Chapter 37: Life 58, Age 25, Martial Master 3
After we returned to the alchemy hall, Deacon Liu placed five herbs on the counter.
“Take a look at these,” he said. “These are the herbs needed to concoct the most important Rank 2 pill, the Meridian Builder Pill. The herbs combine to increase the flow of qi to the user while also improving the ability to focus. In truth, the pill can be used in a number of ways, but it’s mainly used when creating new meridians, thus the name.”
“These herbs are harder to process and use than Rank 1 herbs, and I need to be able to handle all five herbs at once? Isn’t there an easier place to start? Like, a pill that uses fewer herbs?”
“Yes. The Meridian Builder is far from the easiest Rank 2 pill, it is actually one of the more complicated Rank 2 pills. However, it is also by far the most common. It’s useful in many situations, and Martial Masters will tend to buy as many as they can. For these reasons, the herbs to create the pill have become staples. They are the five most commonly grown Rank 2 herbs, and while you can find easier pills to make, you will not find cheaper ones.”
I nodded. “Alright, so what do I need to do to get ingredients to practice with?”
“Hold on. Take a look at these in qi sight first.”
Doing so, I noticed that the herbs on the counter were almost entirely composed of the chaotic, toxic energy. Very little medicinal energy existed in them.
“Rank 2 herbs are a lot harder to grow. While a normal farmer can grow Rank 1 herbs with consistently high and standardized amounts of medicinal energy, the same cannot be said for Rank 2 pills. To achieve a pill of 100% standard effectiveness, you will not only have to perform alchemy well, but you also need to select the right herbs to use. The herbs in front of you are complete trash. They grew wrong, so they are nearly worthless for pills.”
“They are worthless for pills, but you kept them…” I said, thinking. “So, they are useful for something else. Training, perhaps?”