Li Xiang thought it over. He wasn't short on meat at the moment, so he decided to make Medicinal Wine.
The Medicinal Power from an Exotic Beast with this much potential would surely be even better.
Red-Chain Snake Medicinal Wine was known to dispel wind and cold, warm the meridians, and alleviate pain. The key component was likely the Snake Bone, though of course, the snake meat and Snake Gallbladder also held some medicinal value.
Li Xiang carried the three-to-four-pound Red-Chain Snake to the creek's edge. He gutted it, drained its blood, and removed the excess organs, making sure to keep the Snake Gallbladder. After cleaning off the scales and washing it in the clear creek water, he propped the body open with a small bamboo stick and hung it under the eaves to dry.
Once it was air-dried, he would buy some high-proof liquor to steep it in.
Some people used live snakes for their wine, steeping them for years, only to find the snake hadn't died and would bite them when they unsealed the jar. Li Xiang would never do something so foolish.
'Toss a live snake into alcohol... is that really Medicinal Wine? It's more like corpse water.'
Li Xiang had initially thought about filming himself preparing the Red-Chain Snake and editing it into a short video. It might have even brought in a wave of online traffic. But on second thought, the creature was very likely a nationally protected species. It was best not to ask for trouble.
While making dinner, Li Xiang took out one stalk of the Tier One Exotic Grass Purple Gold Giant Matsutake, sliced it thinly, and mixed it in with the small mushrooms, big-foot mushrooms, and Black Truffles he'd gathered. He still hadn't finished the half-basket of fungi he'd picked earlier; there was enough for several more meals.
It had to be said, after adding the Purple Gold Giant Matsutake, the chicken soup smelled even more fragrant.
The system had registered the kill as an Exotic Beast. In reality, because the system had arrived ahead of the global change, these creatures hadn't actually mutated yet. The reward sent to his system inventory, however, was a genuine Exotic Grass.
Because he didn't know how potent its effects were, Li Xiang only added a single stalk. He was afraid that if he used too much, his grandmother's frail body wouldn't be able to handle the tonic, and it might do more harm than good.
As night fell, after helping his grandmother to bed, Li Xiang went to the front yard. He began to move, practicing his Body Techniques supplemented by the unique Breathing Technique. This time, he immediately felt a difference. Waves of heat churned within his body and, under the guidance of the Breathing Technique, slowly transformed into warm currents.
'I've found it—the feeling of the Extraordinary Realm from my past life.'
In his past life, even after Extraordinary Particles had emerged on Earth, it had still taken him a long time—a full year and a half—to step into the Extraordinary Realm.
But in this life, he had just started the Breathing Technique, and in less than two minutes, Extraordinary Energy had already formed inside his body.
This was, without a doubt, a delightful development.
When he got up the next morning, Li Xiang brought his grandmother breakfast and noticed that her complexion was rosy and her spirits were much better than before. It seemed the Medicinal Power of the Purple Gold Matsutake was taking effect.
"Grandma, I'm thinking of clearing out the weeds in the backyard today," Li Xiang said.
His grandmother was elderly and spent most of her time in the front yard, where the ground was level and there was a large vegetable garden. The backyard, however, was close to the mountain behind the house. It was rocky and overgrown with weeds and trees. Having been neglected, it had become like a small Primeval Forest. The Red-Chain Snake's intrusion the day before was a direct result of the overgrown weeds back there.
Li Xiang decided to renovate and expand the backyard. Later, he would build a wall around it to make things much safer. Besides, the backyard backed up against the mountain, making it more serene and perfect for landscaping.
He picked a spot with a good camera angle and set up his phone on a tripod. He planned to record the entire backyard renovation process.
Then he took out a Sharpening Stone and began to sharpen his tools on camera.
About ten minutes later, a hatchet and a sickle were both sharpened to a glint, their edges flashing with a cold light.
Li Xiang grabbed his tools and a stick and briskly got to work.
