90: It looks convincing enough.

Jiang Donghua's eyes were fixed on the Medicine Cauldron, the eerie glow of the Green Flood Dragon Flame reflected in his pupils, his entire being captivated by the churning flames.

Mo Xuan's technique was exquisitely precise; each wisp of flame, like a living entity, accurately licked at every essence of the medicinal ingredients.

Under the high temperature, the cold heart grass transformed into a pool of icy blue spiritual liquid, while the Blazing Flame Fruit melted into a fiery red pulp. The two opposing energies slowly approached each other within the cauldron, probing, yet repelling each other.

"So that's it! Master is forcefully suppressing the medicinal conflict with fire, making them fuse!" Jiang Donghua murmured to himself, his heart filled with shock.

This method was extremely risky, but if successful, the medicinal power would become even purer due to the clash.

He watched, mesmerized, even forgetting to breathe, all his senses concentrated on the Medicine Cauldron, as if he himself were that wisp of Green Flood Dragon Flame, traversing between ice and fire.

However, just as the two medicinal liquids were about to touch—

"Chhh—!" A piercing, abnormal sound suddenly erupted!

Jiang Donghua shivered, and before he could react, the energy within the cauldron surged out of control like a wild horse!

"Boom—!!!" Amidst the deafening explosion, violent flames and icy power clashed madly. The entire Medicine Cauldron trembled violently, the flame patterns on its body twisting and struggling as if alive, on the verge of cracking apart!

Jiang Donghua instinctively took a step back, his heart nearly leaping into his throat.

It was going to explode!

Yet, at this critical moment, Mo Xuan still stood in place, not a trace of panic on his face, even with a faint, almost imperceptible smile?

"Boom—!" The rampant energy finally broke free, transforming into a scorching white and icy blue interwoven shockwave, slamming fiercely against the inner wall of the Medicine Cauldron!

"Buzz—!" The sixth-tier Medicine Cauldron vibrated violently, the runes on its body suddenly lighting up like an invisible giant net, forcefully locking the explosion's power within the cauldron!

But even so, a wisp of uncontrolled energy still overflowed, turning into a scorching hot wave that swept across the entire alchemy room!

Jiang Donghua subconsciously raised his hand to block, but saw Mo Xuan merely flick his sleeve, and the shockwave, powerful enough to knock a regular Dou Master flying, was casually dispersed by him like a gentle breeze!

A Dou Wang Expert, terrifying indeed!

After the smoke and dust cleared, only charred residue remained inside the Medicine Cauldron.

Mo Xuan slowly withdrew his hand, stroked his beard, which had been ruffled by the airwave, and still wore that enigmatic expression. The explosion of the cauldron just now was entirely within his expectations!

Jiang Donghua's eyes widened, his throat dry.

"M-Master, you...?"

Mo Xuan glanced at him, the corner of his mouth slightly upturned.

"What? Scared?"

Jiang Donghua: "..."

You Old Fox almost blew up the cauldron just now, and you can still be so calm?

Mo Xuan waved his sleeve, and the remaining ashes in the Medicine Cauldron were swept out by an invisible force, scattering into the waste pile in the corner of the alchemy room.

His expression was normal, as if the failure just now was merely a pre-designed teaching demonstration.

"See? This is what happens when you forcefully fuse conflicting medicinal properties without properly balancing the heat control."

He stroked his beard, saying with feigned profundity.

Jiang Donghua's mouth twitched, thinking, "This Old Fox, he blew up the cauldron and can still so righteously make excuses?"

However, he quickly realized that Mo Xuan's actions just now were indeed a bit unusual.

With his experience, how could he possibly make such a low-level mistake?

Unless... "Master, you couldn't have intentionally made a mistake in refining, just so I could clearly see what failure looks like, could you?" Jiang Donghua asked tentatively.

Mo Xuan raised an eyebrow, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes, but he snorted coldly from his mouth.

"Hmph, at least you, kid, have some discernment."

He raised his hand and waved, and the flames in the Medicine Cauldron ignited again. The Green Flood Dragon Flame spiraled upwards, transforming into a lifelike phantom of a flood dragon, swimming within the cauldron.

"In the path of alchemy, failure is more important than success."

Mo Xuan's tone became uncharacteristically serious.

"Many alchemists have a smooth sailing life, but once they encounter a cauldron explosion, they are lightly injured or even killed. Therefore, this Master specifically let you see today that failure is not terrible; what is terrible is not knowing why you failed."

Jiang Donghua's heart trembled, finally understanding his Master's intention.

"So, where was the problem just now?" He humbly asked for guidance.

Mo Xuan flicked his fingertip, and a wisp of flame outlined several trajectories in the air, simulating the previous medicinal material fusion process.

"cold heart grass and Blazing Flame Fruit, one ice and one fire, are inherently antagonistic. If you forcefully fuse them, you must first use a 'neutralizing medicine' to buffer them, otherwise, it will be like this."

He slammed his palms together, and the flame "bang" exploded, turning into scattered sparks.

Jiang Donghua nodded thoughtfully, then thought of another question.

"Then Master, why didn't you use a neutralizing medicine from the beginning?"

Mo Xuan's mouth curved slightly, revealing a meaningful smile.

"Because some lessons are only remembered more firmly when you've seen them with your own eyes."

Jiang Donghua: "..."

So, you Old Fox intentionally blew it up for me to see?!

Mo Xuan seemed very satisfied with his Disciple's reaction, laughed heartily, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Alright, that's all for today's lesson. Remember, alchemy is like cultivation: one wrong step, and you lose everything. But if you can comprehend the principle from it, then failure is even more valuable than success."

Jiang Donghua took a deep breath and nodded solemnly.

"This Disciple understands."

Mo Xuan stroked his beard contentedly, turned and walked towards the door, then turned back to add a sentence before leaving.

"Oh, right, starting tomorrow, learn more pill formulas; they'll be very useful when you travel the continent later!"

Jiang Donghua: "...?!"

As soon as Jiang Donghua went downstairs and the alchemy room door closed, the enigmatic expression on Mo Xuan's face instantly collapsed.

He scratched his head, his brows tightly furrowed, and muttered in a low voice, "This shouldn't be! This Old Fox used to refine it like this, so why did it explode today?"

He stroked his chin, carefully recalling every step just now: the heat control for the cold heart grass was fine, the refinement of the Blazing Flame Fruit was just right, and his control of the Green Flood Dragon Flame was superb... "Could it be that the medicinal materials were not the right age?"

He pulled out the remaining two sets of Dou Ling Pill ingredients, inspected them carefully, and after confirming they were correct, he became even more confused.

"Strange, could it be that this Old Fox is out of practice lately?"

At this thought, his old face couldn't help but flush.

Fortunately, he reacted quickly and acted convincingly enough!

If that kid Jiang Donghua had seen that he had truly failed in refining, and not "intentionally demonstrated the cauldron explosion," then his Master's authority would have been completely swept away!

"Tsk, good thing this Old Fox made excuses quickly, otherwise this image of an otherworldly expert, which was so hard to build, would have vanished into thin air!"

He shook his head, deciding to meditate and adjust his state first.

After all, the most important thing for an alchemist is their state of mind; if one is impetuous, even the best technique can easily go awry.

"It's fine, there are still two sets of Dou Ling Pill ingredients left; I'll refine them later when I'm in a good state!"

He sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and concentrated, his Dou Qi slowly circulating around him. The Green Flood Dragon Flame flickered in his palm, also adjusting its state.

Next time, he couldn't mess up again!