Chapter 109: Alchemy Master (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 109: Alchemy Master (1)
Seo-jun strode into the Heavenly Medicine Hall alongside Chun-bong and Namgung Su-ah, radiating an air of quiet confidence.
He hadn't even known this place existed, though that wasn't particularly surprising.
The Namgung Clan estate was massive. Far more than just a "large manor," it dwarfed most villages. It was the kind of sprawling compound where a person could easily get lost if they wandered aimlessly. Since Seo-jun rarely ventured past his usual haunts, he hadn't seen even a tenth of the estate's buildings.
Hence, his guide for the day.
"The Heavenly Medicine Hall handles almost everything related to spirit herbs within the clan," Namgung Su-ah explained, playing the role of their local tour guide.
"Oh."
The Heavenly Medicine Hall wasn't just a single building. The entire district spread out before them belonged to the hall.
Seeing Seo-jun look around in awe, Namgung Su-ah chuckled softly.
"We don't just process spirit herbs brought in from the outside. All of the clan's alchemy techniques are archived here. Sometimes, we even develop new ones."
"Like that... Azure Heaven Pellet from before?"
"Exactly. The Azure Heaven Pellet is a spirit elixir developed by the Namgung Clan in the past."
As they listened to Su-ah’s polite explanation, Chun-bong—who had been gawking at her surroundings like a toddler on a field trip—suddenly pointed a finger.
"There's a person over there."
At the end of her fingertip lay something... roughly human-shaped.
"Whoa... what is that?"
It was a body sprawled face-down in the dirt. It wasn't a corpse just yet, but to Seo-jun’s discerning eyes, it looked like it was about to evolve into one at any moment.
"Oh my? Hall Master?"
Namgung Su-ah hurried over and knelt beside the body. After examining it for a brief moment, she gently shook its shoulder.
"Hall Master, you shouldn't sleep out here."
"Too noisy... I'm the Hall Master... I can sleep wherever I want..."
"Hall Master? Um, we have guests..."
"Guests...?"
The 'corpse' groggily lifted its head. Its hollow gaze shifted from Seo-jun, to Chun-bong, and finally landed on Namgung Su-ah.
"Gasp...! My Lady...!"
The swiftly resurrected corpse scrambled to his feet and bowed deeply.
"What brings you here...?"
"Seo-jun was curious about this place, so I received Father's permission to show him around."
"Ah, ahh... Seo-jun. Seo-jun... Ah, the Young Master!"
The Hall Master stared at Seo-jun with newfound curiosity and offered a light fist-and-palm salute.
"I am Namgung Yeong-bo, Master of the Heavenly Medicine Hall."
"Oh... right. I'm Lee Seo-jun."
"And I'm Chun-bong."
Namgung Yeong-bo watched Seo-jun and Chun-bong return the salute with a strange gleam in his eyes before his expression turned awkward.
"I apologize for my state when you've gone through the trouble of visiting. The Heavenly Medicine Hall has been incredibly busy lately. I'm afraid I won't be able to guide you personally..."
"Ah, it's alright. I was planning to act as their guide anyway."
"I see... Well, I don't have any time to dawdle."
After offering another brief bow, Namgung Yeong-bo hurried away. He looked like a man buried under a mountain of work.
"Noona," Seo-jun muttered.
"Yes?"
"Does the Namgung Clan usually overwork its people to the bone? That man looks like he'd drop dead if I just poked him."
"It's not usually like this... but I heard they're in the final stages of developing a new spirit elixir. They've been incredibly busy."
"Oh? A new spirit elixir?"
Seo-jun’s eyes sparkled with interest. Chun-bong mirrored his expression.
"Hey, Geum."
"What is it, Lee?"
"Doesn't this sound like fun?"
"Hmm, good idea."
The two exchanged a glance and nodded in unison.
"Let's go!"
Watching the two of them boldly tail Namgung Yeong-bo, Namgung Su-ah offered a troubled smile.
"Um... I hope they don't get in his way."
However, despite Seo-jun’s seemingly reckless demeanor, he surprisingly adhered to most rules. With a soft sigh, Namgung Su-ah hurried after them.
* * *
They arrived at the alchemy room, one of the most vital facilities within the Heavenly Medicine Hall. The moment they stepped inside, a pungent, peculiar odor assaulted them.
"Ugh..."
Chun-bong pinched her nose and grimaced.
It smelled fishy yet bitter, and just when a sweet note hit the air, a salty tang immediately followed. The blend of scents was so chaotic that her nose couldn't even begin to adapt. Working here meant enduring this sensory assault all day long.
Furthermore, a stifling wave of heat washed over them the deeper they went. It was abundantly clear this wasn't a place meant for lingering.
"My Lady?"
Namgung Yeong-bo looked utterly bewildered to see the group trailing behind him.
"I'm sorry. They were curious about the alchemy process... We won't be a bother, so would it be alright if we just watched for a moment?"
"Ah, yes. Go right ahead."
Namgung Yeong-bo quickly wiped the lingering discomfort from his face. Since the Family Head had explicitly given his permission, there was no reason to worry about their alchemy techniques leaking.
After all, these were the Young Master and the Lady of the Namgung Clan. As long as they didn't show a blatant, prying interest in the clan's core secret techniques, it wouldn't be an issue.
"You! Throw that batch out and start over! Why are you hanging onto something that's already ruined?!"
"Yes, sir!"
Namgung Yeong-bo immediately tuned Seo-jun’s group out, throwing himself back into his grueling work.
The hurdle they were currently struggling to overcome was the optimization of their new alchemy method. The foundational formula was complete, but the execution difficulty was so absurdly high that it was nearly impossible for a human to perform. Thus, they were trapped in a cycle of endless adjustments.
