Taichu Yandao: Starting from the Villain

The quenching and nourishing method has been divided into two schools since its inception.

One school advocates nurturing elixirs, using natural treasures and array formations to warm and nourish elixirs, making the medicinal effects of the elixirs stronger and stronger until they exceed the ingredients in the poison.

This sect is extremely efficient, and the quality of pills can be improved in a very short time, but the limitations are also very obvious. Natural treasures are hard to find, and not something that ordinary cultivators can afford. Often only large sects have the resources to set up pill-raising pavilions.

The other faction advocates tempering the elixir, using formations or special materials to gradually refine the toxins in the elixir, making the toxins in the elixir less and less, reducing the risk for the monks using the elixir.

This school does not require a huge amount of natural treasures, but the time is prolonged, and it needs the careful care of the person who refines the pills. Often, one careless mistake will lead to failure.

Inside the Yan Kingdom's palace, the Imperial Master Li Tongzhen did everything he could to temper the elixir. He practiced Qi for many years and exhausted all his financial resources before he bought a poison-grade foundation-building elixir from a sect disciple.

After twenty years of careful care, he had refined the poison pill from medium grade to high grade. He had planned to continue using the water-grinding technique to refine the pill into ordinary grade, but something went wrong with his technique in the past few years.

Somehow, Li Tong really felt that his life span was running out.

In the world of cultivation, those who are almost out of lifespan are the craziest. They dare to fight any fight and take any risk. Since they are close to death anyway, they might as well make one last fight for the dreams in their hearts.

Li Tongzhen searched for half his life and only started the path of cultivation in his middle age. He finally cultivated to the great perfection of Qi training, so how could he give up easily?

By chance, Li Tongzhen got a fragment of a scroll, which recorded an ancient method of quenching pills, which could greatly shorten the time of quenching pills.

Even though the art of alchemy is magical, the power used to temper the elixir is a taboo in the world of cultivation. It is the mysterious power of the wishes of all living beings.

According to legend, the power of vows is something that even the Nascent Soul ancestors dare not touch. If you are not careful, you will be entangled in cause and effect and burned to death by the fire of karma.

There is another saying that this world is monitored by immortal officials, and the power of vows can only be offered to the gods in the upper realm, which is not something that ordinary cultivators can touch.

Li Tongzhen didn't know the specific reason, but he didn't dare to take the risk. After thinking it over again and again, he finally decided to travel across the sea and find an island where no monks had set foot to implement his plan.

After drifting on the sea for more than a year and countless disappointments, he finally found a suitable island with countless mortals and several countries scattered on it.

After much investigation and comparison, Li Tongzhen finally decided to appear in the State of Yan as a god and achieve his goal of refining elixirs through a ceremony for the afterlife.

However, Li Tongzhen didn't know that the most terrifying thing about the power of vows is not that someone is pursuing them, but the endless cause and effect in the world.

In the second year after the Rebirth Ceremony, the method of copying scriptures in Qingzhou was quickly promoted within King Cheng's power. After boxes of scriptures and scrolls were burned, the speed of refining elixirs increased a lot.

"In another year or two, I'm afraid this poison pill will be able to successfully break through." Li Tongzhen stood in front of the big cauldron, estimating the progress of the pill refining.

He was in a good mood, feeling that the autumn of this year was so beautiful. The fruit trees outside the yard were full of red fruits, just like his foundation-building pill, which would soon mature.

"Master, would you like to eat? The imperial kitchen has delivered some new dishes." Fang Xiaojia asked when he saw his master leaving.

Li Tongzhen wanted to refuse, but the beggar's chicken he had eaten a few days ago suddenly popped up in his mind, so he asked, "Do you have beggar's chicken?"

"Can I say no..." Fang Xiaojia was extremely depressed. In the past, Li Tongzhen only had a meal once every seven or eight days. Today, he just came to ask casually. He had no choice but to say, "The imperial kitchen made mouth-watering chicken today. Master, would you like to try it?"

"Okay, you brothers, get ready."

There were six food boxes, eighteen dishes in total, including chicken, duck, fish and meat, filling the table.

All three of them are cultivators, their bodies have been tempered by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and their appetite is several times that of ordinary people. However, when they reach Li Tongzhen's level, they often only eat a little.

But today, Li Tongzhen seemed particularly happy. He ate with relish and finished more than half of the dishes.

Fang Xiaojia was very surprised and couldn't help thinking: "Master has had a good appetite these days. It seems that I have to go to the imperial kitchen to give some instructions tomorrow. As long as I serve the old master well, maybe he has some secrets to teach me."

The next morning, Fang Xiaojia personally ran to the imperial kitchen and said to the eunuch in charge of the seal: "Master has a good appetite recently. The dishes you send must be carefully prepared. They must not only be delicious, but also have more variety."

The eunuch in charge of the seal nodded repeatedly, and was very happy in his heart. He was not afraid of you making requests, but was afraid that you had no requests. Everyone knew that in today's Great Yan Kingdom, the words of the state teacher were the imperial edict. If you could get some connections with him, you could do whatever you want in this palace.

