Chapter 319: Chapter 263 – Trading Pills for Tree Fruits_2
“These three fruits are definitely of excellent quality.”
Upon hearing this, Chen Mobai nodded and then asked Wang Xingyu if he was confident about producing Clear Eyesight Bamboo Spirit Dew.
“I can try, but I wouldn’t say I’m a hundred percent confident. This stuff is a bit offbeat, any Rank-3 alchemist or specialist who tried to produce it would likely end up with an excessive amount of pill toxicity.”
As good brothers, Wang Xingyu told the blunt truth.
“What about if there were Spiritual Extracts?”
“If you add this gem to the mix, I might just barely manage to try, but there would still be a fifty percent chance that the pill toxicity would exceed the limit.”
Meaning, he wasn’t particularly confident about it.
That wasn’t like Qing Nu, she had succeeded on her first attempt.
Chen Mobai quietly made a comparison in his heart.
However, even if there was pill toxicity, as long as it wasn’t too high, he wasn’t afraid of it.
His newly developed Flame Lighting Technique would be put to good use.
“I happen to have some Spiritual Extracts on me. Could you help me refine it? You can name the price.”
Chen Mobai was always straightforward—he laid it all out on the table.
“You have them? This stuff is really rare. Our instructor says it is to force us to improve our alchemy under harsh conditions, so he doesn’t give us any Spiritual Extracts. But isn’t he basically just keeping our share for himself?”
Wang Xingyu complained, suggesting that the instructors of their Alchemy Department were not as affectionate towards their students as those of other departments.
“By the way, where did you get this Spiritual Extract? Don’t they distribute it exclusively to our Alchemy Department every month?”
Upon hearing this, Chen Mobai calmly gave the excuse he had prepared earlier.
“You know I’m in the Puppet Lines department. Spirit Stones are used as the energy source, and after many recharges, they easily wear out.”
“That makes sense.” Wang Xingyu agreed, then asked, “By the way, old Chen, do you have a lot of Spiritual Extracts?”
Chen Mobai hesitated at this question.
He had an overabundance of the stuff.
The formulas from the Immortal Door, and the Spiritual Extracts from Tianhe Realm, all provided him with a virtually inexhaustible wealth.
But one shouldn’t brag about his wealth, even in front of his best friend. There are certain things he needed to keep hidden.
“I have some, but not much.”
After hearing this, Wang Xingyu shook his head regretfully.
“If you had more, I would help you make connections.”
“One of the seniors in our Alchemy Department exchanged for a Vermillion Fruit at the end of last year. He wanted to refine a Fire Origin Pill, but because of the poor cultivation of one of the key ingredients by the supplier, the medicinal efficacy didn’t meet the standards, and the Vermillion Fruit is still lying around.”
“If you’re willing to trade with Spiritual Extracts, I’m sure he’d be interested.”
After listening to this, Chen Mobai’s tone immediately changed.
“I don’t have a lot, but my teacher has saved quite a bit.”
“Director Che!?”
Everyone knew that Chen Mobai had become a disciple of Che Yucheng.
Wang Xingyu didn’t doubt it.
“Brother, can you ask about it first? A Vermillion Fruit can only be stored for one or two years after being picked. I can take over, and he can pass it on—it would be a win-win.”
Chen Mobai made a persuasive argument, and Wang Xingyu immediately made a call.
Both sides were interested, and the deal was immediately struck.
Chen Mobai pretended to go to Che Yucheng’s office, then came back with a bag full of Spiritual Extracts and gave it to Wang Xingyu. Holding the bag of Spiritual Extracts, the latter left as a confident middleman.
Half an hour later, Chen Mobai looked at the Vermillion Fruit that was brought back, feeling very satisfied.
Now, he wouldn’t run out of medicine.
He could use the Clear Eyesight Bamboo Spirit Dew till the end of the year. Then, he could exchange for two Vermillion Fruits, which would last for another year.
However, while he had both key ingredients, he still needed to buy the auxiliary ingredients from the Tianhe Realm.
Chen Mobai simply didn’t expect to get the Vermillion Fruit so quickly.
Since he had gone through the experience once and had learned how to identify medicinal herbs this year, he managed to translate all twenty-four auxiliary medicinal names into those of the Tianhe Realm.
He gave this task to his biggest disciple, Liu Wenbo, who had just solidified his Rank-9 Qi Cultivation and confidently claimed he’d complete the task within three days.
Soon, Chen Mobai handed over the complete set of two main drugs and twenty-four auxiliary drugs required for Clear Eyesight Bamboo Spirit Dew to Wang Xingyu.
