Chapter 762: Missing a Step
"Thinking of giving it to you, huh?"
The Sixth Elder lingered on the alchemy formula for a few moments, "And this method of alchemy is quite unique. Roasting the yin-yang fish eye with fire... That’s certainly unheard of."
The yin-yang fish mentioned here isn’t the Tai Chi symbol. It’s an animal with a white left eye and a black right eye, and its body is covered with intertwined black and white patterns. That’s how it got its name.
Chen Moxiang, listening on the side, burst out laughing with a ’pfft.’ Roasting the fish eye? Like a barbecue?
"Sorry... I didn’t mean to." Chen Moxiang said apologetically.
"It’s okay, I also find this method quite amusing," Mr. Tang chuckled. The Tang Family has played with all kinds of herbs, even doing the Shennong tasting hundred herbs thing. But roasting fish eyes... It sounds so random.
At first, Lin Tian also found it strange, but once he learned the reason, he understood.
"Here’s how it is. The origin of the yin-yang fish is quite unique; they like to live in groups at water sources near volcanoes. Fire and water are two extremes, only they could nurture such an extreme species. The reason for roasting with fire is due to the fish living in water; even by a volcano, their nature is still water-based. If roasted with fire, the yin-yang fish eyes will merge into the Tai Chi symbol, which activates the medicinal properties."
Sixth Elder and Mr. Tang listened with great interest, then nodded and sighed, "Makes sense, makes sense; it’s us elders who are ignorant. But these yin-yang fish... We don’t have any in our medicine inventory; they need catching."
"No problem, we can send people to catch them. Although this species is rare, once you understand its habits, it’s actually quite easy to catch," Lin Tian said.
"Yes, I understand. Also, this Chrysanthemum Spirits, we don’t have in the medicine inventory either..."
Lin Tian shrugged, "There’s nothing I can do about that; I only sell the formula. Whether you can gather everything is up to you, the buyer."
Mr. Tang suddenly laughed and said, "We, the Tang Family, do have some Chrysanthemum Spirits. What’s left on this formula is just a pair of yin-yang fish eyes. Young man, your business is losing money. We haven’t paid a penny, yet we’ve seen the formula, ha ha ha..."
Lin Tian shook his head with a smile, throwing cold water on it, "Mr. Tang, you’re happy too soon. Don’t you think the formula is missing something?"
"Missing what?"
Just after asking, Mr. Tang said, "Don’t tell me, let me look for myself. We, Tang Family members, love to delve into this kind of thing!"
The two of them went over it carefully from top to bottom, and finally Mr. Tang exclaimed, "I figured it out! The formula has everything except the final step for forming the pill!"
Sixth Elder glanced at it again and suddenly understood.
Wasn’t it just missing the step for forming the pill? The final step was not included in the formula at all.
No wonder it took them so long to find out; the entire pill recipe was so naturally complete that the lack of the final forming step created a false sense of perfection.
Lin Tian nodded with a smile, "Exactly, it’s forming the pill. Earlier, I mentioned that this pill requires an Alchemy Furnace, but the formula doesn’t even mention an Alchemy Furnace. How could it be complete?"
Mr. Tang smiled wryly and said, "Old Six, we thought he was the fool, but we’re the fools in the end."
"Of course, the final details for forming the pill will be fully shared after purchasing the formula. But before that, don’t attempt the last step lightly; the timing, heat, and many details are critical. If one isn’t done right, all efforts are wasted, and rushing to consume it would have unpredictable consequences."
Lin Tian smiled at the two old men in front of him, "You two can experiment. Success or failure has nothing to do with me."
Both smiled wryly, as if this could be easily attempted. Not to mention anything else, just the waste of medicine would pain them for several days.
"Your formula, if practiced according to your steps, what’s the success rate?"
The Sixth Elder asked, which was a very critical question. Alchemy differs from dispensing medicine; it has success rates.
"To be honest, if two high-level Martial Artists practice together, there’s an 80% success rate," Lin Tian said.
"Eighty percent..."
The two were again shocked; this 80% is not something simply said. You know, in Luoyan Dock and other family clans, the success rate of various pills is just 60%.
"Young man... Are you sure it’s really that high?" Mr. Tang wanted to confirm again.
Lin Tian nodded, "Definitely! You can see it from the formula: for example, after the yin-yang fish eye is roasted, there’s the complementarity of Chrysanthemum Spirits and Kui Ming; all these risks are neutralized. The remaining 20% is mostly the alchemy process if the finer points aren’t handled well."
Both were people with decades of experience in medicine and alchemy, beyond professional; they could tell if Lin Tian was speaking the truth just by looking.
"Young man, please wait a moment here. Let me and Old Tang discuss the authenticity of your formula."
Lin Tian nodded with a smile, "Sure."
The two old men stood up, and before leaving, Mr. Tang left a remark: "Fill the tea! Fill good tea!"
After they left, Mr. Yang also went out to prepare. Shortly after, he returned with two young women dressed in simple Tang suits, revealing smooth calves and walking gracefully.
These two beauties clearly received professional training, far superior in tea art than Lin Tian.
They first set up a tea table, then brought boiling water and tea sets, and began busying themselves.
Warming cups, waking the tea, brewing. Their movements were beautifully elegant, their posture graceful, extremely skilled, making it a delight to watch.
After the tea was brewed, the two young women respectfully served tea to Lin Tian and Chen Moxiang, then stood elegantly to the side, waiting to refill the tea.
Lin Tian, having received professional training from Zhao Xuefeng, still knew the basics of tea tasting.
First, he smelled its fragrance, observed its color, then took a small sip. Slowly savoring, after swallowing, there was still a sweet aftertaste in his throat.
"Good tea, good water." Lin Tian sighed.
Actually, he was just a beginner in tea culture, didn’t know much, could only say these words.
But the two women standing by mistook his tea tasting posture as someone knowledgeable about tea. One of the beauties, with slender brows and big eyes, laughed and said, "This water is from the spring behind Luoyan Dock’s Guangling Mountain, drawn less than two hours ago."
"The tea is also from the trees behind Guangling Mountain, called Guangling Tea, treasured by the elder."
Lin Tian listened, feeling in the clouds, knowing only that if this tea were sold, it would be expensive, sighed again, "Good tea, good water. By the way... ladies, I prefer brewing myself, savoring by myself. Why don’t you take a break first?"
The two women bowed slightly, smiling, "Okay, sir. If you need anything else, just call for us."