(What a joke!)
Chen Tu's refusal was like a slap to the owner's face. Even if he could afford it, why would he spend the money on buying a piece of rock that had no specific uses? Of course, it could have been different if the owner had been sure about the content inside the stone.
But obviously, he doesn't. If he did, perhaps the price of whatever was inside could be worth more than five mere Spiritual Coins.
Since he couldn't deliver some trustworthiness in his words, who would be willing to pay his asking price? Even in the eyes of passersby, this thing here was simply a useless rock.
Chen Tu's expression remained firm and collected.
Although the stall owner only asked for five Spiritual Coins, wouldn't Chen Tu have a better place to spend his money?
For example... Buying five more sets of ingredients to refine the Grain Pellets? Of course, it would be great if there was really [True Essence Obsidian Ink] inside the stone. Otherwise, he would have wasted the money for nothing.
"This customer, please wait!" the stall owner quickly overtook Chen Tu and prevented him from leaving.
"Four Spiritual Coins, alright?" he put four fingers out from his palm while looking at Chen Tu. It was already difficult to do business here, so how could he miss an opportunity to close a sale?
Moreover, Chen Tu's interest is not in the popular product. But instead, it was on that piece of useless rock. To a businessman, all transactions come with a profit as long it keeps the money flowing.
Furthermore, keeping that rock for a couple more days would be pointless to ensure it can be sold for five Spiritual Coins. After all, who knows when will another individual interested in the stone appear?
"One Spiritual Coin. Take it or leave it." Chen Tu replied. The price he offered was truly ruthless. But if this place wasn't the Worldly Treasures Pavilion, he won't even be willing to pay half a coin for it.
"Three! How about three Spiritual Coins?" the stall owner still tried to negotiate. Wouldn't that ruin his reputation if he agreed to sell the rock for one Spiritual Coin?
"Two. This is my final offer." Chen Tu shook his head and countered the price again.
"Deal. Two Spiritual Coins it is." the stall owner immediately accepted the offer. After all, two coins are better than one. He was so afraid that Chen Tu would change his mind and pinched the corner of Chen Tu's sleeve to prevent him from leaving.
He overreacted, but these were not Chen Tu's concerns. Since they had a consensus, he naturally had to fork the two Spiritual Coins out. It wouldn't be good for Chen Tu's reputation if he changed his mind.
Chen Tu quietly placed the two Spiritual Coins into the owner's hand before leaving with the rock. As nothing else caught his attention, Chen Tu escaped the place without a lingering attachment.
(Gosh... Shopping is indeed addicting. I should come to this place less and only go for essential items next time...)
Chen Tu patted his chest a few times while pulling the distance between him and the Worldly Treasures Pavilion. He could feel his heart screaming, "Buy! Buy! Buy!" inside the pavilion.
He starts inspecting all the items he has bought.
Fifteen sets of ingredients for the Grain Pellet and a piece of rock. Although he had no idea what this [True Essence Obsidian Ink] was, it should be something extraordinary.
After all, Chen Tu's Spiritual Sense is keener than everyone else in his cultivation layer. Even without running a cycle of Sun and Moon Condensation Art to heighten his sensitivity, Chen Tu could still feel a faint attraction within the rock.
It felt like something was developing inside, but it was too weak to create a storm. Without the sword mark left on its surface, this thing could take another thousand years to reveal itself. The only problem now is Chen Tu had no idea what was there.
First of all, it couldn't be a living being. And secondly, it should have some connection to Formation and Array because of the work [Ink] in its name. But unfortunately, there's no point for him to play with the stone now.
After tidying what he had bought, Chen Tu returned to his meditation. It has been a while since he stopped cultivating, and his current level is barely different from two weeks ago. If this continues, he would still be at the third level after everyone else had been promoted.
He sits comfortably at the spot he's always been. And with the window opened wide, Chen Tu started to circulate the Sun and Moon Condensation Art. Although his cultivation barely improved recently, the same thing cannot be said for his core which stores Spiritual Energy.
To Chen Tu's surprise, even with his cultivation stagnating, his holding capacity had qualitative growth. The amount of Spiritual Energy his body could keep was around three and a half days before this, but it was almost four days now.
This in-depth improvement was obviously the result of continuous usage of Spiritual Energy while refining pills and using the Alchemic Refinement Flame. Like a woodcutter that chops the wood daily, the more he worked, the faster he had a finer grasp over them.
Although his cultivation level was still too low, a more significant difference would be noticeable the further Chen Tu's cultivation advances.
His effort quickly paid off as Chen Tu finally formed another drop of Sun and Moon Essence. The only regret was that he was too lax in his cultivation and used close to two and a half weeks to form this treasure.
Still, having one drop of Sun and Moon Essence is better than none. With the estimation that Chen Tu's body could hold three without an issue, he continued his meditation.
