Zhican Valley, in a certain attic for storing pills, on the first floor lobby, Qin Ran was sitting calmly to one side, holding a cup of tea in his hand, gently blowing the tea leaves.
The tea was sent by Elder Sun, and like the sobering soup this morning, it contained poison. He drank it very happily.
Meanwhile, Elder Sun was standing to the side, glaring with anger written all over his face.
However, it was unclear what he was angry about. Was he angry that his disciples had made a mistake? Or that important guests from Dao Sword Sect were slighted? Or that Qin Ran had dared to say the pills had issues? Or that this task had not been completed?
So it could be said, those who understood, understood.
Elder Sun had already arranged for people to go replace the problematic pills and medicinal ingredients.
He calculated silently in his heart. The market price of a low-grade flawed Gathering Original Pill was 70-90 low-grade Spirit Stones. A qualified low-grade Gathering Original Pill was 110-120 low-grade Spirit Stones. A mid-grade Gathering Original Pill was around 300. A top-grade Gathering Original Pill was 500 and up.
Originally, he could have sold large quantities of flawed Gathering Original Pills to Dao Sword Sect, but now he had to replace all these flawed Gathering Original Pills with low-, mid- and even top-grade Gathering Original Pills.
So with this transaction, the Spirit Stones he lost could be counted in the tens of thousands.
Elder Sun's heart was bleeding! As he pretended to be angry, occasionally the look he gave Qin Ran already revealed killing intent.
It didn't take long, perhaps Elder Sun had made preparations already, and his disciples brought new pills and medicinal ingredients. Qin Ran carefully examined them one by one, and finally confirmed there were no mistakes.
Facing Elder Sun's smiling dagger-behind-a-smile expression, his elegant face revealed a shy smile, and he said, "I've made Elder laugh. This is my first time doing something like this, sometimes I may be offensive, I hope Elder can be magnanimous about it."
He even sighed exaggeratedly, "Alas! I was afraid there might be mistakes."
Elder Sun replied, "Of course, of course. Us Elders do it all for our disciples, it's not easy on anyone. Elder Qin is exceptionally responsible!"
"You flatter me!" Qin Ran said modestly.
He took out a temporary Universe Bag, and after some quick calculations, took out some Spirit Stones. He handed the entire Universe Bag to Elder Sun, and said, "The Spirit Stones are all in here, Elder please calculate if the amount is correct."
Elder Sun accepted the Spirit Stones, and said, "Do I still not trust Elder Qin? What's there to check!"
Then he spent a lot of time carefully counting the Spirit Stones in the Universe Bag, and double checked it against his ledger, before confirming there were no mistakes.
"Elder is so diligent, admirable!" he smiled at Qin Ran.
Qin Ran exchanged a few pleasantries with him, then took out the Spirit Stones he had set aside earlier, and said, "We're already at such an alchemy holy land like Zhican Valley, as an alchemist, it wouldn't be proper to leave without some of Zhican Valley's specialties - spiritual ingredients and herbs."
He earnestly explained to Elder Sun, "Recently I've been researching pills for physical strength, repairing constitution, and nurturing spirit beasts. I'm in need of some medicinal ingredients, I hope Elder Sun can sell me some."
"So Elder is researching pill formulas by himself?" Elder Sun exclaimed. In his heart he thought, truly fearless from ignorance. Half a bottle of water making waves, even daring to mess with pill formulas. As expected, he's close to death. He said to Qin Ran, "The medicinal ingredients you need for those pills are extremely precious, the valley may not have them."
"It matters not..." Qin Ran laughed and said, "The ingredients I need won't be too precious, just five hundred year old Ling Ginseng, hundred year old Lingzhi Mushrooms, Jade Dew Immortal Grass, Golden Leaf Peaches..."
Qin Ran listed a bunch of names, and finally said to Elder Sun, "Elder, just sell me some randomly, I'll keep them as mementos."
Elder Sun said it was no trouble, and arranged for a disciple to prepare them for Qin Ran.
Then, Elder Sun brought Qin Ran and Feng Feiyan out of the attic, to tour the valley and see the sights.
