Chapter 312: Chapter 312: Pearl Lotus Ointment, Teaching a Man to Fish

"The Cyan Yuan Sect’s Earth Fire is really unstable, but it should be fine for refining elixirs."

"Most of the elixirs I refine here are helpful for External Iron Bone Refining. I only refine a small amount of elixirs like the First Revolution Nourishing Viscera Pill and the Cyan Spirit Pill."

"As for the Three Revolutions Nourishing Viscera Pill, I don’t have any of the ingredients. Once you’ve gathered all the materials, I can personally demonstrate it for you again."

Princess Lan Yue followed Yang Chan into the Earth Fire Institute.

Not long after they arrived, she saw the Earth Fire fluctuate. This wasn’t ideal for alchemy.

When she was refining at the Pharmacist Alliance, the Earth Fire had been relatively stable; the one time it had been unstable was due to deliberate sabotage.

Comparing the two, refining with the Earth Fire at the Pharmacist Alliance was naturally easier.

"As long as it works, that’s good enough. Go ahead and start your refining. This is a perfect opportunity for me to see your alchemy skills."

Yang Chan fixed his gaze on Princess Lan Yue, watching her refining process.

He had watched many people perform alchemy at the previous Pharmacist Assembly, including Princess Lan Yue. She had been part of the group that advanced to refining the Three Revolutions Nourishing Viscera Pill, which proved her alchemy skills were outstanding. However, her station had been far from his, and Yang Chan hadn’t paid her much attention. As a result, he didn’t have a clear understanding of her specific capabilities.

Now, observing Princess Lan Yue’s alchemy up close would give him a clearer idea of her true abilities.

"I’ll start by refining the Pearl Lotus Ointment. Although it’s not an elixir, the difficulty of refining it is no less than that of the First Revolution Nourishing Viscera Pill. A major reason for this is its efficacy."

"Its bone-tempering effect is potent and long-lasting. With prolonged use, one can complete their External Iron Bone Refining much faster, and the degree of tempering will far surpass that of others."

"I’m about to begin. You’d better watch carefully."

Princess Lan Yue began the refining process as she explained.

Her Martial Arts Cultivation was weaker than Yang Chan’s, but in terms of Pharmacist abilities, she was exceptional. She had advanced far beyond the level of an Intermediate Pharmacist and was much stronger than a Basic Level Pharmacist like Yang Chan.

This held true even though Yang Chan’s own alchemy skills were quite good.

’She knew Yang Chan had failed to refine the Three Revolutions Nourishing Viscera Pill, whereas she could. She could even refine the Five Revolutions Nourishing Organ Pill—it was just that her success rate wasn’t very high.’

’So, when it came to her skills as a Pharmacist, she was still quite confident.’

’Teaching him was a trivial matter, not an issue at all.’

While she spoke, Princess Lan Yue began to move. Placing the Alchemy Furnace, preparing the herbs, and arranging everything—her movements were as smooth as flowing water.

Only instinctual muscle memory could achieve such a level of grace, making it a comfortable sight to behold.

Her actions were methodical yet swift, much faster than Yang Chan’s own preparations had been. This was the mark of a true professional standard.

Yang Chan watched, committing Princess Lan Yue’s habits to memory. ’During alchemy, the steadier, the better,’ he thought. ’But being both fast and steady, minimizing wasted time, is also a great advantage.’

’Good habits were worth learning.’

Yang Chan was not one to be stubbornly set in his ways. When he saw a good habit, he naturally sought to learn it. Only through continuous learning could one constantly improve and progress.

He watched as Princess Lan Yue, having completed her preparations, began to refine the Pearl Lotus Ointment. She added the prepared herbs, following a specific sequence.

"The order in which you add these herbs isn’t very strict. As long as they’re all in before the medicinal liquid is extracted, the sequence doesn’t matter. This is just my personal habit. Of course, since this is your first time refining it, there’s no problem with following my sequence..."

As Princess Lan Yue refined the ointment, she would offer a few pointers for Yang Chan to memorize.

This was the same process her master had used when teaching her alchemy. Now, she was applying it to Yang Chan. However, in the role of a teacher, Princess Lan Yue felt something different, as if she were gaining new insights.

Teaching and learning are two different processes, each with a unique mindset that naturally leads to different revelations. This was precisely what Princess Lan Yue was experiencing.

It seemed that some details she had overlooked while learning had now become crystal clear. As these memories surfaced, Princess Lan Yue took note of them before continuing.

Gaining new insights was certainly a good thing, but she kept the realization to herself. There was no need to celebrate as she might have in the past.

Now, she was all alone.

"The time needed to extract this medicinal liquid is..."

Princess Lan Yue continued to explain the refining process in great detail.

Meanwhile, Yang Chan listened attentively. Having someone personally demonstrate and explain the process would save him a great deal of effort. It was just like when he first tried to refine the Ancient Spirit Pill; he had failed several times simply because he was unfamiliar with the process.

Now, that wouldn’t be an issue. He could reduce the chances of failure while also learning some of the key tricks of the process, which would save him a lot of trouble.

Yang Chan had never taken a master within the Cyan Yuan Sect. He obtained the Cultivation Techniques he needed from the Instructor Hall, relying on his own comprehension thereafter.

