In the study of the apothecary shop, Manager Liu looked at the chests of gold and silver before him, clicking his tongue in amazement. "Not bad, you brat, you've made a fortune so quickly. How much are you planning to give me as a sign of filial respect?"
Before he could finish, Jiang Feng produced three more bottles of pills.
The moment the pills were taken out, Manager Liu's eyes were instantly drawn to the bottle of Body Tempering Pills. He snatched it up in his grip, the temptation in his eyes clear for all to see.
"Good! Good! Good! I must say you have a heart, brat. I'll accept this gift, but you can put the rest away, haha! From now on... oh..." Manager Liu was carelessly about to put away the Body Tempering Pills when he suddenly noticed Jiang Feng pull out a pile of Spirit Stones.
"You—what the hell, am I seeing things? How did you get your hands on so many Spirit Stones? Do you even know what these are used for? Let me keep them for you, you'll just lose them, kid." With that, Manager Liu sprang up abruptly and threw his arms around the Spirit Stones, pulling them underneath him.
"Uncle Liu, is this really appropriate? You should at least explain what these things are used for," Jiang Feng complained.
"Right, right, sit down quickly and I'll tell you," Manager Liu said awkwardly. "How should I put this? These pills are no ordinary matter. There is a profession in this world called alchemists. Their status and position are extremely lofty; even the lowest-ranking alchemist is a prized figure that every faction scrambles to recruit."
"Because if a faction wants to develop rapidly, using pills is a recognized shortcut. However, pills aren't like cabbages; their value is exorbitant."
"Take the Qi Gathering Pill, for instance. It can rapidly replenish spiritual qi for those in the Qi Refining Stage. In battle, a single Qi Gathering Pill might just be another life, which is why it costs two thousand taels of silver to buy one. As for the Body Tempering Pill—wait, no, the Origin Gathering Pill, this is a pill refined for the Origin Returning Stage. It can rapidly replenish a massive amount of spiritual qi for practitioners in the Origin Returning Stage, and the price of a single Origin Gathering Pill is as high as ten thousand taels of silver. Furthermore, it's not something you can just buy with money."
"Therefore, every faction wants to cultivate its own alchemist. However, not everyone can become an alchemist; the conditions required are extremely harsh."
"First, one must have rich knowledge of medicinal herbs and pharmacology to distinguish the authenticity, age, and efficacy of herbs, as well as to match their medicinal properties. Second, one must possess an extremely high level of Divine Sense to sustain the mental exhaustion during alchemy and maintain perfect control over the entire alchemy process. Third, one must have a pill recipe. This point is the most difficult, though major factions generally hold pill recipes, and when they hire alchemists, they require them to sign lifetime contracts to prevent the recipes from leaking."
"Uncle Liu, does the Liu Family have an alchemist?" Jiang Feng asked excitedly.
"There is one, a primary-level alchemist who can only refine some low-grade pills, such as Antidote Pills, Qi Gathering Pills, and Hemostatic Pills."
"Aren't there Body Tempering Pills?"
"Body Tempering Pills? How do you know about this kind of pill? You don't happen to have a pill recipe, do you?" Manager Liu shot up to his feet, staring at Jiang Feng with obvious suspicion in his eyes.
"No, I heard other people talking about it on the street." Jiang Feng could have slapped himself across the face.
"True, how could such a precious pill recipe be seen so easily?" Manager Liu shook his head. "However, these Body Tempering Pills are extremely rare; they are practically the unshared secret of any faction. If one has an abundance of Body Tempering Pills, a faction can forge the bodies of its Mortal Body Stage and Qi Refining Stage members to be exceptionally strong, which is crucial for the future development of a faction."
Jiang Feng didn't dare to dwell any further on this topic, terrified that Manager Liu might discover any clues, so he simply rejoiced inwardly: "I actually meet the conditions to become a revered alchemist! Once I become an alchemist, I'll have the ability to make myself stronger."
"Uncle Liu, do these Spirit Stones have a huge use, then?" Jiang Feng hurriedly changed the subject.
The moment Manager Liu heard about Spirit Stones, he instantly perked up. "Spirit Stones are a miraculous thing formed when crystal stones absorb the spiritual qi of heaven and earth over long years. Their main function is to provide energy—meaning spiritual qi—for human cultivation. As long as you have enough Spirit Stones, your cultivation speed will advance by leaps and bounds."
"However, this kind of thing is generally controlled by transcendent factions like sects or the imperial family. Ordinary rogue cultivators or small factions can only rely on barter to exchange for Spirit Stones to support their cultivation. Spirit Stones are divided into four grades: low-grade, middle-grade, high-grade, and top-grade. The Spirit Stones you acquired belong to low-grade Spirit Stones, but even so, they are extremely rare in Star City. Even though our Liu Family is considered a large clan in Yunzhou City, our reserve of low-grade Spirit Stones doesn't exceed five thousand."
