The Pills Were Complete

Zhang Xuezhou's fourth batch of pills already had a guaranteed minimum.

If a cultivator possesses a storage bag, they will usually store their wealth in it.

After obtaining the Lesser Heaven and Earth Bag, Zhang Xuezhou put almost everything he could into it, and the new emperor, who possessed the large Heaven and Earth, had an even richer collection.

Most people wouldn't be able to produce fifty Qi and Blood Creation Pills, but the new emperor certainly could.

Even Huo Qubing acknowledged the phrase "the new emperor's family is powerful and wealthy."

For an individual, the new emperor possesses immense wealth and resources, making him a highly sought-after cultivator. However, if the new emperor wishes to mentor or cultivate someone, the other party would find themselves in a predicament.

"If you put some effort into refining the pills, and they succeed, I won't have to compensate you with fifty Creation Pills!"

Inside the Alchemy Chamber, the new emperor appeared normal, but he was undoubtedly in great pain.

He urged the somewhat nonchalant Zhang Xuezhou to concentrate on refining the Zhang Xuezhou and not to assume that his batch of pills was ruined.

"I'm very serious!"

Zhang Xuezhou never makes a mistake once he has done something before.

However, there were limited things he could do at the moment, since such a massive Pill Furnace couldn't be adjusted back to its original state simply by Zhang Xuezhou lifting a finger.

He wasn't exactly giving his all physically, but his procedures were perfectly normal.

"Where did this Qin Furnace No. 8 come from? This type of standard Pill Furnace is only suitable for refining low-end pills. You actually used this kind of Pill Furnace to refine a creation pill. Did you never even intend to succeed?"

Zhang Xuezhou operated the Pill Furnace methodically, while the new emperor paced back and forth beside Pill Furnace.

He found the small seal script inscription on the Pill Furnace and identified Pill Furnace. This pained him greatly, as he felt that if he hadn't come, Zhang Xuezhou would never have been able to refine this batch of pills.

"How could that be? I submitted this material with my own evidence," Zhang Xuezhou said unhappily.

"Who can support you in refining pills like this?" the new emperor scoffed. "Didn't he even consider that you might not be able to succeed at all?"

"Master Li came over last night," Zhang Xuezhou replied casually.

"Master Li... does such a highly accomplished person need you to refine elixirs?" the new emperor asked doubtfully.

"He's only good at refining external elixirs; he's definitely not as good as the Yin-Yang School when it comes to refining internal elixirs," Zhang Xuezhou said. "If you don't believe me, just ask him. He's counting on me to succeed in refining elixirs in one go!"

"I'm not asking anymore!"

The new emperor waved his hand.

Zhang Xuezhou refined elixirs in Shanglin Garden, while Li Shaojun refined elixirs in the Imperial Palace using the Nine Dragon Cauldron.

Zhang Xuezhou could still get compensation for his failed alchemy attempts, but Li Shaojun couldn't afford to pay for his failures at all.

If a hasty visit forces the other party to come out of the palace to receive him, or if storms bring about changes, the new emperor feels he cannot afford to suffer the consequences, since the Eight Steps to Immortality Pill will truly affect his and many others' future interests.

"But there really is something wrong with this Pill Cauldron," the new emperor said, pointing to Qin Furnace No. 8. "The Emperor Qin wanted to unify everything in the world, including alchemy, but the medicinal herbs in the world cannot grow uniformly according to his ideas, and Alchemist' skills vary. All these changes correspond to flexibility, and cannot be restricted by rigid rules!"

"I think this Pill Furnace is pretty good!"

The new emperor is right.

But modern laboratories are all about rules.

Creating new products and new things certainly requires breaking free from rigidity, but given existing results, it is clear that adjustments must be made to adapt to the rules before industrialization and commercialization can be achieved.

Zhang Xuezhou was dissatisfied with the fuel; the charcoal was far, far inferior to the flames of the Golden Crow Great Emperor.

He also felt a little regretful about the mottled appearance of the medicinal herbs and the inconsistent size of the demon cores, but Zhang Xuezhou never had any objections to Qinlu No. 8.

If the adjustments are made correctly, this will result in him producing mass-produced products in the laboratory.

"This Pill Furnace is clumsy and heavy. Even the iron plates in the drawers weigh a hundred pounds. This kind of Pill Furnace almost pushes human strength to the limit. Even those skilled in alchemy and Yin- Yin-Yang School cannot use their abilities," the new emperor said. "It's fine for refining hemostatic powder for ordinary people, but how can it be suitable for the Creation Pill? It's simply a waste. Besides, fifty pills are probably the minimum threshold that Qin Furnace No. 8 can refine, right?"

"That's the lowest!"

The new emperor's words make a lot of sense. Zhang Xuezhou is also refining the pill according to the minimum standards, striving to make continuous adjustments and corrections, and also hoping to successfully refine the pill.

He opened the drawer and added the ground demon core powder as a catalyst at the end.

With a dull thud, the new emperor's expression changed slightly.

Despite his words, Zhang Xuezhou's use of the demon core powder was a genuine commitment; he truly invested in it.

Zhang Xuezhou was genuinely poor, but the cultivation resources his opponent squandered were worth enough to buy several official residences in Chang'an City.

If no fool were to provide these resources, the new emperor believed that ordinary cultivators would be unable to rise in rank for life after refining pills once or twice.

