The Pharmacist's Key

Chapter 44: The Pharmacist's Key

Time is a priceless, consumable commodity. Whether you like it or not, it's always being spent.

While brewing elixirs, it was already approaching 3:30 PM.

Song Shuhang's Body Tempering Liquid was nearing the end of its refinement.

Just like yesterday, at the forty-first ingredient, the Body Tempering Liquid in the pot changed.

With prior experience, Song Shuhang calmly added water this time. A moment later, he sliced the Fresh Overlord Branch and Nine Yang Red Flame Bamboo, then tossed the Deep Sea Cold Crystal and Snow Demon Core into the pot all at once.

When the liquid in the pot began to polarize, Song Shuhang directly cranked the heat to maximum.

After finishing everything, Song Shuhang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Everything had gone smoothly. Success or failure depended on the final stage!

Oh, right. He also needed to prepare for the smell that might occur later – the "world's most concentrated stench."

Four minutes later.

BOOM...

The lid of the hot pot was once again blown off by the pressure. Black smoke jetted out from the pot, and an indescribable stench permeated the entire room.

Song Shuhang was prepared. He had held his breath a step earlier. Although the stench somehow invaded his sense of smell through various parts of his body, pinching his nose and holding his breath could still alleviate it to a certain extent.

"Gag? What is that smell?" The Pharmacist, with his high cultivation and keen senses, especially his sense of smell which was about three hundred times that of an ordinary person, felt utterly terrible as the strange, foul odor flooded his nose and mouth.

This was already at the level of a biochemical weapon! An ordinary person would turn pale, feel nauseous, vomit, and collapse, foaming at the mouth after smelling it for a while! If not for his strong cultivation and his frequent exposure to various strange smells from failed alchemy, he might have collapsed the moment the stench hit him.

"If this thing is refined, it would be a nightmare for Rank 1 cultivators who have opened their nasal passages, and for second-rank True Masters who can't yet control their sense of smell at will," the Pharmacist muttered. He flicked his hand, sending a gust of palm wind to disperse the extremely foul black mist.

"Even after smelling it once, I still can't get used to it. I feel like I won't have an appetite for days," Song Shuhang complained.

"Did it succeed?" the Pharmacist asked.

"This foul smell came out, so it should be a success, right?" Song Shuhang picked up the hot pot lid. This lid was blown off every time. Even tempered glass would eventually shatter.

The Pharmacist pinched his nose and leaned over the hot pot to look. At the bottom of the pot, there was a thin layer of black medicinal paste, transparent and pungent.

He flicked his finger through the air, picking up a drop of the medicinal liquid and letting it fall into his mouth.

Carefully sensing the medicinal properties erupting in his mouth from the Body Tempering Liquid, the Pharmacist revealed a satisfied smile. "As expected."

He estimated that its efficacy was about half that of his simplified Body Tempering Liquid.

Logically, the stronger the effect of a pill used by cultivators, the better. However, for the simplest Body Tempering Liquid, when its efficacy was reduced to a certain level, it unexpectedly exhibited a special effect!

The old version of the Body Tempering Liquid was potent. Even elite disciples recruited by various sects needed to cultivate for several months to half a year beforehand, pushing their qi and blood to the limit and adjusting their bodies to the best possible state before they could consume it.

After the Pharmacist simplified it, elite disciples of various sects still needed to cultivate and adjust for a month or two before taking it.

But with this Body Tempering Liquid, if its efficacy was further reduced, disciples within the sects would only need to make minor adjustments to their state before they could take it.

Later, after their bodies were tempered and their strength improved, they could consume higher-quality Body Tempering Liquid, greatly saving the initial time spent cultivating disciples.

After all, the time for disciples to establish their foundation was a race against time. The best age for foundation establishment was only two years, from four to six years old, and the earlier they took Body Tempering Liquid, the better.

More importantly, Song Shuhang's method of refining Body Tempering Liquid didn't require any special steps. He only needed to switch the refining steps when something went wrong in the forty-first step of refining the 'simplified Body Tempering Liquid.'

This method was practically a patch for the Pharmacist's 'simplified Body Tempering Liquid,' further perfecting the 'simplified Body Tempering Liquid' elixir recipe and greatly reducing the waste of medicinal ingredients for 'alchemy apprentices.'

Seeing the Pharmacist's satisfied smile, Song Shuhang breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Can this help you perfect the simplified Body Tempering Liquid elixir recipe, Senior?"

"It's not that easy. Your successful refinement this time only proves that my idea for perfecting the elixir recipe is feasible. I'll need your cooperation for the next few days. I need to make some improvements to your refining method. Hehe, coming here this time was definitely the right decision." The Pharmacist was in a great mood.

Song Shuhang nodded. "I will cooperate with you to the best of my ability, Senior."

The Pharmacist nodded with satisfaction, reached into his robes, and pulled out a thick notebook, rapidly recording the various data and details of the experiment.

He was known as a genius alchemist and had some fame among cultivators. But his genius and fame weren't bestowed upon him while he sat at home. This thick notebook showed how much effort and hard work he had poured into alchemy. Moreover... this thick notebook, along with thirty bookshelves full of them, were in the Pharmacist's cave dwelling.

Behind every successful genius lay unimaginable sweat.

Song Shuhang looked at the Pharmacist with an expression of wanting to speak but hesitating.

Finally, he couldn't hold back. "Senior Pharmacist, you said Master Tong Xuan's Flying Sword Transmission would arrive in about four to five hours. Counting the time, it should be about right?"

Diamond Foundation Fist Technique, True Self Meditation Scripture! These were foundation-building techniques that could truly allow him to enter the gates of cultivation!

Just thinking about these two beginner cultivation manuals made Song Shuhang's heart flutter with anticipation, unable to contain himself. He wished he could get his hands on these two secret manuals right now.

"Haha, no rush, no rush. Master Tong Xuan's Flying Sword Transmission uses me as a coordinate. I'll feel it when it's close. Hmm, but we should return to your dorm. The initial teleportation coordinate was set in your dorm, and the flying sword should arrive there if nothing unexpected happens," the Pharmacist said with a smile.

"Then shall we go back now?" Song Shuhang asked expectantly.

"No rush. While observing you refine the Body Tempering Liquid, I verified the feasibility of many ideas in my mind. I need to record them first. Hmm, if you're in a hurry, you can go back first. I'll follow later," the Pharmacist said.

Song Shuhang nodded.

"Then, Senior, I'll go back to the dorm to keep watch?"

"Go, go. Young people are too impatient," the Pharmacist said, tossing a set of keys to Song Shuhang.

This was the key to the house.

"Here's the key. Anyway, it's a five-story building, and I can't use that much space. I'll lend you the top floor to live in, saving you the trouble of renting a place," Pharmacist said without looking up.

Since the house was already bought, it would be useless if left empty. It was better to do Song Shuhang a favor.

Song Shuhang took the key, not being pretentious. "Thank you, Senior!"

He genuinely needed a place where he wouldn't be disturbed, and... he didn't have extra money. Pharmacist lending him a room was exactly what he needed in his time of urgency, so he didn't stand on ceremony with his senior.

"Remember to lock the door!" Pharmacist waved his hand and continued to write furiously in his thick notebook.

Song Shuhang left with light steps.

Of course, he didn't forget his Induction Cooker and Hot Pot. He had to remember to bring these back to avoid making his dorm mates suspicious.