Unlocking the Fourth Volume: Alchemy Mastery!

Autumn gave way to spring.

Before he knew it, a year had passed since Jiang Yuan joined the Black Market. His status had risen by the day, even showing faint signs of surpassing the four hall masters.

With the deputy hall master tokens of all four halls in hand, who wouldn't address him as Master Jiang?

Within the Jiangning City branch of the Black Market, even Deputy Hall Master Zhuang Xiu called Jiang Yuan brother and often sought his advice on the ways of business.

Even so, Jiang Yuan knew perfectly well that he still had not touched the Black Market's core.

For one, he was only responsible for managing the four districts of the outer city and had not meddled in the real business of the four great halls.

For another, he had never once met that mysterious branch master.

Whenever he asked about the man, everyone showed wary expressions and did not dare discuss the branch master too much.

Though Jiang Yuan was puzzled, he did not pursue the matter further.

He had come to the Black Market for stability, while earning some cultivation resources on the side.

It had to be said that the profits allotted to him by the four halls were truly substantial. Converted into low-grade spirit stones, he received at least five hundred a month, more than enough to squander on cultivation.

Yet before long, Jiang Yuan discovered that he was short of money again.

There was only one reason: a lack of pills!

After entering the Meridian Opening Realm, opening each meridian became incomparably difficult, and the farther he went, the harder it became. Even with seventy times the cultivation speed, it was of no use. He remained stuck at the fifth stage of the Meridian Opening Realm, without the slightest progress.

It was only because Jiang Yuan was too old, and the meridians in his body had long since solidified.

If he wished to forcefully open his meridians, he had to take Marrow-Cleansing Pills to nourish them for a time. Otherwise, it would be easy for his qi and blood to flow in reverse, resulting in sudden death.

Marrow-Cleansing Pills were third-grade pills. Every single one was exorbitantly priced, selling for at least three hundred spirit stones on the market, and even then they were unavailable despite their price. At the very least, there was almost nowhere in Jiangning City where they could be bought.

On this day, Jiang Yuan was cultivating in his room when long-absent panel text suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[A year has passed. The conditions to unlock the fourth volume of the Longevity Scroll have been fulfilled!]

[Fourth volume unlocked. Obtained "Alchemy Mastery."]

[Alchemy Mastery: You possess an innate sense for alchemy. Learning alchemy is as easy as eating and drinking, and every pill you produce will be of the highest quality.]

[Additional reward obtained: Basic alchemy knowledge and one Marrow-Cleansing Pill formula!]

[Condition for unlocking the next volume: Two years later]

"Marrow-Cleansing Pills?"

Jiang Yuan's eyes widened, and then a surge of wild joy appeared on his face.

Just as sleepiness came, a pillow arrived.

He had been worrying over how to obtain some Marrow-Cleansing Pills, yet the system directly gave him Alchemy Mastery and let him refine them himself.

Wonderful!

The next moment, countless pieces of alchemical knowledge flooded into Jiang Yuan's mind. The sheer amount of information was so immense that his head nearly exploded.

Alchemy was different from martial arts; it was an entirely different profession that required an enormous amount of foundational knowledge.

Without studying for more than a decade, ordinary people could not even cross the threshold into alchemy.

Pills were also divided into ranks. The lowest were first-grade pills, while the highest were ninth-grade pills. The difference in value between each rank was as vast as heaven and earth, resulting in equally enormous disparities in the status of alchemists.

There were few alchemists in the Great Yu Kingdom. A third-grade alchemist was enough to be treated as an honored guest by certain great families, while those of fifth grade and above were alchemy masters, holding a status even more revered than martial grandmasters of the middle three realms.

As for sixth-grade and even seventh-grade alchemists, they were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.

As far as he knew, the Jiangning City branch of the Black Market also had an Alchemy Hall. Yet most of its members were merely first-grade alchemists, capable only of refining pills that restored true qi. Many of their pills were even transported under guard from the main branch.

