Chapter 58 Open the furnace to refine the medicine and boil the elixir
The entrance to the east hall is the living room, and the inner room is the master's bedroom, as well as a study room and a pharmacy.
Zhang Wenfeng opened the pharmacy on the right, and a faint scent of traditional Chinese medicine hit his nostrils. Even after his master passed away, the room was often cleaned and wiped, and it was very clean without a musty smell. He wiped the medicine grinder with a towel again and cleaned the brass stove for baking medicine.
I lit the silver bone charcoal and roasted two medicinal herbs.
Take some time to grind all the herbs in the medicine bag into fine pieces.
His current cultivation level is limited, and he cannot produce wood-flavored real fire in his body. He does not have enough spiritual energy stones on hand for him to squander at will, and the medicine refining furnace cannot reach the level of treasures recorded in the classics. He can only use traditional methods to cook the medicine.
Method of boiling elixir.
Put the three pieces of medicinal materials into three cotton bags respectively.
We came to a plank road dug out of the back mountain, walked diagonally for ten feet, and opened the medicine refining grotto built on the rock.
No medicine has been refined in the past three years, and the smell inside the medicine refining grotto is not very pleasant, so it is left open for ventilation.
I brought fresh water and wiped it clean. I specially cleaned the heavy six-foot-high medicine furnace several times. I used a large wooden bucket to pick up spiritual spring water three times, filled the stone water tank in the corner, and brought in several bags of silver bone charcoal. The preparations were completed.
, it’s also noon.
After lunch, we were drinking tea in the West Hall.
Zhang Wenfeng said: "I have been refining medicine for the past two days. Senior sister, if you are free, come and help me light the fire and replace one or two. I want to see if I can refine the 'Qingqi Powder' that monks take."
His current status as a monk has been discussed with the senior sister who returned to the mountain gate.
Taoist priests practicing on the mountain will not rush to help their fellow disciples.
Even if Zhang Wenfeng is the master of the temple, when he is busy fetching water, the second senior brother who has taken a break will not take the initiative to ask to take his place.
Because maybe the owner of the temple is carrying out some kind of spiritual practice ritual by carrying water.
It is a taboo to meddle randomly in the private affairs of fellow disciples, unless one personally asks for help.
Yue Anyan nodded and said with a smile: "Okay, I will help you light the fire. This morning, no one from the nearby village went to the mountain to seek medical treatment. I hope your method works."
The Nine Doctors of the Ten Paths, all of them had been master's medicine boys and were no strangers to boiling and refining medicine.
Refining medicine is extremely expensive. In the past, most of the money their master earned by treating nobles with medical amulets was used to buy medicinal materials and make various supplementary elixirs and medicinal powders that can improve acquired cultivation.
In order to achieve a breakthrough, the veteran practitioner has tried many methods.
The second senior brother smiled and said: "When I come back from Jieqiao Village to assess the apprentices in the afternoon, I also want to watch the master refining the medicine, won't you disturb me?"
"As long as you have free time, feel free to come. There's nothing to shy away from."
Zhang Wenfeng finished drinking the tea and said again: "Second Senior Brother, could you please give me a hexagram and help me figure out which direction to hang the mirror today? When is the best time to turn on the fire and start the furnace to refine the medicine?"
In ancient times, when monks made alchemy, they had to fast, wear a crown, wear a robe, and kneel to hold the medicine pot.
Pray to the Heavenly Lord of the Great Dao before heading into the mountain.
You also have to calculate the auspicious days and days in advance, place the sword in the medicine stove, hang the ancient mirror, etc. There is a very complicated ritual.
Nowadays, we don’t pay so much attention to it, but we still calculate the auspicious time to start the fire in order to make the medicine refining smoothly.
Whether it is psychological comfort or really effective, the rule of hanging the mirror and setting the sword remains.
"Easy to say, just a moment."
The second senior brother has the best divination skills among all the other senior brothers.
After he finished his work, he took a shower, stood up, fetched water, and purified his hands. He took out the shiny brown-yellow ancient tortoise shell used for shaking divinations from his sleeve, and three ancient coins.
Put a coin into the turtle shell and hold the two ends of the turtle shell with the palms of your hands.
Recite the hexagram silently in your mouth, and shake the turtle shell up, down, left and right three times.
Tilt one end of the turtle shell, release your left palm, and scatter the coins on the desk.
When the coins are still, check the yin and yang of the three coins.
After doing this for six times, they reached out to count for a while, and then made another round of predictions. The three people in the room were silent, except for the clanking sound of coins.
After a long time, the second senior brother collected the tortoise shells and ancient coins and said: "The master of the temple belongs to the wood element. Today it is appropriate to start the fire at the second quarter of Shenshi and hang the mirror in the northwest."
