Day and night tour

Chapter 449 The Alchemy Problem
The White Deer Taoist transformed into human form, lowering his head slightly towards the direction of the starry scroll so that he could examine the painting more closely.

The scroll of stars was covered with countless crimson stars, which merged together to form a nebula.

Each nebula, sometimes shining, sometimes silent, is ever-changing.

The white deer sorcerer was captivated by the magnificent scenery, and his hand involuntarily reached out towards the starry scroll. The moment his fingertips touched the scroll, a dazzling flare appeared on it.

A burst of intense light suddenly erupted, stinging the eyes of Zhou Xuan and the White Deer Taoist.
Zhou Xuan quickly swatted Bai Lu's hand away, complaining, "Just look properly, don't touch me like that, or you'll ruin my drawing later."

“Master, your painting is truly wondrous; I wonder where you obtained it.”

"Don't ask where it came from."

Do I really have to tell you about how I used three nine-stick incense offerings to exchange for this painting from the Heavenly Venerable?
Zhou Xuan urged, "I'm just asking you, do you understand this painting?"

He said angrily.

“I understand, I understand.” The White Deer Taoist priest explained carefully, saying to Zhou Xuan, “This painting can’t be unfolded so directly and viewed as nothing special…”

"Then how should we look at something that isn't ordinary or unremarkable?" Zhou Xuan asked.

"It has to be done this way."

Fearing that it might trigger another strong solar flare, the White Deer Taoist said to Zhou Xuan, "Master, may I ask if you can control this painting?"

"Of course it is possible."

"Then roll this painting up into a dome shape."

The White Deer Taoist priest guided Zhou Xuan.

Zhou Xuan then linked his aura with the Starry Sky Scroll.

As the painting slowly rose, reaching a height of about two meters above the ground, Zhou Xuan simultaneously moved both hands, as if rolling out dough.
Under his control, the two sides of the scroll converged towards the center, forming a scroll dome.

The White Deer Alchemist pointed to the dome and said to Zhou Xuan, "Master, doesn't the current Starry Sky Scroll look like the top of an alchemy furnace?"

"It does resemble it, but then what?"

Zhou Xuan asked.

“Master, this painting is both a recipe for alchemy and a design for an alchemy furnace—or to put it another way, some recipes are actually an alchemy furnace.”

“Look at those nebulae scattered in the sky. The positions they are arranged in are called ‘fire eyes’ in the tales of sorcerers, but the order in which these fire eyes are lit is distinct.”

"One fire eye after another was lit, forming one fire after another. The fire was layered and distinct, refining the alchemical materials again and again. Finally, after being tempered and refined a thousand times, the golden elixir of the mortal world was created."

Zhou Xuan listened with great interest as the White Deer sorcerer continued his explanation. Even as the old man's words trailed off, Zhou Xuan, still somewhat unsatisfied, asked, "..."

"That's it? That's all you've said?"

There's not much to say about this painting.

The White Deer Alchemist said, "Furthermore, let's put it more bluntly: this painting is equivalent to an unparalleled master gifting you a prescription for elixirs."
As long as you follow the pill formula, prepare the furnace and ingredients, and then introduce a celestial fire, the fire eye contained in the formula will automatically refine the pill for you.

You don't need to have any alchemy skills.

"You mean, pure automation?"

"That's right. The pill formula is the blueprint for the pill furnace. The blueprint is the pill formula. Once the furnace is built, the pills will naturally be produced."

The White Deer Alchemist said, "However, this automatic alchemy method has a drawback."

"What's the disadvantage?"

"This alchemy furnace, which took a lot of effort to build, can only refine one type of elixir, unlike the other furnaces, which can refine hundreds of different types of elixirs," said the White Deer Alchemist.

"That's good too. After all, it's an automatic alchemy furnace. I don't even need to have any alchemy skills. I'm quite satisfied if it can produce a single pill."

Zhou Xuan was sometimes greedy, but most of the time he was content and happy.

Moreover, he never expected that Blood Well would really go to such great lengths this time. Knowing that his alchemy skills were still lacking, they gave him a "production line" first, although it was just the blueprints for the production line.

But with the blueprints in hand, is the rest difficult?
“It’s quite difficult.”

The White Deer Alchemist poured cold water on Zhou Xuan's enthusiasm, saying, "Even with the blueprints, you still need to build a pill furnace, collect pill-refining materials, and prepare a heavenly fire."

"Let's start with the materials for alchemy. May I ask, sir, what is the purpose of the pills refined in this furnace?"

The White Deer Taoist asked.

He was an alchemist, but not a fortune teller. Just by looking at the fire eyes in those pictures, he couldn't deduce what kind of pills could be made from that formula.

