Longzang

Chapter 655 Our Duty
When Wei Yuan emerged from seclusion, he discovered that in just a few days, a tall stack of jade papers had been placed on his desk in his study, with over four hundred reports submitted, and more than thirty of them requiring Wei Yuan's decision.

In the study, two Dao Foundation Establishment warriors had changed into scholar's robes and were carefully reading the jade paper that had just been delivered. All reports were first reviewed and analyzed in the mundane world before being presented to Wei Yuan.

For matters of low importance that can be handled through conventional methods, "Human Fireworks" will provide a solution on its own, and Wei Yuan only needs to sign it. For important matters, "Human Fireworks" will provide analysis and suggested options; in most cases, Wei Yuan only needs to choose option one, two, three, or four.

Important matters to be addressed at this moment include the reclamation of 500,000 mu of new fields, the completion of the reorganization of the first 10,000-strong new army, and more than ten injuries sustained during "sparring" at the military academy, among others. There are many less important matters.

Wei Yuan reviewed them one by one and felt that the ways to handle more and more daily matters were similar and could be left to the people to handle.

Then another letter arrived, written by Xu Henshui, saying that four more portions of the main ingredients for the Great Sun Morning Glory Pill had arrived, and that he planned to invite Wei Yuan to refine the pill together in ten days. At that time, elders from the Creation Temple would also come to observe and provide guidance.

Wei Yuan's spirits lifted. He was now very interested in alchemy, mainly because most cultivators knew a little about alchemy and weapon crafting, and they were all astonished by Wei Yuan's alchemy skills.

The Great Sun Morning Flower Elixir is currently the most useful elixir, bar none.

The previous batch of Great Sun Morning Radiance Pills refined by Wei Yuan, totaling twenty, were placed on the exchange list. In just a few months, they were all exchanged, forcing Wei Yuan to earn over a million taels of immortal silver. Finally, he had no choice but to bring out his most treasured stock, specifically selecting two two-pattern spirit pills and placing them at the very end of the treasure vault list.

The allure of the Great Sun Morning Radiance Pill to cultivators at the Earth and Heaven ranks of the Foundation Establishment stage is unparalleled. Since the news spread, over ten Foundation Establishment patriarchs from other regions have moved their entire families to Qingming.

They plan to settle here and contribute their entire family's efforts to obtain a Great Sun Morning Glory Pill as soon as possible, hoping to break through the limits of the Dao path, advance from the Dao Foundation Ancestor to the Dharma Aspect Old Monster, and take off from there.

Since the last alchemy session, Xu Henshui had been saying that he had no main ingredients. This time, however, four main ingredients suddenly appeared, and there were even senior cultivators from his sect observing and giving guidance. No one knows what the inside story is.

For Wei Yuan, this was naturally a great thing. He could refine the materials and then distribute them, which would enrich the exchange list. Although exchanging at half the market price seemed like a loss, and he could only earn ten times the profit, Wei Yuan felt that as long as the Qingming cultivators were satisfied, it was worth the loss.

With some time still remaining before the arrival of the seniors from the Creation Temple, Wei Yuan began to ponder what room for improvement the Great Sun Morning Glory Pill could possibly have. He couldn't let the elders from the Creation Temple's trip be in vain.

The mundane world is no stranger to alchemy; with three alchemy research institutes already established, they naturally took on this task.

The Crouching Dragon and the Phoenix Chick have regarded Xu Wenwu's information from the outer world as sacred texts, drawing countless spiritual nourishment from it, and the solutions they have proposed have gradually strayed further and further from the true path of immortality.

Over the next few days, Wei Yuan studied various improvement plans for alchemy. Many of these plans were so bizarre that they shocked him, but upon closer examination, they made sense. So Wei Yuan hurriedly found Yu Zhizhuo, gave him a bunch of design drawings, and asked him to hurry up and help him refine a batch of alchemy equipment.

After seeing the design drawings, Yu Zhizhuo was also deeply shocked and felt particularly sympathetic towards Xu Henshui.

Before long, the appointed day arrived. On this day, Xu Henshui's alchemy temple was thoroughly cleaned and tidied, and all the disciples bathed and changed their clothes, making themselves look their best. Xu Henshui himself was already waiting at the temple gate early in the morning.

The appointed time arrived, and an old Taoist priest appeared out of thin air at the gate. His hair and beard were as white as snow, his face was ruddy, and he moved with such grace that smoke rose from his feet and clouds appeared with his sleeves. He was truly an immortal being. Behind him were several disciples of the Creation Temple, each of them looking down on everyone else.

Upon seeing the old Taoist priest, Xu Henshui was both surprised and delighted. He quickly stepped forward, knelt down, and said, "Greetings, Ancestor Zhidan."

The old Taoist priest nodded slightly and said, "This is not the Temple of Creation, no need for formalities, please go inside."

A moment later, the old Taoist priest settled down in the main hall, and Wei Yuan, having received the news, hurried over. On the way, he had already learned about this elder. The old Taoist priest called himself Zhi Dan Sanren, but his real name was long lost to history.

Zhi Dan Sanren is 1,300 years old this year. He is one of the four Imperial Alchemists of the Creation Temple. If you count carefully, his seniority is several generations higher than that of the temple master, Dan Mingzi.

The fact that he could use "Knowing the Elixir" as his title shows how profound his alchemy skills were. It is said that if Danmingzi hadn't suddenly appeared, he would have been the abbot of this temple.

Wei Yuan hadn't expected this person to be so important; he had thought that a perfected alchemist would be enough.

Zhi Dan Sanren slowly said, "Although the Great Sun Morning Glory Pill is of low grade, it is related to the number of core cultivators in the sect. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to the foundation of the sect's prosperity. This time, I was entrusted by the Abbot to come here to test Henshui's alchemy skills. I heard that Lord Wei is also skilled in alchemy. Why don't we refine a couple of batches together? Perhaps this old Daoist can give me a few suggestions."