Zhang Wenfeng took out three copper coins, handed it to his second senior brother, and said with a smile: "Good!"
The second senior brother collected the hexagram gold, and the three of them continued to boil water and make tea, chatting about things inside and outside the Taoist temple.
At the beginning of Shen Shi, Zhang Wenfeng brought a package of medicinal materials and an hourglass pot to tell the time to the medicine refining cave. He checked the top and bottom of the medicine refining furnace again, and after confirming that it was correct, he walked around the cave with his hands behind his back.
When the time comes, first hang a bronze Bagua mirror on the stone wall in the northwest, insert the sword you used before into the ear hole on the side of the medicine furnace, use silver bone charcoal to start the fire smoothly, and after the two rituals, grab the decorative furnace cover
With the furnace ears at both ends, he used his arms to lift the heavy lid and place it on a nearby stone table.
This medicine refining furnace passed down from ancestors has been polished to a dark yellow color. The material is neither gold nor jade, and it is simple and heavy.
There is another mystery in the furnace. Placed in the middle is a huge container, which is used to hold water and moisturize medicine to control the temperature. It is called "Water Cauldron". The water cauldron is taken out from the furnace, and below it is a slightly flat "Suspended Medicine Cauldron".
Used to place medicinal materials, gold stones and other items.
On the arc-shaped edge of the main cauldron, there are nine fist-sized concave "alchemy chambers" evenly distributed.
The final product of the refining medicine, whether it is waste medicine or good medicine, will appear in the Nine Hole Pill Room.
Open a medicine bag and place the pieces of the nine medicinal herbs in the hanging medicine cauldron.
Move the water cauldron, place it again on top of the hanging medicine cauldron, screw it tightly, use a stone basin to fetch spiritual spring water from the stone vat, and pour it into the main furnace. Repeat this several times until the hanging medicinal cauldron is submerged two feet up, and then add water to the water cauldron.
Fill most of the cauldron with water, cover the main furnace lid, and seal the furnace with the yellow medicine prayer talisman written in advance.
Insert six pieces of silver bone charcoal into each of the three stove holes below and cook the medicine over medium heat.
Most of the time, it's a boring job of adding charcoal and lighting the fire.
Refining medicine requires the practitioner's patience and perseverance, which is part of cultivating the mind.
Zhang Wenfeng took out the booklet "A Brief Analysis of the Yuanqi Wood-Cultivating Talisman" that he had copied from his arms. He walked slowly in the cave and read the book. Occasionally, his right hand made a pen in the air to outline the patterns of the runes. He was not allowed to meditate while refining medicine, in case he was immersed in it.
, three or two hours passed in the blink of an eye, and a batch of expensive and laborious medicinal materials was wasted.
Read a book for a while, glance at the hourglass pot placed in a conspicuous place, and then check the charcoal fire in the stove.
Silver bone charcoal is resistant to burning, has even fire power, and has no smell of fireworks. In addition to being very expensive, it is easier to use than the silver wire charcoal that Master bought before and does not require frequent addition of charcoal.
The sky was getting dark, and three lamps filled with clear oil were lit on the stone wall.
The cave was filled with the faint scent of traditional Chinese medicine. Zhang Wenfeng looked after the fire without getting anxious and restless, and read by the light. After a while, he heard voices outside.
"Master Guan, we are here. If there is anything we need to pay attention to, please tell us. You can go to the dining hall to eat and take a breather."
Second senior brother and Yue Anyan walked in one after another.
It is not advisable to eat greasy food in the medicine refining cave. This is a rule passed down from generation to generation.
Zhang Wenfeng collected the book, told the two of them the amount of charcoal and the approximate time to add it, and walked out of the cave.
Dusk was falling outside, and the tired birds were returning to their nests. After finishing the old lame man's warm dinner, we chatted for a few words, then went down the mountain and found the donkey that was tossing in the woods to the east.
"Haven't you found the trick to performing the 'Lightning Technique' yet?"
"Find some feeling. In fact, there is no need to use the Bu Gang Step Fight. It is just a method that cooperates with the operation of the technique. It only needs...how to say it, it is a bit like the sound explosion technique. The demonic energy is compressed through hand techniques or a staff. I don't have hands.
It should be released with the mouth, and after I think about it more, I almost have it figured out."
The donkey became very deep at this moment, like a wise man, with his shiny black eyes filled with the light of thought.
The words are clear and concise, not chatty at all.
Zhang Wenfeng happily patted the donkey's wisdom-filled top door and said, "I'm optimistic about you!"
A few words are worth a thousand words.
The encouraged Donkey nodded vigorously, "I can do it."