Knowing that the refining of the Creation Pill had entered its final stage, he remained silent to avoid Zhang Xuezhou using his Law Power to disrupt the refining process and causing another mistake.

"Godfather, are alchemy and tofu making the same thing?"

"How could they be the same!"

"But the Master from the East has made a lot of tofu here!"

"This tofu is different. The process of soaking soybeans, grinding them into a paste, boiling the paste, adding coagulant, and shaping it is like alchemy..."

The new emperor was at a loss for words, and Huo Qubing's quiet inquiry revealed that the answer was indeed the same.

The process of making elixirs is also quite similar, involving washing, grinding, boiling, removing dregs and collecting the liquid, infusing the medicinal guide, and finally shaping the elixir.

If we follow the process of making tofu, then elixirs can indeed be made in the same way.

One type is tofu, which even ordinary people can imitate and make, and no matter how it's made, it won't be too bad. The other type is high-end, which only experienced Alchemist can handle.

"It's just that the materials they use are different," Huo Qubing said. "One is an inconspicuous bean, which can be bought in a basket for one and a half taels of silver, while the other is a precious medicine that needs to grow for hundreds of years and is worth a thousand gold pieces. This price difference leads to artificial distinctions and makes people secretly believe that the alchemy technique is superior!"

"Although the processes of alchemy and tofu making are similar, alchemy requires the use of Law Power to remove impurities, which only highly skilled cultivators can accomplish," the new emperor said. "You are young and lack reverence, only seeing the surface of things. You will understand once you delve deeper!"

Looking at Huo Qubing, the new emperor felt as if he were seeing his former self.

When he was made crown prince in his teens, the new emperor thought that as long as he had this title, he would be the crown prince of the Great Han Dynasty.

But later, the new emperor discovered that he could command respect and make his ministers bow down, which was nothing more than the intimidation he had received from Emperor Jing.

He once believed that once he ascended the throne, all ministers would submit unconditionally and all forces would have to bow down to him. But reality dealt him a harsh blow, shattering all his lingering hopes.

The throne is merely a nominal right of succession; whether one can hold onto it depends on their abilities.

If the new emperor doesn't want to become another Qin Er Shi who was blinded by his own ignorance, nor does he want to become like those previous royal emperors who died mysteriously after only a few years on the throne, he will have to pay a heavy price.

Just like alchemy, the steps of alchemy are no different from those of making tofu, but the resulting pills are worlds apart from tofu.

Huo Qubing was unaware of reverence. Chen Zhang was summoned to the palace to protect Lady Wei. Wei Shao'er made a living by singing. Wei Qing bought a mansion and established a new home. He also followed the expedition to get as close to military power as possible. The huge Pingyang Marquis's mansion was left with only the lonely Huo Qubing.

The new emperor didn't want Huo Qubing to become a useless adult, but he had just given birth to a daughter and had many other things to deal with, so he simply couldn't spare the time to teach Huo Qubing.

After failing to find several doctors to teach Huo Qubing, the new emperor decided to send Huo Qubing to Zhang Xuezhou. Even just flying the Imperial Shuttle with Zhang Xuezhou would give Huo Qubing an unforgettable experience and might even give him a strong desire to improve himself.

The new emperor was surprised that Zhang Xuezhou, after asking to refine pills, actually started doing so lavishly in the Shanglin Garden.

Now, the moment of elixir formation has arrived once again.

The new emperor's gaze swept over Zhang Xuezhou's hands, which were constantly absorbing and releasing Law Power, and then looked at the white mist rising from the Pill Cauldron.

"Great fortune and auspiciousness! The elixir is complete!"

When Zhang Xuezhou shouted, the new emperor stepped forward to help pull open the Pill Furnace door at the bottom of the alchemy furnace, where the elixir was gathered.

The furnace door, weighing over a hundred pounds, was pulled open, and a wave of scalding heat rushed out. A layer of Blood Qi floated over the new emperor's body before he looked down at the bottom of the furnace.

At the bottom of the furnace, rows of pills the size of pigeon eggs lay there.

"When the elixir was extracted, it was both blue and red in color, and its medicinal fragrance was pure without any off-odors. Does this mean the elixir is complete?"

The new emperor paused slightly, his expression momentarily stunned.

He never considered using a standard Pill Furnace to refine the pills of creation. When the Pill Furnace unexpectedly caught wind and ignited, the new emperor only thought about whether it was necessary to remedy the situation and even believed that Zhang Xuezhou could stop the alchemy process. In his imagination, the failure rate of the pills was at least 90%.

But he never expected that Dan would actually succeed.

Not only was he surprised, but Zhang Xuezhou also looked surprised. Zhang Xuezhou even glanced at Huo Qubing.

One reason was the guarantee of fifty Creation Pills provided by the new emperor, and the other was Huo Qubing's whispered remark that alchemy and tofu making were no different, which led to Zhang Xuezhou's mindset being completely balanced.

With the pressure of depleting cultivation resources removed, Zhang Xuezhou felt relaxed and ready to move forward.

He didn't expect that he would actually succeed in adjusting despite the mistake.

At the Pill Furnace, fifty mid-grade Creation Pills were neatly arranged, marking Zhang Xuezhou's first successful batch of pills after numerous failures.