Old Friends Meet

Gu He entered the hall, and everyone inside rose to greet him. After seeing Gu He into the hall, Nalan Jie excused himself and returned to the entrance; two other important figures had yet to arrive.

Gu He first formally introduced Xiao Yi Xian to everyone, letting them know she was his disciple. Then, after exchanging pleasantries with these representatives of the vast majority of the Imperial Capital's upper-class powers, he finally sat down with the Dou Wangs of the Imperial Capital's Three Great Families.

Xiao Yi Xian naturally received countless gifts. They were rare treasures to ordinary people, but only the gifts from the Three Great Families were worthy of even a glance from Gu He. After Gu He sat with the three Dou Wangs, Xiao Yi Xian noticed Ya Fei in the hall and walked over to the older sister she was somewhat familiar with and had a favorable impression of.

Seeing Xiao Yi Xian, the Pill King's disciple, take the initiative to draw close to Ya Fei of the Mite'er Family, many of the countless families in the hall frowned slightly and stared at her with displeasure. It was one thing for Miter Tengshan to have a good relationship with the Pill King—he was already a Dou Wang and not someone to provoke. But now even the Pill King's disciple was close to someone from the Mite'er Family. The Mite'er Family was clearly being far too greedy, not even leaving the other families a sip of soup.

The clever Ya Fei naturally understood that this would provoke public resentment, but she could not push Xiao Yi Xian away because of it. After their previous encounter, Ya Fei had roughly grasped Xiao Yi Xian's temperament. She was a kind girl who liked peace and quiet. Since she did not wish to meet too many strangers, pushing her away would undoubtedly offend her. Thinking of the intelligence that Gu He had already become a Sixth-grade Alchemist, Ya Fei still decided to handle her relationship with Xiao Yi Xian carefully.

Seeing that Xiao Yi Xian was still sitting with Ya Fei, Gu He shook his head slightly. It seemed Xiao Yi Xian did not like such banquets. Still, now that he had confirmed before these people that Xiao Yi Xian was his disciple, no one in the Jia Ma Empire would dare touch her. If she disliked it, she would not need to attend in the future.

Gu He occupied the seat of honor. After all, the banquet had been held in his name; the Nalan Family had merely provided the venue. He first apologized to Nalan Jie and Mu Chen. "The last time I came to the Imperial Capital, I left in such a hurry that I did not even have a proper chat with you two old brothers. That was my fault. Once Elder Fa and Elder Jia arrive, I will definitely drink a few extra cups as an apology."

"What are you saying, Pill King? Seeing how hurriedly you left at the time, you must have had important matters to handle." Nalan Jie and Mu Chen said it was nothing to worry about.

Before long, Fama, president of the Alchemist Guild, and Jia Xingtian, ancestor of the Jia Ma Imperial Family, arrived. Gu He personally rose to welcome them. Setting aside their noble statuses, their strength as Peak Dou Emperors alone was enough to earn Gu He's respect.

"Elder Fa, Elder Jia, you've finally arrived. Come, come—later, we must have a good gathering." Gu He rose with a hearty laugh as Fama and Jia Xingtian entered the hall.

"I heard you broke through to the sixth grade, so I came to see what a Sixth-grade Alchemist was like and learn a thing or two along the way." Fama spoke with a gentle expression. He did not fly into a rage because this junior had surpassed him, but instead approached it with a willingness to learn. He had long been prepared to be overtaken. During his travels across the continent, he had learned that there were many geniuses on this continent whom ordinary people could not compare to. They could easily attain abilities that ordinary people might never achieve in their entire lives, and Gu He was still somewhat inferior even to them. Thus, Fama remained calm. Believing that the accomplished could be teachers, he intended to discuss alchemy with Gu He in the spirit of learning.

"How could I not come and join in the excitement when the Pill King invited me?" Jia Xingtian did not say much more. Gu He was, after all, a member of the Misty Cloud Sect.

Gu He held Fama in high regard. After only three days of guidance from Yao Lao, Fama had used that guidance as the foundation to become a Seventh-grade Peak Alchemist later in life. Such an unbiased attitude, such a willingness to learn from others' strengths, was truly worth learning from. As for Jia Xingtian's guarded attitude, Gu He offered no judgment. Though Jia Xingtian bore the safety of an imperial family upon his shoulders, he was too indecisive. He could only throw his weight around in the Jia Ma Empire; he amounted to nothing on the Dou Qi Continent.

Gu He invited the two to sit, then announced the start of the banquet. He first chatted with the three Dou Wangs and two Dou Emperors about all manner of things. After the banquet ended and everyone else had left, Gu He had Xiao Yi Xian return first by carriage before truly getting straight to the point and revealing his purpose.

"Everyone, although I have advanced to a Sixth-grade Alchemist, I have used up most of my medicinal ingredients. It is no longer very realistic for me to further raise my alchemist grade. Now, I have a proposal that can both solve my shortage of medicinal ingredients and address your difficulty in obtaining precious pills."

"You mean we can hire you to refine pills by paying you with medicinal ingredients?" Jia Xingtian asked with interest. The imperial family had a Sixth Tier Nether Sea Flood Dragon whose body was riddled with old injuries. If that were truly the case, then even if they had to expend many medicinal ingredients to ask Gu He to refine a Primal Bone-Shaping Pill and heal the Nether Sea Flood Dragon, it would be worthwhile.

"That's right. As long as you prepare ten sets of ingredients for a Sixth-grade pill, I will refine the corresponding Sixth-grade pill without asking for any other payment." Gu He stared seriously at the five of them.

The five had expected Gu He to demand a steep price, but exchanging only ten sets of ingredients for a satisfactory pill was an exceptionally favorable offer. One had to know that hiring an alchemist to refine a pill usually required providing a pill formula, three sets of ingredients, and substantial compensation. Even then, success was not guaranteed. If the refinement failed, it could only be considered the requester's bad luck, and the alchemist would not return the compensation already received. However, reputable alchemists generally would not accept a commission if their success rate for refining that pill was below thirty percent.

"Does a complete set of ingredients for any Sixth-grade pill count as one set?" Mu Chen could not deny that Gu He's terms tempted him. However, his family did not deal in medicinal ingredients or operate an auction house, so they possessed relatively few medicinal ingredients. Gathering ten sets of ingredients for a specific Sixth-grade pill in a short time would be very difficult. Moreover, once the top families of the Imperial Capital learned of this news, the prices of ingredients for Sixth-grade pills would surely soar rapidly.

Considering that it was best not to reveal his desire, as a Dou Wang, for the ingredients of the Imperial Pill, and that refining more Sixth-grade pills would better improve his alchemist realm, Gu He answered, "Yes. A complete set of ingredients for any Sixth-grade pill can count as one set. However, for a complete set of ingredients for a Sixth-grade pill that I do not recognize, you must provide the pill formula for me to judge it."

"I do not have any pills I urgently need, but could I use medicinal ingredients as payment in exchange for being allowed to observe the Pill King refining a Sixth-grade pill?" Although Fama knew this question was somewhat impolite, his helplessness at having been trapped as a Fifth-grade Alchemist for many years, along with his thirst for alchemical knowledge, still drove him to voice the thought in his heart while clinging to a sliver of hope.