Building a long-lasting family lineage starting with genealogy

Chapter 112 Refining the Jade Sprout Pill (Please Subscribe)

A few moments.

Four people walked in from outside the hall.

Xu Chuan was not surprised to see Master He, but when he saw Zhou Sen, his eyes immediately showed surprise.

Zhou Sen was the same.

Overjoyed, he immediately bypassed Master He and the others to stand before Xu Chuan, smiling broadly as he said, "Fellow Daoist San Shu, I never imagined that we would meet again after all these years."

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, we meet again."

Everyone looked at the two of them in surprise, and Master He felt that Xu Chuan looked somewhat familiar.

Butler Gu's eyes flashed, and he said with a sharp glint in them, "Master Zhou, could this person be the guest of your Zhou family that you mentioned before?"

"Indeed, let me introduce you all. The Three Vertical Daoists are more skilled in alchemy than I am."

Master He's eyes lit up as he suddenly remembered that Xu Chuan was the rogue cultivator who had come to the Treasure Pavilion to sell pills more than two months ago.

"So you're a master alchemist, fellow Daoist. You kept it a secret very well." Master He stepped forward with a smile and said, "How have you been?"

"Master He, how have you been?"

"I admire Fellow Daoist Zhou's skill in alchemy. His statement that you are above him must be true. Calling me a master, isn't that mocking me?"

"Fellow Daoist He," Xu Chuan said with a faint smile, cupping his fists in greeting.

Zhou Sen and Butler Gu were also surprised. Butler Gu said, "Master He, you also know Fellow Daoist San Shu?"

Master He stroked his white beard and said, "Two months ago, Fellow Daoist San Shu went to the Treasure Pavilion to sell pills, which I appraised."

Upon hearing this, Butler Gu remembered.

Some time ago, the Treasure Pavilion did indeed send two pills to help break through the bottleneck in the late stage of Qi Refining. Although they were low-grade, their effects were comparable to high-grade Breakthrough Pills.

Butler Gu's eyes shifted. "Master San Shu, although you are an acquaintance of Master Zhou, this time our royal palace is publicly recruiting alchemists. All those who come must pass the examinations of Master Zhou, Master He, and the other two."

"That's only right." Xu Chuan nodded slightly.

The four of them were tested on the difficulties in refining elixirs or the medicinal properties of some rare spiritual herbs.

One person was eliminated in this round.

The second round involved on-the-spot alchemy, using ordinary Qi-restoring pills, the materials of which Steward Gu had already had prepared.

"This round will be decided by the quantity and quality of the pills produced," Master He announced loudly, and then immediately began refining the pills.

Xu Chuan was the fastest, and with deliberate restraint, he produced seven stones: one low-grade, five medium-grade, and one high-grade.

If he were to focus all his efforts on refining simple pills like the Qi-restoring pill, he could produce two high-grade pills and six mid-grade pills.

Soon after, the other two also finished refining the pills.

However, they could only produce four or five pills, with the highest being a mid-grade Qi-restoring pill. Therefore, Xu Chuan obtained the sole qualification without any doubt.

Master He stroked his beard and nodded, saying, "Fellow Daoist San Shu's alchemy is indeed profound. You produced a top-grade pill in just one batch. Even I can only rely on luck."

"Fellow Daoist Crane, you flatter me. I was just lucky."

Xu Chuan remained unperturbed by praise or criticism, and immediately asked, "Now may I tell you what elixir I will refine for the Princess?"

Butler Gu stepped forward and handed the prescription to Xu Chuan.

"Jade Bud Pill?!"

Upon seeing the name of the pill formula, Xu Chuan also showed a look of surprise.

"That's right, it is the Jade Sprout Pill. To heal the princess's injuries, a Jade Sprout Pill of medium grade or higher is required."

With a sweep of his divine sense, Xu Chuan clearly identified the ingredients of the Jade Sprout Pill: a total of fifteen kinds, including several second-tier spiritual herbs.

"Well, Master San Shu, are you confident?"

Xu Chuan frowned and asked, "How many sets of Jade Sprout Pill materials has the Prince's Mansion collected so far?"

"There were originally twenty portions, but Master He and his group used eight of them."

