Even mastering it brought its own troubles.

The only slight shortcoming was that advancing this method of the greater and lesser celestial cycles consumed far too much energy and nourishment, far more than any martial art Chen Jue had ever practiced before.

Perhaps precisely because it was so difficult to master, it had been cast into the group file’s folder of methods awaiting verification.

Although it did not produce any true qi or inner force, if the cultivators of old had been able to practice such a method, they would probably have been little different from the legendary immortals who walked the earth.

Cultivation of immortality, after all, was bound to require elixirs and wondrous medicines.

...

After getting up and washing, Chen Jue felt that he looked better in the mirror than before.

His skin was smooth and warm with a healthy glow from within; his lips were a soft pink; his teeth were white, and the old ones were faintly showing signs of loosening. With the lightest pressure of a finger, the roots already felt unstable.

Classical Daoist teachings on internal alchemy say that after successfully gathering the pill, there follows a hundred-day foundation-building stage, a transformation of marrow and blood, and a rebirth of body and bones. During this period, even the teeth can be replaced, the old giving way to new.

Martial arts classics likewise mention that once the marrow-changing arts reach completion, one again sits in the pill posture with the legs crossed, qi and blood concealed inward. Through thunder-echo cleansing of the marrow, tempering of the organs, and the union of cultivation and nourishment, new blood is gradually generated, the teeth are replaced, and the body’s foundations become stronger and more robust.

The two paths led to the same destination, only Chen Jue had relied on the panel to forcefully raise his points and bulldoze straight through, crude and direct, which meant the energy and nourishment consumed in a short time were even greater.

"Until I solve the problem of food and supplementation, I can’t risk adding any more proficiency to this greater and lesser celestial cycle," Chen Jue thought. He left the house, jogged to Linjia Village, and ate breakfast there.

With Uncle Yu and the inn auntie no longer around, Chen Jue’s daily life had returned to how it had been before; from here on, he could only depend on himself.

Because of the hunger brought on by training, he drank two large bowls of soy milk for breakfast, ate a big bowl of glutinous rice, three meat buns, a fried dough stick, and a deep-fried egg, also known locally as a fried glutinous ball; in Wenzhou, they called it an oil egg.

After breakfast, with his stomach pleasantly full, Chen Jue went to the market in Panlong Town and bought two large bags of ingredients.

Given the effects of his current food intake, those two bags would at most last him two days. What troubled Chen Jue more, though, was the matter of medicinal supplements.

If he continued practicing the greater and lesser celestial cycle, the house’s tonifying soup and the less-than-a-pound of fish maw would certainly not be enough.

But he could not stop training either. This Daoist internal method could transform one’s body and bones, increase one’s attributes dramatically, and was more effective than any fist art or toughening practice.

...

After carrying the groceries home, Chen Jue practiced Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield and the Wudang Golden Needle Finger Technique for the better part of the morning, and also worked through some tai chi stances at home.

Since he had no way to practice the greater and lesser celestial cycle, Chen Jue could only rely on these martial arts to pass the time.

After a hurried lunch, he hailed a taxi and headed straight for Ye Tongren Hall in An County.

The one who received him was the same young doctor as last time. When Chen Jue mentioned that he wanted to buy some wild medicinal ingredients of high age to take home, the doctor’s expression turned knowingly amused. Glancing left and right to make sure no one was near the counter, he lowered his voice and said, "Brother, you haven’t been reading too many novels, have you?"

"Honestly, those wild medicinal herbs aren’t as miraculous as you think, and they’re very expensive too. The value for money isn’t good."

"Take ginseng, for example. From the perspective of modern nutrition, it’s really only a little better than radish, and a lot of its reputation is just hype. If you truly want to tonify qi and nourish the blood, why not buy some oral nutritional liquid with a bit of notoginseng in it and try that?"

As he spoke, the young doctor even made a little gesture with two fingers pinched together.

Chen Jue nodded at that. During the past few days, when he had free time to rest, he had been reading the medical theory books he had bought, and they included knowledge of both modern nutrition and traditional Chinese herbs.

The chief nutritional component in ginseng was a steroid compound called ginsenoside, which could also be synthesized artificially. In addition, it contained ginseng polysaccharides, proteins, peptides, amino acids, and so on. Taking ginseng was said to strengthen the spleen and lungs, replenish qi and blood, and calm the spirit.

