Chapter 169 - 153: Stacking Giant Strength, Gathering the Medicinal Materials
Chapter 169: Chapter 153: Stacking Giant Strength, Gathering the Medicinal Materials
What’s more, some Tier Two Alchemists, to guarantee the quality of the pills they produce, would deliberately sacrifice two potential pills to focus on refining just one. This practice damaged their reputations, making material providers all the more cautious and forcing them to heavily vet an Alchemist’s credibility.
Moreover, the Foundation Establishment Pill was precious and its materials scarce. No Alchemist could afford to practice with them repeatedly, making it impossible to accumulate experience and thereby increase the success rate...
More importantly, for Qi Cultivation Loose Cultivators, the most skilled Tier Two Alchemists were completely out of reach. Those seeking pills couldn’t even get through the door.
This was because such Alchemists associated exclusively with Foundation Establishment Cultivators, or even Fake Core Cultivators. The status of a Qi Cultivation Loose Cultivator was simply too low, and the prices they could pay were not enough to sway them.
For all these reasons, Tier Two Alchemists within the Immortal City who could refine two genuine Foundation Establishment Pills *and* were willing to deal with Qi Cultivation Loose Cultivators were in extremely high demand.
Even one genuine and one substandard pill was an acceptable outcome.
So when a highly skilled Tier Two Alchemist with an excellent reputation—who wasn’t yet jaded and was easy to approach—appeared, it was impossible for these cultivators not to get ideas.
Besides, the time limit for reaching Foundation Establishment loomed over them. Every year of delay diminished their hope of success. They truly could not afford to wait.
...
The first person to seek out Lin Changheng was an Early Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator for whom he had previously refined a pill.
Truth be told, Lin Changheng hadn’t expected it. He assumed the man had come to request an ordinary Tier Two Pill.
But who would have known? The moment he was welcomed inside, the first words out of his mouth were about the Foundation Establishment Pill.
"I’ve heard that some Loose Cultivators are planning to pool their materials and ask you, Alchemist Lin, to refine a Foundation Establishment Pill. I also heard that you are still considering the proposition. I came specifically to ask if these rumors are true."
"That’s correct," Lin Changheng confirmed with a nod.
"Heh, I happen to have one of the main ingredients—a Seven-Star Spirit Moon Grass—and several supplementary materials. I also have a need for a Foundation Establishment Pill. I was wondering if I might be able to join in and contribute my materials?"
"As for the compensation in Spirit Stones, I will pay whatever rate you’ve agreed upon with the other Fellow Daoists. I will absolutely make sure you are satisfied, Alchemist Lin."
The Qian Cultivator chuckled and asked his question, waving a hand to present four boxes.
’I didn’t expect someone to show up so soon after I let the rumor spread,’ Lin Changheng thought. ’The high-quality pill I refined for him previously must have left a good impression and played a significant role.’
"The materials are fine, and they don’t overlap with those of the Fellow Daoist who approached me earlier. Of course, you can join."
He had inspected all of them—one main ingredient and three supplementary ones—and confirmed they were genuine and suitable for Alchemy. More importantly, they didn’t conflict with the Nine-leaf Purple Ginseng he already possessed, so he gave his approval.
As for the "Fellow Daoist who approached me earlier," this person was a fabrication of Lin Changheng’s. Or, if one had to name him, it would be Lin Changheng himself, since he did indeed possess one main ingredient and a rare supplementary one.
As for payment, Lin Changheng quoted a price that was neither too high nor too low: one thousand Spirit Stones per person.
With three people collaborating on the refinement, the total would be three thousand.
The total fee was nearly triple the income he’d get from refining an ordinary Tier Two Elixir.
But given the difficulty of refining a Foundation Establishment Pill and its scarcity, it was never going to be cheap.
In fact, quoting too low a price would have made the Pill Seekers suspect his Alchemy Skill was subpar. They would assume he was using a low price to lure in clients to use for practice, turning them into cannon fodder for his own training.
"No problem."
The Qian Cultivator chuckled and readily agreed.
For a Foundation Establishment Cultivator like him, a thousand Spirit Stones was truly nothing significant.
If he took another step forward and became a Core Formation Cultivator, obtaining a Foundation Establishment Pill for his descendants would be a much simpler task. Such was the gap created by differences in status.
Having settled the terms of their cooperation, the Qian Cultivator retrieved the four boxes, left behind a Communication Jade Talisman and the location of his residence, and then took his leave.
Throughout the entire process, Lin Changheng never brought up the Foundation Establishment Pill Formula. Within the Immortal City, the formula was hardly a rare commodity; it was widely circulated. The real bottlenecks to refining a Foundation Establishment Pill were sourcing the materials and finding a capable Alchemist.
He had, on several occasions, purchased three separate copies of the Foundation Establishment Pill Formula from large, reputable stores in the Immortal City that specialized in texts and knowledge. He had carefully compared them and used logical deduction to arrive at a verified conclusion—
They were all genuine.
