Chapter 670 - 629: Vice Pavilion Master, The Slight Shock of a Top-Quality Pill

Yang Chan opened the door to the room and felt it was warmer inside than out, though the difference wasn’t significant. His attention was immediately drawn to the Alchemy Furnace at the side—a waist-high, ancient bronze cauldron. Below it was a closed valve.

It looked somewhat similar to the Earth Fire Houses he had seen in the Pharmacist Alliance in White Jade City, though there were some differences in its appearance.

Yang Chan’s gaze fell on the control valve. He gave it a slight turn, and a wave of heat immediately burst forth, causing the room’s temperature to rise rapidly. This was the true heat of the Earth Fire—scorching hot. The closer he got, the more intense the heat became.

He continued to turn the valve. The Earth Fire’s flames shrank and then slowly grew larger under his control. Through this process, Yang Chan came to understand how the control valve worked.

While he was controlling it, the Earth Fire’s flames remained very stable. It wasn’t like at the Cyan Yuan Sect’s Earth Fire Institute, where the flames would sometimes flicker erratically. The stability of the Earth Fire was a critical factor in increasing the success rate of Alchemy.

Refining the Seven Revolutions Nourishing Organ Pill wasn’t difficult for Yang Chan. He was far from a novice Advanced Pharmacist; he’d refined countless Seven Revolutions Nourishing Organ Pills. He couldn’t even remember how many of the more difficult Nourishing Vein and Bone Marrow Cleansing Pills and Qingli Nourishing Marrow Pills he had created.

For over a year, the elixirs he took daily were all ones he had refined himself, which was a clear indication of his prodigious output.

After observing the Earth Fire for a while and confirming its stability, Yang Chan finally began the refining process.

Although he was quite confident, he waited as a precaution against someone tampering with the Earth Fire. He hadn’t forgotten what happened during the Pharmacist Assembly at the Pharmacist Alliance in White Jade City. While he was refining elixirs, the Earth Fire had suddenly fluctuated before extinguishing completely.

At the time, the sabotage hadn’t been aimed at them. It was meant to stop the Pharmacist Alliance’s Alliance Leader from refining the Earth Element Supreme Pill, thus preventing the Old Emperor, Yang Yu, from achieving a breakthrough. Nevertheless, they had still been affected.

Yang Chan remembered the incident clearly. Here, in an unfamiliar Earth Fire House, he couldn’t be sure if someone else might have control over the flames. Therefore, he chose to wait. Besides, there was no time limit for the refining, so a slight delay wouldn’t be an issue.

After setting the temperature of the Earth Fire, Yang Chan began his alchemy.

...

「Pill Pavilion.」

"It’s taking him a long time. Did Pharmacist Yang’s first batch fail?"

Sikong Qing frowned, his gaze fixed on Yang Chan’s Alchemy Room.

Although he didn’t practice alchemy himself, he knew a few things about it, including the approximate time needed to refine a Seven Revolutions Nourishing Organ Pill. His own Martial Arts Cultivation was at the Inner Refining Five Viscera Realm, so he naturally paid attention to the elixirs used at this stage. He had, of course, inquired about how long it took to refine them.

After Yang Chan went inside, all they could do was wait. With nothing else to do, Sikong Qing had been estimating the time.

"Elixir refining is never a guaranteed success. It’s perfectly normal to fail a batch. If every refinement succeeded, the Sect wouldn’t have an allowance for pharmacist material losses!"

Feng Anliang, however, wasn’t surprised.

Even veteran Advanced Pharmacists can’t guarantee a one-hundred-percent success rate. Failures happen, which is precisely why the Sect has an established allowance for material losses.

After all, the Sect can’t provide an unlimited supply of spirit medicines for pharmacists to practice refining elixirs and improve their alchemy skills.

The Merak Sacred Land has an abundance of spirit medicines and reaps a large harvest each year, but not so much that they can afford to be wasteful.

Some pharmacist missions provide the spirit medicines upfront. However, if the materials lost exceed the Merak Sacred Land’s standard allowance, no more will be provided. The pharmacist would then have to use their own annual spirit medicine quota to cover the difference. Because of this, pharmacists won’t accept such missions unless they are very confident.

’Of course, some pharmacists are willing to take on these losses to improve their Pharmacist Abilities. They prepare in advance to absorb the cost, knowing they can recoup it once their skills have advanced.’

’Every pharmacist wants to improve their Pharmacist Ability. After all, the better you perform in the Merak Sacred Land, the more rewards you receive.’

’Yang Chan was no exception. After keeping a low profile for a while, he planned to reveal his ability to make the Nourishing Vein and Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill and the Qingli Nourishing Marrow Pill. He would use them to trade for Bone Marrow Cleansing Elixirs he had never tried before, increasing his Daily Potential Point Collection. He would also learn how to refine other elixirs to expand his repertoire.’

’After all, his need for elixirs was long-term, not temporary, and the demand was immense. He consumed a considerable number of elixirs every day, and the spirit medicines required were growing in both quantity and quality. The Cyan Yuan Sect could no longer meet his needs, which was the very reason he had come to the Merak Sacred Land.’

"Pharmacist Yang hasn’t failed yet!"

"If a refinement fails, it emits a distinct medicinal qi, mixed with a burnt smell."

"These rooms aren’t perfectly sealed; they’re designed that way to allow for air circulation. So if Pharmacist Yang runs into any trouble, we’ll know!"

Zhao Yu said slowly, glancing at the other two.

Although it was taking a while, he knew that Yang Chan hadn’t rushed into alchemy the moment he entered the Earth Fire House. Instead, he had waited, making a series of preparations before he began.

This was consistent with the calm and steady demeanor he had previously observed in Yang Chan.

Of course, one reason he spoke up now was because Yang Chan had addressed him properly, without the "Vice" in his title. It was also a chance to educate the fellow who *had* called him "Vice Pavilion Master" on his own ignorance, leaving him utterly speechless.