Chapter 102: Potion Brewing

Qi Xiao retrieved several herbs from the storeroom, and at the same time, he brought out two bloodvine blossoms he had casually picked in the Deer Hind Forest. The core herb was called Luminous Mint Leaf—a staple alchemical ingredient, also commonly brewed into drinks. Consuming it felt like a blessing of holy light, carrying a faint minty aroma that invigorated and refreshed the mind.

Starflower and Moondew Grass were also among Qi Xiao’s usual herbs. Though there were many plant ingredients imbued with the powers of stars and moon, these two offered the best value for alchemy, and Qi Xiao was especially adept at handling them. He also prepared a portion of Chill Spring Water—crisp and pure, sourced only from subterranean pools within icy ponds.

For the base tea, he selected Silver Needle White Tea: elegant in flavor, a perfect complement to medicinal brews.

Qi Xiao began by soaking the starflower and moondew grass in the chill spring water without applying any heat, allowing their essences to infuse gently so as not to damage their vitality. Both herbs were naturally cool and bloomed at night, making them dissolve easily into the water. Soon, the crystal-clear liquid shimmered with shifting moonlight and twinkling starlight, as if all the nocturnal luminescence of the heavens had been condensed into this small pot. The interplay of moonbeams and starlight created a soft glow, weaving a dreamlike tapestry across the surface.

Starlight danced atop the water like a myriad of tiny stars. Qi Xiao sprinkled in a pinch of silver powder, gently guiding it to merge with the liquid, so a delicate layer of silvery specks shimmered on the surface.

Next, Qi Xiao finely chopped the luminous mint leaves and added the fragments to the sparkling infusion. The broken leaves unfurled slowly, fully releasing a fresh minty fragrance that mingled perfectly with the light of stars and moon. He kept this aroma locked within the water, allowing none to escape. As the coolness of the mint fused with the astral power of the other herbs, the solution took on a faint blue hue—an unmistakable sign that the mint’s radiance and the astral energy had blended.

He then placed selected Silver Needle White Tea into the herbal infusion. The tea leaves gradually unfurled, absorbing the potent essence. For the first time, he began to gently heat the mixture over a low flame. To maintain the stability of the active compounds, Qi Xiao cast a minor spell, conjuring a magical barrier that preserved the tea’s vitality and prevented any loss of efficacy.

As herbs and tea melded, a unique fragrance began to permeate the air—a harmonious blend of tea’s freshness and the sweet, herbaceous bouquet. The green-leafed notes tempered the bitterness of the glycosides, leaving one invigorated upon inhaling.

Throughout the gentle heating, Qi Xiao periodically stirred the tea with a silver spoon to ensure even fusion, all while carefully gauging the concentration and flavor. In this potion’s preparation, he drew on both culinary techniques and methods reminiscent of a witch’s brew, and the results seemed promising.

With continued heating, the coolness of mint and the natural fragrances of starflower and moondew gradually harmonized, creating a new, richly layered scent. The color of the brew shifted from its original transparent blue to a refined blue-green, reminiscent of early spring leaves—clear and vibrant.

Qi Xiao managed the heat with precision, ensuring the herbal elements retained their potency and the brew achieved optimal therapeutic effects. Once the tea reached the ideal color and aroma, he removed it from the flame, letting it cool naturally to a suitable temperature before decanting it into specially crafted magical vials.

As he bottled the potion, Qi Xiao inscribed each with runes for preservation and stabilization, guaranteeing freshness and efficacy. Because of its high price and premium nature, he had designed the vials to be both refreshing and elegant in appearance, and affixed exquisite labels detailing the ingredients, effects, and recommended usage.

This magical herbal tea not only sharpened the mind and revitalized the body, but, thanks to the infusion of starflower and moondew, also regulated the flow of internal magic, aiding meditation and cultivation. The starlit brew could ease mental tension, while the gentle moonlight brought peace and solace to the spirit. Prolonged use could even improve constitution and slightly bolster mental strength—a valuable aid for any mage who frequently expended spiritual energy. Though “prolonged” here truly meant a long time, and “slightly” was indeed rather slight, the effect was genuine and not mere embellishment.

Qi Xiao stowed away five vials of the potion, keeping one for himself and planning to deliver the rest to the alchemy shop in due course.

It seemed his mentor had no immediate intention of sending him out for further training, so Qi Xiao could devote his attention to his work for a while. With the day still young, he decided to craft some simpler potions he hadn’t previously attempted, following various recipes.

He consulted his collection of formulas and selected several straightforward, practical concoctions: a herbal salve for rapid wound healing, and a magic elixir for restoring mana, among others. For each recipe, he gathered the necessary basic ingredients from storage—marigold, echinacea, horsetail, and other common components for healing balms.

All the prepared herbs were soaked together in the alchemical cauldron to draw out their medicinal properties, then gently heated to extract the active compounds. Qi Xiao meticulously blended the extracts in exact proportions, ensuring the stability and effectiveness of the balms. Though he saw potential for improvement, he refrained from tinkering; this formula had been refined by generations of masters for the optimal balance of efficacy and cost. Adding exotic materials might enhance its effects, but would also increase the price unnecessarily. For such essential remedies, utility mattered most.

Once packed into individual containers, the balm—though a staple item—was less popular than vigor or blood-replenishing draughts, which was why Qi Xiao hadn’t made it before. But producing it now would net him the corresponding system rewards.

The magic elixir, on the other hand, was a more advanced potion. Few alchemists possessed the skill to craft it. Qi Xiao retrieved the formula and assembled the rare ingredients: silver lotus, nightglow mushroom, soulleaf, vigor root, and wisdom fruit.

