Gu Ding's Cover Blown

After leaving the Medicine God Alliance, Gu Ding didn't leave immediately, but instead wandered around the nearby street stalls. Actually, he knew Elizabeth would come and was deliberately waiting.

The stalls outside the Medicine God Alliance mainly sold medicinal materials and a small amount of low-grade potions. Gu Ding had only taken a few steps when the Sea Emperor called out to him. "Gu Ding, keep going forward. The fourth stall has some good red crystals."

Hearing the Sea Emperor's voice, Gu Ding continued walking forward and stopped in front of the stall the Sea Emperor had mentioned. The stall owner was a thin, Middle-Aged Man with small but shrewd eyes. Gu Ding's gaze swept over the stall, and he saw the few red crystals the Sea Emperor had mentioned, as well as some ordinary medicinal ingredients.

"What is this red stone?" Gu Ding asked, partly to see if the stall owner knew what it was, and partly to get information from the Sea Emperor.

"If I'm not mistaken, this should be Blood Essence Stone. It can only be formed in places where millions have died, making this crystal extremely rare. As for its use, it has a physical strengthening effect on flesh and blood beings at the god level and above, because the refining of Blood Essence Stone requires divine fire. Moreover, the flesh and blood energy contained within it has no effect on energy beings. Many gods, after obtaining this, will resell it to the dragon race. Because the dragon race is also a flesh and blood being, they buy Blood Essence Stone in large quantities." The Sea Emperor's explanation greatly broadened Gu Ding's knowledge.

However, on the other side, the Middle-Aged Man said to him, "Young man, you must be a tourist from out of town, right? This kind of red crystal is a special product of our Forget-Worry Star, a kind of potion catalyst material that can improve the success rate of potion refining."

"Oh? How are we going to use such a big rock?" Gu Ding chuckled to himself and continued to ask.

"It's very simple to use. Just take it back and grind it into powder," the Middle-Aged Man said smoothly.

"This guy lies so well, he doesn't even blink an eye," Sea Emperor couldn't help but mock Gu Ding.

"Alright then, how much Qian Yi?" Gu Ding's question wasn't just directed at the Middle-Aged Man.

"This is a valuable item. In the Universe Sea, it would cost at least a million units of Universe Crystal to buy just one. If you exchange it for Universe Coin, that would be tens of billions." Universe Crystal are the common high-value currency in the Universe Sea. One unit of Universe Crystal is equivalent to ten thousand Universe Coin.

"One hundred Universe Coin per coin!" the Middle-Aged Man said confidently.

Gu Ding was taken aback, but the Middle-Aged Man could tell from his expression that it was too expensive. He hesitated for a moment, then gave a second price, "Fine, I'll sell it to you for ninety, that's the lowest I can go."

"How about one hundred each? Is that all? Do you have any more?" Gu Ding paid six hundred Universe Coin, put the six Blood Essence Stone back into his Storage Space, and then looked at the middle-aged stall owner very seriously.

"I have more than ten left in my Storage Space. Do you want them all?" The Middle-Aged Man was taken aback for a moment, then immediately nodded. This time, he had finally met a rich second-generation who was willing to be taken advantage of. He wouldn't feel at ease if he didn't fleece him.

"I want them all!" Gu Ding wasn't actually trying to act like a rich kid, but he was very generous, and the clothes he wore weren't something an ordinary kid could afford. Few people knew that Liliath had actually helped Gu Ding pick out all these clothes.

Gu Ding spent another 1,500 Universe Coin to acquire all the remaining 15 Blood Essence Stone from the Middle-Aged Man.

At that moment, Elizabeth and her four bodyguards finally appeared. Elizabeth walked straight toward Gu Ding, while the four bodyguards did not follow, but merely watched from a distance.

"Hello, my name is Lisa. I'm also a pharmacist. I just saw you making potions at the Medicine God Alliance. Coincidentally, I have some questions about potion making. Would it be convenient for us to have a meal together and discuss them?" Elizabeth had never lowered herself to invite a man to dinner before.

"Okay!" Gu Ding agreed without hesitation.

"This way, please. I've already made a reservation at the hotel." Elizabeth extended a hand and smiled slightly at Gu Ding.

Gu Ding looked in the direction her arm was pointing. It was a special custom edition of the 16th generation of the "Empress," a one-of-a-kind vehicle in the entire Universe Sea. The car was a dreamlike purple, dazzling and radiant under the sunlight.

