“This…”
Apothecary Luo was rendered speechless. She had no idea how she should respond to that.
The other party’s words were backed by concrete evidence, and this left her no grounds for rebuttal.
And she wasn’t the only with such an expression on her face. At this instant, the entire hall was silent.
This… Is this even possible?
How deep of an understanding must one have of the pill formula and cauldron to deduce this?
Everyone turned to look at the young man once more, but this time, their gazes seemed to suggest that they were looking at a monster instead.
“In the discussion phase, you said that instead of infusing one’s soul energy into the cauldron—which would cause one to be seared by the heat—one could harness the spirit of a Glacé Heart Grass instead… But have you considered the fact that the spirit infused into the Glacé Heart Grass could react with the Jeqi Wood added in previously, thus reducing its effectiveness?”
“This…”
Apothecary Luo was stumped once again.
Jeqi Wood possessed the effect of absorbing spirit; there was a high chance that the spirit infused into the Glacé Heart Grass could be devoured by it, thus reducing the effectiveness of the pill.
“This is the second flaw.”
Zhang Xuan continued, “If I’m not mistaken, you used ‘Hands of the Twilight Drizzle’ to forge the pill. While this forging technique does help to protect the spirit contained in the medicinal herb, it increases the number of steps required for the forging process of the Spirit Revitalization Pill. There are seven medicinal herbs that should have been added in simultaneously, but this technique forcefully added an interval of thirty-two breaths between the first herb and the last herb. This results in significant loss in their medicinal properties… The incompatibility between your forging technique and the pill, this is the third flaw!
“In the forging process, you used Lucid Frost Art to ward off the blaze from the cauldron to protect yourself. However, in the midst of doing so, you inadvertently sapped heat away from the cauldron, resulting in an incomplete fusion of the spirit beast blood essence and the pill… This is the fourth flaw!”
“… This is the fifth flaw!”
“… This is the sixth flaw!”
…
“… And this is the twenty-seventh flaw!
“A mere grade-5 pill, but you displayed a lack understanding of your cauldron, lack of knowledge of medicinal herbs, lack of expertise in your forging technique, lack of control in your movements, lack of clarity in your explanation, lack of depth in your analysis, and a lack of concentration in your actions, resulting in a disappointing performance…”
A sharp gleam flashed across Zhang Xuan’s eyes. “Do you think something riddled with so many mistakes is worthy of being called pill forging?”
“I…”
Apothecary Luo staggered feebly backward. Paleness swept across her face, and her slim body trembled uncontrollably.
The other party’s words were like a machine gun, each shot striking her in her vitals, rendering her incapable of catching her breath.
She thought that she possessed skill above most 5-star apothecaries, and never in her dreams could she imagine that what she had taken so much pride in would be nothing more than a joke in the eyes of a true expert!
“Do you need me to continue on with the remaining hundred flaws?” Zhang Xuan continued.
Apothecary Luo’s body jolted in shock, and she lowered her head fearfully.
The twenty-seven flaws the other party brought up were all true and existent, she had no way of denying them.
Just this much was more than sufficient to plant a seed of doubt that would make her question herself whenever she forged a pill. She feared that if the other party continued on, her confidence would be completely shattered.
“N-no, there’s no need…”
Clasping her fist and bowing deeply, she looked at the young man before her once more, this time in admiration and awe.
To be capable of seeing through so many flaws in her pill forging, how deep must his understanding of pills be?
Even her teacher wouldn’t be a match for him!
“Alright, there’s no need for you to feel disheartened. Unlike painting, where one can create a Reality Depiction work just by strictly following rules, pill forging requires hard work over a long period of time to build a deep understanding of the properties of medicinal herbs before one can achieve mastery.”
Seeing the pale face and trembling body of the young lady before him, Zhang Xuan realized that he might have gone a little too far. Thus, he quickly consoled her. “It’s an incredible feat for one of your age to forge a pill of such quality, so you should take pride in your skills… Alright, why don’t you alter your pill forging method based on what I’ve just said and try forging the Spirit Revitalization Pill once more. I promise you the results will be different this time!”
