Chapter 67. Your talent is surprising!
Chapter 67: 67. Your talent is surprising!
Seeing the large crowd gathered outside the Alchemy Hall, Lin Xuan could not help but feel speechless.
He had rushed over and immediately requested the clan’s only level two alchemist to teach him how to refine Body Tempering Pills.
That was all.
Yet somehow, in less than ten minutes, nearly half the clan had arrived to watch.
Are all of you really this free? Did you all come just to watch your Patriarch make a fool of himself?
Lin Xuan silently rubbed his forehead.
He had no intention of putting on a show.
Unfortunately, judging from the eager faces outside, everyone else seemed to think differently.
Standing beside the furnace, Lin Zhengxu paid no attention to the crowd.
His expression remained calm and serious.
"Focus. I’ll only demonstrate this once."
Lin Xuan immediately put aside his distracting thoughts and nodded.
"I understand."
Lin Zhengxu lightly waved his hand.
A crimson medicinal cauldron landed firmly before him with a heavy thud.
He gently placed his palm against its side.
The next moment, a stream of spiritual qi poured into the cauldron.
Whoosh!
Bright orange flames suddenly rose within the furnace.
The surrounding temperature immediately began climbing.
Lin Zhengxu calmly took out several medicinal herbs from the table beside him.
"Every pill begins with controlling the flame. The fire cannot be too fierce, nor can it be too weak."
"Only by maintaining a perfect balance can the medicinal essence be extracted without damaging it."
As he spoke, he tossed the first herb into the cauldron.
The leaves instantly curled under the heat.
Instead of burning into ashes, however, they slowly melted into a drop of emerald-green liquid.
Without pausing, Lin Zhengxu added the second herb.
Then the third.
Each ingredient was introduced at a different moment, as though every breath had already been calculated beforehand.
Inside the cauldron, the various medicinal essences floated separately.
None of them mixed together.
Under the precise control of the flames, every impurity was gradually burned away.
Only the purest medicinal essence remained.
Several minutes later, Lin Zhengxu’s expression sharpened.
"The final step."
His spiritual qi suddenly surged.
The flames within the cauldron instantly intensified before rapidly shrinking inward.
The floating droplets of medicinal essence began revolving around one another until they finally merged together.
A rich medicinal fragrance immediately spread throughout the Alchemy Hall.
Lin Zhengxu lightly struck the side of the cauldron.
Clang!
The lid flew open and three smooth, jade-colored Body Tempering Pills shot into the air before gently landing in his waiting hand.
They were perfectly round, with a faint medicinal fragrance lingering around them.
The moment Lin Xuan’s eyes fell upon the pills, countless pieces of information about the pill flooded into his mind.
The ingredients, the refining order, the flame intensity required for every step, everything became crystal clear in an instant.
It was as though he had personally refined this exact pill thousands of times before.
Staring at the three pills, a single thought naturally surfaced within his mind.
Middle-grade Body Tempering Pills.
Although the pills were free of visible defects, their medicinal essence had only fused to an ordinary standard.
Within the world of alchemy, pills were commonly divided into Low, Middle, High, Peak, Pure, and the legendary Cloud Grade.
For a Second-Rank Alchemist, producing three middle-grade Body Tempering Pills in one furnace was already considered a respectable achievement.
A nearby First-Rank Alchemist immediately exclaimed,
"Three low-grade pills!"
"As expected of Elder Zhengxu!"
The surrounding spectators also broke into discussion.
"Amazing."
"Elder Zhengxu truly lives up to his reputation."
"Refining three pills in a single attempt is already difficult enough."
"To have all three reach the middle-grade standard is even more impressive."
Lin Zhengxu merely nodded calmly.
He had long grown accustomed to such praise.
He then turned toward Lin Xuan.
"Now, your turn."
Lin Xuan took a slow breath before stepping in front of the medicinal cauldron.
His eyes swept across the herbs neatly arranged on the table.
The instant his gaze landed upon them, his Myth Grade Pill Refining Talent immediately took effect.
An overwhelming amount of knowledge flooded into his mind.
The optimal order to add each herb, the precise temperature required for every stage.
The exact moment each medicinal essence should be fused.
Even several subtle flaws in Elder Zhengxu’s earlier refining process became immediately apparent.
Even so, he quickly buried those thoughts.
He had come here to learn.
Correcting Elder Zhengxu after asking him for guidance would be nothing short of disrespectful.
Besides, there was also another, far more important reason.
The system had clearly stated that every pill he refined would become a Pure Pill.
If he really refined one here...
The entire clan would immediately regard him as an unparalleled alchemy genius.
Once word spread beyond the Lin Family, it would attract far more trouble than benefits.
A little hiding won’t hurt.
With that thought, Lin Xuan decided to imitate Elder Zhengxu’s actions exactly.
He ignited the flames beneath the cauldron before carefully adding the herbs one by one.
Everything appeared smooth at first.
Then, while pretending to struggle with controlling the fire, he quietly increased the flame ever so slightly.
A moment later, the medicinal essences inside the cauldron became unstable.
The herbs blackened one after another and before Lin Xuan could begin the fusion process—
Boom!
A muffled explosion erupted from inside the cauldron.
The lid trembled as a puff of black smoke rose into the air.
The entire Alchemy Hall instantly fell silent.
Lin Xuan looked into the smoking cauldron before scratching his cheek awkwardly.
"...I think I failed."
Around him, no one laughed.
Instead, many of the alchemists nodded in understanding.
For someone attempting pill refinement for the very first time...
Failing to control the flames was the most common mistake of all.
Elder Zhengxu showed no sign of disappointment.
Instead, he smiled gently and patted Lin Xuan on the shoulder.
"It’s alright, Patriarch. Failure is part of learning. You have already grasped the basics. If you truly wish to continue practicing, I’ll prepare a private alchemy room for you."
Lin Xuan nodded gratefully.
"Then I’ll have to trouble Elder Zhengxu."
"It is no trouble at all."
Elder Zhengxu looked at the smoking cauldron before turning back to Lin Xuan.
The more he thought about it, the more satisfied he became.
The Patriarch had only watched the process once before attempting it himself.
Every step had been carried out in the correct order and the only mistake had been his control over the flames.
Whether that was because of an exceptional memory or natural talent hardly mattered.
As an alchemist, Elder Zhengxu welcomed both.
After all, alchemy did not rely solely upon talent.
A cultivator with an excellent memory could memorize every step of the refining process and achieve remarkable results through constant practice.
In his eyes, Lin Xuan had already demonstrated considerable potential.
All that remained was to teach him how to control the flames with greater precision.
Once the Patriarch mastered that, becoming an alchemist would simply be a matter of time.
And perhaps, the Alchemy Hall might even gain another future alchemist.
Although Elder Zhengxu did not dare dream too much.
After all, Lin Xuan was still the Patriarch of the Lin Family.