A Hot Commodity

Five bottles of Sun Flame Liquid could be turned in at the Mission Hall to complete one task. They could also be used to offset a mandatory task in a later month—even one involving slaying demons and exorcising evil.

That was exactly what Qin Dongheng needed. After all, he couldn't keep asking Dong Hongyan, Ju Xiaojing, and the others to help him.

What's more, completing the Sun Flame Liquid task also earned a generous Sect Contribution reward. If he exchanged the liquid for silver, each bottle could fetch more than twenty taels. The value was astonishing.

When Qin Dongcheng went to turn in his Sun Flame Liquid task, the Chore Disciple registering his name and rank was stunned. He clearly hadn't expected an Alchemy Apprentice to be capable of refining Sun Flame Liquid.

Qin Dongcheng didn't hand over too much, only five bottles—just enough to complete the mandatory task for next month.

He would turn in more gradually later. It would be too outrageous if he mastered the recipe and refined so much Sun Flame Liquid in a mere few dozen days.

Even so, as soon as word spread that Qin Dongcheng could refine Sun Flame Liquid, someone from Cauldron Hall came to visit that very day. They reassessed his Alchemy skills and placed him among the Official Alchemists.

It simply wouldn't make sense for someone who could refine Sun Flame Liquid to still be an Alchemy Apprentice.

Qin Dongcheng hadn't expected the news to spread so quickly. He had turned in a batch of Sun Flame Liquid that morning, and by afternoon an Official Alchemist from Cauldron Hall had personally come to test him. This showed just how much Cauldron Hall needed Sun Flame Liquid—and how highly they valued Alchemists capable of refining it.

That wasn't all. The news spread to even more places at astonishing speed.

Qin Dongcheng had still underestimated how much people valued an Official Alchemist—especially one who could refine Sun Flame Liquid. This was precisely the time when everyone was desperate for it.

The next day, several Official Disciples living nearby came to thank him and congratulate him on becoming an Official Alchemist.

On the third day, even the managers and workers from the Herb Field heard the news and came to visit him.

Some factions even extended an olive branch, hoping to recruit Qin Dongcheng. They offered generous terms, including beautiful women.

But Qin Dongcheng turned them all down, saying that he was busy cultivating his Alchemy and making clear that he was an ascetic and intended to remain neutral.

Seeing that Qin Dongcheng was unmoved and firm in his stance, people gradually stopped trying to recruit him. But the respect and regard they showed him rose by several notches.

Many people in Osmanthus Garden began greeting him, and no one called him timid and cowardly anymore.

Some of those who had spoken ill of him before even came specifically to apologize, presenting him with valuable gifts.

Qin Dongcheng accepted them all, lest they be left fretting over it. That would have been a sin.

Quite a few Inner Sect Disciples also made a point of befriending him. In his previous life, Qin Dongcheng's current status would have been comparable to that of a wealthy tycoon—a tycoon with formidable technical expertise, no less.

This also prompted several other Herb Field managers to set aside their pride and ask Qin Dongcheng to occasionally help harvest precious herbs. They would reserve the herbs for him, and he could harvest them whenever he wished.

Zhang Jing had given up on marrying his daughter off to Qin Dongcheng. They were now a little out of their league.

An ordinary Low-level Alchemist and a Low-level Alchemist capable of refining Sun Flame Liquid had entirely different standings. The latter had practically secured a place among future Intermediate Alchemists.

And Qin Dongcheng was still so young. It was all but certain that he would become an Intermediate Alchemist someday.

Even a Low-level Alchemist already outranked the Zhang Family. As for an Intermediate Alchemist, well—Zhang Jing was satisfied just to have some connection with Qin Dongcheng.

Although Qin Dongcheng had hidden many of his trump cards, those around him still regarded him as a genius, despite his cultivation being only at the Mid-stage Body Phase and his Alchemy having only just reached the Low-level Alchemist tier.

If he revealed everything, becoming an Inner Sect Disciple would be a given, and even becoming a True Inheritance Disciple would be within reach.

But by then, many things would no longer be as easygoing as they were now. He would have to shoulder more responsibilities, and he certainly wouldn't escape the duty of slaying demons and exorcising evil—or the hostility of rival factions.

There would be no way to cultivate in peace as he did now.

It was better to maintain the status quo and reveal only part of his strength, enough to get by.

A month was nearly over. Dong Hongyan had sent someone to deliver the task items long ago, so this month's mandatory task was already complete. He had also completed next month's by turning in Sun Flame Liquid.

Dong Hongyan, Ju Xiaojing, and the others returned at the end of the month. To Qin Dongcheng's surprise, they had brought him a gift.

"Here, Green Snake Leather Armor. It's a fine piece, even among Low-level Leather Armor. Wear it properly. Next month, you'd better come with us for the demon-slaying and evil-exorcising task."

"The situation in Luo Cloud Prefecture is growing more and more perilous. If we end up too short on people, you Alchemy Apprentices might be sent to the battlefield too. You'd better prepare in advance."

As soon as Dong Hongyan and the others returned, they came straight to Qin Dongcheng and handed him the Green Snake Leather Armor they had prepared, then gave him another word of warning.

They didn't know that in just over a month, Qin Dongcheng had made astonishing progress. They thought he was still the same Alchemy Apprentice who hadn't yet become an Official Alchemist.

Qin Dongcheng hesitated, but in the end accepted their kindness.

After a moment's consideration, he took out several dozen bottles of Sun Flame Liquid and handed them to Dong Hongyan and the others. "Big sister, thank you for your kindness. But I'm an Official Alchemist now, so I can avoid the demon-slaying and evil-exorcising tasks by refining Sun Flame Liquid. You don't need to worry about me."

"I refined these bottles of Sun Flame Liquid recently. I heard that next month's mandatory tasks will mostly involve Ghost Spirits, and Sun Flame Liquid happens to counter them. You sisters can take these and use them. If they're not enough, I'll refine another batch next month."

As soon as he finished speaking, the others stared at the Sun Flame Liquid in his hands and cried out in surprise.

"There's so much Sun Flame Liquid! We were worrying about this on the way back. We heard that next month's mandatory tasks would all involve killing Ghost Spirits, and we were wondering where we could buy a batch. Who'd have thought Sixth Brother had so much!"

"Thanks to Sixth Brother, we've got one huge problem off our hands. Sun Flame Liquid is practically priceless right now. You can't buy it even if you have the money, and its price has more than doubled."

"Sixth Brother, you're incredible! It hasn't even been that long, and you can already refine three kinds of Low-level Pills. You've even mastered a difficult one like Sun Flame Liquid. Now that you're an Official Alchemist, you basically won't have to worry about going out to slay demons and exorcise evil anymore."