Alchemist, Alchemy!

No one in the karst cave reacted to Lu Cheng's arrival.

They emerged from one stone hut only to quickly duck into another.

Very few lingered outside.

Lu Cheng did not rush in. Instead, he first made a round of the various stone huts.

Though they were called stone huts, they were really just sheds put together from stone and wooden boards.

The doors were nothing more than cloth curtains.

Aside from a few huts with no markings, most had a sign hanging outside.

The signs listed the goods they primarily sold.

Only after getting the lay of the land did Lu Cheng enter a stone hut with a sign reading "Old Yang's Pills."

The inside was unlike the outside.

Oil lamps actually burned along all four walls.

Though they were somewhat dim, they gave off little heat or smell.

The faint light revealed a wooden counter and a set of table and chairs.

Other than that, there was nothing.

"What would you like, sir?"

An old man sat up from behind the counter.

"This shop mainly sells pills needed by Force Refining and Body Refining Realm martial artists."

"We have Blood-Activating Powder for Force Refining Realm martial artists in stock. Everything for Body Tempering has to be ordered in advance."

By the firelight, Lu Cheng gave him a careful look.

Unlike the customers outside, the old man had nothing covering his face.

He had narrow eyes, drooping brows, and a small goatee.

His voice was somewhat shrill.

His appearance reminded Lu Cheng of Feng Ji.

The difference was that Feng Ji's aura was far more substantial than this old man's.

It seemed this man had yet to reach the Body Refining Realm.

Lu Cheng did not immediately say that he was here to buy Blood-Activating Powder. Instead, he asked first:

"What are the prices?"

The old man clearly saw that Lu Cheng was testing the waters, yet his expression did not change in the slightest, and his tone remained calm.

"That depends on what kind of pills you want."

"For ordinary quality, Blood-Activating Powder costs two taels and five mace per dose."

"The prices for Hundred Essence Pills and Bone-Strengthening Powder cannot be fixed, but they are roughly around ten taels of silver."

"As for Tendon-Changing Pills and Jade Skin Ointment, there is no fixed price."

"It depends on how much it costs me to refine them."

"I've sold some for twenty taels before, and others for fifty."

"The difference is that huge?" Lu Cheng was startled by the price gap for Tendon-Changing Pills and Jade Skin Ointment. "And what do you mean by ordinary quality?"

The old man looked at Lu Cheng for several seconds before explaining.

"Ordinary quality means the medicinal effect is not much different from what you can buy outside."

"If the effect is a little worse or a little better, naturally the price will fluctuate."

"As for why Tendon-Changing Pills and Jade Skin Ointment vary so much in price, that is also a matter of quality."

"The higher the grade of the pill, the harder it is to refine. Simply producing a pill successfully is already no easy task, so there is no room to be picky about quality."

"Because of that, we must make this clear beforehand: for these two medicines, so long as what comes out is not waste pills, you must buy them regardless of quality."

"But even so, aside from Tendon-Changing Pills and Jade Skin Ointment, I guarantee my quality will be no worse than what is sold outside."

So that was how it was.

"May I look at the Blood-Activating Powder first?"

Without another word, the old man took out a palm-sized paper packet from inside the counter.

He opened it and placed it before Lu Cheng.

Lu Cheng stepped closer to inspect it carefully. Inside the packet, the grayish-brown powder had been ground very fine.

When he leaned in, a sharp, choking scent rushed into his nose.

It looked the same as the medicine Fatty and the others had shown him.

Yet Lu Cheng still found two taels and five mace per dose of Blood-Activating Powder expensive.

He had crawled through tunnels and covered his head and face.

In the end, it was only five mace cheaper. That was far too much of a loss.

"One tael and six mace per dose. I'll take twenty doses. How about it?"

Lu Cheng's target price was no more than two taels.

The old man had opened at two and a half taels, so Lu Cheng could hardly be blamed for bringing down the blade fast.

The one tael and six mace, twenty-dose offer was merely a standard tactic.

Once he had bargained the price down, Lu Cheng could use the excuse of taking two doses first to try them out.

If that did not work, he could always go back and catch another Silver Sturgeon.

But before Lu Cheng could finish, the old man in front of him wrapped up the medicinal powder again.

"Hehe, boy, take a look at this old man's age before trying that trick on me."

After wrapping the medicine, the old man pointed at the curtain.

"What I said about pills just now was advice for a junior like you."

"Now, leave and turn left. I won't see you out!"

"..."

Being thrown out was something Lu Cheng had not expected.

This man was truly bizarre.

Fortunately, among the dozen or so stone huts, Old Yang's Pills was not the only one.

Hmph. Compare goods from three shops. If the old man would not sell, plenty of others would.

After leaving Old Yang's pill shop, Lu Cheng took only a few steps before lifting another curtain.

The arrangement behind it was much the same as Old Yang's.

The difference was that the shopkeeper here was a middle-aged man wearing a leather mask that exposed only his eyes, nose, and mouth.

The moment he saw Lu Cheng, he greeted him with great enthusiasm.

