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Chapter 200 “Superior Quality VS Superior Quality”
Chapter 200 “Superior Quality VS Superior Quality”
Chapter 200 “Superior Quality VS Superior Quality”
Anything below a third grade Dan pill wasn’t hard to create by any means, but a red pattern one on the other hand was a totally different story.
“Princess Yue, this is a Hundred Fragrance Dan pill which I normally carry around with me. I like to ask you to recreate this.” A cunning light flickers across her eye like a fox.
A normal fragrance Dan pill was one of the most sought-after items used by the female sex in the noble class. Requiring ten types of flower to create, it will start emulating a wonderful smell for the user like a perfume except it’s not as pungent.
Ordinarily, a regular one without any color markings will last over three days while a blue one can last for half a month. As for a yellow one, this version was a bit harder to create and will last for a month before the smell starts deteriorating.
Naturally, Lady Yao’s red version was even rarer that it’s to the point of being exotic. Requiring over a hundred flowers to create, the fragrance itself doesn’t dissipate at all. Instead, it will slowly seep into the person’s body and change the user’s constitution until they themselves start emulating a natural sweet scent like the flowers. It can be said this Hundred Fragrance Dan pill was the ultimate aphrodisiac perfume, hence the reason why the king held such strong feelings for the woman. This Dan pill played a crucial role in that effect.
Under normal circumstances, Lady Yao would never flaunt this item in front of anyone for it’s one of her trump cards. But to achieve her goal of becoming a court alchemist today, she can only bring it out to assure her victory. This wasn’t the woman being complacent here, it’s just the fact. Imagine extracting over a hundred flowers for their essence, not something easy to manage especially for Ling Yue who’s still a four-cauldron alchemist.
“Lady Yao, mind lending me the Dan pill so I can have a closer look?” Instead of retreating like how the woman expects, Ling Yue went on the offensive and gone completely out of script.
Naturally, Yao Yao wouldn’t back down either if a little girl was going to challenger her. Handing over the pill, she places the item in Ling Yue’s hand with confidence in her cunning eyes.
After a short visual examination – to the crowd anyways – Ling Yue went ahead and gave the order to the dowager’s trusted maid. One hundred flower names on her list, no less, no more.
As if a measly Hundred Fragrance Dan pill can stump our girl. With the cheating spirit smoke in hand, the entire makeup of the pill was broken down perfectly in Ling Yue’s mind.
Like any third grade pill, the fragrance Dan pill brought out by Yao Yao wasn’t hard to create, what’s hard was gathering the necessary ingredients. A hundred fresh flowers, not an easy number to collect in late autumn where most flowers had withered by now.
If their location were anywhere else inside the kingdom, Ling Yue might have been stumped for a solution for not even her cauldron can make something out of nothing. However, this was the palace, a place of abundance and wealth.
Aside from the royal garden where there’s plenty of flowers still in bloom despite the late season, there’s also several greenhouses acting as reserves for the winter season.
A while later after Ling Yue wrote down her order sheet, an old maid returns with a collection of freshly collected ingredients. All of which still fresh from being cut just minutes ago.
“Hold on. Forgive me, but why don’t we have Princess Yue showcase her refining skills in front of us all instead?” Lady Yao calls out just when Ling Yue was about to enter the cauldron room.
The fact that the young lass managed to produce so many yellow pattern Dan pill was very suspicious, hence the reason why Yao Yao proposed this idea. She wants to witness the feat in person for she’s never heard of a four-cauldron alchemist doing something so amazing. Perhaps it might even be Master Longyu secretly dabbling his hands in the matter.
Now, if she can make the girl openly work in front of the crowd then there’s no chance of foul play.
“Since Lady Yao wishes to see my refining skills then I can’t say no to that. I be happy to oblige.” Graceful in her words, Ling Yue smoothly spins herself around and sweeps the ingredients into the air like an old master. In succession, she manipulates each and every flower with her spirit force and creates a vortex of glorious color.
Red, green, blue, yellow, the scene can only be called magnificent from the outside. Like the twinkling snowflakes within a winter’s night, the only difference here were that the fluttering ice was instead flower pedals.
It didn’t take long for Ling Yue to draw the essence fluids out, but as the force and speed increased, so does the intensity of the air in the room. It’s heavy, so heavy that it’s suffocating to those without cultivation.
Swirling around like a trickling stream, a tiny line of fluid converges upon the giant cauldron in the middle of the room at her will. Then with a snap of her finger, Ling Yue causes an explosive burst of searing red flame to ignite from below the big container. Towards the abrupt blast of heat, even the old dwarf took a step back like a reflex.
