Jiang Chen's words left no room for courtesy whatsoever. He knew full well that speaking this way carried risk—what if Elder Danfu flew into a rage out of humiliation?
But ever since the day Jiang Chen first began studying alchemy, his mentor from his previous life had taught him a principle.
In alchemy, one must never practice deception. Alchemy is the pursuit of truth and the respect of truth.
Before anyone, in any situation, one must never lie. One must uphold the truth.
This principle, Jiang Chen had adhered to unwaveringly from the very first day he learned alchemy. No matter what authority he faced, no matter how important the person, he had always held to this conviction.
So despite the risk, the thought of lying never even crossed Jiang Chen's mind.
Elder Danfu's voice went silent for a long while before he let out a soft sigh and asked in a faint, ethereal tone: "Young man, you certainly dare to speak the truth. But daring to take the truth comes in many forms. Some speak from the heart because they simply cannot hold it back. Others say what they say deliberately to play up to the situation. Which kind are you?"
Jiang Chen replied solemnly: "From the very first day I studied alchemy, I understood that deception has no place in it. Truth is truth. Error is error."
"In that case, you believe this pill formula is truly deeply flawed?"
"Deeply flawed—absolutely deeply flawed!" Jiang Chen's tone was forthright and entirely unreserved.
"Explain." Elder Danfu, hearing such conviction in Jiang Chen's voice, found himself growing somewhat skeptical.
"First, the material composition and proportions of this pill formula are gravely wrong. The main ingredient is obviously present in excessive quantity. The miracle of this particular pill lies in the complementary balance between its ingredients. When the main ingredient is too abundant, it interferes with the auxiliary materials, preventing that complementary synergy from forming. As a result, the ingredients fail to achieve pharmacological resonance with one another. That is the first issue."
"There is another major error—the refinement method. This pill must be tempered over gentle heat, not seared over medium flame, let alone blasted over high fire."
"Furthermore, in the finer details—such as the order in which the spiritual medicine ingredients are added to the alchemy furnace—there are precise requirements as well. In my assessment, while the order here contains no catastrophic mistakes, minor errors are still present. If not handled properly, they will greatly diminish the quality of the finished pill."
Jiang Chen spoke at length with effortless confidence, rattling off each point as though counting treasures from his own collection. In that moment, he swiftly recaptured that sense of assurance, that feeling of bold vitality.
Elder Danfu listened as though enchanted, unable to come back to himself for a long time.
After a good while, Elder Danfu finally recovered and asked haltingly: "Young friend Jiang Chen, where did you learn all of this? Could your alchemy teacher truly have taught you such things?"
Elder Danfu himself had been a leading authority in this field during the ancient era. The question he had posed was actually a problem he himself had once encountered.
He had originally intended it as a test for Jiang Chen, with no real expectation that the young man could answer it. But Elder Danfu had never dreamed that Jiang Chen would not only answer, but do so with such thoroughness, covering virtually every major and minor issue in the formula.
Some of the insights even offered Elder Danfu new suggestions—hints that sparked fresh inspiration.
In that moment, Elder Danfu was truly stunned beyond words, and his favorable impression of Jiang Chen surged instantly. Clearly, deep in his heart, Elder Danfu was beginning to slowly open up to the young man.