Chapter 11: Wang Yanfeng
"Hehe, I knew I could do it. I've got the data now. After familiarizing myself a few more tis, I'll be able to stabilize it! As for the success rate, that can only be improved slowly."
Wang Hao picked up a yellow pill and sniffed it lightly a few tis. There was no strange odor. He popped it into his mouth. The mont the pill entered, it dissolved into a warm stream of liquid that flowed straight into his stomach. The next mont, a comforting warmth spread throughout his body, accompanied by a slight feeling of fullness.
This one small pill contained enough energy to sustain a cultivator for an entire day.
In theory, one batch should yield ten pills, but this was Wang Hao's first success, so his yield rate was only twenty percent.
A bottle of Fasting Pills contained ten pills and typically sold for three Spirit Stones. With his current success rate, he was clearly operating at a loss. One had to rember that each refining attempt consud ten jin of Spirit Rice!
Wang Hao ditated for two hours to recover his Qi, then refined two more batches, yielding three pills and two pills, respectively.
Ten days later, the Spirit Rice ripened again. Wang Hao started refining once more. He succeeded nine tis out of ten attempts, and the last two batches even yielded five pills each. At this point, he was no longer refining at a loss.
Of course, if the consumption of Spirit Charcoal was factored in, he wasn't making a profit either. To make money from Fasting Pills, he needed at least a sixty percent success rate.
After tidying up, Wang Hao bottled the Fasting Pills. The two refining sessions yielded four bottles in total. He didn't eat these things himself anyway, so he might as well sell them. It would also be a chance to have soone appraise their quality.
Since he was going out, Wang Hao took a portion of the White Jade Waterlons and Spirit Talisman Grass with him. The refining effect of the waterlons wasn't great for him anymore; it was more cost-effective to sell them and exchange the proceeds for Gathering Spirit Pills.
Donning his bamboo hat, Wang Hao headed straight for the Wang Family Pill Shop. The goods he was selling this ti weren't much, so there was no need for elaborate concealnt.
Entering the shop, he found Wang Wenxin on duty again. He got straight to the point: "Do you buy spirit fruits and pills here?"
Wang Wenxin looked up and recognized Wang Hao as the person who had purchased pills last ti. Just as he was about to attend to him, a cough suddenly ca from behind.
Wang Yanfeng walked forward. "Wenxin, go attend to the custors over there. I'll handle this Fellow Daoist."
Although puzzled, since Wang Yanfeng was his Eighth Uncle, Wang Wenxin didn't ask further questions and walked away.
Wang Yanfeng said, "Fellow Daoist, there is a private room upstairs. Shall we talk?"
Wang Hao had never t Wang Yanfeng before and didn't know what he was up to. But within this market area, safety should be guaranteed. He replied, "Of course."
"Please!"
Upon going upstairs, before Wang Hao could even sit down, Wang Yanfeng snorted. "You brat, coming to your own family's pill shop all covered up like this? What are you trying to do?"
Seeing Wang Hao's questioning look, he added, "I am your Eighth Uncle, Wang Yanfeng. Also an alchemist. I grew up with your father!"
"Oh! So it's Eighth Uncle! How did you recognize your nephew?" Seeing it was family, Wang Hao relaxed. An uncle who grew up with Old Wang wouldn't harm him, even if he didn't particularly like him.
"Sit down first." Wang Yanfeng tapped the table. "I recognized you the last ti you ca. With this shabby bamboo hat of yours, who could you possibly fool? I even went to check on your place a few tis, but seeing you never ca out, I assud you were in seclusion and didn't disturb you."
Wang Hao chuckled lightly. "After what happened previously, your nephew felt too ashad to show his face openly, so I bought this hat. I've made Eighth Uncle laugh."
"This hat of yours only fools ordinary people. Since it's our first eting and your father entrusted to look after you, I'll give you a gift." Saying this, he took out a black bamboo hat from his storage bag. "I bought this years ago. It doesn't have any major effects, but it can block the Spiritual Sense detection of cultivators below the Foundation Establishnt level. It's yours."
Wang Hao had been thinking about finding a better disguise technique himself; Eighth Uncle's gift was quite tily.
"Thank you, Eighth Uncle! Nephew gratefully accepts."
