Chapter 2754 — An Angered Tian Canbian

"Oh?" Tian Canbian sank into thought at Kang Jingming's words. Only after a long while did he say, "In that case, the formula Wei Zhao gave us before must have been Zhang Lifeng's simplified, improved version of the Marrow-Cleansing and Bone-Refining Pill, and the other one was the formula for the true Marrow-Cleansing and Bone-Refining Pill. That has to be it!"

"Why do you say that?" Kang Jingming was taken aback. He had assumed that the formula Wei Zhao first handed over had been the flawed one, never expecting that it was in fact the one Zhang Lifeng had simplified and improved.

"This is only a guess of mine. The Marrow-Cleansing and Bone-Refining Pill of legend is a fourth-grade pill, while the formula you brought back before was a third-grade one. But it could be refined, so I never doubted it. Now that I think about it—if Zhang Lifeng could simplify and improve the formula for the Qi-Gathering Pill back then, why couldn't he do the same for the Marrow-Cleansing and Bone-Refining Pill?" Tian Canbian said.

"That makes sense. But Young Sect Master, why would his improved version carry a flaw?" Kang Jingming was still puzzled.

"Lower the difficulty of refining, and a flaw is inevitable," Tian Canbian said. "Isn't the Qi-Gathering Pill the same? The true Qi-Gathering Pill ought to be a Profound-tier first-grade pill; I hear it has no side effects at all—the user can still absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to cultivate. But the improved Qi-Gathering Pill, though it has become a third-grade pill, leaves its user unable to absorb spiritual energy anymore. The only way to advance is to keep taking more Qi-Gathering Pills."

"So that's how it is. Young Sect Master, you truly are perceptive—you saw through the principle at a glance. And here I was thinking Wei Zhao had deliberately set a trap for me!" Kang Jingming said in sudden enlightenment.

"A trap... If he really could alter pill formulas at will just to trap people, then we'd gladly be trapped. To lose to someone like that would be no disgrace. But I don't think it's possible," said Tian Canbian, unconvinced that Wei Zhao possessed such ability. Since Zhang Lifeng, he had never heard of anyone else who could freely improve and simplify pill formulas.

Such reasoning was only natural for Tian Canbian. Alchemists, though thoroughly versed in pharmacology, were nowhere near as skilled as the top physicians—and those top physicians could not refine pills, so naturally they could never alter a pill formula.

To be both a divine physician and an alchemist—in a thousand years, only one Zhang Lifeng had ever appeared. After all, a person's energy is limited; who could devote himself to alchemy and to the medical arts at the same time? This was also why alchemists generally had so little combat strength: they had poured everything into alchemy and had neither the time nor the inclination to practice martial techniques. Above all, a single round of pill refining consumed most of one's physical strength and true qi—where would the energy come from to cultivate anything else?

Wei Zhao, however, was a special case. From childhood, Old Man Wei had crammed the medical arts into him in that mad, merciless, force-feeding way, and later, in the ancient tomb, he had received Zhang Lifeng's true transmission. Even if the present Wei Zhao still fell short of the original Zhang Lifeng, in theory at least he was not far behind—only that his experience and breadth of knowledge were still somewhat lacking.

"That's true enough. Young Sect Master, may I go back now?" Kang Jingming did not want to stay here a moment longer. He had come to put on airs before Wei Zhao, and instead had been frightened half to death by the man, and had even agreed to something rather unflattering to the Kang family. Naturally he wanted to return as quickly as possible.

"Yes. Send the formula back to my email inbox. While you're in Donghai you can visit your relatives—come back when that's done," Tian Canbian said.

"Understood. Thank you, Young Sect Master," Kang Jingming answered hurriedly.

After hanging up, Tian Canbian felt a faint pang of disappointment. A fourth-grade formula after all—which made it rather worthless. Within the Xuan Dan Sect, no one could refine a fourth-grade pill; not even Patriarch Xuan Zhen could.

And on the phone just now, as Young Sect Master, Tian Canbian naturally could not vent his pleasure or anger in front of Kang Jingming. He was merely rather irritated: this Wei Zhao, whom he had never even met, had actually played him for a fool!

Wei Zhao must have known that this formula was a fourth-grade one. And knowing it, he had still dared to open his mouth so greedily and demand a third-grade pill from him—the sheer effrontery of it, taking him for an idiot!

Then again, on second thought, Wei Zhao was no alchemist—could he even know the difference between third-grade and fourth-grade pills? But if he did not know, could Han Jingyi—or rather, Leader Bai—fail to know? The more Tian Canbian thought about it, the more he concluded that Wei Zhao was simply rotten to the core. He had committed that name to memory and meant to teach him a lesson when the chance came.

When Patriarch Xuan Zhen received the formula, he took it rather calmly. After reading it through, he sighed and ventured, "The step added to this formula must be precisely the flaw that existed in the earlier version. Back then, Patriarch Zhang Lifeng simplified the formula so that more people could refine it—but it came with this flaw."

"Master, then now... what should we..." Tian Canbian asked cautiously.

No one knew that Patriarch Xuan Zhen actually had a disciple—and that this disciple was none other than Tian Canbian! Few in the Xuan Dan Sect knew of this, and in the Five Luminaries Sect, Patriarch Xuan Zhen alone knew it!

No wonder Patriarch Xuan Zhen kept such close ties with the Xuan Dan Sect—now it made sense. So this was the connection between them.

Only when no outsiders were present did Tian Canbian address Patriarch Xuan Zhen as "Master." At all other times, he did as everyone else and respectfully called him "Patriarch" or "Patriarch Xuan Zhen."

"There's nothing to be done. Even if I could refine this formula, there's no original Marrow-Cleansing and Bone-Refining Pill left to take. Kang Jingming will have to refine it first, and after I've taken it, I can continue refining..." Patriarch Xuan Zhen was a man who could take things up and set them down with equal ease. He smiled and said, "Never mind. It was a windfall to begin with—no point in forcing it. Withdraw for now; I want to think alone..."

"Yes, Master!" Tian Canbian cupped his hands in salute and withdrew from Patriarch Xuan Zhen's room.

Kang Jingming left, taking Kang Jinglong with him. They had no face to remain in Leader Bai's office any longer. Fortunately, Kang Jingming had completed the Xuan Dan Sect's task this time, which counted as barely securing his footing. Returning to the Kang family once more, he could be said to have come home in silken robes, a triumphant return.

Wang Xinyan had been sitting on the sofa the whole time without saying a word, yet her heart was a tangle of complex emotions and endless sighs. She had never expected Wei Zhao to make such demands of Kang Jingming. It seemed that in Wei Zhao's heart, she mattered a great deal!

Otherwise, at the very beginning, when Wei Zhao had agreed to give Kang Jingming the formula simply to cure her illness, he had not raised a single condition—which in itself showed just how important she was in Wei Zhao's heart.