Building a long-lasting family lineage starting with genealogy

Chapter 86 Zhou's Alchemy Shop (Second Update, Please Subscribe)

The following day, at 1-3 PM.

Zhou Sen gathered all the servants, the manager, and the other two alchemy experts from Zhou's Alchemy Shop in the back courtyard.

"Everyone, standing beside me is Daoist San Shu, who will be the new guest master of the Zhou family in the field of alchemy from now on."

“When I am not in the market, the Third Elder is the chief alchemist. Apart from buying and selling pills, we follow his instructions in everything else.”

Xu Chuan was somewhat flattered, not expecting Zhou Sen to value him so much.

However, it remains to be seen whether they truly value it or are merely putting on an act in front of others.

"I have met the Three Vertical Guest Elders."

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist San Shu."

The group of people clasped their hands in greeting.

Xu Chuan scanned everyone and immediately noticed that the other two guest elders were somewhat displeased, while the others were more or less sincere.

Perhaps it was because they were all members of the Zhou family and knew Zhou Sen's character that he respected those who were profound in alchemy.

"Alright, you two guests, please stay. The rest of you may go about your business."

In an instant, only the four of them remained in the courtyard.

Zhou Sen then introduced Xu Chuan to two other guest advisors.

"This is Ding Ming, Fellow Daoist Ding, and the other is Zuo Qiufu, Fellow Daoist Zuo Qiu."

Ding Ming was well-proportioned, with a short beard and an ordinary appearance, looking like a middle-aged man. Zuo Qiufu, on the other hand, was slightly plump, with a simple and honest face and graying temples.

Xu Chuan's divine sense swept over them and he discovered that the former was at the fifth level of Qi Refining, while the latter was only at the sixth level of Qi Refining.

"Fellow Daoist Ding, Fellow Daoist Zuoqiu, I sense that you two are somewhat dissatisfied with my decision?"

"Elder Zhou, you flatter us. We will naturally follow your arrangements," Ding Ming said with a smile.

Zhou Sen stroked his long beard and bowed, saying, "That would be best. In terms of alchemy skills and cultivation, you two are inferior to Fellow Daoist San Shu. Naturally, we should take him as our primary focus."

Although Xu Chuan only started practicing martial arts in middle age, he quickly achieved success and his speed was not slow, so he looked like he was not yet forty years old.

Upon hearing Zhou Sen's words, he immediately used his divine sense to observe and instantly discovered that Xu Chuan was at the seventh level of Qi Refining.

Unless a cultivator has a method to conceal their aura or there is a significant difference in their cultivation level, they can use their divine sense to detect the cultivation level of another person.

"Fellow Daoist Ding, I'll trouble you to help Fellow Daoist Sanshu familiarize himself with the alchemy matters of my Zhou Family Pill Shop." Zhou Sen then looked at Xu Chuan, "Fellow Daoist Sanshu, alchemy will begin tomorrow. Are there any problems?"

"That Fellow Daoist Yunming?"

"If he wishes, he can stay in my Danpu guest room, and he can leave whenever he wants."

"Of course, if you have a special skill, you can join my Zhou family."

Xu Chuan smiled and nodded, "Thank you. I will inform Fellow Daoist Yunming about this matter, but I do not know what decision he will make."

Zhou Sen nodded, and then left with Fellow Daoist Zuoqiu.

Ding Ming took Xu Chuan to visit the alchemy room first; Zhou's Alchemy Shop only had three alchemy rooms.

After Xu Chuan becomes a guest elder, Zhou Sen will probably return to the Zhou family in a few days.

“Fellow Daoist San Shu, this place is divided into three alchemy rooms: A, B, and C. In the past, the alchemy room with the character A belonged to Elder Zhou Sen, but now that you have arrived, it naturally belongs to you.”

"As for which pills to refine, it depends on the schedule. For example, when we run out of antidote pills, we will refine some more. We will also refine whichever pills are more popular in the market."

Xu Chuan nodded slightly.

He visited Yuehu Market and found that Zhou's Pill Shop wasn't the only place selling pills.

Competition is the source of motivation.

This principle applies to both ordinary people and those who cultivate immortality.

"May I study all the pill formulas? Although I know some alchemy, I travel around all year round and do not know many pill formulas."

Ding Ming, being a fellow rogue cultivator, naturally understood this.

Back then, he had exhausted all his efforts in trying to obtain even a simple elixir formula.

Only after he had made some progress in alchemy and gained some fame did his situation become somewhat more stable.

