Chapter 464 – Zhang Xiaohua’s Objective

After Elder Zhang had finished a long lecture about the importance of porcelain bottles and taste, he finally continued: “Of course, the primary purpose of a medicinal pill still lies in its efficacy. No matter how exquisite the packaging or how pleasant the taste, if the effects aren’t good, people will only be fooled once—they won’t come back for a second time. If our Spring Rebirth Valley is to produce pills, we must make them premium inside and out!”

Valley Master Nie opened his sleepy eyes and said: “Elder Zhang, now can you talk about the efficacy?”

“Mm. As for efficacy, there’s nothing to criticize—very good, very good.”

After saying that, Elder Zhang closed his mouth and didn’t say another word.

Valley Master Nie looked puzzled. “Just those two words?”

“Yes, just ‘very good’.”

Thud! Valley Master Nie collapsed to the ground. He had managed to endure Elder Zhang’s long-winded talk just to hear his evaluation of the pill’s effect—and all he got were two words! Now that was truly concise!

When he finally got back on his feet, brushing the dust off his robes, he gave a wry smile and said: “Elder Zhang, could you maybe be a bit more specific?”

“Oh? You want specifics? You should’ve said so earlier! How was I supposed to know you wanted me to be specific if you didn’t tell me?”

Once he had finished dragging things out, Elder Zhang finally put on a serious face and said: “Valley Master Nie, what I said earlier wasn’t empty talk. Those are all advantages of this Blood Replenishing Pill. And as for its medicinal efficacy, based on my experience, it should be twice as potent as the Blood Replenishing Pills our Spring Rebirth Valley has produced in the past!”

Hearing this, Valley Master Nie smiled and said: “Elder Zhang speaks truly. I had roughly the same assessment. Moreover, look at the pill’s size—it’s only half the weight of the old version. In other words, with only half the herbs, we can produce pills equivalent to four times the effect. This kind of resource efficiency and reduction in consumption is precisely the goal that generations of our Spring Rebirth Valley have been striving for. Who would’ve thought it would come to fruition in my generation?”

As he spoke, his eyes grew moist. “Truly, our ancestors are watching over us. Heaven blesses Spring Rebirth Valley.”

This time, it was Elder Zhang and Zhang Xiaohua who were left speechless.

Once Valley Master Nie had calmed his emotions, Elder Zhang reminded him: “Valley Master, no matter how good this Blood Replenishing Pill is, it was still refined by an outsider. It’d be best to bring that outsider into the fold as soon as possible. You have those three daughters…”

Valley Master Nie cut in: “Elder Zhang, you may not be aware, but Nephew Ren has already passed down the ancient method of pill refinement to me. Of course, our Spring Rebirth Valley didn’t gain this without paying a price…”

“The price being your three daughters? Good—worth it! I’ve long disliked that old fart Qiang. Glad to see them split. Aiyo, but that Old Yue fellow isn’t bad—this one’s going to be harder to deal with!”

Sigh—fortunately, both Zhang Xiaohua and Valley Master Nie had been using the Thousand-Jin Drop technique the entire time, or else they might’ve lost their footing on the spot.

Valley Master Nie wiped the sweat from his brow and said: “Young Hero Ren’s only request is to see all of our Spring Rebirth Valley’s pill formulas, and to help us refine each one of them into actual pills. Do you understand now?”

“Ah!!!” Elder Zhang exclaimed in astonishment. “So this is the reason you mentioned earlier for handing over all the pill formulas to Hero Ren?”

Valley Master Nie looked apprehensive and said: “That’s exactly it. Elder Zhang, please punish me as you see fit. This junior will accept your reprimand with humility and be sure to engage in thorough self-criticism and reflection, without…”

Before Valley Master Nie could finish, Elder Zhang suddenly stood up, walked straight to Zhang Xiaohua, and grabbed his hands with great enthusiasm. Shaking them vigorously, he exclaimed: “Hero Ren! Hero Ren! Is this the legendary ‘acting wholly for others, without a thought for oneself’? You truly are a paragon of virtue! I’ve lived my whole life, and this is the first time I’ve met a true great hero like you. A true hero indeed! A true hero indeed!!”

