Chapter 92: Refining Medicinal Pills
Seeing that one of the main attractions had left, the crowd of onlookers lost interest and dispersed.
Chen Dong and Qin Yun, however, waited where they were. Their position gave them a clear view of the Wanluo Auction's main entrance.
The old man entered the Wanluo Auction, but less than ten minutes later, he was thrown out by two guards in black.
One of the guards was still cursing, "You senile old fool! Didn't you hear Master Zhang? Your Red Ginseng is only worth two hundred thousand! It's old and wasn't preserved well. Are you crazy, asking for over a hundred million right off the bat?!"
The old man, still acting deranged, shouted, "This is a treasure! There's no way it's only worth two hundred thousand! A young man just offered me twenty million without even hesitating!"
The other guard sneered, "You didn't sell for twenty million? You really must have a screw loose!"
The sagely Master Zhang also walked out of the entrance, an exasperated smile on his face. "You should just leave. We at the Wanluo Auction can't afford to host a distinguished guest such as yourself. It's a Red Ginseng whose essence is already beginning to erode, yet you dare to set the starting bid at twenty million. You may not be afraid of being cursed out, but we at the Wanluo Auction are."
The old man now looked as if his own grandfather had just died.
After being shooed away by the two guards again, the old man staggered off.
But when he saw Chen Dong still standing in the same spot, his eyes lit up, and he hurried over.
"Young man! I'll sell you my family heirloom for twenty million!" the old man said directly, without even pausing to catch his breath.
Chen Dong ignored him, pretending to look at the scenery.
"Did you hear me? I've already agreed to sell it to you. Twenty million, it's a deal!" the old man said, as if it were a matter of course.
Chen Dong shot the old man a disdainful look and said flatly, "I don't want it."
"Then how much are you willing to pay?" the old man asked, starting to get anxious.
"I don't want it anymore!" Chen Dong said, then turned to Qin Yun with a raised eyebrow and a smile. "Let's go."
The old man hurriedly blocked their path. "Ten million! Just ten million!"
Chen Dong glanced at him coolly. "Old man, get out of the way!"
Not only did the old man refuse to move, he even grabbed Chen Dong's sleeve. "Five million! Take it for five million!"
Qin Yun was tempted and about to agree, but Chen Dong made a spitting gesture.
"Pah! I offered you twenty million just now, and you wouldn't sell. Now you want five million from me? What are you thinking? I'll tell you what, my offer is two hundred thousand!"
The old man thought it over and over, his face a mask of regret.
"Can't you add a little more? How about this, take it for two million!"
Before Chen Dong could speak, Qin Yun interjected anxiously, "One million. We won't pay a single cent more!"
Chen Dong hadn't planned on offering such a high price, wanting to teach the old man a lesson. But Qin Yun was eager, so in the end, they spent one million to buy the Red Ginseng.
When the old man received the bank transfer, he was kicking himself with regret. He could have gotten twenty million, but now he only had one million in hand.
With the Red Ginseng in hand, Chen Dong took Qin Yun to buy the supplementary medicinal herbs. A Red Ginseng must be a hundred years old to be called a Red Xuan Ginseng. This one was only eighty years old, so it would require more, and more expensive, supplementary herbs.
Fortunately, Chen Dong had the skill to use these supplementary herbs to compensate for the twenty-year age gap.
At the same time, Chen Dong also bought all the necessary herbs for the Star Luo Pills.
After buying the herbs, Chen Dong said he needed a place to process them.
So, Qin Yun took Chen Dong back to her family's villa.
The Qin Family villa was Villa No. 7 in Qianzhou City's Chenshan Villa District. It covered an area of over 1,200 square meters and was exquisitely and luxuriously decorated.
When Chen Dong and Qin Yun returned, carrying large and small bags, Sister Li happened to be showing a group of people around the villa.
Chen Dong didn't pay them much mind. He just asked for a suitable room and began his work.
And Chen Dong's Alchemy Furnace? It was a newly purchased, expensive rice cooker.
Times change, and the art of alchemy evolves with them. In alchemy, temperature control is of the utmost importance. The Star Luo Pills that Chen Dong wanted to refine and the Lung Rejuvenation Pills for Qin Baining both required relatively low temperatures, so a pricey rice cooker could meet the requirements.
Chen Dong first set out to refine the Lung Rejuvenation Pills for Qin Baining. The first step was to process the herbs. He used his True Qi to temper each one, removing impurities and retaining their essence. Then, following their medicinal properties, he added them to the rice cooker one by one. As the herbs condensed under the high heat, Chen Dong had to continuously infuse them with True Qi to merge them together.
This was all due to the lack of proper equipment. If he had a good Pill Furnace and the assistance of Earth Fire or some other special flame, Chen Dong wouldn't need to waste so much True Qi.
Three hours later, three black, shimmering, fingertip-sized pills remained in the rice cooker. The yield was only three pills because the main ingredient, the Red Ginseng, was not old enough and its essence had partially dissipated.
Chen Dong used the porcelain vials he had prepared beforehand, dividing the pills between two of them. He put two pills in one vial and one pill in the other.
A single Lung Rejuvenation Pill would be enough to heal Qin Baining's injuries.
Then, without rushing out, Chen Dong began to refine the Star Luo Pills.
The Star Luo Pills were even more troublesome to make. Chen Dong first turned the rice cooker to its highest setting, then began tempering the Star Luo Fruit. Only after the entire fruit was refined into a liquid state did he start to process the supplementary herbs.
With one hand, he used True Qi to stabilize the liquefied Star Luo Fruit; with the other, he used True Qi to temper the supplementary herbs. Furthermore, unlike with the Lung Rejuvenation Pills, he couldn't just toss all the supplementary herbs in at once. They had to be added in different stages, one by one...
Four hours later, as the sky began to darken, eight Star Luo Pills shimmering with starlight rested in Chen Dong's rice cooker.
The alchemy was complete, but Chen Dong shook his head, a hint of dissatisfaction on his face. He seemed to be not quite pleased with the results.