First, he beat the undergrowth with the stick to scare away any hidden snakes, bugs, and other critters. Then, he used the sickle to harvest the weeds. Once the weeds were cleared, he began chopping down the trees with the hatchet, piling the wood to one side to dry out for firewood.
Whenever he found large or nice-looking stones, he set them aside. They would be useful later.
The two Dahuangs also joined in, running all over the place and acting even busier than Li Xiang.
The pregnant old cat, meanwhile, was perched lazily on the roof. A persimmon tree in the backyard stood heavy with fruit, and sunlight filtered through its branches, casting a dappled pattern of light and shadow on the ground. The old cat lay right in it, basking in the gentle breeze.
When Li Xiang grew tired, he climbed the tree, picked a slightly reddish persimmon within his reach, and took a bite. It was still too hard and astringent; it wasn't ripe yet.
Persimmon trees have very long lifespans and can live for over 300 years. The tree in Li Xiang's yard had been several meters tall for as long as he could remember; he figured it was probably over thirty years old. Its leaves were large and cast a dense shade. Every year, in late autumn and early winter, the frost would turn its leaves a brilliant red. By the time winter truly set in, the leaves would fall, but the persimmons, now a deep crimson, would cling to the branches, studding the entire tree with scarlet fruit.
If it were to snow on top of that, the sight would be absolutely breathtaking.
Li Xiang planned to cut down the other trees as he cleared and renovated the backyard, but he would absolutely not touch this persimmon tree.
Once the persimmons ripened in winter, he would pick them and dry them to make persimmon cakes. A sweet, white frost—a sugar alcohol secreted by the fruit itself—would crystallize on the surface. The more of this frost there was, the higher the quality of the cake.
When Li Xiang had worked in the big city, he never dared to buy persimmon cakes. Unscrupulous vendors, eager to rush their product to market, wouldn't wait for the natural frost to crystallize. To improve their appearance, they would sprinkle the cakes with talcum powder, creating the false impression of high quality.
Eating too many persimmons can cause bezoars to form in the stomach as it is; adding talcum powder to the mix would only make it that much worse.
For the sake of profit, some people even claimed that talcum powder wasn't harmful—that it actually had medicinal value and was beneficial in moderation. That was complete and utter nonsense.
Talcum powder on persimmon cakes, sulfur on daylily buds... food safety was a serious concern. This was another one of the reasons Li Xiang wanted to return to his hometown and start farming.
At home, at least he could eat healthy food.
Since Li Xiang was busy, his grandmother made lunch, so he didn't put any Purple Gold Matsutake in the dishes. By dinnertime, however, Li Xiang was back in the kitchen. He stir-fried a plate of shredded pork with mushrooms, mixing slices of Purple Gold Matsutake in with the small mushrooms, big-foot mushrooms, and Black Truffles. His grandmother just assumed they were all ordinary mushrooms.
Although the Purple Gold Matsutake was only a Tier One Exotic Grass, its Medicinal Power was already extremely potent. Li Xiang didn't dare let his grandmother eat too much. 'Besides,' he thought, 'with the system, there'll be plenty more chances to eat good things like this in the future.'
For someone of his grandmother's advanced age and frail constitution, small but frequent doses were the best approach.
After dinner, Li Xiang also tried teaching his grandmother a few Breathing Techniques, which could help with the Refinement of the Medicinal Power in her body.
But after trying for a bit, his grandmother found it too difficult. With a smile and a wave of her hand, she said she was too old to learn. Li Xiang, of course, didn't press the issue.
'Many of these things depend on natural talent and aptitude,' he thought. 'At her age, over seventy, it would be difficult to even begin this kind of training, let alone see any results. And if she made a mistake, it could have terrible consequences.'
That night, under the moonlight, Li Xiang once again began to cultivate using his Breathing Technique.
The country air at night was exceptionally fresh. He breathed at a specific, profound frequency, his abdomen, lungs, and muscles moving in a unique rhythm. In coordination with his Body Techniques practice, after about half an hour, a clear radiance suddenly bloomed from the surface of his skin.