Twelve portions of mid-grade second-tier pills—Xu Chuan couldn't claim complete confidence, but then he remembered something and said, "If there are twelve portions, I might give it a try, but..."

"If you have any other requests, please feel free to ask, Master San Shu," said Steward Gu.

"I have never refined second-tier pills before. I wonder if the Prince's Palace has any second-tier pill recipes in its collection so that I can refine a few batches and familiarize myself with them."

"This"

When Butler Gu heard that Xu Chuan had never refined a second-tier pill, he immediately looked worried.

Zhou Sen said, "Steward Gu, Fellow Daoist San Shu is a rogue cultivator. Most rogue cultivators rarely even come into contact with the formulas for first-order pills, let alone second-order ones."
However, I can vouch for Fellow Daoist San Shu's mastery of alchemy. Since he said it's worth a try, he must have some confidence in his abilities.

“Since Master Zhou is acting as guarantor, then I, Gu, will go and fetch the second-tier pill formula. I wonder if Master Sanshu has any requests?” Butler Gu made his decision immediately.

"The more complete the better. Refining more varieties will allow me to have a deeper understanding of the medicinal properties of second-tier spiritual herbs."

Butler Gu nodded. Although the prescription was precious, how could it compare to the life of the princess?

Moreover, even if the other party intended to memorize the pill formula, second-tier spiritual herbs are not common items, and it would be extremely difficult for a Qi Refining cultivator to collect a complete set.

It is also a rare sight in the market.

Only because Prince Yong was at the Foundation Establishment stage and had recruited two or three alchemy masters, such as Master He, could these spiritual herbs be kept in his residence.

Before long, Steward Gu had prepared the alchemy room and delivered five alchemy formulas along with four sets of materials for each formula.

Xu Chuan was researching second-tier pill formulas in the alchemy room, while Zhou Sen and others were trying to stabilize the princess's injuries.

From the simplest second-tier detoxification pills to healing pills, and then to pills for restoring vitality, there is also a pill for improving foundation-building mana, called the True Essence Pill.

Second-tier pills are significantly more difficult to make than first-tier pills.

However, Xu Chuan's alchemy skills were extremely high. He mastered 60-70% of the medicinal properties of the materials in just one batch, and usually he could refine a low-grade pill in the second or even third batch.

The fourth batch produced two low-grade pills.

Of the five pill formulas, the most difficult is the True Essence Pill. Xu Chuan only managed to refine one low-grade True Essence Pill with the help of four ingredients.

It is evident that second-tier pills are indeed several times more difficult to make than first-tier pills.

After that, Xu Chuan meditated for two hours.

He then began to study the ingredients of the Jade Sprout Pill, even trying to understand the changes in the medicinal properties of the herb by taking it orally. Fortunately, he possessed the innate talent of "Shennong's Hundred Herbs," which gave him great resistance to various kinds of herbs, preventing him from experiencing any adverse effects from tasting them.

One day and night later.

Xu Chuan officially began refining the Jade Sprout Pill. Before refining the pill, he specifically instructed the guards at the door not to let anyone disturb him.

Jade Sprout Pill is an ancient healing pill. In addition to being able to cure all kinds of poisons, it also has an effect that ordinary antidote pills do not have, namely, it can cure poison to the soul.

Xu Chuan guessed that Princess Yong must have been poisoned by some kind of demonic beast that damaged her soul.

Otherwise, this elixir wouldn't be needed.

The first batch of Jade Sprout Pills failed.

Xu Chuan recalled the alchemy process, reflected on it, and then started refining the pills again.

The second attempt failed.

Learn from experience and refine your skills.

failure!

failure!

failure!

On the sixth batch, Xu Chuan finally refined a low-grade Jade Sprout Pill.

This dan has a round and smooth body with a restrained luster. Its color is warm and lustrous like yellow jade, and there is a ring of light white texture on the three parts of its surface, from the middle to the bottom.

The fragrance of Dan is overflowing.

Upon hearing it, one feels as if the pores of the entire body open up, as if the root causes of long-standing ailments in the internal organs have been eliminated in an instant.

Xu Chuan did not allow the medicinal properties of the pill to continue to evaporate, and immediately put it into a white jade porcelain bottle.

The seventh attempt failed.

The eighth batch yielded two low-grade Jade Sprout Pills.

