Chapter 10

Yuan Long had finally seen what it meant to be a genius, even though he had never seen an alchemist refine pills before.

However, Bai Chen managed to refine pills in large quantities using just a broken pot. With this skill alone, even those grandmasters of pill refinement would be ashamed to show their faces.

Soon, A Dai was called up the mountain again, and he filled a small bag with pills before heading straight for Clearwater Town.

Although pills were rare, they were the most favored items by the wealthy.

If a wealthy family managed to purchase a pill, they would show it off to their relatives and friends.

Being able to buy a pill was a matter of pride.

A single pill could cost anywhere from a dozen to a hundred taels of silver, and sometimes even a thousand taels might not be enough to buy one.

Originally, Yuan Long wanted Bai Chen to make the trip himself, but he was worried that the Mountain Path Sect might suddenly come, so he entrusted A Dai with the task.

Although A Dai was from the village at the foot of the mountain, his character was impeccable, or else Yuan Long wouldn't have trusted him to sell the pills.

Moreover, A Dai was considered a smart and capable person in the village. He had never made a mistake when entrusted with purchasing goods.

The next day, A Dai returned with a thousand taels of silver. His face was flushed, clearly indicating that the transaction had gone very smoothly.

It wasn't just smooth; the pills he carried amounted to over a hundred. There were fifty first-grade Spirit Pills, thirty second-grade Blood Replenishing Pills, and twenty third-grade Heart Nourishing Pills. The six pharmacies in Clearwater Town almost begged A Dai to sell them the pills.

A Dai had never been so proud in his life. Although there were only a hundred wealthy households in Clearwater Town, they might not be able to consume all the pills.

However, there were many martial artists passing through Clearwater Town, and there were over a dozen sects in the surrounding area. If he could sell to them, it would be a significant profit.

Therefore, the proprietors of the pharmacies and clinics were all trying their best, almost treating A Dai like their own son.

The Spirit Pills were sold for eight taels each, the Blood Replenishing Pills for twenty taels each, and the Heart Nourishing Pills for fifty taels each, bringing in a total of two thousand taels.

Originally, Bai Chen was worried that A Dai, who had never seen so much money in his life, might run away with it.

However, when A Dai placed the two thousand taels in front of Bai Chen without a single tael missing, Bai Chen swallowed his concerns.

Bai Chen didn't hold back and gave A Dai a hundred taels as a labor fee.

A Dai was much happier with the hundred taels than when he handed over the two thousand. After all, it was money he had earned, and he had never made so much in his life.

"A Dai, from now on, you will be our representative for the Boundless Sect."

"What's a representative?" A Dai looked at Bai Chen in confusion.

"A representative is someone who sells things for us and takes a commission. For example, for this batch of pills, you take ten percent. The better the price you get, the higher your earnings."

A Dai's eyes widened. He was a straightforward person but quite shrewd. After a moment's thought, he understood the potential profit.

"Do you know of any sects nearby?"

"I know, I know. I know all the sects around Clearwater Town." A Dai immediately perked up, eager to show off his knowledge to Bai Chen: "Thirty miles south of Clearwater Town are the Five Elements Sect and the White Crane Sect. Eighty miles further south is the Green Dragon Sect. To the north is..."

A Dai listed over a dozen sects, some large and some small. A few of the larger ones were several times bigger than the Mountain Path Sect.

Bai Chen took out a brocade box containing twenty fourth-grade Spirit Accumulating Pills and handed it to A Dai, instructing him: "Go to the larger sects and give a few pills to each."

After two days of refining pills, Bai Chen's alchemy skill had reached level 3, meaning he could refine pills up to the sixth grade with a 100% success rate. However, the success rate for pills above the sixth grade would decrease.

As for the broken pot and ordinary flame, they only increased the success rate by 2%.

Therefore, Bai Chen didn't plan to refine pills above the sixth grade for now. The sects around Clearwater Town were satisfied with pills up to the sixth grade.

Even if he offered pills above the sixth grade, they wouldn't be able to afford them, unless he took them to Qingzhou City.

"Give them away?" Yuan Long objected: "These are fourth-grade Spirit Accumulating Pills! One pill can replace half a month of cultivation. Even if I sold them for five hundred taels each, I would still think it cheap. You want to give them away? Are you crazy?"

A Dai didn't know what Spirit Accumulating Pills were, but he understood what fourth-grade meant. What was fourth-grade?

None of the pharmacies in Clearwater Town had ever seen a fourth-grade pill, which showed how precious they were.

Moreover, Yuan Long himself had said that five hundred taels was too little, indicating their true value.

The pills in his hand were worth ten thousand taels!

Ten percent of that was a thousand taels, and he was just giving them away?

"You two, to make big deals, you need to think long-term. Twenty fourth-grade pills are nothing."

Actually, Bai Chen wasn't being generous for no reason. He understood the importance of branding.

Even if the Boundless Sect had the strength, no one knew about it.

Only after defeating the Mountain Path Sect would the Boundless Sect's name be known.

Otherwise, who would know if the Boundless Sect was just a minor sect?

"Once they taste the benefits, do you think they won't beg to buy our pills?"

Yuan Long looked at the brocade box in A Dai's hand with resentment, his heart bleeding.

He had personally tested the effects of the Spirit Accumulating Pills. The feeling was indescribable. The true qi in his body surged, and in a moment, he became a quasi-expert of the first grade.

If he could eat them every day, wouldn't that be incredible?

