Chapter 117: Collapsed White Mingdan Division (Part 1)

“Amazing!”

“Only Master Alchemist Bai Ming possesses such skill, capable of successfully refining a Hole-Nourishing Pill even under these conditions!”

“The Hole-Nourishing Pill is incredibly difficult to refine, and Master Alchemist Bai Ming’s technique is even more complex; I’ve never seen anything like it. I’m eager to see what flaws Zhang Xuan can point out!”

“Heh heh, let’s wait for the show!”

Upon seeing Master Alchemist Bai Ming successfully refine the Hole-Nourishing Pill, the many alchemists all burst into laughter.

The higher the grade of the pill, the more complex the refining technique. The Hole-Nourishing Pill is considered quite potent among first-grade pills, and its refining method is exceptionally intricate. Even they, experienced alchemists, couldn't identify errors in the technique. How could an apprentice possibly see them?

“Alright, the pill is complete. Now, tell me the name of the technique and its flaws!” Master Alchemist Bai Ming chuckled coldly, steadied his breathing, and waved his hand.

Dreaming of winning the debate simply by relying on some leverage or information obtained from who knows where! Without genuine skill to correctly identify the refining errors, he wouldn't earn his respect. Not a chance!

“Are you sure you want me to speak?” Zhang Xuan’s expression was strange again.

“Don’t play games here. If you can’t say it, concede defeat!” Master Alchemist Bai Ming snorted coldly.

“Alright then!” Zhang Xuan shook his head, clasped his hands behind his back, and slowly walked to the center of the room.

“The refining technique you used is called 'Thousand Peaks Hand,' supposedly created by a two-star alchemist named Feng Xuan. It involves adding ingredients in a specific sequence, like mountain peaks, layer after layer, wave after wave. Flame control also follows this pattern, fluctuating in intensity. This method allows the medicinal properties to fully blend, making it easy to form pills. However, its flaw is very apparent: it’s extremely difficult to improve the pill’s grade.”

“Therefore, although your three Hole-Nourishing Pills were successful, they are only of the lowest grade. Achieving optimal quality is nearly impossible. This refining technique is only suitable for low-level alchemists for mass production. To be honest, slightly better alchemists wouldn't bother learning it because it essentially hinders their progress. No matter how many times they practice, they can’t improve the pill’s quality by even a fraction. What’s the point of learning it?”

“Unless… one feels they have no more potential to unleash, and thus gives up on themselves!” Zhang Xuan smiled faintly, looking meaningfully at him. “Master Alchemist Bai Ming, am I right?”

“Hmph!” Hearing these words, Bai Ming gritted his teeth, his face alternating between red and white.

As the head of the Bai family and a respected one-star alchemist, he was now, in the other's words, a… low-level alchemist… with no more potential to explore…

However, he couldn’t refute it. The flaws of the Thousand Peaks Hand technique were exactly as Zhang Xuan described. While it made refining Hole-Nourishing Pills easy, it offered no room for further improvement.

“Don’t get cocky. Stating these facts is useless. You still need to point out the specific errors in my refining process to win!” Bai Ming exhaled, barely suppressing his anger.

“Alright!” Zhang Xuan wasted no more words, took two steps forward, and approached the alchemy furnace. “Then I’ll start with the very basics!”

“Any alchemist knows that to refine good pills, one must have excellent control over the flame and the furnace. Master Alchemist Bai Ming, you just picked up the herbs and started refining. How much do you know about this cauldron? What about the furnace fire?”

“Don’t bother arguing that all cauldrons are roughly the same and don’t need much consideration. I can tell you clearly: with the same ingredients, the same furnace fire, and the same cauldron, the resulting pills can still differ. It’s because of these tiny differences, and even a slight oversight, that the refined pill can drop by a whole grade!”

Gently running his finger over the cauldron, Zhang Xuan continued, “If you don’t believe me, I’ll tell you now.”

“This cauldron is seven feet three inches high and three feet two inches wide. It was crafted by three artisans from Shijing Workshop seven years and three months ago. It has been used to refine pills 147 times in total: 88 times for first-grade pills and 59 times for pills below first-grade. During transportation, it sustained three impacts, resulting in thirteen subtle hairline cracks throughout the cauldron. When refining ordinary pills, these are harmless, but they will cause medicinal power to dissipate and vital energy to scatter, leading to insufficient potency and a lower grade when the pill is formed!”

“The cauldron’s thickness is slightly more than one inch. For heat to fully permeate it, it requires the time it takes for one stick of incense to burn plus thirty-four breaths. The thickness of the left and right walls of the cauldron differ slightly, by the width of three human hairs. Don’t underestimate this tiny difference; with the same flame, the heat on the two sides will have a five percent disparity. Therefore, placing ingredients on the left versus the right side will cause the efficacy of the Pueraria flower and Solomon’s Seal in the Hole-Nourishing Pill to be completely different!”

“Is this for real?”

“A single cauldron has so much to it?”

...

Hearing Zhang Xuan speak so eloquently from the center, the many alchemists below them were left open-mouthed, almost driven mad.

Although they knew that different cauldrons could result in different pill grades, they had never dreamed that a single cauldron could involve so many intricate details.

And what’s more… This was a cauldron the Alchemist Guild had just brought in for this pill debate. How could he know such precise details? Even where it was crafted, its thickness and size, how many times it had been used to refine pills… he knew it all?

Damn, this is too outrageous! To discern all this with a single glance, are you… a monster?

“Having discussed the cauldron, now I’ll talk about the furnace fire!” Ignoring everyone’s astonishment, Zhang Xuan pointed at the flames beneath the cauldron. “This is produced by burning Heavenly Capital Coal. Its hottest point can melt steel into liquid. Combined with a martial artist’s true qi, one can easily control the fire’s intensity, thereby regulating the temperature.”

“However… the flames do not directly touch the ingredients. The medicine we refine forms into pills inside the cauldron. What we must master is how much of the external flame’s heat remains inside the cauldron after passing through its walls.”

“Heavenly Capital Coal is the best coal for alchemy. Not only is its flame temperature high, but its penetrative power is also strong. Ordinary coal, when passing through a cauldron wall about an inch thick, retains only thirty-seven percent of its heat, whereas this coal retains forty-six percent! Only by knowing this principle can one determine the optimal temperature the internal ingredients can withstand, and how long it takes for their medicinal properties to best blend, achieving the highest quality pills!”

“Of course, these are just the most basic things for alchemists and aren’t considered flaws. I’m just casually introducing them!” Zhang Xuan smiled and looked to one side. “However, I still want to ask Master Alchemist Bai Ming, before refining the pill, did you… pay attention to any of this?”

Master Alchemist Bai Ming felt his scalp tingle, almost fainting.

Pay attention? What are you talking about? I was just casually refining a pill. How could I possibly know all these complex details? Besides, even if I wanted to pay attention, I couldn’t. Am I supposed to first measure the cauldron with a ruler, and then test the furnace fire’s temperature bit by bit? If I had to do all that, two or three days would pass. What kind of pill would I ever get done?