This was partly due to how quickly Yang Chan had become a Pharmacist. After achieving the title, he had focused his development in that direction. He displayed exceptional alchemy skills after his promotion, soon becoming capable of refining the First Revolution Nourishing Viscera Pill. By that point, few Intermediate Pharmacists in the Cyan Yuan Sect were qualified to be his master.

The two Advanced Pharmacists were certainly qualified, but they rarely took on apprentices. Gu An had previously made special arrangements for Yang Chan to travel to White Jade City, hoping he could spend time with Elder Yan Jinfeng and perhaps be accepted as his disciple. Such an arrangement would have been a great help to Yang Chan.

But who could have known so many unexpected things would happen in White Jade City? Now, Elder Yan was missing without a trace, neither seen alive nor found dead. Naturally, the matter of an apprenticeship was moot.

Meanwhile, the Cyan Yuan Sect’s only remaining Advanced Pharmacist, Elder Hua, was busy refining higher-level elixirs and assisting Sect Leader Liu Xuan and others. He had no intention of taking on an apprentice.

By the time Yang Chan advanced to the rank of Intermediate Pharmacist, there would be very few people left who were qualified to take him as an apprentice.

As for his Martial Arts Cultivation, he displayed the level of External Refining Copper Skin, but his true cultivation had already reached the Inner Refining of the Fourth Lungs and Spleen. Within the entire Cyan Yuan Sect, the number of people stronger than him could be counted on one hand.

Besides, he had already made preparations for his future Cultivation Methods, so he had no need to find a master.

Therefore, listening to Princess Lan Yue’s detailed instruction now was actually quite interesting to him.

Back when he was Xu Gaocen’s Pharmacist’s Assistant, Xu Gaocen would occasionally teach him a few things, but his explanations were brief and often disorganized—nothing like Princess Lan Yue’s current instruction.

"So, during the refining process for the Pearl Lotus Ointment, if you swapped the order of the China root and the Asparagus Root, would it cause the refinement to fail?"

Yang Chan listened intently, but he wasn’t idle; he began to ask about some of the variables.

Princess Lan Yue had just specifically mentioned the order of the China root and Asparagus Root, which naturally caught Yang Chan’s attention. This was one of the variables he didn’t understand.

’The synergy of medicinal properties is a wondrous thing,’ he mused. ’The sequence Princess Lan Yue mentioned might not just apply to the Pearl Lotus Ointment. Once I understand the principle behind it, I’ll know how to configure similar herb combinations in other elixirs and avoid failing my alchemy.’

This was what truly mattered to Yang Chan. He cared more about being taught how to fish than being given a fish. By understanding the underlying principle, he could avoid the mistake in the future.

The Pearl Lotus Ointment was only one of the many remedies he would refine; his focus was naturally on refining other elixirs.

"Asparagus Root nourishes Yin and moistens dryness, clears the lungs, and promotes fluid production. During alchemy, it also harmonizes medicinal properties. It plays a key role in fusing with the preceding medicinal liquid. China root lacks this function. In fact, adding the China root first would destroy the medicinal properties."

"That’s why you must pay attention to this step when refining the Pearl Lotus Ointment, or the refinement will fail."

Princess Lan Yue explained earnestly; this was something her own master had taught her.

During elixir refinement, there are always a few steps that require special attention, as the probability of error is extremely high. The more difficult the elixir is to refine, the more details one must track simultaneously, making mistakes all too easy.

In alchemy, a single misstep is usually enough to cause the entire process to fail. The margin for error is extremely low.

"I see."

Yang Chan nodded and continued to watch Princess Lan Yue’s work.

Even as they spoke, neither of them looked away from the Alchemy Furnace. Princess Lan Yue’s hands continued to move, adding water, placing herbs, and adjusting the concoction’s medicinal properties.

Focus is a vital quality for a Pharmacist—the ability to remain unswayed by distractions, to engrave methodical practice into one’s muscle memory, and to proceed without being affected by external factors.

"At this point, you need to control the temperature. This is true even for Earth Fire. You’ll need this little tool; otherwise, the heat will get too high, and you could easily burn yourself. You’ve probably used one before."

"When the Earth Fire fluctuates, you can use this tool to control the temperature and get through the period of instability."

"For heat control, you need to be mindful of ’three highs, two hots, one cool.’ This is a key point in refining the Pearl Lotus Ointment."

Princess Lan Yue manipulated a tool at her side, setting it over the Alchemy Furnace. She then used it to lift the entire furnace, moving it up and down to actively control its exposure to the heat.

Unlike alchemy using ordinary flames, Fire Control for Earth Fire Refining Pills requires external tools.

With ordinary flames, you can control the temperature simply by adding or removing fuel. Temperature control for Earth Fire isn’t that simple. Even with a flue, simply closing it isn’t very effective.

Yang Chan watched, memorizing Princess Lan Yue’s movements. He knew about these tools but hadn’t used them much, mainly because he wasn’t accustomed to them.

When his Pharmacist abilities had advanced, he had received a great deal of knowledge, but certain little tricks were missing—techniques like the ’three highs, two hots, one cool’ that Princess Lan Yue had just mentioned. Learning this from her now was a decent gain.