Of course he wasn't showing Qin Ran their spirit herb farms and disciples' alchemy learning areas. He was just slowly walking from the valley's center towards the outskirts - equivalent to seeing off a guest.
The meaning was, once his disciples send over the spiritual ingredients Qin Ran requested, Qin Ran could directly get lost.
As the few people walked, they came again to the small plaza they passed yesterday, the one where disciples were exhibiting outdoor alchemy processes. Qin Ran was surprised to see it happening today as well.
He asked Elder Sun, "Does this kind of alchemy exchange happen every day?"
"The sect does not prohibit alchemy exchanges..." Elder Sun smiled and said, "Actually, the pill formulas are right there, but those who can successfully produce pills are still the minority. Zhican Valley has thousands of disciples, but only a hundred odd can actually concoct pills in the end."
"Truly an alchemy holy land that inspires yearning!" Qin Ran sincerely exclaimed in admiration.
Elder Sun looked at him, suppressed the urge to kill, and extended the invitation again, "Elder Qin is such an alchemy genius, if you joined Zhican Valley, you will definitely become a master of the generation."
"Haha..." Qin Ran shook his head, smiling as he declined, "You flatter me too much, Elder. Dao Sword Sect raised me and guided me onto the path of cultivation, she has treated me well, how can I betray her?"
Who could have thought he would say such heartfelt words deep in enemy territory?
"Elder knows kindness..."
As the two spoke, they unwittingly approached the Zhican Valley disciple concocting pills.
Today's alchemist was using fire techniques to refine a common Foundation Establishment Pill.
He could be seen controlling his own flames, activating the public alchemy furnace in the plaza, skillfully pouring prepared ingredients into the furnace, then covering the furnace and concentrating on controlling the flames...
"His fundamentals are great!" Qin Ran praised.
"Just an ordinary disciple." Elder Sun said modestly.
Just then, someone in the crowd gossiped, "It's got to be a direct disciple of an inner sect Elder, this pill concocting technique is almost dao manifestation realm..."
And so Qin Ran and Elder Sun were rendered speechless for a time.
As the disciple nurtured the pill, suddenly, Qin Ran sensed an icy gaze. He hurriedly looked up to trace the origin of the gaze, and saw two sword scars slicing across the clouds in the sky.
That was from supreme sword cultivators riding their swords in flight.
Qin Ran's heart sank. He followed the sword scars and looked towards the depths of Zhican Valley, where two familiar black and red figures disappeared into the shadows of the trees.
"Boundless Sword Sect!!!" His memory was excellent. Just from the two back views, he recognized the visitors. That man in black had argued with him when competing for the Dao Fruits after the death of the Devouring Demon Willow.
"What are people from Boundless Sword Sect doing at Zhican Valley at this time?"
Perhaps realizing Qin Ran had discovered the people from Boundless Sword Sect, Elder Sun smiled and said, "People from Boundless Sword Sect come to exchange knowledge and buy pills too."
Despite Zhican Valley having many alchemists, was it possible they would have two major sects come to purchase pills on the same day?
Qin Ran knew what was going on.
He nodded at Elder Sun and said, "I see, so that's how it is... Those two are old friends of mine."
After watching the disciple concoct pills, the group continued outwards. Not long later, Elder Sun's disciple brought the spiritual herbs and ingredients Qin Ran had requested.
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
ose... to cooperate with the protagonist! Shen Yuan: I have a system! Protagonist: What? System: Holy crap, you're just spilling it out like that? Shen Yuan: Let's team up, we'll split the system rewards! Protagonist: Fifty-fifty split? Shen Yuan: No way! Protagonist: What!? I'm the one getting beaten up, and I don't get half? Shen Yuan: Forty-sixty split, I get forty, you get sixty! Protagonist: Deal! Big brother, come on, hit me! As long as it doesn't kill me, beat me like you mean it! Shen Yuan: Don't worry... I will definitely protect all of you! No one but me can lay a finger on you! Guard our Heaven's Chosen Ones! I'm the only one allowed to bully them!
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