Although he's still incapable of completing the whole meditation cycle, it was already much better than everyone else. By taking a short break in between, Chen Tu alternated his focus between a few things.
Since the ingredient would quickly dry up if he took too long, Chen Tu couldn't help but put his pill refining as his priority. But he also prevented himself from forcing himself too much in between.
With a more organized yet relaxing schedule, Chen Tu could allocate his time preparing the ingredients before leaving them to mature. Additionally, although his tinkered recipe had a terrible chance of refining a Two-Star Pill, the losses can be compensated by its higher yield and success rate. The freedom of time he had from the preparation would also give Chen Tu more flexibility in his time to visit the Training Hall. After all, with the ingredient partially handled, the concoction time can be shortened to roughly ten minutes per cauldron. The remaining time would be divided evenly to his rest, studying, working, and cultivating. In a blink of an eye, a few days had passed. Over these few days, Chen Tu had a stable income of fifteen to twenty Spiritual Coins from refining the Grain Pellet alone. If the Contribution Token earned from the Spiritual Garden were added, that would be between fifty to seventy coins. While his choice is slightly less than working in the Spiritual Gard
Qin Lei had left his seat and stood beside Chen Tu at the end of his sentence. Judging from his expression, there's a hint of conflicting emotion fighting inside his head. The conflict was fierce, but as a matter of fact, it only lasted for a few seconds in reality. Considering how Qin Lei's knees gradually bend forward, what he was trying to do is obvious. (I'll kneel in front of junior brother Chen if that's what it takes to get some help...) "Senior brother." Chen Tu's call instantly brought Qin Lei's thoughts back to his physical body. But the strength between his legs was gone as his knees approached the ground faster than they supposed. Fortunately, a foot came forward before Qin Lei's knees touched the ground. A pair of hands firmly grabbed his shoulders simultaneously and helped Qin Lei to stand. "I'm not sure how much I had, honestly... But let us visit the Worldly Treasures Pavilion tomorrow after the harvest. With another day of income, I'm sure we could afford to buy
This time, they only had three newcomers out of the twenty-five participants. By taking Chen Tu and Qin Lei out of the remaining headcount, it was safe to say there were twenty repeating participants. Regardless of how they were chosen, there's no doubt that they're happy to participate in this harvest. After all, only twenty-five people would be chosen from the seven senior workers and Elder Wei Xuan. This means those who weren't chosen could only look at the twenty-five people with a pair of jealous, red eyes. To most, this harvest was merely an excuse for the Spiritual Garden to reward the people they endorsed with Contribution Tokens. While as a matter of fact, that wasn't the case. The reward was plentiful, but not everyone qualified to share the bigger piece of an entire cake. Naturally, some people did well, and some didn't. After all, harvesting a Burial Root properly requires experience, patience, and understanding. If merely using brute strength would get the work done,
Qin Lei naturally saw how that newcomer got accepted by Chen Tu into their group. Being the one closest to Chen Tu, how can he not know what is in Chen Tu's mind? His only worry was Chen Tu being too nice to everyone else. Of course, his concern was not in a bad way. Qin Lei could feel that Chen Tu hardly doubted the intention of other people. Although it was not a bad thing, it wasn't good either. Of course, the worry should only be concerning when they were outside the Blood Refining Grotto. After all, everyone was both junior and senior, brothers and sisters here. Suppose their fellow disciples weren't helping one another in a protected environment. What could be expected when everyone here went outside? Would their sword be pointing at outsiders, or would it be pointing at their own fellow brothers and sisters? Qin Lei decided to keep quiet after he gave it a quick thought. It might still be too early to speak about this with Chen Tu. Furthermore, Chen Tu was merely ten this
Because they're having such an amazing harvest today, Elder Wei Xuan naturally couldn't be stingy with everyone here. When the sky was about to get darker, he had a senior worker bring a word to the canteen, and food was delivered afterward. Furthermore, what they served wasn't the usual menu on the ground level, but the exquisite one available to order on the first level. This kind of generosity was not something one could see often! With a sentence from the elder, everyone came and ate to their heart's content. Of course, that was after someone recorded the number of Burial Roots they handed over to senior workers. Putting the figure today into total, they had harvested seven hundred Burial Roots in this single day. Furthermore, nothing was left to waste because they missed any of them in between. It is also safe to say that there's no matured Burial Roots managed to escape their fat of getting uprooted by these human cultivators. With ten plants in a row, ten rows in one plant
