Free Web NovelChapter 1930: Chapter 1927: Elixir Markings
It was Lin Tian’s first time seeing this kind of alchemy anomaly, let alone the two women, Zhang Guoyao and Zhang Lingyu. The few of them stared at the scene before their eyes in astonishment.
However, Lin Tian only froze for a brief moment before quickly reining in his thoughts. His Spiritual Sense, following his clairvoyant gaze, once again sank into the Eight Diagrams Tripod.
At this moment the medicinal paste kept releasing steam; as the moisture evaporated, the medicinal liquid began to thicken. When it turned into a paste, Lin Tian shook the body of the tripod once more, and the paste-like medicinal liquid immediately dispersed into many small spheres.
The "small spheres" shrank further under the continued roasting of the flames, and as the moisture was completely driven off, the anomaly on the tripod also disappeared. The others had no idea what was happening and could only feel anxious in vain.
Lin Tian still controlled the flames in an orderly manner. The small medicinal spheres gradually took on the rudimentary shape of pills, but their surfaces were pitted and uneven, and the quality was still very poor, not even reaching ordinary grade.
Even Elixirs like this had a certain medicinal effect. If thrown into the Ancient Martial World or the Demon Exorcism World, they could still trigger a scramble among various factions. After all, Elixirs were far too rare these days, almost extinct, leaving people with no choice.
Lin Tian wasn’t a perfectionist, but he certainly wasn’t satisfied with this. He focused all his attention on adjusting the flames. The temperature at this moment was extremely critical: if too high, it would directly burn the Elixir; if too low, the medicinal properties wouldn’t fully fuse, and he would end up with a batch of very poor quality Elixirs.
Moreover, he had to continuously adjust the flames in step with the progress of the fusion of the medicinal properties. It was precisely now that the benefits of the purity of the medicinal essence showed themselves—if the earlier purification of the medicinal liquid had been poor, the difficulty of controlling the flames at this stage would be much greater.
Another hour passed before Lin Tian finally stopped his movements. He withdrew his hands from the Eight Diagrams Tripod, and the flames inside the tripod went out accordingly, though the body of the tripod was still radiating scorching heat.
"Lin Tian, how is it?" Zhang Guoyao took a step forward, his expression both cautious and expectant. Zhang Lingyu and Zhang Ruyan also looked at him with anticipation. ƒreewebɳovel.com
Lin Tian, however, very uncooperatively spread his hands, looking quite casual: "I don’t know either. If you want to know, open the medicine tripod and take a look."
Zhang Ruyan was the most impatient by nature. The moment Lin Tian finished speaking, she was about to step forward and open the lid, but Zhang Guoyao hurriedly stopped her, saying very solemnly, "Little girl, what are you doing? You can’t open the tripod right now. You need to use the residual heat of the tripod for the final brewing. Opening it now will affect the Elixir’s quality."
Lin Tian raised his eyebrows slightly, a bit surprised. "Elder Yao has done quite a bit of research on alchemy too."
Being praised by a real Pharmacist, the old man instead felt somewhat embarrassed. "Just some random tinkering with no real path, I’m still an outsider in the end."
"Elder Yao has always been studying the notes left behind by our ancestors, hoping that the Zhang Family can return to its peak era of alchemy." Zhang Lingyu whispered to Lin Tian.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Guoyao heard her. The old man sighed lightly. "Return to the peak? Easier said than done. Some things, once lost, are very hard to find again."
"Enough about me; let’s talk about this batch of Elixirs. Although the Spirit-Boosting Pill is a low-level elixir, its effects differ depending on the quality. I wonder what grade we’ll get this time?" Zhang Guoyao waved his hand and put his attention back on this round of alchemy.
"Elixir quality from low to high is: ordinary, fine, superior, premium, top-grade. Of course, there are also grades even worse than ordinary. In the past, those inferior ones had no market, but now, no matter how bad they are, as long as they’re Elixirs, they’ll still be chased after." Zhang Lingyu explained clearly.
