Chapter 436: Chapter 431: Everyone Has Their Specialty, and Every Anomaly Has a Cause
Cyan Yuan Sect.
Medicine Hall.
Yuanqing Courtyard.
’These ancient Pharmacists had such peculiar ideas. They actually wanted to perform Alchemy for pocket ponies. How interesting. For the most part, pocket ponies are just ornamental and have a bit of a vintage appeal, but they don’t have any particularly outstanding qualities. Their stamina is no match for beasts with Exotic Beast bloodlines. Even a Qing State Horse is better and offers more value for the cost.’
’They must have had nothing better to do to think of performing Alchemy for pocket ponies. Only Pharmacists with too much money would get involved in such bizarre things!’
Yang Chan looked through the alchemy insights and notes from long-ago Advanced Pharmacists on the top floor of the Medicine Hall Collection Pavilion, which recorded all sorts of bizarre Pill Formulas.
The people who recorded these Pill Formulas were very interested in attempting to refine formulas with all kinds of different functions.
Just like the aforementioned record of performing Alchemy for pocket ponies, the goal was to grant them an Exotic Beast bloodline and induce a transformation. However, the pocket pony’s bloodline was incompatible. After consuming that special Elixir, the pony would swell up and, in most cases, explode and die.
One record mentioned that the Pharmacist was injured for a month because of this. Afterward, he nearly tried to use this phenomenon to cultivate a pocket-pony-type Hidden Weapon that could explode suddenly, catching people completely off guard.
The idea was that a person would buy and mount a pocket pony, and then, during the ride, the pony would suddenly be triggered to explode, thereby injuring the rider.
This idea could be described as wildly imaginative, but it was also extremely difficult to implement.
Before the pocket pony exploded, its abdomen would rapidly swell. A Martial Arts Expert would be able to spot the problem with the pony and get away in an instant.
After a few attempts, that Pharmacist gave up. Besides, not many people rode pocket ponies in the first place. By now, they are rarely seen, having been phased out by other horse breeds.
It wasn’t a superior breed, nor was it particularly outstanding, and its price was on the high side. There was no reason for anyone to choose it.
Furthermore, because of the pocket pony’s small size, it had an unstable center of gravity when running and was prone to splaying its legs.
Since the pocket pony was prone to splaying its legs, it was naturally eliminated.
Here in Qing State, the Qing State Horse later rose to prominence, replacing this malformed pocket pony.
Yang Chan found the entries in these alchemy insights and notes extremely amusing, and there were many other similarly bizarre records.
There were even attempts to feed maggots. It seemed they had tried anything one could think of. This was a characteristic of that era; the closer to the present, the fewer such attempts were made.
The predecessors experimented through trial and error, allowing later generations to build upon their successes, improving all kinds of Pill Formulas.
Even among Sects within the same Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty, there were still differences in their Elixir Refining processes and compositions.
The ingredients were generally unchanged, but the required quantities differed. This was because different Alchemy Techniques resulted in different amounts of intermediate loss, which in turn required adjustments to the balance of medicinal effects. The more powerful the Sect, the clearer its records, allowing them to reduce loss and maximize efficiency.
Yang Chan had reached this conclusion by comparing the knowledge Princess Lan Yue had given him with the records in the Cyan Yuan Sect’s Alchemy Notes.
In truth, after refining many times, one would also discover these issues and optimize the process, but the difficulty of doing so varied and depended heavily on individual ability.
The ancients were truly wise, clearing a path through the thorns for future generations and paving the correct way forward.
Yang Chan felt a sense of admiration for this.
"Pharmacist Yang, the latest intelligence has arrived."
Han Bingyu held several letters, their contents quite substantial.
Yang Chan set down the alchemy insights he was reading, picked up the letters from Han Bingyu, and quickly began to look through them.
After reading them, Yang Chan was completely baffled.
The Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty was at war with the Jin Meng Empire. However, sending forces like the Six Gates and the Imperial Army—who were tasked with guarding White Jade City—to the front lines seemed completely unnecessary. It was even stranger that they had First Grade Grand Tutor Helian Guang leading troops and had dispatched several ministers, particularly Civil Servants. It all felt so needless.
Having a Military General lead troops into battle was the correct choice. After all, everyone has their specialty. A Civil Servant who can govern a country would be completely clueless when it comes to leading an army into war; the results wouldn’t be good.
Besides, the Great Zhou Imperial Dynasty was not yet in a desperate situation. The war between the two nations had just begun, and the victor was not yet decided. They still had a massive number of troops and plenty of support from the rear.
Seeing these arrangements, Yang Chan simply couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
He couldn’t understand what the Great Zhou Imperial Family was trying to do. They seemed determined to gain the upper hand, yet their decisions were bizarre.
He couldn’t see the full picture.
"Does the Sect or the outside world have any analysis of this situation?"
Since Yang Chan couldn’t understand, he could only ask someone who did.
Perhaps there was some hidden secret he was unaware of, something that made these events seem so strange.
He had had contact with members of the Great Zhou Imperial Family before. Judging by the Imperial Family’s methods regarding people like Crown Prince Yang Qian and Princess Lan Yue, he knew they were no fools.
’Since things seem strange now, there must be something hidden that I can’t see. I’ll just have to leave it to those who know the inside story to figure it out.’
"Not yet. We are still gathering information."
Han Bingyu shook her head.
She naturally understood that there had to be a reason for such an anomaly, so she was already arranging to investigate for more information.
"Good. Keep a close eye on this!"
Yang Chan wasn’t surprised to hear this. Han Bingyu was becoming more and more mature in her work, knowing what he needed and making arrangements in advance.
’She would make an excellent secretary, handling every single aspect flawlessly.’
’A person like that would naturally leave any boss extremely satisfied.’
"Your Martial Arts Cultivation has broken through to External Refining Copper Skin, and you’ve already consolidated it. If you encounter any difficulties in your Cultivation, you can ask me for advice. After all, I’ve already completed the Tempering for this stage, so I can give you some pointers!"
Yang Chan changed the subject to Martial Arts Cultivation.
Han Bingyu had just entered the first level of External Refining Copper Skin: Bronze.
Yang Chan had long since completed the Tempering for this stage. Even the Cultivation he currently displayed was at the External Refining Steel Rebar level, meaning he had already finished all three levels of External Refining Copper Skin. He was naturally extremely familiar with the one hundred and forty-four Tempering methods of the Ox Demon Transporting Skin and had his own insights into them.
"Thank you, Pharmacist Yang!"
A smile reappeared on Han Bingyu’s face. Whether he could actually help her wasn’t important; what mattered was Yang Chan’s current attitude. He was growing closer to her, and for her, that was the best news possible.
By asking for guidance on her cultivation, she could spend more time by Yang Chan’s side and deepen her relationship with him.
The more time people spent together, the closer they became. Han Bingyu understood this principle very well and was naturally working toward that goal.
"It’s no trouble at all."
"In Martial Arts Cultivation, External Refining is just laying the foundation. Only by breaking through to Inner Refining can one gain the capital for a long life. I hope you can go even further!"
Yang Chan looked at Han Bingyu, naturally hoping she would continue to help him handle matters for a long time. ’It would be best if she worked for me for the rest of her life!’
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