Towards this magnificent display of control and power, what more can Lady Yao say? For those without any insight of the difficulty involved, like the dowager for example, there’s only shock and surprise. Such a shame.
What came next after extracting the essence was the actual combining and hardening process inside the cauldron. Fortunately this segment wasn’t difficult at all. About an hour, that’s all it took for Ling Yue to form the Dan pill after controlling the heat.
“FORM!” At her word, two beady looking objects shot out like a radiant star from within the cauldron. The glow so dazzling that it was blinding. As harsh as it was for the crowd to directly peer at the pills, there’s only one thing they’re certain of, it’s a red glow!!
Then not long after, the whole room became filled with an intense aroma that superseded even the one from Lady Yao’s purse. Unlike the first, this new smell was refreshing and soothing. Just one whiff, that’s all they needed to feel like they are basking in the warm breeze of a summer day.
Reaching out her hands, Ling Yue flexes her spirit force to the limit and directs it all to the pills currently making an attempt to fly out of the room. Then with one heavy tug, she sucks both the pills into the grasp of her palm.
Unlike Lady Yao’s fragrance pill, these two weren’t transparent with only a red marking in the middle. The two created here were completely red like crystals, or more accurately, they are like rubies. A pair of rubies with outlying markings all over the surface!
When the ruby Dan pills were placed before Lady Yao for inspection, not even she can keep herself calm. That jaw dropped so low that its almost abnormal.
Compared to her own, these two new pills were practically identical to the one in her pocket, the only exception was that glossy surface like a ruby. As much as she wants to point that difference out, Yao Yao herself knew that the silly claim would fall on deaf ears. In fact, it would be the same as asking for another humiliation.
How can this be! This little tramp actually produced two Hundred Fragrance Dan pill, and it’s even better than the one I have! That’s impossible~!
Despite the entire room being filled with an overflowing amount of sweet scent, Lady Yao can’t smell any of it. Rather, that smell was nauseating to her nose.
“Wonderful, absolutely wonderful! Ling Yue my girl, I never expected your refining skill to be so astonishing.” The dowager claps her hand, applauding the girl for the feat. How can she not when even the king was now looking at Ling Yue in a different light?
“Lady Yao, what’s your opinion on these two, are they up to the same standard as the one in your purse?” Ling Yue asks with a delighted smile.
Naturally Yao Yao couldn’t say a thing against that question. In her mind, not even “that” person would be able to find fault in these two pills. Its simply too perfect.
“Next up should be Lady Yao’s turn. I’m sure her grace knows I’m but a four-cauldron alchemist so I have nothing amazing to bring out. As for my specialty, I’m most adept at refining an elixir called Vitality Condensing Liquid.” From her smooth red lips, Ling Yue states the name.
Vitality Condensing Liquid?
Isn’t that a lowly first grade elixir?
For a moment there, Yao Yao thought she was hallucinating and heard the girl wrong.
Something like the Vitality Condensing Liquid did sell for a pretty penny back in Autumn Maple Town, but in the capital of Da Xia, the elixir can only be called mediocre. Stuff one would find in a street stall.
Unless one was a soldier of the lowest rank in the army, or a peasant, they wouldn’t consider this product at all.
Instantly, Lady Yao found herself wanting to laugh at the irony of this scene.
Like the woman, the dowager also grew anxious and kept directing her old friend with her winks. She wanted to stop Ling Yue from choosing such an item because even she knew how poor quality the elixir was.
Keeping quiet and unmoving despite the strong gaze coming his way, Longyu seems to be struggling to decide. To stop Ling Yue, or not to stop her.
Common sense was telling him the decision to pick the elixir had to be a mistake, but at the same time his instincts are telling him to trust the girl. Through all the time they spent working together in the past, Longyu knows full well how capable and cunning this apprentice of his can be. No way the girl would propose something so outlandish without a plan in mind.
It’s exactly like the old dwarf thought. The Vitality Condensing Liquid was the first elixir ever produced by Ling Yue, also her most fluent one. Unlike all the other recipes in her possession, Ling Yue can confidently say she had gone through the process no less than a thousand times. That’s more than what most people would ever do in their entire lifetime!
Even now, Ling Yue would often hand some of these elixirs out to the new members of her Ghost Sect.
Taking out a bottle of the stuff from her pocket, she didn’t think twice and tossed it over to lady Yao for inspection.