Radish, on the other hand, contained protein, sugar, vitamins A and C, and niacin, and was said to aid digestion, disperse stagnation, resolve phlegm, stop bleeding, relieve thirst, and promote urination.

Both were root plants; only their medicinal tendencies differed.

There was a popular saying among common folk: "In winter, eat radish and leave the ginseng alone." It meant much the same thing as what the young doctor had just said.

As for wild ginseng, its nutritional content was usually higher than that of cultivated garden ginseng or transplanted mountain ginseng. Add to that its scarcity, as well as the fact that it could live for hundreds of years, and it was draped in an aura of mystery and fantasy, creating the effect of rarity making it precious.

Many rich people took wild ginseng as a miraculous life-prolonging tonic and kept a few roots at home. As for whether it was truly that effective, Chen Jue had never tried it and did not know. But wealthy people seemed to believe in it fiercely, insisting that the older the root, the better the medicine.

That was also why wild ginseng could fetch such high prices, while ordinary cultivated ginseng was cheap and nearly worthless, sold off in bulk like radishes in a market.

But Chen Jue had previously restored his body attributes by soaking sliced ginseng in water, and knew that this thing did have some effect, so he interrupted him and decided to buy more for supplementation.

"Then give me some of that notoginseng oral liquid you mentioned, plus a few boxes of sliced ginseng. American ginseng too, a few boxes of that as well."

"Right! Do you have vitamins, calcium tablets, and fish liver oil? Also some health supplements and health foods for nourishing blood and qi. I’m giving them as gifts, so bring me the good stuff." Before coming, Chen Jue had already formed some ideas in mind. With the young doctor’s suggestion, he began sweeping the pharmacy clean.

He even had the strong tonic pills reordered in a batch of a hundred, to be picked up next time after they were prepared.

...

This trip cost him over thirty thousand, and Chen Jue winced in pain at the loss.

Fortunately, he had previously caught a wild yellow croaker, and spending sudden windfalls did not sting nearly as much. At this rate of supplementation, he probably would not take long to eat through everything he had.

When he got home, Chen Jue felt that his old habits of stubbornness and insistence had flared up again. His thoughts kept circling back to wild tonic herbs, and when he recalled the young doctor’s mention of notoginseng, he suddenly remembered that the family home of one of his university roommates in Yunnan Province seemed to be in the business of growing exactly that.

He opened his phone, browsed through WeChat, found the familiar avatar in the roommate group, and sent a message: "Brother Biao, Brother Biao, please respond!"

Biao: "It’s Old Cat! What do you need? I heard from Jiang Fan that you quit your job in Hangzhou? That was such a good job, and it paid pretty well, didn’t it?"

Chen Jue: "It’s a long story. I was forced out! Let’s not talk about that for now. Brother Biao, wasn’t your hometown involved in growing notoginseng? And there’s wild notoginseng in the mountains that can still be dug up?"

Biao: "That’s right. My hometown area is a nature reserve. Besides wild notoginseng, you can also pick lingzhi mushrooms. Didn’t you come out to play with Old Dog and the others when I got married? What, you want to come again? Are you bringing your little sister-in-law this time? If you’re not bringing a pretty one, then don’t come. We don’t welcome single dogs here."

Chen Jue: "..."

He had already started cultivating; where would he have the time for romance?

But Chen Jue did not know how to explain that to his university roommate, so he replied, "Next time, definitely!" and attached a screenshot of the plane ticket he had just bought for an overnight flight to Yunnan.

Biao: "!!! Holy crap! Old Cat, you’re really coming? Your sister-in-law is pregnant with our second child now, and I still have no leave from work. I don’t have time to take you around like before!"

Chen Jue: "No worries. I can entertain myself. Just buy me a meal when I get there."

Biao: "No problem with food. Eat as much as you want. My Yunnan has plenty of delicious things. Want me to drive over and pick you up?"

Chen Jue: "...Delicious things? No need to pick me up. I’ll just hire a car when I get there and come find you. You should stay home and look after the kid and Sister-in-law Biao!"

Biao: "Damn! Hire a car from the provincial capital all the way here? Old Cat, since when did you get so rich? No wonder they say travel can be this carefree when you just leave on a whim. You’re living far more freely than I am."