Gathering All the Pills
The changes brought about by Han Yan's death were something Zhang Xuezhou had never anticipated.
The new emperor is decisive and efficient; he does what he says he will do.
Zhang Xuezhou left early and returned late, while the convoy heading to Mount Tai had already set off.
Wei Qing, who also participated in the Mount Tai sacrificial ceremony, would ride off to catch up with the convoy two days later, while Zhang Xuezhou might need to use the Imperial Shuttle to assist the new emperor on his way to Mount Tai.
This made Zhang Xuezhou extremely happy.
The new emperor traveled to Mount Tai by imperial shuttle for convenience, but it was also to take care of Zhang Xuezhou, waiting for him even though many others had already arrived at Mount Tai, rather than letting Zhang Xuezhou miss the sacrificial ceremony.
He was somewhat taken aback when he was transformed from an underground party member into a regular soldier.
"Han Yan died a truly unjust death!"
Zhang Xuezhou finally shook his head and sighed.
"His death was not unjust," Wei Qing said earnestly. "Practicing forbidden arts violates the rules of the court. His Majesty's permission made it a reasonable and legal act. We cannot assume Han Yan was without fault simply because His Majesty agreed at this time. He knew the court forbade it and still did it. Even if he hadn't been ruined by this matter, he would have made a mistake in something else and thus destroyed himself!"
"That makes sense!"
Wei Qing's ideas differed from those of Zhang Xuezhou and others, but what Wei Qing said was not wrong.
Zhang Xuezhou and others were more driven by self-interest, while Wei Qing strictly adhered to the rules.
Han Yan survived this time, but perhaps because of this selfish nature, he will take risky actions in the future. The higher his official position, the greater the harm he may cause.
Zhang Xuezhou felt a pang of regret, while Wei Qing felt that Han Yan's death was not a great loss.
"Alchemy! Alchemy!"
Thinking back to Han Yan's past ambition and his attempt to change his fate by following the new emperor, only to be thwarted by an accident, Zhang Xuezhou felt a deep sense of sympathy.
Zhang Xuezhou ultimately did not dwell on this matter; he did not form any cliques among officials, and his relationship with Han Yan was very limited.
Returning to the Alchemy Chamber, Zhang Xuezhou once again entered a state of alchemy.
You can't refine pills when you lack medicinal herbs, but if you have too many medicinal herbs, refining pills becomes a torment.
He pondered when he would return to reality, hoping to finish refining the medicinal herbs during this time and refine as many and better pills as possible.
When Qin Lu No. 8 regained its familiar control, Zhang Xuezhou could still hear Wuqiu Shouwang outside the Alchemy Chamber whispering, "Han Yan seems to have clashed with the Empress Dowager because of his investigation into Xiu Chengjun's affairs. That's why the Empress Dowager kept a close eye on him during the ritual and discovered the problem, which led to the battle breaking Han Yan's luck and causing a series of serious problems. What should we do if we run into the Empress Dowager's gun after we start cultivating our luck?"
"A power struggle between the empress dowagers?"
Zhang Xuezhou frowned slightly.
He sensed the Empress Dowager's gaze sweep over him, but it quickly faded only after he presented the King of Huainan's dragon and phoenix jade pendant to the new emperor.
Zhang Xuezhou avoided competing with the Empress Dowager, while Han Yan did not.
Not to mention the difficulty of escaping the battle of wits, the Empress Dowager and Han Yan were bound by old and new grudges, making it hard to tolerate their physical combat.
Wuqiu Shouwang considered that future conflicts were inevitable, while Zhang Xuezhou was not so afraid of the Empress Dowager. At worst, he would continue to wage a protracted war until the Empress Dowager starved to death.
The Empress Dowager's battle with Han Yan inevitably brought her good fortune; even if it didn't mean her wishes came true, it certainly brought some benefits, such as things going smoothly.
"I wonder if it's because her illness has been cured or if her Yang Soul Incarnation Technique has been perfected?"
The Empress Dowager's involvement is limited, but if it has any impact, it will most likely involve these two aspects.
Whether it's the former or the latter, Zhang Xuezhou is happy to see it succeed.
