Chapter 183: 炸炉

"Is this that confident guy?"

Recovering, Master Apothecary Hongyun breathed steadily.

The man in the crystal had been confident, intelligent, and possessed a profound understanding of alchemy. Yet, the fellow before him was listless, with bloodshot eyes… Had he been boiled?

Apothecaries dealt with medicinal herbs all day and were meticulous about their self-care. They generally didn't allow themselves to get overly fatigued. Moreover, apothecaries were top-tier professionals among the upper three ranks, attentive to their image and dignity. When had anyone ever seen a formal apothecary show up with panda eyes? It was simply too undignified.

He wasn't the only one puzzled; Master Apothecary Ouyang and the others also wore strange expressions.

Had they truly been utterly defeated in debate by this guy? So much so that they wished for a crack in the ground to crawl into? It was utterly embarrassing…

Unaware of the wild thoughts in everyone's minds, Zhang Xuan entered the room. He was somewhat surprised to see over a dozen apothecaries from the entire Tianxuan Kingdom gathered there.

These apothecaries were usually very busy, and it was generally difficult to gather them all. When he took his examination, only ten had shown up, even after being summoned a day in advance. So why were they all here today? However, no matter how many apothecaries were present, it had nothing to do with him. Zhang Xuan shook his head, dismissing the thought, and suppressing his fatigue, he walked a few steps to the center of the hall.

"President Ouyang, have the items I wanted to buy arrived?"

"Yes, they're here…"

President Ouyang handed over the items Master Apothecary Hongyun had just brought: a Grade-3 Yin-Breaking Pill and the blood of a Congenital Giant Rhino.

Receiving the items, Zhang Xuan's face lit up with joy. He put them into his storage ring, then handed over the prepared gold notes.

"I'll take my leave…"

Seeing that the other party had counted the money and there were no issues, he prepared to depart. He was truly too exhausted. It was best that these items had arrived. He needed to quickly take them back for Zhao Ya and Yuan Tao to use, and then he could finally get some peaceful sleep.

"Master Apothecary Zhang Xuan, don't be in such a hurry…"

Master Apothecary Hongyun reacted and stood up.

"Who are you?"

Zhang Xuan, who was tiredly dozing off, became slightly displeased when someone stopped him.

"I am Hongyun… I have a question regarding alchemy that I'd like to ask, and I hope Master Apothecary Zhang Xuan can answer it…" Master Apothecary Hongyun said. After reviewing the contents of the record jade crystal, he was already seventy to eighty percent convinced by the person who had successfully debated alchemy in the recording. However, he still needed to ask a few questions in person to confirm whether there was any suspicion of cheating.

"No time!" Zhang Xuan pouted. "I'm not your teacher. If you have questions, go read a book. Why bother me? Go somewhere cool and stay there…"

"Are you kidding? Can't you see I'm busy? I need to go home and sleep. Who has time to answer your questions? Why are you so oblivious?"

"Besides… who are you anyway? If every random apothecary came to ask me questions, wouldn't I be exhausted to death?"

*Thud!*

A large number of apothecaries in the room stumbled or nearly fell over. President Ouyang nearly choked on his own phlegm. "My dear fellow, this is a Two-star Apothecary sent from above specifically to investigate you, and you're telling him to go somewhere cool and stay there…"

"Cough, cough!" Suppressing the urge to spit blood, President Ouyang quickly stepped forward. "Master Apothecary Zhang Xuan, this Master Apothecary Hongyun is a Two-star Apothecary sent from the headquarters…"

"Two-star Apothecary?" Zhang Xuan was momentarily stunned. He glanced at the man in front of him, and his tired eyelids lifted. "Alright, ask what you don't know. I'm still in a hurry…"

"…" President Ouyang.

"…" Many apothecaries.

"He's here to test you, but you're acting as if he's asking to learn from you? And the most crucial thing is… you're in a hurry? You're rushing your *sister*! Do you have any sense of urgency at all? If you fail this assessment, he can revoke your apothecary status…"

Everyone was astonished, and Master Apothecary Hongyun was also filled with frustration. If he hadn't seen the other party's record jade crystal, he would have probably gone crazy by now.

"When refining a Grade-1 Rejuvenation Pill, the pills often turn yellowish after formation. I'd like to ask how to solve this problem?"

"You're a Two-star Apothecary and you don't even know this? The Rejuvenation Pill restores a person's depleted energy. Its main ingredient is White Bamboo Grass, which is completely white. As soon as it comes into contact with a person's *zhenqi*, it turns light yellow. This isn't due to the herb itself, but because the *zhenqi* has too many impurities. If the *zhenqi* were purer, this wouldn't happen. To prevent the pill from turning yellow, it's very simple: add a touch of Azure Sun Flower during the refining process. This ingredient absorbs impurities in *zhenqi*, allowing the White Bamboo Grass to retain its color…"

Zhang Xuan waved his hand dismissively. The golden book had integrated all the knowledge from the low-level and high-level libraries he had visited into his memory, making explanations incredibly simple, even without using the Heaven's Path Library. This was mainly because the other party was asking about Grade-1 pill knowledge; if they asked something more advanced, it would be different.

"Pills refined with Clear Lotus Flower as the main ingredient taste bitter, but adding licorice easily causes the furnace to explode. How can this be resolved?" Master Apothecary Hongyun continued.

"The Clear Lotus Flower tastes bitter because of the golden lotus pod on top. This part is useless for alchemy. Just remove it, and you won't need to add anything; the pill won't be bitter and will even have a sweet taste. Adding licorice is redundant, so of course, it would cause an explosion!"

Zhang Xuan looked at the other party as if they were an idiot. "You're a Two-star Apothecary, don't tell me you don't even know this? How did you even pass your examination?"

