Chapter 119: The True Pill Debate (Second Half)
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Frappe
"Clearly, the theory about the difference being attributed to the constitution does not hold!
"Thus, Apothecary Zhang Jian investigated the matter and wrote the conclusion of his research
into 《Discussions of Tempering Pill》. This book clearly details his opinions and he disagrees
with the notion that the difference in effects of the Body Tempering Pill is due to one's
constitution. Rather, it was because the medicinal effects of the herbs weren't distributed fairly
among the different pills during the forging process! As such, even in the same cauldron and
among pills of the same quality, there could be different medicinal effects!
"This theory was accepted for a few years until twelve years ago, when someone cast doubts and
overthrew it! The one who doubted the theory wasn't an apothecary but a 1-star master teacher.
He questioned: if the medicinal effects weren't distributed fairly among the different pill, then
why did such a phenomenon only occur to Body Tempering Pills and not other pills?
"Therefore, he proposed a bold suggestion. It was recorded in 《Ning Han's Verbal Records》.
This book wasn't widely sold and there is only a single copy of it in the guild's basic tier book
collection vault. If you all haven't read it, it is in the 19th bookshelf, at the extreme right
corner!"
Zhang Xuan chuckled and continued, "This master teacher named Ning Han came up with a
bold proposal. He thinks that the reason there was such an occurrence among Body Tempering
Pills was because of the difference between the maturity of the herbs and the forging technique
of the apothecaries! Of course, he only brought it up as a theory and didn't experiment!
"Eight years ago, Apothecary Zhao Yue from Hongxuan Kingdom received an epiphany from
this book and conducted an experiment. He changed eighteen of the main medicinal herbs used
in the pill and tried forging it using forty-two different kinds of forging techniques. He wrote
his conclusion in a book titled《Detailed Explanation of Body Tempering》. It just so happens
that there is one of them in our basic tier book collection vault. It is on the 27th row, on the
upper left corner, beside 《Yang Zhen's Pill Forging Guide》 and 《The Method to Forging Jade
Blood Pill》! If all of you doubt my words, you can find someone to fetch it here!
"I believe that the answer in the book is the most accurate one, and it should be able to answer
your question!"
At this point, Zhang Xuan stopped and gesture for Ouyang Cheng to dispatch someone to fetch
the book.
"There's no need…."
Upon hearing Zhang Xuan's explanation, the complexion of Apothecary Jin Chen, who was still
gleeful a moment ago, darkened to the color of the bottom of a wok and he stumbled two steps
backward. In an instant, he seemed to have aged many years.
"What? If we don't fetch the book here, I fear that Apothecary Jin will not accept my answer!"
Zhang Xuan said.
"Your answer is correct. I have read the book and it is identical to what you said!" Apothecary Jin
Chen nodded his head.
"Correct?"
"Identical?"
"That shouldn't be possible…. Apothecary Jin Chen simply raised a casual question and he was
able to answer it so simply. Furthermore, out of the countless books in the vault, he was able to
remember its exact position…. How is that possible?"
"Is he still human? You must be pulling my leg!"
……
Upon hearing his acknowledgment, the room broke into a commotion once more.
Previously, they thought that due to the limitations of his age, Zhang Xuan wouldn't have the
time to read many books. After this round, they realized that compared to him… they were the
ones who hadn't read many books!
Not only was the other party able to accurately remember the contents, time the book was
written, and title of the book, he was even able to point out its exact location in the vault….
For them… it would already be wonderful if they could remember the contents detailed within!
Looked like there really was a huge difference between humans!
"Since Apothecary Jin Chen has acknowledged my answer to be correct, let's proceed onto the
second question!"
Zhang Xuan chuckled.
'You want to compete with me in memorization ability?
'What a joke! I have the Library of Heaven's Path in my mind. With a jolt of my consciousness,
the book comes flying to me. I only have to read according to it. Regardless of how good your
memory is, you can't possibly be more accurate than me!'
