Chapter 31: The Completion of a Dan
Translator: Tatienne
He failed.
Ling Xian frowned as the color drained from his face. What hit him hard wasn’t the fact that he failed, rather, it was that he could not think of the reason behind his failure.
The way he handled each spiritual medicine and the way he controlled the Flame of Purity were both perfect. Every move he made was precise and flawless. How could he have failed?
Lin Qing Yi looked at the unmoving Ling Xian with a confused look on her face. She didn’t think there was anything unusual with failing to brew a Dan on an alchemist’s first attempt. Under normal circumstances, no alchemist, not even those who are top-tier, could make the promise of successfully brewing every single Dan. However, she was puzzled over how a procedure that was flawless from beginning to end could suddenly go wrong?
Ling Xian was thinking about the same thing. He had the Essence of Herbalism, and he knew every ingredient like the back of his hand. There was no way he could have made a mistake when combining the spiritual medicines and there were no unusual activities with the Flame of Purity. Additionally, the recipe was given by his master. There was definitely no issue with that.
Wait a minute!
The recipe?
Ling Xian recalled the hints that appeared in his brain when he picked up every ingredient. He worked through every property of every ingredient and slowly recognized the irregularities.
The second spiritual medicine was the Fruit of Energy. This type of medicine grew in places full of spiritual energy, where spring lasted the entire year, and the temperature was always warm. This fruit was compatible with every type of spiritual medicine except for the Mint Yellow Grass. However, Mint Yellow Grass was the last ingredient listed on the recipe.
The moment the Fruit of Energy combines with the Mint Yellow Grass, they clashes and results in the failure of the Dan.
After pinpointing the area that caused the failure, Ling Xian became a lot more relaxed. He understood then that Liao Cang Qiong intentionally gave him the wrong recipe to create some difficulties for him in order to test his attention to detail.
Ling Xian shook his head and chuckled, “Master, this is too easy. You know I have the Essence of Herbalism, and therefore I possess the knowledge for every spiritual medicine. How could I not realize the reason for my failed brewing?”
ust as he was getting ready to start brewing for the second time, he frowned and pondered. [Wait a minute. If the Master wants to test me, then he wouldn’t use such an easy method. I cannot be too careless. I should check everything again.]
He calmed himself down and again thought through the properties of each ingredient. After a while, he couldn’t find any issues other than the Mint Yellow Grass.
“I have a question for you. If I were to tell you that out of the nine spiritual medicines here, one ingredient has problems that resulted in the failure of this Dan, which ingredient do you think is least likely to be the problem?” Ling Xian asked Lin Qing Yi.
“The least likely?” Lin Qing Yi froze for a moment. His question was a little strange, but she did not argue. She didn’t even need time to think before she answered, “Definitely the Fruit of Energy. Its spiritual properties allow it to be combined with any ingredients. It is least likely to be the problem.”
“What everyone thinks is the least likely is sometimes the most likely.” Ling Xian’s eyes brightened, and he finally understood the fundamental issue of this failure.
It wasn’t the Mint Yellow Grass, it was the Fruit of Energy.
This spiritual medicine did not belong to the simplified recipe of the Qing Hua Dan. It was added by Liao Cang Qiong as a way to test him. Due to its unique property of allowing it to be combined with any other medicine, Ling Xian overlooked it since the beginning. Also, logically, Mint Yellow Grass was most likely to have been the issue.
This created a blind spot in his logic, or what they called inertia thinking – they believed that the Fruit of Energy would never be the problem because of its special properties.
If Ling Xian went ahead and removed the Mint Yellow Grass from the recipe, then he would’ve truly fallen into the trap set up by Liao Cang Qiong.
Luckily, Ling Xian was naturally smart and realized that Liao Cang Qiong would never test him with obvious concepts that could be easily figured out. This was why he asked Lin Qing Yi a simple question, and her answer made him realize the real problem.
[Master, you must be laughing hysterically right now and thinking you are so witty. Laugh as much as you want now because I don’t believe that you can squeeze out a smile when I present the Qing Hua Dan before you.] Ling Xian confidently grinned.
He adjusted himself and began the brewing process for the second time. He waved his hand, and the Flame of Purity entered the cauldron. The spiritual medicines that were floating in midair entered with the flame.
He again divided his energy into eight sections, with each section engulfing a spiritual medicine. He started the first step of brewing by drawing out each ingredient’s essence.
This time, he was a lot faster with the brewing process. Before long, essences were drawn out of all eight spiritual medicines under his precise manipulation. Spinning under his control, the ingredients mixed together. This time, without the Fruit of Energy, the entire combination process went smoothly. ery soon, the ingredients turned into an aromatic powder form.
Beside him, Lin Qing Yi watched him streamlining the process efficiently, and she couldn’t help but become mesmerized. Her sparkling and starry eyes flashed with yearning.
[This is what a real grandmaster is capable of. To draw out the essences of eight ingredients all at the same time. To do so, the alchemist needs perfect control of the flame and flawless manipulation of his spiritual energy. On top of that, the alchemist must believe in himself because who else would dare to attempt something so crazy? The biggest risk I ever took was to draw out essences of three different spiritual medicine at once.] Lin Qing Yi was in awe. She fully believed that the real identity of the man before her was a grandmaster.
“Almost there.”
Looking at the powder surrounded by the silver flame, Ling Xian nodded lightly and enhanced the strength of the flame. His actions forced the energy he poured into the cauldron to boil.
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