"Just after he finished shouting, the entire scene around him changed. It was still the same Taoist Temple as before, with the great pill furnace in front of him and the little Daoist boys fanning the flames. The moment Du Zichun spoke, the furnace exploded. Medicinal ingredients burst out from inside, and a foul stench assaulted his nose."
"The white-bearded old man flew into a rage. He said that less than half an hour had passed and Du Zichun was already speaking—what a useless fool! The Immortal Pill couldn't be completed, and Du Zichun couldn't become an immortal either. He should get back to the mortal world!"
"Du Zichun returned to Chang'an City in a daze. Feeling guilty and unwilling to give up, he followed the route and traveled all the way back to Immortal Mountain. But there was no longer any Taoist Temple on the mountain."
"Why am I telling this story? We're all intelligent people. You should understand." Song He smiled.
"I'm not the white-bearded old man. I'm just like all of you—we're all Du Zichun. The laboratory is our Taoist Temple, and our research projects are our pill furnace. Failure and suffering will exceed your imagination, but if you want to refine the Immortal Pill, you have to endure!"
"I wish everyone an early success in refining the Immortal Pill!"
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At noon, in the cafeteria.
Three master's students sat at a table in the corner: Xie Kefu, Wang Chong, and Zhao Chang.
"Old Xie, why didn't you go eat with our supervisor?" Wang Chong looked displeased. "Aren't you practically joined at the hip with Professor Song?"
"What are you saying? Old Xie lowered himself to eat with us. We should feel honored!" Zhao Chang chimed in with heavy sarcasm.
"I'm not senior enough.