Chapter 13: Learning the Basics
As the passersby that stopped to look at the current situation with bated breaths, they could not help but cheer for Shi Li as Huo Shenshou took him as his disciple. Naturally, Shi Li, who wanted Huo Shenshou to become his master, was glad that the latter accepted his request, firmly shaking his hands with a grin on his face.
Sometime later, the excitement died down as the passersby finally moved on to do what they were supposed to do. Shi Li and Huo Shenshou, on the other hand, looked at each other in silence for a bit before the latter beckoned Shi Li to follow him. Responding with a nod, Shi Li followed Huo Shenshou as he entered the inside of the pavilion, arriving at the back a couple of minutes later.
At that moment, Shi Li was greeted by the sight of multiple tools and ingredients scattered all over the place. On one table, there was an array of mortars and pestles with unknown ingredients pressed into a fine powder, on another, a couple of flasks were being heated up as the contents inside them bubbled while they boiled.
However, the thing that attracted Shi Li's attention the most was the large pot at the center, containing multiple ingredients that gave off the strongest medicinal scent Shi Li had smelled in his life. Noticing that his new disciple was staring at the cauldron, Huo Shenshou could not help but let out a chuckle, snapping his fingers as he told him, "Just so you know, you're not ready to use the cauldron yet."
"Ah." Thanks to Huo Shenshou's snap, Shi Li returned to reality. Standing in place, he could not help but go silent for a bit, to which Huo Shenshou responded by going silent as well, waiting for him to speak up.
Eventually, Shi Li opened his mouth as he looked at his new master and asked, "Why… did you accept me as a disciple?"
"You know, I'm already getting old and I need to pass the mantle onto another person so it would allow my legacy to live on," Huo Shenshou replied, only to let out a cough as he noticed Shi Li roll his eyes in response. "Jokes aside, I've already been planning to take one as a disciple. Unfortunately, no one had asked me… that is, until you came."
"Is there a reason as to why you chose me?" Shi Li asked, to which Huo Shenshou shook his head in response. "No, not really. In fact, any person without your illnesses would have been a better choice when choosing a disciple."
Just as Shi Li was feeling more and more depressed by the second, Huo Shenshou's next words seemed to feel like an oasis in the middle of desert, giving Shi Li a refreshing feeling as his motivation was rekindled. Of course, he also could not help but wonder why Huo Shenshou was playing with his heartstrings like that.
"Nevertheless, any other person would still pale in comparison to you in terms of determination and conviction. Although we've only met once before this, you did not even think twice when choosing me. In fact, you haven't even considered the alchemists from the Starry Alchemical Pavilion at all!"
Hearing how the Starry Alchemical Pavilion was mentioned, Shi Li could not help but think that there was another reason as to why Huo Shenshou did not choose a disciple yet. Pondering as to whether his speculation was correct, he asked, "Is the Starry Alchemical Pavilion one of the reasons why you haven't chosen a disciple yet?"
"Hahaha. I guess you could put it like that," Huo Shenshou replied, letting out an awkward chuckle soon after. Nevertheless, it was apparent in his tone that the Starry Alchemical Pavilion had indeed meddled in his matters regarding disciples. With that, he could not help but think that the only reason why he was not approached by the other pavilion was because of him being crippled. Thinking of it from that perspective, he did not know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
"In any case, your determination and conviction in choosing me has led me to accept you as my disciple. Well, there's also another reason, but let's save that for the future," he continued, making Shi Li curious as to what the reason was. But since Huo Shenshou gave off the feeling that he did not want to talk about it at the moment, Shi Li decided to place the thought at the back of his head for now.
Heading to the table filled to the brim with mortars and pestles, Huo Shenshou pushed all of them aside before grabbing a new mortar and pestle from under the table. Placing the mortar and pestle in front of Shi Li, he then asked him, "Now, before we start, tell me what you know about alchemy."