And just like that, Zhang Xiaohua was instantly elevated from ‘Young Hero Ren’ to ‘Hero Ren.’

Zhang Xiaohua had never expected Elder Zhang to be so enthusiastic. He could only mutter: “I… I only wanted to practice my pill refinement…”

Elder Zhang acted as if he hadn’t heard him at all, turning to Valley Master Nie and saying: “Valley Master, you’ve gone your whole life without doing a single thing right. But this time, you finally got it right.”

Valley Master Nie chuckled, eyes narrowed in a smile, secretly thinking: Yes, handing our Spring Rebirth Valley’s pill formulas to Nephew Ren really was the right move.

“Having those three daughters of yours was the only right thing you’ve ever done in your life!”

Elder Zhang added.

Even though Valley Master Nie had activated Thousand-Jin Drop and had mentally prepared himself, he still went—“Thud!”—and fell to the ground.

After a while, the always self-assured and “wise and mighty” Valley Master Nie finally staggered back to his feet and grumbled: “Elder Zhang, you’re a senior of the valley. How can you speak of such confidential matters in front of outsiders?”

But Elder Zhang still warmly clutched Zhang Xiaohua’s small hands with his large ones, the wrinkles on his face creased in a broad smile. He replied: “How is Hero Ren an outsider? As long as you get Little Third to pull her weight, this kid will be ‘a man of Spring Rebirth Valley in life, and a ghost of Spring Rebirth Valley in death!’”

Then, turning to Zhang Xiaohua with a grin, he added: “Besides, Hero Ren, the two of us were fated to meet, albeit late. I may be old, but you and I can still be considered friends across generations—how could we possibly be outsiders?”

Feeling the excessive enthusiasm of Elder Zhang’s large hands, Zhang Xiaohua tried to pull his hands back while shrinking away slightly, thinking to himself: Just a moment ago he threw a hidden dart at me, and now he’s getting all chummy. This old man surely has some ulterior motive… Oh, that’s right—

As if recalling something, Zhang Xiaohua no longer withdrew his hands. He smiled and said: “If Elder Zhang has something to say, there’s no need to hold back. If it’s not too troublesome, this junior will certainly do his best to fulfill it.”

Of course, others might not know, but Zhang Xiaohua was well aware in his heart—since he’d already accepted such a great favor, how could he not repay it?

Seeing how straightforward Zhang Xiaohua was, Elder Zhang was a little stunned, even trembling slightly, and asked: “Hero Ren… do you really mean that?”

Zhang Xiaohua gave a sharp flick of his head, the few strands of hair on his forehead swaying in the wind. “Elder, do I look like the kind of person who’d go back on his word?”

“No, no—not at all, absolutely not,”

Elder Zhang replied repeatedly.

Then, still not quite convinced, he asked cautiously: “Then… Hero Ren, would you be willing to agree to a small request from this old man?”

Zhang Xiaohua raised his voice and said boldly: “No problem! I’ve long understood what you wanted. Elder, you’re the paving stone of the alchemy world, having done so much foundational work—how could I possibly refuse such a small favor? Just speak to Valley Master Nie later. I’ve already entrusted everything to him!”

His voice rang out grandly, with the air of great generosity.

But Elder Zhang was stunned when he heard this. “Hero Ren… did you misunderstand something?”

Zhang Xiaohua waved his hand carelessly. “No misunderstanding at all. Don’t worry, Elder—Valley Master Nie will definitely not let you down.”

“But…” Elder Zhang gave a bitter smile. “The Valley Master won’t do.”

“He will—if I say he will, then he will.” At this moment, Zhang Xiaohua spoke with the authority of a true leader.

“But…” Elder Zhang was still hesitant.