After digesting the knowledge of alchemy, Jiang Yuan opened his eyes, the corners of his lips rising slightly.

He estimated that his current level was roughly equivalent to that of the finest third-grade alchemists.

Moreover, this was not the limit of his talent in alchemy, but the limit of his knowledge.

The basic alchemy knowledge granted by the Longevity Scroll was only enough to support him in refining third-grade pills. Beyond that, he would need more knowledge, as well as deeper cultivation.

But this was enough.

A third-grade alchemist!

A novice like him had become a third-grade alchemist in a single moment of enlightenment. If that was not a windfall dropped from the heavens, then what was?

One had to know that alchemy was a wildly profitable trade.

He acted the moment he thought of it. Jiang Yuan immediately rose to his feet, preparing to refine pills according to the Marrow-Cleansing Pill formula in his mind.

The moment he stepped outside, he saw the spirit herb garden within his residence.

What he did not know could not shock him; what he saw nearly frightened him out of his wits.

He had previously assumed Zhang Bo had planted this spirit herb garden merely for decoration and had never looked deeply into what these flowers and grasses actually were.

But now that he looked, they were all precious medicinal herbs!

Dragon Whisker Leaf, Fleeceflower Vine, Forget-Worry Grass, Dragon-Subduing Hearth Earth...

Every medicinal ingredient required for the Marrow-Cleansing Pill was present in this spirit herb garden!

Good heavens.

Zhang Bo was only a small-time steward. Just how much money had he embezzled to plant such a precious herb garden?

Well, this old man would benefit from it now.

Jiang Yuan grinned and called toward the room next to the bathing and dining room. "Shuang'er, come out and help this old man pick some medicinal herbs. This old man is going out to buy a pill furnace."

"Master wants to refine pills?"

Hearing this, Shuang'er opened the door in surprise and blinked. "Master, you know alchemy? What kind of pills are you refining?"

"This..."

In his excitement, Jiang Yuan nearly let the truth slip. He quickly changed his words. "Oh, it's nothing. This old man learned a little superficial alchemy when he was young."

"I'm old now, no longer much use."

"I've depleted myself too much lately, so I plan to refine some pills to replenish qi and nourish the body. I need to fortify myself properly."

"Ah?"

At those words, Shuang'er's face instantly turned red. Covering her face, she said coquettishly, "Master, what nonsense are you talking about?"

"You're in such good health... Ah, I'm not talking to you anymore!"

Shuang'er thought Jiang Yuan was trying to strengthen his virility. After all, the two of them had indulged in song and pleasure almost every night lately, and Jiang Yuan had especially doted on her.

Yet she had not expected that he would need to take pills because of it.

This was... simply too embarrassing!

Shuang'er's face was crimson, but she still obediently followed Jiang Yuan's instructions and went to the spirit herb garden to gather the medicinal ingredients he needed.

She even deliberately picked some extra.

Jiang Yuan smiled and shook his head. With a sweep of his sleeve, he walked out through the residence gates. Before long, he returned with an excellent pill furnace, ready to refine Marrow-Cleansing Pills.

By then, Shuang'er had already prepared the herbs from the spirit herb garden.

About an hour later.

Pill smoke curled upward.

A faint fragrance of pills drifted through the Jiang Residence, intoxicating all who smelled it.

"It's done!"

Jiang Yuan's eyes lit up. With one hand, he struck the top of the pill furnace, and a smooth, round pill flew from within, landing in the pill bottle he had prepared in advance.

Without hesitation, Jiang Yuan picked up the pill and swallowed it, then began cultivating on the spot.

Another half hour passed.

Jiang Yuan opened his eyes. Heat steamed from his body, mixed with black, turbid impurities.

Cleansing the meridians and purging the marrow!

He had finally opened his sixth meridian and entered the sixth stage of the Meridian Opening Realm!