"I’ve never refined the Seven Revolutions Nourishing Organ Pill myself, but I’ve heard my master say that its refining process is extremely difficult. That’s why it’s used as the test for promotion to Advanced Pharmacist!"
"This isn’t just a rule for the Pharmacist Alliance within the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty; it’s the standard for pharmacist examinations everywhere!"
"It’s the same even in the Holy Lands!"
Princess Lan Yue watched Yang Chan prepare the materials. They were all Spiritual Materials needed to refine the Seven Revolutions Nourishing Organ Pill.
Most of these Spiritual Materials came from the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty, supposedly as compensation for the Cyan Yuan Sect.
According to the Great Zhou Imperial Family, the Cyan Yuan Sect had made immense contributions during the border war. It was thanks to the intervention of the Cyan Yuan Sect and other sects that the iron cavalry of the Jin Meng Empire was stopped; they were all people who had served the dynasty.
Naturally, those who served the dynasty had to be rewarded.
The official explanation was high-sounding, but both sides knew the true origin of these Spiritual Materials. The Great Zhou Imperial Family hadn’t wanted to give them up; they had been forced to, as compensation for the major sects.
The situation in the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty was currently unstable. Only by placating the major sects could the Great Zhou Imperial Family ensure its long-term survival.
The existence of an unknown Martial Saint expert who also carried Dragon Qi, in particular, was putting immense pressure on the Great Zhou Imperial Family.
The Jin Meng Empire had been annihilated precisely because these sects had joined forces with the Dragon Slayer.
If something similar were to happen within the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty, it could also face a change of regime!
Therefore, the delivery of these Spiritual Materials had been expedited.
Yang Chan had already been planning to attempt refining the Seven Revolutions Nourishing Organ Pill, so he naturally brought it up with Gu An.
Just as Yang Chan had expected, Gu An hesitated but ultimately gave him the necessary refining materials.
The main reason for this was that Yang Chan had successfully refined a Top Quality Level Five Revolutions Nourishing Organ Pill and even the Essence Condensing and Organ Refining Pill. He had specifically given these elixirs to Gu An, which served as further proof of his Alchemy Ability.
Therefore, Gu An finally prepared three sets of materials for refining the Seven Revolutions Nourishing Organ Pill for him, which was naturally more than enough for Yang Chan.
With three sets of materials to practice with, he estimated he should be able to successfully refine it.
He knew exactly why his last refining attempt had failed. He had spent this entire time accumulating Pill Sense, making up for that little bit he had been missing.
If he tried again now, he was highly confident of success.
"You failed last time because your Pill Sense was insufficient. After accumulating it for so long, you should be ready now!"
Watching Yang Chan’s rapid improvement, Princess Lan Yue felt it was perfectly reasonable.
In her eyes, Yang Chan’s talent as a Pharmacist already surpassed her master’s, the Vice Alliance Leader of the Pharmacist Alliance. Not even the Alliance Leader himself could compare to Yang Chan.
In Princess Lan Yue’s opinion, given enough time, Yang Chan could ascend to a level beyond even a Top Level Pharmacist. Perhaps even King-level Pharmacist wasn’t his limit.
Therefore, as she watched Yang Chan prepare to refine the Seven Revolutions Nourishing Organ Pill, she felt even more confident in him. In fact, she felt he absolutely should be able to succeed.
She would be more surprised if he actually failed!
"Don’t start refining any other elixirs just yet. Watch me. If I fail, you can help me figure out what went wrong!"
Yang Chan saw that Princess Lan Yue was about to start refining an elixir and stopped her.
This wasn’t just so she could spot any problems in his refining process; it was also to let Princess Lan Yue memorize the procedure for the Seven Revolutions Nourishing Organ Pill, which would naturally be very beneficial for her promotion to Advanced Pharmacist in the future.
In the future, after they reached the Merak Sacred Land, an elixir like the Seven Revolutions Nourishing Organ Pill would be much more valuable. After all, the status of an Advanced Pharmacist was quite high in the Merak Sacred Land, which would naturally bring Yang Chan greater benefits.
The Five Revolutions Nourishing Organ Pill was fine, but Yang Chan naturally wanted more.
Therefore, he was now investing a little effort in Princess Lan Yue.
Hearing this, Princess Lan Yue stopped preparing her Alchemy Materials and instead watched Yang Chan’s alchemy process intently.
In truth, she was already capable of multitasking at this point. This was an ability one could master after becoming increasingly familiar with the alchemy process, because the refining procedure was already so well understood it was etched into her very bones.
Thus, during the refining process, a sort of muscle memory would develop, making the process smooth and effortless. However, it still required her to split her attention to observe things, preventing her from being fully focused.
Now that Yang Chan had suggested it, she naturally went with the flow and watched his alchemy process.
She had accumulated a good deal of Pill Sense, but she still wasn’t confident she could refine the Seven Revolutions Nourishing Organ Pill, as she was well aware of its difficulty.
Princess Lan Yue had once watched her master, Xu Chuan, refine the Seven Revolutions Nourishing Organ Pill. At the time, Xu Chuan had said that refining this pill was different from others; it relied more on a certain feeling.
Once you felt it, you could refine it.
Therefore, during this process, the best method was to keep refining the Five Revolutions Nourishing Organ Pill to continuously improve one’s Pill Sense. If one still lacked confidence, they could then refine other elixirs that aided the Inner Refining of the Five Viscera.
Elixirs on the level of the Essence Condensing and Organ Refining Pill and the Rejuvenating Liver and Kidney Pills that Yang Chan had previously refined were good examples. Of course, continuously refining the Five Revolutions Nourishing Organ Pill was also fine and would lead to improvement as well.
