Having secured his rear base, Xu Yi was about to leave the Five Lakes Merchant Alliance when Jiang Ming, who had received word, hurried over.
Xu Yi had assumed he'd come to see him off, but Jiang Ming's opening question immediately piqued his interest. "I wonder, Brother Xu, if you have any interest in the art of alchemy?"
Xu Yi replied, "In this day and age, pills reign supreme. What cultivator wouldn't be interested in alchemy? I wonder what good news you have to share with me, Brother Jiang."
Jiang Ming said, "I have an old friend with some standing. He recently attended an alchemy symposium and said it opened his eyes. In the past, when it came to refining pills and identifying medicinal ingredients, he'd been wandering down the wrong path, as if mired in a swamp. He recommended several times that I go and listen in, but I turned him down each time. Now he's come again, and he spoke quite earnestly. He said the Fang family is attending the symposium this time, and that if I don't go, I'll regret it for the rest of my life."
"He's not one to make wild claims. If he says that, it's probably true. I naturally had to pass the news along to you, Brother Xu. If you go, I'll accompany you. If you don't, I won't go wading into those waters either."
Xu Yi asked, "What sort of event is this alchemy symposium? What qualifications do you need to attend?"
Good fortune didn't fall from the sky. When Xu Yi encountered an opportunity, his first reaction was to wonder what danger it concealed.
And to uncover danger, he naturally had to start with the smallest clues and examine whether things made sense.
Jiang Ming sighed inwardly. No wonder the