Chapter 141: 麻翻 Imperial Physician Hall

"Two qian of snakeberry, one liang and six qian of nandina fruit, four qian of oleander..."Qin Mu and Hu Ling'er arrived at the Imperial College's storehouse. He handed over the prescription and purchased the medicinal ingredients he needed. "The medicine I'm refining this time is called the Bewildering Fragrance," he told Hu Ling'er. "It's a strong anesthetic. Grandpa Apothecary once used it to knock out a flood dragon. Though that ox is powerful, this will definitely take it down! However, this medicine requires a special alchemy furnace to refine, and there's no room for even the slightest mistake."

Hu Ling'er asked curiously, "Why?"

"The aroma released by this medicine can knock out even a flood dragon, let alone the apothecary refining it!" Qin Mu chuckled. "If the furnace isn't sealed, and the fragrance disperses once the medicine is ready, anyone within its range, even powerful masters of the Heaven-Human realm, would probably collapse. I don't have a sealed furnace like that, so I'll have to borrow one from the Imperial Medical Hall..."

Suddenly, a familiar voice called out, "Young divine physician, where are you off to?"Qin Mu looked in the direction of the voice and smiled. "Ah, Physician Qu! That's right, you're the Imperial College Supervisor, so I should address you as Teacher Qu."

Physician Qu quickly replied, "Please don't say that, you humble me! Young divine physician, this afternoon is my lecture on medical principles for the students. Since you're a divine physician, you should give the lecture in my place."

Qin Mu burst out laughing. "I'm just a student; how could I teach a class? Besides, I have something important to do this afternoon and probably can't attend. I plan to refine a batch of medicine that I'll need later today."

Physician Qu looked a little disappointed, then his eyes suddenly lit up. "You're refining elixirs?"

Qin Mu chuckled. "Not exactly refining elixirs, just refining medicine."

Physician Qu's eyes gleamed. "Young apothecary, may I observe?"

Qin Mu hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "I plan to borrow an alchemy furnace from the Imperial Medical Hall. If you'd like to watch, you can come along."

Physician Qu was overjoyed. He smiled and said, "Young divine physician, please go to the Imperial Medical Hall first; I'll be right back!" With that, he left like the wind.

As Qin Mu walked towards the Imperial Medical Hall, Physician Qu was already waiting at the entrance, even before he arrived. Beside him were Physician You and Physician Yu from the Imperial Medical Office, among others, all wearing excited expressions.

Qin Mu was puzzled. He was only refining a common anesthetic; was it really necessary to make such a big fuss?

"Young divine physician, hurry!"The physicians urged him repeatedly, clamoring all at once: "Do we need to activate the grand earth-fire furnace?""We can assist!""Which medicinal ingredients should we use? And in what order?""When should we apply gentle heat, and when strong heat? How should vital energy be circulated when performing the techniques?"...

Qin Mu walked into the Imperial Medical Hall with them and immediately saw a gigantic furnace. This grand alchemy furnace was so immense that it could produce enough elixirs to last for years, likely used by the military or for refining some world-shaking spiritual elixirs.Besides this, there were other furnaces of various sizes. Beneath these furnaces were runic arrays that connected to the earth fire three thousand zhang underground, drawing it up for alchemy.

"Are there any sealed furnaces?" Qin Mu inquired.

"Young divine physician, this way, please." Physician You quickly led him to a stone furnace in the Imperial Medical Hall, smiling. "This furnace is indeed a sealed one. Young divine physician, do you find it suitable?"

Qin Mu's eyes lit up. He saw that the stone furnace was carved directly from jade, hollowed out from top to bottom, with internal designs of the Eight Trigrams and Five Elements. It had no vents; simply joining the two halves and twisting them would make it perfectly airtight. Even if elixirs exploded inside, it probably wouldn't rupture this furnace.

"Perfect!"Qin Mu lifted the lid of the furnace and examined it carefully. He then placed each medicinal ingredient in order into the Bagua and Five Elements grids within the furnace. These grids had their own specific sequences; after a set amount of time, the grids would open, and the ingredients would drop into the furnace, eliminating the need to lift the lid to add them.Once the ingredients were set, he clapped his palm, drawing earth fire from the runic array on the ground to heat the stone furnace.

Hu Ling'er wasn't particularly interested in the refining process and looked around boredly, while the white-haired elderly physicians watched with keen interest, their eyes fixed on Qin Mu. Physician Yu's eyes lit up as he observed Qin Mu's technique, exclaiming in admiration: "This technique is truly masterful, simply incredible, and utterly brilliant! Young divine physician, why must you tap thirteen consecutive times with this method?"

Qin Mu explained, "The Purple Elixir Stone is a type of jade, and its medicinal properties are hidden deep within the jade, making them harder to extract than from other ingredients. That's why I need to tap thirteen consecutive times to fully extract its properties. My cultivation is relatively weak; if your cultivation was profound, esteemed teachers, you wouldn't need thirteen taps; you'd only need to extract the medicinal properties."

The elderly physicians nodded repeatedly and quickly took notes.

Qin Mu continued refining the medicine while conversing with them. However, it was mostly the elderly physicians asking questions; he rarely inquired, instead explaining the medicinal principles and refining techniques to them.

"Isn't that the Dragon-Tiger Harmonizing Hand?" Physician Qu's expression suddenly changed, and he gasped, "A lost technique!"

The other three elderly physicians also showed expressions of shock, staring intently at Qin Mu's rapidly moving hands, eager to memorize his technique.

The white-haired Physician Yu murmured, "The Dragon-Tiger Harmonizing Hand has been lost for two hundred years. I never imagined I'd see such a legendary alchemy technique demonstrated by the young divine physician. Am I dreaming?"

