The rejuvenation pill

"The first secret in learning anything is understanding yourself. Know your strengths and weaknesses and then analyze as of how you can use your strengths in studying and convert your weaknesses to strength along the process. Learning is not just a one-way process of reading, remembering, understanding and application. It is a wheel, a cycle where you need to reflect, re-evaluate and re-assess yourself. Did you learn by doing this process? what is the most effective way for you to study and apply a certain method? That is referred to as metacognition. Thinking about thinking" Henry explained.

Madel listened intently. She has the ability to see the properties of each herbs. She often finds a conflict in the book because some process could weaken the properties of the herbs or remove its healing properties. She felt conflicted inside, but if she will not follow the book she did not know what to do to maintain or improve the properties of the herbs. Then she remembered what she often does in the dark forest. She tries to experiment.

"Learning is an individual process. Try to recognize your own, take interest in discovering more about yourself first. The second key in learning is having a motivation to do so. Reflect on the reason as of why you entered this class or why you would like to know a certain topic. Like in pill making, you will be able to make a lot of money by selling high grade pill."

Like a dog, Madel's ears turned sharp with the mention of the word "MONEY". She hasn't paid her full tuition fee yet, using the facilities in school was expensive as well. Henry knows exactly where to pull. Madel was highly vulnerable in the financial aspects.

"Okay Henry, let me look at the herbs first. Rest here, I will call you when I'm done." She said.

After two hours of trial and error, Madel finally learned a technique to preserve the potency of each herbs.

Based on her analysis, each medicine, pill or potion can work in three ways. First by providing a person with raw material which is lacking in the body. Next is by providing the body with microorganisms which is needed to utilize the present raw materials in the body. Third is by providing both.

The pill making process concentrates a high number of raw materials needed for cellular repair. However, the effects of these pills are limited because it does not contain microorganisms to process the concentrated amount of raw materials. Eating spiritual herbs therefore helps the body to utilize the raw materials available in the body as it contains microorganisms, it also contains some amount of raw materials. Spiritual fruits on the other hand provides both.

Pills are made to specifically target a single problem or symptom. But the spiritual herbs and fruits address the entire problem in the body by strengthening the immune system and supplying needed resources for healing.

[I would rather eat spiritual fruits and herbs than waste my time making pills. But if it is for money…. Then it's another story.]

In order to improve the quality of the pill, I have to make sure that both the raw materials and Spirit (collective term for microorganisms from the first to the ninth realm) are present. To make an analogy, pills supplies the body with numbers of swords and weapons without giving soldiers who has the capacity to wield it. Relying on the body's Spirit to use the weapons will take time as it needed training and compatibility. Oversupply of the weapons, may add to the strength of the body's immune defenses but not to full extent. Eating spiritual fruits on the hand gives the body soldiers and weapons at the same time.

She noticed that the herbs needed to make a pill was carrying both good and bad Spirit. Although the body can suppress the spirit thriving in the plants, it will cause some losses in the body's resources. These resources could have been used for other vital functions.

She paused for a moment to think of a way to refine the herbs without decreasing its medicinal properties.

[This is the reason, why the pill making process starts with refinement. The people in this land does not have the capacity to see microorganisms and other realms but they created this process out of instincts or experience. Perhaps the celestial beings shared this knowledge unto them.]

Henry, read a book while waiting. From time to time he would look at Madel who was looking intently into the herbs in front of her. She was staring at it for 2 hours.

Finally she stood up and took a mortar and pestle. She grinded the herbs carefully, mixing one herb to another. Looking at the 9 realms within the herbs allowed her to move with precision. She wanted to grind the herbs but not damage the lower realms where the microorganisms reside. She analyzed the acidity, the elements and minute organisms present in the herbs.

Because she did not have a single strand of spiritual energy, she is not able to perform the complex moves of cultivators during refinement. However, what she did have is the all-seeing eye which allows her to see whether her refinement process is truly achieving its goal.

Henry frowned upon seeing Madel grinding the herbs. It was not a part of the pill making process. Looking at her intently, he noticed that Madel's hands are moving with a certain goal. It took an hour before she finally refined the herbs needed for rejuvenation. The rejuvenation pill that she is creating can promote cellular repair.

Cultivators may or may not know it, but their use of spiritual power enhances the effect of pills. The stronger one's cultivation, the higher the tier of one's pill. It means that part of tissue repair is from the spiritual energy of the herbs and the one who created it.