Preparing the ingredients and processing them wasn't particularly difficult. The bottleneck lay at the final stage: the delicate process of adding the ingredients in perfect sequence and weaving their properties together in absolute harmony.
The Heaven-Man Divine Elixir currently under development demanded that the ambient Qi be guided into a highly specific structure at the precise moment of fusion. To achieve this, the alchemist had to manually weave a flow using their own internal energy.
There was absolutely no room for even a hair's breadth of error.
It required the exact timing, the exact volume of internal energy, the exact force, direction, and form.
Furthermore, because the internal Qi structure required for the Heaven-Man Divine Elixir was so monstrously complex, they hadn't produced a single successful batch yet.
Drip. Drip.
Sweat poured down Namgung Yeong-bo’s face and soaked his robes.
His skill in stirring the giant cauldron while meticulously weaving his internal energy was undeniably impressive, but...
Bloop.
The moment a single, large, murky bubble rose and popped on the surface, Namgung Yeong-bo squeezed his eyes shut.
"I'm done! I'm not doing this anymore! This godforsaken trash! Who the hell came up with this recipe?! Come out here right now!"
His anger finally boiling over, Namgung Yeong-bo started jumping up and down in sheer frustration.
A subordinate hall member, Yang Song-baek, spoke up cautiously.
"The one who designed the framework was you, Hall Master."
"Do you think I'm asking because I don't know that?!"
"No, you just asked, so I..."
"You little brat! Come to think of it, you went home early by yourself last time, didn't you?! Should we settle this once and for all today?!"
"Um, Hall Master? We have guests, so if you act like this..."
Ah.
Having momentarily forgotten his audience, Namgung Yeong-bo stiffly glanced at their guests. Fortunately, they didn't seem to be paying much attention to his embarrassing outburst.
The Young Master was examining the failed cauldron with curious eyes, while the other two girls were staring intently at him.
Is there something in there?
Namgung Yeong-bo approached and peered inside the cauldron. There was nothing special. It was just another blackened failure.
"Um, Young Master?"
"Ah, Hall Master."
Seo-jun noticed Namgung Yeong-bo approaching and pointed casually at the cauldron.
"Why did you do it like this? I think I have a general idea of what you're trying to achieve, but isn't this process overly complicated?"
It was a rudimentary question, but that was only natural. Most martial artists knew next to nothing about alchemy.
Namgung Yeong-bo wiped the stinging sweat from his eyes and sighed.
"It is far too complex... but the process itself holds meaning. There's no other way to do it."
"Is that so? I don't think it necessarily has to be done this way..." Seo-jun tilted his head. "Do you mind if I give it a try?"
Namgung Yeong-bo’s eyebrows twitched. He really didn't have time to humor a young master's sudden whims.
In truth, a small delay wouldn't cause a disaster. But after laboring on this project for nearly ten years, he couldn't help but feel incredibly impatient now that the finish line was finally in sight.
Just as Namgung Yeong-bo opened his mouth to refuse, Namgung Su-ah spoke up.
"Hall Master, could you let him try just once? I'm sorry for the trouble... but you never know, right?"
Namgung Su-ah offered a faint, gentle smile.
Struck by that radiant sight, Namgung Yeong-bo instantly regained his inner peace and found himself nodding before he even realized it.
"Yes. If the Lady says so."
Seo-jun marveled quietly at the scene playing out before him.
Oh...
She really was the idol of the Namgung Clan.
He didn't know the exact reason why, but Namgung Su-ah’s popularity within the clan bordered on religious worship. If she said she was too lazy to reach for a cup and asked someone to fetch her water, most disciples would probably weep tears of joy to serve her.
It was a bizarre phenomenon. Just how did she pull that off?
* * *
Seo-jun received a brief rundown of the alchemy method for the Heaven-Man Divine Elixir.
He didn't pay much attention to the ingredient preparation or the preliminary treatments. Since the groundwork for this batch was already finished, he only needed to focus on the final step.
It definitely is complicated.
Seo-jun nodded slightly as he listened to how the internal energy was supposed to act during the refinement process.
The underlying concept was actually closer to sorcery than traditional martial arts. However, since he had learned sorcery early on—albeit through highly unorthodox means—he had absolutely no trouble understanding the theory.
Roughly speaking, it required using his own internal energy to guide the Qi inside the elixir, forcing it to draw a specific Five Elements Formation.
The problem was that this particular Five Elements Formation was freakishly complex. There could be zero hesitation in the timing while placing the elemental nodes and connecting the tangled, twisted pathways between them.
"It will likely be difficult to achieve any meaningful results on your first try," Namgung Yeong-bo warned gently. "However... even I, the Hall Master, can barely manage half of the process, so there's no need to feel any pressure."
"Okay."
Without a single hint of nervousness, Seo-jun stepped up to the quietly simmering cauldron.
It was certainly a complex and unforgiving process. From the moment his internal energy made contact, even a microscopic mistake would result in total failure.
But that was all it was.
Compared to the Primordial Unity Divine Art, this is actually on the easier side.
Seo-jun utilized his art without much difficulty, but the Primordial Unity Divine Art was a technique that even a peerless martial arts genius like Geum Chun-bong didn't dare attempt. The alchemy method for the Heaven-Man Divine Elixir honestly wasn't anywhere near that level of absurdity.
Because of that, his own success was a given. What he really needed to consider now was the optimization of the method. He had to lower the difficulty ceiling enough so that people other than himself could actually succeed at brewing it.
He didn't think it would be particularly hard.
Honestly, I'm more curious about why they can't do this.
Regardless, he figured he'd get a proper feel for the bottleneck once he tried brewing it the standard way.
"I'm starting."
Seo-jun extended his hand and placed it over the simmering cauldron.