“Are you saying Qi Hui might cause trouble for me?” Chen Mu frowned as he looked at Bai Xiuwen.
“Elder Brother, the Daoist Cultivation points allocated to the Fasting Pills are only a thousand.”
“In other words, only the first twenty thousand Fasting Pills of the month can earn Daoist Cultivation points. The rest can only earn White Jade Coins.”
Chen Mu couldn’t help but nod.
He had indeed snatched someone else’s business.
“How many Fasting Pills can Qi Hui produce each month?” Chen Mu asked.
“Around six thousand,” Bai Xiuwen immediately replied, then exchanged glances with the other two and whispered, “But he would buy Fasting Pills from outside to exchange for Daoist Cultivation points.”
Chen Mu suddenly realized.
This was, in essence, spending money to buy Daoist Cultivation points.
He suddenly understood why there was an upper limit on the Daoist Cultivation points allocated to the Fasting Pills.
Would other people also operate this way?
Like the Heavenly Demon Rebirth Pill that only the Pavilion Master could refine?
He shouldn’t dwell on this matter. Overthinking it could lead to trouble.
He should rather focus on how to cultivate pills.
With his maxed proficiency in Fasting Pill Alchemy, twenty thousand Fasting Pills were far from enough to refine.
But if he truly took over the entire allocation, that Elder Brother Qi would certainly become desperate.
Although he wanted to amass Daoist Cultivation points as soon as possible, he preferred to quietly and steadily cultivate at home.
“I’ll just refine twelve thousand a month.”
This would leave enough room for Elder Brother Qi to earn Daoist Cultivation points.
…
Having made his decision, Chen Mu turned to the three Alchemist Apprentices… well, middle-aged Apprentices who had offered their services.
“Help me with the absorption of the Essence of the Five Grains.”
“Each month, I will set aside half a day for you to ask questions freely, is that acceptable?”
The three immediately expressed their joy upon hearing this.
“It’s acceptable! More than acceptable!”
Chen Mu nodded.
Agreement was good, especially since he himself didn’t know what to teach.
“Then let’s get to work.”
With the help of the three,
the eight thousand catties of Yellow Bud Rice he had just collected were all refined that day.
The next day, Chen Mu bought another sixteen thousand and more catties of Yellow Bud Rice from the large storeroom.
One and a half days later, it was all transformed into the Essence of the Five Grains.
…
“Alright, this is enough for me to use. If you have any questions, ask them,” Chen Mu said contentedly as he looked at Bai Xiuwen and the other two, their faces pale.
Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Bai Xiuwen took a deep breath and asked, “Could Elder Brother enlighten us on the True Intent of the Golden Bead Talisman?”
The True Intent of the Golden Bead Talisman?
What true intent could there be?
Wouldn’t you get it just by practicing repeatedly?
He thought about the insights proficiency had brought him.
After hesitating for a moment, Chen Mu spoke, “Do you remember where the Golden Bead Talisman comes from?”
The three shook their heads blankly.
Now it was Chen Mu’s turn to be astonished, “The Golden Bead Talisman originates from the Golden Pearl, which is a special pearl produced by the Golden Pearl Clam.”
Isn’t all of this written in the Secret Technique Jade Scroll?
Seeing their expressions of joy and sudden realization, Chen Mu suddenly understood.
The Golden Bead Talisman that the three learned might be an abridged version!
Tsk, there’s knowledge monopoly once again.
Could it be deliberate?
Chen Mu’s thoughts drifted to the alchemists in the Pill Treasure Pavilion taking in clients to help with refining materials.
It’s hard to say!
Chen Mu thought to himself silently but did not voice his thoughts. Instead, he carefully explained the origin of the Golden Bead Talisman to the three.
He told them that the Talisman explicated the unique structure of the Golden Pearl.
Understanding the properties of the Golden Pearl would make it easier to grasp the True Intent of the Talisman.
He then went on to explain the structure of the Golden Pearl to the three.
He talked the whole afternoon.
“Thank you for your teaching, Elder Brother!”
At the door of Chen Mu’s residence, the three bowed with clasped hands, their faces full of respect.
“Go back and cultivate peacefully. Come back next month to help me with the absorption of the Essence of the Five Grains,” Chen Mu said casually with a wave of his hand.
Over two thousand catties of the Essence of the Five Grains. That was enough for him to refine more than ten thousand Fasting Pills.