Wei Yuan knew perfectly well that he could see Xu Henshui anytime, so why did he have to choose this particular moment? This old Taoist priest was here specifically to see him.

But Wei Yuan didn't know why the old Taoist priest wanted to look at him.

In short, since the Creation Temple was willing to provide the materials, Wei Yuan naturally wouldn't be polite. Anyway, he only needed to hand over five pills per batch, and only one for a single-pattern pill; the rest were his. With this batch, Wei Yuan would feel he was doing the pill furnace a disservice if he didn't make a little over a million.

The old Taoist priest continued, "The art of alchemy is also constantly evolving. I brought some new auxiliary medicinal materials with me this time, so you can try to improve the pill formulas."

With a wave of his sleeve, the old Taoist priest conjured two medicine cabinets in front of Wei Yuan and Xu Henshui. The cabinets opened automatically, revealing dozens of different medicinal herbs inside. Xu Henshui was visibly taken aback, clearly unaware of this requirement.

However, he was familiar with these medicinal herbs since childhood, and could smell their medicinal properties even with his eyes closed. He immediately took out a cold jade couch, placed it in the alchemy room, and sat down to meditate and ponder.

Wei Yuan also inspected the medicinal herbs, and found that he didn't recognize most of them. He was shameless, though, and when he didn't recognize them, he pulled aside a disciple from the Creation Temple to ask, and the disciple answered all his questions without reservation.

But after only mentioning two items, the Hermit of the Pill Refining said, "Your description of the medicinal materials is generally correct, but the details are not quite right. The Great Sun Morning Glory Pill requires these subtle details. It seems you haven't been diligent in your studies. Go and face the wall for seven days to thoroughly review the medical texts!"

The disciple was drenched in sweat and quickly went to face the wall in meditation.

Zhi Dan Sanren then approached Wei Yuan and said, "You haven't studied medicinal herbs much, so I'll explain it to you from the beginning."

Then the old Taoist picked up a leaf shaped like a sword and said, "This is Night-Blooming Sword Hemp. It looks almost identical to Night-Blooming Sword Hemp at first glance, but its medicinal properties are actually slightly different..."

Wei Yuan listened very attentively, nodding repeatedly, but in fact he had never heard of Nightfall Sword Hemp or Void Night Sword Hemp.

However, Wei Yuan's attitude pleased the old Taoist priest. The old Taoist stroked his beard and explained everything in detail. Wei Yuan nodded repeatedly and remembered everything in his book.

After he finished speaking, the old Taoist priest asked, "Have you remembered everything?"

"remember."

The old Taoist priest casually picked up a medicinal herb and asked, "What is this? What are its medicinal properties?"

The disciples of the Creation Temple brought by the old Taoist priest all had a hint of schadenfreude on their faces. This patriarch was known for his strictness and hated nothing more than a superficial and showy academic style.

If you can't remember it, it's fine to just honestly say you can't remember it. But if he stumps you, facing the wall for seven days is the least of your worries. Wei Yuan speaks off the cuff; boasting is easy, but he'll soon be proven wrong.

Wei Yuan naturally took in everyone's gaze, deliberately feigning difficulty and hesitatingly saying, "This is a 130-year-old Deer Blood Flower, its medicinal properties are..."

He finished speaking somewhat hesitantly, and surprisingly, he was right. The disciples listened with fluctuating emotions, and in the end, they all looked disappointed. It was like watching someone cross a narrow bridge, seeing them about to fall several times, but in the end, they didn't—it was indescribably frustrating.

Wei Yuan couldn't understand what these disciples were thinking. Why would they be happy if he was having a hard time? Was it possible that they were comparing themselves on the same level?

Zhi Dan Sanren frowned slightly, somewhat displeased with Wei Yuan's hesitation, then picked up another medicinal herb and asked again, "What is this?"

"This, this is..." Wei Yuan tried to recall, and just as the disciples' joy was about to show, his thoughts suddenly became clear. He spoke from beginning to end in one breath, exactly the same as what the old Taoist had just taught, without even a single word being out of order.

The disciples of the Creation Temple were dumbfounded, and Xu Henshui was also shocked. The old Taoist priest remained expressionless, repeatedly testing Wei Yuan, who answered calmly, perfectly mimicking the old Taoist's words, even his catchphrases.

The disciples of the Creation Temple turned pale and then red, finally realizing that Wei Yuan had seen through their little scheme and was just playing them.

Zhi Dan Sanren finally smiled and said, "Not bad, not bad!"

The old Taoist priest explained nearly a hundred auxiliary medicines, along with their exact dates and medicinal properties. He spoke for almost half an hour, and Wei Yuan remembered every single word. This was certainly commendable.

Wei Yuan grinned and said, "Having a photographic memory is our duty. If you can't do that, how can you have the face to be a disciple of the Creation Temple?"

The disciples were filled with shame, and Xu Henshui's face also looked somewhat unnatural. To be honest, although he recognized all the medicinal herbs, there were two whose subtle medicinal properties he hadn't remembered. So, Wei Yuan's words inadvertently included him in the insult.

After explaining the medicinal properties, the herbalist let Wei Yuan research the formula and proportions of the pills on his own and put it into practice.

The world was now in an uproar. Many of the brilliant strategists, though they themselves did not understand alchemy, did not stop them from instructing others in alchemy. Wei Yuan instantly gained hundreds of pill formulas, some of which seemed to make sense, while others were complete nonsense.

Wei Yuan felt that it might be necessary to enable a filtering and screening function in the mundane world.

(End of this chapter)