"Elder Brother, why are you here?"
Dan Peak was planted all over with spiritual herbs, with countless exotic flowers and rare grasses. Jiang Yan had arrived at one of the mountain peaks.
The person responsible for receiving him was named Lin Yuan. As it happened, this was precisely one of the disciples who had represented Dan Peak earlier that day to visit Jiang Yan.
"Do you know of the Qi-Nourishing Pill?" Jiang Yan cut straight to the point and asked, while looking around the mountain peak. Wherever his gaze fell, there were exotic flowers and rare grasses.
Among the five peaks of the Dao Sect, Dan Peak could be considered rather unique.
After all, the occupation of an alchemist was utterly scarce compared to ordinary cultivators. Therefore, counting all the disciples on Dan Peak together, there were only twenty or thirty people in total.
With vast land and few people, every disciple could be assigned their own mountain peak and treat it as a medicine garden. And this particular peak was Lin Yuan's medicine garden.
"The Qi-Nourishing Pill?" Lin Yuan was startled, then shook his head.
"Aren't you a second-rank alchemist? How is it that you haven't even heard of a first-rank Qi-Nourishing Pill?" Jiang Yan was also taken aback, then frowned. "Read more books when you have free time in the future."
With that, he took out a list of medicinal ingredients he had prepared in advance and handed it to Lin Yuan. "You should have all the medicinal ingredients on this list growing here, right? Prepare a batch for me."
Lin Yuan glanced over it and found that the names of twelve medicinal ingredients were written there, all of which were very common types that he indeed had. However, what he found curious was whether the Eldest Senior Brother, being a scholar, was also planning to switch careers and enter the Dao of alchemy?
"Don't ask too much, just prepare them." Jiang Yan did not explain.
"Alright." Naturally, Lin Yuan did not dare to disobey, given the Eldest Senior Brother's status.
Soon, he bustled around the mountain peak, and a moment later, he retrieved all twelve medicinal ingredients.
As he handed the medicinal ingredients to Jiang Yan, Lin Yuan spoke with some difficulty, "Senior Brother, you know how much effort I've spent cultivating these medicinal ingredients..."
Hearing this, Jiang Yan could not help sighing. "I originally thought we were fellow apprentices... I didn't expect this to still be a transaction. Speak, how many spirit stones?"
"These are all common medicinal ingredients, so they aren't expensive—ten spirit stones in total. However, since it's the Eldest Senior Brother asking, I'll give you a discount. Eight spirit stones will do." Lin Yuan rubbed his hands together.
Selling medicinal ingredients was not his first time doing this. Although the disciples of Dan Peak all had their own medicine gardens, not everyone planted every kind of medicinal ingredient. Therefore, the disciples often bought ingredients from each other to use, thereby earning some spirit stones to use for daily expenses or cultivation.
"Eight?" Jiang Yan frowned, then shook his head. "Too expensive. How about five spirit stones?"
"You know as well that I am not wealthy, and Ru Peak is now existing in name only. Who knows when it might be struck off the roster of the Five Peaks? Senior Brother has to keep some spirit stones on hand so I can find a place to settle down for my old age when the time comes."
"Senior Brother is already starting to think about old age?" Lin Yuan was stunned for a moment, then continued, "Five spirit stones it is."
Strictly speaking, the cost of these medicinal ingredients was very low, and a single spirit stone could buy a large bag of seeds. Therefore, even if he sold them to Jiang Yan at the price of five, he still made a profit.
"And these medicinal ingredients, prepare a portion of them for me as well." After the transaction was completed, Jiang Yan took out another list.
These were the medicinal ingredients needed to refine a pill called the "Spirit-Gathering Pill". This was a third-rank medicinal pill. When taken during cultivation, it could greatly accelerate the speed at which one absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, yielding much better effects than similar medicinal pills circulating on the market.
"These medicinal ingredients... are a bit rarer, and the price might be quite a bit more expensive." Lin Yuan glanced at the list and frowned slightly.
