Chapter 765 - 288: Young Man, You Have No Decency!
Chapter 765: Chapter 288: Young Man, You Have No Decency!
Huh?
’This was a blind spot in Xiao Chen’s knowledge,’ he thought. ’There are rules about the bottles used for elixirs?’
"Er, that was my oversight."
He admitted it frankly, "I didn’t bring a Qilin Fat Jade Bottle with me this time."
"If you have a spare one, Alchemist, I’m willing to purchase it at a high price."
’Whether the claim was true or not, the other party was a Tier Four Alchemist, so I’ll just assume he’s right.’
"Ah?"
Alchemist Geng paused, looking down at the bottle on the table. "Isn’t this a perfectly good jade bottle right here?"
Xiao Chen glanced at the original jade bottle as well. "But doesn’t this still contain your Spirit Pill, Alchemist?"
One of the unspoken rules of commissioning Alchemy was that, unless a fixed price in Spirit Stones was agreed upon beforehand, one could only take a single pill from the finished batch.
All remaining pills, no matter how many, belonged to the Alchemist.
The condition sounded extremely harsh, but it had been a long-standing convention since ancient times.
This practice was precisely what guaranteed that Loose Cultivator Alchemists could earn enough to continue their research into higher-tiered Alchemy.
Otherwise, without sects to absorb the resource losses from early failures in the refinement process, Alchemy would have long been completely monopolized by the major powers.
If that were to happen, the cost for Loose Cultivators to acquire elixirs would only be higher.
"Oh, Xiao, you’ve misunderstood!"
Realization dawned on Alchemist Geng, and he explained with a smile, "You’ve already paid the fee for this Alchemy session."
"That being the case, the remaining Spirit Pill is naturally yours as well."
His meaning was that their prior agreement constituted the entirety of his payment.
Furthermore, as an old man, he had neither the energy nor the need to earn more resources to further his study of Alchemy.
These days, Alchemist Geng was more concerned with spending time with his grandson and raising him.
It was for this very reason that he had established the rule of only firing up his furnace once a month at most and had moved to a remote alley to turn away the endless stream of visitors.
"Then I thank you for your kindness, Alchemist."
Xiao Chen didn’t stand on ceremony any further; that would have been pointless.
So, he accepted it, along with the Qilin Fat Jade Bottle.
As the Jade Marrow Infant Pill settled safely into his Vast Sea Ring, he was another giant step closer to Nascent Soul Formation.
Doing the math...
The Jade Marrow Infant Pill, the Nursery Altar, the Blood Granting Infant Secret Technique, plus the Nascent Soul Jade that Xiao Chen had previously obtained.
Just these external items alone could provide a seventy percent success rate for Nascent Soul Formation.
A pair of Evil Qi could add another five percent, and since he had already gathered four pairs, that was another twenty percent.
In total, that was a full ninety percent success rate for Nascent Soul Formation!
If he could capture the Yang Water Fiend to form the final pair of Evil Qi, plus the additional five percent success rate provided by the Five Elements Seal...
That would be exactly, perfectly one hundred percent.
’Factoring in the three Pill Patterns I just saw, there’s even a little extra breathing room.’
"KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!"
Just as Xiao Chen was mentally calculating his success rate, a series of urgent knocks suddenly echoed from outside.
It was immediately followed by a young, slightly childish voice. "Grandpa, a visitor is here to see you!"
Alchemist Geng’s brow furrowed slightly, but he still asked directly, "Who is it?"
He had given specific instructions before, so unless it was a particularly important matter or guest, his grandson wouldn’t come to disturb him in the tea hall.
The boy poked his head in. "It’s Grandmaster Shuang! He even brought me more of those really delicious Spirit Fruits like last time!"
Hearing this, Alchemist Geng’s expression turned solemn, and he let out a heavy sigh.
He then turned to Xiao Chen and explained, "True Monarch Lv Shuang has graced us with his presence. I must go and greet him, so it seems we can’t talk any longer today."
"If you wish to pay your respects to the True Monarch, Xiao, feel free to come along. I can make an introduction for you."
"If you have other urgent matters, I can have Cheng show you out the back."
To be on the safe side, Xiao Chen decided he should have urgent business to attend to.
And so, he turned down the opportunity to meet a True Monarch—a chance that would make others burn with envy.
’Once I make my breakthrough in the future, there will be plenty of opportunities to meet,’ he thought. ’There’s no need to rush it today.’