The "Empress" company was founded tens of thousands of years ago by a Grand Duke of the Fei Me Universe Country. Legend has it that the Grand Duke was madly in love with the then-Queen of Feimei, guarding her for over three thousand years without daring to express his feelings. As his lifespan drew to a close, he used all his savings to establish the Empress Company and personally designed a hovercar named "Empress," which he had his best friend present to the Queen on her birthday. By the time the Empress received her birthday gift, the Grand Duke had already perished from exhaustion.

This story has been passed down to this day, and the company, under the management of the Grand Duke's friend, has thrived. Even now, all the reigning female rulers of the Fei Me Universe Country use vehicles manufactured by the Queen's Company. Furthermore, the Queen's Company designs and produces only one vehicle for each female ruler. If one vehicle is damaged, a second one is designed, and the original is collected and kept as a collectible by the Queen's Company.

Gu Ding never imagined that he would have the opportunity to ride in such a car one day.

Once inside the car, Gu Ding realized that the interior was much larger than it appeared from the outside. Besides himself and Elizabeth, four bodyguards were also in the car, yet it didn't feel crowded at all. Gu Ding was somewhat surprised to find that Medea, Elizabeth's inseparable best friend, was nowhere to be seen this time. However, he didn't ask, as that would reveal his identity.

The Empress drove for nearly twenty minutes before finally stopping.

After getting out of the car, Gu Ding saw the name of the hotel Elizabeth had brought him to— Claude.

This is a very special building. Gu Ding could hardly believe his eyes, because only the First Level of this hotel is on the ground, where guests are received, while the restaurant is suspended above the clouds.

There is no connecting structure between the First Level and the restaurant. To access the restaurant, you must obtain a seating card on the first floor and use it to access the maglev elevator.

Gu Ding followed Elizabeth smoothly into the VIP elevator, which was entirely transparent, allowing a clear view of everything beneath their feet. The hotel restaurant was located in the stratosphere, more than 20,000 meters above the planet. Watching themselves slowly ascend and everything below shrink in size, Gu Ding was filled with wonder.

The four bodyguards remained expressionless due to their strong mental fortitude, while Elizabeth, being a deity capable of flight, was unafraid of such heights. However, Gu Ding, visiting such a place for the first time, showed no fear whatsoever, which earned him the Gu Ding's respect.

The entire ascent took nearly twenty minutes before the six people landed on the restaurant.

Elizabeth had booked a regular table, not a private box. She and Gu Ding shared a small table, while four bodyguards sat at a large table not far away.

"See if there's anything you'd like to eat," Elizabeth said, handing Gu Ding a menu.

Gu Ding shook his head and grinned, "You're more familiar with this place, so you order. I'm not a picky eater, I'll eat anything."

"Alright then," Elizabeth nodded, took the menu, ordered several dishes, and then clicked the send button on the touch screen menu.

After ordering, Elizabeth put down the menu and looked at Bigge, "I watched your potion-making today. You should only be D-Grade Potion, right?"

"Yes." Gu Ding did not deny it. His actual pharmacist level was F, but he hadn't gotten certified yet. But there was no need to tell Elizabeth about that.

"But I see that some of the refining techniques you use are completely beyond the capabilities of D-Grade Potion. Some of them are even beyond the capabilities of an S-level alchemist. Where did you learn these refining techniques?" Elizabeth was also curious about this question.

"Actually, I learned it from the video section of Medicine King Valley. I often search for videos on potion-making, including competition videos of S-Rank Pharmacist. After watching the videos, if I find something that might be useful, I'll imitate and learn it, and then practice until I'm proficient." Gu Ding wasn't entirely truthful about this question, because some of the techniques he used were actually lost techniques, learned from the Sea Emperor's database. Of course, Medicine King Valley's video section contains billions of videos; for someone else to verify this, it would be like finding a needle in a haystack.

"I see. You're really lucky. I've seen a lot of videos on potion making, but not many are useful." Elizabeth knew that Gu Ding probably wasn't telling the truth on this point, because there were simply too many videos in the video section. To find one that contained those techniques, you'd need incredible luck. But Gu Ding used more than one special technique; he used five or six. Finding one or two might be considered lucky, but five or six was clearly beyond luck.

The two then discussed the potion-making process for a short while before the dishes were served.

The two chatted and ate, while the four bodyguards at another table, who had ordered more dishes, had their food served even faster.

The meal lasted for about an hour before Gu Ding finally put down his utensils and wiped his mouth with a towel. Just then, he heard Elizabeth's voice in his ear, "Gu Ding, what exactly is your purpose in coming to Forget-Worry Star this time?" (To be continued.)