"How expensive could it be?" Jiang Yan retorted.
"I reckon it'll take about thirty spirit stones." After some calculation, Lin Yuan spoke thus.
"Too expensive. Twenty." Jiang Yan shook his head and bargained again.
"This..." Lin Yuan was in a difficult spot.
Then he saw Jiang Yan pull out a piece of cyan jade from his person. "Do you recognize this? This is the jade token of the Lord of Ru Peak. To see the token is to see the person. Don't say Senior Brother is cheating you; normally, relying on this jade token, I could take these medicinal ingredients for free, and you wouldn't dare say a single word of objection, would you?"
Lin Yuan was immediately startled, able to feel the special aura emanating from this jade. There were only five such jade tokens in the entire Dao Sect, and it was definitely genuine.
"Twenty then, twenty it is!" He gritted his teeth, not daring to say too much for fear that Jiang Yan wouldn't even give him a single spirit stone later.
"Right, would you lend me your alchemy furnace to use as well?"
After delivering the spirit stones and obtaining the medicinal ingredients, Jiang Yan did not leave. Instead, he turned to look at Lin Yuan.
"Is Senior Brother going to refine pills yourself?" Lin Yuan was instantly astonished.
Previously, he had indeed had such a guess, but upon reflection, he felt it was unlikely. The Eldest Senior Brother was a disciple of Ru Peak; when had he ever known the method of alchemy?
Moreover, an alchemy furnace was an extremely precious item and could not tolerate the slightest mishap. Lin Yuan dared even less to lend it to Jiang Yan for use—if the furnace exploded then, he probably wouldn't even have a place to cry.
"I won't borrow it for free. I'll use it for an hour and give you twenty... um, ten spirit stones. How about that?" After some deliberation, Jiang Yan spoke thus.
"Senior Brother, this isn't a matter of spirit stones." Lin Yuan was in a very difficult spot. Although his alchemy furnace was not high-grade, it was still something he had bought by spending nearly three thousand spirit stones.
Three thousand spirit stones—how many pills and how many medicinal ingredients would he have to sell to earn that back? If the furnace really exploded, could Jiang Yan afford to compensate him?
That didn't seem to be the issue. Whether he would compensate him was the crucial point!
"Rest assured, if it really explodes, I will compensate you." Jiang Yan smiled slightly, naturally able to see the worry in Lin Yuan's heart.
In fact, as early as the first two years of his seclusion, he had gained extensive alchemy experience. Not to mention mere first-rank Qi-Nourishing Pills and third-rank Spirit-Gathering Pills, by the age of nine, he had already been able to refine sixth-rank medicinal pills. Zhang Yuanshu was still around at that time, and it was Zhang Yuanshu who had stepped forward to help him borrow an alchemy furnace from Dan Peak—and it seemed to have been the alchemy furnace of the Lord of Dan Peak at that time, no less.
"Senior Brother, you must remember to compensate me, you hear?" Lin Yuan wore a mournful expression.
"What kind of talk is that? Do you think Senior Brother is bound to blow up the furnace?" Jiang Yan rolled his eyes, speechless.
Soon, led by Lin Yuan, he arrived inside a room. Right in the center stood an alchemy furnace, a good half-person tall, battered and very old.
However, Jiang Yan did not mind. He took out both sets of medicinal ingredients, placed them in front of the alchemy furnace, and prepared to begin refining.
Seeing that Lin Yuan did not seem to have any intention of leaving, Jiang Yan frowned. "Why are you standing here?"
"Senior Brother, perhaps I should stay here and watch," Lin Yuan said, feeling uneasy.
Should there really be a risk of the furnace exploding, he could intervene in advance. Otherwise, if Jiang Yan were left here tinkering all by himself, no one could guarantee what might happen.
"As you like." Jiang Yan hesitated for a moment, ultimately nodding, and did not drive the other man away.