A Second Successful Batch
Zhang Xuezhou refined four batches of pills, three of which were unusable, while one was successful.
At this point in his alchemy career, he could no longer use Qin Furnace No. 8 to mass-produce the Creation Pill.
The new emperor is right. Refining fifty Creation Pills at a time is only the minimum requirement for Qin Furnace No. 8. Zhang Xuezhou's current stock of demon cores is not enough to meet the minimum standard for refining a batch of pills.
This led him to take the purple lingzhi and polygonatum and start combining them with various other remaining medicinal herbs.
One is the Shi Quan Da Bu Wan (Ten-Ingredient Tonic Pill), derived from purple Ganoderma lucidum as the main ingredient; the other is the Bigu Grain Avoidance Pill) made with Polygonatum sibiricum.
For Zhang Xuezhou, who inherited the Yin-Yang School's tradition of rationally combining medicinal materials, the absence of one or two medicinal materials is not a problem. As long as the medicinal properties are similar and a balance can be achieved, he can refine pills that are either slightly weaker, similar, or even superior in quality.
Seeing Huo Qubing eating fried tofu while his eyes darted around at the other medicinal herbs in the Alchemy Chamber, Zhang Xuezhou felt he needed to refine two more batches.
The Ten-Ingredient Tonic Pill is an elixir for cultivating the Nine-Turn Qi Harmony Technique, and can also be used to nourish the body and prolong life.
Normally, ginseng is the main ingredient in this elixir, but purple lingzhi can also produce similar effects.
Zhang Xuezhou doesn't need the Ten-Ingredient Tonic Pill right now, but Ao Li, who is very weak, can use it. If he can successfully refine it, Zhang Xuezhou can also take the pill to the Jinghe Water Palace.
As for refining the Grain Avoidance Pill, it was purely a professional instinct to maximize the amount of leftover medicinal materials. This was also the pill that Zhang Xuezhou had refined the most in the past. He could even brew medicine with just an earthenware pot. With the help of Qin Furnace No. 8, the success rate of refining it would be higher.
"A master from the East..."
"Don't shout! If you ruin the elixir, your godfather can compensate you, but you can't!"
Zhang Xuezhou slowly and methodically cleaned the residue from the Pill Furnace, then leisurely began refining the pills.
Huo Qubing, meanwhile, sat on a stool to the side, holding a piece of fried tofu.
Huo Qubing once said that there was no difference between alchemy and tofu making. An hour earlier, he believed that this statement was correct, since the process and technology were the same.
But when Zhang Xuezhou weighed the Law Artifact 'Heng' and carefully sorted the medicinal herbs, even seemingly calculating the dosage, Huo Qubing realized he had underestimated the art of alchemy.
The process of making tofu has elements of alchemy, but it is far too crude compared to actual alchemy.
Huo Qubing could see that Zhang Xuezhou seemed to have a problem with the proportions when dispensing medicine, and that these proportions were not fixed, as if the medicine was being prepared continuously based on the amount of the main ingredient.
If a certain medicinal herb was missing from the medicine shelf, Huo Qubing believed that Zhang Xuezhou would not be unable to refine the elixir, but would instead use other medicinal herbs to complement it.
This is completely different from making tofu. If any apprentice were to follow Zhang Xuezhou and memorize the process of alchemy and medicine making, they would likely need to remember the Pill Formula for a lifetime.
"My godfather said that Dongfang Shuo is skilled at manipulating Law Artifact and can levitate, but Dongfang Shuo's alchemy skills seem to be very impressive, far surpassing those Alchemist in the Inner Court who follow ancestral alchemy techniques!"
Apart from Changxin Palace and Anle Palace, Huo Qubing visited almost every important place in Chang'an City.
Even if he couldn't get in, he at least walked outside once.
He also visited the Imperial Household Department and saw many Alchemist refining elixirs and making medicines.
Huo Qubing couldn't say that these Alchemist were bad, after all, they were indeed capable of refining pills and Alchemist, and some even produced high-grade pills.
However, he felt that most Alchemist were just like that; each of them had their own methods of alchemy, and they would only practice alchemy if their own Pill Formula were completely satisfactory.
This kind of alchemy was undoubtedly very rigid, to the point that Huo Qubing felt it was no different from making tofu. At most, these Alchemist had a more refined level of Law Power control, and their alchemy skills were entirely due to practice.
He didn't think highly of Alchemist until he saw Zhang Xuezhou making medicines with different combinations.
This alchemy technique was completely different from anything Huo Qubing had ever seen before.