"An elixir used to exchange with heaven and earth."

Zhou Xuan said.

"Oh, this kind of elixir is a Qi Pill, and its ingredients are the power of human will," said the White Deer Alchemist. "But look at the number of fiery eyes in this picture; they are truly countless."

The more fire eyes there are, the more materials and human willpower are needed—a truly astronomical figure.

"You don't need to worry about the matter of wishes."

Zhou Xuan stayed in Mingjiang Prefecture. He didn't have much else, but as for wish power, wasn't that a continuous supply?
"Old Bai, just tell me the next difficult point."

"The next challenge is to ignite a celestial fire."

The White Deer Alchemist said, "For us alchemists, heavenly fire is heavenly thunder. During thunderstorms, every time a bolt of heavenly thunder flashes across the sky, the alchemist must guide it into the furnace of the alchemy furnace."

"Sir, when you were at the Huangyuan Maha Temple, did you see the top of the Maha Pagoda? It was incredibly tall and perilous."

"I saw it."

"That's the setup that the Fish Monk used to draw heavenly lightning into the alchemy furnace."

“Oh…heavenly thunder…I can have Brother Peng, the musician, and King Xishan come and subdue it.”

These three are all deities in the human realm. With divine status comes divine power, which allows them to summon wind, rain, thunder, and move mountains.

With them here,

Thunder is no problem.

“But your furnace requires an enormous amount of heavenly fire. Even if Mingjiang Prefecture were to send down heavenly lightning continuously for three months, it probably wouldn’t be enough to generate the fire it needs.”

At this point, the White Deer Taoist changed the subject again, saying, "However, for others, gathering a large number of heavenly fires in a short period of time is as difficult as ascending to heaven, but for you, it is not difficult at all."

"Why?"

Zhou Xuan asked.

"Because there are blue and red fish."

The White Deer Alchemist said, "When refining pills, you only need to introduce a few bolts of heavenly lightning to activate the blue and red fish. These two precious fish will then transform into flames, causing the flames inside the furnace to soar into the sky."

"You should have told me sooner, otherwise I would have had to rack my brains to come up with a solution."

Zhou Xuan had actually put in some effort after listening to Bai Lu's words, trying to figure out where to gather the Heavenly Fire. Now that Qinghongyu had this supernatural ability, he had no more worries.

"So that's how those two fish were used?"

"The Blue and Red Fish are the ancestors of alchemy in the human world. They have many wonderful abilities in alchemy. Using the two fish to create the great power of heavenly fire is just the tip of the iceberg."

The White Deer Taoist said again, "Since the first two difficulties are nothing to you, Master, the last one is a big deal."

"What do you think."

Zhou Xuan was prepared to listen quietly.

The white-deer alchemist said, "This pill is difficult to refine. It requires a lot of heavenly fire and a lot of materials. Accordingly, the alchemy furnace it needs must be extremely large."

"My initial estimate is that this alchemy furnace needs to be at least as large and tall as White Deer Mountain."

"How many years would it take to build such a large alchemy furnace by hand?"

The White Deer Taoist priest posed a soul-searching question.

Zhou Xuan thought for a moment and said calmly, "It will probably take several decades."

Although the Kingdom of Jing already had a lot of machinery, such as road rollers, tractors, and transport vehicles, building such a large alchemy furnace was not a simple task.

It will still be needed for several decades.

"Can you wait that long, sir?"

"I can't wait!"

Zhou Xuan said, "The three great deities have the ability to move mountains. With this method, can we make a large alchemy furnace in a short time?"

"That might not work."

"A pill furnace is a pill furnace. Its internal structure is complex and requires careful carving. Even if the gods bring in the highest and largest mountains, they are still mountains, not furnaces."

"Can it only be built manually?"

Zhou Xuan asked.

"More or less."

The White Deer Taoist said, "Otherwise, why would the Fish Monk covet my White Deer Mountain and try to seize it by trickery and force?"
The furnace in the mountains was built in ancient times by a prefecture, using the resources of the entire prefecture and taking two hundred years to complete.

At this point, the White Deer Alchemist suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said, "However—Master, I just had an idea. Why don't you go to White Deer Mountain to refine elixirs?"

White Deer Mountain is a ready-made furnace; you can just take over like a cuckoo…

"Screw you."

Zhou Xuan burst out laughing at the White Deer Alchemist and said, "My power of will is mainly concentrated in Mingjiang Prefecture. Can the power of will from Mingjiang Prefecture be used to refine pills in Huangyuan Prefecture?"

"Then... I'm afraid that's not possible."

"You still say you want to change your mind?"

