Chapter 107: Gifting Pills and Traces

Qin Ming followed Gu Qingzhao up to the seventh-floor private room of the Mirror Jing Xue Ge.

"Fellow Daoist Gu, you really need not have gone to such lengths."

Although Qin Ming had sent a message talisman to Gu Qingzhao the moment he arrived at Canghai Cloudmarsh Fairy City,

he never expected that she, the dignified master of an entire pavilion, would actually come out to welcome him personally.

He truly felt overwhelmed by such unexpected favor.

Gu Qingzhao's starry eyes subtly sized up Qin Ming; she vaguely felt that upon seeing him again this time, the other party had clearly undergone some kind of change, yet she could not quite put her finger on what it was.

Besides that,

Qin Ming now possessed an additional quality of indifference and transcendence beyond the mundane.

With her Foundation Establishment cultivation, she actually found it somewhat difficult to see through him.

Gu Qingzhao's voice, resembling the clear sound of a flowing spring, replied, "Fellow Daoist Qin is an important cooperative partner of our pavilion, as well as an honorary Qin Keqing."

"Since this is your first time visiting Canghai Cloudmarsh Fairy City, it is only natural that everyone in the pavilion should come out to make your acquaintance."

Qin Ming could only nod and smile.

Inside the private room,

a faint fragrance curled upwards.

Gu Qingzhao poured spiritual tea for Qin Ming, then opened her mouth to say, "Has Fellow Daoist Qin come this time still for that Jade Marrow Ganoderma?"

"Exactly so," Qin Ming replied after taking a sip of the spiritual tea.

"Alas, this item is truly difficult to find; it has all been monopolized by the upper-tier sects."

"Very little of it ever circulates in the outside world."

Qin Ming had actually long anticipated this, yet he still said, "It matters not; I am already endlessly grateful that Fellow Daoist Gu could gather so many spiritual materials for me."

"Fellow Daoist Qin need not be polite; for me, it is merely a trivial matter," Gu Qingzhao said dismissively with a faint smile.

She continued,

"In addition to the spiritual materials gathered previously, a new batch has recently been added; I will have Shopkeeper Liao bring them over to you right now."

Qin Ming's face lit up with joy. "That would be best."

A moment later,

Shopkeeper Liao, having received Gu Qingzhao's instructions, entered the room.

He first greeted Qin Ming warmly.

Then, from his storage bag, he took out jade boxes of various sizes, inside which were sealed numerous spiritual materials for refining Foundation Establishment Pills.

Some spiritual herbs had three or four portions, while others had only one portion; additionally, there were some herbs insufficient in age, and even some withered spiritual materials that had already lost their medicinal properties.

Gu Qingzhao could not figure out why Qin Ming would collect even ineffective spiritual materials.

Perhaps he intended to use them for experiments or the like.

After all, alchemists often have many peculiar ideas.

Qin Ming waved his hand, and all the spiritual materials on the table vanished, having been stored away in his storage bag.

Then he asked Shopkeeper Liao, "Shopkeeper Liao, what is the price for these spiritual materials? I will take them all."

With a smile on his face, Shopkeeper Liao said, "For the cost of these materials, after applying a twenty percent discount, the total comes to over thirty thousand spirit stones."

"The Pavilion Master specifically instructed that Fellow Daoist Qin may settle the account at exactly thirty thousand spirit stones."

Qin Ming knew this was Gu Qingzhao showing goodwill toward him, specially granting a discount.

Not only that, but by mobilizing the Mirror Jing Xue Ge's channels to gather materials for him, he already owed the other party a significant favor.

Since that was the case,

while conducting the transaction, he might as well return her a favor.

Under the gaze of Gu Qingzhao and Shopkeeper Liao,

two exquisite porcelain bottles appeared in Qin Ming's hand.

He took out one of the porcelain bottles, first handing it to Gu Qingzhao, and said, "This is a token of my appreciation for Fellow Daoist Gu; thank you for troubling yourself over my affairs."

Then placing the other porcelain bottle on the table, he said lightly, "As for the pills inside this other bottle, I entrust them to you for auction; the thirty thousand spirit stones can simply be deducted from the proceeds when the time comes."

Standing aside, Shopkeeper Liao heard this and his eyelids twitched; he could not comprehend what kind of pills could be worth more than thirty thousand spirit stones in a single bottle. In Gu Qingzhao's beautiful eyes, a trace of confusion also emerged as her jade-white, tender hand accepted the porcelain bottle, whereupon she gently lifted the seal cap.

