A Safety Net

"Does the oil from soybeans make bean curd skin?"

"What's this?"

Zhang Xuezhou used Qinlu No. 8 to brew eight batches of tofu.

He also created something that even the King of Huainan couldn't: the oily outer layer of a bean, which, after drying, resembled inferior leather. When cooked in soup, it had a chewy texture and tasted excellent when dipped in broth.

It's supposed to be just a winter feed for horses, but after adding gypsum water, no matter how you prepare it, it turns out to be food.

Zhang Xuezhou was speechless at this bizarre way of generating derivative products.

The magic of this method lies in the fact that it produces results no matter how it's done, and it's always the right way to do it. Even the filtered soybean pulp can be used to make food, and with just a little fermentation, it has a unique flavor.

Like a hexagonal warrior, everything produced from beans combined with gypsum water is of high quality and leaves no waste.

As a food that was once marginalized and almost eliminated, we can't ask too much of beans anymore.

"The combination of internal and external alchemy is so ingenious! I wonder if there are any other derivative methods!"

If one were to pinpoint a flaw, Zhang Xuezhou felt that tofu was too low a grade.

If tofu were replaced with a certain kind of elixir, the dregs of the elixir could cure minor ailments, the elixir soup could cure major illnesses, low-grade elixir could restore Qi and Blood and blood and Law Power, mid-grade elixir could boost cultivation, high-grade elixir could be used to break through realms, and top-grade elixir could bring the dead back to life. One formula could achieve several wonderful uses, and most importantly, it was easy to refine. Even ordinary Alchemist could refine it successfully, which would bring about a complete transformation in the entire cultivation world.

The comparison in tofu making serves as a case study, and it's a pity Zhang Xuezhou couldn't apply it to other aspects of life.

He looked at the many medicinal herbs displayed in the Alchemy Chamber, then at the purple lingzhi and huangjing that the new emperor had arranged to process, as well as the demon cores sent by Rong Tianding.

If it were necessary to insert an external mineral into the Creation Elixir, Zhang Xuezhou felt that it would be superfluous.

The ingenious combination of the inner and outer layers of tofu is indeed difficult to replicate.

He pondered the matter repeatedly without success, and finally began to carefully grind the demon core, preparing to begin his first attempt at refining a creation pill.

The eight batches of tofu made Zhang Xuezhou sufficiently familiar with Qinlu No. 8, and he was almost fluent in all the standards. Whether it would succeed or not, only by trying it would he know.

After repeatedly adjusting and establishing the rules for refining the Creation Pill, Zhang Xuezhou felt that regardless of the quality of his refining pills, his success rate would be 100%.

But before reaching the standard of a 100% success rate in pill production, Zhang Xuezhou had no idea how many times he would fail, or whether the materials in the Alchemy Chamber could withstand such waste.

"Danlai!"

The steps were etched into Zhang Xuezhou's mind, and he finally began his journey of refining the elixir of creation on his own.

Unlike some Rogue Cultivator who refine one, two, three, or five pills at a time, Zhang Xuezhou invested in refining fifty pills.

This means that all his materials consisted of fifty portions, including the demon pill powder used as a medicinal catalyst.

The demon cores he acquired from Hongku weren't enough for five tests, and the same applied to medicinal herbs.

Limited by the fact that the main ingredients he obtained were purple lingzhi and polygonatum, these two powerful herbs mainly promote Qi and Blood, the pills that Zhang Xuezhou refined belonged to the category of Qi and Blood creation pills.

As a cultivator specializing in magical arts, Zhang Xuezhou had no need for the Qi and Blood and Qi and Blood Creation Pill, but failing to refine it didn't easily make him feel bad.

After giving a soft shout, Zhang Xuezhou methodically began the testing and adjustment process.

"The charcoal used for alchemy in Shanglin Garden is fine for boiling bean juice, but it's not quite right for refining the Creation Pill. We need to lengthen the refining process!"

The control of heat in refining elixirs is a question that Alchemist discuss their entire lives.

A batch of waste pills was pulled out. Looking at the waste pills where the toxicity outweighed the medicinal properties, Zhang Xuezhou frowned and took a few bites.

He eventually determined that these waste pills could be digested internally. Although the insufficient firepower resulted in poor medicinal properties, they were not a major problem in assisting the activation of the Poison Avoidance Technique, so the refining process was not a complete failure.

Thinking about the consequences of his failed alchemy attempt, he couldn't help but feel a bit fortunate, as he felt that no matter how he refined the pills, he always had a safety net.