"If you want to learn, I can teach you when I have time, but I'm busy right now," Qin Mu said. He had reached a critical stage in the refining process and couldn't be distracted. The Dragon-Tiger Harmonizing Hand was just one of hundreds of techniques Grandpa Apothecary had taught him, not particularly special. He didn't think it was a big deal to share it. For alchemy, mastering medicinal principles was the most crucial aspect; techniques were merely supplementary.

Despite this, techniques were critically important in the eyes of the physicians. Besides techniques, elixir formulas were also coveted treasures for countless medical practitioners; if they acquired a unique formula, they would undoubtedly treat it as a priceless gem and never easily pass it on.This was completely different from what Grandpa Apothecary had taught Qin Mu. Grandpa Apothecary didn't overly rely on formulas or techniques; what he taught Qin Mu most was medicinal principles.Qin Mu had never considered how profound Grandpa Apothecary's teachings were, only perceiving them as ordinary knowledge. The shock of these physicians left him feeling bewildered.

At this point, Qin Mu was ready to conclude the refinement. His techniques became increasingly rapid and dazzling. In just a short while, the physicians witnessed more than ten lost techniques, some even more complex than the Dragon-Tiger Harmonizing Hand.Numerous techniques flashed by, each bringing about different changes in the earth fire's form. Before the physicians could even properly note them down, Qin Mu had finished and quietly waited beside the stone furnace.

Once the stone furnace cooled, Qin Mu's vital energy suddenly transformed into Black Tortoise vital energy. His palms grew colder and colder, becoming icy as he pressed them against the stone furnace, quickly forming a layer of frost on its outer wall.After another moment, Qin Mu motioned for the physicians and Hu Ling'er to step back. Then, holding his breath, he carefully opened the stone furnace. At the bottom of the furnace was a thin layer of pink mist.

With one hand, Qin Mu manifested Black Tortoise vital energy to cool the mist, while with the other, he picked up a small jade bottle. His vital energy within the bottle formed a traction method, drawing the mist from the furnace bottom into the jade bottle.He quickly screwed the lid on tightly, but still not fully reassured, he used Black Tortoise vital energy to form a block of mystical ice, sealing the bottle opening. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"The medicine I needed has been refined," Qin Mu announced. He thanked the physicians, smiling. "Esteemed teachers, I have other matters to attend to, so I won't disturb you any longer. As for this afternoon's lecture..."

Physician You chuckled, "You just tend to your affairs. From now on, if you're busy, there's no need to attend the lectures. If you have time, just come by often to teach us old bones a lesson or two and refine some elixirs; that would be more than enough."

Qin Mu bid them farewell and departed.

No sooner had he left than the elderly physicians quickly gathered together. Physician You, beaming with satisfaction, asked, "Gentlemen, did everyone note down all the medicinal ingredients?"

Physician Yu replied tremblingly, "Could they possibly escape our notice? I just need to smell these ingredients to know what they are, and not even the precise quantities of qian and hao could fool my nose!"

"What about the sequence of the sovereign, minister, assistant, envoy, Bagua, and Five Elements?"Physician Qu smiled. "Don't worry, I've noted it all down!"

"And the techniques?"The old men chuckled in unison. "We each memorized half; put them together, and we can reconstruct his techniques!"

Physician Qu hesitated for a moment. "However, when he was collecting the medicine, he told us to step away, so I didn't note down that technique. And we don't know what kind of medicine he was refining. If we refine it rashly..."

"Collecting the medicine is just a minor skill; it won't be too difficult. As for what kind of medicine it is, we'll know as soon as we smell it after it's refined! The medicine refined by the young divine physician is certainly extraordinary!"The elderly physicians were full of enthusiasm. Physician Yu immediately went to the storehouse to retrieve the medicinal ingredients, while the remaining old men cleaned the stone furnace. As soon as Physician Yu returned, they promptly placed the ingredients in order into the Bagua and Five Elements grids.

The elderly physicians cooperated with each other, drawing earth fire and performing one or more techniques as they refined the medicine around the stone furnace.Before long, many students arrived at the Imperial Medical Hall to attend lectures, but the physicians were in a critical stage of refinement and had no time to spare. In recent days, the Imperial College had first been challenged by the Daozi of the Daoist sect and then by the Buddhist Son of Grand Thunder Sound Temple, resulting in many injuries. This had made the Imperial College students realize the importance of the Imperial Medical Hall, so when classes began there, they naturally came to attend.

The students watched as the physicians' techniques proved unpredictable and masterful, prompting continuous admiration and deep respect. Physician Yu and the others moved constantly around the stone furnace, their figures intertwining like old butterflies fluttering around a fire. They truly exuded an immortal demeanor, clearly enlightened masters.

Suddenly, the old men stopped, ceased their actions, adjusted their breathing, and waited for the stone furnace to cool.

At this stage, the elderly physicians hesitated slightly. Physician Qu placed his hand on the stone furnace and said, "It seems to be this technique; his hand was pressed against it just like this..."Physician Yu chuckled. "It's fine if we don't succeed; at worst, we'll just refine another batch. Open the furnace!"

Physician You stepped forward and lifted the furnace lid. Immediately, a wave of fragrance assaulted his nostrils, and he laughed, "Oh, what a scent—ugh—ah—aroma—ah—ah—ah..."Thump.Physician You collapsed, an eerie smile still fixed on his face, like a flower that had only half bloomed.Thump, thump, thump.Physician Yu and the others also fell backward to the ground, smiles plastered on their faces. The surrounding students, witnessing this, screamed. Some tried to help, others tried to flee, but suddenly all the students felt as if their limbs had vanished, and one after another, they thudded to the ground.Not only did they feel their limbs disappear, but their eyes, noses, ears, and even their heads seemed to vanish as well! Even their spiritual fetuses became paralyzed and unable to move, and their vital energy stiffened!