Lin Yifan quickly entered the zone, beginning to contemplate the characteristics, efficacy, refinement temperature, and so on of each herb.

Soon, he figured out which herbs could be paired and combined together.

He discovered that sandalwood and Albizia bark had similar refinement temperatures and their medicinal properties were compatible with each other, showing no conflict, which allowed for their combination in refinement. The refinement temperatures of both these ingredients were very high, so he placed them first in the refinement sequence.

Afterward, he found out that Ziziphus seed and Platycladus seed were compatible in medicinal properties, allowing them to be refined together. Their refinement temperatures were lower than those of sandalwood and Albizia bark, so in order not to disrupt the structure of their medicinal properties, he placed them second in the refinement sequence.

With the remaining four herbs, he thought that Valerian root, Polygonum vine, and Polygala could be mixed and refined together, though the medicinal properties of Valerian root easily degraded when exposed to high temperatures, so he might need to use more during refinement.

The last to be refined was Lingzhi. Lingzhi had its peculiarities; it neither blended with the medicinal properties of the other seven herbs nor favored high temperatures, and its refinement time would be longer, so he placed it last in the refinement process.

After arranging the herb combinations and refinement sequence, the next step was to start calculating the refinement temperatures and durations for each step.

As the refinement temperatures for sandalwood and Albizia bark were close and there were no special conditions, he took the average of both temperatures for refinement.

Sandalwood and Albizia bark were difficult herbs to extract medicinal properties from, so he set aside twenty-five minutes for their refinement.

For the second step, the conditions for Ziziphus seed and Platycladus seed were somewhat special; the medicinal properties of Platycladus seed could easily volatilize at high temperatures, while there were no special conditions for Ziziphus seed; thus, the refinement temperature had to be set at that of Platycladus seed.

Both herbs were hard granular substances, not easily stewed, so he set aside twenty minutes for their cooking.

The third step was even more complex involving Valerian root, Polygonum vine, and Polygala.

The medicinal properties of Valerian root degraded quickly at high temperatures, so the refinement temperature definitely should not exceed the temperature at which its properties degraded too much.

Polygonum vine needed to reach a certain temperature to release its medicinal properties; thus, the temperature should not be too low.

Polygala, combining the characteristics of the previous two, had the same temperature for the release and volatilization of its medicinal properties; so during refinement, the temperature had to be equal or exceed its refinement temperature but not by too much.

Combining the characteristics of the three, Lin Yifan chose a temperature higher than the refinement temperature of Polygala; however, at this temperature, he had to increase the amount of Valerian root and Polygala, because this temperature was higher than the temperature at which the medicinal properties of Valerian root and Polygala volatilized.

Since these three herbs easily stewed to release their medicinal properties, Lin Yifan allocated only ten minutes for their refinement.

The fourth step involved the refinement of Lingzhi. This step seemed relatively simple but actually concealed risks.

The refinement temperature for Lingzhi needed to be higher than that for the mixture of Valerian root, Polygonum vine, and Polygala but lower than that for Ziziphus seed and Platycladus seed.

Using the refinement temperature of Lingzhi to refine Lingzhi was not feasible; it would destroy the medicinal properties of Valerian root and Polygala.

Luckily, the temperature required for the release of medicinal properties in Lingzhi was relatively low, so he had no choice but to select a temperature lower than that for the mixture of Valerian root, Polygonum vine, and Polygala.

Since the required refinement temperature could not be met, he had to simmer it slowly; thus, he set aside thirty minutes to refine the Lingzhi alone.

Why not simply move Lingzhi to the third step of the refinement? Because the medicinal properties of Lingzhi conflicted with sandalwood, Albizia bark, Ziziphus seed, and Platycladus seed, which would destroy the structure of these four herbs' medicinal properties. However, once the medicinal properties of Valerian root, Polygonum vine, and Polygala were stewed, they would integrate the medicinal properties of the first four herbs, changing the combined structure, and thus could blend with the medicinal properties of Lingzhi.

After arranging the combination of ingredients, sequence of addition, refinement temperatures, and refinement timings in his mind, Lin Yifan spoke outloud.

At this time, the clock read four minutes and thirty seconds, and he didn't have much time left. He had to finish his answer within the remaining thirty seconds.

"First, add sandalwood and Albizia bark, refinement temperature XX, duration twenty-five minutes..."

Finally, he managed to complete the entire refinement process in fifteen seconds.

After he finished answering, he collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath.

"Hehe!" Seeing this scene, the Peach Blossom Valley Venerable smiled faintly.

Lin Yifan's performance was beyond his expectations; he had thought that Lin Yifan would take more than five minutes, but it turned out that it had taken just over four minutes to answer, which was very good.

After catching his breath and calming his emotions, Lin Yifan asked eagerly, "Venerable! Did I answer correctly?"

"Basically, yes, but it's not perfect yet, you still need to continue working hard," the Peach Blossom Valley Venerable responded.

Although Lin Yifan's refinement process could produce Tranquilizing Pills, the quality of the pills would not be very high. The main reasons were the precision of the refinement duration and the temperature at each step, especially the duration, which was either too long or too short and could easily affect the quality of the elixir.

So if a perfect score was ten, he would give eight, and the remaining two points represented the room for improvement for Lin Yifan.

Nevertheless, Lin Yifan still surpassed the average alchemist.

This exam question, even if administered to a senior alchemist, might not be answered within the allotted time; thus, what Lin Yifan achieved was truly commendable.

Lin Yifan also knew his answer was not perfect, as his refinement durations were too systematic, making it difficult to perfectly extract each herb's potential. However, if he were given enough time, he was sure he could do better.

"Venerable, now that the order of ingredient addition and refinement duration are done, may I start learning your alchemy?" Lin Yifan asked with great anticipation.

However, the reply from the Peach Blossom Valley Venerable made him want to curse.

"No! There is one final comprehensive exam question. If you can complete this one, you may then become my disciple and learn my skills," the Peach Blossom Valley Venerable answered.

"#@￥@%&" Lin Yifan cursed frantically in his heart, venting his frustration.

"Is it that necessary to make learning alchemy so troublesome?"

Lin Yifan felt utterly speechless, but since he was the one asking for help, no matter how tough or tiring, he had to proceed.

Enduring a moment of calmness leads to a vast and open sea, stepping back opens a new horizon, the fruit of victory will ultimately be mine; I must learn alchemy!

The next moment, Lin Yifan immediately stood up from the ground and respectfully invited, "Please, Venerable, pose the question!"

Lin Yifan's resilience reassured the Peach Blossom Valley Venerable, who appreciated having such a young person unafraid of hardships as his successor.

"Please listen carefully. Now, I require you to independently mix ingredients, allocate time, and determine the sequence of refinement to produce a high-level elixir—Marrow Cleansing Pill—within two hours."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.