His words were infused with Impartation of Heaven’s Will, thus allowing him to win the trust of the young lady easily.
As a 5-star primary master teacher, the young lady’s Soul Depth had barely reached 15.0. On the other hand, Zhang Xuan’s Soul Depth was currently at 16.1, allowing him to win the other party’s trust via Impartation of Heaven’s Will easily.
As expected, upon hearing those words, Apothecary Luo’s fragile confidence began to heal. Closing her eyes, she went through the words the young man had just spoken, and gritting her teeth, she replied, “Alright!”
She stepped up to the cauldron.
Typically speaking, apothecaries would prepare three sets of medicinal herbs in case of failure. She had only used one set in her previous forging, so there were still another two sets left on the table.
Driving her zhenqi, she lit the flames to heat up the cauldron. After which, she extracted the medicinal essence from the herbs swiftly, and one after another, medicinal herbs were thrown into the cauldron. Spiritual energy rippled in the air, and a slight fragrance permeated the hall.
Twenty minutes later, with a deep exhalation, Apothecary Luo’s movements finally came to a halt.
The Spirit Revitalization Pill that should have taken her an hour to forge had taken less than half of her previous timing this time!
She stretched out her hands and pushed open the cauldron lid.
Jiya!
A dense and refreshing aroma gushed out from within, forming a beautiful white cloud.
Above the cloud was a smooth, round pill, and what could be clearly seen on the pill was a spectacular, golden stripe.
“This is… an Inscribed Pill?”
“How can this be?”
“Even though there’s only a level of difference between Perfection and Inscribed Pill, a nigh unbreachable gap lay between the two tiers. Even 6-star apothecaries would be incapable of forging a Spirit Revitalization Pill at the tier of an Inscribed Pill!”
“Indeed! An Inscribed Pill surpasses the notion of an ordinary pill. It possesses spirit, which makes it an existence worthy of being considered as a lifeform!”
“With a short lecture, this young apothecary allowed Apothecary Luo, who was still forging Perfection tier pills a moment ago, to successfully forge an Inscribed Pill… This is inconceivable!”
…
Upon seeing the pill rising from the cauldron, innumerable faces paled in shock.
Formation, Satiation, Perfection, and Inscribed Pill. While four tiers were established to grade the tier of a pill, Perfection was commonly known to be the limit. Only those who had managed to comprehend the Art of Pill Forging to an unthinkable level would be able to forge an Inscribed Pill.
Putting everything aside, despite the long history behind the Huanyu Empire Apothecary Guild and the many talented apothecaries who rose from this ground, there had never had been an Inscribed Pill emerging from here before.
It was said that only in Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy did a handful of pills of such superior quality appeared before. Every single one of such pills had caused a huge uproar, and the apothecaries who forged them became respected figures in their circles.
As such, the apothecaries of Huanyu Empire had always viewed this tier to be one that only existed in the legends, something far away from them. Never could they have imagined that… Apothecary Luo would actually succeed in forging one!
Fearsome!
Apothecary Luo was formidable to have forged the pill… but wouldn’t the young man who guided her be even more so?
In an instant, everyone’s eyes fell on the young man once more with deep admiration reflecting in their gazes.
This was the admiration one would only display to true experts.
The young man’s cultivation might be lacking, but in terms of comprehension of pill forging, not even their guild leader would be able to rival him!
While everyone was still immersed in shock, Apothecary Luo finally recovered from the unique state she had been in. Staring at the golden stripe on the pill in her hands, her body trembled in agitation, and she abruptly kneeled down. “I’d like to acknowledge you as my teacher. I beseech you to accept me and enlighten me in the Way of Pill Forging!”
She could clearly feel the bottleneck which had limited her progress before shattering entirely. In this short period of time, she had gained a lot of insights into pill forging. As long as her cultivation reached the required level, there was a good chance she could clear the 6-star apothecary examination.
And this all… was thanks to the young apothecary standing before her.
