Chapter 456: Rapid Alchemy

Back at the Martial Arts Tournament, Zhang Xiaohua had felt that Monk Chang Geng, with his kindly features, was a monk worth befriending. However, upon hearing that Monk Chang Geng was present on Piaomiao Peak during the extermination of the Piaomiao Sect and even took action against its members, that image in his heart was instantly replaced by that of a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Now, recalling this past event, he was uncertain whether he should go to Dalin Temple to have the monk fulfill his promise. If they refused to acknowledge it, a few young monks could surround him, and with a few elder monks joining in, even if he had three heads and six arms, he might not be their match.

Hmm, before having absolute confidence, it’s best not to pull the tiger’s whiskers.

There was still time before his agreed meeting with Nie Qianyu, and Zhang Xiaohua didn’t want to waste it. He returned to the alchemy room, sat cross-legged on the meditation mat, and began to carefully comprehend the Rabbit Talisman in his Niwan Palace.

Although the Rabbit Talisman was just one of the talismans forming the outer formation of the entire Pill Heart Array, its 365 incantations themselves formed a formation. Having just learned a few dozen of them earlier, his attainments in formations had improved by leaps and bounds. If he could master all three hundred-plus incantations, he would have achieved a modest level of mastery in formations.

Moreover, Zhang Xiaohua harbored some expectations in his heart. First, if he could combine the 365 incantations with artifact refinement techniques to craft a Rabbit Jade Talisman, who knew what wondrous effects it might have? Second, if he made each incantation into a jade talisman and arranged all 365 together, could he form a formidable array?

All these speculations would have to wait until he had fully comprehended all the incantations.

Time in cultivation passed swiftly. Immersed in the joy of enlightenment, Zhang Xiaohua’s heart stirred. Releasing his divine sense, he saw Nie Qianyu approaching the alchemy room with a beaming smile.

A wry smile appeared on Zhang Xiaohua’s lips. Cultivating amidst the mundane world truly isn’t easy.

He vaguely sensed that his previous reluctance to meddle in affairs might have been related to his cultivation.

Glancing around the alchemy room and finding nothing amiss, Zhang Xiaohua stood up to greet her.

At the doorway of the alchemy room, he met Nie Qianyu.

Seeing Zhang Xiaohua coincidentally walk to the doorway, Nie Qianyu was quite surprised and asked: “Brother Ren, you’re really something. It seems like every time I come to find you, you just happen to walk to the door. Oh, it’s true—whether at the pavilion in the peach grove or here, it’s always like this.”

Zhang Xiaohua thought to himself: “Isn’t that obvious? I only came out because I saw you coming. Sigh, but this is really a bit too obvious.”

But he could only say aloud: “Well, I just had a sudden impulse to come to the door and, unexpectedly, ran into you.”

“Every time it’s a sudden impulse?” Nie Qianyu pouted. “Then Brother Ren’s blood and energy must be really vigorous.”

“Heh, young people have strong vitality, nothing to be done about it, and besides…”

“And besides what?” Nie Qianyu teased playfully. “Was it because you felt I was about to arrive, so you came to the door to greet me?”

“Uh…” Zhang Xiaohua was momentarily speechless.

Seeing Zhang Xiaohua fall silent, Nie Qianyu thought he was a bit shy, so she lowered her head slightly and said softly: “Brother Ren, I’m the same. I always feel like you’re waiting for me at the door, so I hurry over…”

Her last words were barely audible.

Zhang Xiaohua’s heart, tempered to be unshakable by his immortal cultivation, suddenly skipped a beat. He quickly changed the subject: “Little Fish Nie, you came so early today—why didn’t you bring any herbs? Are we going to gather them together?”

Seeing Zhang Xiaohua shift the topic, Nie Qianyu’s expression dimmed slightly, but she soon smiled and replied: “I’d love to gather herbs with Young Hero Ren, but how could we trouble you to do it yourself? Last night, my father specifically asked a few disciples to help collect them.”

“Oh?” Zhang Xiaohua was surprised. “Is that so? But if we gather herbs ourselves, wouldn’t we become more familiar with how they grow?”

Nie Qianyu shook her head. “Herb cultivation is a discipline in itself. Otherwise, why would Senior Brother Fei He manage the herb garden alone? If we went to gather herbs again, wouldn’t that be a waste of time? It’s better to start alchemy directly.”

Although Zhang Xiaohua didn’t quite agree with her view, he thought about his limited time and the countless pills accumulated in Huichun Valley over thousands of years—he didn’t know if he could finish refining them all before the people from Incense Spreading Sect arrived.

So he didn’t say anything more.

Nie Qianyu entered the alchemy room, sniffed, and said: “Brother Ren, the scent of polygonatum is very strong in here. Did you succeed in refining the Fasting Pill yesterday?”

Zhang Xiaohua replied dismissively: “Listen to yourself. How could I possibly fail at something as simple as the Fasting Pill? You’re underestimating me.”

Nie Qianyu glanced at the cauldron in the groove, walked over, took out the box from the base of the furnace, and, after checking the medicinal powder inside, smiled: “Young Hero Ren, you say that, but did we forget to put the Fasting Pills into a porcelain bottle? Leaving them out overnight probably made them lose quite a bit of potency.”

Zhang Xiaohua was struck by a thought and asked: “Even with fasting pills refined from a complete pill recipe, does the medicinal potency dissipate so quickly?”