Suddenly he had a thought and added, “You haven’t told anyone about coming here, have you?”
Seeing the three shaking their heads, Chen Mu felt relieved and couldn’t help but laugh.
“It’s better that others don’t know.”
“Especially that Brother Qi.”
“After you are done with my task, you can even go and help him.”
“After all, we will see each other around in the future, it’s not good to fall out too badly.”
“As long as he doesn’t find out, we can all live in peace, and you’ll get to learn a bit more,” Chen Mu chuckled.
The three exchanged looks and nodded emphatically.
Bai Xiuwei stepped forward and said solemnly, “We will strictly follow Brother’s orders!”
Then he whispered, “We will surely be careful to infiltrate Qi Hui’s side and spy on his movements for Brother!”
Chen Mu: “…”
What kind of thought process is this?
I just wanted you to hide the news, not to provoke the other party, not to be spies!
Seeing the earnest looks on their faces, Chen Mu couldn’t be bothered to explain and waved them away.
With smart people like them, the more you explain, the more they think.
Well, if they want to be spies, let them be.
It might actually help me see how Brother Qi reacts.
After that, Chen Mu closed his doors and focused on alchemy.
…
Six days later.
Chen Mu walked out of the alchemist chamber with messy hair and a dirty face.
He placed a rocking chair at the door, lying on it to gaze out at the lush Jade Spring Mountain from afar.
After basking in the cool mountain breeze for a while, he finally came to his senses.
“I nearly turned myself silly with all that alchemy!”
He had rediscovered the feeling he first had when creating the Wood Spirit Boy.
His spirit was overtaxed, causing a headache!
Fortunately, the Seven Souls Return to Origin sustained him, or he wouldn’t have lasted until today.
With black smoke billowing, a brown wooden box appeared in opulence.
Lifting the lid, there were elixir pills the size of longans, looking like mutton-fat white jade.
Fasting Pills, ah…
Continue your saga on empire
He couldn’t help but think of his old life in Da Liang.
Back then, to create Fasting Pills, he would scrape a Fasting Pill into powder for use.
He used to be afraid to eat too much at once, worried about bursting from overeating.
Thinking back, Chen Mu casually threw a Fasting Pill into his mouth.
It melted upon entry, a light taste of roasted rice filling his mouth, and after a slight feeling of fullness in his stomach, there wasn’t much sensation left.
“Things are indeed different now.”
…
The next day, after eating well and having a good night’s sleep, Chen Mu, refreshed and invigorated, went to the small Fasting Pill storehouse.
In front of the astonished expression of the storehouse keeper, Zhu Lao San, he handed over four thousand Fasting Pills.
He had made over twelve thousand Fasting Pills in total but dared not hand them all in at once.
He planned to deliver them every ten days.
Even if others knew, they would at most think he was practicing tirelessly overnight.
They wouldn’t guess that he had found the trick to Fasting Pills, that by adjusting the Pill Furnace’s temperature and Qi Forbidden, he could speed up and increase the quantity of his pill production.
Once the pills were verified, Zhu Lao San became immediately respectful.
The identity of a Pill Treasure Pavilion alchemist was indeed not ordinary.
After manipulating his Identity Jade a bit, he held it out carefully with both hands and handed it to Chen Mu.
“Brother Chen, the two hundred Daoist Cultivation points you’ve earned have been recorded in the golden books and jade scrolls of the annex,” he said.
“A backup is also in your Jade Token, which you can check by activating it with your mana.”
Chen Mu took the Jade Token and casually infused a strand of mana into it.
A feedback of an Exotic Force similar to that of a Secret Technique Jade Scroll flowed into the Jade Seed.
Two lines of text immediately appeared within the Jade Seed.
“Jilong Road’s Jade Spring Mountain annex, Pill Treasure Pavilion alchemist Chen Mu.”
“Daoist Cultivation two hundred.”
Chen Mu looked at his Identity Jade with surprise.
No wonder there were traces of the Golden Bead Talisman, so it was a Magic Artifact for recording similar to a Secret Technique Jade Scroll.
An interdimensional mana version of an ID card?
Heh…
Fiddling with the Jade Token, Chen Mu felt a surge of exhilaration.
“After almost two years of twists and turns, I’ve finally obtained some Daoist Cultivation points.”