It was only due to the other party’s guidance that she was able to surpass her limits. In a way, the other party could already be considered as half a teacher to her. If she could become the other party’s student and listen to his teachings constantly, her skills as an apothecary would surely improve by leaps and bounds!
“You wish for me to be your teacher?”
Zhang Xuan was taken aback.
His purpose behind this act was to win the other party’s trust so that he could have the other party concoct the medicinal solution for him. Who could have thought that the young lady would end up askinh him to be her teacher? This made him feel slightly embarrassed.
“I beseech you to accept me!” Apothecary Luo pleaded earnestly.
“Alright. I’ll be your apothecary teacher, but I’ll have to tell you beforehand that I won’t have much time to teach you…”
At which, Zhang Xuan hesitated for a moment before adding, “How about this? I have a unique forging method for concocting a medicinal solution which could test your fundamentals, mental fortitude, and sincerity. Just a heads up, you’ll have to follow my instructions strictly for the concoction of this medicinal solution to succeed… If you succeed, I’ll take you in as my student. Otherwise, I can only say that we aren’t fated to be!”
“I won’t let you down!”
Apothecary Luo’s face flushed in agitation, and she anxiously nodded, seemingly fearful that the young man before her would change his mind.
“Un!” Seeing that he had succeeded in hoodwinking the other party, Zhang Xuan heaved a sigh of relief. Flicking his wrist, he took out the Great River Snake’s inner core and Sorrow Severing Grass.
“These are the main ingredients. On top of that, I’ll need one liang of Dragon Beard Flower, one liang of Stardust, three qian of Woodyer Skin…”
(One qian = ~ 3.75g. One liang = 37.5g)
Zhang Xuan quickly listed a dozen of medicinal herbs; these were the core ingredients required to forge the medicinal solution.
Noting down the medicinal herbs and the quantity required, Apothecary Luo turned to the elder beside her and asked, “Guild Leader, may I trouble you to bring a set of these herbs over?”
“No problem, I’ll have someone prepare it now!” the old man chuckled.
These medicinal herbs weren’t exceptionally valuable, and they could all be found in the guild. In just a few moments later, an apothecary returned with the listed herbs in hand.
Zhang Xuan swiftly looked through the medicinal herbs to check if everything required was present. While doing so, he noted that the prepared herbs were of the highest maturity, and he nodded in satisfaction.
Indeed, he had made the right choice coming over here to hoodwink a 5-star apothecary. Otherwise, he would surely be unable to gather so many high maturity medicinal herbs. After all, these medicinal herbs were useful to the apothecaries as well, so it would have been difficult to buy these herbs from them with money.
Apothecary Luo swiftly looked through the herbs as well before turning to the young man before her.
“Teacher, I am ready.”
“Follow my instructions strictly, there mustn’t be the slightest deviation!” Zhang Xuan reminded gravely once more. “Warm the cauldron for forty-five breaths before adding in one Stardust. Seven breaths later, add in Dragon Dawn Flower and raise the flames for three breaths…”
The forging process for the medicinal solution required to awaken Yuan Tao’s unique constitution had undergone many refinements in Zhang Xuan’s hands, and the Library of Heaven’s Path had verified it as well.
Zhang Xuan’s instructions were extremely detailed, allowing Apothecary Luo to focus her attention on the forging.
The cauldron flames blazed intensely, and heatwaves rippled in the room.
As more medicinal herbs were thrown in the cauldron, the spiritual energy in the air gradually grew more and more concentrated, and the energy contained within the cauldron became more and more violent. It seemed as though it would reach a breaking point any moment soon and trigger a massive explosion.
“That is a Great River Snake’s inner core…”
“This object contains the essence of a Transcendent Mortal 7-dan spirit beast, and the energy contained within it is extremely violent. Even Transcendent Mortal 8-dan experts would find it difficult to suppress the inner core’s energy if it were to be placed under extreme conditions within the cauldron. To have Apothecary Luo deal with it… isn’t that going beyond her limits?”
The 5-star apothecaries and the guild leader frowned upon seeing this scene.
