Immortal after a Hundred Reincarnations

At least, before anyone else discovered black Gunpowder and developed it into Explosive Firepowder.

Xu Lei was going to be unstoppable.

He might even be able to use this as a foundation to develop things like cannons in the future.

"I’m going to be invincible!"

Excited, Xu Lei said to the old physician before him, "My friend, let’s not waste any more time!

Please, teach me the method for making it right now!

Most importantly, I need to see what specific materials are used to create Gunpowder.

And how do you obtain each of these materials?"

A few more minutes passed in the blink of an eye.

The old physician led Xu Lei to see the materials for making black Gunpowder.

The moment he saw them, before the old physician could say a word, a wealth of related information flooded Xu Lei’s mind.

’That’s right. Saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal. Gunpowder is primarily made from these three things,’

Xu Lei couldn’t help but think. ’But I just couldn’t remember them before.’

Back when he was on Earth,

he had read articles about it online.

But at the time, he was too busy reading about the historical development of Gunpowder.

The list of ingredients flashed past his eyes; he didn’t look closely, let alone make an effort to memorize it.

Otherwise, he could have made it himself long ago.

It had come to this: a great Transmigrator like him actually had to ask an ancient native how to make Gunpowder.

But there was nothing to be done about it. Xu Lei was just an ordinary person.

Although he practiced Cultivation, his Magical Power was merely a form of Telekinesis; it hadn’t enhanced his brainpower.

His memory was about the same as any normal person’s.

’If you really just plucked a few random people from Earth and sent them here, it’s not like every single one of them would know or remember the recipe, right?’

After thinking it over, Xu Lei made peace with himself.

Next, Xu Lei learned that the black Gunpowder the old physician currently made had a very weak explosive yield.

This was because he made it for medicinal purposes.

He had never even considered its explosive properties.

Historically on Earth, when Gunpowder first appeared, people hadn’t thought of that either.

So, Xu Lei immediately understood that this world was still in the very early stages of its development.

Although Xu Lei hadn’t remembered the ingredients before, he clearly recalled the history of Gunpowder’s development on Earth.

That was because he had read it like a story back then.

As a result, he remembered the changes from one stage to the next.

He also remembered that turning ordinary black Gunpowder into Explosive Firepowder seemed to only require adjusting the ratio of the ingredients.

As long as he found the right ratio,

he could produce Explosive Firepowder with a decent explosive effect.

"My friend, have you taught this method for making Gunpowder to anyone else?"

Xu Lei continued, "For example, the apprentices at the clinic?"

"I have not."

The old physician said, "Because the diseases this Gunpowder can treat are not widespread,

I have not specifically taught it to any disciples before.

Why do you ask?"

"I want to buy the exclusive rights to this method of making black Gunpowder!"

Xu Lei said, "I’ll give you ten thousand taels of silver!

From now on, you can make this black Gunpowder yourself to treat some patients. That’s fine.

But you must not pass the formula on to anyone else, not even your disciples.

Aside from teaching it to me, don’t give this method to anyone else.

Not even to your own children or grandchildren. Can you do that?"

That’s right, Xu Lei’s opening offer was ten thousand taels of silver.

This kind of worldly wealth was no longer that important to Xu Lei.

The old physician was flabbergasted.

Of course, in the end, faced with Xu Lei’s "money power," he obediently agreed and even swore a deadly oath.

Xu Lei did this because he didn’t want Gunpowder to spread too quickly in this world.

Since only the old physician knew about it for now, he could suppress its proliferation for a while.

Before anyone else discovered it,

Xu Lei could live carefreely for a few years thanks to Gunpowder.

Others wouldn’t have Gunpowder.

But Xu Lei would, and he could go around blowing things up!

However, this definitely couldn’t prevent the emergence of Gunpowder forever.

Since Gunpowder came from the Alchemy Furnaces of Daoists,

sooner or later, other Daoists, or people who came into contact with them, would discover that its failed explosive reactions had other, greater uses.

Life is strange like that sometimes.

Some things are just in the wrong place.

That doesn’t mean they’re worthless.

Take this Gunpowder, for example. In the eyes of those Daoists who failed at Alchemy, it was absolute trash.

But put that trash somewhere else, and it possessed an extraordinary value.

In any case, he should at least be able to delay things for a few years.

And even if someone else really did discover it one day,

and Gunpowder began to spread among the common folk and the military, just like it did in Earth’s history,

by then, Xu Lei would have already produced Explosive Firepowder and even created things like cannons.

He just didn’t know if Explosive Firepowder and cannons would be enough to deal with an existence at the final stage of the Upper Three Realms.

A direct kill probably wouldn’t be possible.

But it should at least be able to drain some of their Magical Power.

After that, Xu Lei asked the old physician for the details on how to obtain the three materials for making Gunpowder.

"Charcoal is relatively easy to get."

After explaining for a bit, the old physician concluded, "It’s the North Emperor’s Profound Pearl that’s hard to obtain.

You have to go into caves and collect the naturally condensed profound pearls.

That’s why the yield for this stuff isn’t very high.

Although I don’t know what use you have for buying this recipe,

I should tell you in advance that mass production might not be feasible.

According to the old Daoist master back then, the North Emperor’s Profound Pearl is formed from the condensation of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi inside caves—"

Hearing this, Xu Lei smiled to himself.

Because what the old physician called the North Emperor’s Profound Pearl was actually just saltpeter.

Although Xu Lei couldn’t remember which materials were used to make Gunpowder before,

the articles he had read described in detail that there were several ways to obtain saltpeter.

You could also refine it by scraping material from places like latrines, pigsties, and so on.