The sun hung high in the sky, marking the peak of midday.
Scholar Song's roommate, aware that he was still under the weather, had taken the liberty of requesting another day of sick leave for him.
"Doesn't it feel like your condition is getting worse? Is it because you haven't exercised lately, causing your body to weaken?" Scholar Song remarked.
Beside him lay a bowl of century egg congee, a thoughtful gift from his roommate for lunch.
"What a good person!" Scholar Song unhesitatingly issued a "Good Person Card" to his roommates.
After an undetermined amount of time, he awoke with a growling stomach, the hunger pangs almost unbearable. He quickly polished off the congee and opened his computer.
Habitually, he clicked on the chat app and noticed a red dot indicating new messages in the "Ninefold Land No. 1 Group."
Curious, Scholar Song opened the group chat to see what the seasoned, overly-enthusiastic members of the cultivator fantasy community had been discussing overnight.
The early morning chat logs unfolded before his eyes.
There were questions from the Hermit of North River about "newcomers," reckless antics from the Wild Blade of Three Tides, amusing comments from the Phantom Spirit, and even the Immortal Sage of Yellow Mountain, who claimed to have divined a connection with himself.
As he scrolled through the chat records, the characters began to take shape in Scholar Song's mind.
"Ah, I see, I must have added the wrong person. No wonder I didn't recognize the Immortal Sage of Yellow Mountain."
From the chat logs, it was clear that this group wasn't just open to anyone—membership seemed to require a recommendation.
Moreover, it appeared that the members were not particularly young; some even had daughters. And judging by the tone of their conversations, those daughters were likely not little kids anymore. It could be that some of these people were in their forties or fifties, still clinging to their youthful fantasies. Their daughters must have it tough!
As he continued to browse through the chat logs, Scholar Song remained a silent observer, determined not to join the conversation.
Watching the group members act silly was entertaining, but he figured if he got involved, it wouldn't be as fun. After all, he wasn't silly like them.
His plan was simply to lurk, enjoying the daily humor they provided.
He figured that if the group ever became dull, he'd just leave the "Ninefold Land No. 1 Group."
This had been his mindset all along.
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Before he knew it, ten days had passed...
On June 1st, Saturday, which also happened to be Children's Day.
Scholar Song's roommates were the type who stayed in the dorm during the week and went home on weekends, leaving him alone in the dormitory.
His cold had finally subsided, though he was still dealing with some nasal congestion and a lingering cough. This particular cough was a chill-induced one, which could take some time to fully clear up. If he didn't take good care of himself, it might linger for a month.
With the weekend to himself, Scholar Song slept in until eight in the morning, then headed to the cafeteria for a light meal.
With nothing pressing to do, he returned to his dorm.
Once at his desk, he opened his computer and instinctively navigated to the Ninefold Land No. 1 Group to check the chat history. This had become his go-to method for passing the time.
He realized that it had already been over ten days since he joined the group.
During those days spent lurking, he had noticed that most of the discussions revolved around adventures in various secret realms or the appearance of malevolent spirits and demons that needed to be subdued or eliminated.
It all sounded so real! Scholar Song thought that if he were to transcribe these conversations and add a little flair, he could easily publish them online as a cultivator fantasy novel and make some cash.
Over the course of ten days, Scholar Song had become familiar with several characters in the group.
For instance, there was the rarely seen group leader, the Immortal Sage of Yellow Mountain.
Then there were the two admins who hadn't shown up since he joined: the True Monarch of Daluo Sect, Yuyue, and the Seven Cultivation Sovereign.
He had also encountered the frequently online "Information Source," the Hermit of North River, the reckless Wild Blade of Three Tides, the combative Su Clan's A-Qi, and the reticent Alchemical Sage.
Lastly, there was the monk known as the Wandering Monk Tongxuan, who rarely participated in discussions but would occasionally share an emoji or punctuation mark. It was said that this high monk was practicing silent meditation, unable to speak, type, or do much aside from sending emojis.
Among the group, there was also the surprisingly normal-seeming Fay Yu from Lingdie Island, whose number was just one digit off from Scholar Song's. Thanks to her, he had gotten the chance to join the Ninefold Land No. 1 Group.
All of this information had been shared by the enthusiastic Hermit of North River, who had taken the time to introduce the other members to Fay Yu.
...
...
Today, upon opening the Ninefold Land No. 1 Group, the first thing Scholar Song saw was a message from the Alchemical Sage.
It was rare for the usually reticent Alchemical Sage to speak up: "I've improved a basic recipe for a dan medicine."
This was a nine-character sentence, punctuated properly. Scholar Song had never seen the Alchemical Sage write such a long message since he joined the group. Naturally, his curiosity was piqued.
The Alchemical Sage's message had been sent in the early hours of the morning.
