Immortal Path Space

Chapter 181: Alchemy

The black-robed cultivator had anticipated that Wang Hong would be astonished by the generous offer. He had meticulously prepared for possible reactions, even planning the tone and wording of his responses. However, when Wang Hong took the materials, he merely glanced at them, counted them briefly, and showed no other reaction.

This left the black-robed cultivator feeling a bit disheartened, accompanied by a hint of self-doubt. He had thought the quantity was substantial and had taken precautions to prevent any leaks of information. Perhaps, he mused, it was merely his lack of exposure to the wider world.

Wang Hong, who was an alchemist himself, was accustomed to preparing over a hundred sets of materials for each alchemy session. With just dozens of materials, it was challenging to impress him.

He casually remarked, "A total of forty sets of Nourishing Essence Pill materials. This should yield approximately one hundred and sixty pills. Additionally, I will need to extract thirty percent from the completed pills as my alchemy fee."

In alchemy, it was customary for alchemists to extract a portion of the pills they produced as compensation. For example, if ten pills were successfully refined, the alchemist would claim three of them.

This was the overt reward, as alchemists also had the tendency to discreetly withhold some pills, the extent of which depended on the alchemist's skill and character.

Hence, a proficient alchemist could enjoy a lucrative income, placing them among the higher-earning groups among cultivators.

The compensation terms were easily settled between the two parties. After all, Wang Hong's forty percent pill success rate was considered respectable among second-tier alchemists. Some alchemists with a higher success rate of 50 or 60 percent might still only offer 30 or 40 percent, pocketing the surplus for themselves.

Having agreed on the next pill collection date, the black-robed cultivator departed hastily, and Wang Hong returned to his alchemy work.

Back at his place, Wang Hong retrieved the forty sets of materials. He was a second-tier alchemist and hadn't tried refining multiple sets of materials in a single session. The primary reason was his limited supply of second-tier spiritual herbs, insufficient for such extravagance.

This time, he decided to start with five sets. Additionally, he had accumulated over two hundred sets of Nourishing Essence Pill materials himself, so he thought it wise to refine them all at once.

The first attempt with five sets produced only six pills. Ignoring the slight pain of wasting spiritual herbs, he proceeded to the second attempt.

It was natural to face initial challenges when doing something new, and Wang Hong experienced a learning curve. The second attempt with five sets resulted in eight pills. After a short break, he initiated the refinement of the third batch.

One month later, he successfully refined all the Nourishing Essence Pills. By the end, he could refine thirty sets in a single session, achieving a pill success rate of about thirty percent.

While this method of alchemy wasted a considerable number of spiritual herbs, it saved him a significant amount of time.

Compared to the preciousness of spiritual herbs, Wang Hong valued his time more. With the time saved, he could focus on cultivating techniques, delve into magical arts, and learn rune and talisman crafting.

In contrast, some exceedingly abundant spiritual herbs, like the second-tier spiritual fruit and the white crystal fruit he had planted earliest in his space, were piling up since he couldn't consume them all and was hesitant to sell too many.

To avoid wasting the white crystal fruit, Wang Hong fermented all of them into second-tier Spirit Wine. Now that the white crystal fruit had been processed, his space was overflowing with a substantial amount of white crystal fruit Spirit Wine.

White crystal fruit Spirit Wine was undoubtedly a precious substance. It not only restored Spiritual Power but also purified it, making it a rare and valuable treasure.

However, Wang Hong couldn't sell it recklessly. If he put just a hundred kilograms on the market, it would surely cause a sensation. Yet, he had thousands of kilograms of white crystal fruit Spirit Wine in his space, and the quantity was still increasing.

He couldn't bring himself to cut down the white crystal fruit trees.

Today was the agreed-upon time for delivering the pills. After completing his cultivation, Wang Hong didn't engage in other activities. Instead, he brewed a pot of Spirit Tea and leisurely sipped on it.

He now knew that this tea was called Qiu Long Tea, a tea that Master Mei of the Pill Hall had always remembered fondly.

Before finishing the pot, he received a message that the cultivator had come to collect the pills.

Wang Hong went to the secret chamber where they had met last time. The cultivator still wore a black robe, and his cloak covered his face.

"Thank you for waiting, fellow daoist."

Wang Hong greeted upon entering, then directly handed over several pill bottles to the black-robed cultivator.

"A total of one hundred and sixty pills were successfully refined. Deducting the alchemy fee of forty-eight pills, you have a total of one hundred and twelve pills. Please verify."

The black-robed cultivator took the pill bottles, used Divine Sense to confirm, nodded in satisfaction, and then bid farewell.

After the cultivator left, Wang Hong took out five Nourishing Essence Pills and handed them to Wu Dayong. As the resident alchemist, Wu Dayong was required to contribute ten percent of the earnings to the store.

Wu Dayong accepted the pills with a smiling expression and said, "Junior Brother Wang's alchemy skills are truly remarkable. Previous resident alchemists usually had a success rate of only thirty percent."

"Thank you, Senior Brother Wu, for your care during this time. I still have two Nourishing Essence Pills here; please accept them."

Wang Hong knew that Wu Dayong was reminding him. A thirty percent success rate was also acceptable, and it would allow him to withhold an additional ten percent of the pills.

However, he didn't want to withhold too much. Firstly, he didn't lack those few pills, and secondly, he wanted to establish his reputation in the field of refining pill recipes. In the future, more people might seek him for pill refinement.

This way, he could potentially receive rare spiritual herbs that he didn't currently possess, which was his true goal.

Although reminded by Wu Dayong, Wang Hong expressed his gratitude. Wu Dayong happily received the two Nourishing Essence Pills, as the previous five pills belonged to the sect, and these two were his personal gain.

"Junior Brother Wang, it's advisable not to go out if you have nothing urgent. These days, focus on alchemy in seclusion. There are things you might not be aware of yet."

Wu Dayong reminded after putting away the pills.

"Oh? What's going on?" Wang Hong asked with a hint of curiosity.

"It's said that some Foundation Building cultivators were intercepted by a mysterious force on their way to Jin'an City a while ago. They were forced to sign a slave Blood Contract. The Foundation Building cultivator involved was quite capable and managed to kill several assailants and return to Jin'an City to report the incident."

"Now, the higher-ups in Jin'an City have investigated and found that this is not an isolated case. The entire city is now scrutinizing cultivators who may have signed slave Blood Contracts. If someone is found to have signed such a contract, they need to identify their master. Otherwise, they are considered suspicious."

Upon hearing this, Wang Hong felt like it was related to him. It seemed this matter had already caused quite a stir.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Wu, for the reminder. I have nothing important to do these days, so I won't go out and stir up trouble." 𝗳re𝗲𝚠e𝐛n𝗼v𝗲l.c𝐨𝐦

After bidding farewell to Wu Dayong, Wang Hong returned to his private courtyard.

With the newly acquired information, he sensed that this matter was far from ordinary.

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