Transmigration begins with archery training

The Northern Liang army has fourteen battalions with more than 200,000 soldiers. If the entire army were to launch an attack, the number of civilian laborers needed for the subsequent supplies would probably reach around 500,000.

Five hundred thousand troops!

This number of people may not seem like much for the vast and populous northern border, but the consumption of resources is enormous, especially the incalculable consumption of food supplies during expeditions.

This battle.

Even if they win a great victory.

I'm afraid that not only will the desert not recover in twenty years, but the northern border will also need more than ten years to recuperate.

Admittedly, some things cannot be delayed.

But it still gives the impression that everyone is in a hurry.

They hastily expanded their camp and hastily started the war.

Master simply wants to bring peace to the north as soon as possible; otherwise, barbarian cavalry would come to the city every few days to burn, kill, and plunder, and then immediately run away, making it impossible to have any peace.

The imperial court in the capital agreed.

I'm afraid they're hoping to quell the chaos as soon as possible and then regain control of the northern border.

And the most important point.

Ten days in Yunzhou.

What did the barbarians gain, and how much did their overall strength increase?

These are all unknown.

It seems we need to find an opportunity to lead a small group into the desert to test the waters.

"General!"

"All defense handover arrangements have been made."

Xia Cong came to report.

"Ah."

Chen Sanshi patted him on the shoulder: "Don't slack off."

After giving his instructions, he rode away on Chihiro.

As the commander-in-chief, he naturally couldn't personally oversee the situation; his main duty was to patrol and inspect, and he would leave on his own afterward.

The Hongze Battalion had approximately two thousand men responsible for lookout duty.

The main function of the Great Wall was for lookout, so there was no need to keep too many people on it.

[Technique: National Guardian Dragon Spear - Mystic Form (Minor Success)]

【Progress: 988/2000】

Another day of cultivation came to an end. Chen Sanshi let out a long breath of turbid air, then took out the alchemy furnace from his storage bag, set up his stall in the woodshed, and prepared to begin his first formal alchemy session.

"Is the general going to refine elixirs?"

Ningxiang finally understood what had been done with the large sum of spirit stones she had previously collected in the market.

"Thank you both for protecting me."

Chen Sanshi said calmly.

He couldn't find a better place for the time being, so he decided to practice alchemy at home first.

Cultivation skills

However, the top four arts are alchemy, artifact crafting, talisman crafting, and array crafting.

Other spiritual plants, beast taming, puppets, etc., are not as important as the Four Arts.

Of the four arts, alchemy is the foremost.

The alchemy, artifacts, talismans, and arrays are all external enhancements.

Alchemy, on the other hand, involves ingesting pills to genuinely enhance the cultivator's own abilities.

Those who practice alchemy can attain longevity!

Throughout history, countless emperors have sought the path to immortality through alchemy. Among them are many wise rulers who, in their later years, became obsessed with alchemy, causing the affairs of state to fall into disarray.

In fact, there are indeed pills in the cultivation world that can prolong life, and there are also many pills that can help improve cultivation. However, without exception, they are all extremely precious. Even cultivators would fight tooth and nail for them, let alone ordinary people, who would not be able to gather all the necessary materials.

Speaking of materials.

Linghe.

It is a universal material for all arts and crafts in the cultivation of immortality!

Regardless of the type of elixir, the most basic ingredient is spiritual grain.

This includes talismans, the materials used to make talisman paper also include spiritual grains, and even weapon crafting and array formation are no exception, as are other things like beast taming.

For cultivators, spiritual grains are precious.

It's equivalent to the food for ordinary people.

What's most terrifying is that the spirit grain doesn't rely on spiritual energy. Even in mortal soil, it can grow normally under certain conditions, which is why it's cultivated on a large scale in the mortal realm.

only……

For ordinary people, Linghe is a highly poisonous plant. Not only does it occupy arable land, but if planted for too long, it will also deplete the soil's fertility, turning good land into bad land, until it becomes completely barren.

Moreover, alchemy consumes an enormous amount of spiritual grains.

Take the "Bigu Pill" that we are about to use as an example. One Bigu Pill requires the compression of one stone of spiritual grain.

The same applies to Linghe ointment.

Each time a pot is cooked, a lot of medicinal herbs need to be harvested.

Therefore, it is conceivable that the consumption of spiritual grains in the cultivation world is enormous every day.

Set up the alchemy furnace.

Chen Sanshi added water to it first.

Low-level pills can be made with ordinary water, but high-level pills have specific requirements even for the water used.

then.

He took out the golden smoke wood, coated it with fairy lamp oil, and finally lit it with a tinderbox.

Crimson flames shot into the air.

Unlike previous instances, this time the strange fire did not rage violently. Soon after it started burning, the alchemy furnace seemed to sense it, and the azure array patterns on its surface lit up one after another. The bottom was like a vortex, sucking all the strange fire into it, and then it began to hum and begin refining the contents of the furnace.

The price of this alchemy furnace is equivalent to the effort of an ordinary cultivator over several years or even more than ten years.

The golden smoke wood below doesn't turn to ashes in an instant like ordinary firewood, but it is consumed faster than expected.

"This strange fire is truly powerful."

Fortunately, Chen Sanshi had prepared enough in advance, and could also add some ordinary firewood, which would save some trouble.

No time was wasted.

He began adding materials into the alchemy furnace.

The Linghe ointment, ginseng, Ganoderma lucidum, and Ling rice that were prepared in advance...

Ginseng and Ganoderma lucidum are among the true spiritual treasures that grow in the world of cultivation. Their price in spirit stones is not high, but it is still far superior to that of ordinary medicinal herbs.

Each material must be added to the alchemy furnace in a specific proportion and at a specific time, without any deviation.

These were simple matters for Chen Sanshi.

The difficulty lies in the "consecration".

During the refining process.

He needs to place his hands on the alchemy furnace and channel his magical power into it through the array patterns to assist the strange fire in refining the pills. A little more or less is not acceptable, and the strength of the power is also subject to strict requirements.

The preceding steps are clearly written in the prescription.

But this step.

Since everyone's cultivation level, techniques, and even physique are different, it is impossible to quantify them accurately. Therefore, it is entirely up to one's own feeling, which is no different from the word "appropriate amount" in a recipe.

Moreover, it also involves a supernatural power called "divine consciousness".

In the early stages of cultivation, a cultivator's spiritual sense is very weak and cannot play a significant role. However, it is not entirely useless. To accurately control the heat of alchemy, one needs to use spiritual sense to perceive the subtle changes in the elixir within the alchemy furnace.

Chen Sanshi closed his eyes, activated the Five Elements Technique, and patiently sensed the changes inside the alchemy furnace. He didn't know how much time had passed until a certain moment when he felt himself become nothingness, and then he entered the alchemy furnace and was able to witness the changes inside it.