Many related thoughts flashed through his mind, but eventually he calmed down, with only his hands still firmly in control.
The benefits of high-temperature flames from coal are extremely high. Qinlu No. 8 combines steam and flames to create a high-pressure environment inside the furnace, which is difficult to achieve when the flame power is insufficient.
In the past, Zhang Xuezhou's tests of new pills had a high failure rate, and the difficulty in standardizing the types of medicinal materials caused more problems. However, this time the success rate of the pills has been significantly improved.
The Law Power Creation Pill was successfully formed after two failed attempts, with half being of low-grade and half of it being of medium-grade, which satisfied Zhang Xuezhou.
Whenever he successfully refines pills in batches, his success rate in pill refining will increase significantly, and then he will focus on improving the quality. However, Qin Furnace No. 8 does require a bit of luck to produce pills.
"A total of six batches of Law Power Creation Pills were produced!"
One batch yields two hundred pills, so six batches would yield one thousand two hundred pills.
Although the imperial court also provided a large amount of medicinal materials, compared to the five hundred pills traded with Hongku, this was undoubtedly a substantial profit, not to mention that other pills were also produced.
"Let's refine one more batch to finish!"
Zhang Xuezhou cut off most of the more than 100 kilograms of woody Ganoderma lucidum and mixed it with other varieties of Ganoderma lucidum and other medicinal materials. He also used waste materials to refine one last batch of pills for himself.
He used various Ganoderma lucidum samples, piecing together a yin-yang balance scheme that looked like a hodgepodge, yet it was similar to Luo Burang's use of extracts from various ferocious beasts for adjustments.
The quantity of medicinal materials being refined has increased, but the types have remained the same.
After refining this batch of pills, Zhang Xuezhou felt that unless he needed to refine immortality pills or longevity pills, he would rarely refine pills anymore. Even if Hongku sought cooperation in refining pills, he would need to offer sufficient benefits before he would start the furnace.
Just like money, you need money when you don't have it, but once you have enough money, your mindset will be completely different.
The same applies to elixirs. Zhang Xuezhou knows exactly what he needs, and once he has gathered all the necessary ingredients, he won't deliberately pursue more.
Unless he can unlock the path to his True Self Realm, he currently has very few external needs.
Zhang Xuezhou packed a batch of personal items into his Lesser Heaven and Earth Bag. He felt that pushing his physical body technique to the level of the Sole Self Realm wouldn't be a big problem. What he needed more was time. After all, refining the physical body technique was extremely time-consuming, and the higher one's cultivation level, the more time it took. Even with the combined effects of pills, it still took a long time.
"My refinement in the Sole Self Realm is nearing its end!"
Once he has mastered the Body Technique, Zhang Xuezhou's cultivation will be limited to nurturing the Spirit Wood Staff or pursuing the pseudo-domain that the Sword Drawing Technique might extend into.
Having already pushed his own abilities to their limits, Zhang Xuezhou will now focus more on pursuing Realm Technique.
"Wei Qing?"
The fire in the Pill Furnace was blazing, with only the faint sounds of burning and steam churning remaining. The surroundings were somewhat quiet, and Zhang Xuezhou felt that something was different from usual.
He stood up and called out, but no one responded.
When he pushed open the palace door, he saw that Wei Qing and the others who had helped outside had all left, leaving only the neatly arranged water vat and the somewhat empty medicine box.
Having finished the tasks assigned by Zhang Xuezhou, everyone had clearly begun their journey to Mount Tai.
Zhang Xuezhou glanced in the direction of Mount Tai.
What would take Wei Qing and his companions several days on horseback was merely an easy journey for him using the Sky Shuttle.
Zhang Xuezhou had originally intended to ask Wei Qing and the others to help him start the furnace and finish the last batch of pills, but seeing that there was no one there, he gave up the idea.
Zhang Xuezhou stuffed a handful of Creation Pills into his mouth, and after swallowing them, he took a counterfeit Life Creation Pill.
While waiting for the last batch of pills to mature and take shape, he also took the opportunity to practice his physical body techniques, which hadn't been improved for a long time, hoping to use a sufficient amount of pills to push them forward.