Chapter 822: Phoenix Timber Core

Translator: StarveCleric Editor: Millman97

Grand Intermittence Pill was extremely well-known for its miraculous ability in allowing one to regrow even severed limbs. But naturally, it was an extremely difficult pill to forge as well.

Even among grade-7 pills, it could be considered one of the more advanced ones. It would be difficult for even an average 7-star apothecary to forge it, so how could they possibly succeed?

For all Upper Nine Paths occupations, the difference between each rank became exponentially larger the higher one climbed.

Even though it was only a single rank of difference between 6-star and 7-star, it was like the difference between a Saint and a Transcendent Mortal. There was an unbreachable gap between the two.

In fact, even within the rank itself, there was a vast difference in the capability between low-tier and pinnacle.

In other words… even though they were all 6-star pinnacle apothecaries, just a toe away from achieving a breakthrough to 7-star, it was still utterly impossible for them to forge the Grand Intermittence Pill, which only 7-star pinnacle apothecaries were capable of forging.

With a bitter smile, Apothecary Lu shook his head. "I'm afraid that we might not be of much help here…"

"I know that it's difficult, that's why I need you to work together with one another," Zhang Xuan replied.

"Work together? But we have never worked together before, it won't be easy to do so…" The group shook their heads.

Pill forging wasn't like fighting a battle, where each cultivator just had to cover for one another… Every single apothecary had their own unique pill forging technique and style. It was more likely than not that if two apothecaries tried to work on the same cauldron, a major error would occur somewhere. This could easily lead to all of the medicinal herbs being ruined, or in the worst-case scenario, a cauldron explosion even!

That was not to say that it was completely impossible for apothecaries to work together on the same cauldron. There were such cases in the world, but most of them were students who had been training to work with each other from the very start, and after several dozen years of collaboration, they gained the ability to understand one another by the slightest gesture or gaze, allowing them to synergize with each other perfectly.

But on the other hand, Apothecary Lu and the others had already tread on their own path for several centuries now, and they had their own unique forging style tailored to their own needs. If they were to forcefully work with one another, it was one thing for them to fail in forming the pill, but in the worst-case scenario… they might even end up blowing away the entire Master Teacher Academy!

As one of the more advanced grade-7 pills, the medicinal energy contained within a Grand Intermittence Pill was comparable to the might of a Saint 4-dan expert. If a mistake were to occur, with their cultivation of Saint 1-dan, it would be impossible for them to suppress the explosion.

"There's no need to worry about that. I have a few pill forging techniques here that are suited for just that, so I hope that you can familiarize yourselves with them quickly. As for the collaboration, as long as you listen to my instructions strictly, there won't be any problem with it!" Zhang Xuan said as he whipped out a few books and passed them over.

These were the pill forging techniques he had deduced that he would require for the forging of the Grand Intermittence Pill.

"Pill forging techniques?" Apothecary Lu and the others grabbed the books given to them and began browsing through them.

Each of them took a different book each, and the content of each book was different as well.

"Misty Rain Pill Forging Art…"

It didn't take too long for Apothecary Lu to finish browsing through his book, and by the time he was done, his hands were trembling intensely.

The Misty Rain Pill Forging Art was centered around stability, taming whatever destructive force it encountered while silently nourishing the pill. The technique was extremely profound and intricate; despite Apothecary Lu's many years of experience, he had never seen anything like it before. Without a doubt, if he were to successfully master this technique, his proficiency of pill forging would soar once again.

By then, as long as his cultivation hit the requirement, he was confident that he would clear the 7-star apothecary examination easily!

But what had truly left him astounded was that… the Misty Rain Pill Forging Art complemented his cultivation technique perfectly! If he were to master this technique, even his fighting prowess would be enhanced as well!

"This is truly a good pill forging technique. It complements my Spirit Turtle zhenqi splendidly…"

"The pill forging technique in the book supplements my cultivation technique impeccably too…"

After reading their own books, the eyes of the others were also glowing, and they couldn't help but exclaim in excitement.

Hearing those words, Apothecary Lu took the books of his other friends and browsed through them swiftly as well, and his eyes couldn't help but widen.

He realized that the pill forging techniques listed in the books were a perfect fit for their individual cultivation techniques and constitutions, such that he couldn't pick a single flaw from it.

