Get-Rich Plan

"Poisonous!?"

Chen Mobai's face filled with shock and suspicion.

This was clearly a Convergence Pill, used to raise one's cultivation level. How could it possibly be poisonous?

"The Pill Toxin content is far beyond the limit. Let me see which pharmacy produced this, then I'll be a public-spirited citizen and report them."

As Qing Nü spoke, she looked at the bottom of the medicine bottle. Sure enough, all kinds of information were engraved there.

Returning Heaven Valley outer sect disciple, Lu Yuxuan.

"Returning Heaven Valley? Is that Returning Heaven Pharmacy from Kuocang Cave Heaven? But aren't they specialized in refining spirit water?"

Qing Nü's face was full of confusion. Chen Mobai wiped the sweat from his forehead and immediately began changing the subject, lest she keep investigating and discover the problem.

"What does it mean for the Pill Toxin content to exceed the limit? Are these bottles of pills all defective products?"

"The Immortal Sect Drug Administration has regulations. For all factory-produced pills, the Pill Toxin content must be below 0.1%, which means it can't be detected by commonly used equipment and instruments. When cultivators take pills of this standard, they can easily dissolve them just by relying on the circulation of their own spiritual energy. But the Pill Toxin in these three bottles of yours is far beyond the limit, almost reaching 5%. If you eat them, they'll still have the effect of raising your cultivation level, but at the very least, you'll be weak for ten days to half a month."

After Chen Mobai heard this, he felt extremely lucky. Good thing he was cautious by nature and did not eat pills of unknown origin.

But with another thought, he felt sorrow for the cultivators of the Sky River Realm. Even this kind of pill cost one Spirit Stone per bottle, and it was still very sought after.

As expected, Earth Origin Star was better.

"This bottle has a little less Pill Toxin, only around 2%. It's probably just used to recover spiritual energy, so the medicinal nature is a bit milder."

Qing Nü opened another bottle of pills that Chen Mobai had obtained from the Flying Needle Sect disciple. This bottle had no markings at all, a completely unlicensed product. She used a small medicine spoon to take a bit, then put it into her mouth, using her own tongue to distinguish the medicinal efficacy and Pill Toxin content.

"Aren't you afraid of Pill Toxin doing that?"

When Chen Mobai saw her action, his eyes widened.

"A tiny bit won't matter. Besides, we alchemists basically also cultivate as apothecaries. For our whole lives, we have to deal with Pill Toxin, so we specialize in Dissolving Pill cultivation methods."

Among the Hundred Arts of Cultivation, there was one called apothecary. It was a profession dedicated to identifying pill information, providing prescriptions for taking medicine according to a cultivator's Spiritual Root and physique, and helping them break through and raise their cultivation level.

Generally speaking, an outstanding alchemist was also an outstanding apothecary.

Qing Nü's attainments in this area did not seem low either. After she finished tasting them, she took the paper and pen hanging on the wall and wrote several lines with a swish, swish, swish.

"Here, this is the efficacy of the two medicines I identified. You'd better not take them. Throwing them away would be best."

In Qing Nü's eyes, these two kinds of medicine were defective products from the medicine factory. They should originally have been destroyed, but unscrupulous merchants had taken them out and dumped them onto the market.

"All right. I'll deal with them when I get back."

Chen Mobai naturally nodded in agreement, then asked whether the raw ingredients for the Qi Replenishing Spirit Water had arrived yet.

"Four kinds of auxiliary medicine have arrived. One of the three main medicines has arrived, and the other two will also arrive tomorrow. Do you want to come in and watch the extraction process?"

Qing Nü invited him. Chen Mobai had always been very interested in alchemy as well, so he nodded and followed her to the back of the pharmacy.

Unexpectedly, he actually felt a little nervous inside.

When they went inside, there was an open-air courtyard with eight large vats arranged there. Half of the vats were covered.

"Here."

