Three days later, Yue Qingqian, armed with the meticulous plan devised by her senior brother and the long "procurement list," once again arrived at Hundred Herbs Peak.
This time, her mindset was completely different. Gone was the previous fear and unease, replaced by the calm and excitement of a secret agent about to carry out a mission deep behind enemy lines.
With Elder Liu's personal disciple token, she passed through unhindered, and no short-sighted disciple dared to provoke her. Under the respectful guidance of an outer sect disciple, she went directly to Elder Liu's exclusive, private alchemy courtyard, which was not open to outsiders.
In the courtyard, only Elder Liu was present. He had been waiting for her. The moment he saw Yue Qingqian, his rigid face showed a look of longing and appreciation, like an old farmer seeing a peerless good crop.
"Disciple, you have come!" he said, cutting straight to the chase, ignoring all formalities. "You were unwell last time, so I did not test you. Today, I want to see just how your foundation in the Dao of alchemy is."
With that, he began to quiz Yue Qingqian on the most basic knowledge, just like any ordinary master would.
"First, I will ask you, what is the name of this spiritual herb, and what are its medicinal properties?" Elder Liu casually pointed to a fiery red plant in the herb garden.
Yue Qingqian was well-prepared. She glanced at the plant, a "Red Sun Grass" that was detailed even in the sect's basic medicinal classic, and then, perfectly following her senior brother's script, she showed an expression of confusion and deep thought.
After a moment, she answered uncertainly, "R-Reporting to Master, this... this seems to be called... 'Red Roasted Grass'? Its medicinal properties... should be... eating it will cause internal heat?"
Elder Liu: "..."
A vein on his forehead throbbed almost imperceptibly.
But his "rationalization" technique also activated instantly.
"That's it! That's it! Ordinary geniuses first memorize the theory and then put it into practice! But she is a true 'Great Dao' type of genius! She comprehends the Dao of alchemy through instinct and intuition! In her eyes, all things are mere appearances; only the essence of the 'Dao' is real! She disdains to remember these mundane names and theories! Yes, it must be like this!"
After forcefully convincing himself, Elder Liu suppressed the strange feeling in his heart and pointed to another spiritual herb next to it.
As a result, for the next fifteen minutes, Yue Qingqian perfectly displayed all the characteristics that a "plant killer" should have. She mistook "Spirit-Condensing Flower" for "Morning Glory," and called "Heart-Clearing Vine" "Mung Bean Sprouts." The level of absurdity almost made Elder Liu doubt his own life several times.
Finally, Elder Liu gave up on testing her on theory. He took a deep breath and placed his hopes on practice.
"So be it! Theory is just empty talk, practice reveals the truth!" He led Yue Qingqian to an alchemy cauldron. "Today, I will teach you to refine the most basic pill—the Qi and Blood Pill. Watch carefully!"
Elder Liu personally demonstrated it once for her. Then, he let Yue Qingqian try it herself.
Next was the moment to witness a "miracle."
Yue Qingqian sat down in front of the alchemy cauldron. The moment she extended her small hand, circulated her spiritual energy, and summoned a flame, her entire temperament changed!
She perfectly controlled the output of her spiritual energy. An orange-yellow flame, so stable it looked fake, burned quietly in her palm. Following Elder Liu's instructions, she precisely raised and lowered the flame's temperature. The entire process was as smooth as flowing water, without a single error.
This heaven-defying fire control technique made Elder Liu's eyes light up, and his beard curled up with excitement!
"A genius! A peerless genius indeed!" he rejoiced in his heart.
However, the next moment, the genius's performance ended.
When it came to adding the herbs, Yue Qingqian once again turned back into that "idiot." She completely ignored the order in the alchemy formula, picked up an herb, thought for a moment, and put it in; then picked up another, thought for a moment, and put it in as well. Her casualness made it seem as if she were not refining a pill, but stewing a pot of hotchpotch.
As expected, with a muffled "boom," a thick cloud of black smoke rose from the alchemy cauldron.
A cauldron of precious medicinal herbs was thus wasted.
Yue Qingqian immediately switched back from "genius" mode. She looked at the cauldron, her small face filled with innocence, frustration, and apology, "Master... I'm sorry... I... I think... I couldn't remember the order on the formula again..."
This empress-level performance completely dispelled the last trace of doubt in Elder Liu's mind.
He was now 100% convinced of what kind of disciple he had accepted—a "prodigy of the Dao" who possessed god-like talent in the path of "fire control," but was as clumsy as a blank sheet of paper in all other aspects, an extremely specialized genius!
Not only was he not angry, but he became even more excited. Such an uncut jade was even more worthy of carving!
Seeing his "disciple's" on-the-verge-of-tears look, Elder Liu comforted her benevolently, "It's alright! It's alright! The formulas are just dead things. If you can't remember them, then you can't remember them! Your comprehension of the flame is the true Great Dao! How about this, for now, forget all the formulas. Today, you will just focus on practicing, using your flame to comprehend and refine the essence of these medicinal herbs. Go, you can use any of the low-grade medicinal herbs in the storehouse as you wish. When you run out, I will approve more for you!"
This sentence was the most crucial line that Lin Fan had predicted in his script!
Yue Qingqian's heart leaped with joy, but her face still maintained that cautious look.
While clumsily "practicing," she pretended to be casual and, in a tone full of curiosity, said to Elder Liu, "Master, just now when I was refining the 'Iron Wire Grass,' a strange thought popped into my head... I seem to have read in a very ancient miscellany that if the juice of the 'Seven Star Iron Vine' is catalyzed by a special flame, it might... it might produce a very wonderful substance that can enhance the activity of other medicinal herbs..."
Her words were intermittent and full of uncertainty.
But the words "ancient miscellany" struck Elder Liu's knowledge blind spot like a bolt of lightning.
As an alchemy fanatic, he had an almost insane thirst for all unknown and ancient alchemical knowledge.
"Oh? Is that so?" he was immediately interested. "Seven Star Iron Vine catalyzing medicinal properties? Unheard of! What a fantastic idea! Good disciple, you wait!"
With that, he hurriedly walked into his private storehouse behind the alchemy room. A moment later, he came out carrying a large bundle of "Seven Star Iron Vines" of considerable age, which ordinary disciples had no chance of ever seeing, and threw them to Yue Qingqian like firewood.
"Here! For you! Try your method immediately! Be bold and experiment! It doesn't matter if you fail. I have no shortage of medicinal herbs here!"
Yue Qingqian looked at the mountain of strategic materials, the first item on her senior brother's "procurement list," and rejoiced in her heart, but her face still maintained that respectful and fearful expression.
After "practicing" for another hour, she perfectly triggered her "frail and sickly" passive skill, and her small face turned pale again.
"Master... my spiritual energy... seems to be... used up again..."
"Go, go! Hurry back and rest well!" Elder Liu was currently immersed in his research on the "iron vine catalysis theory" and couldn't be bothered with her. He waved his hand impatiently.
Yue Qingqian felt as if she had been granted amnesty. She hugged the large bundle of "Seven Star Iron Vines," which were useless to her but priceless treasures to her senior brother, and respectfully bowed before taking her leave.
As she left Hundred Herbs Peak, her heart was pounding with excitement and stimulation.
The first "procurement" mission was a complete success!
She couldn't wait to go back and report this great victory to her senior brother!