Chapter 227 Talent for Making Incense
Knowing where Xuanhua Zhenren was, Yuan Ming immediately left the town and headed for Yue State.
Yue State was the largest country in the eastern region of Southern Xinjiang. Its territory bordered the Central Plains. More than a hundred years ago, it conquered a small country in the Central Plains and occupied its territory. In fact, it was no longer a pure Southern Xinjiang country.
Ningcheng was a large city in Yue State, located by the sea with beautiful scenery.
A few days later, Yuan Ming stood on the edge of a cliff outside the city, overlooking the sea.
As far as the eye could see, there was endless blue water. The waves raised by the sea breeze rose and fell in rows, splashing layers of white foam, and there was a hint of salty breath in the breath.
Ships with gray and white sails were sailing or anchored on the sea. The sun shone on the sea, reflecting countless golden scales, which spread to the end of the field of vision and connected with the light blue sky. It was hard to tell where the sea was and where the sky was.
Sometimes, groups of seagulls soared freely over the surging waves, lightly touching the crest of the waves and making a few loud and clear cries.
Yuan Ming had lived in the capital of Dajin since he was a child and had never been to the seaside. He had only heard people talk about the magnificent waves of the sea since he was a child, but had never seen it with his own eyes. His previous missions to southern Xinjiang were mainly by land and river. Now that he was at the seaside for the first time, he was really shocked.
"Rough rocks and clouds, waves breaking the shore, and rolling up thousands of piles of snow are indeed shocking scenes." He murmured to himself, somewhat understanding why Wu Lu yearned for the sea so much.
Yuan Ming did not stay at the seaside for long, and soon turned around and went into the city.
Yue State spanned the Central Plains and southern Xinjiang. Whether it was the street layout or the city architecture, it combined the characteristics of the two. Surrounded by lush broad leaves, most of the buildings and pavilions were built with trees or bamboos. The space was staggered and full of green, giving people a refreshing exotic style.
However, Yuan Ming was busy and had no time to appreciate the scenery of Ningcheng. He went straight to a dilapidated temple in the west of the city. On the plaque of the gate were three big characters "Xuanhua Temple".
He walked over and knocked on the closed door.
A moment later, a white and clean little Taoist boy, about eleven or twelve years old, came out. Seeing Yuan Ming's unfamiliar face, his little face showed a bit of nervousness.
"This senior is polite. I wonder what important matter you come to my Xuanhua Temple for?" Although the little Taoist boy was nervous, he did not lose his courtesy. He bowed to Yuan Ming and asked crisply.
"I am Yuan Ming, and I am an old friend of Xuanhua Zhenren. I am passing through Ningcheng and come to visit. Please let me know." During the time when Yuan Ming was possessed by Xuanhua Zhenren, he had seen this little Taoist boy several times and knew that he was Xuanhua Zhenren's apprentice. He took out the bronze token and said.
"My master is practicing in the temple, please wait a moment." Hearing Yuan Ming's name and origin, and seeing the token, the little Taoist boy seemed relieved, turned around and ran into the temple.
Yuan Ming raised his eyebrows. Looking at the little Taoist boy's expression, Xuanhua Temple seemed to be not peaceful?
A moment later, a hearty laugh came from the temple.
"Haha, it turns out that Fellow Daoist Yuan is here. What a rare guest, what a rare guest." Xuanhua Zhenren came out laughing in a pair of clogs.
"Fellow Daoist Xuanhua, I hope I didn't disturb your quiet practice by coming to your door rashly." Yuan Ming bowed and said.
"How can I disturb you? Please come in." Xuanhua Zhenren smiled and led Yuan Ming into the temple.
While the two chatted, the little Taoist boy had already set up a table of wine in a living room with his hands and feet, and began to prepare the dishes.
"Fellow Daoist Xuanhua has set up a banquet, and Yuan will take a jar of fine wine." Yuan Ming smiled and took out a bright red wine jar.
This was the fine wine he bought from a market on his way to Ningcheng. It was a spirit wine brewed from a hundred-year-old spirit fruit, and he spent more than twenty spirit stones.
"Hundred Fragrance Wine? Daoist Yuan has good wine!" Xuanhua Zhenren was stunned and smiled.
The two talked about trivial matters after a long time apart, and only talked about the main topic after they had enough wine and food.
"Daoist Yuan has come from the Northern Territory to Ningcheng. I guess you didn't just come to see me, right?" Xuanhua Zhenren asked.
"Daoist Xuanhua is a quick talker, so Yuan Ming will get straight to the point. The spirit incense that Daoist sold to me last time was very easy for Yuan Ming to use, and I spent some time to learn the art of making incense. I came to Ningcheng today to visit Daoist Yuan, firstly to discuss the method of making spirit incense with Daoist Yuan, and secondly to buy some more spirit incense from Daoist Xuanhua." Yuan Ming said with a smile.
"Fellow Daoist Yuan is also interested in the art of incense? Compared with alchemy and talisman making, this art of incense is a minor art and is not very popular." Xuanhua Zhenren looked at Yuan Ming and said with some surprise.
"I don't think so. Lingxiang has many wonderful uses. Let's not talk about other things. Although the Qingxuanxiang is not as effective as elixirs in accelerating cultivation, it is better in a long-term way and can complement each other. Moreover, the production of spiritual incense is much simpler than alchemy, refining, and magic array. I only regret that I didn't get in touch with the art of incense earlier." Yuan Ming said so.
