CHAPTER 969: CHAPTER 966: BRONZE MEDICINE CAULDRON

"However, those with a talent for alchemy are one in a million, so becoming a pharmacist is a hundred, even a thousand times more difficult than becoming an Ancient Martial Artist." Jiang Xiu Ying shook her head as she spoke.

"Elder Jiang, please take a look for me; am I one of those one-in-a-million talented individuals?" Lin Tian said as if it were a matter of course, with such thick skin that it left Jiang Xiu Ying momentarily stunned.

Jiang Xiu Ying sized up Lin Tian with considerable interest and smiled, "You’re indeed an amusing young man. No wonder Zi Yan would give you the golden thread. However, I can’t answer your question because I’m not a real pharmacist, so naturally, I can’t tell."

"Though, whether it’s a mule or a horse, we’ll know once it’s taken out for a spin." Jiang Xiu Ying added.

Lin Tian was left speechless by this metaphor. It just felt awkward when applied to him. He knew what Jiang Xiu Ying meant: testing talent in the field would reveal if one has it or not.

"Elder Jiang, I understand your meaning, but the Yin Yang Life Fruit is extremely rare. I only have five of them, and using them for practice would leave me with none. These are essential ingredients." Lin Tian shook his head. Knowing the low success rate of alchemy, he wasn’t willing to use the Yin Yang Life Fruit for practice.

Zi Yan chuckled lightly and said, "Now you see its value. But you don’t have to worry; after I informed my master, she anticipated this and has a recipe for you to practice on. This recipe was left by the Ghost Valley Inheritor, used to treat the old master, and the ingredients are readily available."

Jiang Xiu Ying smiled without saying a word, silently agreeing with Zi Yan’s remark. Lin Tian was quite moved; the elixir recipe was so precious, yet the Ghost Valley Inheritor left it behind, and now Jiang Xiu Ying offered it up. Such a healer commands respect.

In reality, Lin Tian had other recipes he could practice with, but those required ingredients that weren’t readily available and the timing of when he could gather them was uncertain.

Gathering all the ingredients for the Yin Yang Life Fruit elixir recipe took quite some trouble. Without Lin Tian’s skills, obtaining the main ingredients would’ve been impossible.

So, practicing with other recipes wasn’t viable. Lin Tian also had a hunch that the elixir recipes in the "Shennong Emperor’s Medical Scripture" were too advanced for practice purposes.

The Ghost Valley Inheritor himself was a junior pharmacist, so the recipe he left behind was likely elementary, and the Yun Family used those ingredients yearly. They had stockpiles, making them perfect for practice.

Jiang Xiu Ying motioned, and Zi Yan retrieved a dark red wooden box from her bag. She opened it and found a scroll of silk fabric, which she handed to Lin Tian.

"This is the recipe that the Ghost Valley Inheritor transcribed for my master at that time," Zi Yan stated.

Lin Tian took it and examined it closely. The text on the silk cloth was vertical, with the first column displaying the name of the elixir: Shaoyang Pill.

"This recipe is relatively simple. However, despite its simplicity, it’s not easy to complete. Once you can successfully create the Shaoyang Pill, you’ll be a junior pharmacist. Then, when you attempt your own recipe, your chances of success will be much greater," Zi Yan explained.

"No time like the present. Prepare and let’s begin," Jiang Xiu Ying acted decisively, saying it and doing it immediately. Then she turned to Yun Xiaotian and said, "Bring all the previous ingredients to Yunxiang Inn and prepare the alchemy here, so no time is wasted."

Yun Xiaotian agreed and went off to arrange matters. Lin Tian sat with his eyes closed on the sofa, replaying the contents of the "Shaoyang Pill" in his mind.

After over ten minutes, Yun Xiaotian returned to Yunxiang Inn with the ingredients, and had a cauldron brought in, which Lin Tian had instructed to be crafted a few days earlier.

This cauldron is the simplest one described in the "Shennong Emperor’s Medical Scripture". A more complex one couldn’t be made in a short time. Although it’s the simplest cauldron, it looked ancient and vibrant, as if it were an antique.

The cauldron stood half a meter high, its entire body bronze-colored. At the very bottom was a hollow area called the fire chamber for burning fuel, with two holes on either side connecting to the fire chamber to control the flame.

At the top of the cauldron was a lid, on which perched a dragon and tiger, with small holes in their mouths to release steam and dissipate excess heat. Opening the lid allowed for herbs to be added to the cauldron.

Although the cauldron lacked extra ornamentation or exquisite patterns, its simple design made it practical.

Seeing the cauldron, Jiang Xiu Ying couldn’t help but praise, "This is truly an ancient cauldron, seemingly more advanced than the one left by the Ghost Valley Inheritor."

Lin Tian smiled inwardly, "A product from the ’Shennong Emperor’s Medical Scripture’ must be a masterpiece. How could it be any less than that? Even the simplest cauldron can’t be easily rivaled by just anyone; who can compare to Emperor Shennong?"

"However, the more advanced the cauldron, the higher the requirements for its user. For a beginner like you, it’s quite a challenge," Jiang Xiu Ying said teasingly, clearly wanting to see how a novice like Lin Tian would handle the task.

Lin Tian, undisturbed, instructed Yun Xiaotian to fetch a barrel of spring water and prepare ten jade bowls. The spring water was right outside, flowing from the Yun Family’s sea well, the perfect water source for alchemy. As for the jade bowls, the ones used previously in the floating cups event would suffice.

With everything ready, Lin Tian instead closed his eyes, standing quietly before the cauldron. In ancient times, people would bathe and change clothes or calmly sit before writing to adjust to their best mental state; this was a similar principle.

Though Lin Tian spoke light-heartedly, he actually went all out, believing that one should either not do something at all or strive to do it to the best of their ability.

While adjusting his state, Lin Tian activated the Eye of Clarity, using it to scan the cauldron, examining the alchemy chamber, fire chamber, and the fire-control ducts, observing everything and imprinting the internal structure in his mind, as if trying to achieve a state of unity with the cauldron.

"A good cauldron is as crucial to a Martial Artist as their weapon," Jiang Xiu Ying said softly, not rushing Lin Tian, allowing him to keep his eyes closed.

Seeing Lin Tian not hurriedly jumping into alchemy, she understood better than anyone the wisdom in this approach. If Lin Tian had rushed straight into igniting the fire and crafting, she wouldn’t have bothered to watch, opting to leave directly instead.

The living room was quiet; it seemed like one could hear the sound of butterflies dancing outside. This was an incredibly exquisite feeling, as if everyone was influenced by Lin Tian, their hearts becoming as calm as still water, and their senses growing more acute.

Suddenly, Lin Tian opened his eyes. It seemed a blue lightning bolt flashed through the living room, waking everyone from their tranquil state and drawing their collective gaze to Lin Tian.

Lin Tian reached out and took the carbon crystal from the box, placing it into the fire chamber of the cauldron, slightly touching the fire, causing the carbon crystal to ignite. Although carbon crystals were easy to ignite, the flame they produced wasn’t intense; instead, it was rather quiet.

The flame from the burning carbon crystal was a pale blue, and upon seeing that shade, everyone seemed to feel a cool sensation. However, everyone in the living room clearly understood that the purer the flame, the higher the temperature must be.