Zhang Xiaohua kept waving his hand dismissively. “There are no ‘buts’…”

At that moment, Elder Zhang finally spoke pitifully, “Hero Ren, the only thing I wanted was for you to help me refine a batch of Crimson Flame Pills…”

“Ah??!” Zhang Xiaohua’s hand, halfway through a flourish, fell limply. He couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. “Elder Zhang just wants me to refine Crimson Flame Pills?”

“Yes!” Elder Zhang looked completely wronged and aggrieved. “My request isn’t too much, is it?”

“You didn’t mean you wanted me to teach you the method of refining pills?” Zhang Xiaohua still couldn’t believe it.

Elder Zhang pursed his lips and said: “Such techniques are surely Hero Ren’s core secrets. How could this old man dare to presume? Besides…”

After stalling for quite a while, he finally mumbled: “This old man has never married in his life—hasn’t even a single descendant—where would I find a granddaughter to offer you in marriage?”

Hearing that, Zhang Xiaohua rolled his eyes dramatically and toppled backward. Fortunately, Elder Zhang grabbed him by the arms with enthusiasm and stopped him from falling.

“This… this can be taught,” Zhang Xiaohua said weakly. “Elder Zhang, I’m not looking for your granddaughter or your great-granddaughter.”

“Ah? Really?” Elder Zhang grew excited. “I really wanted to bring it up, but I was afraid I’d lose face. Hero Ren, you truly deserve the title of a great hero. This old man thanks you!”

With that, he pulled his hands back to perform a salute. Zhang Xiaohua’s body was still unsteady, so as soon as his arms were released, he nearly tilted over again. To think that even with his high-level martial arts, Zhang Xiaohua had been battered into such a state. (o(∩_∩)o hahaha~)

But once again, Elder Zhang grabbed Zhang Xiaohua’s hands with lightning speed, stabilizing his posture, and said with a bitter face: “There’s still one more problem, Hero Ren. Even if I do manage to learn the technique you pass on, whether or not I can actually refine Crimson Flame Pills is still uncertain. There’s only one stalk of Red Flame Grass in the entire Spring Rebirth Valley—no second one exists. If it’s wasted, there’ll be no chance to refine the pills again.”

Zhang Xiaohua understood. He had seen the pill formula for the Crimson Flame Pill before. The refinement method within was merely an adapted version based on Immortal Dao alchemical techniques, far less orthodox than the methods he had studied. If Elder Zhang were to follow that formula to the letter, there was a high chance—eight or nine out of ten—that it would end in failure.

However, the second method recorded in the jade slip was one Zhang Xiaohua had never tried himself. Naturally, he couldn’t give a hasty promise.

So after thinking for a moment, Zhang Xiaohua smiled and said: “Elder Zhang, this junior understands how important this is to you. But from what I’ve seen just now, refining this Crimson Flame Pill isn’t something simple. I can’t say I have absolute confidence.”

Elder Zhang’s eyes lit up immediately and he asked eagerly: “Then, Hero Ren, how much confidence do you have?”

Zhang Xiaohua considered it, then held up four fingers.

Elder Zhang smiled and said, “Forty percent is more than enough!”

But Zhang Xiaohua shook his head. “Forty percent confidence means a failure!”

Valley Master Nie’s eyes lit up even more as he asked with a smile: “Nephew Ren, are you saying you’re more confident than that?”

Zhang Xiaohua still shook his head. “I’ll need a few things. If I can get them, maybe I can be more certain.”

“What do you need? Do you want Nie Qian or something? Hurry, Valley Master, go summon all your daughters!” Elder Zhang blurted out in a panic. 

Zhang Xiaohua and Valley Master Nie both almost fell over.

After steadying himself, Zhang Xiaohua said, “Elder Zhang, you’re overthinking things. I only want to take advantage of the favorable conditions here in Spring Rebirth Valley to get more hands-on practice and sharpen my pill refinement skills. That doesn’t go against your request either. If I can refine all the different kinds of pills here in the valley at least once, I’ll definitely accumulate a wealth of experience. Then, when it comes time to refine the Crimson Flame Pill, my chances of success will naturally be much greater!”