After he finished speaking, Yang Chan had already begun the refining process. He had long since arranged the various Spirit Medicines according to his personal habit. Having refined it once before, he was naturally even more familiar with the process.
His Pharmacist profession had also reached the Advanced Pharmacist Level, granting him a certain experience bonus. All that was left to complete the refining was practical application!
Princess Lan Yue watched intently as Yang Chan first placed medicinal herbs like Cyan Indigo, Bianxia, Ghost Minister, and Jacaranda into the furnace. Then, he began to control the Earth Fire. After a while, he added other Spirit Medicines like Polia and Purple Aster.
Throughout the process, Princess Lan Yue was mentally calculating the timing, committing it to memory and comparing it to when she had watched her master, Xu Chuan.
Although this timing differed from person to person due to their refining habits, the variations couldn’t be too great, or it would inevitably lead to failure.
As more and more Spirit Medicines were added, their combined medicinal properties became increasingly complex. At this point, the refining process required Pill Sense to control. With so many Spirit Medicines mixed together, the Medicinal Properties changed drastically, making it difficult to judge the most opportune moments directly.
This was where Pill Sense came in. One had to rely on this feeling to judge the state of the elixir’s refinement, then add other Spiritual Materials and continue to fuse their medicinal properties. With each subsequent Spirit Medicine added, the difficulty increased exponentially. Trying to control the Medicinal Properties at this stage was extremely difficult.
Only veteran Advanced Pharmacists could possibly judge the medicinal effects and combine them reasonably. Even so, if the timing was off, failure was still a possibility.
In contrast, once Pill Sense was cultivated, one could rely on that feeling to add Spirit Medicines at the perfect time, allowing their medicinal properties to neutralize and fuse properly!
Princess Lan Yue watched Yang Chan busily at work. The medicinal fragrance from the Pill Furnace grew richer and richer. This time, Yang Chan’s refining process was going much more smoothly than the last.
Smelling this fragrance, Princess Lan Yue knew even more clearly that only the final steps of pill condensation remained. As long as there were no mistakes, the refining would be a success.
She had seen the Vice Alliance Leader of the Pharmacist Alliance, Xu Chuan, go through this process, so she was naturally very familiar with this aroma and could make such a judgment.
Princess Lan Yue’s eyes were fixed on Yang Chan’s subsequent steps. If the refining were to fail, it would be during the pill condensation process, and not for any other reason.
Phew!
Beads of sweat couldn’t help but form on Yang Chan’s forehead, but his face was wreathed in joy, because he knew he had successfully refined the Seven Revolutions Nourishing Organ Pill.
He had been highly confident before he began, but now that he had truly succeeded, he was still overjoyed.
As the Earth Fire was withdrawn, the Pill Furnace began to cool. The medicinal fragrance of the elixir grew increasingly rich; this was the process of it coalescing into a pill.
Now, all he had to do was wait a short while.
It wasn’t long before the Pill Furnace had cooled, and the medicinal fragrance within began to be restrained. This signified that the medicinal efficacy had been completely absorbed into the elixir.
Under Princess Lan Yue’s expectant gaze, Yang Chan opened the Pill Furnace. A rich medicinal fragrance assailed their nostrils. Just smelling it was enough to make one feel refreshed and clear-headed, as if their internal organs had been tempered once over, an extremely comfortable sensation.
Though it was just a feeling, it was a very good sign, as it made the body feel extremely comfortable.
Living in the presence of this Medicinal Qi for a long time could also temper one’s body, allowing it to far surpass that of an ordinary person. This was also one of the benefits of being a Pharmacist.
However, only High-Level Elixirs could produce such an effect. The effect of low-level elixirs was very ordinary, almost unnoticeable.
This was also related to why Advanced Pharmacists could basically all advance to become Inner Masters. Because their bodies were tempered ahead of time, their External Cultivation progress would far exceed that of ordinary people, which was a great advantage when breaking through to become an Inner Master.
It was like a form of nourishing feedback, known as Pill Qi Nurturing.
The high status of Advanced Pharmacists wasn’t just due to the demand for elixirs, but also because their cultivation would not be too weak.
If the Pill Qi Nurturing continued for a longer time, it was even possible to break through to the Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster Realm.
Princess Lan Yue could also feel this benefit. Her master, Xu Chuan, had told her about it before, but had also told her not to rush and to just proceed step-by-step.
Now that she was practicing alchemy in the same place as Yang Chan, she could also feel this benefit, even if most of it went to Yang Chan and she only received the surplus.
But for her current cultivation at the External Iron Bone Refining stage, it was more than enough. It would allow her to complete her External Iron Bone Refining much faster and shorten the time needed to advance to the Inner Refining Grandmaster Realm. This was a benefit that others would find difficult to obtain.
Therefore, seeing Yang Chan become an Advanced Pharmacist made her even more excited than Yang Chan himself.
Yang Chan took out the successfully refined Seven Revolutions Nourishing Organ Pill. After examining its medicinal efficacy, he felt it was a bit of a pity that it had only just reached a passable quality.
"You succeeded on only your second attempt! A passing grade is already extremely good. According to the promotion requirements for a Pharmacist, you are now an Advanced Pharmacist—and the youngest Advanced Pharmacist in the entire Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty!"
"So, I must first congratulate Senior Pharmacist Yang!"
Princess Lan Yue congratulated him with a smile, though a flash of envy crossed her heart.
However, she believed that before long, she would also definitely become an Advanced Pharmacist. That way, she could continue to follow in Yang Chan’s footsteps, just to keep his back in her sights!