Silver lotus, renowned for its cooling qualities, was often used to neutralize the harshness of potent remedies, but in the magic elixir, it served as a principal ingredient. Qi Xiao gently ground the petals in a mortar, releasing delicate silvery dust, which he sprinkled evenly into a silver basin.

Nightglow mushroom contained a substance that glowed in darkness, enhancing night vision and sensory acuity. Qi Xiao simmered the mushrooms over a small flame to extract this luminous essence. Soulleaf, meanwhile, strengthened the connection between mage and magic. Alternatives existed, but using soulleaf was extravagant—Qi Xiao had no substitutes on hand, and since he wasn’t brewing in bulk, it didn’t matter much. He soaked the leaves in a special solvent, then carefully added the resulting extract to the cauldron.

Vigor root was sliced thin and heat-treated alchemically to drive off elemental impurities, leaving behind only the purest magical essence, which imparted restorative power to the potion.

Wisdom fruit, despite its grand name, merely offered a mild boost to alertness—noble families could afford it, and some heirs had grown up eating it. The origins of the tree were obscure; Qi Xiao had only learned of it while investigating the identity of a future culinary legend, discovering that the wisdom fruit tree was once the magnum opus of a renowned culinary mage.

Setting aside those tangential thoughts, Qi Xiao extracted and distilled the juice from two hundred wisdom fruits, yielding a concentrated liquid rich in cognitive enhancers to quicken the mind.

He arranged all ingredients on the alchemy table in precise quantities, taking care to prepare each for optimal efficacy during brewing.

Meanwhile, a cauldron of magically infused boiling water was ready. Qi Xiao added the ingredients in strict sequence and proportion. He had always wanted to try this method; it reminded him of the old fairy tales about wicked witches, and the way each ingredient sent up a splash was delightfully entertaining.

Once all the ingredients were combined, Qi Xiao gently guided the mixture, harmonizing the elements to stabilize the magical structure within the brew. He was almost too cautious—the formula, refined over countless generations, was so stable that the materials fused almost instantly at his touch, as if they were always meant to be one. Qi Xiao found himself puzzled that so many scholars struggled with such a straightforward process.

After a series of precise steps, the magic elixir took on a deep blue-violet hue, its surface glowing faintly with a powerful magical fluorescence. Once cooled, Qi Xiao decanted it into specially enchanted vials, each inscribed with anti-leak and preservation runes. The magic elixir was highly volatile; it had to be consumed immediately upon opening, as exposure to air for even three seconds would diminish its efficacy by nearly forty percent.

Drinking the magic elixir could greatly accelerate mana recovery, modestly enhance magical potency, and grant minor effects like night vision and mental clarity—though these were secondary benefits.

In the days that followed, Qi Xiao brewed batches of five other potions: Windwalker, Dragonblood Vitality, Shadow Veil, Elemental Resonance, and Abyssal Ward. Their uses were evident from their names. The main ingredient for the Dragonblood Vitality Potion was the Dragonblood Fruit he had previously obtained. The Abyssal Ward Potion, however, was more specialized—it created a protective barrier around the drinker, shielding them from the hazards of the Abyss or similar harsh environments. This was a customized potion popular in the northern mage circles, who lived relatively close to the shallow layers of the Abyss—a vast plane often visited for training despite its dangers. Great rewards awaited those who braved its perils, and the Myriad Spirits Vault controlled a teleportation array to the Abyss, reportedly built by Qi Xiao’s mentor. Members of the organization could use it for free once every five years, though outsiders paid a hefty price.

With a batch of freshly made potions and salves in hand, Qi Xiao stepped off the island at the heart of the lake, only to be captivated by the sky in the east. Rainbows stretched across the sky, clouds drifted lightly, and the dawn was resplendent. Crimson clouds stained the horizon—a glorious twilight, but it was still early morning. The eastern sky, against all logic, was ablaze with the hues of sunset.

Qi Xiao didn’t need to guess who was responsible—Demosthenes was clearly up to mischief with that mysterious artifact. Affairs of such magnitude were far beyond his reach; even understanding the barest details was due only to the privileges of being a disciple of Midiel.

He admired the rare spectacle for a moment, sighed, and shifted space around himself, materializing inside the alchemy shop.

Though the staff had grown used to his sudden appearances, they were still startled. Marshall, in the middle of breakfast, choked at the sight of Qi Xiao, hastily stood up coughing, and, blushing, asked, “Boss, what brings you here at this hour? Weren’t you supposed to be away on training this month?”

Qi Xiao replied with a note of resignation, “It’s a long story. But your planned vacation is likely postponed for now. Here are new potions and restocked basics—just give them to Dimot when he arrives and let him handle the arrangements.”

Marshall agreed, and since the shop was quiet—most customers drawn away by the rare midday sunset—Qi Xiao didn’t linger. Finding the scene dull, he returned to the heart of the lake to meditate and train.

Meanwhile, upon seeing the sunset, Eve hurriedly selected a fishing rod and cast her line into the water of Lake Roentgen, its color mirroring the fiery sky in the east. Clearly, she hoped to catch a Sunset Ray, just as Qi Xiao once had.

Qi Xiao thought her chances slim, but suddenly remembered that Eve had asked him to forge a special fishing rod for her. It wouldn’t do to delay—though she seemed not to care much about it and had likely forgotten, it was still connected to her path as a mage. Qi Xiao wanted to help however he could; who could say whether catching a fish with his custom rod might help her achieve her breakthrough?

He still didn’t understand why catching a fish would provide Eve with such an epiphany, but the ways of mages were often inscrutable, as his mentor had often said. So he chose to believe.

Shaking his head, Qi Xiao refrained from disturbing his senior. He returned to his laboratory and began sketching designs.