Chapter 144 - Witch-eresting alchemy books????When we got home, the first thing I did was unpack the alchemy books.

  “I hope this works. I hope this works! Please work. Please work.” I bonked myself on the head with a book.

  Nothing happened.

  I tried again.

  Nothing happened again.

  I tried the other books, but it was useless.

  Although I was very disappointed, it made sense that it was only the Astrology books that worked that way. Astrology was a skill that was half-heartedly made as a money sink, and neither the pyers nor the devs ever took it seriously. Alchemy, on the other hand, was a very important skill. Therefore, it was only logical that one couldn’t level it up via a silly method like bonking oneself on the head with a skill book.

  On the other hand, I was very pleased that the other Alchemy sub-skills had likewise been unlocked. Immortal Pills were nice and all, but weapon and armor upgrades were even better!

  I went outside to the back garden of my [Ranch House] and set up the [Nine Dragon Jade Cauldron]. Then I put the [Spells Stones] under it the way that the Venerable Immortal Sage had shown me and activated the cauldron using the System. When the temperature was right, I took off the lid and threw in a [Firebird Feather].

  [Firebird Feather:

  A bright red feather from the mythical Firebird, known for its dazzling and radiant plumage. This exquisite plume, shimmering with an otherworldly intensity, is said to embody the essence of fire. Crafting with this feather can imbue items with the mythical creature's fiery spirit.]

  This time, the feather flew out of the cauldron on its own after a few seconds, and I got a small amount of Magic and Herbw exp. The enhanced item was now a [Firebird Feather +1 Air].

  Air was good because it worked well with Fire, but +1 was the lowest possible enhancement. I tried it again with another feather. This time it became a [Firebird Feather +3 Water]. The next one I made was a [Firebird Feather +1 Earth]. Obviously, those two were no good since they were not very compatible with the fire element.

  “I wish there was an item that boosts luck.”

  Unlike other skills, this particur type of Alchemy was totally random. Creating the perfect +9 full set of weapons, armor, and accessories was a real pain in the neck, but pyers who didn’t have the patience to make their own could simply buy the items they needed from other pyers. After an outcry from the pyer base, the Adventure Incarnate developers modified the skills somewhat to improve gamepy by allowing pyers to load the cauldrons with items that would automatically alchemize them.

  I took out one hundred feathers from my inventory and pced them in the cauldron’s inventory. Then I simply turned on the [Automatic Alchemy] function. All I would have to do now was to wait until they were all finished before collecting them.

  As for the Immortal Pills, I believed that it would be best to wait until I had harvested my first Immortal Herbs before selling any since it would be extremely strange for me to suddenly start producing pills out of nothing.

  Herbw potions were what pyers used to boost their stats. The pills produced by Alchemy were meant for cultivators and were therefore useless to pyers. Despite the importance of such pills in a cultivation world, in the game world, they were simply another product created to sell to the NPCs. It was the same mechanic as the milk that was produced by farm animals and was made into cheese which sold for a higher price than milk. Likewise, herbs were grown on the farm and made into pills simply to make more money.

  I knew it would be different in this world because the cultivators here were not NPCs but real people. There was sure to be a big commotion when the farm successfully grew Immortal Herbs. Shuye would have his work cut out for him, that was for sure!

  ***

  The next day. I handed Fengying a bunch of mochi. “These are basic nourishing qi pills. Please distribute them among the staff.”

  “Congratutions on learning alchemy, my dy.” My housekeeper was all smiles as she went about her way.

  Now that I was literally using a cauldron, I wondered if there would be more legends of the Witch of the Forest in the future. The thought made me smile as I ate breakfast. After I finished eating, I put my chopsticks down and said, “Kids, it’s time! I think the [Spirit Grass], [Wild Seed Mix] and [Soybeans] are ready.”

  “Yes, Teacher,” they said.

  We all went outside and headed straight for the pce where I was trying to create [Bck Soil]. During the pnting season, we had sown the field with pnts that were not meant to be harvested but rather plowed back into the soil to nourish it. Today the field was a riot of colors where flowers, grasses, and foliage had grown without the need of any human intervention.

  [Wild Seed Mix:

  Contains a mixture of seeds, mainly wild flowers, grasses, and legumes that are used as cover crops, which are pnts grown to cover the soil surface to protect it from erosion, improve soil structure, and add nutrients to the soil.]

  “Teacher, do we have to plow these back into the soil? It seems like a waste of good crops,” said Lari.