After all, she was a member of the Zhang Family and a Pharmacist’s descendant. Although she wasn’t a Pharmacist herself, she had a certain understanding of alchemy.
"Then let me test you. How do you distinguish the quality of Elixirs?" Zhang Guoyao became interested and asked on the spot, as if he had taught Zhang Lingyu quite a lot in normal times.
Since it wasn’t yet time to open the lid, Lin Tian was also happy to see how Zhang Lingyu would answer, so he watched her with an amused expression.
The little girl’s pride seemed to be sparked by Lin Tian’s gaze. She couldn’t help but lift her chin. "If the shape is irregular and full of pits, that’s an inferior product. If it’s roughly spherical but still has many pits, that’s ordinary quality. Spherical with only a few pits is fine quality. Completely spherical with a smooth, pit-free surface is superior quality."
"Smooth with a faint sheen is premium quality. The most magical is top-grade quality: in addition to being smooth and haloed, the Elixir will naturally form Elixir Markings. Elixir Markings are the unique sign of top-grade Elixirs."
"The higher the quality, the better the effect. So even if they’re all basic Elixirs, there’s a world of difference between ordinary and top-grade. However, Elixirs can also be faked, just like antiques—new items artificially aged and sold as antiques, their price multiplied tenfold or a hundredfold."
"Some people, in order to reap profits, use special methods to add fake Elixir Markings to premium Elixirs, turning them into ’top-grade’ Elixirs in name. As for how to distinguish fake Elixir Markings, that’s something I don’t understand."
"Come to think of it, never mind identifying real or fake Elixir Markings; nowadays it’s hard to even see an Elixir, let alone talk about appraising them." Zhang Lingyu expressed regret, and at the same time acknowledged her own limitations.
Lin Tian couldn’t help wanting to applaud the little girl, because she was absolutely right. The Shennong Emperor’s Medical Scripture, being a miraculous classic of alchemy, naturally recorded how to distinguish Elixirs, and it basically matched what Zhang Lingyu had said.
These days, many of the older generation don’t even know this, yet Zhang Lingyu, so young, was so familiar with it—truly rare.
Zhang Guoyao was also very satisfied and nodded. "Not bad. Nowadays those young people all think Pharmacists are already a lost profession and don’t want to learn this kind of knowledge, considering it a waste of time. Only you are willing to learn, and you study very earnestly."
"Just based on this character alone, you’re qualified to be the Heavenly Master’s Successor. All that nonsense about ’passing the legacy to sons but not daughters’ is bullshit. Those old stubborn fools—if they keep being so conservative, the Zhang Family will be ruined in their hands sooner or later." The old man swore bluntly, cursing people without the slightest hesitation.
Lin Tian gave Zhang Lingyu a thumbs up. The little girl proudly raised her head and provocatively arched her eyebrows, leaving it unclear whether she was accepting the praise or not.
The Beautiful Sky Master had always been this tsundere. Lin Tian didn’t argue with her; instead, he reached out and touched the Eight Diagrams Tripod to test the temperature.
"We can open the tripod now." Just one touch and Lin Tian knew the time was right.
The three others grew excited and hurried closer. Lin Tian said with a grin, "Elder Yao, why don’t you open the tripod? Let the Elixirs soak up a bit of your immortal aura."
"Can I really?" Zhang Guoyao was both excited and pleasantly surprised. Only after Lin Tian gave a firm nod did the old man rub his hands together, looking like an overgrown child. freewebnoveℓ.com
He had dreamed of doing something like opening the tripod for a long time. The old man circled the Eight Diagrams Tripod once, and only after confirming that the mechanism location was correct did he carefully activate it.
Ka-ka-ka...
The sound of the mechanism turning rang out as the lid slowly rose, then flipped to the side, revealing the furnace chamber fully before them. A wave of heat rushed out, yet none of them dodged it. Instead, they watched the furnace chamber intently.
More precisely, they stared at the Elixirs inside the furnace. When he saw the Elixirs, the old man’s eyes widened at once, and Lin Tian also froze.