"The second question. When forging a grade-1 【Strength Enhancement Pill】, why do cracks
appear on a cauldron, making it difficult to continue with the forging?" Apothecary Jin Chen
However, if one scrutinized the question carefully, it was still related to pill forging. It was
precisely because it lay at the boundaries of the two that many apothecaries did not bother to
learn about it, let alone answering such a question.
Since everyone could tell what he was trying to do, how could Zhang Xuan remain oblivious?
The corners of his lips curled upward and he replied, "As for this problem, Apothecary Wu Xiao's
《Cauldron Maintenance》, Apothecary Zhao Qian's 《Important Matters to Note for Pill
Forging》, Apothecary Niu Xuan's 《Miscellaneous Things You Have to Know》, Apothecary
Pang Bo's 《Protect Your New Cauldron》…"
没有丝毫停顿，一开口就说了十几本书籍的名称，最后才道：“……这些书籍中，都有记载，其实说白了也不
是问题，你们使用的丹炉，是普通的九炼铁，这种铁虽然坚硬，却耐不住寒暑冲击，增力丹的主药材，是寒
冰蛮兽的血液，带有至阴至寒之气，和热的炉鼎对碰，自然难以承受！”
Without pausing, Zhang Xuan listed the titles of dozens of books before concluding, "… The
answers are detailed in these books. Actually, it wasn't really a difficult question. The cauldrons
that you all use are made of ordinary Unrefined Metal. This metal may be strong, but it is
unable to withstand the clash between extreme cold and heat. The main ingredient required for
Strength Enhancement Pill is the blood of a cold-attribute savage beast. When something that
cold comes into contact with the hot cauldron, it's natural that the cauldron's unable to
withstand it!
“如果想要解决，最好使用玄铁炉鼎！或者每炼制一炉增力丹，就更换一个炉鼎！”
"If you wish to resolve the problem, it is best to use Xuantie Cauldron instead! Or you can also
change your cauldron every time after you forge Strength Enhancement Pills!"
Zhang Xuan smiled.
This question might seem difficult, but it was recorded in the books of the basic tier book
collection vault as well. It was just that the number of books in the vault was too vast and the
apprentices in the guild would often choose to research pill forging techniques so that they
could become an official apothecary faster. As a result, there was no reason for them to look
into these kinds of miscellaneous books!
Furthermore, after becoming an official apothecary, one's standing would become completely
different. With more guests paying them a visit and with more authority, they would have less
time to read books. There were many things that they could learn from the book collection
vault, but they never found the time to look for it and as such they were ignorant of them.
This was precisely the reason why the other apothecaries were unable to answer such
questions. On the other hand, for Zhang Xuan who had duplicated a basic tier book collection
vault in his mind, he had no difficulty answering this question at all.
"I wonder if Apothecary Jin Chen is satisfied with my answer? If not, I can still go on…."
"There's no need, your answer is correct!"
Cold sweat appeared on Apothecary Jin Chen's forehead.
When he started to forge Strength Enhancement Pills, he met with such a problem. So he went
around asking others to seek an answer. Eventually, he found his answer in a book and that
book was one of the dozen books which Zhang Xuan had just listed, 《Protect Your New
Cauldron》 by Apothecary Pang Bo.
He thought that this was the only book which had detailed information on this subject, so he
raised this question to trouble the other party. Yet this fellow was able to list more than a dozen
books in a breath.
It was fortunate that he didn't name the book earlier. Otherwise, he would be humiliated when
the other party listed this huge collection of books.
The heck, what is the head of this fellow made of?
How could be remember everything so clearly?
Upon seeing this situation, Ouyang Cheng and Du Man exchanged glances and smiled wryly.
This was nothing! If you all knew that this fellow could even point out the specific page in the
book, you probably wouldn't have insisted on conducting your test like that!
In fact, the other party proposing to point out flaws in their forging technique was indeed
raising the difficulty for him. If you wish to triumph against him in a competition of
knowledge…
We're afraid that you could only do it in your dreams….
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login