"You brat being so polite is different from how your father described you!" He pointed at Wang Hao with a smile. "I don't know how you angered Second Brother; every ti he ntions you, it's with sighs."
"Uh..." Wang Hao awkwardly rubbed his forehead, thinking inwardly that this wasn't his fault; it was all on the original owner!
He said, "People always have to grow up eventually. I'm eighteen now; considered an adult. My mother has been gone for many years; I need to live properly."
"It's good if you think that way! If Second Brother knew, he'd surely be very happy. Enough small talk; let's discuss why you ca today." Wang Yanfeng changed the subject.
Wang Hao didn't beat around the bush either. He took out the Fasting Pills and fifteen White Jade Waterlons. "So days ago, a friend sold these White Jade Waterlons to . Unfortunately, after refining them myself, I found the effect quite poor, so I thought of exchanging them for Gathering Spirit Pills! As for these pills... they were refined by personally; please give so pointers, Eighth Uncle!"
"You actually know alchemy too?" A look of surprise appeared on Wang Yanfeng's face. Ignoring the waterlons for now, he picked up the Fasting Pills instead. He took one out, sniffed it, and then swallowed it directly.
"Hmm... the quality is fairly decent indeed... Ah, right! You're Second Brother's son; what's so surprising about being able to refine pills?"
Hearing this made Wang Hao unhappy inwardly—he worked hard to refine these Fasting Pills himself! What did Old Wang have to do with it? Well... actually there was a connection—the pill formula and notes were given by Old Wang...
But still! One should distinguish primary from secondary factors! What did being Old Wang's son have to do with anything?
Wang Yanfeng then examined the White Jade Waterlons. "These White Jade Waterlons are grown extrely well; they can be considered top grade... But they truly aren't very suitable for mid-stage Qi Refining cultivation... Alright then—I'll make an executive decision here—I'll exchange these waterlons plus your pills for fifteen Gathering Spirit Pills total. Are you satisfied?"
These waterlons would fetch at most thirty Spirit Stones at other shops anyway. Fasting Pills sold at three Spirit Stones per bottle, but obviously, shops' purchase prices wouldn't be that high. Eighth Uncle here was giving him extra!
"Then thank you, Eighth Uncle!" Wang Hao wasn't an ungrateful person; he quickly bowed in thanks.
"Alright then—if you can focus on cultivation properly without angering your father further, then Eighth Uncle's care won't have been wasted."
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Wang Hao finally left carrying his new batch of pills.
Afterward, Wang Hao found himself within a secluded alleyway. He took out the black bamboo hat given by Eighth Uncle earlier, swapped out his old one, and wound through several twists and turns before finally arriving at the Qingyuan Sect’s Pill & Talisman Pavilion. There, he sold twenty jin of Spirit Talisman Grass, earning eighty Spirit Stones in total.
Next, he headed towards the Qingyuan Sect’s Weaponry Pavilion, where he finally purchased the long-desired Red Gold Sword.
He would inevitably need to venture outside eventually.
Although he had already collected most of the dicinal herbs required for Tier 1 pills, he was still missing several key supplentary ingredients. Most importantly, he needed the main ingredient for the Foundation Establishnt Pill: the Condensing Essence Fruit. He had to obtain it sooner rather than later.
The Condensing Essence Fruit Tree was a Tier 2 High-Grade spiritual plant. Its growth ti required a hundred years, and then it flowered and bore fruit once every fifty years. Thus, it took a total of one hundred and fifty years. Within the farm, the growth ti would be fifteen years. If he waited until the late stage of Foundation Establishnt before seeking it, it probably wouldn't mature before he reached age sixty.
Condensing Essence Fruit Trees were mostly monopolized by major powers; targeting them was unrealistic.
However, the Southern Sea's developnt was relatively recent. Even within the Duan Yuan Mountain Range, many areas remained untouched by humans, so possibly undiscovered specins remained. Rumor had it that the Qingyuan Sect’s Condensing Essence Fruit Tree was obtained from the Duan Yuan Mountain Range. Relying upon that tree, the Qingyuan Sect continuously strengthened itself, ultimately growing to beco the regional hegemon.
Reviews
All reviews (0)