Standing in the middle of their attention, Qin Lei explained his circumstances and reason for collecting such a fund. Naturally, that includes what happened to his father and his intention to buy the Spiritium Velvet Antlers from the Worldly Treasures Pavilion. The exorbitant price of seven hundred Contribution Tokens naturally explained why they needed all they could get. Although this means that not everyone can afford to buy the treasure, there's no say about what would happen if it stays unsold for some time. Although he hadn't intended to eavesdrop on their conversation, the elder could not help but shake his head after listening to Qin Lei's story. Hearing from a distance to a Golden Core Layer cultivator is as simple as breathing. The elder naturally knew who Qin Lei was talking about. After all, the sixth elder, who is also an acquaintance of Qin Lei's father, was the one who asked him to take care of Qin Lei if possible. It was obvious that he knew about this. The only pa
(Damn! This is going to be troublesome!) The worker cursed in his mind. At first, he assumed that Chen Tu and Qin Lei were normal disciples. But it was obviously akin to throwing a rock at his own feet. How can someone that could take an Alchemist Token out as they like to be normal? He should have roughly guessed the background of these two from the moment they requested the Spiritium Velvet Antlers. But it was too late for him to change his mind. With three minutes remaining on the clock, all this worker needed was to delay them until the bell rang. As long he could keep them occupied until then, they naturally had to come back tomorrow. After all, the Worldly Treasures Pavilion had a strict reputation for stopping all transactions after the bell. Only those who are in the middle of settling their payment would be entertained. As for the rest, they naturally had to return the next day if they were still keen on buying that item. The same rule would still apply even if an elder
"It's the Pavilion Master!" everyone here took a step back before turning and facing where the woman's voice came from. They had already cupped their fists together and bowed forward before she appeared on this floor. The only exception was Chen Tu and Qin Lei, who didn't know what to do. Could this be something normal that everyone did? But if it was the norm, how could Qin Lei have never heard about it? He was here for over six years, after all! At the same time, this shows how amazing the Pavilion Master was. All it took was a sentence from her to make everyone here quiet down and wait for her to come down from the upper floor. The dim candlelight could only enhance her mysteriousness much further. The orange flame flickered near the stairs to reveal her beautiful white and light blue robes. Even Chen Tu couldn't help but be mesmerized by her bulging bust, decently covered by an exquisite white cloth. Although it was completely covered without showing her skin in between, the
Next morning. Following Tang Yun Long's suggestion, Chen Tu made his way to the Registration Office after breakfast. And as usual, he waited with the others in the queue until it was his turn. "What can I do for you today, junior?" the worker asked with impatience in his tone. In his opinion, Chen Tu is likely another disciple coming to claim his monthly salary provided by the Blood Refining Grotto. But all his following words were stuck in his throat before he could continue after Chen Tu had his disciple token taken out. "Chen - Chen Tu? You're Chen Tu?" the worker's tone changed into a more polite and easy to the ear. His attitude also had 180 degrees of turnover. Chen Tu didn't reply to him but simply nodded with a smile. And to these workers who looked down on the weak disciples, such treatment was the best venom to reeducate them. The worker immediately changed how he addressed Chen Tu from "Junior" to "Fellow Disciple Chen." And needless to say, this instantaneous change
"Teacher, really? We're going to attend the examination for the Titled Alchemist this year?" Tang Yun Long couldn't help but feel excited. Naturally, he was very happy with what Elder Wei Xuan had said. After all, Tang Yun Long is turning eighteen this year. And even amongst all the disciples from both elders, his talent in Alchemy was the highest. But regardless of how he requested, Elder Wei Xuan would always reject him when it came to permission to attend the Titled-Alchemist Examination. No matter how much he begged, the elder would deem he was not ready for the test yet. Counting from the year he had been asking until now, it was almost four years past. But today, the sun seems to be rising from the west. Of course, Tang Yun Long realized that the change in Elder Wei Xuan's mind did not come from him but from Chen Tu. Without bathing in this junior brother's brilliance, he might have to wait another year or two before his chances arrive. Obviously, there was a reason for the
"Good. Very good. Then, you'll be the second official disciple of this old man from this moment onward. I am looking forward on how far you can grow." Elder Wei Xuan appeared very satisfied with Chen Tu's instant reply. This could also show how much Chen Tu had longed for this chance. "Disciple understood!" Chen Tu kneeled and raised a teacup in both hands to the elder. Regardless of the custom, serving a cup of tea to your master is essential. This customary practice not only creates a proper master and disciple but also the connections in between. "En... Those unimportant things will be told to you by Xiao Long later. For now, take this as your gift to study under my tutelage. It was the Pill Formula I promised you last time." the elder said after placing the teacup aside and taking something from nothingness. Apparently, the elder had a piece of Spatial Jade too. And from the look of it, the quality is slightly better than what Tang Yun Long had. "Why don't you take a look at i
