Chapter 4005: The Third Level

Under the guidance of the staff, Ye Bufan arrived at another Alchemy room to undertake the third stage of the challenge.

Upon entering, he saw a short, stout Middle-aged Man standing in the center of the Pill Chamber.

Ye Bufan originally thought this person would be similar to the previous two, showing him no good attitude.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he entered, the other party stepped forward and bowed to him.

“I am Zhang Qing, greetings, Young Master Ye.”

Zhang Qing, a Fourth-Rank Immortal Pill Master, was the guardian of the third stage.

“This…”

Ye Bufan was somewhat surprised, “You know me?”

Zhang Qing said, “I didn’t know you before, but Young Master Ye, you defied power and taught that dandy Kong Xifeng a lesson, upholding the reputation of our Alchemist Guild, which is why I salute you.”

After he finished speaking, Elder Kong Lingyuan’s expression immediately turned grim.

Although he knew what kind of person his Grandson was, being pointed out in public still made him lose face.

However, this Zhang Qing was famously stubborn and was also a subordinate of Second Elder Wu Zheng, so he could do nothing.

Only then did Ye Bufan understand what was happening; it seemed that no matter where, people were divided into different Ranks, with treacherous and cunning individuals, but also no lack of loyal and upright ones.

This gave him a great impression: “Senior is too polite; I merely acted on impulse.”

Zhang Qing cupped his hands again, then his expression became serious.

“I respect Young Master’s character, but this third stage concerns the Alchemist Guild’s reputation, and I will not go easy.

How about this, Young Master decides what Medicinal Pill to refine, which will be a small token of my respect.

However, once Alchemy begins, there will be no favoritism, nor will I hold back.”

Seeing that this person had conviction, integrity, and clearly distinguished right from wrong, Ye Bufan’s good impression of him increased by a few points.

He scrutinized the other party: “I also admire Senior’s character. How about this, I’ll give you some guidance and help you advance to a Five-Rank Immortal Pill Master?”

“Uh…”

At this, everyone watching the light screen was filled with astonishment. They had imagined various reactions from Ye Bufan, but they never expected the current scene to occur.

Zhang Qing was a leader among Fourth-Rank Immortal Pill Masters, only a step away from the Fifth Rank, yet the other party openly offered to guide him in Alchemy and help him advance. Wasn't this a joke?

Zhuge Qingyang and the others were also shocked; no one had expected Ye Bufan to make such a request.

Only Hua Qiqi’s lips curved into a smile. She had a deep understanding of her teacher’s Alchemy attainments; he could even guide a Twelfth-Order Celestial Alchemist.

Zhang Qing frowned: “Young Master Ye, I believe I have treated you with courtesy, how can you insult this old man?”

“No, I’m serious. I see that Senior has good character, which is why I want to help.”

Seeing that the other party didn’t believe him, Ye Bufan paused, “How about this, didn’t you just say I could choose the type of Medicinal Pill to refine? Then I’ll choose the Qinghua Pill.”

After he finished speaking, Zhang Qing’s expression grew even uglier: “Young Master, do you know that I failed my challenge to become a Five-Rank Immortal Pill Master precisely because of this Qinghua Pill, so you are deliberately trying to humiliate me?”

Ye Bufan smiled faintly: “I was unaware; so that’s how it is.

But it’s nothing. As long as I give some guidance, Senior will definitely be able to refine this Qinghua Pill.”

Zhang Qing chuckled coldly: “Do you think that by proposing a Fifth-Rank Medicinal Pill that neither of us can refine, you’ll be able to muddle through?

I’m telling you, that’s impossible!

Although the challenge doesn’t limit the Medicinal Pill’s Rank, according to the Alchemist Guild’s rules, if two people fail to refine the same Medicinal Pill, then whoever proposed it is judged to have lost and is eliminated.”

He had initially held great respect for this Young man, but he never expected him to come up with such a method.

