The number of elixirs that can be refined simultaneously depends on the shortest time interval for each elixir’s hand seal and the time required for each set of hand seals.
Refining Lethal Powder only requires four sets of hand seals, with a time interval of 20 minutes, and each set of seals taking exactly 1 minute. If arranged tightly, even refining 20 elixirs simultaneously wouldn’t be a problem, though it would be too rushed.
So for safety’s sake, she originally planned to refine 12 elixirs while guiding 5 assistants simultaneously. Who would have thought that three Pill Masters wouldn’t participate in the alchemy.
If she had known there would be three fewer people, she would have found 3 more assistants.
Gu Xiyue listened to Gu Zhiqi’s reply and fell silent.
She had only been speculating, but upon hearing Gu Zhiqi’s answer firsthand, Gu Xiyue was still greatly surprised.
Refining 12 elixirs at once was something she had never heard of before.
Once the firewood and herbs were ready, alchemy could begin.
Gu Zhiqi first assigned positions to the assistants, then looked at the three of them, "You three, come over and learn the alchemy techniques first."
Upon hearing this, the three immediately ran over to Gu Zhiqi.
Gu Xiyue and Ling Yuxuan, curious, also came over.
At that moment, Gu Zhiqi was standing beside the first assistant, and the fire in the stove was already burning.
As the first assistant was placing the pressure cooker on the stove, Gu Zhiqi performed a set of hand seals on the pressure cooker. A minute later, the hand seals were complete.
As soon as the hand seals were finished, Gu Zhiqi instructed the first assistant, "Add a stick of wood in 5 minutes."
Then she quickly moved to the second assistant, who was just placing the pressure cooker on the already burning stove.
Gu Zhiqi repeated the hand seals on the pressure cooker as she had done before.
One minute later, the hand seals were complete again. Gu Zhiqi told the second assistant, "Watch the first assistant closely, duplicate his actions exactly but with a one minute delay."
Next was the third stove. The fire was already burning, and the third assistant was just placing the pressure cooker up when Gu Zhiqi began the hand seals.
After completing the hand seals, Gu Zhiqi told the third assistant, "Pay attention to what the second assistant does and duplicate his actions exactly but with a one minute delay."
And so it repeated this way, except the "one minute delay" sometimes became a delay of one minute and one second or one minute and two seconds. Otherwise, everything stayed the same.
Each assistant would replicate the previous assistant’s actions at the designated time.
Soon, all 12 pressure cookers had their hand seals completed. When reaching the ninth cooker, Gu Zhiqi took a moment to instruct the first assistant to remove a stick of wood.
Then she continued walking, and soon arrived at the thirteenth, in front of Ruan Hao.
Gu Zhiqi did not immediately have Ruan Hao place the pressure cooker on the stove but first asked, "Did you learn it?"
Ruan Hao nodded clumsily.
Gu Zhiqi asked again, "How many times do you need to see it to master it?"
Ruan Hao answered blankly, "Seven or eight times."
Gu Zhiqi: "Then start refining in the second round, follow me through the second, third, and fourth sets of hand seals and strive to learn all four sets."
Ruan Hao nodded eagerly, his mushroom haircut bobbing up and down.
Gu Zhiqi asked Lu Yuanjiang and Li Chunhua the same question and received similar answers. Gu Zhiqi instructed them to learn during the first round and added, "If possible, also remember the timing for adding and removing firewood."
All three nodded simultaneously.
After that, Gu Zhiqi focused on instructing the first assistant on adding and removing firewood.
The other assistants replicated the actions of the assistant before them in the time slots specified.