Xuanhua Taoist looked at Yuan Ming with a brighter and brighter look, but soon dimmed again: "Fellow Daoist Yuan can see the uniqueness of spiritual incense, and his vision is sharp. It's a pity that the current cultivation world is eager for quick success and instant benefits, and is flocking to elixirs and magic tools. Who cares about spiritual incense? Even in the market shops, spiritual incense is sold in corners."
As he said, he took a sip of wine, shook his head and smiled bitterly.
"Because of this, we perfume makers should work harder to refine the best spiritual incense and change the world's misunderstanding of spiritual incense." Yuan Ming added wine to Taoist Xuanhua's glass and encouraged him.
"Haha, what fellow Taoist Yuan said is that the poor Taoist has become decadent." Master Xuanhua adjusted his breathing, smiled, and then asked: "Since Fellow Taoist Yuan is interested in discussing it, the poor Taoist is naturally disrespectful. I don't know how far you have reached now. ? Is there any scent of the finished product that I can take a look at?"
Yuan Ming knew that what he had just said had moved Master Xuanhua, and he was secretly happy. He took out a stick of Purple Xuanxiang and handed it over.
"Zixuanxiang!" Master Xuanhua narrowed his eyes, took the Zixuanxiang and examined it carefully, his expression gradually became solemn.
He immediately took out an incense burner, inserted the incense into it, lit it, and closed his eyes to do his exercises.
After a while, Master Xuanhua opened his eyes and looked at Yuan Ming with a strange look.
"Is there something wrong with this fragrance?" Yuan Ming asked when he saw this.
"No, this Zi Xuan incense is extremely well made. Except for one or two slight flaws in the processing of details, it is perfect." Master Xuan Hua said.
"Fellow Taoist Xuanhua, thank you very much." Yuan Ming said with a smile.
"It's just that I don't understand something. I am the only one who has the formula of Zi Xuanxiang in the entire Yue Kingdom and even in southern Xinjiang. Where did fellow Taoist Yuan get it from?" Master Xuanhua stared at Yuan Ming, as if he wanted to see it through his eyes. Something comes out.
"Yuan does not have the formula for Zi Xuan Xiang, but he has explored the refining of Qing Xuan Xiang before and accumulated some experience. A few days ago, he accidentally bought a few sticks of Zi Xuan Xiang at a market he passed by. I tried to imitate it after identifying it," Yuan Ming said frankly as he looked into each other's eyes.
"What!" Master Xuanhua opened his eyes wide and looked at Yuan Ming with disbelief.
There is a proverb among alchemists: Shenxian is difficult to identify the pills and pills, which means that it is almost impossible to deduce the formula from just one elixir. Although the spiritual fragrance is simpler than the elixir, it can be inferred based on the spiritual fragrance of the finished product. It is also extremely difficult to come up with the formula, which requires extremely rich experience, talent and skills.
Master Xuanhua asked himself that he could not do this, but Yuan Ming in front of him could actually do it?
"Although I don't know how Fellow Daoist Yuan did it, I admire you from the bottom of my heart. Now I have a gracious request. I wonder if Fellow Daoist Yuan can make a purple incense stick on the spot. I would like to have a clearer understanding of your current incense making process. Level." He paused and said.
"Of course, I'm about to ask fellow Taoist Xuanhua for advice." Yuan Ming agreed.
Master Xuanhua took Yuan Ming to the temple, and soon came to a secret room. There was also a set of incense-making equipment here, which was simpler than the set of Master Xuanhua, but much better than what Yuan Ming had in his hands.
Yuan Ming was not polite, took the set of utensils, took out the materials for Zi Xuan Incense, and started making incense.
In the past month or so, he had possessed Master Xuanhua many times and understood the process of making Zi Xuan Incense. He had also practiced it many times and was thoroughly familiar with the process of making this incense.
Of course, in order to avoid arousing the other party's suspicion, I also made some minor adjustments to the incense making process, which took a little longer than it originally took. Even so, it didn't take long to make a finished product.
Master Xuanhua took the newly made incense, carefully inspected it and sighed. His whole body seemed to have been greatly affected, and he had aged several years.
If the process of this Zixuanxiang was ignored, the finished product would be perfect. He asked himself, even if he did it himself, he would only streamline the process, and the quality of the finished product would be no more than this.
Yuan Ming felt a little apologetic, but did not say anything to comfort him.
"Fellow Daoist Yuan's talent in making incense is really unparalleled, and I'm far behind me. Do you really study the incense method on your own, and no one has given you any guidance?" Master Xuanhua recovered quickly and asked.
"A few months ago, I visited temples in various cities and towns in order to make incense, and I got some introductory knowledge on incense from a senior. After that, I just thought about it on my own without any system, so I came here today to visit fellow Taoist Xuanhua." Yuan Ming said half-seriously.
"Fellow Daoist Yuan was able to easily imitate Zi Xuan Xiang with just some basic knowledge. It seems that the senior is a reclusive grand master of Xiang Tao. I wonder if I am lucky enough to know his name?" Master Xuanhua asked.
"That senior didn't reveal his name to me, and he strictly prohibited me from telling anyone about him. Please forgive me, fellow Taoist Xuanhua." Yuan Ming cupped his hands and said.
"I didn't tell my name, which means I didn't become a disciple. That's great, that's great..." Master Xuanhua muttered in a low voice.
"What did fellow Taoist Xuanhua say?" Yuan Ming asked.
"It's nothing. Fellow Taoist's method of making incense is already very good. I have almost nothing to offer you. It's just that I see that you just processed some materials and you don't seem to know much about the incense." Master Xuanhua said with a straight look.
"This is indeed my shortcoming, and I would like to ask Fellow Taoist Xuanhua to give me some advice." Yuan Ming sat up straight, cupped his fists and saluted.