Now, he only needed to gather the last main ingredient, the Celestial Crystal Spirit Lotus, and seven or eight common supplementary materials, and then he could begin the refinement.
However, Lin Changheng’s own Nine-leaf Purple Ginseng was still a bit shy of full maturity, so there was no immediate rush.
...
「Half a month later.」
That day, a knock once again echoed from his door.
Lin Changheng opened the door to find a beautiful woman in an elegant gown—it was none other than his neighbor, the Female Cultivator and Sound Master, Cui Jianshui. With her was a somewhat gaunt man in a black robe. His cultivation felt full, yet it hadn’t undergone a qualitative leap; he was likely at the Peak of Qi Cultivation.
"Fairy Cui."
"Alchemist Lin, I’ve brought you another client."
Cui Jianshui, her Cyan Silk hair piled high and revealing her slender neck, chuckled softly behind her hand.
"Thank you, Fairy Cui. Please, both of you, come in."
Lin Changheng stepped aside, ushering the two inside.
Cui Jianshui wasn’t exaggerating. His very first client had been Deng Changsheng, whom she had recommended. Even now, Deng Changsheng still worked for him.
Later, she had introduced several other Qi Cultivation Cultivators and even a Late Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator who needed pills refined.
It was safe to say she had been a tremendous help.
But Lin Changheng had never treated her poorly. He often gifted her pills and would even perform Alchemy for her free of charge, which was why she was always so happy to help.
Lin Changheng understood full well that the strongest connections between people were forged through mutual benefit. If he hadn’t reciprocated after she introduced that first client, there likely wouldn’t have been any further recommendations.
The gaunt Male Cultivator she had just introduced was named Gu Chang’an.
Although the man often wore a faint smile, Lin Changheng’s keen perception detected a subtle, suppressed Evil Qi clinging to him.
Then again, Evil Qi was all too common in Floating Immortal City. Most Loose Cultivators had to fight for their lives out in the Wilderness; it would be stranger if they *didn’t* carry such an aura.
A peaceful Cultivator like Lin Changheng—who rarely left his residence, treated others with kindness, and avoided conflict at all costs—was a true rarity, one in a million.
And yet, of all the Immortal City Cultivators he had met, only this man gave Lin Changheng this particular feeling. Unable to put his finger on it, Lin Changheng set the thought aside for the moment, but made a mental note to remain wary.
"Alchemist Lin, Mr. Gu heard you were planning to refine a Foundation Establishment Pill. He happens to have some of the medicinal materials as well, so he came to see if he could join in and pool resources for the refinement."
Cui Jianshui glanced at Gu Chang’an before turning back to Lin Changheng, her red lips pursed slightly as she spoke.
"Oh?"
Over the past half a month, several others had come to Lin Changheng with similar inquiries. However, their materials overlapped, so he had been forced to refuse them. His only advice was for them to wait for the next batch or to find other cultivators with complementary materials and gather enough for a separate refinement.
Instead of responding directly, Lin Changheng asked, "And which of the main ingredients for the Foundation Establishment Pill do you have, Mr. Gu?"
After all, a batch of Foundation Establishment Pills could be divided into three at most, yielding a maximum of three pills. Coincidentally, there were also three main ingredients. Thus, anyone who wanted a share of the final pills had to provide one of the main ingredients.
If a Cultivator could provide two main ingredients, then two people could partner for the refinement, giving them a claim to two of the resulting Foundation Establishment Pills.
"The main ingredient I possess is the Celestial Crystal Spirit Lotus," Gu Chang’an stated calmly, a faint smile on his face. "I also have two of the supplementary materials on hand. Will that be of use?"
Lin Changheng broke into a smile. "That is precisely the ingredient we’re missing."
"Then it’s a perfect match! We can refine a batch together!"
A look of delight appeared on Gu Chang’an’s face.
Cui Jianshui simply watched from the side, a smile on her face, saying nothing more.
"Indeed," Lin Changheng nodded.
"When can you begin the refinement, Alchemist Lin?"
"My Alchemy schedule is quite full, so you’ll have to join the queue. It will be in about half a year."
Lin Changheng gave the date after a moment’s thought.
By then, his Nine-leaf Purple Ginseng would also be mature and ready for use.
"Half a year? Very well!"
Gu Chang’an had no choice but to accept the Alchemist’s schedule. Besides, half a year wasn’t an excessively long time. He could afford to wait.
The two then confirmed the finer details of the refinement, including the Furnace Opening Fee, and the negotiations went smoothly.
After also leaving behind a Communication Jade Talisman and his residence information, Gu Chang’an departed.
Cui Jianshui, however, did not leave immediately. She lingered for a while in the Qingyuan Small Building, chatting with Lin Changheng for a long time before finally departing with a radiant smile.
Watching the Female Cultivator’s graceful, retreating back, Lin Changheng couldn’t help but shake his head.
The woman had clearly grown much warmer and more familiar with him, a far cry from their previous relationship as mere nodding acquaintances with a subtle distance between them.