Five Medicine Cauldrons

As the voice fell, a commotion immediately erupted in the surroundings.

Twenty percent off.

Items at the Temir Auction House cost at least a thousand gold coins, and at most, even hundreds of thousands. A ten percent discount meant hundreds or even tens of thousands of gold coins!

This was no small token of gratitude.

However, after the initial commotion, the crowd fell into an eerie silence.

The people present looked at each other and shook their heads repeatedly. They weren't even alchemists, and they couldn't even distinguish the grade of a pill, let alone identify one!

The deacon behind the counter lowered his head, pretending to organize the ledgers. He had been in this business for many years; if he could recognize it, he would have been promoted to the Jia Ma Holy City long ago.

Gu Ni waited for a few seconds, but no one responded.

He sighed inwardly, just about to speak up to smooth things over.

"This is an Ice Profound Pill."

A calm voice came from the edge of the crowd.

Gu Ni snapped his head up.

The crowd looked at each other and automatically parted to create a gap.

A youth dressed in a black robe stood there, his figure slender and his face still somewhat youthful, appearing to be about fourteen or fifteen years old.

His gaze fell upon the ice-blue pill, and he spoke in a flat tone:

"This is a Tier 3 pill. When a high-star Da Dou Shi is breaking through a bottleneck, there is a risk of suffering from qi deviation. Taking an Ice Profound Pill can keep the mind clear and prevent inner demons from invading during the process."

As his words fell, the area inside and outside the counter turned deathly silent.

When people heard the words "Tier 3 pill," their expressions toward the pill changed instantly.

Everyone looked at the black-robed youth in disbelief.

Gu Ni maintained his sideways posture, as if he had been struck by a freezing spell.

As a Tier 2 alchemist, he had racked his brains for so long and still couldn't identify the pill, yet this youth had identified it just by glancing at it from afar?

When he was identifying the pill earlier, he could feel that its medicinal power was definitely beyond what a Tier 2 pill could possess.

He had vaguely guessed at the time that this pill was very likely a Tier 3 pill.

It was just that he had never seen this type of pill before, so he dared not jump to conclusions.

Yet the youth before him had stated the pill's name, grade, and effects in one breath.

Gu Ni slowly turned around, sizing up the youth.

Dressed in a black robe, with a straight posture and a handsome, refined face, he possessed an outstanding temperament that was hard to hide even when blending into a crowd.

But it was hard to imagine that such a young boy could have a higher attainment in alchemy than him!? He was very likely a Tier 3 alchemist!

A fine layer of cold sweat seeped from Gu Ni's forehead.

Where did this little monster come from?

Gu Ni hurriedly straightened his slightly hunched posture, dropped his hands to his sides, and spoke respectfully to Ye Xiu:

"This... senior."

Ye Xiu raised his eyes.

He did not correct him, nor was he polite.

Gu Ni took a deep breath, stepped aside, and made a gesture of invitation:

"It is crowded and noisy here. May I ask senior to move with me to the VIP room upstairs?"

"Fine, lead the way," Ye Xiu said.

The eyes of the people around them were almost popping out of their sockets.

Master Gu Ni, as the most respected Tier 2 alchemist in Wutan City, was currently bowing his waist and addressing a fourteen or fifteen-year-old youth as "senior."

Yet the youth only gave a faint "hmm" and lifted his feet to walk toward the stairs.

Gu Ni followed closely behind.

The VIP room was on the third floor, and a faint fragrance of tea drifted through the air.

Gu Ni poured the tea himself. He stood beside the tea table, slightly hunched, and handed the brewed tea to Ye Xiu with both hands, saying respectfully:

"Just now, I was blind and failed to recognize a true master. I dared to show off my meager skills in front of you by trying to identify the pill; it was truly embarrassing. If there was any neglect, I hope you will not take offense."

Ye Xiu picked up the teacup and took a sip. "It's fine."

Only then did Gu Ni's hanging heart settle.

He stood to the side with his hands down, not daring to sit casually. After thinking for a moment, he spoke: "May I ask senior, which elder of the Alchemist Guild are you a disciple of?"

Ye Xiu shook his head: "I am not a member of the Alchemist Guild."

