Chapter 117: The Collapse of Alchemist Bai Ming (Part 2)

Frustrated, Bai Ming knew he couldn't answer.

Checking the furnace and fire before alchemy was the most basic step, something even an apprentice could recite backward. Starting to refine without doing so was clearly a major mistake.

In Zhang Xuan's previous life, it was like driving without fastening the seatbelt or checking the tires and surroundings before shifting gears—if an accident happened, there was no excuse.

Bai Ming was now in that state. Reprimanded publicly by an apprentice, he was embarrassed but couldn't refute it. His frustration was easy to imagine.

"Having covered the furnace and fire, let's look at the blending of medicinal herbs!"

Knowing the other couldn't answer, Zhang Xuan didn't bother pressing further. He went to the herb rack: "Moisture Acupoint Pill requires forty-seven herbs. Among these, some are compatible, some conflicting. If you don't control the conflicts well, the pill will be ruined!"

"Let me first describe Alchemist Bai Ming's sequence!"

"He first added Heart-Penetrating Grass. Heart-Penetrating Grass opens the heart and smooths qi, withstands high temperatures, and its medicinal power needs strong fire to be extracted. Putting it in first allows earlier heat exposure to stimulate the potency—that's correct. But the mistake is that after adding Heart-Penetrating Grass, he added the second herb, Palm Split Flower, seven breaths later."

"That Heart-Penetrating Grass, if I'm not mistaken, is only half a year old. Its potency isn't strong, mostly concentrated in the leaves, not penetrating the veins. Such herbs release their potency upon contact with heat. Normally, Palm Split Flower should be added after four breaths, but he delayed until the seventh, wasting thirteen percent of the potency. Failure!"

"Palm Split Flower is five years old, with relatively strong potency. During refining, it should be slowly placed down along the left side of the furnace, taking about one and a half breaths. During that time, the hot furnace can release the potency, better integrating with Heart-Penetrating Grass. But Alchemist Bai Ming threw it in directly, losing the chance for early contact with the furnace, wasting fourteen percent of the potency. Failure!"

"These two herbs have slightly conflicting properties. Next, he should have added neutralizer Creeping Grass, but instead he added the狂暴属性的独阳根, causing the two to conflict again, losing another eleven percent of potency. Failure!"

"独阳根 has yang属性, naturally hot. After entering the hot furnace, he should immediately add Cooling Grass to neutralize it. But Alchemist Bai Ming added Anemarrhena Grass, which is compatible with all herbs and is the best neutralizer. However, precisely because of that, it completely dissolved the yang属性 of独阳根, greatly reducing the effect of Moisture Acupoint Pill. Failure!"

"...Failure!"

"...Failure!"

"...Failure!"

...

Zhang Xuan spoke faster and faster, like a machine gun. Every statement was well-founded and traceable. Each failure hit Alchemist Bai Ming's face like a hammer, making his face paler and his body tremble involuntarily.

Alchemy was no child's play. The same herb, with different ages, had different potencies. It involved various combinations and furnace integration, complex and intricate. Even just detailing Moisture Acupoint Pill would take three days!

That was why alchemists ranked high among the top nine professions.

"He... is right about everything!"

"Just by watching the alchemy once, he remembered the order of Alchemist Bai Ming's forty-seven herbs and described them without error? What kind of memory is that?"

"Remembering the order is nothing, but... he saw the age of each herb at a glance and knew how to combine them for best potency... Is he even human?"

"Hearing him, there's so much to consider in alchemy. No wonder my pills never reach perfection or even pill patterns. So that's why..."

...

Hearing Zhang Xuan's words, everyone was stunned, as if hit on the head, dumbfounded.

Damn!

This is real alchemy!

We were just wasting herbs and insulting the alchemist profession!

It was foreseeable that if they used his method, the pills would surely improve a level, and perfection or pill patterns would not be a dream!

This was no longer theory for first-rank alchemists but something only higher-rank alchemists could grasp.

While everyone was amazed, Alchemist Bai Ming on the side felt like dying.

Hearing him, everything he did was failure. He wasn't alchemying; he was alchemying shit!

The key was... even making shit didn't waste, but after his alchemy, all the herbs were wasted...

Pfft!

His chest grew more and more stifled, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

He had always thought he had talent in alchemy and was a truly skilled alchemist. Hearing the other's words, he realized his level was worse than a child's!

He had been confident before, but as the other continued, his confidence was lost. Now, he probably dared not even approach the furnace.

His body trembled. The once spirited Alchemist Bai Ming, who wanted to trouble Zhang Xuan, now looked increasingly grim, as if he had gone berserk.

After a moment, he gritted his teeth.

"Yes, with my level, what alchemy am I doing? It's just wasting heaven's gifts and herbs! From today, I, Bai Ming, will never refine another pill. If I break this oath, may heaven and earth destroy me!"

An oath rang out.

"What?"

"Never refine again?"

"Alchemist Bai Ming..."

...

Hearing his oath, everyone was stunned, involuntarily shuddering, feeling a sense of sorrow for their kind.

A dignified alchemist swearing never to refine again meant bidding farewell to the alchemy world, all his lifelong efforts going down the drain.

And all this happened because an alchemy apprentice pointed out his flaws in alchemy!

"Was he too rash..."

An alchemist couldn't help saying.

"If you were the one being criticized, what would you do?" another alchemist asked.

"I..." The first alchemist paused, unable to say a word.

The other was right. If it weren't Bai Ming but him, and after refining the pill, he found his techniques and actions were all wrong and his efforts were nonsense, his years of confidence would also collapse instantly!

Once that confidence was lost, even if he wanted to refine later, he couldn't. So it was better to swear off alchemy directly!

Alchemy wasn't frying beans or child's play. Mindset, technique, confidence... all were indispensable. Without confidence, what kind of alchemist was he?

"Just by pointing out flaws, he made an old alchemist lose confidence and never dare to refine again..."

This thought struck everyone's minds simultaneously. They looked at Zhang Xuan again, their hearts twitching uncontrollably.

No wonder he had initially said he didn't want to talk about the flaws in alchemy. They thought he couldn't see them and was deliberately avoiding weaknesses. Now they knew... it wasn't that he didn't know, but that he knew too much, afraid that speaking would strike you down so hard you'd have no place to hide!

Brother, we just want to ask, are you the alchemy apprentice, or are we?