“I really can’t think of that. Alchemy is like that; it requires a lot of supporting facilities and cannot be accomplished overnight.” Seeing Zhou Xuan’s uncertain expression, the White Deer Alchemist didn’t dare to say anything more, for fear of upsetting this great master.

After racking his brains for a long time, Zhou Xuan still couldn't find a solution.

His willpower is not lacking.

He also has heavenly fire.

But he was truly helpless against this alchemy furnace, which was as high as a mountain.

Moreover, he knew that the White Deer Alchemist's words were not alarmist. In the scene of the Blood Well Divination, he personally witnessed that the Seven-Colored Elixir slowly rose from a mountain-like alchemy furnace.

"How do you build such a huge furnace?"

As Zhou Xuan pondered this, he paced back and forth in the room.

He walked almost around the base of the wall, going back and forth inside the house more than a dozen times, when a silver bell rang out from outside the door.

"Brother Xuan, you're back."

Zhou Xuan turned his head and saw three people enter the shop—Master Jian, Master Jiu, and Sister Cui.

A few days ago, Sister Cui heard that Dongshi Street had been restored by Zhou Xuan, so she decided to "revisit the old place" and returned to Dongshi Street accompanied by Lord Jian and Lord Jiu.

However, this time she was saying goodbye to the past. She would leave completely after only a few days and live permanently in the Zhou family troupe from now on.

"Sister Cui, Lord Jianjiu."

Lord Jian clasped his hands and said, "Master, you went to Huangyuan Prefecture and stirred up a great storm. The great Buddha of Huangyuan Prefecture died at your hands."

"I'm just acting on behalf of Heaven," Zhou Xuan said, putting a moral "hat" on himself first.

The Master of Wine laughed and said, "Not only did you kill the Fish Monk, but Zhao Jinjia and Wan Zangshan, two famous figures who had been around for many years, also died at your hands."

"You've misunderstood me. I did kill Zhao Jinjia, but I didn't do anything to Wanzangshan."

Although Zhou Xuan had accumulated too many enemies, he adhered to the principle of "the one less is the best" and refused to take on any wrongdoings that he shouldn't have, focusing on "harmony brings wealth".

"After this battle, everyone in the entire Jing Kingdom knows that the Great Master is the number one figure below the Nine Incense Sticks. Lord Jian and I must avoid your sharp edge."

"Is that so? I don't believe it unless you two personally fight with the Master and let me see it for myself."

Li Changxun's voice, carried by a gust of wind, drifted into the Jingyi Shop.

He shook his Taoist robe and swaggered in.

His words made Master Jiu burst out laughing: "Li Shanzu, you really are mischievous, thinking of instigating us to fight with the Master? Do you want us to die?"

"I could spar with Li Shanzu and give the Master some amusement," Arrow Master said, glaring at Li Changxun.

"Get lost! What kind of adult fights with a child?"

Li Changxun immediately retorted.

Actually, he didn't say the second half of his sentence—"Even I, an adult, might not be able to beat a child like you."

The "Divine Arrow" branch where Arrow Master is located is also one of the combat branches of the Well Kingdom. It is weaker than Wuwen Mountain, but stronger than the storyteller.

The mission of the Divine Arrow Hall is to maintain order in the Well Kingdom; killing is a profession for them.

Even though Master Jian's skill level is not as high as Li Changxun's, Li Changxun himself believes that his chances of winning are very small if they were to actually fight.

He has never been unworthy of the title "shame of the divine name".

"Mountain Ancestor, where are Lao Yun and Ya Zi?"

Zhou Xuan asked.

“They made fun of me and said bad things about me. I got angry and rode away on the wind without taking the two of them with me. They’re probably still riding their donkeys halfway there.”

Li Changxun's appearance carried a hint of smugness, as if his "scheme had succeeded."

Zhou Xuan then asked, "By the way, Mountain Ancestor, I have a problem here. I've run into you, so you can give me some advice."

"Say, you say."

"Look, I'm going to build a huge alchemy furnace."

"How big."

“It’s bigger than Yunlu, at least twice as big. You feng shui masters can control the earth. Can you use your dragon-seeking method to build my alchemy furnace?”

Zhou Xuan introduced himself with great confidence, but Li Changxun rolled his eyes and repeatedly declined, saying, "Master, you are really flattering me."

"Can't do it?"

"First of all, we are 'dragon hunters,' borrowing the terrain's energy. You can call us 'geomancers,' but we are not mere transporters of land."

"For things like moving walls and prying tiles, go to the docks and hire laborers; they'll have a better grasp of the situation than we do."

“We could hire them, but laborers are too slow. If we hire them to build the furnace, it might take decades,” Zhou Xuan said.

