Mercurial eyebright powder – By Glas

Mortal tier recipe. No cultivation requirement

Possessing an angelic form so sweet it stirs a sense numbing euphoria that could turn the most saintly individual to sin. That is the facade. In truth they are of bruised flesh in constant haemorrhage and malignancy. Of what retains them in abuse I do not know... – Excerpt of The True Bodies; Chapter 6, The Succubus Undressed.

Ingredients and recipe Eyebright root, 50 grams – natural gathering stage plant Liquid silver (mercury), 3.7 ml – non magical toxic metal White lead powder, 200-250 grams – non magical toxic metal

An unfairly difficult recipe to complete without cultivation. It’s a wonder that those insane societies actually created this product in minimal amounts.

Before even starting, an iron mortar and pestle must be cooled to -50 C, or -58 F. This is the bare requirements to even process the liquid silver. For cultivators they can easily cool the iron tools, as necessary. Additionally, the tools should not be reheated quickly as the metal will degrade as a result, instead allow for it to slowly reach room temperature after usage.

Some may recognize the term ‘cold iron’ to refer to any iron used to ward off evil. However this is a lie, a falsehood if you will. Created by the very same groups wished to keep this recipe secret, and it worked quite miraculously. Only fools and preachers could convince others that a piece of metal can restrict the supernatural forces of their world. But whatever keeps you asleep at night, I suppose…

With your chilled iron tools, place the liquid silver inside the mortar and wait for it to slowly solidify from the frost. This process may take several minutes, but eventually the liquid will harden. From here, it’s in your best interests to wear gloves so as to not induce frostbite.

Use the pestle to smash the materials to pieces, then begin grinding it down into a powdered liquid silver. An incomprehensible name since it is no longer liquid, but what do you suspect from the half-insane men to create this?

With a tacky, easily clumping powder prepared, use a regular tool to grind down the eyebright root. Unlike the other toxic metals, this plant only holds beneficial effects, so touching it will not elicit any harm. Grinding down the grey, rock-like root should take no more than a few minutes. Unlike its appearance, the internals are laughably brittle.

Mix the ground down eyebright root with your liquid silver powder, producing a powder called silver eyebright powder. You know the mixing is finished when your eyebright root powder is coated in a silver sheen. Liquid silver is naturally attracted to the magical effects of eyebright root, but so is any magically inclined metal.

However, you will easily tell that there is too little liquid silver powder to entirely cover the grey eyebright root, easing the last stage significantly.

Directly pour the white lead powder into the mortar filled with silver eyebright powder, and mix fervently. You may only stop once no further grey originating from the eyebright root is left, such that only white and a silvery metallic sheen is left.

Pour the powder out of the cold iron mortar and into a stone bowl, proceed to wait for the mixture to heat up and revert the liquid silver into, obviously, an actual liquid. As it melts, ensure that you constantly fold the mixture onto itself. And when it finally reaches room temperature you know the process is done.

You will bring insanity onto yourself, just like those before you.

Usage

Aside from killing yourself through lead and mercury poisoning, this recipe is rarely usable in most worlds. Anyone with cultivation will see that the mixture is inherently magical to some degree, leaving its only use in those worlds where magic left through the backrooms. Hidden societies in those worlds commonly use this to see the secrets that most deny, although most regret this choice with their non-existent strength.

Encircle one's eyes with the resultant powder and ensure no gaps, lest something backfires and blinds you. Apply white lead paint to the face as a mask, commonly seen in fashion in those places, with care that the circles are not noteworthy. The ward only works on the condition that only you know of it, while illusions of the eye are common, there are more types.

Rather than trying to look through illusions, by those searching for what is hidden from the world. However, no self-respecting cultivator would use such a simple ward. The mercury simply provides a path for any Qi to pass through before entering your eyes. The eyebright powder nullifies anything attempting to obfuscate your vision, but that is all. The white lead is nothing more than cheap makeup to hide the truly important component.