Chapter 364: Good News

"Good..."

Master Ruokai took the porcelain bottle, opened it, glanced inside, saw it was filled entirely with mid-grade Mingwu Pills, and immediately burst into joy: "Yes, yes!"

"These are indeed mid-grade Mingwu Pills!"

"Hehehe..."

He was delighted and casually tucked the Mingwu Pills away.

Then Master Ruokai smiled warmly at He Pingsheng and asked: "Young friend, did your master brew Mingwu Pills better than mid-grade?"

"Don't worry—I'm not being greedy, I'm just curious!"

He Pingsheng wore a warm smile on his face, but sneered inwardly: Not greedy?

If you weren't greedy, why would you ask?

"This..." He Pingsheng shook his head. "I don't know. I gave the materials to my master, and he only told me to wait outside. Just now, he handed me this bottle of mid-grade pills."

Master Ruokai said: "So that's how it is?"

"Perhaps your master really brewed pills of a higher grade!"

He Pingsheng said: "In my experience, my master normally gets two or four mid-grade pills per batch, and the rest are low-grade."

"He probably brewed three or five batches to assemble these mid-grade ones for you."

"Even if he did make higher-grade pills, he'd have kept them all—what's left are all low-grade!"

Master Ruokai said: "So that's the case!"

Hearing this, he finally felt a little better.

"Hehehe..." Master Ruokai said: "Young friend... I won't hide it from you—I'm very interested in your 【Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow】. Would you be willing to part with it?"

"Trade it with me?"

He Pingsheng smiled: "Of course I can."

"I need either 【Metal】 or 【Earth】 elemental essence. If you can provide one of these two—or even just one—I'm willing to trade with you."

He Pingsheng had been longing for these two elemental essences.

Once he obtained them, he could comprehend them, then forge the 【Five Elements Unified Force】—if he mastered this technique, his combat power would surge dramatically.

"This..." Master Ruokai frowned slightly: "I don't actually have such things."

"How about this: I offer you a magic treasure, talisman, or spirit stone—would you still be willing to trade?"

He Pingsheng smiled again: "I'm sorry, Master Ruokai—I don't lack magic treasures or spirit stones."

"If you can bring me even a low-grade Metal or Earth essence, I'll still trade with you."

This was his true thought.

Low grade doesn't matter—I can strengthen it; after strengthening, the elemental rules remain unchanged.

"Sigh..." Master Ruokai sighed lightly: "What a pity!"

There was nothing more to say.

He Pingsheng directly tucked the two essences away.

"This..." Master Ruokai seemed reluctant to let go.

Behind him, one of the acolytes spoke insolently: "My ancestor is a cultivated immortal of Ruokai Mountain—his interest in your item is your fortune! Why are you dragging your feet?"

"Hand it over at once, or bloodshed will come instantly."

He Pingsheng was stunned!

This...

Are they actually trying to rob me?

Master Ruokai's face darkened instantly. He turned and rebuked the acolyte: "What nonsense are you spouting? This is Hongshi City, not our Ruokai Mountain!"

"Let's go!"

With that, he swept his sleeve and left immediately.

He Pingsheng shook his head.

From just those few words, it was easy to judge: Master Ruokai was a greed-obsessed man.

And from the acolyte's words, it was clear the old man had long been seizing others' possessions.

Hehe, interesting.

What came next would be simple.

He Pingsheng continued refining pills for several more days, accumulating nineteen batches of 【Mingwu Pills】.

Ten batches he strengthened to supreme grade.

The other nine he strengthened to high grade.

As before, he kept the supreme-grade pills for himself and used the high-grade ones for trading.

From now on, he'd be trading with Nascent Soul cultivators.

One day, Elder Ling Zhiwang from the neighboring merchant guild, Hongyue Guild, came running over.

After many years apart, Ling Zhiwang's cultivation had reached Foundation Establishment Level 11, stuck at a bottleneck.

"Congratulations, Elder Ling!" He Pingsheng said. "You're already Level 11—if you get the right heavenly treasure to break through, you'll reach Golden Core!"

"Hehehe..." Ling Zhiwang chuckled, then whispered mysteriously: "I won't hide it from you—I already have leads!"

"The 【Blood Jade Purple-Skinned Jujube】 in Daling Valley will ripen in a dozen years—I've already reserved one fruit, waiting for it to mature."

"That's excellent!" He Pingsheng asked: "How many fruits does one tree produce at a time?"

Ling Zhiwang said: "It's incredible—they say each tree yields exactly 365 fruits. When that time comes, a whole new wave of Golden Core cultivators will emerge!"

He Pingsheng gasped.

No wonder there are so many Golden Core cultivators in the cultivation world.

Think about it—Hongshi Commandery alone has many such trees; not just Daling Valley, but even the Xiaoyao Immortal Sect has the 【Nanqi Fruit】.

How many commanderies are there in the entire Liang State?

Then the number of these fruits must be enormous!

"By the way, I almost forgot the big news!" Ling Zhiwang suddenly slapped his forehead. "Xu Dao... oh no, He Dao..."

"He Dao... I've got good news for you!"

"I heard a Nascent Soul elder has come to our guild to auction a Grade Four elixir."

Looking at He Pingsheng, Ling Zhiwang whispered: "It's a bottle of 【Judaodan】."

He Pingsheng was utterly stunned: "What?"

"Judaodan?"

"When?"

"What element?"

After his shock came excitement.

What is Judaodan?

Simple: an elixir refined primarily from 【Elemental Essence】.

For example, He Pingsheng's 【Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Marrow】 could be refined into a Grade Four Ice-element Judaodan.

That is, Judaodan contains the power of elemental rules.

Swallowing a Judaodan allows one to comprehend rules just as well.

And even faster.

The thing he had longed for was right before him—how could he not be excited?

"Don't rush, He Dao, don't rush!"

Almost everyone important in Hongshi City now knew He Pingsheng's real name.

It couldn't be hidden.

"I don't know the details," Ling Zhiwang said. "The Nascent Soul elder is still negotiating with our guild."

"I don't yet know what element the Judaodan is."

He Pingsheng frowned slightly.

Element unknown.

It could only be Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, or Earth—what else?

If lucky, it might be Metal or Earth.

If unlucky, it would be Wood, Water, or Fire.

"Alright..." He Pingsheng looked at Ling Zhiwang. "Thank you for the tip, Elder Ling. I'll go ask Elder Hongyue this afternoon."