"Huh!?" Li Changxun asked, bewildered, "Wasn't such a huge furnace originally intended to be built over several decades?"

Zhou Xuan shook his head and said, "It would be best if it could be completed within seven days."

This batch of pills is not only related to saving Hua Zi, but also to whether Zhou Xuan can become a high-ranking official in the alchemy world.

If one fails to become a pill official, the Heavenly Fire Clan in the sky will send people to "kill and steal fish".

Zhou Xuan didn't have time to wait.

“…” Li Changxun.

Li Changxun realized what was happening and immediately exploded: "Master, I am a Celestial God, not some production team's livestock. Building such a huge furnace in ten days or half a month? I'd rather die!"

"If we can't do it, we can't do it. Why are you getting so anxious? Let me think of another way. With so many capable friends, we should be able to build this furnace in a very short time."

He had barely finished speaking when

Sister Cui asked timidly, "Brother Xuan, what is the purpose of this big furnace?"

"It's about alchemy." Zhou Xuan didn't mention saving Mu Hua.

After all, the furnace is still "not even close to being built." What if the furnace can't be built and the elixir can't be refined, causing Sister Cui to be disappointed again? Wouldn't that be a sin?
"Then perhaps... perhaps... I can help you."

"Sister Cui said."

Her words were like a slap in the face, making Li Changxun's old face sting.

Li Changxun immediately became anxious and said, "Girl, don't exaggerate. Do you know how high and big Yunlu Mountain is?"

Provoked by her words, Sister Cui became more articulate, pointing decisively at Mingjiang Snow Mountain and saying,
“I don’t know how high or how big Yunlu Mountain is, but I imagine it’s not as magnificent as that snow mountain. Even if Brother Xuan wanted to build a furnace as tall as that snow mountain, I would have a way.”

"It can be built in a day."

Zhou Xuan and Li Changxun: "..."

Li Changxun laughed in exasperation and said, "That's too much boasting."

"Sister Cui isn't exaggerating," Lord Jian chimed in from the side.

While Zhou Xuan and Li Changxun were surprised, Lord Jian and Lord Jiu remained calm, seemingly certain that Sister Cui could do it.

"How did she manage to do that?" Li Changxun asked Lord Arrow.

Lord Arrow said, enunciating each word clearly: "The Laws of the Earth, the Four Realms."

"what?!"

Li Changxun didn't know much about Sister Cui, since she had gone to work for the Zhou family troupe after the Mingjiang Zoroastrian fire disaster.

In the days that followed, Zhou Xuan rescued the mountain ancestor from the abyss.

The two had almost never met.

When Li Changxun heard about "the laws of the earth and the four realms," he immediately turned around, wanting to ask Zhou Xuan if this was true.

Zhou Xuan suddenly realized what was going on, and clapped his hands together, saying, "Oh right, I forgot about that. The Earth Law, it's still at the fourth level. Sister Cui, we'll have to rely on you this time."

"Is it really the Four Realms?"

Li Changxun looked at Sister Cui again, his eyes filled with respect, and said, "I was being presumptuous just now. I never expected that someone as ordinary as you would possess such a high level of Earth Law."

"Still talking."

Zhou Xuan put his arm around Li Changxun's shoulder and said, "Some people in your Dragon Seeking Hall know that a member of the Fox Clan has been born with a fourth-level talent, and they're thinking of killing him every day."

This forced Sister Cui to live in anonymity, working as a cook in the East Market.

"Such a thing is true? Damn it, the Xunlong Hall is utterly wicked. I am their sworn enemy."

Li Changxun put on a "righteous and awe-inspiring" appearance, extricating himself from the Xunlong Hall, but he forgot that he was the leader of the Xunlong Hall!

Zhou Xuan grasped Sister Cui's hand and said, "Sister Cui, are you sure you can help me build that furnace?"

"hundred percent."

Sister Cui said, "My incense cultivation level is low, and the operation of the laws is not very natural. It is not good enough for fighting enemies. However, it can be very useful for making inanimate objects like large furnaces."

She lowered her head and snapped her fingers at the ground. The bricks on the ground seemed to come alive, first cracking open with a "bang."

Then the broken bricks and stones automatically glued themselves back together, forming a miniature version of a noodle shop.

The miniature noodle shop has a door and windows. Looking through the small windows, you can see that the layout is exactly the same as Sister Cui's noodle shop, which is very ingenious.

Zhou Xuan held the "small noodle shop" and looked it over a few times before handing it to Bai Lu Fangshi: "Old Bai, take a look. With Sister Cui's control over the bricks and stones, can she build the alchemy furnace you mentioned?"

(End of this chapter)