A rich, exotic fragrance emanated from it, filling the entire private room.

Gu Qingzhao tilted the porcelain bottle, and immediately a snow-white, jade-like spiritual pill rolled into her palm.

The spiritual pill emitted astonishing spiritual essence; its aura clearly indicated it was not a first-grade pill.

Rather, it was a second-grade spiritual pill! Gazing at the pill in her hand, countless thoughts flashed through Gu Qingzhao's mind.

She carefully racked her memory, seeming to recall where such a pill had been auctioned before.

Suddenly,

she remembered: during a certain large auction in Canghai Cloudmarsh Fairy City, this very spiritual pill had once been sold.

It was called the Ageless Beauty Pill, and its effect was singular.

That was to preserve youth forever, keeping one's appearance from aging.

Even though Gu Qingzhao was widely experienced, her mood at this moment was one of shock and deep suspicion.

She naturally knew that refining this second-grade Ageless Beauty Pill was no less difficult than refining a Foundation Establishment Pill.

In fact, it might even be more difficult.

Faced with such a gesture from Qin Ming, even she, who was usually aloof and cold, felt a ripple stir within her heart.

No woman could resist the temptation of an ageless appearance.

In terms of scarcity, this Ageless Beauty Pill was even no less rare than the Foundation Establishment Pill.

Gu Qingzhao's beautiful eyes shifted as she pressed her lips together in a smile, saying, "In that case, I shall accept your generous gift without further modesty; many thanks for Fellow Daoist Qin's kind intentions!"

"At the same time, I must congratulate Fellow Daoist Qin on your promotion to a Second-Rank Alchemy Grandmaster!"

Hearing this, Shopkeeper Liao, standing nearby, could not help but feel his thoughts churning.

Naturally, he possessed considerable experience himself.

The moment Gu Qingzhao poured out the spiritual pills, he also understood why a single bottle of pills could be worth so many materials.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, could these be Second-Rank Age-Retaining Pills?" As the Shopkeeper of the Mirror Jing Xue Ge, he naturally recognized such an item.

"Were they refined by Fellow Daoist Qin?"

Qin Ming nodded slightly, neither confirming nor denying.

Having received Qin Ming's affirmative response, Shopkeeper Liao offered his heartfelt congratulations: "Congratulations to Fellow Daoist Qin on breaking through to become a Second-Rank Alchemy Grandmaster; may your immortal path advance yet further."

Then, remembering something, he asked hesitantly, "Fellow Daoist Qin, is it not said that refining Second-Rank spiritual pills requires the Innate True Fire of the Foundation Establishment stage?"

"I was fortunate enough to refine a wisp of Second-Rank Heaven and Earth Spiritual Fire, which is why I can refine Second-Rank spiritual pills," Qin Ming explained.

Gu Qingzhao also revealed a look of sudden realization.

"I never expected Fellow Daoist Qin to break through to become a Second-Rank Alchemist so quickly; currently, within the entire Canghai Cloudmarsh Fairy City, there are only three Second-Rank Alchemists in total."

"Since Fellow Daoist Qin can refine Age-Retaining Pills, refining Foundation Establishment Pills will naturally be no problem."

"And at present, among those three Second-Rank Alchemists, only Alchemist Sun Jinnian possesses the ability to refine Foundation Establishment Pills; among all the alchemists in the Cloudmarsh Fairy City, his status and prestige are the highest."

The transaction concluded.

From Gu Qingzhao, Qin Ming learned quite a bit about the situation within Canghai Cloudmarsh Fairy City.

He subsequently took up residence in the inn of the Mirror Jing Xue Ge.

For the next two days.

Qin Ming spent all his time trying to find ways to inquire about the whereabouts of the Jade Marrow Ganoderma.

However.

In the end, he found nothing.

Just as he was planning to return to Wangyue Island.

From Gu Qingzhao's side, however, came news that thrilled him.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, the latest intelligence indicates that within Canghai Cloudmarsh Fairy City, scattered cultivators have once again spontaneously organized to pool materials, inviting Alchemist Sun Jinnian to refine Foundation Establishment Pills."

"Next, there is a high probability that traces of the main ingredients will be found on those scattered cultivators."

(End of Chapter)