In other words… Zhang shi had designed these pill forging techniques specifically for them! Otherwise, considering how each cultivator had his own unique cultivation technique and constitution, how could there be such a coincidence that all of them would have a pill forging technique that was a perfect fit for them?

But to tailor a pill forging technique to the needs of another… Just how deep of an understanding must one have of pill forging to be able to do so?

Even the most capable 7-star pinnacle apothecaries were incapable of such!

"T-this…"

Naturally, since Apothecary Lu had noticed this much, the others couldn't possibly remain oblivious to it. With eyes widened with respect and awe, they gazed deeply at the young man before them.

They had thought that the other party was amazing when they were listening to his lecture, but at this moment, what they had was deep reverence for him.

After recovering from the shock, Apothecary Lu asked, "Has Zhang shi prepared the required medicinal herbs yet? According to what I know, the main medicinal herb of the Grand Intermittence Pill, the Grand Intermittence Grass, is a rare saint herb!"

As the saying goes, 'even the most capable of cook can't cook without ingredients.'

The medicinal ingredients of grade-7 pills might not be too difficult to find within a Conferred Empire, but in Hongyuan City, that would be no easy feat.

This was especially so for the Grand Intermittence Grass. Putting aside how it was rare and impossible to be cultivated, its natural habitat also tended to be regions plagued with poisonous worms. Even Saint 4-dan experts would be troubled to procure it.

"I have already applied for the required medicinal herbs from the headquarters," Zhang Xuan replied.

After obtaining the pill formula of the Grand Intermittence Pill, he swiftly looked through the herbs required and noted that the main ingredient, Grand Intermittence Grass, was hard to obtain in Hongyuan City. Thus, he applied for it from the headquarters.

"You applied for the medicinal herb from the headquarters?"

Apothecary Lu and the other apothecaries glanced at one another, astounded. "But given the steep price of the Grand Intermittence Grass, will the headquarters really be willing to give it to you?"

Applying and purchasing from the headquarters were two separate matters.

Applying was equivalent to asking for a subsidy from the headquarters. Should the headquarters accept the application, they would give the medicinal herb to the applicant without charging anything.

On the other hand, purchasing would require the purchaser to pay a certain price in exchange for the medicinal herb.

But the Grand Intermittence Grass was a rare and valuable saint herb. Even if one were to purchase it from the headquarters, it would cost at least several hundred or even a thousand high-tier spirit stones. To apply for it… how could the headquarters possibly accept the application?

If it was that simple, the Apothecary Guild headquarters would have already closed down from the sheer expenses incurred from apothecaries applying for medicinal herbs.

Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment before replying. "I happened to solve the problems of one of their apothecaries, and the other party promised to help me settle this matter… so I don't think there will be any trouble!"

The Communication Wall could only transfer written information whereas the Jade Communication Screen allowed one to transmit and view visual information as well.

Back then, when Zhang Xuan had been taking his 6-star apothecary examination, one of the apothecaries on the other end had sent a video of someone forging pills, and Zhang Xuan had helped the other party analyze and resolve a few problems in his forging method, thus winning the other party's respect. In light of that, the other party had offered to help him apply for the Grand Intermittence Grass.

But back then, the other party had spoken of it lightly as if it was nothing… Could the other party have been lying to him?

Apothecary Lu frowned slightly upon hearing Zhang Xuan's story, and he said, "Even for the apothecaries of the headquarters, it would still be difficult for them to apply for medicinal herbs without some connections. Do you know of the name of the apothecary you spoke to?"

"If I recall correctly, I think his name is… Wu Huayu! Back then, of the ten apothecaries projected in the Jade Communication Wall, he was the one who was the rowdiest…" Zhang Xuan replied.

However, before Zhang Xuan could finish his words, the lower jaws of the elders before him abruptly fell to the ground, and they began shaking in fear.

"What's wrong?" Seeing the bizarre state of the elders before him, Zhang Xuan frowned.

"Zhang shi… do you have any idea who Wu Huayu is?" Apothecary Lu asked with quivering lips.

"How could I possibly know? But considering how dim-witted he was and the ton of nonsense that flew out of his mouth, he is probably no one important. Why, do you know each other?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"Dim-witted?"

