True Elixir Pavilion

Yang Lingtian thought of the vast knowledge of alchemy he had just acquired—he could pick a tier-three pill formula from it to strike a cooperative deal with the True Elixir Pavilion.

He chose the Heavenly Spirit Elixir. As far as he knew, this pill wasn't sold anywhere in Tianchen City.

That meant the True Elixir Pavilion in Tianchen City didn't have the formula for it.

If he could use this formula to form a partnership with the True Elixir Pavilion, wouldn't his cultivation resources be secured?

With that in mind, Yang Lingtian immediately wrote the formula down on paper.

But he wrote it in two parts—the pill's ingredients on one sheet, and the refining method on another.

He had already planned how to negotiate with the True Elixir Pavilion.

Once that was done, he intended to head straight to the True Elixir Pavilion.

After weaving through several streets, Yang Lingtian soon arrived at the main entrance of the True Elixir Pavilion.

People were streaming in and out—business was booming.

Yang Lingtian walked inside. He was still dressed quite lavishly, clearly from a prominent family.

A shop assistant stepped forward and greeted him politely.

"Honored guest, are you looking to buy some herbs or pills?"

Yang Lingtian asked directly, "Do you sell Meridian-Renewing Elixirs?"

The assistant put on an apologetic look. "Sorry, but we haven't sold that pill in a long time."

"If you want it, you can place a special order."

"But I can't say exactly when it'll be ready—that depends on when the alchemist gets around to refining it."

"Our alchemists here are very busy. You'd probably have to wait several months."

Just as he thought—the True Elixir Pavilion had no stock.

Several months? He couldn't wait that long. He might as well refine it himself.

"Forget it, I'm not buying pills. Go inform your manager—tell whoever's in charge here to come out."

Just then, someone recognized Yang Lingtian.

"Isn't that the useless adopted son of the Chen Family? What's he doing at the True Elixir Pavilion?"

Many eyes turned toward Yang Lingtian.

As soon as the assistant heard he was the Chen Family's adopted son, his attitude shifted dramatically.

After all, Yang Lingtian's reputation in Tianchen City wasn't exactly good—most people looked down on him.

And after the scene he caused at the brothel yesterday, everyone on the street knew about it.

The assistant sneered with contempt. "If you're not buying pills, get out. Our manager doesn't see just anyone."

Yang Lingtian's expression darkened. He caught the disdain in the assistant's eyes.

His voice turned icy. "I have an important business matter to discuss with your manager."

"Go report it now. If you delay my affairs, you won't be able to bear the consequences."

As a member of the True Elixir Pavilion, the assistant was full of confidence and showed no fear of Yang Lingtian.

He shot back arrogantly, "Scram. A worthless waste like you—what important business could you possibly have?"

"If you don't leave, I'll have someone throw you out."

It seemed he'd have to make some noise before the person in charge would show up.

So Yang Lingtian barked, "How dare you! You insult me?"

He raised his hand and slapped the assistant across the face. With a sharp crack, the assistant was sent flying.

Everyone else was stunned by the scene.

They never expected Yang Lingtian to dare strike someone inside the True Elixir Pavilion—and one of their own people at that.

The slapped assistant was furious. He roared, "You dare hit me? This is the True Elixir Pavilion! You won't walk out of here in one piece today!"

The assistant himself was only at Qi Refining Level 3. Yang Lingtian hadn't used his full strength in that slap, and he hadn't let his aura leak out.

So the assistant couldn't sense Yang Lingtian's actual cultivation level.

He still thought Yang Lingtian was at the rumored Qi Refining Level 2, and that he'd only been caught off guard because he hadn't dodged.

He scrambled to his feet, raised his fist, and charged at Yang Lingtian in a rage.

Yang Lingtian stood his ground, showing no sign of backing away as the assistant rushed at him.

He stared coldly at the man, a flicker of contempt flashing in his eyes.

At the same time, he drew a gleaming longsword from his waist.

Just as the assistant was about to reach him, Yang Lingtian blurred and vanished from sight.

The assistant froze. The moment he turned, Yang Lingtian had already appeared behind him like a ghost.

And the sword in his hand was now pressed against the assistant's neck.

The shop assistant froze in place, feeling the cold threat of the longsword against his neck.

Then he stammered, "You... what are you doing?!"

The others saw this and backed away.

They thought Yang Lingtian had lost his mind, daring to hold a sword to the neck of a True Elixir Pavilion employee.

No one had dared to cause trouble at True Elixir Pavilion in a long time.

Yang Lingtian remained utterly calm, saying flatly, "I'll say it one more time. Are you going to report me or not?"

Suddenly, a voice rang out from inside.

"How bold! Who's making trouble at True Elixir Pavilion? Tired of living?"

Then a dozen people emerged from within, led by a middle-aged man.

The commotion outside had clearly stirred those inside.

The shop assistant felt he was saved and quickly called out, "Steward Wang, save me!"

It seemed this Steward Wang was someone in charge. Seeing his goal achieved, Yang Lingtian released the shop assistant.

Then he said calmly, "I wasn't trying to cause trouble. I just wanted to see the person in charge here."

Steward Wang fumed, "Hmph! You had a sword to his neck and you say it's not trouble?"