"Alchemy is a profession that allows cultivators to concoct pills that have various effects. Some of those pills could allow a person to recover lost limbs, while some pills could allow a person to cultivate faster. The range of effects for it is near endless," Shi Li answered, eliciting a light nod from Huo Shenshou.
"Although your explanation isn't wrong, you're missing the crux as to why such a profession exists in the first place," Huo Shenshou said soon after, prompting Shi Li to attentively listen to his next words. "Sure, alchemy allows us to achieve things that would normally not be possible, such as recover lost limbs, or enhance one's cultivation speed. However, once you reach a certain point in cultivation, such things would also be possible. Now, you might be wondering… what sets alchemy apart from actual cultivation?"
"If I were to think up of an answer, it would have to be the endless possibilities," he said, his eyes glistening as he continued to talk. "The thought of mixing ingredients at random and concocting a pill that would have a completely different effect entices me to reach further heights of alchemy. If you think about it, a single ingredient could make a pill that's used for healing into a pill of mass destruction. Of course, aside from the endless possibilities, another phrase that would sum up alchemy would be… emulating the heavens."
"Through the items the heavens have given us and blessed us with, we can emulate a part of it in return, even though our cultivation hasn't even reached the level necessary for it," he added. "Even reviving a dead person wouldn't be impossible if one's mastery in alchemy is high enough. In fact, from a certain perspective, cultivation pills are akin to us borrowing the heaven's powers in order to go further in our cultivation. Of course, that's just my opinion."
At this point, Shi Li was enamored at what alchemy could offer him. Back then, he thought that alchemy would only be able to fix his problems regarding cultivation and improve it from there. However, he now had a shift in perspective, wondering what kind of possibilities alchemy had to offer him down the road. In fact, these words from Huo Shenshou would stick with Shi Li up to the very far future, becoming a sort of mantra he would follow.
But that's a story saved for later.
"With that said, let's teach you the basics of the basics," Huo Shenshou said after a moment of silence, snapping Shi Li back to reality yet again. "Although pills are the most commonly sold item that are made by alchemists, there's actually one tier of alchemical products lower than pills that could be said to be as important as the pills we concoct."
"An example of those alchemical products would be the gourd of liquid I gave you back then." He smiled as he continued, "These types of alchemical products are called medicinal liquids. Just like pills, they offer miraculous effects that wouldn't normally be possible. However, unlike pills, they're less potent. In exchange, their effects last longer while the cost for their ingredients is significantly cheaper. A great majority of the people that buy medicinal liquids are those that cannot afford pills. Then again, people have to start somewhere."
"For today, I'll be teaching you the most basic type of medicinal liquid an alchemist could concoct, healing liquids," Huo Shenshou said, to which Shi Li nodded in response. "Every alchemist has their own recipe for their basic healing liquids, the same goes for myself. The name of the healing liquid that I'll be teaching you to concoct is the Three Injuries Recovering Liquid, which greatly increases a person's natural rate of recovery for a certain amount of time."
"By the time the sun starts to set, I hope you'll be able to memorize the ingredients that go into concocting a batch of it, as well as the process that would allow you to concoct it. Of course, I'm not going to ask you to make a perfect batch of the liquid from the get-go. Even a prodigious beginner would experience a few failures along the way before achieving success."
"Now, are you ready to learn from me, disciple?" Huo Shenshou asked Shi Li, a light grin spread across his face.
With a solemn nod, Shi Li loudly replied, "Yes! Er…"
"Since you're my disciple, call me Master. In fact, how about you try and call me Supreme Master Shenshou?" Huo Shenshou said in response, joking at the very end.
"I'd rather just call you Master instead," Shi Li quickly replied, shuddering at the thought of calling Huo Shenshou the other title.
"Well, it was worth a shot." Huo Shenshou shrugged his shoulders, chuckling as he asked once more, "So, let me ask you again. Are you ready to learn?"
"Yes, Master!"
"Now that's more like it."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
TrueDawn
TrueDawn And with that, we start the alchemist Shi Li arc... or something.
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