After seeing Dongfang Bo off, Jiang Yun curiously picked up the Storage Ring. As Spiritual Qi surged into it, a hazy space, about one meter in diameter, truly appeared before his eyes, with two books placed inside.
"The Storage Ring, a spatial Magical Artifact, is an almost essential item for all Cultivators. Magical Artifacts also have different grades; the higher the grade, the higher the quality. This ring, for instance, doesn't even count as a first-grade, which is why its space isn't large."
While recalling the knowledge about Magical Artifacts that Dongfang Bo had told him, Jiang Yun took out the two books from the ring. Just as he was about to open them, a "rumble" sound suddenly came from his stomach.
This made him smile wryly. Although becoming a Cultivator and having Spiritual Qi could slow down the feeling of hunger, he hadn't eaten for two days and two nights. Coupled with continuously opening three Meridians and expelling so many Impurities from his body, his stomach finally protested.
Helpless, Jiang Yun could only temporarily set the books aside and instead took out a jade bottle, pouring out a Bigu Pill.
Jiang Yun was not unfamiliar with Medicinal Pills; in fact, under his grandfather's guidance over sixteen years, he had refined countless Medicinal Pills.
However, he had never refined this kind of Bigu Pill that could serve as food. After all, there was no shortage of food in Mang Mountain; various plants and animals could be eaten. Therefore, most of the Medicinal Pills he refined were for treating injuries and detoxifying.
Years of Alchemy experience also gave Jiang Yun a great interest in various Medicinal Pills. As for the Dao Body Pill and Qi Induction Pill he had previously consumed, due to the circumstances and emotions at the time, he hadn't had time to pay attention. So now, holding this Bigu Pill, he didn't immediately consume it but carefully examined it.
He wanted to see what differences there were between the Medicinal Pills consumed by Cultivators and the Medicinal Pills he refined in Mang Mountain.
The Bigu Pill was only the size of a cherry, light yellow in color, with a slightly granular surface. When held to the nose, a faint fragrance could be smelled.
Jiang Yun sniffed, muttering to himself, "It's made primarily from rice, with the addition of ten-day fruit and green willow juice. I don't know how the Alchemist refined it, but the heat control and technique are poor; otherwise, the surface of the Medicinal Pill wouldn't be so rough, and naturally, the pill's efficacy wouldn't be very good!"
Although Jiang Yun spoke casually, if his words were heard by other Cultivators, especially Alchemists, they would absolutely be incredibly shocked.
One must know that besides requiring Materials, Alchemy most importantly requires a Pill Formula, which is the specific material ratio and methods needed to refine a certain Medicinal Pill.
Pill Formulas are absolutely treasured by Alchemists, as each Pill Formula is derived after countless failures and is not easily revealed to others.
However, Jiang Yun, merely by the scent of the Bigu Pill, was able to determine the Materials contained within it. Although he didn't deduce the specific Pill Formula, it was still extremely rare.
Jiang Yun even had the confidence that if he had enough Materials and a few chances to experiment, he should be able to refine Bigu Pills, and their efficacy would certainly be much better than the one in his hand!
However, Jiang Yun naturally couldn't go and refine Bigu Pills now, so after some study, he put the Bigu Pill into his mouth.
However, a sudden change occurred!
He saw a faint light suddenly illuminate from the triangular black stone hanging on his chest. Immediately after, with a "snap," the Bigu Pill he was about to put into his mouth directly exploded.
This familiar scene naturally reminded Jiang Yun of the previously exploding Dao Asking Mirror, and at this moment, he finally confirmed that he hadn't been mistaken then.
In fact, this time, he saw even more clearly that when the Bigu Pill exploded, a tiny speck of light, the size of a sesame seed, was suddenly absorbed into the black stone.
As the speck of light disappeared, the black stone instantly returned to calm, as if nothing had happened, except for some remnants of the Bigu Pill's powder between Jiang Yun's fingers.
"What's going on?" Jiang Yun stood there, bewildered. The only thing he could confirm was that the black stone had absorbed something from the Bigu Pill.
The black stone was the only item Jiang Yun took with him when he left Jiang Village, and it was also the "treasure" that Jiang Yuerou had given him before he left, repeatedly urging him to keep it safe.
To be honest, Jiang Yun had never considered it a treasure, thinking it was just Jiang Yuerou's childish talk. But since it was a gift from Jiang Yuerou, and also a connection between him and Jiang Village, he carefully hung it around his neck. Whenever he saw the stone, it made him feel as if he was still in Jiang Village.
But now it seemed this stone might truly be a treasure!
"Senior Brother said that there are indeed many rare and precious treasures between heaven and earth. Some are refined by humans, and some are naturally formed. I just don't know what kind of treasure this stone is, or what its function is?"
Jiang Yun's first thought was naturally to ask Dongfang Bo, but he ultimately decided to study it himself first.
After all, if it truly was a treasure, then as Dongfang Bo said, the fewer people who knew, the better.
After pondering for a long time, Jiang Yun once again poured out a Bigu Pill from the bottle and, just like before, slowly placed it in front of him. But this time, the black stone showed no reaction at all.
"No reaction? Is there something I'm doing wrong?"
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Yun simply repeated all the actions he had taken when he first took out the Bigu Pill, even down to the precise timing, but the stone still showed no reaction.
"Are the two Bigu Pills different?" Jiang Yun pondered, shaking his head, and carefully looked at the Bigu Pill in his hand, saying, "It shouldn't be; their compositions are exactly the same."
Next, Jiang Yun simply poured out all the remaining Medicinal Pills in the bottle and began experimenting one after another, but the black stone still showed no movement at all, completely like a dead object.
"What on earth is going on? Why did only that Bigu Pill just now, and the previous Dao Asking Mirror, explode when they got close to this stone?"
"Dao, Asking, Mirror!"
Repeating these three words, a sudden flash of inspiration struck Jiang Yun's mind. He suddenly remembered that Xiao Yishu had said that the Dao Asking Mirror contained Dao Intent, which could determine whether one could condense a Dao Spirit in the future.
"Dao Intent!" Jiang Yun's eyes lit up. "When the Bigu Pill and the Dao Asking Mirror exploded, the stone absorbed something from within them. Could it be Dao Intent?"
"But what is Dao Intent?"
Looking at the genuine chapter, it's on F.
The next moment, Jiang Yun abruptly stood up, put away all his belongings, and after consuming another Bigu Pill, immediately left his small courtyard and walked towards Dongfang Bo's residence.
"Dao Intent?"
Hearing Jiang Yun's question, Dongfang Bo's eyes couldn't help but light up again, and he excitedly rubbed his hands, saying, "Jiang Laodi, if everyone could be as eager to learn as you, and as good at discovering problems, that would be wonderful! Come, come, sit down, I'll explain in detail what Dao Intent is!"
Although Jiang Yun's scalp tingled a bit, in order to understand what Dao Intent was, he could only obediently sit down.
"Dao Intent, simply put, is the intent of Dao. It is actually an ethereal existence, invisible and intangible."
"But if we go into detail, Dao Intent is quite mysterious and complex! There are myriad Daos in the Great Dao, and all things contain Dao, so this Dao Intent naturally encompasses everything. For example, the Sword Dao has the intent of the Sword Dao, and the Artifact Dao has the intent of the Artifact Dao."
"Dao Intent is generally hidden randomly within all things, but relatively speaking, items related to cultivation have a higher probability of containing Dao Intent. Like the Dao Asking Mirror you used earlier to test your Dao Spirit, it contains a certain Dao Intent, which can then sense your potential to condense a Dao Spirit in the future."