After settling Xiao Yixian in.
At that moment, Yao Chen seemed to remember something. His soul power stirred, and he took out five exquisite little jade bottles.
"Just in time, sir. You've returned," Yao Chen said, handing the bottles to Lin Hai, a hint of pride in his voice. "While recovering my soul over the past few days, I also took the opportunity to practice alchemy. These are two Sixth-Grade Imperial Extreme Pills, which can help Spirit Emperors increase their strength by one or two stars. The other three are Fifth-Grade Dou Ling Pills, which are highly effective for Spirit Kings."
Lin Hai took the jade bottles and put them into his Storage Ring without even looking at them, as if he'd merely accepted a few candy beans. "Not bad efficiency," he said mildly. "As it happens, I'm going to Central Plains again. I'll trade these for a few things."
Yao Chen, Xiao Yan, and Xiao Yixian, who stood beside him, all froze.
He'd only just returned, and now he was leaving again? And he was going to Central Plains? To trade five Fifth- and Sixth-Grade Pills for something?
"Uncle, what are you trading for? Isn't Central Plains a long way off?" Xiao Yan couldn't help asking.
"Something that'll be useful to you in the future." Lin Hai didn't explain further. He merely glanced at the three of them. "Stay here and don't worry. Yixian, learn well from Yao Lao. Xiao Yan, work hard at your cultivation. Don't slack off."
With that, he flickered and vanished from the spot like a ghost, without another word.
Sky Medicine City, Central Plains.
Not much time had passed since Lin Hai caused a sensation at the Myriad Medicine Pavilion, and the city remained just as bustling and prosperous as before.
The Pill Tower's insignia gleamed in the sunlight. Powerful cultivators and alchemists, their shops filled with the rich scent of medicine, could be seen everywhere.
This time, Lin Hai didn't visit the imposing Myriad Medicine Pavilion again. Instead, he strolled casually down the bustling street, his gaze passing over the dazzling array of shops on either side.
At last, he stopped in front of an old pharmacy called the Hundred Herb Hall. Its storefront wasn't the largest, but it looked rather timeworn.
The shop seemed to have a respectable foundation, though its customer traffic was clearly no match for a giant like the Myriad Medicine Pavilion.
He walked inside.
The shopkeeper was a spry old man who was also a Fifth-Grade alchemist. Feeling the unremarkable aura around Lin Hai, he habitually looked up and called out, "Feel free to browse, sir. What do you need..."
Before he could finish, Lin Hai had already walked up to the counter. Without any pleasantries or preamble, he simply took out the five jade bottles and set them down.
The stoppers loosened just a crack.
Boom!
In an instant, medicinal power far purer and more surging than the pills' rank would suggest, mixed with an astonishing medicinal fragrance, erupted from the bottle mouths!
The shopkeeper's words cut off. His eyes flew wide as he stared fixedly at the five jade bottles, his breathing suddenly turning ragged.
As a Fifth-Grade alchemist, he could sense more clearly than most how extraordinary these five pills were!
Their fragrance was so pure, their energy so condensed—they were undoubtedly top-tier pills of their grade!
They were even better than some high-grade Sixth-Grade Pills he'd seen!
"Th-this..." The shopkeeper's tongue nearly tied itself in knots. His face instantly brimmed with the utmost warmth and reverence. "Sir! You... you're here to...?"
"I want a set of ingredients for refining a Supreme Pill." Lin Hai's voice was calm as he stated his goal.
The Supreme Pill was an Eighth-Tier Pill! It could greatly increase a Spirit Venerable's chances of breaking through a bottleneck, and could even directly raise a low-star Spirit Venerable's cultivation by one star!
Its value was far beyond that of Imperial Extreme Pills and Dou Ling Pills. Every Supreme Pill that appeared was enough to incite a scramble among countless Spirit Venerables!
Naturally, the ingredients needed to refine one were incomparably precious. Every primary ingredient was a treasure of heaven and earth, and gathering a complete set was exceedingly difficult. They were worth a fortune!
The shopkeeper sucked in a sharp breath. His warm expression instantly turned to shock and embarrassment. "The ingredients for a... a Supreme Pill? Sir, these five pills of yours are certainly precious, but... but the value of a complete set of Supreme Pill ingredients..."
Trading five Fifth- and Sixth-Grade Pills for the primary ingredients of an Eighth-Tier Pill sounded like nothing short of a tall tale!
Lin Hai seemed to have expected this. He tapped the counter lightly, interrupting the shopkeeper. His voice remained calm, yet carried an air that left no room for doubt. "Will you trade or not?"
His calm gaze settled on the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper was just about to keep explaining when he suddenly met Lin Hai's eyes, deep as a sea of stars.
In an instant, it was as if he saw an endless, boundless universe, the birth and death of stars, and an indescribable terror and majesty!
The blood in his entire body seemed to freeze, and his soul trembled!
An instinctive fear, born from the very depths of his being, told him that the person before him was an existence beyond the imagining—and defiance—of not only him, but the entire Hundred Herb Hall!
The unremarkable aura he'd sensed before was merely because the other man's realm was so high that he was like an ant, unable to glimpse the heavens!
Did that small difference in value even count as a difference before an existence like this?
The fact that the other man was willing to "trade" his pills at all was already an immense show of respect and an attempt to make the exchange seem fair!
Cold sweat instantly soaked the shopkeeper's back. His face turned deathly pale, every word stuck in his throat, leaving nothing but boundless fear and submission.
He scrambled with both hands and feet to retrieve a delicate ring from a jade box at the very back of the counter, one secured with layer upon layer of seals. It gave off ripples of spatial energy.
"Trade! We'll trade! Please calm your anger, sir! This lowly one was blind! This is a complete set of Supreme Pill ingredients that our shop has treasured for many years. It has every primary and supplementary ingredient, all of sufficient age! Please inspect it!" The shopkeeper's voice trembled as he offered the ring with both hands, bowing so low his waist nearly touched the floor.
Lin Hai swept his divine sense through the ring. Inside, dozens of radiant medicinal herbs were neatly arranged, their spiritual energy and precious light dazzling. There was Dragon Blood Ganoderma, Bodhi Heart, Ten-Thousand-Year Rehmannia Essence... All the ingredients needed to refine a Supreme Pill were there, and their quality was excellent.
He nodded in satisfaction and put the ring away. Without even glancing at the five jade bottles on the counter, he turned and left.
"Sir! Your pills!" the shopkeeper called after him.
"Keep them." Lin Hai had already vanished through the doorway. Only three calm words floated back.
The shopkeeper stood there, staring at the five priceless jade bottles, then at the empty doorway, his heart still pounding with fear.
What sort of terrifying existence had he encountered today?!
Lin Hai had already left Sky Medicine City. With one step, space shifted.
To him, this trip to Central Plains had really been as simple and effortless as popping into some little shop on a whim and trading a few "candy beans" for a bag of "seeds."
The next instant, he appeared in the Xiao Clan's courtyard in Wutan City.
The round trip had felt like nothing more than a leisurely stroll.
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