"junior brother Chen, this Three-Star Pill... Did you refine them by yourself?" Tang Yun Long asked. Even he hadn't had success in refining a pill of this quality. At most, he is only confident in refining Two-Star Pill. Furthermore, this result was before Chen Tu was officially accepted by the elder as his second official disciple. If he was, would he be capable of Four-Star, or even a Five-Star? Of course, that kind of level is nowhere to be heard of... After all, no alchemist would dedicate all their time to researching and refining a four or Five-Star Grain Pellet. Even if that alchemist is the most foolish one, he would likely have zero to little interest in an entry-level pill like this. Looking at the Three-Star Grain Pellet sitting on the table, the elder couldn't calm his heart down. And without further ado, he put his hand out toward Chen Tu and asked for something. "Xiao Tu... Bring the Alchemist Token out." Elder Wei Xuan asked. It appears that what he will be doing
(Hmm... I wonder what kind of medicinal pill is this Spring and Autumn Profound Pill and Lesser Vitality Pill. Could their effect be something extraordinary, like the Spiritual Replenishing or Spirit Desertification Pill?) Chen Tu spoke to his own while flipping through the pages. The contents were fairly easy for him to understand, and there was nothing to be suspicious about. But when Chen Tu came to the ingredient part, he had the urge to scratch and pull his hair. (Aargh... Now, this is where my first obstacle comes in...) Chen Tu took a few deep breaths after he set the book aside. He had mixed feelings due to what was going on inside his mind. The reason for these confusing thoughts was naturally understandable. After all, this was a lost recipe Qin Lei's father, Qin Tianbao, found from excavating the tomb of a certain expert. Interestingly, this relic site was also where Qin Tianbao had a mishap and lost one of his legs. And no wonder he would be allowed to keep these two
(What an amazing feeling... Could this be something only those in the fourth level would realize?) Chen Tu remained seated, but for every breath he took, the Spiritual Energy of his surroundings was attracted over. His body was like a leaf sponging up all the dew as it absorbed all these blimps of Spiritual Energy to nourish his flesh. This mist-like Spiritual Energy is incomparable to what a Spiritual Replenishing Pill offers. Still, it was something nobody would complain about. After all, no matter how diluted and faint this Spiritual Energy was, they're still the Spiritual Energy everyone pursued. Nobody would cover their water well when it rains because they're afraid it would be overfilled by the rainwater. Apparently, Chen Tu's guess was correct. A feat like this was indeed someone above the Flesh Tempering Stage could enjoy. And thanks to his fully-tempered flesh, Chen Tu is now more than capable of applicating Spiritual Energy to strengthen his physique. Although the diff
A day ago. "Hmm... I wonder what insight that brat had for him to rework the Grain Pellet's Recipe until this level..." Elder Wei Xuan said while holding a Two-Star Pill between his two fingers. Apparently, he was studying the pill for flaws before giving a verdict. He was feeling neither prejudiced nor unhappy. But more or less, there was something he was unable to let go of in his heart for making him so indecisive at this moment. As Chen Tu's Alchemy Teacher, the elder naturally wanted to endorse Chen Tu's reworked recipe and the Grain Pellet he refined. But at the same time, his worries and self-ego made him couldn't help but be indecisive in this matter. In fact, this same ego of his was why Tang Yun Long has yet to participate in the Titled Alchemist Examination. It wasn't overrated to say that with Tang Yun Long's performance to date, he could easily pass the test. "Old Wei... What is occupying your mind so much until you didn't notice me coming in?" Another elder's voice
"Disciple understands." Chen Tu cupped his fists together and replied. His response also helps confirm that he will be taking the assignment seriously. "Xiao Tu will start paying more attention to his pill refinement after returning and wouldn't disappoint the teacher's expectation," he added. After saying what he should, Chen Tu excused himself from the workshop by giving a reason he'll have to get back and prepare. And obviously, the eight Grain Pellets were left in the workshop without saying. That's a must in case the elder changes his mind later. And regardless of how he decides, Chen Tu still has to leave a sample for Elder Wei Xuan to check on them, correct? This means a copy of everything from the ingredient, steps, and final product was left for the elder's inspection. Chen Tu's activities consisted of eating, sleeping, cultivating, and refining pills for the following days. Thanks to all these tasks in his hand, he hardly reported to the Spiritual Garden to work or assis
The question piqued the elder's interest after Xia Xuan-Xuan opened her mouth. Apparently, even the elder couldn't help but feel curious about Chen Tu's answer. But at the same time, he can't ask this question openly. After all, he was an elder. Someone who stood at least a few levels above them in alchemy and cultivation. Wouldn't it hurt his pride slightly to ask a junior about something he should know better? Luckily, there's a Xia Xuan-Xuan in the group. While her talent is neither good nor bad, she has this social commonsense that could make everything work. Hence, she was the elder's icebreaker, always the first to hear and know everything. Chen Tu didn't respond to Xia Xuan-Xuan's question instantly. Still, everyone here could see that Chen Tu's gaze was currently pointed at the pill mold. This reaction from Chen Tu can be partially translated to "look at the result yourself!" He stayed silent and observed the mold until it was completely cooled. Then, instead of inspecti