Ever since Xu Yi had struck a deal with Huang Xing and used spirit liquid to grow the first batch of mature spirit plants, he had begun his own trial process, secretly practicing by day and pushing himself to advance, without wasting a single moment.
Huang Xing was only too happy to let Xu Yi charge headlong down a blind alley, and never skimped on supplying the discarded plants. Later, when Xu Yi specified that he wanted only Fish Star Grass, Three Dan Flower, Dragon Summer Fruit, and Eighteen Seeds, Huang Xing did exactly as he asked.
In Huang Xing's eyes, Zhong Ruyi was completely insane. If this path could really lead somewhere, why would he still be holed up here as chief manager? Besides, Xu Yi never shorted him on Profound Yellow Pills, so Huang Xing was more than happy to keep supplying him.
Of course, Huang Xing had no idea that the reason Xu Yi had switched to requesting only Fish Star Grass, Three Dan Flower, Dragon Summer Fruit, and Eighteen Seeds had everything to do with Li Ping.
Learning to compound medicines had never been Xu Yi's true goal. His real aim was to use West Valley as a stepping stone and quickly leap into a core unit. He had long since seen that the alchemy halls on the various peaks were the core units. To enter one of those halls, he naturally needed to win an alchemist's favor and then be recommended.
Xu Yi had settled on Li Ping after observing him for many days. Over that time, more than a dozen alchemists had come and gone from West Garden. Xu Yi watched them compound medicines, and they all seemed quite adept—except Li Ping. When compounding the four medicines of Monarch, Minister, Assistant, and Envoy, Li