After the eunuch in charge of the seal sent Fang Xiaojia away, he immediately convened a meeting of the highest level in the imperial kitchen. He first emphasized the importance of the matter, and then put forward three requirements to the chefs:

The first point is closely centered around the word "carefulness", requiring everyone to treat each dish with a firm, positive, serious and responsible attitude, and to satisfy the national chef.

The second point is about taste. It requires that all dishes sent over must be tasted by all the chefs in the imperial kitchen. If there is even one person who objects, the dishes cannot be sent to the table of the Imperial Master.

As for the last point, it is an iron rule that dishes must not be repeated within three months.

Under such a set of rules, the imperial kitchen was added to the forces that could come and go in the mysterious courtyard. At first, there was only one meal at noon, but later it became three meals a day.

Sometimes, Fang and Qian would look after the alchemy furnace at night and order a midnight snack.

Due to their frequent visits, the eunuch in charge of the imperial kitchen gradually became familiar with Fang and Qian and established the relationship he most desired.

He entered the palace when he was young and had been in the inner court all his life. Naturally, he was adept at tricks like using someone else's influence to gain an advantage. Soon, his status in the various prisons rose sharply.

However, the eunuch who held the seal never expected that this honor and favor would come quickly and go away even faster.

One day in late October, he led the young eunuch to deliver the food boxes as usual. However, not long after they were handed in, they were all thrown out.

"From now on, no one is allowed to bring food without my order, especially my two apprentices." A voice exploded.

In an instant, the eunuch in charge of the seal broke out in a cold sweat. He naturally heard that the person who said this was the imperial master.

Inside the courtyard wall, Li Tongzhen continued to curse: "Let you two little bastards eat, the five grains and the foul air are all turned a deaf ear to the wind."

At the bottom of the stairs, Fang Xiaojia was kneeling on the ground with his head almost buried in the soil.

Next to him, Qian Xiaoyi had a sallow complexion and red cheeks. He occasionally wanted to cough but tried hard to hold it back.

Today is the fifth day since I fell ill a few days ago.

"How could a monk catch a cold?" Li Tongzhen pondered over it for several days, until today when he saw the lunch box delivered, he was shocked and found the reason.

"From now on you must only eat one meal every two days. You must not break the rules." Li Tongzhen made the rules and left.

It turned out to be effective. After following this rule, Fang Xiaoyi's illness was cured in a few days.

However, although Fang and Qian were cultivators, their cultivation was still shallow and they could not practice fasting completely. Moreover, they were young men in the period of growing up, so it was a bit difficult for them to endure eating only once every two days.

At first, Li Tongzhen's influence was still there, so the two of them naturally followed the rules carefully, but soon they couldn't stand the hunger anymore and tried every way to steal food.

If Li Tong really wanted to rely on the two to do things, he couldn't keep an eye on them all the time. When the two went out to do their work, he would have a big meal outside. However, he was also very cautious, fearing that any rumors would reach the ears of the master.

In a blink of an eye, more than a month passed. The leaves on the fruit trees outside the yard had already fallen, and the first snow fell as the cold wind blew.

Snowflakes were flying all over the sky, and soon covered the scriptures in the courtyard, leaving only some faint curves.

Qian Xiaoyi looked at the white world, and his thoughts flew like snowflakes.

Some time ago, Fang Xiaojia took him to a place. He thought it was something fun, but he unexpectedly went to peek at palace maids bathing.

He just took a glance and fled, but the scene he saw that day was like taking root in his mind and could not be erased.

Their sect was practicing the Pure Yang technique, which required a breath of Yuan Yang to break through the bottleneck when building the foundation. Li Tong was really afraid that the two children would not know the importance of this, so after they entered the sect, he began to instill a principle in them:

Women are like snakes and scorpions, you must never touch them. If you do, you will go crazy and be burned to death by your own magic power.

Qian Xiaoyi was afraid of both death and pain, but the scene he saw that day did not fade with time, but became clearer and clearer.

Crystal clear water droplets slid down from the slender part, gathering and dispersing along the snow-white curve, finally covering two pink spots and falling into the rippling water.

And beneath the water, in the depths, there seems to be something fascinating and beautiful that makes people want to explore it.

Has Senior Brother Fang broken his vow?

He took me there, so of course he had been there many times before. Does he have some secret?

Yes, Master had been talking about a woman in his early years. Does that mean that Master had also broken his vows? Did he pass this secret method on to Senior Brother Fang?

Qian Xiaoyi had some wild thoughts but to no avail. He thought about waiting for Fang Xiaojia to come back and then find a way to ask him clearly.

The sun was setting and night was coming soon. As soon as it got dark, Qian Xiaoyi heard the sound of a bell. He trotted along and saw Fang Xiaojia and said, "Brother, you've worked hard today. Is everything going well?"

"Take it, I remember it all!" Fang Xiaojia took out a chicken leg and handed it to the other party.

This was something the two of them had already discussed; whoever went out on errands had to bring food for the other, otherwise they would both go hungry.

Qian Xiaoyi took the chicken leg and said as he ate it, "Brother, you've been busy all day, so you need me to help you drive the corpse away."

"No..." Fang Xiaojia's eyes rolled, and he thought again: "It's a waste not to use the coolie who came to my door. Let's see what tricks you can come up with." He threw the bell to the other party and said:

"Hey, what's going on today? The sun is rising from the west?"