Chapter 72: Zhangdu Pill

City Lord's Mansion.

A rich, fragrant aroma suddenly burst out from the Alchemy Room.

It spread instantly.

It covered the entire City Lord's Mansion.

Everyone inside the mansion stopped their work in unison, sniffing the meaty fragrance in the air, searching for the source of the scent.

Xu Longyun twitched her nose and looked toward the Alchemy Room; then, her figure flashed repeatedly, and after a few leaps, she appeared at the door of the Alchemy Room, pushing it open and walking in without hesitation.

Inside the Alchemy Room.

The lid of the Alchemy Furnace had been set aside, and the mouth-watering aroma was wafting directly from the furnace.

Lin Bai was staring blankly at the Alchemy Furnace; noticing the door being pushed open, he glanced back, then continued looking at the furnace.

Unable to suppress her curiosity, Xu Longyun took two quick steps and looked into the Alchemy Furnace.

At the bottom of the Alchemy Furnace, a neat layer of red pills was spread out, uniform in size and smooth on the surface. Aside from the aroma of beef, they were identical to the pills refined by the Medicine King Sect.

"You... you... really refined pills using beef?" Xu Longyun stared at the pills inside, wearing an expression as if she had seen a ghost.

"Mm," Lin Bai said. He was actually bewildered himself; how could pot-stewed beef, combined with heat and pill refinement techniques, turn into round meat pellets without a single trace of beef texture?

Pill refinement is so magical!

Gulp!

Xu Longyun swallowed her saliva: "What is the use of these pills?"

"You won't be hungry after eating them," Lin Bai said.

"And then?" Xu Longyun asked.

"They're fragrant," Lin Bai said.

"And then?" Xu Longyun pressed.

"That's it," Lin Bai said.

"They should at least have a name!" Xu Longyun frowned.

"I call them Beef Inedia Pills," Lin Bai said. His mind clearly displayed the ingredients of the pills, their effects, and the next task.

【Zhangdu Pill (Beef Flavor): Red and lustrous, enticing aroma, beef flavor, storage-resistant, produces a feeling of fullness for a quarter of an hour after consumption.】

【Congratulations to the host for researching the first pill formula of your life, taking the first step on the path of a divine doctor; Reward: Rejuvenation Pill formula (already issued)】

【Rejuvenation Pill: Golden color, sweet taste. Rapidly restores Qi and blood after consumption, a holy product for healing. The formula is as follows: Ginseng 120g; Borneol: 80g; Bezoar: 20g... Fritillaria cirrhosa: 20g; this is the basic formula for the Rejuvenation Pill.】

【Medicine has no fixed form; a physician must not be constrained by rigid formulas. Please create your own unique Rejuvenation Pill based on the Rejuvenation Pill formula; Reward: Pharmacology Technique】

"Inedia Pill?" Xu Longyun's brow twitched uncontrollably.

"To be precise, it's a beef-flavored Inedia Pill." Lin Bai took one out of the Alchemy Furnace, tossed it into his mouth, chewed twice, and swallowed it.

It was indeed fragrant, and the texture was superb; eating one made one want to eat a second...

"Is it delicious?" Xu Longyun's throat moved as she swallowed, but remembering the destructive power of the food Lin Bai made, she felt lingering fear.

"You can try one, the taste is quite good." With one in his stomach, just as the pill description stated, his stomach felt bloated; attracted by the aroma of the beef pellet, Lin Bai reflexively popped another one into his mouth.

But just as the Beef Pill slid past his throat, before he could even savor it, his stomach felt as if a balloon had been stuffed inside and instantly inflated, and a sudden, indescribable feeling of bloating pain arrived.

Lin Bai cried out in pain and subconsciously clutched his stomach.

Good grief!

The name given by the system was indeed correct; it really is a Zhangdu Pill...

This was only after eating two; if he had eaten a few more, wouldn't his stomach have burst?

Xu Longyun had just eaten one and was savoring the deliciousness of the Beef Inedia Pill when, seeing Lin Bai clutching his stomach, her expression changed drastically: "Is it poisonous?"

Lin Bai could not ruin his own reputation, so he shook his head with difficulty: "The effect is too good, I ate until I was stuffed."

Xu Longyun looked at Lin Bai strangely, feeling the full sensation in her own abdomen, and asked: "How many days can one last?"

Lin Bai held up one finger.