"The medicinal herbs are of different ages, resulting in a mixed and varied medicinal decoction!"

"Master Hongku's crushed demon cores had an uneven consistency, and my Law Power was not stable enough, causing the medicinal reaction to occur prematurely within the Pill Furnace. The Creation Pill no longer even qualifies as a low-grade product!"

Zhang Xuezhou had no problem operating the Pill Furnace, and Qin Furnace No. 8 was functioning perfectly.

The real problem lies in the external materials and ingredients used in alchemy, such as charcoal, medicinal herbs, and medicinal catalysts.

He Law Artifact 'weighing' to set all the standards he could, but Zhang Xuezhou lacked the instruments and found it difficult to determine the properties of the materials, so he could only make corresponding estimates based on taste and feel.

After three consecutive failed attempts at elixirs, he harvested a full thirty kilograms of dregs.

Even though Zhang Xuezhou felt he could recycle the dregs of the medicine to aid in cultivating the Poison Avoidance Technique, or use the Poison Avoidance Technique to avoid toxicity and extract inferior Qi and Blood medicine, he still felt somewhat empty inside.

There's no real reason for this; watching helplessly as so many materials turned into scrap, Zhang Xuezhou felt that the losses in alchemy were a bit too high.

Leaving aside the medicinal herbs, just considering the demon core alone, Zhang Xuezhou has already lost half of the Black and White Twin Horses' Spirit Artifact.

"Dongfang Shuo?"

When the fourth batch of pills was being refined, Zhang Xuezhou saw the side door of the Alchemy Chamber being pushed open, and the new emperor entered with Huo Qubing.

"Oops!"

Zhang Xuezhou's Alchemy Chamber in Shanglin Garden has a very high level of security. Even Li Shaojun has to sneak in by taking advantage of the opportunity. No normal person can push the door open and enter.

But this does not include the new emperor who can change tokens at will.

He noticed that the charcoal at the Pill Furnace opening was being blown by the wind coming in through the door, causing the flames to burn several times larger than normal.

The current alchemy attempt was not a complete failure, but the established procedures were disrupted.

Changes in heat completely disrupt the balance during subsequent separation, stratification, and coagulation of the medicinal liquid, requiring adjustments to be made based on the specific circumstances.

How could Zhang Xuezhou easily make minor adjustments to Pill Furnace nearly as tall as a building? This wasn't a cooking pot where you could just stir it a couple of times with a stick and call it balanced.

This batch of pills did not fail at present, but Zhang Xuezhou had already foreseen a 99% probability of failure when the pills were finally formed.

He exclaimed in dismay, "Oh no!" Huo Qubing peeked out and glanced around a few times, then looked at the tofu Zhang Xuezhou had made with considerable apprehension.

"Father, we've disrupted his alchemy process; he'll probably end up with a batch of useless pills," Huo Qubing said.

"That's really unfortunate!"

The new emperor looked stunned.

As an emperor, he only needed to pay respects at Anle Palace and Changxin Palace; he did not have the habit of knocking on doors to request entry to other places.

He was so used to pushing the door open that he never imagined it would lead to trouble.

"How much was destroyed?" the new emperor asked.

"This batch contains fifty Creation Pills that nourish the body's Qi and Blood," Zhang Xuezhou said, pursing his lips.

Is there any way to save this batch of pills?

The new emperor also felt a bit of liver pain, feeling that Zhang Xuezhou's alchemy was too extravagant.

Even the royal family would tremble at such alchemy and medicine-making methods; they simply couldn't afford to lose money.

He asked a question, and saw Zhang Xuezhou using iron tongs to scoop up charcoal under the Pill Furnace, trying to reduce the flames and adjust the heat as much as possible.

"He doesn't even want to talk; he's probably beyond saving," Huo Qubing said. "Godfather, you've ruined things. Are you going to compensate Master Human Pill the elixir?"

"It's not that we can't compensate..."

"Then compensate me. Anyway, my family has no shortage of pills. Where are the pills you have on you?"

"In this bag!"

"Godfather, look! When the Master from the East saw you were going to offer elixirs as compensation, he smiled!"

Huo Qubing pointed at Zhang Xuezhou, indicating that Zhang Xuezhou felt an uncontrollable little smugness after receiving compensation.

Of course, Zhang Xuezhou himself did not expect that after his busy work refining pills and repeated failures, the final product, the Creation Pill, would actually come from compensation.

With Huo Qubing by his side, the new emperor, seemingly in an effort to maintain his image, actually gritted his teeth and took out some elixirs to back him up.