Qing Nü handed over a packet of something. Chen Mobai saw it was a mask, nodded, and obediently put it on.

"The Atractylodes macrocephala is already soaking. In about one night, all its medicinal properties should be steeped out. I also need to pour the medicinal liquid into the cold extraction machine to concentrate it before Teacher comes over tomorrow morning."

Chen Mobai followed Qing Nü to one of the sealed vats. The latter opened the wooden lid, and the sealing spell instantly failed. A thick medicinal smell, accompanied by a puff of vapor, spilled upward.

However, the mask was indeed very miraculous. It completely isolated that hateful medicinal smell outside his nasal cavity, so he could not smell it at all.

"Is the water used for soaking specially made, or is it just ordinary sky-flow water?"

"It's sky-flow water."

Qing Nü was a little surprised that Chen Mobai actually knew this professional term.

"The teacher mentioned it in class, saying this kind of water has the lowest cost, and its effect in soaking and extracting medicinal liquid is also not bad."

As Chen Mobai spoke, he looked at the great vat full of soaking medicinal ingredients and nodded, indicating that Qing Nü should quickly put the lid back on.

"Although I can't smell it, I still feel a little uncomfortable inside..."

Before he could finish speaking, a bell hanging under the eaves of the courtyard suddenly rang.

"A customer is here. I'll go out and receive them first."

After Qing Nü put the lid back on, she indicated that Chen Mobai could sit for a while on the wicker chair in the courtyard, then hurried toward the front shop.

In less than two minutes, she returned.

"Oh, that fast?"

"It was one of Teacher's schoolmates. He happened to have business and came from Huayang Cave Heaven to Vermilion Cloud City on a work trip, so he came over to pay a visit. But Teacher wasn't here, and I didn't dare give him Teacher's contact information rashly, so I had him leave a business card. I'll hand it to Teacher tomorrow."

As Qing Nü spoke, she took out a jade business card with a blue background and black lettering. It looked like a work of art.

Chen Mobai glanced at it and saw the two lines of words on it.

Lan Haitan

Second-Class Pharmacist

For some reason, he remembered the young man he had met last night asking for directions. Could it be him?

"He was more or less as you described. Although he looked young, you could feel that he was a rigid person."

Qing Nü nodded, confirming Chen Mobai's guess.

A Second-Order Apothecary was, nine times out of ten, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator. Chen Mobai asked a few questions and then set the matter aside.

"Then I'll leave first. If there's anything you need my help with, just say so."

The two of them had already added each other as friends, and they were now in the stage of building trust. Both of them wanted to do their best to show their best side. Qing Nü also nodded lightly and saw Chen Mobai out.

After returning home, Chen Mobai placed orders online, spending nearly half of the more than three thousand Merit Points remaining on his card.

He was stocking up.

After these two days of on-site investigation at South Stream Market, he already had a preliminary get-rich plan.

Earth Origin Star had advanced technology, while the Sky River Realm had abundant resources.

If he did not become a reseller, it would simply be a waste of this uniquely blessed difference between the two worlds.

As for what to sell, after weighing it for a long time, he had also made a decision.

In both worlds, pills required a major pharmacy's factory production before cultivators dared to buy them. Although he knew that the quality of the pills and spirit water on Earth Origin Star surpassed those in the Sky River Realm by a large margin, it was precisely because they surpassed them by too much, because the quality was too good, that he instead did not dare sell them.

Qing Nü did not know the origins of Returning Heaven Valley, but he had seen it in Introduction to Major Sects of the Eastern Wasteland. It was one of the Seven Great Sects, and also the number-one major sect for alchemy in the Eastern Wasteland.

Even pills produced by Returning Heaven Valley had this much Pill Toxin. The pills he sold were almost free of Pill Toxin. Cultivators would be able to feel it as soon as they took them. If it caused a sensation, it would definitely draw suppression from Returning Heaven Valley.

That did not fit his principle of developing in a low-key manner in the Sky River Realm.