"My godfather said that the highest level of swordsmanship is to be able to transform one's hand into a sword at will, to see that everything can become a sword, and not to be bound to a single sword. Even if one loses their sword, they can still unleash swordsmanship. My godfather's idea seems similar to Dongfang Shuo's alchemy. Even if he lacks a certain medicinal herb, he can use other medicinal herbs to combine them!"
Huo Qubing would never learn Zhang Xuezhou's alchemy techniques, and he knew that even if he tried to learn them by stealing them, it would be useless.
Don't say that his presence here is useless. Even if Alchemist were here, and the other party were watching Zhang Xuezhou refine pills in their entirety, all they would get would be a Pill Formula that Zhang Xuezhou could change at any time.
"He successfully produced sixty-five pills this time!"
As the rich, strong aroma of medicine filled the Alchemy Chamber, Huo Qubing stared wide-eyed at the white pills in the Pill Furnace.
He glanced at Zhang Xuezhou's somewhat smug face and couldn't immediately understand why Zhang Xuezhou was so satisfied.
In Huo Qubing's view, it was perfectly normal for a top- Alchemist like Zhang Xuezhou to succeed in refining the product, and there was no need for him to lose his composure like this.
"Could it be because he refined fifteen more, breaking his limit of fifty?"
If Huo Qubing had to guess the reason, he felt that this was the only explanation.
"Master from the East, it's getting dark!"
"Don't rush, we'll go out and fly after we've refined one more batch!"
When Huo Qubing urged him on, Zhang Xuezhou waved his hand happily, indicating that the other party should not rush.
The Ten-Complete Tonic Pill is of a high grade, even exceeding the refining standard of the Creation Pill. The Pill Formula entrusted by Chunyu Tiying is even more complicated and time-consuming. When Zhang Xuezhou first refined it, he even used the Spiritual Qi of the Wudang Holy Mother's underground palace to condense the pill.
But this time, thanks to the miraculous effect of the purple Ganoderma lucidum, the superior quality of the medicinal materials offset the various harsh conditions proposed by Chunyu Tiying at the time.
More importantly, whether he truly mastered Qin Furnace No. 8 or simply had good luck, Zhang Xuezhou succeeded in refining the elixir this time.
He began to seek to refine the Grain Avoidance Pill for another test.
Zhang Xuezhou wanted to determine whether Zhunti for medicinal materials would reduce the difficulty of his standardized refining process using Qinlu No. 8, and whether it would improve the quality of the elixirs.
Zhang Xuezhou selected the medicinal herbs suitable for the Grain Avoidance Pill and began to administer them according to standard calculations.
Grain Avoidance Pill is a very interesting type of elixir. It can be used to Grain Avoidance even if one is only full for half a day. There are also Grain Avoidance periods of three days, five days, seven days, and half a month, which determine the quality of the elixir.
Clearly, the longer the Grain Avoidance period after taking the medicine, the higher the quality of the Grain Avoidance Pill will be.
There is no upper limit to the duration of Grain Avoidance, which also means that there is no limit to the quality of Grain Avoidance Pill. Top-grade Grain Avoidance Pill may far surpass the level of pills such as the Creation Pill.
The Polygonatum is grown in a secret place, and its quality is similar to, or even higher than, that of Ganoderma lucidum. Zhang Xuezhou was also very curious about what level of Grain Avoidance Pill he could refine.
At this moment, the sun was setting in the west. Based on Zhang Xuezhou's experience of observing for the past month, this was far from the time when the secret place would emit white light. He appeared calm and composed, and did his best to complete the final stages of alchemy.
"If you've been cooped up in the Alchemy Chamber for too long, go out for a walk, but don't go too far. I'll be test-flying after I finish refining the pills. If you don't get to ride the Sky Shuttle because of your own fault, don't blame me!"
A little boy is only cute when he's lying down drinking milk; once he can walk, he becomes a nuisance.
Huo Qubing was clearly no longer considered cute, so Zhang Xuezhou had to resort to some psychological tactics to control him.
"Master of the East, how long will it take you to refine this pill?" Huo Qubing asked.
"Alchemy can be done at any time, sometimes long, sometimes short," Zhang Xuezhou said. "You can go out and have fun as you please, just don't go too far. There should still be food sent by the Imperial Guards in your room; you can eat whatever you want!"
"You say the same thing as your godfather, you'll agree to anything, but everything comes with conditions!"
Huo Qubing muttered something to himself.
He was ultimately too young to stay in the Alchemy Chamber indefinitely, and the stuffy heat of the Alchemy Chamber was something most people couldn't endure.
Huo Qubing glanced at the Pill Furnace several times, and when he pushed open a crack in the door and felt the cool breeze outside, he really couldn't sit still any longer.