Chapter Nineteen: Success at Last

Once all the materials were prepared, Zhou Xuan began the process of refining the Mind Domain Development Elixir. In his previous life, Zhou Xuan had only read about the discovery in news reports. Although the process was described in detail, the ingredients were so rare that almost no one could replicate the experiment. For Zhou Xuan, this attempt was like being pushed onto the stage unprepared—he had no prior experience.

Such a vital undertaking could not possibly be conducted in his rented city apartment. After getting everything ready, he called his parents, who were busy at their clothing shop, telling them he would return to the countryside to spend some time with his grandparents and younger sister. Then, he rode his motorcycle back to his rural hometown.

Over the next two days, Zhou Xuan set his mind to conducting experiments at home, determined to produce the elixir. Gazing at the herbs he had picked from Black Bamboo Ravine and the minerals he had collected, Zhou Xuan was filled with excitement. He could only hope that, before exhausting his materials, he would succeed at least once.

Following the steps as he remembered them, Zhou Xuan processed the various ingredients one by one. He combined them in the proper order, using various methods, and waited for the strange chemical reactions to occur.

A whole day slipped by. Glancing at the sky, Zhou Xuan saw it was nearly six in the evening.

“Night is falling so quickly,” Zhou Xuan mused. Immersed in his work, he had hardly noticed the time passing. Looking at the heap of waste liquid before him, he sighed. He had tried twice, and both times ended in failure.

He decided not to continue for now—haste makes waste, after all. With enough materials for only three more attempts, he needed to think carefully, lest the remaining tries end in failure as well. Acquiring these ingredients again might take years; opportunities like this were hard to come by.

Stepping outside, Zhou Xuan watched the sky darken, seeing his grandparents still busy tidying up. He hurried over to help them, and afterward accompanied his grandmother to the kitchen, lending a hand as she stoked the fire and prepared dinner.

Just then, his adorable younger sister burst in, covered in dirt from head to toe. Zhou Xuan ruffled her messy hair and laughed, “Where have you been playing this time? Why are you only getting home now?”

“Big Brother, you never play with me!” she pouted in protest.

In the past, when he had free time back home, Zhou Xuan often played with his little sister. Especially in summer, on rainy days, he’d go fishing in the fields with friends, catching loaches and other creatures—there was always plenty of fun to be had.

He gently coaxed and promised her he’d bring lots of treats next time, finally appeasing the little girl.

After dinner, Zhou Xuan sat with his family watching television, though his mind remained preoccupied with the elixir. What exactly was he missing? What was causing his attempts to fail?

Zhou Xuan mulled over the problem, recalling every detail from the reports he had read and everything else he could remember. By ten o’clock, he still had no clue and decided to sleep on it—perhaps tomorrow would bring inspiration.

Early the next morning, Zhou Xuan got up to exercise, practicing his boxing for half an hour. Since mastering the basics, his “Minor Cycle Breathing Technique” had become increasingly effective. Based on past experience, it took him less than half a year to reach the fourth level—a miraculous achievement.

If not for being reborn with prior knowledge, Zhou Xuan might have considered himself a martial arts prodigy. Although his parents were not yet forty, they were growing older. With the wear of age and hard work, their health would inevitably decline—a prospect Zhou Xuan could not bear. By the Spring Festival, he planned to simplify the breathing technique to teach his grandparents, hoping it would help them stay healthy.

After breakfast, having coaxed his sister outside, Zhou Xuan began another attempt at refining the elixir. He mentally rehearsed each step before starting. The process was tedious yet required absolute focus—a tiny error could render all efforts worthless. Zhou Xuan poured every ounce of concentration into his work.

Five minutes passed… then half an hour… an hour… two hours…

At last, Zhou Xuan let out a quiet breath—this attempt was nearly complete. The final liquid was forming. He waited, eyes fixed unblinking on the glass test tube.

Inside, two-thirds of the tube filled with a pale red liquid. The fluid churned and slowly deepened in color, shifting from pale red to deep crimson, and finally to a mesmerizing violet-red.

Nine minutes later, the transformation ceased and the liquid settled. Zhou Xuan knew this was the final stage: in less than a minute, if successful, the liquid would undergo a dramatic change and yield something profoundly beneficial to life.

This elixir could unlock the mind domain, making people smarter—it was arguably the greatest discovery of the twenty-first century.

But after a minute, the violet-red liquid remained unchanged.

Zhou Xuan sighed. “Damn, failed again!”

With only two sets of materials left, his confidence waned. What was missing? Staring at the latest failed attempt, Zhou Xuan pondered deeply.

For the next hour, his memories replayed like a camera, recalling every detail from his previous life regarding the Mind Domain Elixir. Scene after scene flickered through his mind.

Then, like a bolt of lightning, he remembered a line he had read: a researcher had accidentally poured boiling water into the violet-red liquid.

“That’s it!” Zhou Xuan exclaimed in excitement. He finally knew what he had overlooked.

At the very instant when the liquid turned fully violet-red, boiling water at exactly one hundred degrees Celsius needed to be added, then left to stand for one minute.

Regretfully, he poured away the failed batch—so close, only a single step away from success.

With just two more chances, Zhou Xuan handled everything with extreme care, determined not to make another mistake. Two painstaking hours later, as the liquid turned completely violet-red, he carefully poured in a spoonful of freshly boiled water he had kept simmering.

Sure enough, within a minute, the violet-red liquid underwent a violent transformation. It spun, bubbled, and changed color, then finally settled. At the bottom of the glass tube, a single transparent pearl slowly formed—so clear and lustrous it sparkled brilliantly.

It was done. This pearl-like object was the Mind Domain Development Elixir.

Once ingested, it would merge into a person’s body, gradually unlocking the mind domain, with effects lasting up to a year.

As Zhou Xuan remembered, the earliest versions of the elixir could expand only five percent or so of the mind domain, with the development effect lasting anywhere from half a year to a full year.