Ascending Dragon Pill

Early September, the sect's Trade Fair began.

The bustling Trade Fair teemed with people. Most of the stallholders were cultivators from the Great Sword Sect, while those who came to select desirable items or cultivation resources were half-members like them.

He had arrived at the sect three months ago. Spirit Rice ripened once every three months, and he had calculated that this month was precisely when the Spirit Rice would mature.

"Fellow Daoist Su Ding, would you be interested in learning about this Ascending Dragon Pill?"

When Lin Chang'an spotted a familiar figure, he could not help calling out with a broad smile.

When Su Ding turned around, Lin Chang'an was momentarily startled, before a smile once again appeared on his face.

That once high-spirited youth in white now looked listless. His vitality and blood seemed to float weakly, faint blue shadows lay beneath his eyes, and in only three months, he appeared far more haggard and thin.

"Ascending Dragon Pill?"

Seeing that the visitor was his acquaintance Lin Chang'an, Su Ding cupped his hands, his expression suspicious.

With a smile, Lin Chang'an pulled him aside. After a light cough, he took a jade bottle from his robes and began introducing the pill with a solemn expression.

"The Ascending Dragon Pill harmonizes water and fire, balances yin and yang, nourishes essence and replenishes marrow. It uses three precious spirit herbs as its main ingredients and eighteen more as supporting ingredients, brewed over eighty-one days. Finally!"

At this point, Lin Chang'an seemed to shine with sacred radiance. He took out a token bearing the character for "Pill" from his robes. "Finally, it was refined with true fire inside a top-grade Alchemy Furnace."

Su Ding fell silent as he stared at the token in Lin Chang'an's hand. He knew it was a token from the sect's Pill Hall; only those holding one were qualified to rent a Pill Room for alchemy.

"May I ask, Fellow Daoist, what effects does this Ascending Dragon Pill have?"

Su Ding was still polite enough to voice his doubts after a moment of silence. After hearing so much, it seemed the pill's actual use had not been introduced at all.

A flicker of embarrassment passed through Lin Chang'an's eyes. He coughed softly, lowered his voice, and said gravely, "Fellow Daoist, let me first introduce these three spirit herbs."

"The first spirit herb is White Horse Whip, which replenishes vital energy and improves fertility. The second is Sea Dog Kidney, which nourishes the kidneys, strengthens yang, and replenishes essence and marrow. The third is Epimedium, which promotes urination, boosts strength and vigor, and fortifies one's will!"

Su Ding's face turned green at those words. He glared so hard that Lin Chang'an became embarrassed and hurriedly waved his hands in explanation. "Fellow Daoist, don't misunderstand. I'm not saying you can't do it—pah! No, I mean this Ascending Dragon Pill."

"My pill harmonizes water and fire, balances yin and yang, stimulates yang energy, stabilizes the kidneys' foundation, prolongs performance, heightens sensitivity in bed, and makes it easier for two people to reach deeper heights of bliss. This pill is truly marvelous beyond words."

Yet after Lin Chang'an's explanation, Su Ding's face turned iron-blue. With a furious flick of his sleeve, he left in a huff.

Lin Chang'an was left standing there, utterly disheveled in the wind. After a long while, he stroked his chin and sank into thought, muttering to himself, "Could I have been wrong? That shouldn't be it. He didn't even ask the price. I'm helping them here—this shouldn't be it!"

Just as Lin Chang'an fell into self-doubt, his expression growing uglier the more he thought about it, believing he was about to lose money, a figure appeared before him.

"I heard you have pills here."

Beneath a hoarse voice stood a stranger in gray robes and a bamboo hat, their face impossible to see.

Lin Chang'an did not react at first and was somewhat dumbfounded, but out of habit, he still began introducing his product with a beaming smile.

"Fellow Daoist truly has a discerning eye. My Ascending Dragon Pill is marvelous beyond words. There is one pill per bottle. Dissolve it in rootless water, and every night—cough, cough, daytime works too—you only need to take a small sip. One bottle lasts half a month..."

As Lin Chang'an smiled and introduced his pill, the other person lowered their bamboo hat and rasped, "How much?"

"One Spirit Stone per pill. Don't think it's expensive—my pill is—"

Before Lin Chang'an could finish, the stranger said nothing more and directly took out two Spirit Stones. "I'll try two first. If they truly have the effects you claim, I'll come find you here next month."

Lin Chang'an stared at the two Spirit Stones in his hand in astonishment. They were so straightforward and decisive—he did not even need to waste his breath?

But when he noticed the white boots on the medicine buyer's feet as they hurriedly vanished into the crowd, understanding dawned on him. He recalled that Su Ding seemed to have been wearing white boots too, and could not help muttering, "So the pill isn't bad. I just used the wrong method."

After a while, a figure in gray robes and a bamboo hat concealing their face appeared in the same spot, constantly stopping passersby to introduce the product.

After that, more and more people dressed this way suddenly appeared at the Trade Fair. The owner of a clothing shop watched the gray robes and bamboo hats that normally could not sell a few sets in an entire year sell out within half a day. Seeing more bamboo-hatted figures on the streets, he could not help doubting himself as he muttered.

"Has this style become fashionable lately?"

At noon, a bamboo-hatted figure with their face concealed asked unwillingly, "There are no more?"

Lin Chang'an shook his head sincerely and spread his hands. "There really aren't any more."

"What about tomorrow?"

"Fellow Daoist, from brewing this pill to tempering it into a pill with furnace fire takes an entire month."

"Before sunrise next month, I'll wait for you here."

Perhaps it was the influence of their attire, but everyone spoke in hoarse voices and was exceptionally straightforward. Lin Chang'an hardly saw anyone haggle.

After changing out of his bamboo hat and gray robes, Lin Chang'an smiled as he patted the bulging storage pouch against his chest, looking utterly relaxed.

"Tsk, tsk. So it really wasn't the pill's problem. Using the right method is the ironclad truth. They were gone in just two hours, and so many people agreed to meet at the same place next month, all before sunrise."

"The cost was ten Spirit Stones. I sold thirty-one pills for Spirit Stones and earned twenty-one Spirit Stones. Pah, no, that's not how the accounts should be calculated. Although the pill furnace was free, the cultivation time I wasted can't be free."

"I painstakingly brewed them for a whole month. My own worth should be at least five Spirit Stones, right? Oh, and those three pills that old fellow skimmed off."

As he mulled it over and calculated his gains and losses, the smile on Lin Chang'an's face dwindled. By the end, he was stroking his chin and muttering sourly, "The profit is less than half. A month of hard work only earns fourteen Spirit Stones, and that's with cultivation time sacrificed. What a blood-soaked loss."

"No, I have to cultivate harder and strive to break through to mid Qi Refining sooner. Then both my magical power and my standing here will rise. While ensuring the Ascending Dragon Pill's output and quality, I'll also have time to cultivate."

Thinking of that bright future, Lin Chang'an could not help smiling as he sighed. He truly was worthy of being called a genius alchemist.

"Ordinary Qi Condensation cultivators in the sect without any special skills only earn five or six Spirit Stones a month. Better ones earn around ten. And I'm only at early Qi Condensation."

"I still have to listen to the old ancestors' words: in a year of famine, a craftsman will not starve to death. I must not easily abandon this craft in the future."

Just as Lin Chang'an smiled and tucked the storage pouch into his robes, a deep, resounding bell suddenly echoed through the sect. In an instant, countless faces changed dramatically.

Thanks to Fellow Daoist 'Ge Is an Old Man' for the reward of 500 coins, and thanks to every Fellow Daoist who supports Koi.