Another Exchange

Central Plains, Sky Medicine City.

Lin Hai appeared once more at the entrance to the Myriad Medicine Pavilion. Before he even stepped inside, an invisible pressure fell over the area, silencing the surrounding commotion.

Almost at the same moment, the steward Mo Li appeared at the entrance as if yanked there by invisible strings. Sweat glistened on his brow, and he bent even lower than before. His voice carried unconcealed reverence and urgency. "My lord! You're here! The Grand Elder has been waiting for you on the top floor. Please, come with me!"

Clearly, after Lin Hai had left last time, the higher-ups of the Myriad Medicine Pavilion had issued their highest order: to pay unprecedented attention and courtesy to his whereabouts.

Lin Hai remained impassive and gave a slight nod. As he walked, the surrounding crowd parted silently like the tide. No one dared look him in the eye.

In a private room on the top floor.

The Myriad Medicine Pavilion's Grand Elder, whose aura was profound and who had reached the peak of the Eighth-Star Spirit Venerable level, had already taken his seat with perfect decorum. When he saw Lin Hai enter, he immediately rose. His attitude was even more solemn than during their last meeting, with a hint of tension that was barely perceptible.

"My lord's presence brings honor to our humble Myriad Medicine Pavilion." The Grand Elder cupped his hands in greeting, adopting an exceedingly deferential stance.

Lin Hai skipped the pleasantries and went straight to the seat of honor. With a casual flick of his sleeve, four unadorned jade bottles settled lightly onto the agarwood table.

The moment the bottles landed, the light in the room seemed to warp slightly, and the air grew still.

The Grand Elder's pupils contracted sharply. His cultivation far surpassed Mo Li's, allowing him to sense even more clearly the terrifying energy within the four jade bottles, like a slumbering volcano.

Mo Li's face went pale. He instinctively held his breath, feeling that even one more glance at the bottles might scorch his soul.

"Four Supreme Pills," Lin Hai said, breaking the silence in an utterly even tone. "In exchange, I want ten sets of Eighth-Tier medicinal ingredients, any varieties, but of sufficient quality. Add two sets of ingredients for Pills of Breaking Sect."

When he finished speaking, not a sound could be heard in the private room.

The Grand Elder's Adam's apple bobbed. Four! And they were Supreme Pills!

Although he had expected this, as the Grand Elder overseeing the Sky Medicine City branch, he understood better than Mo Li what the appearance of four pills at once meant. Behind this stood either an alchemy grandmaster with an unfathomably high success rate, or a vast power with a stockpile of resources capable of overturning the world.

And the exchange Lin Hai had proposed...

Ten sets of Eighth-Tier medicinal ingredients, and two sets of top-grade Sixth-Tier ingredients.

In terms of market value alone, that price might just about equal four Supreme Pills. But everyone knew that an Eighth-Tier Pill, a treasure so rare it could not be bought even with a fortune, was worth far more in practice than a pile of cold ingredients!

A surge of overwhelming delight and a trace of unease rose in the Grand Elder's heart.

He didn't dare hesitate or haggle. At once, he said solemnly, "My lord, the Myriad Medicine Pavilion will remember your great generosity! The ingredients are already prepared. Please inspect them!"

(After Lin Hai had exchanged for four sets of ingredients for Supreme Pills during his previous visit, the Grand Elder had anticipated another such exchange and made preparations well in advance.)

He clapped his hands. His trusted aides, who had been waiting outside, immediately filed in, carrying more than ten sealed jade boxes shimmering with light. They carefully opened them in front of Lin Hai.

The ingredients inside were of every shape and kind, all brimming with spiritual energy and shimmering with precious light. They were among the finest treasures in the Myriad Medicine Pavilion's vaults, and their age and quality even surpassed Lin Hai's requirements by a considerable margin. They had clearly been selected with special care to curry his favor.

Lin Hai swept his gaze over them, and his spiritual sense counted them all in an instant. Everything was in order.

He didn't spare a glance at the four jade bottles holding the Supreme Pills. It was as if they were nothing but empty bottles. He rose, swept his sleeve, and every jade box of medicinal ingredients on the table vanished at once.

"The deal is done."

Before his words had even faded, his figure slowly disappeared from where he stood, like ink dissolving in water, leaving not a trace behind.

Only after Lin Hai's aura had vanished completely did the Grand Elder let out a long breath. His back was already drenched in cold sweat.

He stepped forward cautiously and inspected the four jade bottles one by one. Feeling the surging medicinal power perfectly sealed inside, he finally let the elation and excitement on his face break free.

He gazed in the direction Lin Hai had vanished, his expression immeasurably complicated, filled with reverence, gratitude, and deep apprehension.

With each appearance of this mysterious lord, they were forced to raise their understanding of the limits of "resources" and "power."

Lin Hai was already inside the spatial passage on his way back to Wutan City.

To him, this was simply a matter of trading a predetermined yield for more seeds of the future—a deal as straightforward as they came.