Of course, although one Spirit Accumulating Pill could replace half a month of cultivation, it couldn't be consumed indefinitely.

Otherwise, relying solely on Spirit Accumulating Pills, one could become an invincible expert, which would be absurd.

First, the Spirit Accumulating Pills were only effective for martial artists below the fifth grade of the postnatal stage, and they could only be taken once a month. The second time, the effect would be halved.

Even so, Yuan Long's heart still ached. Bai Chen rolled his eyes at Yuan Long. This guy was hopeless.

He didn't even understand the principle that you can't catch a wolf without risking your child. How could he expect him to strengthen the Boundless Sect?

It seemed he would need to educate him further...

After giving a few instructions, A Dai left with the pills and was also tasked with helping Yuan Long forge new armor.

Yuan Long's armor had lost its effectiveness after just one day of use.

Bai Chen couldn't help but laugh bitterly. Yuan Long's terrifying power increase was almost beyond comprehension.

Yuan Long pounced on the silver on the table.

"Money... so much money..."

"In front of A Lan, can you please not do such embarrassing things?"

Yuan Long had just started cultivating inner strength, so his energy was particularly vigorous. Even after two days and two nights without sleep, he didn't feel tired.

Even in the middle of the night, Bai Chen could still hear Yuan Long's shouts outside.

Bai Chen was glad he hadn't chosen the Vajra Strength, or he would have suffered the same fate as Yuan Long, unable to release his abundant energy, which would have been extremely painful.

Bai Chen continued to ponder why the Mountain Path Sect hadn't attacked yet. With their strength, they didn't need to take advantage of a weak moment, and they had never taken the Boundless Sect seriously.

Unless something was holding them back, or they were dealing with a sudden enemy, or the Mountain Path Sect had something more important to handle before dealing with the Boundless Sect.

The following days were the same. On one hand, Bai Chen and Yuan Long patiently waited, while on the other, they rapidly improved their cultivation.

Every night, Bai Chen would dissolve the last bit of negative energy in his body. The true qi refined from this negative energy was now insignificant to Bai Chen, and the increase in true qi was limited.

As his cultivation improved, all of Bai Chen's attributes had made a qualitative leap. By dawn, Bai Chen had adjusted his body to its optimal state.

Every day, Yuan Long would drag Bai Chen to practice for two hours. Bai Chen's strikes were heavy, and Yuan Long would cry out in pain.

However, for Yuan Long, being hit was necessary. Although the progress of the Iron Shirt technique wasn't as terrifying as Bai Chen's, each beating meant a leap in strength after recovery.

"Seven days already, and those brats from the Mountain Path Sect still haven't come. I'm bored to death," Yuan Long complained.

After several days of intense practice, he could feel that his strength had improved significantly compared to before.

However, he couldn't have a satisfying fight, and practicing with Bai Chen was no fun. He was always on the receiving end, and he had lost his temper over the past few days.

If he couldn't find an opponent to relax with, he might really develop a problem.

...

Mountain Path Sect—

"Prince Qin, are you satisfied with my disciple?"

Shan Wuxing stood with his hands clasped, a fawning expression on his face, in front of a young nobleman. Several elders stood beside him, all with flattering expressions, as if they were waiting to be favored by the nobleman.

Qin Youwei lightly wiped the rouge from his lips and glanced at Zhang Qiao'er beside him, unimpressed: "A vulgar woman."

Zhang Qiao'er followed Qin Youwei, her eyes filled with affection. Her hair was slightly disheveled, and she didn't mind Qin Youwei's evaluation.

Who was Qin Youwei?

He was one of the four famous young noblemen of Qingzhou, the young master of the Pill Marvel Sect.

It was said that this young master was a rare alchemy genius, and at the age of twenty, he could already refine fifth-grade treasure pills. In time, he would surely become a grandmaster.

Not to mention the Pill Marvel Sect behind him, the title of grandmaster in alchemy alone was enough to make people flock to him.

The Mountain Path Sect's current power wasn't due to Shan Wuxing's ability but the strong support of the Pill Marvel Sect.

So when Qin Youwei arrived, Shan Wuxing put aside all his affairs, even his son's blood feud, to serve Qin Youwei wholeheartedly. As long as Qin Youwei was happy, he would even offer his disciples, and if he had a daughter, he would give her to Qin Youwei, a true oddity in the martial world.

"Where is Shan Yu? Why haven't I seen him these days?"

At the mention of Shan Yu, Shan Wuxing's expression changed several times. Zhang Qiao'er gently pulled Qin Youwei's arm, her face full of coquettishness: "Master Shan Yu was attacked by someone, and his great vengeance has yet to be avenged..."

As she spoke, a few tears squeezed from the corners of her eyes, though not entirely fake. Shan Yu wasn't a stranger to her, and they had had a few private exchanges.

"Hmm? Who dared to attack Shan Yu?" Qin Youwei wasn't grieving for Shan Yu but thought that attacking the Mountain Path Sect was an insult to the Pill Marvel Sect.

Zhang Qiao'er exaggerated the story, even adding some unflattering remarks about the Pill Marvel Sect, which made Qin Youwei's face turn red with anger.

"Boundless Sect! To dare to bully us, the Pill Marvel Sect! Fine, fine, fine..." Qin Youwei was furious, his eyes gleaming with a fierce light: "Shan Wuxing, gather your disciples and go with me to the Boundless Sect to seek justice! Do you think the Pill Marvel Sect is easy to bully?"