Nie Qianyu nodded: “Brother Ren, you haven’t refined many pills, so you might not know—not only is it like this for Fasting Pills, but other pills are the same. After refining, you must form the pills quickly and store them in porcelain bottles. If you leave the powder exposed like this, it easily loses its medicinal properties.”

With that, she took out a small porcelain bottle from her robes and poured all the powder from the box into it.

She continued: “However, these pills you refined using the ancient method are about fifty percent more effective than those previously made in Huichun Valley. Even if this powder was left out overnight, it should still be about as effective as what Huichun Valley could make themselves.”

As they spoke, several disciples arrived at the alchemy room, placing a large pile of freshly washed herbs on the ground and waiting for instructions.

Nie Qianyu looked at Zhang Xiaohua and instructed the disciples to leave the alchemy room and not return without permission.

Once the disciples had left, Nie Qianyu said: “Brother Ren, today let’s first refine the Hundred Dispersal Pill, New Snow Pill, Heavenly Herb Pill, Plum Tongue Pill, and Zhenglu Pill. All these pill recipes are recorded in the formulas I gave you yesterday. Take a look—when shall we begin?”

Zhang Xiaohua took out the formulas, looked over each pill recipe, and smiled: “Why not start now? The steps seem similar to the Fasting Pill, so there’s no need to hesitate.”

Nie Qianyu replied: “That’s great. Brother Ren, I’ll watch from the side. If there’s anything I don’t know, I’ll ask you, and if you’re unsure about anything, ask me right away—how does that sound?”

Zhang Xiaohua nodded to himself. According to Valley Master Nie’s intention, Nie Qianyu was meant to guide his pill refinement, but the way Nie Qianyu phrased it was clearly to spare his pride, calling it a mutual exchange—she really was a considerate girl.

With a smile, Zhang Xiaohua said: “That’s perfect. If I do anything incorrectly, feel free to point it out.”

Nie Qianyu nodded: “Brother Ren, don’t worry about making mistakes. There are three sets of each herb, enough for you to try three times. If it’s not enough, we can have the disciples gather more.”

Zhang Xiaohua replied with satisfaction: “No need. I think three sets will be enough.”

He then walked to the cauldron, opened the ground fire, and looked at Nie Qianyu: “Shall I begin?”

Nie Qianyu nodded as well: “Let’s begin!”

After speaking, Nie Qianyu was about to help Zhang Xiaohua sort out the herbs, but Zhang Xiaohua hurriedly stopped her, saying: “Let me do this. You can’t possibly accompany me every time I refine pills…”

After speaking, Nie Qianyu was about to help Zhang Xiaohua sort out the herbs, but Zhang Xiaohua hurriedly stopped her, saying: “Let me do this. You can’t possibly accompany me every time I refine pills…”

Sure enough, Nie Qianyu lowered her head slightly and didn’t really respond.

Zhang Xiaohua quickly began sorting out the herbs for the Hundred Dispersal Pill himself, setting them aside, and slowly adjusted the flame. Once the cauldron was heated, and he was ready to add the herbs, Nie Qianyu finally summoned her courage and looked up, carefully watching Zhang Xiaohua’s skilled movements.

The process of refining the Hundred Dispersal Pill was not much different from the Fasting Pill. Before long, Zhang Xiaohua had already finished. Seeing how easily he completed the refinement, Nie Qianyu was a bit surprised; yesterday, Zhang Xiaohua had still seemed a bit unfamiliar with controlling the cauldron’s temperature, and she had worried he might burn the herbs today. But now, he was even more proficient than yesterday—how could he possibly ruin the pills?

When Zhang Xiaohua handed over the box, Nie Qianyu snapped out of her daze and quickly called the disciples outside to come in and collect the pills in porcelain bottles.

She then hurried to prepare the next batch of herbs, but Zhang Xiaohua stopped her again.

Zhang Xiaohua said: “Let’s just set the remaining herbs aside. I’ll take some time this afternoon to study them myself. For now, let’s refine the other pills.”

He then took out the herbs for the New Snow Pill himself. This time, instead of taking a third of the batch, he took more than half. Seeing this, Nie Qianyu couldn’t help but smile slightly, thinking to herself: “Brother Ren really is clever. He knows my father sent disciples to collect the pills he refines, so before I could say anything, he gave most of the batch away, probably keeping a little for himself to refine and keep later.”

Sure enough, just as Nie Qianyu thought, Zhang Xiaohua didn’t keep any of the New Snow Pill powder for himself—all of it was given to the disciples of Huichun Valley to be bottled.

Nie Qianyu kept nodding in approval.

Zhang Xiaohua grew more and more skilled, eventually refining pills almost with his eyes closed. By the time the sun was slanting overhead outside the alchemy room, all the pills Nie Qianyu had prepared for today had been refined by Zhang Xiaohua.

Seeing Zhang Xiaohua clap his hands to finish, Nie Qianyu apologized: “Brother Ren, I thought since this was your first time refining these, we’d need to discuss things as we went. But you didn’t ask a single question and finished all the pills. Your technique is so skilled, it’s almost exactly as described in the books. I…”

Zhang Xiaohua waved his hand and said: “It’s just a matter of practice. If you had deep internal strength and mastered the technique I mentioned last time, you wouldn’t have any problems either.”

Nie Qianyu, however, gave a wry smile. “Unfortunately, I just don’t have such profound internal strength.”

Then she brightened and said: “Since we finished so early today, Brother Ren, do you have any plans?”

As she spoke, a hint of anticipation appeared in her eyes.