Gu Ni was stunned for a moment, but he immediately realized what that meant.

If he hadn't been to the guild, it meant he hadn't taken the exam for an alchemist rank.

To be able to recognize a rare third-grade medicinal pill at a glance, how could he possibly not be an Alchemist?

Gu Ni was very tactful and dared not ask further, instead changing the subject: "I wonder what you are looking to bid on today by coming to the auction house?"

Ye Xiu raised his eyes:

"Exactly that. I intend to buy a Medicine Cauldron."

Gu Ni's eyes flickered, and his tone became even more respectful: "The Terrie Auction House doesn't have many Medicine Cauldrons, but we do have a few. Which one would you like, senior?"

"The Five-Vent Cauldron that is up for auction today."

Gu Ni was stunned for a moment.

A Five-Vent Medicine Cauldron.

Even in the capital of the Jia Ma Empire, that was something only an Alchemist of the fourth grade or higher would have the ability to use.

In a small place like Wutan City, the total number of Alchemists in the entire city was few, and the highest-ranked among them was only a second-grade.

Placing a Five-Vent Cauldron here was like tethering a thousand-mile steed in a donkey shed; the item was excellent, but no one knew how to use it.

Yet, the young senior before him wanted exactly this level of Medicine Cauldron.

Gu Ni set down the teapot and said with his head lowered:

"In response to your question, this Five-Vent Cauldron is indeed on today's auction list. However..."

He paused, then continued:

"Ever since this cauldron was acquired, because no one in Wutan City could use it, it has already failed to sell twice. The auction house originally intended that if it failed to sell this time as well, we would ship it back to the headquarters in the Jia Ma Holy City."

He looked up, watching Ye Xiu cautiously:

"If you want it, I still have some influence in the auction house. I can take it upon myself to remove this cauldron from the auction list and sell it to you directly today. The twenty percent discount I promised you earlier will still apply."

He added:

"The original starting bid for this cauldron was 120,000 gold coins, and the price can be lowered after failing to sell. After the twenty percent discount, I can take the liberty of bringing it down to 90,000."

Ye Xiu was silent for a moment before pulling a Storage Ring from his robes and placing it casually on the tea table.

"There is 90,000 in here."

Gu Ni did not check it; he didn't even touch the Storage Ring, merely bowing as he said:

"I shall go to the warehouse to retrieve the cauldron immediately. Please wait a moment."

A quarter of an hour later.

Two burly men carefully carried a half-person-tall, grey-green Medicine Cauldron into the VIP room.

The Medicine Cauldron had three legs and two handles, with a simple and ancient style. Five vents were opened on the belly of the cauldron, arranged in a plum blossom pattern, and a rich, lingering scent of pills still permeated from the inner walls.

Ye Xiu stood up and walked around the cauldron once.

He reached out and pressed his hand against the body of the cauldron.

His fire-attribute Dou Qi flowed delicately from his palm into the cauldron.

The next moment—

Hum—

The grey-green body of the cauldron suddenly glowed with a layer of warm, dark red, as if a beast that had been sleeping for many years had been awakened by this wisp of fire energy.

All five vents emitted a crisp, resonant sound simultaneously.

Gu Ni took a step back, his eyes wide with shock.

He had not expected that Ye Xiu could truly use a five-vent Medicine Cauldron!

Ye Xiu withdrew his hand and nodded with satisfaction:

"Very good, I will take it."

He pushed the Storage Ring toward Gu Ni.

Gu Ni pulled his gaze away, collected the gold coins Ye Xiu had provided, and said respectfully:

"Senior, would you like me to send someone to deliver this cauldron to your residence?"

Ye Xiu did not look back:

"No need."

He stored the Medicine Cauldron into his Storage Ring, turned, and walked toward the door.

As he reached the threshold, he paused his footsteps and looked back:

"Do not speak of my affairs to outsiders."

Gu Ni was startled for a moment, then immediately bowed deeply:

"I understand."

Seeing that the black-robed figure was about to step over the threshold, Gu Ni finally gathered his courage and asked cautiously:

"May I ask, senior... what is your honorable name?"

Ye Xiu stepped out of the entrance:

"Ye Xiu."