The ninth batch failed.

Turning his head, Xu Chuan noticed that there were not many materials left for the Jade Sprout Pill, and his expression gradually became serious.

He began to study the medicinal properties of each material from scratch, and recalled the changes in the medicinal properties of the Jade Sprout Pill during successful and failed attempts. He discovered that the reason he couldn't make the Jade Sprout Pill was not because he had a problem with mastering its medicinal properties.

It's not about the order in which the medicines combine.

Alchemy emphasizes the roles of the principal, assistant, and adjuvant herbs, and different sequences of steps will trigger different changes in the medicinal properties.

Whether due to rejection, compatibility, or antagonism, the medicinal properties may ultimately weaken.

"The fact that only low-grade pills were produced indicates that the medicinal properties have been weakened."

Xu Chuan couldn't use complete materials for trial and error, so he could only rely on his own guesses and repeatedly take two or three different medicines orally to determine whether their properties were compatible or antagonistic.

Half a day later.

After Xu Chuan finished his meditation, he began refining pills again.

On the tenth batch, one mid-grade Jade Sprout Pill and one low-grade Jade Sprout Pill were finally refined.

At this point, Xu Chuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ancient elixirs are indeed difficult to refine."

Just as Xu Chuan was preparing to concentrate on refining the eleventh batch of pills, Prince Yong returned from the imperial city in a flying magical artifact.

Beside him stood an elderly man with white hair, whose temples were like frost, but whose face was like that of an infant. His back was as straight as a pine tree brushing against the clouds, and his clothes fluttered with the rhythm of pine breeze and crane cry, as if a true immortal from beyond the mortal world had occasionally descended to earth.

"Your Highness, you're back. And who is this?" Butler Gu immediately went to greet him.

Prince Yong was over eight feet tall, wearing a crimson python robe that shone like the first rays of dawn, with gold thread dragon patterns flowing with his steps, as if flames were surging beneath the surface.

He wore a purple-gold crown with a red jade hairpin running across it. Beneath his broad forehead, his sword-like eyebrows slanted upwards to his temples. His eyes were as deep as a cold pool reflecting fire, and his beard, like a halberd, was trimmed very neatly.

He exudes an aura of dominance.

"This is the chief disciple of the Pill Hall, Yun Zhongzi. What do you think, Your Highness?"

"Master He, Master Zhou, and others have temporarily suppressed the symptoms, but according to them, they will not be able to recover for more than two days. Currently, a master alchemist named San Shu is refining the Jade Sprout Pill."

Upon hearing this, Prince Yong's expression changed drastically, and he rebuked, "Nonsense! Is the Jade Sprout Pill something that just anyone can refine? Its ingredients are rare. If you squander it all, you will be condemned to death!"

"Hurry up and stop the alchemy!"

"Yes, yes, yes," Butler Gu replied repeatedly.

"Wait, I have never refined the Jade Sprout Pill before. It takes at least five or six portions to refine a mid-grade pill."

Butler Gu's face turned ashen.

Yun Zhongzi is the chief of the Dan Hall, in the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, and has been immersed in alchemy for over a hundred years. Even he said that at least five or six portions are needed, while the Three Vertical Daoists can only succeed with twelve portions.

Finished!

He was killed by Zhou Sen!

Butler Gu had not expected that his lord would bring back Yun Zhongzi, the chief alchemist of the Dan Hall, so quickly.

I wish I had waited two more days.

His only hope was that Xu Chuan would be too afraid to try refining the Jade Sprout Pill, and that he would have five or six sets of materials left over.

Steward Gu hurriedly arrived at the entrance of the alchemy room, only to find the door tightly closed and the restriction activated. He was unable to force his way in and needed someone inside to lift it.

Fortunately, sound can be transmitted through the barrier.

“Master San Shu, my lord has returned with the chief alchemist of the Pill Hall. Please stop alchemy immediately and leave the materials for Chief Alchemist Yun Zhongzi to refine.”

Xu Chuan was in the process of refining pills when he heard this and frowned slightly.

But he immediately continued to refine the product with a calm mind.

The requested mid-grade Jade Sprout Pill has been successfully refined, and even if the other party has a thousand complaints, they can be undone.

(End of this chapter)