"I’ll immediately make a trip to the Treasure Pill Pavilion, I should be able to return in at most half an hour! Alchemist Chu, please rest for a while in my Alchemy Room, how about that?"
Niu Baotian instantly lost his nerve, he no longer dared to negotiate any terms with Chu Feng.
"Go ahead!" Chu Feng waved his hand.
He sat alone in Niu Baotian’s Alchemy Room and felt somewhat bored. He casually surveyed everything inside the room.
There was a medicine cabinet against the wall, the kind with many small drawers.
Each drawer had the name of the medicine written on the outside.
A Pill Master with their own Alchemy Room would usually store some commonly used medicinal materials for convenience in alchemy. Generally, these were cheaper auxiliary medicines.
"Eh! Because of that idiot Liu Ping’s blessing during today’s alchemy class, he inadvertently gave me some Yellow Earth. Now with a complete set of auxiliary medicines, as well as a Pill Furnace and Earth fire, I might as well concoct a batch of elixirs to enhance my cultivation."
Chu Feng’s cultivation was only at the Second Level of Swordsman; it was far too weak.
So much so that despite his superior combat experience and mastery of some exquisite moves, he could not unleash even a tenth of their power.
His own elder brother, the Eldest Prince of the Sword King Mansion, now resorted to standing guard at the city gate.
Chu Feng found this hard to swallow.
To change all of this, he must swiftly enhance his own strength and then use his alchemy skills to secretly assist his brother.
"To concoct the Pei Yuan Elixir, Yellow Earth is the main medicine; for the auxiliary medicines, I’ll select some with Fire Attributes! It should somewhat benefit my Nine Yang Strange Fire."
Abnormal Fire was one of Chu Feng’s strongest assets, and the more potent it was, the better.
No sooner thought than done, after he had gathered the auxiliary medicines, he immediately began the alchemy process.
A full hour went by, and at this moment, Niu Baotian came running back, drenched in sweat. A hint of joy on his face suggested that things had gone well.
However, as soon as he entered his own Alchemy Room, he was stunned.
Because he saw Chu Feng engaging in alchemy, and his Fire Control technique was almost magical. It made Niu Baotian, the teaching director, feel ashamed.
Although Niu Baotian was a Second Grade Alchemist with not inferior skills in Fire Control, he was far inferior to Chu Feng.
The difference between them was more than just a star’s gap.
"Is this... really just a student from the Alchemy Academy?"
Niu Baotian’s eyes widened, he was dumbfounded, and his face showed embarrassment. Having witnessed Chu Feng’s alchemy skills, Niu Baotian felt that he was the student and Chu Feng the instructor.
At this moment, Chu Feng had also completed his alchemy. He pinched a formula and perfectly controlled the furnace flame, gradually extinguishing it.
It was done effortlessly, as naturally as if melons were falling after ripening, without a ripple of disturbance.
Many fail in alchemy specifically at the step of extinguishing the fire.
If the fire is extinguished too quickly, the elixir goes from high heat to sudden cold, which will directly cause it to crack and break. If the fire is extinguished too slowly, the cooling process of the elixir is too prolonged, leading not only to loss of efficacy.
It can also result in a loose structure of the elixir or a difference in quality, with odd and strange appearances.
Hence, alchemy is a craft with extremely high technical requirements.
"I was idly bored, and since I had the main ingredient on me, I borrowed your Pill Furnace and concocted a batch of Pei Yuan Elixirs! I took some of your auxiliary medicines, so just deduct ten silver taels from the payment for those two Flame Burst Pills."
Chu Feng said indifferently.
"No need, no need, having Alchemist Chu refine elixirs for me is my honor! Moreover, a bit of auxiliary medicine is not worth much money at all. You have saved my life, and if I were to charge you for some auxiliary medicine, that would really show an ungrateful spirit!"
Niu Baotian waved his hands repeatedly while handing over three silver banknotes to Chu Feng.
"All in all, it sold for three thousand silver taels!"
Receiving the three thousand-tael banknotes, Chu Feng was quite surprised. According to his thoughts, a Flame Burst Pill would at most sell for 1,200 silver taels at the very limit.
Unexpectedly, it sold for an extra 600 silver taels.
No business is done without cunning, and he surely didn’t believe the Treasure Pill Pavilion was a charity. They’d be looking to underpay rather than overpay, so why would they give extra silver?
"Alchemist Chu, are you satisfied with this price?"
"Hehe, you might not believe it, but my luck is truly good. Taking the Flame Burst Pill to the Treasure Pill Pavilion for sale, it happened that a big shot had just arrived there. Talismanic Elixirs are somewhat rare in the Jianyun Dynasty."
"He immediately came over to take a look and seemed very excited when he saw it. He asked me how much I was selling it for."
"I remembered what you said, that the price couldn’t be set too low. A normal first-grade Talismanic Pill sells for around one thousand silver taels. Yours had good quality, so I just quoted three thousand taels. Unexpectedly, the dignitary didn’t say another word and just handed me three silver banknotes of a thousand taels each."
Niu Baotian told the story of selling the Flame Burst Pill with great pride.
A heavy sinking feeling suddenly gripped Chu Feng’s heart, realizing he had been careless.
If this dignitary mentioned by Niu Baotian was his own senior disciple, it was very likely that he had recognized it from the special characteristics of the elixir.
"Did that dignitary ask you anything else?" Chu Feng tried to keep his tone calm, asking casually.
"He asked who had refined the elixir, and I said it was my own work, then he didn’t ask anything more," Alchemy Master Niu’s tone clearly carried the intention to please Chu Feng.
Chu Feng nodded, still feeling a bit anxious.
"From now on, whenever you’re asked who refined any elixir you sell, insist that it was your own work!" After saying this, Chu Feng took out a Detoxification Pill. "Take this, and then I’ll use needle therapy to clear your channels and detoxify you, at the very least it can ensure you’re safe for a month!"
"To completely remove your poison, I fear we must wait until I can refine a third-grade elixir to find a way!"
Chu Feng fully understood the complexity of human hearts.
If he couldn’t show Niu Baotian some hope, it would be difficult to ensure his loyalty.
Indeed, upon hearing his words, Niu Baotian’s face immediately revealed a hint of hopeful joy.
"Thank you, Alchemist Chu!" He thanked him repeatedly.
Compared to not long before, Niu Baotian seemed much more sincere. The tone and expression of his gratitude were also very natural.
It seemed that all the doubts and grievances in Niu Baotian’s heart had been dispelled.
If Chu Feng had the ability to detoxify him but purposely delayed doing so to use him, it would certainly breed resentment in Niu Baotian’s heart.
Now things were different, not only was he devoid of resentful energy, but he was also hopeful that Chu Feng would advance to a third-grade alchemist soon.
After granting Niu Baotian a Detoxification Pill and having him take it, Chu Feng immediately performed needle therapy on him on the spot. Combined with the effect of the Detoxification Pill, he extracted the poison from Niu Baotian.
Although the needle therapy only took about a quarter of an hour, Chu Feng was sweating profusely, almost to the point of collapsing from weakness.
This body’s cultivation was just too weak.
He couldn’t help shaking his head with a wry smile, knowing he needed to increase his cultivation to that of a Tenth-Order Swordsman as fast as possible.
Niu Baotian felt a lightness and exhilaration he had not experienced since he had been poisoned, a feeling of weightlessness that came with being free of illness.
"Alchemist Chu, thank you! Should you need me, Niu Baotian, to do anything in the future, just command me!"