Chapter 316: The City Has Already Answered

Two days later.

Dawn.

In the bedroom, Jiang Cheng slowly opened his eyes, a flash of brilliance flashing in his gaze.

After five or six days of cultivation, the Shadowless Heart Sutra finally opened the first few Acupoints.

His strength was already upper‑tier Seven-level, not far from Level Eight; with the boost from these Acupoints, his power and speed instantly reached the Level Eight threshold! Upon reaching Level Eight, his maximum punch force hit 20 tons, virtually equal to the power of a 30mm Machine Cannon, and his flesh‑body defense could immunize against firearms below 25mm caliber.

But advancing to Ninth Level would not be so easy.

The power gap between Level Eight and Ninth Level is more than double.

If the first twenty Acupoints of the Shadowless Heart Sutra aren't opened about seventy‑to‑eighty percent, it's definitely unattainable.

And the time required is not short.

"If only my Spiritual Power could increase."

Jiang Cheng murmured.

Yesterday night, his Alchemy Technique had already reached Great Completion level, making him a top Level Three Alchemy Master.

Using 1.5 portions of herbs, refining nine or ten Intermediate Spirit Nourishing Pills was no trouble; with two portions, he could even refine three or four Gao Ji Yao Shen Dan, and the remaining six or seven finished pills would also be Intermediate.

If he achieved perfection, refining a Supreme Nourishing Spirit Pill would be no problem, which would count as reaching Level Four Alchemy Master status.

To quickly advance from Level One to Level Two Spiritual Thought Master, he needed Primary Spirit Nourishing Pills worth 20 million yuan; at 1,000 yuan each, that's 20,000 pills!

Eating twenty‑thousand Primary Spirit Nourishing Pills is a picture too beautiful to imagine, so he thought of converting them into higher‑grade pills, for example, Supreme Nourishing Spirit Pills.

Assuming a tenfold effect.

That would be two thousand.

Honestly, with his current Spiritual Power, refining two thousand Supreme Nourishing Spirit Pills is not an easy task.

"I still need to raise the level of Alchemy Technique by another step, or try refining Second‑grade Material Calming Pills."

Jiang Cheng thought.

If he took High Grade An Shen Pills, two thousand divided by three is under 700.

Be bolder: what if he took Top Grade An Shen Pills? The effect of a Supreme Nourishing Spirit Pill is ten times that of a Primary, so the Top Grade An Shen Pill should be ten times the effect of a Basic Tranquil Pill, right?

Thus, two hundred Top Grade An Shen Pills would suffice—only twenty bottles—making the situation much more normal.

If it were forty bottles, perhaps he could advance from Level Two Spiritual Thought Master to Level Three.

As for High Grade pills, they take longer to refine and consume more Spiritual Power; no problem, just add more herbs.

As long as they can be refined, the later stages will be faster.

"I just don't know if Brother Yang will agree."

Jiang Cheng felt a bit uneasy.

He still planned to use the same method, massively gaining Experience Value to quickly raise the level of Calming Pill Alchemy Technique.

But the cost of Calming Pill herbs is far higher than Spirit Nourishing Pill; at tenfold, one portion costs 50,000! Ten portions? 500,000!

Ten Basic Tranquil Pills cost how much? 100,000.

Direct loss of 400,000! One batch loses 400,000, two batches lose 800,000, three batches lose 1,200,000!

And so on.

Even the Black Market couldn't endure such a loss, right?

He thought it would be very difficult.

But some things, how would one know the answer without trying? After breakfast and saying goodbye to his family, Jiang Cheng called Yang Chun on the road, sensing that the latter had improved his Alchemy Technique.

The latter seemed already accustomed, not very surprised, and said he would be there immediately.

Soon, the two met in the Lian Dan Shi.

Jiang Cheng used 1.5 portions of herbs, refined ten Intermediate Spirit Nourishing Pills, taking only forty minutes. If using one portion to refine Primary Spirit Nourishing Pills, the Level 2 Alchemy Master Shen Ming he taught needed about an hour, whereas he only needed half an hour.

Of course, using two portions to refine Gao Ji Yao Shen Dan would take longer; an hour is also possible.

After all, the fewer the herbs yet the higher the pill grade, to maximize profit one must fully exploit every ounce of herbal power, so the alchemist's time and effort increase.

"Good, good."

Looking at the freshly baked batch of pills, Yang Chun laughed with his mouth unable to close.

1.5 portions of herbs cost only 7,500, and actually, a bit less—under 7,000.

But Jiang Cheng refined ten Intermediate Spirit Nourishing Pills, market price 20,000, profit 13,000; if he refines seven or eight batches a day, that's nearly 100,000.

The 3,000,000 owed could be repaid in a month.

In fact, Jiang Cheng's debt wasn't as high as three million.

Because his level improved, when using ten portions, the pills' quality are all upper‑grade, and occasionally a Supreme Nourishing Spirit Pill appears.

Ten portions of herbs, cost calculated at 50,000.

Ten Gao Ji Yao Shen Dan, market value 30,000.

Loss of 20,000.

But if a Supreme Nourishing Spirit Pill appears, each batch's loss drops to 10,000.

Thus, including previous amounts, total debt is only 1,560,000.

"Brother Yang…"

Jiang Cheng was about to say something.

Yang Chun stretched out his hand, smiling, "You don't need to say more, I know what you mean, you want to borrow a few million more portions of herbs to keep raising your Alchemy Technique, right? I get it! No problem, I can agree right now."

Even a fool could guess that, with Jiang Cheng's current level, continuing to refine ten portions will yield not just one or two Supreme Nourishing Spirit Pills, but five or six, even seven or eight!

One Supreme Nourishing Spirit Pill sells for 10,000.

Does this still need calculation?

Guaranteed profit, no loss!

Don't even talk about a few million worth of medicinal herbs; he'll even put out ten million! Jiang Cheng, hearing that, could only laugh helplessly.

Brother Yang even answered right away.

But unfortunately, he misunderstood.

"Brother Yang, actually what I wanted to say is something else."

"Something else?"

Yang Chun was startled, nodded, and said, "It's fine, go ahead."

"Here's the thing, Brother Yang, I feel that refining Spirit Nourishing Pill is no longer challenging for me, so I want to try a higher difficulty: refining Second Grade An Shen Pill."

"Right, right."

Hearing Jiang Cheng's words, Yang Chun kept nodding.

That's the point.

The few fifth‑ and sixth‑rank Alchemical Masters in the Black Market all began refining Second Grade An Shen Pill after attaining Great Completion of the Spirit Nourishing Pill Alchemy Technique.

People strive upward, water flows downward.

The limit of An Shen Pill is higher, making it even more valuable!

"Brother Yang feels the same, right?"

Jiang Cheng's face broke into a brilliant smile.

Yang Chun felt a shiver at being watched; finally, he gradually realized something, and the smile on his face vanished.

(End of chapter)