"Cough cough…"

Apothecary Lu nearly choked. Seeing that the man before him was truly ignorant of it, he could only shake his head with a bitter smile. "Wu Huayu is the head of the Qingyuan Conferred Empire Apothecary Guild… a 7-star pinnacle apothecary!"

The others also hurriedly nodded, as if fearing that Zhang Xuan wouldn't believe it.

It was one thing for you not to recognize Guild Leader Wu, but to say that he is dim-witted…

That is the number of apothecary of Qingyuan Empire, and yet you speak as if he is nothing at all!

More importantly, you even helped to solve his problems?

Just what kind of monster is standing before me?

"Guild leader? You are saying that person is the leader of the Apothecary Guild? I see…"

Zhang Xuan was stunned for an instant before he slowly nodded. "Since he's the guild leader, there shouldn't be any problem with obtaining the Grand Intermittence Pill. As for the other ingredients, it shouldn't be any trouble obtaining them in Hongyuan City. Here is the list of ingredients that I will need…" Zhang Xuan said as he passed a piece of paper over.

"As apothecaries, you have more connections in Hongyuan City than I do. Thus, I will have to trouble you to help me source them. If you see any of these herbs, do help me purchase them, I will repay you later. If I don't have enough money, I will trade grade-6 pills for them…"

Since Zhang Xuan was troubling them to find the medicinal herbs for him, he couldn't possibly have them pay out of their pocket for it too.

It just so happened that he had quite a few grade-6 pills remaining in his hands, so he could use them to trade for the medicinal herbs.

"The medicinal herbs on this list are quite affordable…"

Apothecary Lu took the paper, browsed through the list of ingredients, and remarked, "I think we might be able to gather all of these medicinal herbs through our own private stashes, so there's no need for Zhang shi to pay. You may consider this our way of repaying you for your impartation of knowledge and the pill forging techniques!"

As old elders of the Apothecary School, they had their own stashes of medicinal herbs that they could use whenever they needed. While they might not have extremely valuable saint herbs like the Grand Intermittence Grass in their possession, the collections they had accumulated over the years were still rather impressive.

Besides, as 6-star pinnacle apothecaries and elders of the Master Teacher Academy, it would be embarrassing if they were to only receive from the other party and not give back to him.

It was just a bunch of medicinal herbs, they each had plenty of those in their stash. It was nothing much for them to just give them away.

Zhang Xuan's eyes lit up, and he clasped his fist and thanked them. "I will be thanking you in advance then!"

"Zhang shi, allow me to finish first…" Apothecary Lu waved his hands. "We are able to gather most of the medicinal herbs required, but there is one which you might have to source for yourself."

"Which one?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"It's the last medicinal herb on the list, the 'Phoenix Timber Core'!" Apothecary Lu replied.

"Phoenix Timber Core?" Zhang Xuan frowned. "You aren't able to find this?"

The Phoenix Timber Marrow was not a saint herb, spirit herb, or even a medicinal herb.

Zhang Xuan had thought that it would be the easiest one to find on the list, which was also the reason he had listed it at the very bottom, but who would have thought that the old elders would tell him that they were unable to obtain it?

"The Phoenix Timber Core is the very foundation of the Phoenix Timber Tree. It has the medical properties of facilitating hemostasis and the recovery of wounds. Compared to the other medicinal herbs, it is indeed not very valuable. However, the problem lies in its rarity… None of us have it in our stash, and it is unlikely that we will be able to find it in the Apothecary School and Physician School either!" Apothecary Lu said.

"If even the Apothecary School and Physician School don't have them… then where am I to look for it?" Zhang Xuan frowned.

The Apothecary School and Physician School could be said to have the largest collection of medicinal herbs in Hongyuan City. If the Phoenix Timber Core couldn't even be found in those two places, it was highly likely that it would be impossible to find it anywhere else in Hongyuan City.

"Zhang shi, calm down. While we don't have the means to procure the Phoenix Timber Core, we do know where you can find it. If Zhang shi is able to convince that fellow, you might just be able to obtain it!" Apothecary Lu said.

"Oh?" Zhang Xuan's eyebrows shot up. "Please enlighten me…"

"The main use of the Phoenix Timber Core is not to serve as a medicine but to craft zithers. If my memory fails me not, I believe there is a Phoenix Timber Tree in the Demonist Tunist School. If you can get to School Head Jiang Qingqin, you might just be able to obtain it!" Apothecary Lu said.

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