"A simplified version of the Body Refinement Liquid Recipe: Three ounces of ginseng, four ounces and three taels of goji berries; one ounce of Morning Dew Mystic Herb; three ounces of Yangqi Stone, one ounce and three taels of Daughter's Fragrance… one ounce of Fresh Tyrant Branch, four ounces of sliced Nine Yang Red Flame Bamboo…"
It was a long list of forty-five different medicinal ingredients, some of which were familiar to him, like ginseng and goji berries, while others were quite obscure, such as Yangqi Stone and Morning Dew Mystic Herb, and some he had never heard of, like Fresh Tyrant Branch and Nine Yang Red Flame Bamboo.
"Add the ingredients to the alchemy furnace according to the specified proportions, simmer for about five minutes; then add the new ingredients and continue simmering for another five minutes. Be mindful of the heat! Repeat this process until the liquid becomes a paste. The finished Body Refinement Liquid should be black, transparent, and strong in flavor."
It was written in a straightforward manner!
Scholar Song was only familiar with a few of the forty-plus medicinal names. Out of curiosity, he decided to look them up online.
He discovered that thirty of the ingredients were common in traditional Chinese medicine, primarily for boosting qi and blood.
The other fifteen, such as Morning Dew Mystic Herb and Fresh Tyrant Branch, were entirely unfamiliar to him. Could it be that the Alchemical Sage and the others in the group were just making things up?
"These guys have gone too deep into their fantasies; they even concocted a recipe! There's no way anyone would actually try to make this potion and consume it, right?" Scholar Song thought to himself, a little worried.
After all, while food could be eaten indiscriminately, medicine should not be taken lightly!
Messing with medicine could be fatal, right? Should he warn these quirky group members? After all, he had been observing them for over ten days.
If someone in the group overdosed on some strange concoction, he wouldn't be able to bear the guilt.
He continued scrolling through the chat records and, sure enough, someone had already begun concocting the potion!
It was none other than Fay Yu from Lingdie Island, who had seemed the most sensible in the group. The timestamp showed her message was sent around two in the morning.
Fay Yu: "Compared to the old version of the Body Refinement Liquid, this one has significantly fewer rare medicinal ingredients and the process has become overly simplified. Alchemical Sage, what's the optimal level of heat to maintain? I just tried it, and it failed halfway through. Also, how does the potency compare to the previous version?"
"Effect 2:1," the Alchemical Sage replied.
The potency was only half of the previous version, as many valuable ingredients had been reduced. But being able to produce a Body Refinement Liquid using such common ingredients was still a win.
"The heat and specific simmering time are something you'll have to figure out for yourself; I can't explain it," the Alchemical Sage typed again, unusually verbose for him. Only when it came to discussing alchemy did he seem willing to type more than a few words: "Also, if your 'Fire Control Technique' isn't proficient, I recommend using a fire control artifact."
"Thank you, senior! I'll try again," Fay Yu replied with a smiley face and then fell silent.
Fay Yu's last message was sent at two-thirteen in the morning; if she had spent the time to refine medicine afterward, she should have already completed several batches by now.
Could this be dangerous? This was a group of overly enthusiastic individuals; if they accidentally ingested the wrong potion, wouldn't they turn into super adorable misfits? Originally, they might have been salvageable, but after taking the potion, there would be no hope left!
His conscience got the better of him, and he couldn't resist typing in the chat box: "You shouldn't take medicine recklessly!"
Just as he was about to hit enter to send his first message in the group… the chat window vibrated.
A big smiley face popped up in the chat window.
It was from the Seven Cultivation Sovereign, one of the admins who hadn't spoken since Scholar Song joined: "The recipe looks great! I just tried seven batches simultaneously, and they all succeeded effortlessly. The success rate is extremely high. I've taken some, and the potency is about one-and-a-half times that of the old Body Refinement Liquid. However, the cost of the ingredients has been reduced by ten times compared to the old version. Though it's just the lowest grade of Body Refinement Liquid, given the current diminishing spiritual energy and scarcity of rare medicinal materials, this is truly a boon. Alchemical Sage, keep up the good work! If you can improve recipes for third-grade potions or higher, it would be a tremendous contribution."
"Addition: The most important part is that the difficulty of the refining method has decreased significantly; it can even be taught to apprentice alchemists."
The Seven Cultivation Sovereign was a well-respected elder in the group, even stronger than the Immortal Sage of Yellow Mountain. He was also highly skilled in alchemy, making him a recognized authority on the subject within the group. His praise certainly encouraged the Alchemical Sage.
"Thank you, senior! I'll do my best!" the Alchemical Sage excitedly typed back, producing a message longer than six words at a rapid pace.
Scholar Song couldn't help but feel his lips twitch: someone had already refined and consumed that "Body Refinement Liquid"?