redvbooks Chapter 235 - 139: Great Success
Chapter 235 - 139: Great Success
Xu Yang felt his head throb as a torrent of information rushed in. The properties of the various herbs used for the Gathering Essence Pill, and all the precautions to take during alchemy, became instantly clear in his mind.
It was as if he had already refined the Gathering Essence Pill hundreds of times, giving him a deep and varied understanding of the process.
[Gathering Essence Pill (400/400)]
"Success!"
Xu Yang opened his eyes, his face alight with joy. After a long wait, he had finally mastered the Gathering Essence Pill.
From now on, he could refine elixirs for the Gang Qi Realm himself and wouldn’t have to rely on anyone else.
He patiently practiced both the Fuyue Bear Scripture and the Golden Gang Skill once more. When dawn broke, he headed straight for Cyan Yang City at the foot of the mountain.
’I hope the three main ingredients aren’t too hard to buy.’
The major families controlled all the elixirs for the Gang Qi Realm, which probably meant the ingredients to make them were also hard to come by.
The rarity of Gang Qi Realm elixirs wasn’t just due to the small number of Pill Masters; it was also likely related to the scarcity of ingredients.
Donning his conical hat, Xu Yang entered the first pharmacy. As expected, he couldn’t find a single one of the three main ingredients.
At the fifth shop, he finally spent one hundred taels on a thirty-year-old Old Ginseng.
’I’m still missing the Pure Yang Grass and the Tiger Bone Vine.’
The thirty-year-old Old Ginseng was the easiest to find; the truly rare ingredients were the Tiger Bone Vine and the Pure Yang Grass.
He had seen Tiger Bone Vine in the black market before, but he had only ever encountered Pure Yang Grass at an auction in the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion.
’Anything that makes it to an auction is bound to be extremely rare.’
After visiting more than ten other pharmacies, he finally spent one hundred twenty taels on a single Tiger Bone Vine.
’I can’t go to the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion.’
Xu Yang passed by the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, but he didn’t dare go in and ask if they had Pure Yang Grass. After walking a bit further, he arrived at the Hundred Medicine Hall, a place he had once been assigned to garrison.
’As an establishment of the Purple Sun Sect, they should have something like Pure Yang Grass. I just don’t know if they sell it to outsiders.’
Lowering the conical hat on his head, Xu Yang finally stepped into the Hundred Medicine Hall. "Shopkeeper, excuse me, do you have any Pure Yang Grass for sale here?"
The Shopkeeper looked up from behind the counter, sizing Xu Yang up and down. "Not many people buy Pure Yang Grass," he said. "Could you be a Pill Master, sir?"
He didn’t recognize the man before him as Xu Yang, the Purple Sun Sect disciple who had once been posted here as a guard.
Xu Yang spoke in a disguised voice, "Just tell me whether you have it or not, Shopkeeper."
’This is exactly why I went to all those smaller shops first. It’s more of a hassle, but they don’t ask what you’re buying things for.’
’If you try to buy these items from shops run by major factions, they’ll want to investigate your identity, and that can easily lead to trouble.’
"As it happens, we just got one in. If you want it, sir, you can take it for one hundred fifty taels." The Shopkeeper offered a slight smile and didn’t pursue the matter.
Xu Yang’s brow furrowed instantly.
’He’s clearly trying to rip me off.’
He recalled that even at the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion’s auction, the price for Pure Yang Grass hadn’t reached one hundred fifty taels per stalk.
But in this situation, he couldn’t be sure he’d find Pure Yang Grass anywhere else. Even if the shopkeeper had asked for two hundred taels, he would have had to pay up.
"Of course I’ll take it!"
After only a moment’s hesitation, Xu Yang paid the bill.
With the Pure Yang Grass in hand, Xu Yang visited several more pharmacies to purchase the rest of the ingredients for the Gathering Essence Pill. In total, he spent over five hundred taels.
Returning to his rented courtyard, he began to clean his Pill Furnace and prepare for alchemy.
As expected, the next day, a fragrant aroma filled the air. Xu Yang lifted the lid of the Pill Furnace to find ten crimson Gathering Essence Pills resting quietly inside.
"Ten refined pills. Not bad!"
A smile played on Xu Yang’s lips. Although the effects of the Gathering Essence Pill couldn’t compare to the Guiyuan Pill or the Ten-Perfection Rejuvenation Pill, it was still a Gang Qi Realm elixir.
With this batch of Gathering Essence Pills, he could reach Gang Qi Great Success in ten to fifteen days at most.
After stowing the Gathering Essence Pills, Xu Yang had a nice long sleep, in no hurry to take one.
He woke in the afternoon and hurried to the Four Seas Escort Agency to pick up the little girl’s return letter.
Xu Yang unfolded the letter. The little girl’s handwriting had grown increasingly elegant.
The contents were simple, mostly expressing how much she missed him and giving an update on her martial arts training.
The little girl had already started her training and had successfully achieved Qi Gathering half a month ago. However, her talent didn’t seem exceptional, as it had taken her nearly two months to do so.
"As long as she can achieve Qi Gathering, that’s what matters!" Xu Yang beamed.
’As long as she can gather Qi, with my help, it won’t be a problem for her to progress to Qi Cultivation Gang or even Marrow Cleansing. She’ll be able to extend her life by more than ten years.’
After reading the letter from start to finish, Xu Yang returned to the Purple Sun Sect and immediately took out a Gathering Essence Pill to consume.
The elixir dissolved into a warm current, surging through his limbs and torso. He activated the Fuyue Bear Scripture to refine the medicinal energy.
Two hours later, most of the medicinal energy had been refined. Only the portion that had settled deep within his flesh and blood required more time.
[Fuyue Bear Scripture Gang Qi Chapter·Minor Achievement (3642/4000)]
’As expected, the effects can’t compare to the Guiyuan Pill. A single Gathering Essence Pill only increases my Fuyue Bear Scripture progress by about eighty points.’
’Still, I have nine more Gathering Essence Pills.’
’Once I take them all, I’ll still be able to reach Gang Qi Great Success.’
For the next several days, Xu Yang lived in seclusion, rarely venturing out and spending most of his time cultivating the Fuyue Bear Scripture and the Golden Gang Skill.
...
「The Su Family!」
"We found him! We found the Pill Master!"
Su Jiangong rushed to find his elder brother, Su Jianye, to report that they had located the Pill Master who was performing alchemy for the Zhu Family.
Su Jianye was overjoyed. "Who is he?" he asked. "How did you find him?"
He had been distraught over the recent death of his son-in-law, Xiao Chen, so this was finally a piece of good news.
Su Jiangong replied, "We don’t know the Pill Master’s identity yet, but we have pinpointed his residence."
Su Jianye’s smile faded considerably. "Tell me everything, in detail," he said.
Su Jiangong nodded. "We followed your line of thinking, Big Brother, and investigated the Zhu Family’s pharmacies. We discovered that one of their shops sends a batch of medicinal herbs to a specific location every month, and that batch consists entirely of ingredients used for refining the Blood Coagulation Pill."