On Wang Xingyu’s strong insistence, the reward for alchemy was switched from Good Deed Points to two pieces of Spiritual Extracts.
Chen Mobai wouldn’t trick his good brother. He promptly handed over three pieces of Spiritual Extracts, delighting Wang Xingyu immensely.
After accomplishing this task, Chen Mobai took a basket of fruits and visited his teacher, Che Yucheng.
Having spent a long time in the Treasure Trove, he hadn’t attended Puppetry Technique class in a while. Fortunately, the knowledge was already his, so there was no fear of forgetting it.
Che Yucheng had essentially passed to him all of his Puppetry Technique traditions, leaving only practice and manufacturing exercises for Chen Mobai to work on.
This is generally how things go on the Immortal Cultivation side.
After Foundation Establishment, due to the powerful Divine Sense, knowledge could basically be self-taught. The difference lay in whether or not time was spent for focused improvements.
Chen Mobai felt somewhat remorseful. He was busy honing his spells, but indeed he did not put much heart into Puppetry Technique.
But Che Yucheng didn’t reproach him. After all, Chen Mobai had just started his Foundation Establishment, with more than two hundred years ahead.
Typically, Foundation Establishment cultivators would commit time to the Hundred Arts of Cultivation Immortal only when their cultivation level reached a standstill.
Though Che Yucheng didn’t mention anything, Chen Mobai made a firm decision to practice Puppetry Technique whenever he had a chance.
“By the way, teacher, I hear there’s a cross-university exchange event in Crimson City at the end of the year?”
Chen Mobai asked about the event he had heard of.
“Right, are you interested?”
“Isn’t my Pure Yang Scroll stuck in Qi Cultivation Perfection, struggling to seize the chance of Foundation Establishment? I thought I might exchange ideas with talents from other universities to find some inspiration.”
In reality, he wanted to communicate with students from the Life-Extension Cultivation Institute, but he couldn’t reveal that he might need to consume lifespan, so Chen Mobai didn’t dare to make his purpose clear.
“This year’s Crimson City cross-university exchange is a bit different. Our Daoist Academy may send out more senior students.”
“How is it different?”
Chen Mobai was curious.
“It happens to be the six thousandth anniversary of Crimson City. Heavyweights from the celestial realm would be coming and apart from our Dance Tool Dao Academy, the other three major Daoist Academies might also send people to join the celebration.”
Upon hearing this, Chen Mobai sensed a potentially troublesome situation.
He figured he might as well give it a miss, after all, he hadn’t gathered all the Tree Fruits. He could wait for the next one.
“However, since you are interested, I, as your teacher, will surely arrange it for you. Rest assured, our Academy is bound to have a place for you.”
But to his surprise, Che Yucheng misunderstood his intentions thinking he was genuinely seeking opportunities to reach Foundation Establishment and decided to take matters into his own hands.
At this point, it would be awkward for Chen Mobai to refuse, he would end up slapping his own face.
He could only grit his teeth and smile at Che Yucheng while expressing his thanks.
After leaving the office, Chen Mobai, who had inadvertently backfired his own plans, felt somewhat depressed.
Considering that it had been a while since he caught up with his friends, he invited Ming Yuhua and Yunyang Bing out for a drink.
Unfortunately, Ming Yuhua didn’t pick up the call.
After calling Yunyang Bing, he found out that Ming Yuhua had gone into closed-door cultivation for Foundation Establishment.
Since mastering the Law Body at the threshold, Ming Yuhua had been solely focused on Foundation Establishment. Once he tuned his mental and physical state to its peak, he dove back into the cultivation room.
Although he knew other people from the Metaphysical Class, Chen Mobai usually communicated more with Wang Xingyu, who was now switched off his phone to concentrate on refining Clear Eyesight Bamboo Spirit Dew.
Consequently, Chen Mobai could only go drinking with Yunyang Bing.
It was a good opportunity to ask about the Array Refining into Body technique.
He discovered that there were similar Cultivation Techniques in the celestial realm.
“Look.”
Yunyang Bing showed Chen Mobai his right pinky finger.
The fingernail was black and stood out.
“You got a manicure?”
“Nonsense. This is the Array Refining into Body. I can only try out the Spirit Gathering Array on this little spot because of my weak cultivation level. Don’t underestimate this small fingernail. It’s capable of enhancing a Rank-1 Spirit Vein to Rank-2.”
Listening to Yunyang Bing, Chen Mobai couldn’t help but marvel.
There really were all kinds of Cultivation Techniques in the celestial realm.