Chapter 100: Fasting pill

With a gentle nudge, he sparked the fire, heating the cauldron. His hands made a seal and controlled the heat within it. Then he threw the grain grass inside.

Sizzle.

The thin green stalks curled up under the heat.

Moon closed his eyes, using his soul power to trace the internal veins of the herb. He could feel the impurities and the essence.

This herb was mostly pure.

He guessed it was because his mother had used her superior plantation skills.

His mother was a great mage who was a renowned plant master in his world.

Moon trapped the impurities and extracted only the pure starch essence.

He guided a small stream of his wood-attribute Qi into the cauldron, wrapping it around the burning grass like a soft blanket.

The fire amber heat tamed down under the green wood energy, turning the crackling sound into a slow, quiet hum.

Within a few moments, the grain grass dissolved into a fine, milk-white powder that floated neatly at the corner of the chamber.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a weight dropped right onto his lap, throwing his hand seals off balance. His Qi became unsteady for a split second.

Poof.

A tiny puff of black smoke leaked out from the cauldron.

And thus, the first attempt failed.

Moon snapped his eyes open, glaring at Leo, who was pretending to know nothing and sprawled on his lap.

His red fur bristled with unhinged energy. He was looking up at Moon with wide, innocent amber eyes, his small tail wagging back and forth against Moon’s stomach as if he had done something praiseworthy.

On the grass below the boulder, Rio let out a soft, sharp huff.

The white pup was sitting upright, his icy-blue eyes staring at Leo with disdain, clearly showing he wanted no part in his brother’s foolishness.

Moon’s forehead throbbed.

He pinched Leo’s fur and held him up, slapping his butt a few times. Leo let out a sharp whine as he bared his teeth to bite.

"You despicable thing, don’t disturb my work. Sit down, or I will beat you and burn you inside this pot," Moon muttered grumpily.

The herb was already rare and precious.

It was all ruined.

He threw the red fur ball by the scruff of his neck onto the grass beside Rio. "I am practicing. One more jump and I will lock you inside the Lupine Palace."

Leo whined, shaking his ears, and immediately turned around to snap at Rio’s tail.

Rio dodged smoothly with a quick leap, his small teeth bared as the two pups instantly forgot about Moon and began rolling in the grass again, tearing at each other like two manic balls of fluff.

Moon sighed, rubbing his temple.

But suddenly he froze.

Leo, in anger, was roaring at Rio. But not like other times. His breath held a fire that burned a patch of white fur from Rio.

Rio, equally agitated, threw ice spikes; though tiny, they accurately hurt Leo’s joints, who plopped down on the grass.

Moon hurriedly came forward to detach them again.

He was happy that their innate energy was awakening, but he was afraid they would kill each other before even having consciousness.

At this moment, Lupine flew out again.

"Ugo is back. Let them stay with him."

"Really? Let him in." Moon’s smile broadened. He suddenly felt lighter.

And perhaps a little eager.

Within a few seconds, Ugo’s body materialized on the shore.

As he came closer, Moon felt a faint change in Ugo. Ugo came close and hugged Moon softly. "Did you eat? You have been here all day."

"No." Moon shook his head.

Ugo took out a packet. "I went to the market. This roasted meat is quite fine, with honey. Eat first."

Moon took it and looked at Ugo. "Where did you go?"

"Later. We will talk later." Ugo evaded.

Moon didn’t press further. He left the two troublemakers to Ugo and also left the iridescent golden lotus powder.

"This powder, mix it with your Amomilla Moon Crest Flower, begonia dew, and spirit grass. You still have some, right?"

Ugo felt conflicted. "That’s for you..."

Moon cut him off, "I am not a woman and don’t need it to give birth. We need to transform them, Ugo."

"But... we can just use other herbs? We can look for them," Ugo said.

This Amomilla Moon Crest is something sacred for their mate; he was reluctant to use it on anyone else.

Even if they are his brothers. He was sure his brothers also felt the same.

"Ugo."

Moon called seriously, "The iridescent golden lotus is too potent, and I figured only Amomilla Moon Crest has the affinity to mix well with it. We don’t have any other high-grade ingredients. We don’t have time. If fate allows, we will have many more Amomilla."

He paused and sighed.

Looking at Ugo’s reluctant face, he could understand his feelings.

They consider this herb to be something great—a gift for their mate, and definitely bad to use on some wolves.

"Trust me, to pursue greatness you have to sacrifice your earthly desires," he uttered.

"I don’t want to sacrifice my desire," Ugo said plainly.

Moon huffed and took a deep breath. These werewolves are really very hard to teach immortality.

They are brainless fools for their mates.

But somehow, Moon felt touched.

So he leaned down and kissed Ugo’s lips.

As they shared a deep kiss, Ugo finally agreed to take out a little bit of the Moon Crest.

Moon left the task to Ugo and went to refine his fasting pill again.

This time there was no disturbance. He ate the meat with great relief and then prepared to start refining.

He checked the inside of the cauldron.

Thankfully, only a small portion of the grain grass had burned to ash. The main starch powder was still pure.

He meditated for half an hour to reach his peak mind.

He absorbed a lot of spirit stones, raising his Qi level to the brim. Then he drew a deep breath to settle the chaotic thoughts.

He picked up the sweet roots.

These were tough and full of thick, sticky sap. He tossed the roots into the cauldron.

His fingers moved in a rapid, fluid pattern, executing the foundational hand seals he had memorized recently.

The fire amber spark inside exploded into a vibrant flame, the temperature rising within a millisecond.

The roots melted under the intense heat. Moon’s divine sense swept through the cauldron, feeling the sticky sap boiling and turning into clear white vapor.

He kept the heat high for five breaths, then pulled his Qi back, letting the wood core take over to cool the chamber down.

The white vapor condensed into three small, clear droplets of sweet root essence, floating gracefully right above the milk-white powder.

"Now for the sun-withered date seed," Moon whispered to himself.

This was the binding element for the fasting pill. He dropped the dark seed right into the center of the flame.

Instead of spreading the heat, Moon focused his soul power into a thin, needle-like thread, directing the fire amber spark to pierce into the seed’s eye.

Crack.

A clean, sharp sound echoed inside. The hard shell split perfectly down the middle, revealing a tiny, golden drop of dense oil inside.

The oil smelled faintly of honey and earth.

"Merge!"

Moon muttered softly, his hands changing into a circular formation seal.