"Fellow Daoist Ning, it's been a long time!"
The moment Chen Changming reached the entrance of the Pill Pavilion, he saw Li Xing, the Pill Pavilion steward, walking out from within.
The instant Li Xing saw him, his face filled with surprise and delight, as though he had run into a dear friend he had not seen in years. He hurried over in a few quick strides.
"Indeed, it's been a long time..." Chen Changming smiled faintly and cupped his fists to Li Xing.
Li Xing was an upright and warmhearted man who had helped him greatly in the early days. Chen Changming had always been deeply grateful.
After coming up to him, Li Xing glanced around and lowered his voice. "Fellow Daoist Ning, what brings you to the Pill Pavilion?"
"I need several kinds of spirit herbs. I came to see whether the Pill Pavilion has them..."
Chen Changming answered truthfully.
Spirit herbs?
Li Xing immediately looked as though he had seen a ghost, his eyes widening round.
"Fellow Daoist Ning, the Pill Pavilion's spirit herbs are never sold to outsiders."
He shrugged and gave a bitter smile.
"I know."
Chen Changming nodded, without any look of surprise.
The Pill Pavilion was an alchemy organization that served the Elder Council, the military, and the top sects. Thus, it sold no pills whatsoever to unaffiliated individuals.
Naturally, spirit herbs were not for sale either.
This was the Pill Pavilion's ironclad rule, a regulation set down from the very day it was founded, never once broken.
"Is Deputy Pavilion Master Su here? I'd like to have a private word with him..."
Chen Changming wore an inscrutable expression, his tone carrying a hint of deeper meaning.
When Chen Changming mentioned Deputy Pavilion Master Su, Li Xing suddenly remembered that Chen Changming was