Chapter 50: Senior Brother, you

Qin Yu only lacks the pill formula and the exact method to refine various pills; otherwise he could already make them himself, so why waste more words with them?

In fact, Qin Yu had even prepared to pay twenty‑to‑thirty thousand spirit stones, enough to buy several pills.

However, the other party demanded twenty thousand spirit stones right away, which is truly shocking.

Qin Yu immediately waved his hand and refused: "Senior, please look for someone else; this price is simply too high, I can't afford it. Even if you killed me, it wouldn't be worth twenty thousand spirit stones."

Lin Sheng breathed a sigh of relief, fortunate that Senior Brother Qin Yu wasn't as foolish as he once was, who'd taken the bait as soon as he heard he could break even in six years.

If he had been a bit smarter and learned to refuse, he wouldn't have ended up with all his treasures gone, and back then he'd almost been beaten to death by his cousin.

The cloth‑clad old man hesitated slightly; this situation was completely unexpected.

After all, Lin Sheng comes from a cultivation clan, a direct descendant; how could his close friend possibly have no twenty thousand spirit stones?

As he knows, the offspring of such cultivation clans usually carry treasures worth tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of spirit stones, and the beloved ones at home may even possess fortunes of over a million spirit stones.

Could it be that this kid really finds the price too high?

No…… if those old fellows see I can't get him, they'll surely lure him away with an even lower price.

"It seems this kid is quite shrewd; we need to let him taste some sweetness first."

"Hmm…… we can first teach him the Fire Control Technique; it's the simplest, and I can secretly manipulate it so he thinks he mastered it in just a day."

"Then he'll willingly hand over the spirit stones."

The cloth‑clad old man pondered for a moment, considering his options.

Then he continued: "In that case, since you're Lin Sheng's friend, I'll first teach you the Fire Control Technique and give you a pill formula as a greeting gift."

"As for whether you become a Yellow Tier Alchemist, that's a matter for later—what do you think?"

Qin Yu's eyes lit up; he loved getting something for free.

All I need now is a pill formula and the refining method, and I'll become a Yellow Tier Alchemist—no mishap—doesn't that save a full twenty thousand spirit stones?

"Then thank you, senior." Qin Yu bowed slightly; after all, matters that cost no spirit stones are trivial, so a few more gestures are no trouble.

Lin Sheng saw this and couldn't help but rub his forehead; he himself had once fallen for the same trick—first giving a taste of sweetness, making one think they could quickly become a Yellow Tier Alchemist, thus willingly paying the spirit stones.

The key point is…… the other party really did teach him something, so he can't explain it to Qin Yu.

Moreover, this isn't a scam; the other party is just draining your spirit stones, and at a high price.

Furthermore, after becoming a Yellow Tier Alchemist you'll only know how to refine one kind of pill, having learned nothing else—practically the same as not knowing how.

After a successful promotion, one must still meet the sect's indicators; while receiving rewards, one naturally also has to contribute.

Foundation Establishment Pills, Blood Qi Pills and the like must be relearned, and then more spirit stones must be paid.

To become a true Yellow Tier Alchemist, you need at least four hundred thousand spirit stones.

That's also why there are so few people here.

But…… setting up such a scheme is half‑true, half‑false, leaving you unable to tell; plus, breaking even in twelve years is nothing to a Foundation Establishment cultivator, so they just go along with it.

But in fact, looking back, it amounts to working for those few old men, and there are other pits, one linked to another.

"Good! Let me first demonstrate this for you: this is a Yellow Tier Blood‑Congealing Pill, requiring four stalks of thousand‑year mundane herb, eight stalks of hundred‑year ginseng, plus one stalk of low‑grade Yellow Tier blood‑qi grass."

"This can fill the blood and qi, temper the flesh; it's a simplified version of the Blood Qi Pill, used by most Body Tempering and Foundation Establishment disciples to push their physical limits."

"Each pill sells for five thousand spirit stones; a furnace yields twelve pills, worth sixty thousand spirit stones."

As the cloth‑clad old man's words fell, his surrounding spirit energy surged wildly, gathering in his palms, turning into threads of true fire that flowed into the alchemy cauldron.

Waves of heat rolled through the room, and many disciples cast envious glances.

"If I'd known earlier, I'd have persisted a bit longer; at the very least I could have gotten a free pill‑refining demonstration and learned a bit more."

"Holy shit, we paid twenty thousand spirit stones, but if we can become Yellow Tier Alchemists, it's all worth it."

After seeing those clear yet foolish gazes, Lin Sheng couldn't help but rub his forehead, yet he couldn't bring himself to say they'd been swindled.

Qin Yu narrowed his eyes, making a rough calculation: if an ordinary Yellow Tier Alchemist made these Blood‑Congealing Pills, the yield would be about seven or eight per batch, with a cost of roughly twenty thousand spirit stones.

In other words, the net profit from this furnace should be about twenty thousand spirit stones, not as high as the other party claimed.

Most importantly, he recalls that the shelf life of Blood‑Congealing Pills is short; as time passes, the blood and qi inside dwindle, making sale a problem that requires quick disposal.

Thus, earning ten thousand spirit stones from this furnace would already be good, and with few buyers…… twenty thousand spirit stones for them is still a quick way to swindle aspiring inner‑door disciples.

It seems low‑tier alchemists really aren't easy to make a living from.

"Buzz buzz buzz!" The cloth‑clad old man's hands moved fluidly; in just half an hour a faint milky fragrance drifted out, inside which ten round, lustrous, crystal‑clear pills formed, while a rich blood‑qi aura floated around them.

Qin Yu couldn't help but feel tempted; with a high yield, it's indeed profitable.

Moreover, he has an eidetic memory; he almost completely recalled the old man's earlier movements, needing only to practice them once.

"Were you able to see the previous steps clearly, little friend? For someone your age to have entered the inner door is truly a heavenly talent."

"Why not give it a try? I have a batch of medicinal ingredients here that I can sell to you for thirty thousand spirit stones, and I'll guide you on the side; all the pills you produce will be yours—how about it?"

The cloth‑clad old man narrowed his eyes and spoke again.

Seeing this, Qin Yu gave a slight nod, which suited his intent; he then turned to Lin Sheng beside him and coughed lightly: "Lin Brother, could you lend me thirty thousand spirit stones? I'll repay you later."

Lin Sheng showed a wry smile: "Senior Brother, you've been taken in."

But…… Qin Yu will at least become a true‑transmission disciple someday; his cousin once said one must make many friends, so spending some spirit stones is normal.

Furthermore, given Qin Yu's nature, he'll soon understand what's going on.

"I have thirty thousand spirit stones here." He then threw out a Qiankun Bag.

Seeing this, the cloth‑clad old man's eyes gleamed: "Indeed, doing business with these inner‑door disciples is easy; in this roundabout way, selling a batch of medicinal ingredients nets ten thousand spirit stones!"

"This is definitely a fat sheep; we can surely squeeze tens of thousands of spirit stones out of him!"

At this moment, the cloth‑clad old man was full of confidence!

Qin Yu then stepped onto the platform, channeling spirit energy through his palms, threads of flame surging, fully focused, preparing to refine pills.

A prompt appeared in his mind.

【Perfect Quality Trait, Activated.】

【Perfect Fire Control Trait, activated.】

【Herb Control Master Trait, activated!】