"A month?" A flash of surprise crossed Xu Longyun's eyes as she asked.

Lin Bai shook his head: "A quarter of an hour."

"..." Xu Longyun choked, glaring fiercely at Lin Bai, "So you spent several days fussing around just to refine a furnace of snacks?"

"You can't put it that way," Lin Bai smiled with difficulty, "At least it tastes great, right? And it's easy to carry. If you go on a long trip, bringing a gourd of light, storage-resistant Inedia Pills is much more convenient than carrying a big bag of dry rations!"

"The Medicine King Valley's Inedia Pills last for three days each," Xu Longyun said.

"But our cost is low!" Lin Bai chuckled, "The main ingredient of the Zhang—Inedia Pill is beef; if you switch to pork or chicken, you can control the cost even further. Even if you open a shop and sell them as snacks, you could make a fortune and never worry about food or drink for a lifetime. Forget the finished product; just based on the fact that I researched such a pill out of thin air in just a few days, tell me if I have talent in pill refinement!"

Looking at the fragrant Zhangdu Pills in the Alchemy Furnace, Xu Longyun fell into deep thought. A moment later, she looked at Lin Bai: "One hundred thousand taels, sell the formula to me."

"Three hundred thousand taels," Lin Bai looked at Xu Longyun and asked for an exorbitant price.

"Deal," Xu Longyun looked at Lin Bai and agreed without hesitation.

"..." Lin Bai.

Xu Longyun saw through Lin Bai's thoughts at a glance, her expression somewhat complex: "Don't think you sold it cheap. Although your Inedia Pill is magical, it wouldn't be hard for the Medicine King Valley to reverse-engineer it. If you give the formula to the monarch and have it refined in the name of the Royal Family, even if the Medicine King Valley reverse-engineers the formula, they won't dare touch it. If you refine it yourself, how many furnaces can you produce? If it were anyone else, I would pay at most one hundred thousand taels; I'm giving you this much because I value you as a person."

"Value me?" Lin Bai raised his eyebrows, looking at the City Lord with a half-smile.

"What are you thinking? I didn't expect you to really be able to concoct pills out of a pile of beef; I just see that you are a talent," Xu Longyun glared at him crossly and said sternly, "Shopkeeper Lin, are you interested in joining the Royal Alchemy Workshop and becoming a workshop consultant?"

"Not interested. City Lord, didn't you say there was no pill formula? Why has a Royal Alchemy Workshop popped up now?" Lin Bai refused with a smile. With so many systems, he was destined to reach the pinnacle of life; how could he be tied down by the Royal Family? He looked at Xu Longyun and smiled, "Getting involved with the Royal Family, City Lord Xu, your background is quite deep!"

"I am the daughter of the Taiyi Kingdom's Guardian Duke, Yunyang County Princess," Xu Longyun puffed out her chest and raised her brow, "Otherwise, did you think a mere City Lord would dare to mess around with you and turn a perfectly fine Jiamu City into such a ghostly state?"

"County Princess?" Lin Bai was stunned. No wonder this woman hated players so much; it turns out there was this layer of connection.

He pondered the pros and cons that Xu Longyun's status as a County Princess brought him.

Then.

He reached the conclusion that continuing to get mixed up with her had far more disadvantages than advantages.

The system on him is too unstable, and there is no telling what kind of tasks it might give; in terms of danger, he might be even more dangerous than a group of players combined.

After all.

Jiamu City becoming what it is now was almost entirely caused by him.

Even if there is to be cooperation, he must wait until he is strong enough to have the confidence to negotiate as an equal.

"Shopkeeper Lin, I have already frankly told you my identity; could you tell me about your background? After all, we are now in the same boat..." Xu Longyun looked at Lin Bai and asked with a smile.

"Righteousness Sect." Lin Bai straightened his expression. "I am the sixteenth-generation Disciple of the Righteousness Sect. My sect performed Divination on Heavenly Secrets and learned that the world is about to fall into chaos, so they sent me down the mountain to walk the world and uphold justice."

"Righteousness Sect?" Xu Longyun frowned. "Where is your noble sect located?"

"Deep in the clouds, unknown to all." Lin Bai sighed and said, "I have been learning my craft on the mountain since I was born. When I came down the mountain, my master used a Teleportation Technique to send me out directly, and when I opened my eyes, I was already in Jiamu City..."

(End of this chapter)