Chapter 177: The Furnace Explodes

"Is this the guy who was so confident?"

Recovering, Alchemist Hongyun steadied his breath.

The guy in the crystal was confident, wise, and had a deep understanding of alchemy, but this guy in front of him was listless, with bloodshot eyes...

Had he been boiled?

Alchemists, dealing with medicinal herbs all day, paid great attention to self-care and generally didn't let themselves get particularly tired. Moreover... alchemists were top-tier professionals in the upper three ranks, valuing their image and dignity. When had anyone ever seen a formal alchemist sporting panda eyes?

Too undignified.

Not only was he puzzled, but Alchemist Ouyang and the others also looked bewildered.

Had he really been refuted to the point of being left speechless by this guy? Wishing he could crawl into a crack in the ground?

Too degrading...

...

Unaware of the wild thoughts in everyone's minds, Zhang Xuan entered the room and saw that over a dozen alchemists from the entire Tianxuan Kingdom were all present. He found it a bit strange.

These alchemists were usually very busy; gathering them all together was generally not easy. When he had taken his assessment, they had been summoned a day in advance, and only ten had shown up. Why were they all here today?

But no matter how many alchemists came, it had nothing to do with him. Zhang Xuan shook his head and ignored them. Suppressing his fatigue, he walked to the center of the hall.

"President Ouyang, have the things I wanted to buy arrived?"

"They're here, right here..."

President Ouyang handed over the items that Alchemist Hongyun had just brought.

The third-grade pill, Po Yin Dan, and the blood of a Primeval Giant Rhino.

Taking the items, Zhang Xuan's face lit up with joy. He stored them in his ring and then handed over the prepared banknotes.

"Farewell..."

Seeing that the other party had finished counting and there were no issues, he prepared to leave.

He was too tired. Now that these things had arrived, it was best to take them back quickly for Zhao Ya and Yuan Tao to use, and then he could sleep peacefully.

"Alchemist Zhang Xuan, please wait..."

Alchemist Hongyun snapped out of it and stood up.

"Who are you?"

Just as he was dozing off from exhaustion, someone blocked his way. Zhang Xuan was a bit annoyed.

"I am Hongyun... I have a doubt about alchemy and would like to ask for your guidance. I hope Alchemist Zhang Xuan can answer..."

Alchemist Hongyun said.

After watching the recording crystal, he was already seventy or eighty percent convinced of the man who had successfully debated alchemy. However, he still wanted to ask a few questions in person to confirm whether there was any suspicion of cheating.

"No time!" Zhang Xuan curled his lip. "I'm not your teacher. If you have questions, go read a book. Why come to me? Go somewhere cool and stay there..."

Come on, can't you see I'm busy? I need to go home and sleep. Who has time to answer your questions? Why are you so clueless?

Besides... who are you!

If any random alchemist came to ask me questions, I'd be dead tired!

Thump!

A large number of alchemists in the room fell over.

President Ouyang nearly choked on his phlegm.

Brother, this is a two-star alchemist sent from headquarters specifically to investigate you, and you tell him to go somewhere cool and stay there...

"Ahem!" Suppressing the urge to spit blood, President Ouyang quickly stepped forward. "Alchemist Zhang Xuan, this Alchemist Hongyun is a two-star alchemist from headquarters..."

"Two-star alchemist?" Zhang Xuan was taken aback. He glanced at the man and lifted his tired eyelids. "Alright, what don't you understand? Ask away. I'm in a hurry..."

"..." President Ouyang.

"..." The many alchemists.

He's here to test you, but you're acting like he's come to learn from you? And most importantly... you're in a hurry? Hurry your sister! Do you have any sense of urgency? If you fail the assessment, he can revoke your alchemist status...

Everyone was shocked. Alchemist Hongyun was also quite frustrated. If he hadn't seen the recording crystal, he would have gone crazy by now.

"During the refining of first-grade Huixi Dan, the pills often turn yellow after formation. I'd like to ask how to solve this."

"And you call yourself a two-star alchemist? You don't even know that? Huixi Dan restores expended energy. Its main ingredient is Baixi grass, which is pure white. When it comes into contact with a person's true qi, it turns light yellow. It's not a problem with the herb, but because the person's true qi has too many impurities. If the true qi were purer, this wouldn't happen. To prevent the pill from turning yellow, it's simple: add a bit of Qingyang flower during refining. It absorbs impurities in the true qi, so the Baixi grass won't change color..."

Zhang Xuan waved his hand casually.

The golden book had made all the books he saw in the low-level and high-level libraries his own memory, thoroughly understood. Explaining was extremely simple; he could give pointers without even using the Library of Heaven's Path.

The main reason was that the other party had asked about first-grade pill knowledge. If he had asked something more advanced, he wouldn't have been able to answer.

"Pills made with Qinglian flower as the main ingredient taste bitter. Adding licorice makes it easy for the furnace to explode. How do you solve that?" Alchemist Hongyun continued.

"The bitterness of Qinglian flower comes from the golden lotus seedpod on top. It's useless for alchemy. Just remove it, and without adding anything, the pill won't be bitter; instead, it will be sweet. Adding licorice is redundant, so of course the furnace explodes?"

