CHAPTER 142: CHAPTER 115: PERFECTION

In the afternoon on North Street, where Medicine King Hall was located, the street housed both shops and residents. The residents generally lived in the backyards of the shops.

It was now time for the afternoon meal, and kitchens in the backyards of various shops were emitting plumes of cooking smoke one after another.

In this cold winter, the smoke from cooking grains and food always managed to dispel much of the chill.

The apprentices and attendants of Medicine King Hall, who had been busy all day, were also waiting for a bowl of hot stewed vegetable and meat soup to replenish the vital energy and heat their bodies had consumed.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Outside the Pill Room where Chen Ku and Shang Yunfang were, a guard delivered two meal boxes.

Shang Yunfang did not disturb Chen Ku’s alchemy.

She went outside, brought in the two meal boxes, gave one to Chen Ku, and said, "Eat something when it’s time for the Literature Fire. Pill Formation takes at least a whole night."

Chen Ku hummed in acknowledgment, waving his fan where he stood.

At that moment, in the Pill Room, even if someone looked closely, they wouldn’t be able to see how Chen Ku’s action of waving the fan induced any significant changes in the flames beneath the Pill Furnace.

But only Chen Ku himself understood. The instant the flames arose from beneath the Pill Furnace, the moment he attached the ’Fire Beak Pot,’ he felt a mysterious connection between himself and the flame burning beneath it. This feeling was hard to describe in detail. It was as if... there was an invisible thread between him and the flame in front of him, a thread he could control with his intent. He could increase the temperature, and he even felt... as if he could suck the flame from beneath the Pill Furnace into his stomach just by opening his mouth. This was the ability of the Fire Beak Pot. Although it was only a ’Magical Treasure’ formed from First Realm Evil Qi, it could still transform his body into a ’Fire Pot.’ Even if he swallowed the flames, his stomach and intestines wouldn’t be harmed, as they had already been modified by the Fire Beak Pot Transformation into a ’Pot Belly’ capable of assimilating flames. Thus, the act of fanning was merely a concealing facade. Chen Ku sat cross-legged, controlling the fire with the special ability of the Fire Beak Pot. This was the true essence of his alchemy this time.

Pill Furnace alchemy, in essence, is a process of refining impurities and extracting the essence of medicinal materials. It cannot use open flames; only the Pill Furnace will do... But my Fire Beak Pot is actually a ’Magical Treasure’ that can control temperature even better than a Pill Furnace. I’ll test it here today. If it proves successful, having an extra fire control ability could significantly increase my Pill Formation success rate. Then, in the future, I could directly use the ’Fire Beak Pot’ for my own private pill refining. The only condition is that I must obtain enough Pill Prescriptions.

"It’s time for the Literature Fire. Come over for dinner," Shang Yunfang, who had already finished eating, called out. "I’ll watch the fire for a while."

Chen Ku hummed a reply. He had previously tested his Fire Beak Pot’s fire control ability. It allowed him to manage flames up to three meters away, so leaving the front of the Pill Furnace wouldn’t affect his continued control of the fire.

He walked over and opened the meal box.

It was winter, yet the meals at Medicine King Hall surprisingly still included fresh vegetables. His disciple’s meal was on par with a master’s. Today’s meal consisted of a bowl of mushroom and lamb soup and a plate of stir-fried winter bamboo shoots—six dishes and one soup in total, plus a top-grade honey tangerine.

As Chen Ku was eating, in the adjacent Pill Room, Huo Xiaoxia’s batch of pills was already out of the furnace.

"Not bad. Four Top Grade Spirit-Calming Pills, two Middle Grade, and four Lower Grade. That’s a forty percent Top Grade Pill Formation rate. Among the disciples in your batch, aside from the Store Manager’s disciple, Kou Ming, your alchemy talent is the best," Nong Baosen, the Grandmaster of Hundred Herbs Courtyard, praised his disciple, Huo Xiaoxia.

A forty percent Pill Formation rate was already considered excellent. Even he, who could now be called a top Pill Master in the hall, produced only seven Top Grade Spirit-Calming Pills when refining this First Grade Inner Qi pill.

Kou Ming’s talent surpassed Nong Baosen’s disciple Huo Xiaoxia slightly, with a record high of six Top Grade pills, making him almost certainly the future head of Medicine King Hall’s Pill-Refining Room.

"Eldest Martial Brother Kou Ming’s Alchemy Dao talent is truly enviable," Huo Xiaoxia sighed.

Only after entering this field did she realize the difficulty of increasing the Top Grade Pill Formation rate by even one pill, which was almost as challenging as breaking through the Mystic Barrier in Inner Qi.

"Alright, we’re done with pill cultivation for today. I’m going to check on that kid next door."

Huo Xiaoxia raised her eyebrows slightly, "Master, didn’t you think that Junior Brother Chen couldn’t..."

"Elder Shang also made a request," Nong Baosen stroked his beard and said. "We ought to show some respect. I’ll just casually point out a few flaws. That way, if Elder Shang asks, I’ll have something to tell him, giving him some basis for instructing the disciple."

"Can I also take a look?" Huo Xiaoxia asked curiously.

As a young lady, she rarely made public appearances in the hall and had been well protected. She still hadn’t even seen what this Junior Brother Chen looked like.

"It wouldn’t hurt. It’s a good chance for you to see the mistakes in Chen Ku’s alchemy and take them as a lesson."

After Nong Baosen finished speaking, he led his disciple Huo Xiaoxia out of their Pill Room. They went to Chen Ku’s Pill Room and peeked in through the window.

They just caught the scene of Chen Ku eating while Shang Yunfang fanned the fire for him.

A flicker of displeasure crossed Nong Baosen’s eyes.

It wasn’t that he found the scene of a disciple eating while the master tended the fire inherently improper. Rather, he instantly noticed that the flame in front of Shang Yunfang was very stable...

Shang Yunfang was the one doing the alchemy!