Chapter 45: Mental Secret Technique

“If you lack the diamond drill, do not take on porcelain work: I would only speak such words if I were certain I could save you.”

Lu Jin’s display of confidence caused the Huangque Pharmacist to knit his brow. “Brat, are you certain you can do it?” He had been trapped here for years: his days were dark and hopeless. He wanted to leave more than anything in the world.

Lu Jin smiled. “I stake my life on it. Do you dare to gamble?”

The pharmacist’s brow tightened as he stared into Lu Jin’s eyes. He failed to see even a sliver of panic. “I will give you one chance!” He laughed coldly. “Whether you live or die depends entirely on your own ability!”

Lu Jin nodded. Long Xiwei, however, was incredibly tense. Looking at Lu Jin’s confident face, she found herself at a loss for words.

“I can refine the antidote for you right now, but first, you must pass my test!”

As the pharmacist finished speaking, the mental power binding Lu Jin surged. It wrapped around him in layers, forming a thick cocoon. That horrific mental energy, though invisible to the naked eye, exerted a massive and deep pressure.

“You!” Long Xiwei’s eyes flared with worry. Several talismans in her hand radiated a golden light under the infusion of spiritual Qi; she was waiting for any opening to strike.

Lu Jin’s voice drifted out calmly. “There is no need to worry, Miss Long; I wish to witness the Huangque Pharmacist’s methods firsthand!”

The Dragon Runes on his body erupted. Strands of Lingli circulated within them, completely blocking the mental power from penetrating his flesh.

Spiritual Qi cannot block mental power, but Lingli can resist it… excellent. Through this contest, Lu Jin gained a new realization.

“Brat, I want to see how long you can last!” The pharmacist had not expected Lu Jin to resist the mental infiltration. After his initial surprise, he smiled. With a wave of his hand, the pill furnace before him burst open. Lingering medicinal properties began to entwine themselves around Lu Jin.

The binding force increased frantically. “I hope you can hold on until I finish refining the antidote.” The pharmacist looked up at Long Xiwei. Lu Jin was trapped, making her an uncertain variable. He eventually gave a small laugh. “If you strike while I am refining, this pill will be ruined. So, I advise you to behave.”

Long Xiwei felt a wave of helplessness. She wanted to save Lu Jin, yet she didn’t want their efforts to go to waste. When she looked at Lu Jin again, she realized he appeared perfectly composed. In fact, she had the strange illusion that he was actually enjoying the mental pressure.

“Yin Yang Polar Grass, enter!”

“Five Elements Heavenwind Flower, enter!”

“Phoenix Leaf…”

Following the pharmacist’s summons, various herbs flew up from the surrounding medicinal fields. Guided by an invisible mental force, they entered the pill furnace. This scene caused Long Xiwei’s expression to shift. She didn’t know the exact level of the pharmacist’s mental power, but he was clearly formidable. Why did he claim earlier that his combat strength had vanished?

Perhaps he had spent so long refining pills that he had forgotten how to use mental power for combat? She remained curious but dared not move rashly. She would wait for the antidote to be finished and then act alongside Lu Jin.

“So, merging these things together produces the antidote?” Suddenly, Lu Jin spoke from within the mental cocoon. He looked at the pharmacist with a trace of surprise in his eyes.

The pharmacist laughed coldly. “It looks simple, but without decades of refining experience, did you think you could just make it? Brat, wait for three hours! I hope you can endure the erosion of my mental power for that long!”

Lu Jin curled his lip. “Three hours? That is too long. I am afraid I cannot wait.”

“You will wait whether you can or not!” The pharmacist slammed the furnace lid shut and sat cross-legged beside it. He appeared to fall into a subtle, meditative state.

Lu Jin frowned and sank his consciousness into the mental pressure wheel space. This pharmacist’s mental power really isn’t much compared to the mental pressure wheel.

As he entered the space again, the massive wheel began to move. Without a word, it ground down toward his mental phantom.

Dragon Runes!

Buzz!

Lingli could resist mental power, while spiritual Qi could not. Lu Jin attempted to infuse a strand of Lingli into his mental phantom. Sure enough, as the wheel ground over him, he still felt immense pain, but he also produced a sliver of resisting force. Though that resistance was meager and was instantly crushed along with his phantom, Lu Jin truly felt himself pushing back!

Again!

While the pharmacist thought he had Lu Jin bound, the young man was deep in cultivation. The pharmacist wanted him to last for three hours, but after only one hour of tempering, the wheel suddenly erupted with golden light. The cultivation method for a mental technique manifested before him!

“This…” Lu Jin was stunned. Beyond his surprise, he was overjoyed. Hahaha! The Heaven Burial Coffin backfeeds martial arts for Lingli, and the mental pressure wheel backfeeds techniques for mental power! This golden finger is unmatched under heaven!

Mental Secret Technique Basics… alchemist, pharmacist, blacksmith… so these are all just basic skills? Even refining Earth-tier pills is merely part of the foundational knowledge?

Lu Jin was quite surprised. The antidote the pharmacist was currently refining was at the level of a high-grade Earth-tier pill. However, according to the Mental Secret Technique Basics, refining a pill of this caliber was a mere basic maneuver!

At the same time, a very strange feeling emerged in Lu Jin’s mind. Strange. Why do I feel like the pharmacist’s methods are so elementary? Could it be that after the tempering of the wheel, I already possess the ability to refine Earth-tier pills?

The feeling was odd, yet it left him feeling extremely certain. If he stepped in, not only could he refine the antidote, but he could drastically shorten that three-hour wait time!

“Hahaha!” Lu Jin suddenly burst into laughter. The sound caused Long Xiwei’s expression to change.

“Young Master Lu, are you alright?” Her eyes were full of worry. This was the mental erosion of the pharmacist: if it were her, she likely wouldn’t have lasted fifteen minutes.

“It is nothing.” Lu Jin smiled faintly. He looked at the pharmacist, who had been startled awake by the laughter. “Old man, your speed is too slow. How about you let me do it!”

Buzz!

The moment Lu Jin spoke, the mental bindings surrounding him vanished instantly.