Chapter 32: The Immortal Root
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“Could that really happen?”
“It is not impossible. The power of creation can appear anywhere. Take Sun Wukong of Flower-Fruit Mountain, for example—if he truly existed, that is. Sun Wukong was born of Heaven and Earth, a convergence of the power of creation. So when he first met the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea, he told him that he was a ‘born sage.’ But are you Sun Wukong? You do not look like him. You have no hair on your face. Or perhaps fortune is aiding you, with some mighty being protecting you?”
Wen Yuan speculated about countless possibilities, yet he himself could not arrive at any conclusion. The pill Shang Luo had refined seemed to have appeared from thin air. Somehow, inexplicably, it had sensed the “creation of Heaven and Earth” and generated “true energy” out of nothing.
“How about trying to see whether it can become medicine first? If it fails, we can find a better furnace vessel, or take it back to the capital region and think of another solution,” Wen Yuan suggested.
“I do not mind trying, but how am I supposed to eat this lump?”
“Do not rush, do not rush. I brought something for you.” He took a small bag from behind his back. The words “high-gluten flour” were printed on it; it had been produced by a food-processing factory at the San Francisco Garrison.
He shook the flour, then pointed at the red mud in the pot. “Pour the flour in. It will bind all this red mud into pills. That is all there is to it.”
“Flour?”
“Why not? Flour is the essence of the five grains and miscellaneous cereals. It does not count as an impurity anywhere. You could add starch and honey too. Otherwise, how do you think all those pills sold on the market are bound together?”
“No.” Shang Luo shook his head. “The formula does not say anything about flour, so I cannot add flour.”
“That makes sense.” Wen Yuan put the flour away. “What you have here contains the creation of Heaven and Earth, and I do not know how it came about. There is only a single thread of that creation in the world, and it is exceedingly difficult to obtain. Our principle is that, so long as a method works, it is best not to interfere with it...” He clicked his tongue. “My master has never succeeded in refining pills. I have always wondered whether he is simply too rigid, afraid to take even one step beyond the rules. If he knew you could refine pills of this quality, it would probably give him a stomachache from sheer outrage. He has not even dared to attempt pill refinement until now.”
“By the way.” Shang Luo raised his head. “What did your master say? You were on the telephone for ages.”
“He called the capital region, then immediately ordered me to come back and tell you never to stop. And sure enough, you really did refine this pill. This probably counts as the first cycle. It may need to undergo another cycle before it takes the form of a golden pill. So it is best not to eat it yet. Establishing your foundation is not that simple. Wait until we take it back to the Jade Capital. Once we have made every preparation, you can consume it. You must understand: there is only a single thread of spiritual energy in the world. If you successfully establish your foundation, the Empire will gain another top-tier combatant. We all hope you succeed, both for your sake and so that a path can be opened for others. Besides, if anything goes wrong, your fellow disciples will still have time to save you.”
“Did he say anything about... the two million seven hundred thousand?”
“Two million seven hundred thousand?” Wen Yuan scratched his head. “What two million seven hundred thousand? You cannot mean those welding stations that exploded, can you?”
“Yes, yes, those. What happened to them?”
“Ha!” Wen Yuan slapped his thigh. “I wondered what you had run off for. You were worried about that? It was merely a thunder-dragon warehouse explosion. You know about thunder-dragon warehouse explosions, do you not? Just like a fire-dragon warehouse fire—one of the traditional crafts of Great Ming. There was nowhere near that much money involved. Only five hundred thousand taels.”
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“Five hundred thousand taels? I could never repay that!”
“Who said you had to repay it? You are a military artisan of this garrison. The imperial court will bear the cost for you. Do not worry. The court is extremely wealthy; no one will come after you over this. After all, everyone even got to eat the radishes.”
“The radishes?” Shang Luo blinked. “What radishes?”
“Ah! Right, I forgot to mention it. Do you know why I was so astonished when I saw you using human blood to refine pills? Because you had ready-made spiritual materials available and had no need to use blood at all.”
“You mean... the radishes? Those radishes in San Francisco?”
“Exactly.”
“There are radishes growing everywhere outside?”
“Yes.”
“The radishes in the dining hall?”
“Yes! What else could they be?”
“That is a spiritual material? That is not one pile of them, but a mountain! The radishes stacked up like hills, the ones we send back by the hundreds of thousands of tons every year—those are spiritual materials?”