"You are currently in the Mortal Mastery Stage. If you use low-grade Spirit Stones for cultivation, you only need fifty of them to advance to the Mortal Transcendence Stage. As for me, I only need five hundred to advance to the Middle Stage of Origin Returning Stage. Ha! Would you say we—oh—I have made a fortune?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Feng's eyes lit up immediately, as if he could instantly see himself reaching the Saint Stage. "Uncle Liu, you can't hog such important things all to yourself!" With that, he reached out to snatch them.
Manager Liu scrambled to protect the Spirit Stones beneath him. "Don't move, listen to me. Your realm shouldn't be elevated too quickly; you need to cultivate every realm to its absolute limit before breaking through. That is the only way it will benefit your future growth."
"I know, Uncle Liu. The clan sparring tournament is only a few months away. If I don't raise my realm quickly, how can I guarantee victory? That Liu Yan is definitely already in the Mortal Transcendence Stage by now." With that, he clawed toward the space beneath Manager Liu.
"I'm not worried about the clan sparring tournament anymore. Don't think I don't know—you were able to escape from Ge Bing's hands and avenge your grandfather; that Liu Yan is no longer your match. If you can't win when the time comes, how could you face your grandfather? Stop! Where are you clawing?!"
"Oh! Uncle Liu, why are you acting like an old fox? I didn't die at Ge Bing's hands because Chu Hanyue saved me, I..."
"Oh ho! You've grown quite capable, haven't you? Why does it sound like a girl's name? Why didn't you make a full report to me when you first came back? Do you have designs on the young lady?"
"Uncle Liu, what nonsense are you talking about? She's a major expert now, and Ge Bing was killed by her. Before, I just felt a sense of shared misfortune." At the mere mention of Chu Hanyue, Jiang Feng's heart fluttered inexplicably.
"Fine. Considering that I failed to watch over you properly back then and almost cost you your life, I'll give you fifty Spirit Stones."
"What? Only fifty?! These were my battle spoils to begin with!"
"A hundred, just a hundred, not a single one more." Manager Liu currently looked like a brooding hen protecting its eggs.
"Three hundred, just three hundred, and then I'll give you a gift. How about it, Uncle Liu?"
"No! Three hundred is too many, I have other uses for these Spirit Stones..."
*Thud!* A martial arts manual appeared before Manager Liu: *Glacial True Qi*!
"Three hundred Spirit Stones... how could this... not be possible?" Manager Liu looked as though he had lost his soul. He released his grip on the Spirit Stones and snatched the manual into his hands, while Jiang Feng seized the opportunity to sweep the three hundred Spirit Stones into his Spirit Ring.
"Glacial True Qi... how did I manage to obtain such an advanced cultivation manual?" Manager Liu still muttered absentmindedly, completely dazed.
Jiang Feng waved his hand in front of Manager Liu's eyes. "Uncle Liu, I've taken the Spirit Stones, you know."
"No!" Manager Liu snapped back to his senses instantly. Realizing Jiang Feng was merely teasing him, he felt no embarrassment; with a sharp *thwack*, he gave Jiang Feng a rap on the head. "Quickly confess, is there anything else you're keeping from Uncle Liu?"
Jiang Feng cried out in grievance, "Uncle Liu, I've already given you the *Glacial True Qi*, what else could there possibly be to hide?"
"Hmph! You may be your grandfather's biological grandson, but you're my own nephew. If I find out you're holding out on me, you'd better watch out, or I'll deal with you."
"Right, right, hehe! Uncle Liu, how are these Spirit Stones used for cultivation?"
"Sit in meditation, grip the Spirit Stones tightly in both hands, and circulate your True Qi through the major heavenly cycle within your body; the spiritual qi from the Spirit Stones will naturally enter your body. However, given your current realm, trying to absorb the spiritual qi from a single low-grade Spirit Stone will probably take you a whole day. Remember, don't blindly focus on elevating your realm while neglecting to use actual combat to consolidate your foundation."
"Thank you, Uncle Liu, I'll keep it in mind. I won't disturb your cultivation any longer, hehe!"
"Right, I have one more piece of news to tell you. On October fifteenth this year, it will be the once-every-five-years disciple recruitment day for the four major sects of the Xuanhuang Continent. By then, the Zhengyang Sect, Xuantian Sect, Hundred Flowers Palace, and Liuyun Sect will all dispatch people to various major cities to recruit disciples."
"This is a massive opportunity; you must seize it. Once you enter a sect, everyone obtains a certain amount of cultivation resources. If you can catch the eye of some major figure within the sect, your cultivation will advance by leaps and bounds, and your future prospects will be boundless."
Jiang Feng paused for a moment upon hearing this, then smiled faintly. "Good! I will definitely cultivate properly."
Watching Jiang Feng turn and leave with decisive steps, Manager Liu was stunned at first, then sighed, "Neither arrogant nor impetuous, with profound blessed fortune—this child is definitely not someone who will stay in a stagnant pond."
He shook his head, then looked back at the Spirit Stones and manual before him, his eyes instantly growing blazing hot...