"Oh, sir, did you come from Old Yang's place?"

"That old fellow is famously eccentric in Bogu Hall."

"Not only are his pills expensive, but his temper stinks to high heaven."

As he spoke, he had already walked around the counter and poured Lu Cheng a cup of tea.

Lu Cheng nodded at that.

Old Yang was indeed like that.

But in the next instant, another phrase in the middle-aged man's words caught his attention.

"You just said... Bogu Hall? Old Yang is one of Bogu Hall's people?"

Hearing Lu Cheng's question, the middle-aged man paused in the act of pouring tea.

"If I'm not mistaken, this is your first time here, sir?"

Lu Cheng had already experienced the strangeness of the people here.

He no longer bothered wondering how the middle-aged man had seen that this was his first visit.

He nodded openly.

Lu Cheng's forthrightness instead caused the middle-aged man to lose some of his merchant's slickness.

After pouring the tea, he gestured for Lu Cheng to sit.

"In that case, let us not rush into business. I'll first give you a simple explanation of this place."

Lu Cheng sat down as invited, but did not touch the tea.

The middle-aged man did not mind. He sat in another chair and began.

"This place is called the Black Market because most of the goods come from improper sources."

"Not just pills—other weapons, intelligence, items, cultivation methods, and martial skills were either robbed or stolen."

"Not to mention the desperadoes who specifically take jobs to murder people."

"But Black Market is merely what outsiders call this place. Its real name is Bogu Hall."

As he spoke, he pointed in the direction where Lu Cheng had first seen the wooden signs.

"This Black Market is controlled by a force called Bogu Hall."

"Thank you for telling me." Lu Cheng cupped his hands toward the middle-aged man.

Then he changed the subject and asked:

"In that case, the pills you sell here..."

The middle-aged man nodded.

"That's right. Not just mine—among the pill sellers here, only Old Yang's goods come through proper channels."

"But do not worry, sir. My medicine has no blood on it. You can use it without concern."

Lu Cheng nodded. "What about the prices?"

The middle-aged man said, "Fixed prices. Blood-Activating Powder is one tael and eight mace, while Hundred Essence Pills and Bone-Strengthening Powder are both eight taels and five mace."

So cheap?

If he could quote one tael and eight mace outright, that meant there was still room to negotiate.

Why was there such a huge gap compared to Old Yang?

Seeming to see Lu Cheng's confusion, the middle-aged man explained.

"Hehe, please do not worry."

"To be honest, the cost of a dose of Blood-Activating Powder is only around five mace."

"I only raised the price this much because I have to grease the palms of all the people in my channels."

As he spoke, he lowered his voice.

"Old Yang charges so much because he refines his own medicine and always thinks his goods are clean."

"On top of that, as Bogu Hall's only Alchemist, the old man always thinks his pills are of superior quality."

"But whose medicines are not refined by Alchemists?"

"Blood-Activating Powder is nothing rare. Its Pill Formula is nearly worn out from being passed around."

"Back then, I almost became an Alchemist myself."

Lu Cheng asked curiously:

"Are the requirements to become an Alchemist very high?"

At Lu Cheng's question, the middle-aged man suddenly looked somewhat awkward.

"High? Not exactly. There are just a few small requirements regarding spiritual sense and one's innate attributes."

As he spoke, he gradually regained his solemn expression.

"Even ordinary medicine for treating illness requires attention to the roles of 'sovereign, minister, assistant, and envoy,' taking into account how medicinal effects clash and complement each other."

"A martial artist's pills are even more extraordinary, so the requirements are naturally higher."

"Even medicinal herbs grown in the same patch of medicine field differ in medicinal properties from plant to plant."

"During the refinement process, an Alchemist must swiftly detect those differences and adjust the amounts of other herbs according to their properties."

"But that process is extremely difficult to control!"

"With the slightest mistake or delay, not only will the medicine be ruined, but Pill Poison may even be produced."

"Only those born with exceptional spiritual sense and a naturally stronger wood attribute can more keenly detect changes in medicinal properties."

"Only then do they have a better chance of becoming Alchemists."

Hearing this, Lu Cheng's heart immediately began pounding fiercely.

A dose of Blood-Activating Powder cost five mace.

Selling it for one tael and eight mace meant more than tripling the price.

Even after subtracting the costs of greasing palms, the profit was astonishing.

But what truly stirred Lu Cheng was not the profit, but another thought.

Alchemy.

Why could he not refine them himself?

With [Heavenly Mandate] in hand, he only needed to learn any craft or method once before he could derive the most perfect training steps.

That was how it had been with [Fishing] and [Swimming].

That was also how it had been with [Twelve Forms of the Black Hawk Stance] and [Seven Strikes of the Black Hawk].

Then what about alchemy?

The Pill Formula for Blood-Activating Powder was nearly worn out from being passed around.

So long as he could obtain the formula, [Heavenly Mandate] could derive the optimal refining method.

"..."

The moment that thought arose, it was like a spark falling onto dry tinder.

It instantly burst into flames, impossible to suppress no matter how he tried.