Chapter 49: Refining dicinal Essence
Chapter 49: Refining dicinal Essence . . .
Within the hallowed halls of the Dan Wu Academy, each alchemy instructor possessed a private sanctum dedicated to pill refinent, and Feng Ruoqing was no exception.
Her pill refinent chamber boasted a ticulously organized layout, with various dicinal herbs neatly categorized and stored. Positioned at its heart was a resplendent red pill cauldron. Even to Ye Yuan's discerning eye, it was unmistakably a superior-grade Tier 2 pill cauldron. Undoubtedly, among the academy's alchemy instructors, none could boast a better cauldron. Yet, to Ye Yuan, such a pill cauldron held little value.
Ye Yuan, suppressing his disinterest, found a place to seat himself. Unbeknownst to him, Feng Ruoqing's keen eyes caught this gesture, igniting an unexpected irritation within her.
"It appears you disdain my Red Lotus Cauldron?"
"Huh? This cauldron? It's decent, decent. Haha." Ye Yuan chuckled, masking his true feelings.
Yet, even without uttering a word, Feng Ruoqing sensed the insincerity behind his laughter.
"Have you encountered superior Tier 2 pill cauldrons before?"
"? Haha. I'm just a student, not even an Alchemy Apprentice. Where would I co across such high-tier pill cauldrons? Red Lotus Cauldron, right? Nice na, nice na!"
Although Ye Yuan replied, his contempt for the pill cauldron inadvertently prompted a barrage of questions from Feng Ruoqing, compelling him to feign interest. In truth, he looked down upon such cauldrons, deeming them unworthy even to boil water.
Ye Yuan's revelation during the dicinal theory class had already exceeded the scope of the academy's students. The secrets he unveiled, particularly the utilization of the Yin-Yang Separation Flow Technique to refine the Tier 2 Qi Returning Pill, were beyond the ken of even the Alchemy Roll of Honor's top scholar.
Feng Ruoqing, having glimpsed the technique in an obscure ancient record, considered it a treasure and had tirelessly practiced it. However, the technique's inherent complexity proved insurmountable, forcing her eventual abandonnt of the effort.
Thus, her interest in Ye Yuan, given his apparent mastery of the technique, sparked a desire for him to beco her assistant. To her dismay, Ye Yuan repeatedly evaded her, igniting her frustration and leading to the events that unfolded.
Despite Ye Yuan's apparent disdain, Feng Ruoqing sensed an authenticity in his scorn that set him apart from others. His indifference towards her Red Lotus Cauldron and the Yin-Yang Separation Flow Technique puzzled and intrigued her.
As Ye Yuan continued to underestimate her achievents, Feng Ruoqing's self-assurance wavered, prompting a terrifying thought: Could Ye Yuan genuinely possess knowledge of the Yin-Yang Separation Flow Technique?
Attempting to dispel this improbable notion, Feng Ruoqing, in her usual cold deanor, instructed Ye Yuan to assist her. "I summoned you to be my assistant, not to lounge. Move and begin preparing the herbs."
"Oh, right, coming." Ye Yuan staggered to his feet and approached the preparation area, scrutinizing the herbs arranged there. Curiosity compelled him to question, "Aren't you refining a Tier 2 Qi Returning Pill? Why are you using Tier 1 ingredients?"
Feng Ruoqing blushed slightly and retorted with a tinge of anger, "I told you to prepare the dicines; just do it. Why so many questions?!"
Observing the situation, Ye Yuan inferred that Feng Ruoqing had not mastered the Yin-Yang Separation Flow Technique and was utilizing Tier 1 dicines for practice.
Recognizing the prolonged commitnt required for such training, Ye Yuan, mindful of his precious ti, sighed and comnced with herb preparation.
Feng Ruoqing, anwhile, retreated into the quiet chamber to ditate and attain the ntal focus crucial for pill refinent. The intricate art of pill refinent demanded unwavering concentration, and even the slightest disturbance could mar the quality of the dicinal pill.
As Feng Ruoqing delved into her ditative state, striving to achieve the necessary ntal equilibrium, an unforeseen interruption materialized—an insistent knocking on the quiet chamber's door.
This ti, Feng Ruoqing found herself truly infuriated. Beyond the fact that Ye Yuan repeatedly avoided being her assistant—a role that any man in the academy would eagerly vie for—now that he was finally assisting her, he seed to be causing more trouble than performing his designated tasks!
With no justifiable reason, she contemplated administering a severe beating and then hanging him for three days as a public deterrent.
The door slowly creaked open, unveiling the irate figure of Feng Ruoqing.
"Haha. I never expected Teacher Feng to open the door so hastily. You almost gave a fright," Ye Yuan feigned a startled expression.
Unperturbed by Ye Yuan's reaction, Feng Ruoqing raised her right palm, with traces of essence energy flowing along it as if ready to strike at any mont.
"I instructed you to prepare the herbs! What are you doing?! Do you not realize that I'm in the middle of ditation?! Unless you have a valid reason, be prepared to face this palm!" Feng Ruoqing snarled.
"Don't! Teacher Feng, had you ntioned your penchant for violence, I wouldn't have beco your assistant, even if it ant copying the 'Herbal Compendium' a hundred tis back then! The herbs are all prepared. I even finished refining two sets of dicinal essences before coming over to call you. I didn't expect you to take so long to ditate!" Ye Yuan jumped away with a loud exclamation.
"What? The dicinal essences are already refined?"
Feng Ruoqing struggled to comprehend his words. Only about 15 minutes had passed since she entered the quiet chamber. How could Ye Yuan have not only prepared nurous herbs but also refined the dicinal essence?
"That's correct. Is this reason acceptable? I don't want to be smacked to death," Ye Yuan responded gloomily.
Lowering her hand, Feng Ruoqing issued a cold humph and warned, "If I discover that you're fabricating stories, a single palm will be the least of your worries."
Having said this, Feng Ruoqing proceeded to the operating stage and was promptly taken aback.
Two sets of dicinal essences were neatly arranged in jade containers, their colors exceptionally pure. It was evident that they had been superbly refined, with all extraneous dicinal impurities ticulously removed.
Feng Ruoqing glanced at Ye Yuan, opened her mouth to speak, but no words erged.
"Teacher Feng, is there sothing you want to say? Are you not going to smack to death? At most, I'll rember to call you later next ti. How long do you usually take to ditate?" Ye Yuan innocently inquired.
. . .
Feng Ruoqing remained speechless.
After a brief silence, she finally took a deep breath and questioned Ye Yuan, "Did you really refine these dicinal essences?"
Ye Yuan looked around and asked playfully, "Are there others present?"
"But how did you do it so quickly?"
Ordinary Alchemy Apprentices would devote an hour solely to herb preparation, not to ntion the additional ti required for refining the dicinal essence. In total, the process usually spanned at least two hours.
Herb preparation was not rely about pairing herbs together; it demanded precision in weighing out the quantities. Even the slightest error was unacceptable.
Thus, an alchemist's assistant usually approached herb preparation with great caution, consuming a significant amount of ti. Even Feng Ruoqing herself needed over an hour to refine the dicinal essence of a Tier 1 pill.
Yet, Ye Yuan had accomplished it in a re 15 minutes. Such efficiency was unheard of!
"Why spend so much ti on such a simple task as refining the dicinal essence of a Tier 1 pill?" Ye Yuan casually questioned.
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