Zhang Xuan looked at him as if he were an idiot. "You're a two-star alchemist. You don't even know that? How did you pass the exam?"

"..."

Alchemist Hongyun nearly choked.

"Alright, if it's just these questions, they're all in the guild's high-level library. When you have nothing to do, read more books. I have things to do, so I'm leaving..."

Zhang Xuan yawned and headed out again.

He felt that if he didn't sleep soon, he might just drop dead.

Seeing his behavior, Alchemist Hongyun was dumbfounded.

Could you show me some respect?

No matter what, I'm from headquarters, a two-star alchemist, a rank higher than you. Others see me and wait respectfully in advance. But you, you can't even keep your eyes open when talking to me, telling me to go somewhere cool and read more books...

Read your sister!

I'm testing you, can't you see? Of course I know the answers...

Frustrated, he showed a hint of displeasure and raised his eyebrows.

"Wait. If you answer this question... I won't ask any more, and I'll give you the Po Yin Dan and Giant Rhino blood for free, no charge."

As he finished speaking, considering whether the other would agree, he saw Zhang Xuan already standing in front of him, the fatigue in his eyes completely gone, replaced by a sharp gleam: "Are you serious?"

The Po Yin Dan and Giant Rhino blood cost a total of twenty-three million gold coins. If they were free, that would be fantastic.

He could save a huge sum...

"You... vulgar!"

Alchemist Hongyun's beard nearly blew off with anger.

He wouldn't even open his eyes to talk to me, but when he heard 'free,' he nearly jumped for joy...

In his heart, this dignified two-star alchemist was worth less than a pile of gold coins...

Just thinking about it was infuriating.

Actually, Zhang Xuan's reaction wasn't deliberate.

It was because his values were still those of the librarian from Earth; he hadn't fully integrated with this other world. He had no concept of what a two-star alchemist meant. No matter how impressive, could it be more practical than money?

Hadn't he seen how many brain cells he'd burned to earn those twenty million gold coins?

"The problem is... every time I refine Jingyuan Dan, the furnace explodes..." Alchemist Hongyun stated his question.

Hearing this, Ouyang Cheng and the others were all stunned, looking at each other in bewilderment.

Jingyuan Dan... this was a top-tier second-grade pill that replenishes one's essence, energy, and spirit. Legend had it that even three-star alchemists found it difficult to refine easily.

Alchemist Hongyun was actually asking a one-star alchemist how to refine a top-tier second-grade pill...

That was too shameless.

Clearly crossing the line...

Seeing their expressions, Alchemist Hongyun's old face reddened.

To be honest, he was provoked by Zhang Xuan and wanted to knock him down a peg. Weren't you so cocky? Watch me throw out a problem that even I, a two-star alchemist, can't solve. How will you answer?

If you can't answer, I'll teach you a lesson, dampen your arrogance, and make you know how you should speak to a two-star alchemist.

"Jingyuan Dan?" Zhang Xuan hadn't read any two-star alchemist books and didn't know the name of this pill. He thought it was just an obscure medicine he hadn't heard of and didn't pay it much mind.

Of course, even if he knew, he wouldn't care. After all, he didn't rely on knowledge to solve problems. He had only been in this world for less than half a month. Even with the Library of Heaven's Path as a cheat, his knowledge absorption was fast, but he couldn't compare to these alchemists who had lived for decades.

"Go ahead and refine it. Let me see..."

Having made up his mind, Zhang Xuan waved his hand casually.

"Fine!"

Hearing his tone, as if he were ordering a monkey to perform, Alchemist Hongyun grew even more frustrated. He secretly decided that once the other couldn't explain, he would teach him a good lesson. He then walked to the furnace, took out medicinal herbs from his storage ring, and prepared.

Jingyuan Dan was a very popular second-grade pill. Since he had never succeeded in refining it, he always carried several sets of ingredients and often studied them. Taking them out wasn't difficult.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The furnace fire blazed as he purified the herbs.

As soon as Alchemist Hongyun made his move, he showed his skill. As expected of a two-star alchemist, he was far superior to Alchemist Chen Xiao and the others. His control over the herbs, the furnace fire, and the purification of the medicine were on a completely different level.

One by one, the herbs were thrown into the furnace with fluid grace. Under the blazing fire, a rich medicinal fragrance soon emerged.

This fragrance was full of spiritual energy. Just one whiff made one feel light and healthy, much more comfortable.

Zhang Xuan had been up for five days and nights and was quite tired. After taking a whiff, he also felt more comfortable, and his bloodshot eyes seemed to ease.

Boom!

However, just as the fragrance reached its peak, it suddenly stopped. A violent force rushed out, and the furnace couldn't withstand it, exploding with a bang.

Crack!

A pile of waste dregs rolled out, black as charcoal.

The refining had failed, and in the most terrifying way... a furnace explosion!

If everyone hadn't been on guard, they might have been injured by the violent energy that burst out.

Hit by the explosive energy, Alchemist Hongyun was covered in black soot, his hair standing on end, looking like he'd been struck by lightning. He clasped his hands behind his back and looked over.

"I've finished refining. Now tell me, what's the problem..."