Chapter 36: The Fifth Tier Beast Flame

Gu Ni's eyes were fixed on the cyan liquid. With a pinch of his fingers, a thin silver needle appeared, faintly exuding a trace of Dou Qi. He gently inserted the needle into the liquid, stirring it softly.

As he stirred, Gu Ni's expression gradually changed from calm to serious.

Moments later, he stored the cyan liquid back into a jade bottle. When he looked back at Xiao Yan, his previously arrogant face now showed a trace of respect. Turning his head, he said solemnly to Ya Fei, "The elixir has reached the level of a Tier 2 pill. What this gentleman said is not false!"

"Given the specialty of this elixir, there shouldn't be a problem trading it for what I need, right?" Xiao Yan turned his head to look at Ya Fei.

Her beautiful eyes blinked slightly. Generally, a Tier 2 elixir would be valued at around 30,000 gold coins in the market.

Elixirs like the Foundation Establishment Elixir, which can enhance Dou Qi cultivation speed, are quite rare. If auctioned properly, the price could be significantly higher.

For those large clans, the last thing they lack is money.

"Of course, there's no problem," Ya Fei replied with a charming smile. "However, our branch of the Mittel Auction House in Wutan City currently doesn't have a high-quality alchemy cauldron. We'll need a few days to get one from the headquarters."

As expected. Yao Lao had anticipated this situation. Other than Gu Ni, there were no permanent alchemists in Wutan City. In a place like an auction house that values profit, they wouldn't keep anything deemed useless.

"No problem. Also, prepare two more sets of materials for the Qi Gathering Powder and a suitable Beast Flame. I'll collect everything when I return," Xiao Yan said.

Hearing this, Gu Ni's expression changed slightly. Two more sets of Qi Gathering Powder materials? That would mean an additional expense of over 100,000 gold coins!

Ya Fei's rosy lips opened slightly, and her heart filled with a hint of anger. Although the other party was a competent alchemist, his demands seemed a bit excessive.

The Foundation Establishment Elixir was special. As long as the auction house managed it well, it would definitely turn a profit. However, this didn't mean the profit would surpass the value of over 100,000 gold coins.

Despite her anger, Ya Fei maintained a charming smile on her lovely face without losing her temper.

"Hehe, it seems there's been a misunderstanding," Yao Lao chuckled lightly. "The two sets of materials are not for me. I merely intend to help you refine two Qi Gathering Powders. I'm only asking you to provide the material cost. Isn't that reasonable?"

Ya Fei's beautiful face froze for a moment, then joy suddenly welled up, catching her off guard with the surprise.

Moments later, her cheeks returned to their usual color. Exchanging a glance with the equally delighted Gu Ni, she said nervously, "Then, thank you, sir."

---

More than two hours later, a pretty maid entered, holding a silver tray in both hands. On the tray rested a pale red ring.

Taking the tray from the maid, Ya Fei dismissed her and then personally handed it to Xiao Yan, smiling, "Sir, the materials you requested are all stored in the ring. The alchemy cauldron and Beast Flame will be delivered to the Mittel Auction House in three days. May I know where you reside, so that I can personally deliver them to you?"

Xiao Yan picked up the ring from the silver tray and turned it over in his hand. Shaking his head slightly, Yao Lao's voice emerged once more, "No need. I'll come and collect them in three days."

"Alright, you don't need to see me out. I'll find my own way." Waving his hand, Xiao Yan casually slipped the ring onto his finger and walked out of the waiting hall without looking back.

Watching the figure disappear at the doorway, Ya Fei bit her lip lightly. Glancing at the two exquisite jade bottles on the table, she asked in a soft voice, "Uncle Gu Ni, the success rate for refining Qi Gathering Powder isn't that high, is it?"

"Hmm, I heard that even the Alchemy King Gu He only has a success rate of about seventy percent. A typical Tier 4 alchemist might have less than a fifty percent success rate," Gu Ni replied, still somewhat puzzled. He had previously estimated the man to be merely a Tier 3 alchemist.

"But this old gentleman succeeded in one try," Ya Fei said, frowning slightly.

"Who knows? Maybe he was just extremely lucky," Gu Ni replied with a bitter smile.

After all, refining pills can sometimes require a bit of luck. With good luck, one might succeed several times in a row without failure.

After some hesitation, Ya Fei muttered, "Could he possibly be a powerful alchemist?"

"There are only a handful of Tier 5 alchemists in the Jia Ma Empire. Such individuals would be treated as honored guests by both the empire and the Yun Lan Sect. Why would they come here to sell pills?" Gu Ni shook his head with a smile.

Hearing this, Ya Fei nodded slightly and sighed softly. "It seems I still lack experience. My earlier hesitation might have damaged our rapport with this mysterious alchemist."

"You can't be blamed. That amount of money is enough to make anyone hesitate, even me. You've handled it well enough. As for building the relationship, we can work on that gradually later. As long as he doesn't harbor ill will toward us, it's fine," Gu Ni comforted her.

Smiling bitterly, Ya Fei nodded, sitting lazily in her chair. Her curves were revealed as she blinked her long eyes, murmuring with some confusion, "What does he intend to do with so many low-level materials?"

"Who knows? Alchemists are quirky people. Perhaps he's experimenting with some formula," Gu Ni speculated.

...

Three days later, Xiao Yan sat cross-legged in a concealed cave on the back mountain of the Xiao family estate. In front of him was a large transparent jade bottle, inside of which floated a pink flame.

The flame flickered slightly, emitting a faint peach-colored aura.

"This flame..." Xiao Yan's expression grew awkward. "It's too feminine."

"Don't be ungrateful," Yao Lao's figure appeared, saying, "The Mittel Auction House indeed put in some effort."

"This flame is called the Peach Blossom Flame. It resides within a rather rare Tier 5 wood-element magical beast known as the Kui Wood Beast. Its main characteristics are its gentle nature, making it relatively easy to tame. Of course, its temperature and destructive power are somewhat lacking. However, for a beginner like you, it's just right."

"So, did we get a good deal?" Xiao Yan asked, lifting his head.

"Two Qi Gathering Powders, that's all. It's not like we gave them a clear Tier 4 pill formula with soul imprints," Yao Lao explained with a smile.

Xiao Yan nodded slightly. Over the past few days, he had learned about how pill formulas were created.

Each formula was inscribed using soul power. Each time it was read, the soul imprint would become fainter. After a formula had been read more than five times, it would gradually blur. Further reading would require the person to comprehend the unclear parts independently, wasting time and effort.

Creating a pill formula required the strength of a Tier 4 alchemist, and even then, the failure rate was high. Hence, pill formulas were far more valuable than the pills they could produce.

*(End of Chapter)*