“Let me correct you.” Wen Yuan’s expression turned solemn. “Those are not ordinary radishes. They are ‘Immortal-Root Radishes,’ naturally formed spiritual materials. The purpose of the San Francisco Garrison is precisely to cultivate those Immortal-Root Radishes on the New Continent, where spiritual energy is abundant.”
“What does the imperial court need so many radishes for?”
“To eat, of course. You have eaten them since childhood, have you not? They are the nutritious lunches everyone receives from the time they enter primary school. You think they are ordinary, perhaps because you have eaten too many of them. In truth, every one of those radishes is a spiritual material—an Immortal-Root Radish. Each radish can strengthen the sinews and cleanse the marrow. Eating them from childhood gradually nourishes the body. The earlier one consumes spiritual materials that strengthen the sinews and cleanse the marrow, the greater the benefit to the body. That is why we give them to every schoolchild. It is part of compulsory education. The imperial court has money, and it is willing to spend that money on its own people. Anyone living in the capital region can eat them from childhood to old age.”
“My God... Is this really the same stingy Great Ming I know?”
“What did you say?”
“Nothing. Go on.”
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“In any case, the radishes themselves are immortal roots. When you eat them, have you ever felt a turbid energy descend along your meridians and emerge through the place where the five grains complete their cycle?”
“You mean passing gas?”
“Tch. It is not ordinary gas. Some people do not even pass gas after eating them, in which case the radishes have little effect. Their spiritual roots are not strong enough, so they cannot expel much turbid energy. But if they keep eating them, and eat enough, the accumulated impurities acquired after birth can gradually be cleansed away, slowly reshaping the body into one of innate nature. That is why the radishes lay the foundation of the Dao for everyone. The imperial court does not want anyone left behind. Everyone has a chance at immortality. Those with exceptional potential are simply selected and given further training.”
He pointed to himself. “For example, me. You should probably count as well. You merely failed to undergo the examinations on schedule. Otherwise, you would likely have entered the Directorate of Artisans long ago. Still, since you stayed in the radish-producing region, you seem to have eaten more radishes than anyone else. You simply never made use of them.”
“Wait...” Shang Luo suddenly remembered something. “The day I finished repairing the generator, those old master craftsmen took me upstairs and ordered a huge number of radishes?”
“Then they were truly good men. Everyone receives an assigned portion of Immortal-Root Radishes, but extra servings beyond the ration are very expensive. They must have been afraid that your true energy would be damaged, so they deliberately took you to eat a great many radishes. Did they refrain from eating any themselves and keep urging you to eat more?”
“So that was it... So that was it. Then all of them are cultivators?”
“They are all at the Qi-Nourishing stage. They are somewhat weaker than I am, but any military artisan stationed at such a critical location must have genuine skill. They have simply failed to advance for so many years that they probably have no hope of establishing their foundations. That is why they wanted you to eat more. Wait, you cannot sense it? This is unbelievable. You can even sense machines speaking, yet you cannot sense their cultivation? The more I think about it, the stranger it becomes. How exactly do you perceive the secrets of Heaven? Did Heaven itself make an exception for you?”
“I do not know. Then these pills of mine...” He looked at the contents of his furnace. “Can this be repeated? I was wondering whether I could refine more of them.”
“I am afraid not. Pill refinement is an irreproducible process. Each person’s pill is refined for that person alone. If it could be repeated, would not everyone establish their foundations once a single person succeeded? On the path to immortality, each person has a destiny of their own. Seizing another person’s destiny is no easy matter. It is getting late. Pack these pills in oil paper, and let us head back. Master is waiting to meet you... Hm? What was that? My eardrums suddenly hurt.”
“You are not going anywhere. Phaethon, bring me the elixir of immortality from that alchemist of Cathay.”
An unfamiliar voice appeared beside Shang Luo’s ear. Unlike Apollonia’s, this voice was majestic and immense, accompanied by a searing heat that seemed almost tangible.
“Helios! It is you!” Apollonia’s radiance surged toward the scorching presence. “This time, I will not let you—”
Apollonia’s voice cut off abruptly.
“If I could shoot you down once, I can shoot you down a second time, Apollonia. Do not make a futile resistance. Come home with me. Thor, Aten, Amun, Ra... your elder brothers are all waiting for you to return. Until the plan is complete, you are grounded.”
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