but made him feel that it should be this way.
"It seems that the cultivation of immortality in this world is truly an empirical discipline. This flesh and blood alchemy is the proof!"
Yu Lie gazed intently at the silver mirror in his hand. Somehow, he began to believe that the immortals described in the books could truly achieve longevity and even ascend through transformation.
Immediately, Yu Lie wanted to observe the silver mirror again. However, he restrained himself in time, choosing to set down the mirror and instead reached into the blood clam belly to retrieve a section of black snakefish head.
This fish head was kept as bait, not detoxified or soaked in a bronze cup. Yu Lie took a deep breath and focused on detoxifying the fish head.
This time, Yu Lie's detoxification method was different from before. Instead of relying on experience, he followed the techniques mentioned in the introduction to alchemy, cutting and dissecting the fish head methodically for examination.
He paused occasionally, taking out his cultivation notes and sketching the internal structure of the black snakefish head to record his findings.
Yu Lie occasionally had thoughts:
"No wonder the black snakefish has not only fine teeth in its mouth but also two large teeth similar to canine teeth, perhaps for better attachment to large prey and not being washed away by swift currents."
"The fish eyes, ink-blue with heavy pupils, are all black snakefish like this?"
He meticulously studied in the stone room, gaining a more detailed understanding of the black snakefish, which he had already slaughtered several times and was quite familiar with.
Yu Lie also realized that the fish hooks he often used seemed too simple. He needed to go to the market and observe the shapes of other fishermen's fish hooks to compare.
With a newfound method, Yu Lie was full of enthusiasm. In half a day, he dissected all his various catches in the stone room, leaving no other flesh and blood in his possession.
However, Yu Lie's excitement was not yet diminished. Itching for more, he looked around the stone room and suddenly fixed his gaze on a black mynah nearby.
At that moment, the mynah was bored in its cage. Whenever Yu Lie was busy, he would lock it in the cage, sometimes even covering it with a black cloth and placing it outside.
Seeing Yu Lie look up, the mynah suddenly felt a chill. It greeted him, "Gah! Good morning, sir! Good fortune to you in the morning!"
Upon hearing this, Yu Lie raised his head in realization. He noticed that it was already dawn outside.
After some thought, Yu Lie tidied up and stepped out, intending to go buy various live creatures in the early morning.
In the following days, Yu Lie remained immersed in learning flesh and blood alchemy in the stone room. However, on the tenth day of his break, as the day dawned, he had to lift his head again, breaking free from his studies of alchemy.
Because the holiday was over, he had to return to the Poison Sect to start his work again.