Chapter 118: Collapse of the White Mingdan Division (Part 2)

Although he felt frustrated, Bai Ming knew he had no answer. Checking the cauldron and fire before concocting pills is the most basic step, one that even an apprentice could recite perfectly. For him to start concocting pills right away was clearly a major mistake.

To use Zhang Xuan's analogy from his previous life: if you don't buckle your seatbelt, check your tires, or inspect the car's surroundings before driving and just shift into gear, you'll have no grounds to argue even if an accident occurs. Bai Ming was currently in this exact state. Lectured by an apprentice in public, he couldn't back down but also couldn't refute, making his inner frustration immeasurable.

"We've discussed the cauldron and fire," Zhang Xuan said. "Now let's examine the herb integration!"

Knowing the other party had no answer, Zhang Xuan didn't bother to press further. He walked over to the herb rack. "The Nourishing Pill requires a total of forty-seven types of herbs," he began. "Among these, some properties are compatible, while others conflict. Failing to properly manage these conflicts will easily ruin the pill."

"First, let me explain Alchemist Bai Ming's sequence," he continued.

"He first added the Heart-Clearing Grass. This herb clears the heart and regulates Qi, is highly heat-resistant, and its medicinal properties require intense heat for extraction. Adding it first to the cauldron allows it to contact the heat earlier and activate its properties, which is correct. However, the mistake lies in the fact that after adding the Heart-Clearing Grass, he waited seven breaths before adding the second herb, the Palm-Split Flower!"

"If I'm not mistaken, the Heart-Clearing Grass he used was only six months old. Its medicinal properties weren't potent, mostly concentrated in the leaves rather than having permeated the entire plant. Such a herb, upon encountering intense heat, will rapidly disperse its properties. Under normal circumstances, the Palm-Split Flower should have been added after four breaths, yet he delayed it until the seventh. This unnecessarily caused a 13% loss of its efficacy—a failure!"

"The Palm-Split Flower was five years old, its medicinal properties relatively rich. During concoction, it should have been slowly lowered along the left side of the cauldron, a descent taking about one and a half breaths. This period allows the hot cauldron to fully activate its medicinal properties, enabling better integration with the Heart-Clearing Grass. However, Alchemist Bai Ming simply threw the herb in, causing it to miss the opportunity for pre-contact with the cauldron. Its medicinal properties didn't fully develop, resulting in a 14% loss—a failure!"

"These two herbs have slightly conflicting properties. Immediately after, the neutralizing Puff Flower Grass should have been added. Instead, he added the violently potent Solitary Yang Root. This caused an additional 11% loss in medicinal efficacy due to their conflicting properties—a failure!"

"Solitary Yang Root carries Yang properties and is inherently hot. After entering the hot cauldron, the correct approach is to immediately add Cooling Grass to neutralize it. However, Alchemist Bai Ming added Anemarrhena. While Anemarrhena's properties are compatible with any herb, making it an excellent choice for neutralizing all herbs, its very compatibility completely neutralized the Yang properties of the Solitary Yang Root. This greatly reduced the effect of the Nourishing Pill—a failure!"

"…Failure!"

"…Failure!"

"…Failure!"

Zhang Xuan spoke faster and faster, like a machine gun. Every statement was well-reasoned and traceable, and each declared failure felt like a heavy hammer striking Alchemist Bai Ming's face. His complexion grew paler and paler, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

Pill concoction is no trivial matter. The same herbs, varying in age, possess different efficacies. It involves intricate and complex details like various pairings and cauldron integration. To explain just one Nourishing Pill in detail would take more than three days! Precisely because of this complexity, the profession of an alchemist ranks highly even among the most esteemed professions.

"He… he's right about everything!"

"He just watched the concoction once and remembered Alchemist Bai Ming's sequence for forty-seven herbs, explaining it without a single error? What kind of memory is that?"

"Remembering the sequence isn't much, but the key is… he instantly recognized the age of each herb and knew how to combine them to maximize their efficacy… Is he even human?"

"Hearing him speak, there's just too much to consider when concocting pills. No wonder my pills never reach perfection or even form pill veins. So that's how it is…"

Everyone was stunned into silence by Zhang Xuan's words, wide-eyed as if struck on the head. This is what real pill concoction is! Before this, we were simply wasting herbs and insulting the profession of an alchemist!

It was foreseeable that if one truly used his method to concoct pills, the quality would undoubtedly improve by a level; achieving perfection and even pill veins would no longer be a dream! This was no longer theory accessible to a Grade-1 Alchemist but knowledge only higher-grade alchemists could master.

While everyone else was astonished, Alchemist Bai Ming, standing to the side, felt like dying. Hearing the other party's explanation, everything he had done was a failure. He wasn't concocting pills; he was practically concocting feces! The crucial point is… at least concocting feces isn't wasteful. Yet, after he finished concocting his pills, it was as if he had utterly wasted all the herbs…

*Pfft!*

His chest felt increasingly stifled, and a mouthful of fresh blood spurted out. All along, he had considered himself highly talented in pill concoction, a truly accomplished alchemist. Only upon hearing the other party's words did he realize his skill level was inferior even to that of a child! Previously, he had been very confident, but as the other party continued speaking, his confidence vanished. Now, he probably wouldn't even dare to approach a pill cauldron again.

His body trembled. Alchemist Bai Ming, who had just been high-spirited and ready to confront Zhang Xuan, now looked increasingly unwell, as if he had suffered a cultivation deviation.

A moment later, he gritted his teeth. "Indeed, with my level, what kind of pills can I concoct? It's simply a waste of resources and herbs! From today onward, I, Bai Ming, shall never concoct another pill. Should I break this oath, may heaven and earth punish me!"

"What?!"

"Never concocting pills again?"

"Alchemist Bai Ming…"

Hearing the oath he swore, everyone was stunned. Each person involuntarily trembled, a feeling of shared sorrow emerging in their hearts.

"Isn't he too reckless…?" one alchemist couldn't help but say.

"If it were you being accused, directly targeted, what would you do?" another alchemist couldn't help but ask.

"I…" The first alchemist paused, unable to utter a single word.

The other person was right. If it had been him instead of Alchemist Bai Ming, only to discover after concocting a pill that his methods and actions were utterly worthless and all his efforts were nonsense, his confidence, upheld for years, would probably instantly collapse! Once such confidence is lost, even if one wanted to concoct pills later, it would be impossible. Rather than that, it would be better to simply swear off pill concoction! Pill concoction is not like frying beans; it's no child's play. State of mind, technique, confidence… none can be lacking. If confidence is lost, what kind of alchemist could one still be?

"Simply pointing out flaws made an experienced alchemist lose confidence and never dare to concoct pills again…"

This thought simultaneously surfaced in everyone's minds. Looking at Zhang Xuan again, their hearts twitched uncontrollably. No wonder he stated at the beginning that he didn't want to point out flaws in pill concoction. They had initially thought he couldn't see the flaws and was intentionally highlighting strengths while avoiding weaknesses. Only now did they realize… it wasn't that he didn't know, but that he knew too much, fearing that speaking them would humiliate them beyond measure!

"Big brother," they wondered, "we just want to ask: are you the pill concocting apprentice, or are we?"