  I just smiled and shook my head at his reluctance. “It’s called ‘deyed gratification.’ When we incorporate these pnts into the soil, it will decompose and release a lot of nutrients that the Immortal Herbs will need.”

  Increasing soil organic matter would also improve the soil structure, but I didn’t want to go into lecture mode, so I simply circled the field, looking for pests or diseases that I would have to take care of first.

  The pnts were all surrounded by a faint glow which was strongest around the [Spirit Grass]. Seeing that there were no problems, I gestured to the others to start plowing.

  “Yay! More exp!” Mo was in heaven. Watering, weeding, and tending to the pnts only gave a minuscule amount of exp, whereas plowing gave a decent amount.

  “I can hardly wait for the harvest,” said Kharli.

  “Me, too!” said Lari.

  When we were finished, the soil gave off an earth and green scent. When we used our hoes to plow, the System did the work of turning the soil and chopping the cover crops into small pieces that were incorporated into the soil.

  Kharli took a handful of soil and inspected it. “I see what we did. The grass is like soil food, isn’t it?”

  “Right. Now we just have to wait until all the green matter decomposes. Then we can pnt more cover crops here until the soil turns into [Bck Soil],” I said. “It’s not hard, is it? We just have to be patient and trust the process.”

  “Teacher, how long will it take for the green stuff to decompose?” asked Lari.

  “I’m not sure. In any case, there’s no rush. First, we have to focus on the upcoming harvest. Then we have to do the pnting. We’ll get back to this field after that. Now let’s take care of the other crops.”

  The vegetable patches were spectacur. Most of the vegetable pnts had burst into flower and the bees were busily buzzing around them. A few early blooms had already been pollinated and were developing into fruits.

  “The vegetable harvest will be so good this season,” said Lari.

  The rice paddies with the carp looked very promising, too. Small, white flowers had appeared on the rice pnts, and soon we would start slowly draining the paddy to make the carp move into the deeper waters of the fish refuge where they could be easily caught during the harvest.

  “The chef said he would make a nice fish stew,” said Kharli.

  The tea pnts growing under the shade of the canopy were my favorite. Yinuo told me that one of the kitchen assistants had even seen Deming almost smile when he looked at them. Almost. The scent of the tea leaves was invigorating and the glow around the pnts could be seen much clearer there because of the shade.

  “When we start selling spiritual tea, everyone will want some,” said Mo.

  “Ha! I bet they will.” This current batch of tea would be for our personal use, with the excess given as gifts to our suppliers and the people working with us to raise the animals. Only when the tea was mid-grade would we start selling to the public. I smirked, knowing that I wouldn’t have to deal with the desperate merchants. That would be Shuye’s task. “We’re done here. Let’s go. I’m gonna repce the [Tea Machine] today.”

  “No, Teacher! Tea is the best.” Mo gave me a horrified look.

  “We have enough tea already, and we’re going to get more during the harvest. Trust me, you’re gonna thank me ter for making better soy sauce and tofu for the chef to use. The harvest banquet this time will be legendary!”

  Lari, Kharli, and Mo all looked skeptical, but I paid them no mind as I walked to the pce where the [Tea Machine] was and destroyed it. The [Soy Machine] building that I put in its pce was a whimsical, cute thing that wouldn’t have looked out of pce in a Barbie town or Hello Kitty amusement park. From the outside, it looked like a storybook cottage with a steep roof, dormer windows, and two whimsical turrets. Painted white and pink, it had a rounded door that I opened to reveal the interior that was also painted pink and white.

  The [Soy Machine] itself was made of gss and metal painted white. I poured [Soybeans] from my inventory down into the waiting chute. There was only one rge pink button beled Start/Stop, which confused me because the machine was supposed to make soy milk, tofu, soy sauce, miso, and tempeh. I would have thought there would be separate buttons for each product.

  Lari stepped forward. “Me, please can I press the button?”

  “No, I want to do it!” said Kharli.

  “People, no quarreling! Let’s py rock, paper, scissors for it.”

  I squared off with Mo, whose rock lost to my paper. Then I pyed with Kharli who had won her match with Lari.

  “I won!” Kharli gleefully rushed to the side of the machine and pressed the button.

  A loud, grinding sound started up, and we waited a few minutes to see if anything unusual would happen. When nothing did, we left.

  “We’ll return tomorrow morning to collect the products,” I said.

  However, instead of the expected soy products, the machine produced something extraordinary instead.

  LinMeili