Master Apothecary Hongyun nearly choked.

"Alright, if these are all your questions, the guild's advanced library has the answers. You should read more books when you have free time. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving now…"

Zhang Xuan yawned and started walking out again. He felt that if he didn't get some sleep soon, he might actually collapse.

Seeing his actions, Master Apothecary Hongyun was utterly bewildered. "Can't you show me some respect? No matter what, I'm from the headquarters, a Two-star Apothecary, a rank above you. Everyone else waits for me in advance and treats me with utmost respect. Yet you, you can barely keep your eyes open while talking to me, telling me to go somewhere cool and stay there, and to read more books…"

"Read your *sister's* books!"

"Can't you tell I'm testing you? Of course, I know the answers to these questions…"

Feeling depressed, a hint of displeasure appeared, and he raised an eyebrow. "Don't be in such a hurry. If you can answer this question… I won't ask anything further. Furthermore, the Yin-Breaking Pill and the Giant Rhino blood can be given to you for free; you won't need to pay for them."

As his words finished, and as he was considering whether the other party would agree, Zhang Xuan, who had seemingly materialized in front of him, had his eyes completely free of fatigue, radiating sharp light. "Are you serious?"

The Yin-Breaking Pill and Giant Rhino blood, worth a total of twenty-three million gold coins in medicinal materials—it would be absolutely wonderful if they were free. He could save a large sum again…

"You… vulgar!"

Master Apothecary Hongyun's beard almost bristled with anger. Just moments ago, he couldn't even bother to open his eyes while talking, but upon hearing about something free, he almost jumped with excitement… His dignified status as a Two-star Apothecary was apparently less valuable than a pile of gold coins in the other party's mind… The thought alone was maddening.

In truth, Zhang Xuan's behavior wasn't deliberate pretense. Rather, his current values were still those of his previous life as a librarian on Earth; they hadn't truly assimilated with this new world. He had no real concept of what a Two-star Apothecary represented. No matter how powerful… how could it be more practical than money? Hadn't he spent countless brain cells just to earn those twenty million gold coins?

"The question is… whenever I refine the Essence Replenishing Pill, the furnace always explodes…" Master Apothecary Hongyun stated his problem.

Hearing this question, Ouyang Cheng and the others were all stunned, exchanging bewildered glances. The Essence Replenishing Pill… This was a Grade-2 top-tier pill, capable of replenishing a person's depleted vitality, spirit, and energy. It was said that even Three-star Apothecaries found it difficult to refine it with ease. Master Apothecary Hongyun was actually asking a One-star Apothecary how to refine a Grade-2 top-tier pill… This was truly shameless. It was clearly beyond the scope and crossing the line…

Seeing their gazes, Master Apothecary Hongyun's old face flushed. To be honest, he was also provoked by Zhang Xuan and wanted to give him a lesson. *Aren't you so arrogant? Let's see how you answer a Two-star Apothecary's problem that even I can't solve!* If he couldn't answer, he'd give him another lecture, extinguish his arrogant demeanor, and teach him what attitude one should have when speaking to a Two-star Apothecary.

"Essence Replenishing Pill?" Zhang Xuan hadn't read any books on Two-star apothecaries, so he didn't know the name of this pill. He simply thought it was an obscure medicine due to his own lack of knowledge and didn't pay it much mind. Of course, even if he had known, it wouldn't have mattered. He wasn't relying on existing knowledge to solve it anyway. He had only been transmigrated for less than half a month. Even with the Heaven's Path Library as a cheat, though his knowledge acquisition was fast, he certainly couldn't compare to apothecaries who had lived for decades.

"Go ahead and refine it. Let me see…"

Having made up his mind, Zhang Xuan waved his hand casually.

"Alright!"

Hearing Zhang Xuan's tone, as if he were being told to perform a trick, Master Apothecary Hongyun became even more frustrated. He secretly decided that if Zhang Xuan couldn't explain it, he would give him a good lesson. He then approached the cauldron, took out the medicinal herbs from his storage ring, and began preparations.

The Essence Replenishing Pill was a very popular Grade-2 pill. Since Master Apothecary Hongyun had never successfully refined it, he always carried several sets of the ingredients and frequently studied them, so retrieving them was easy.

*Roar! Roar! Roar!*

The furnace fire blazed, purifying the medicinal herbs. As soon as Master Apothecary Hongyun began, he indeed showed his distinct skill. As expected of a Two-star Apothecary, he was far superior to Master Apothecary Chen Xiao and the others. His control over the medicinal herbs, the furnace fire, and the purification process… were all incomparable.

One by one, the herbs were skillfully added into the cauldron. Under the scorching, boiling furnace fire, a rich pill aroma soon emerged. This aroma was full of spiritual energy. Just a single sniff made one feel light and healthy, significantly more comfortable. Zhang Xuan, having stayed up for five days and five nights, was somewhat fatigued. Taking a sniff, he also felt much more comfortable, and his red eyes seemed to be relieved.

*Boom!*

However, just as the pill aroma reached its peak intensity, it suddenly came to an abrupt halt. A violent force surged out, and the cauldron in front of them, unable to withstand it, exploded with a loud bang.

*Crack!*

A pile of charred, coal-like pill dregs rolled out. The alchemy had failed, and it was the most terrifying kind of failure… a furnace explosion!

If not for everyone's prior precaution, they would likely have been injured by the violent energy that erupted from it. Sprayed by the explosive aura, Master Apothecary Hongyun was blackened all over, his hair standing on end, looking as if he'd been struck by lightning. He clasped his hands behind his back and looked over.

"I'm done refining. Now, tell me what went wrong…"