Choosing a Fifth-Rank Medicinal Pill for himself to refine, thinking that this would allow him to pass, there was no such easy way.

Ye Bufan’s expression remained calm, “When you were assessed for Five-Rank Immortal Pill Master, you chose the Qinghua Pill, right?

If I’m not mistaken, you must have experienced a Pill Furnace explosion during the Medicinal Pill’s Fusion.”

“Uh…”

Hearing the other party’s words, Zhang Qing, who had been full of disdain, was now completely shocked.

“You… how did you know?”

“Of course, I could tell.”

Ye Bufan said, “When you refined the Qinghua Pill, your material selection was fine, and the procedure was fine, but it was precisely at the Fusion step that the Pill Furnace exploded.”

“That’s right, it was indeed like that.”

Zhang Qing nodded, full of astonishment. The Qinghua Pill was one of the easier Fifth-Rank Immortal Pills to refine; generally, Fourth-Rank Immortal Pill Masters advancing to the Fifth Rank would choose this Medicinal Pill for a steady approach.

“If you can find out where the problem lies, I will concede defeat on the spot.”

He wasn’t just saying this idly. After his advancement failed, he had consulted several high-Rank Immortal Pill Masters he had good relations with, and even Second Elder Wu Zheng.

But no one had been able to find the problem, only vaguely saying that his Alchemy heat control was insufficient, his attainments not deep enough, and that accumulating experience for a period would naturally resolve it.

“Not only can I help you find the problem, but I can also enable you to successfully refine it, allowing you to step into the Five-Rank Immortal Pill Master Rank in one fell swoop.”

Ye Bufan said, “The reason your Pill Furnace exploded was entirely due to two Medicinal herbs in the Qinghua Pill: Qingyun Grass and Jinqiong Flower.

Qingyun Grass is entirely dark green with cloud-like patterns, and its medicinal properties are relatively mild.

Jinqiong Flower is entirely golden, and it is also an immortal spirit grass with mild medicinal properties.

But precisely these two Medicinal herbs have conflicting attributes. When they come into contact, they become extremely violent, ultimately leading to the Pill Furnace exploding.”

“No, no, what you’re saying is wrong!”

Zhang Qing frowned slightly, shaking his head repeatedly.

“I naturally know that Jinqiong Flower and Qingyun Grass have conflicting attributes, but there is another Medicinal herb in the Pill Formula, Baihe Grass, which can just reconcile these two Medicinal herbs.

This Pill Formula has been passed down for tens of thousands of years, and countless people have successfully refined it, indicating that there are no problems. My problem would not lie here.”

He had pondered for many days after his failure, the entire Alchemy process was deeply ingrained in his mind.

Ye Bufan smiled faintly: “The Pill Formula naturally has no problems; the problem lies with you.”

Zhang Qing was astonished: “What do you mean by that? What problem do I have?”

“Everything requires assessing the situation and adapting to the individual, and the Dao of Alchemy is even more so.

You Cultivate a fire-attribute Cultivation Technique that is extremely rigid and yang, while Baihe Grass grows in cold and damp places, belonging to an immortal spirit grass with a partial water attribute.

As a result, your Immortal Essence naturally dissolves the medicinal properties of the Baihe Grass during the Alchemy process, rendering it unable to play its intended role, which then leads to the final Pill Furnace explosion.”

“This, how could this be, it’s actually my own problem?”

Zhang Qing was filled with shock. Generally speaking, Cultivating fire-attribute Cultivation Techniques is more suitable for Alchemists, but he had overlooked the conflicting attributes between himself and the Medicinal herbs.

From another perspective, he also didn’t understand Baihe Grass enough, overlooking its growth environment and its partial water-attribute medicinal properties.

However, he was still somewhat incredulous: “Young Master Ye, are you sure this is the factor?” Although he hadn’t fully believed it yet, his address had unconsciously reverted to Young Master Ye.