"Causing trouble at our True Elixir Pavilion—do you think just because you're the Chen Family's adopted son, we wouldn't dare touch you?"

"Men, surround him!"

At once, a dozen men encircled Yang Lingtian, weapons drawn, radiating fierce auras.

Yang Lingtian could sense that these were all Qi Refining Level 7 thugs.

But he showed no fear, remaining composed.

Yang Lingtian said coldly, "Hmph, so this is how True Elixir Pavilion treats its guests?"

"I have a business deal to discuss with your True Elixir Pavilion. Don't you want to hear it?"

He pulled out a slip of paper and continued, "Take a look at this. If you can't make sense of it, have your higher-ups examine it."

Steward Wang took the paper and opened it.

A flicker of surprise crossed his face. He could tell this was a pill formula.

And not an ordinary one at that—it was marked as a Tier 3 formula.

At True Elixir Pavilion, most of what they sold were Tier 1 pills, very few Tier 2, and almost no Tier 3.

If they could acquire another Tier 3 formula, it would be a huge boon for the pavilion.

But he couldn't be sure the formula was genuine; he'd need a real alchemist to verify it.

So his tone shifted slightly. "Fine. Come with me to the inner hall."

The onlookers were baffled.

What had Yang Lingtian shown that made Steward Wang change his attitude so drastically, even inviting him inside?

Soon, Yang Lingtian followed Steward Wang into the inner hall.

Steward Wang still spoke with a hint of menace. "Wait here. I'll fetch an alchemist to verify the formula's authenticity."

"If this formula turns out to be fake, don't expect to walk out of here safely."

Yang Lingtian just smiled faintly. "Fine. I'll wait."

After a short wait, an old man in a white robe entered, his eyes sharp and deep.

Steward Wang cupped his hands to the elder. "Master Lei Yi, this is Yang Lingtian, the one who provided the Tier 3 formula."

"This is the Tier 3 formula he offered. Please examine it."

Master Lei Yi nodded, took the formula from his hand, and studied it closely.

His brow furrowed deeper, his focus intensifying, and then a glint of greed flashed in his eyes.

He recognized it as the formula for the Tier 3 Heavenly Spirit Elixir, though it seemed incomplete.

Master Lei Yi was the only Tier 2 Alchemist at True Elixir Pavilion. Having never refined a Tier 3 pill, he had been unable to advance to Tier 3 Alchemist.

This sudden appearance of a Tier 3 formula was his hope for promotion.

After a long moment, Master Lei Yi looked up, gave Yang Lingtian a deep glance, and said to Steward Wang, "This formula is fake."

Steward Wang was taken aback, then anger spread across his face.

He turned to Yang Lingtian and said furiously, "Young Master Yang, how dare you bring a fake formula to fool our True Elixir Pavilion!"

Yang Lingtian smiled faintly. "I never expected that the esteemed True Elixir Pavilion, just to hoard the formula for itself, would call mine fake."

"How shameless!"

"Master Lei Yi, you should know this is only the recipe. I didn't write down the refining method."

"With just the recipe and no refining method, you won't be able to produce a Tier 3 spirit pill for years."

"Unless you yourself are a Tier 3 Alchemist."

Master Lei Yi was about to flare up, but Yang Lingtian's words jolted him awake.

Indeed, without the refining method, it wasn't a complete formula—hard to control and difficult to produce.

If he kept experimenting and failed many times, he would inevitably waste a mountain of medicinal ingredients.

So he thought to himself: "Looks like I'll have to get my hands on that Tier 3 pill's refining method after all."

Then he said, "Then hand over the refining method too. Let me take a look. Just giving me a recipe makes it hard to tell truth from falsehood."

But Master Lei Yi's earlier words had already made Yang Lingtian lose trust in them.

He knew that if he handed over the refining process as well, the other party might still turn hostile and monopolize the formula.

Just then, Yang Lingtian noticed that Master Lei Yi's brow was darkened. Based on the Tier 3 alchemy knowledge he had acquired, he recognized the sign.

It was caused by Master Lei Yi having taken a Poison Dragon Elixir.

And the Poison Dragon Elixir was a Tier 3 poison pill. He couldn't understand why Master Lei Yi would take such a toxic pill.

Now the poison had entered his body. Only a Tier 3 pill, the Great Yellow Elixir, could fully cleanse it.

Otherwise, his days were numbered.

So Yang Lingtian seemed to hit upon a way to handle Master Lei Yi.

He walked up to Master Lei Yi and said softly, "I don't just have the Heavenly Spirit Elixir formula—I also have the Great Yellow Elixir formula. Would you like to take a look at that too?"

When Master Lei Yi heard "Great Yellow Elixir formula," his expression shifted dramatically.

He himself knew that the Great Yellow Elixir was the pill that could purge the poison from his body.

And the Poison Dragon Elixir had been forced on him by Feng Qiulin, the branch master of Mingkai City Branch—the sworn enemy of Wu Xulong, the branch master of Tianchen City Branch.

Now he could only take some antidote at intervals to suppress the poison's flare-ups.

But it couldn't be cured. When it flared, the agony was unbearable—it had always been a thorn in Master Lei Yi's heart.

If he could obtain the Great Yellow Elixir, he could completely eliminate this poison.