Two years ago, when the Zhou family was recruiting alchemists on a large scale, I was fortunate enough to pass the test and become a guest of the Zhou family, and only then did I settle down.

I stayed there until now.

When he first arrived, he only knew three common elixir formulas, and he learned and practiced them simultaneously.

"This is not a big problem. As long as you make a vow in front of Elder Zhou Sen that you will never reveal the pill formulas, he will definitely copy them down for you."

"Then I'll go find Elder Zhou Sen right now." Xu Chuan didn't hesitate much. He believed that as long as he got the pill formulas, with his continuous research in alchemy, he would definitely be able to optimize them in the future.

In this way, one will not violate one's vows of faith and cause any obstacles on the path of cultivation.

Upon hearing Xu Chuan's words and witnessing his oath in person, Elder Zhou Sen took out the copied pill formula from his storage bag and gave it to him.

"How strange. It is true that Fellow Daoist San Shu is proficient in alchemy, but he even needs the most basic formulas for detoxification pills and healing pills, as if he has just started to learn about immortality."

He stroked his long beard, pondered for a moment, and imagined to himself, "Perhaps he wants to see if the pill formulas in my Zhou family's collection are similar to his previous ones?"

"I was not mistaken. Fellow Daoist San Shu is indeed someone as obsessed with alchemy as I am."

That afternoon.

Xu Chuan then began to study the elixir formula he had obtained.

As expected, these pill formulas are several levels lower than the Breakthrough Pill in terms of both materials and refining difficulty. The only things to pay attention to are controlling the heat and the changes in the medicinal properties during the refining process.

He ordered three portions of each and tried to refine them.

For things like detoxification and healing, the pill was successfully formed on the first try, but it wasn't even as good as a low-grade pill, almost a waste.

The second time, after careful refining, three low-grade pills were successfully produced, but two of them were defective.

The third time was similar.

Then there are pills for strengthening the body's foundation, restoring magical power, and enhancing magical power.

These three types of difficulty increase progressively. For the Qi-stabilizing and Qi-restoring types, it takes three attempts to refine a low-grade pill, while for the Qi-enhancing type, all three attempts fail.

Xu Chuan then asked for two more pills to enhance his magical power.

They worked until late at night before finally producing two low-grade pills.

Xu Chuan had an agreement with the Zhou family that he would take one out of every six pills he refined, so all the pills he refined were recorded.

More than a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

Xu Chuan spends four hours a day refining elixirs, five hours meditating and cultivating, and three hours studying elixir formulas and reading classic texts on alchemy.

This continues every day without fail.

These days, the most common types of pills refined are those for restoring vitality and those for enhancing magical power.

The success rate of the Rejuvenation type is already 70%, while the success rate of the Enhancement type is 50%.

This success rate has completely surpassed that of Ding Ming and Zuo Qiufu, who have been immersed in these two types of elixirs for several years, and is only slightly behind Zhou Sen.

However, Xu Chuan was still not very satisfied.

Although the success rate of pill formation has increased significantly, the number of pills formed in a single batch remains only three or four, and they are all of low quality.

In the path of alchemy, nine is the ultimate number.

This means that a single batch of pills can produce at most nine pills.

Nine superior pills represent the pinnacle of alchemy, perfectly utilizing the materials.

The impurities in top-grade pills are already negligible, and as for pills without any impurities, they basically do not exist in the world.

Time passes day by day.

Xu Chuan was hidden in the Zhou family and was an expert in alchemy, while Xu Mingxian studied array formations.

As March comes, summer transitions into autumn.

However, the secluded valley where Ranyue Lake Market is located is shrouded in a great formation, and it is spring-like all year round.

"Father, I want to find some materials to test the formation," Xu Mingxian said telepathically.

"Yun Nu, have you grasped something?!"

Xu Chuan was overjoyed. The difficulty of comprehending the Dao of Arrays was far greater than that of the Dao of Alchemy. Although he had bestowed upon him the destiny talent of [Nine Palaces Dao Evolution].

But unexpectedly, Xu Mingxian gained enlightenment in April.

"Well, go and find the materials. If you don't have enough spirit stones, you can take all the spirit stones I have. I can also exchange the pills I have for spirit stones."

Xu Mingxian nodded slightly and left Xu Chuan's room.

These past few months.

He also went out a few times, strolling around the market.

Overall, safety in the market area is relatively guaranteed, and everyone agrees on one rule—not to cause trouble in the market area.

Those who had grudges or disputes went out to settle them on their own.

(End of this chapter)