Splendour Translations
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Chapter 75:
Inside the Holy Fire Palace alchemy room, six disciples prepared materials and used their spiritual Qi to ignite the profound fire.
For a moment, the room was filled with intense heat.
The furnaces emitted roaring sounds under high temperatures, and the bottoms of the furnaces glowed red.
Jing Xiaoxuan was forced to retreat by the hot air. However, as someone deeply interested in alchemy, she refused to go outside to escape the heat.
With her eyes on the six furnaces, she nodded slightly.
"The most important thing to complete the Jade Glory Pill within a quarter of an hour is temperature control. Moreover, the furnaces in the Holy Fire Palace are all top-grade furnaces, capable of withstanding flames below celestial fire. If the temperature is too high, there is a risk of wasted pills and furnace explosions. If the temperature is too low, the pills won't form, and there won't be enough time to make them within a quarter of an hour."
Jing Xiaoxuan waved away the hot air and observed the six disciples closely.
"Hmm, everyone's alchemy techniques are very good, but..." Jing Xiaoxuan muttered. At that moment, she suddenly felt the previously sweltering air cool down. Jing Xiaoxuan was surprised to see that Xu Ze had quietly appeared by her side, silently blocking the hot air for her.
"Holy Son..." Jing Xiaoxuan's heart softened. Xu Ze stood with his hands behind his back and smiled. "Xiaoxuan, what do you notice from the alchemy of these six disciples?"
Jing Xiaoxuan was about to nod and comment, but then she suddenly remembered that in this lifetime, she was just an ordinary person.
If she spoke too boldly, it would seem quite out of the ordinary. Jing Xiaoxuan didn't want to attract too much attention, nor did she want Xu Ze to know about her past lives memories.
Although Xu Ze probably already knew about it.
"I can't see anything special. I'm just an ordinary person..."
Jing Xiaoxuan pouted, feeling a bit proud and stubborn.
"Still pretending..." Xu Ze found it somewhat amusing, but if Jing Xiaoxuan wanted to pretend, he would go along with it until the end.
"Xiaoxuan, do you want to learn alchemy?" Xu Ze asked with his hands behind his back.
Jing Xiaoxuan's eyes showed a hint of longing. She was born with a blocked meridian and couldn't cultivate.
But thanks to alchemy in her past nine lives, she gradually grew. And now, in the tenth life, Jing Xiaoxuan also wanted to regain the glory of her previous nine lives.
"Ahem, I, I don't really mind. I'm usually idle anyway. If the Holy Son wants me to learn, then I'll learn." Jing Xiaoxuan blushed, appearing both excited and reluctant.
Xu Ze suppressed his smile and simply nodded. The quarter of an hour passed quickly.
Soon, the six disciples completed their pills one after another.
Opening the furnaces, flames surged out, and hot air dispersed. When the profound fire dissipated, a black pill appeared inside the furnace. Fan Hua was the first to succeed, immediately taking out the pill and presenting it to Xu Ze.
"Disciple's pill is complete. Please inspect it, Your Excellency."
Xu Ze glanced at the pill, already having a conclusion in mind.
But he still smiled and looked at Jing Xiaoxuan, asking, "Xiaoxuan, what do you think of this pill?"
Fan Hua was somewhat surprised to see Xu Ze asking Jing Xiaoxuan, considering she had no profound energy and was just an ordinary person.
Xiaoxuan found herself in an awkward position. "I can't really tell anything. I don't understand..." she said, feeling a bit annoyed.
Xu Ze waved his hand and said, "Don't say that. If you want to practice alchemy in the sect, you need to have extremely high alchemy skills. Letting you look at the pills is also part of your entrance exam."
"Entrance exam..." Hearing Xu Ze's words, Jing Xiaoxuan had no choice but to look at the black pill reluctantly. The pill was round and glossy, a genuine product. Achieving this quality under Xu Ze's strict requirements was already very difficult. Fan Hua's alchemy skills were at least at the level of a fifth-grade alchemist, making him a genius in alchemy.
"It's a very good pill..."
Jing Xiaoxuan averted her gaze and said with a disdainful expression.
Fan Hua could tell from Jing Xiaoxuan's insincere expression, as could Xu Ze.
As a genius, Fan Hua had his own pride. Seeing his pill provoke such a look of disdain from an ordinary girl, Fan Hua couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean, miss? Is there something wrong with my pill?"
"No, it's just..." Jing Xiaoxuan scratched her cheek, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"It's cracked."
Thunk.
Except for Fan Hua, the other five disciples trembled. Fan Hua, on the other hand, was already dumbfounded.
The pill cracked.
This meant the medicinal powder wasn't kneaded properly before being put into the furnace, and it cracked during high-temperature firing.
This was more serious than a wasted pill.
For alchemists, wasted pills, although embarrassing, were understandable because pills have their successes and failures. Apart from technique issues, there were some uncertain factors. It wasn't a big deal if one out of a thousand pills was wasted. So, alchemists didn't feel embarrassed because of these wasted pills.
But the cracked pill was different!
The only factor that could cause the pill to crack was technique! And this technique was simply kneading a ball. Even a child who only knew how to play with mud won't make a mistake when kneading medicinal ingredients into a ball.
"You... Fan Hua's face turned extremely ugly. "I've ranked first in alchemy exams every year, and you say my pill is cracked?" He's a genius who ranked first in alchemy in the Holy Fire Palace. How could he be bad at kneading a ball?
"You tell me, where is this pill cracked?" Fan Hua pointed at the smooth-looking pill, yelling in agitation.
Xu Ze smiled but remained silent, allowing Jing Xiaoxuan to explain.
"I said it's cracked, and you still don't believe it," Jing Xiaoxuan said, getting a little annoyed. "You asked for my opinion, and now you don't believe it. Are you making fun of me?"
"When you were selecting herbs just now, the way you condensed the pill was superficial. Moreover, when you used the Samadhi True Fire to burn the furnace, you only focused on increasing the firepower, but you ignored the uniformity of the burning."
"The Holy Son asked you to complete the pill within a quarter of an hour, which is just enough time to fire the pill front, back, left, and right forty-nine times. But you completed the pill almost three seconds faster than others, which means there was at least one area of the pill that didn't evenly receive heat."
"The side that didn't receive enough heat would be more fragile, coupled with your casual pill gathering. Although the pill looks perfect on the outside, there are some cracks inside." She reached out her hand and lightly tapped the pill on the pillbox.
Crack.
Instantly, a crack appeared on the right side of the pill, like an egg cracking open.
...!
Everyone knew that the Jade Glory Pill was as sturdy as a stone, even considered one of the hardest pills. But it was easily cracked by an ordinary girl?
"Your alchemy technique in controlling the medicinal ingredients is perfect, so the pills you make are all top-quality and perfect. However, in terms of details, you've fallen short." Jing Xiaoxuan shrugged as she put the pill back into the pillbox and looked at Fan Hua's expression of despair.
"First of all, you should learn more in the future."
***
-To be continued!
T/N: Thanks for reading!
T/N: Thanks for reading!
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