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The Snake-Fang Herb needed to be ground into powder.
The mountain wormwood, on the other hand, had to be boiled. A full cup of water—8 ounces—was added with it into the cauldron, then boiled down until only 1 ounce remained. That final ounce of extract was what would be used.
After estimating it, Gao De concluded that 1 ounce was roughly equal to 30 milliliters in the world he came from.
The processing of the Green Spider Sac was much simpler.
Puncture it, then collect the venom inside.
For this step, Gao De used Mage Hand.
Although the Green Spider's venom was primarily paralyzing, it still had a slight corrosive quality. If he accidentally got it on his hands, it would be troublesome.
Once all the ingredients had been processed, the final step remained:
fusing the medicinal properties of all the materials together.
This was also the most important step in potion-making.
Gao De took a deep breath and removed a conical potion flask from the rack on the table.
With practiced ease, he poured the boiled mountain wormwood extract into the flask, then added 5 ounces of honey water.
He gently shook the flask, and once the liquids had completely merged, he quickly poured in most of the gray-green powder made from the Snake-Fang Herb.
The moment the powder entered, the liquid inside the bottle began churning violently as though it were boiling, and its color gradually began to change.
Gao De extended his spiritual power once again and stared intently at the potion flask.
Strange ripples reappeared in his vision.
Only this time, the ripples were constantly tangling together, fusing and shifting without end.
He carefully observed their changes and, according to the state of the mixture, added more Snake-Fang Herb powder from time to time, trying his best to guide the final form of the ripples toward the result he wanted.
The amount of Snake-Fang Herb powder could be neither too much nor too little.
It had to be precise.
If he added too much, he would have to immediately pour in a little honey water to neutralize it.
If too little, then he had to replenish it at once.
Explained plainly, the process was basically just:
if there's too much water, add flour; if there's too much flour, add water.
But in practice, it was far from simple.
On one hand, Gao De had to maintain focused spiritual power to observe the changes in the ripples.
On the other, he had to possess absolute understanding of the materials' properties and know exactly how much of each should be added in any given circumstance.
After nearly ruining the potion several times by misjudging the amount of Snake-Fang Herb powder, Gao De finally calmed down from his initial franticness.
By then, the potion was already nearing completion.
When the final drop of Green Spider venom fell into the flask, the violently churning liquid gradually settled.
Just barely, one could see a streak of gray-green magical radiance flash through the liquid.
This was the sign that the Beginner Spider Venom Potion had been successfully brewed.
If one possessed the cantrip Detect Magic, one would be able to see that magical glow again inside the potion.
As Gao De gazed at the faintly green medicinal liquid in the flask, a powerful sense of accomplishment and confidence rose in his chest.
The Beginner Spider Venom Potion was a 0-tier potion. It had a strong paralytic effect but was not lethal. People usually bought it to coat arrows when hunting dangerous beasts.
He eagerly took down three smaller conical potion bottles from the rack beside him and poured the freshly completed potion into them.
One standard formula of Beginner Spider Venom Potion could normally be split into three small bottles for sale.
Selling it that way was more profitable for the potion maker, and easier for customers to accept.
But after Gao De filled all three small bottles, he discovered that there was still about half an ounce of potion left in the large bottle.
According to his memories, however, one standard formula should produce just enough for three small bottles.
Each small bottle held 2 ounces, so how could there still be so much left over…?
"Unless…"
A thought flashed through Gao De's mind.
The next moment, he immediately began searching the small workroom.
In the end, he found a wooden box on the bottom shelf of the storage rack.
Inside were three small bottles of Beginner Spider Venom Potion, six gold coins gleaming with a beautiful luster, and several dozen scattered silver and copper coins.
Gao De's heart began pounding violently.
Without question, this was a huge sum of money.
In this world's monetary system, the most basic currency was the copper coin.
Here, the actual purchasing power of 1 copper coin was already roughly equivalent to a little over 4 yuan in Gao De's previous world.
The second tier of currency was the silver coin.
1 silver coin = 12 copper coins, or about the purchasing power of 50 yuan.
At the top of the system sat the gold coin.
1 gold coin = 20 silver coins, with a real purchasing power of around 1,000 yuan.
Silver and copper coins were not always interchangeable between different nations, due to differences in minting, materials, and the strength of the states themselves. Their actual value could vary greatly depending on the region.
But gold coins were directly tied to gold itself, so they did not have this problem.
They were widely accepted, and their value was relatively stable.
Gao De picked up one of the glittering gold coins.
Its golden sheen was dazzling enough to make him squint a little.
And he could not help but fall in love with it.
The region he currently lived in was the Duchy of Sien.
The gold coin in circulation there was officially called the Sien Gold Coin—simple and straightforward.
On the front was the portrait of the founding Grand Duke of Sien.
On the back was a proud and spirited rooster.
So in private, people also called it the "Cock-a-Doodle" or the "Little Rooster."
"What an adorable little rooster," Gao De sighed as he admired the beautifully minted rooster on the back of the coin.
This absolutely wasn't greed.
He simply liked chickens.
That was the excuse he gave himself in his heart.
After admiring the charming "little rooster" for several dozen seconds, Gao De picked up a silver coin.
The front of the Sien silver coin also bore the portrait of the founding Grand Duke.
But the reverse side featured a three-leaf flower, so it was called the Three-Leaf Flower Silver Coin.
Gao De counted everything carefully.
There were 6 gold coins, 7 silver coins, and 14 round copper coins.
That was equivalent to about 6,400 yuan in his previous world.
At first glance, it didn't seem like all that much.
But one had to remember:
In this world, under ordinary circumstances, the minimum annual living cost for a family of five was only 57 gold coins, and that was assuming they had to pay rent.
If they owned their own home, yearly expenses could be reduced to 45 gold coins or less.
For an apprentice born as a beggar to save up such a fortune under such extreme pressure—
that was absolutely incredible.
After all, the apprentices received no wages whatsoever for working under Mage Seda.
The memories explaining where this money came from had not been left behind for Gao De.
But at this moment, Gao De already understood everything.
The extra half-ounce of potion…
and the three neatly stored small bottles of Beginner Spider Venom Potion in the wooden box…
both told the same truth.
The former owner of this body—
was a genius.
A genius in the field of Potioncraft.
With no systematic instruction, and in less than a year, he had managed to brew a standard Beginner Spider Venom Potion formula and still produce an extra half-ounce of finished product.
That meant that for every four batches of Beginner Spider Venom Potion he made, Gao De could obtain one extra small bottle that effectively belonged to him.
All of this was built upon the predecessor's precise grasp of material properties and his exceptional skill in magicizing ingredients.
That was the proof of his talent.
And Gao De had inherited all of it.