Mountain Essence Milk

At dawn, Xiao Le woke after cultivating through the night. The hot spring water had already receded somewhat.

Before long, Xiao Yan woke as well. He exhaled a breath of stale air, and the joy on his face was impossible to hide when he sensed the greatly increased Dou Qi within him.

Medicine Elder looked at the spring water and sighed. "I originally thought it would last us a month and a half. Judging by this, it'll probably be used up in half a month."

Xiao Yan's face immediately fell. "Ah! Why does it burn through money so fast?"

Medicine Elder teased from the side, "Don't you have that rich little girlfriend of yours? What are you worried about?"

Xiao Le thought for a moment and said, "I'll figure out the money!"

That morning, Xiao Le did not continue cultivating. Instead, he returned to his room and summoned the little maid Xiao Zhan had assigned to look after his daily needs.

Xiao Le bestowed all the high-grade Yellow-tier battle skills and cultivation methods he had deliberately kept on the little maid, instructing her to make two copies of each of the ten manuals.

Five days passed in the blink of an eye. During Xiao Le's free time, the little maid told him that the copying was complete. He arranged for her to give one set to Xiao Zhan, saying that he had found something left behind by an expert, sparing himself a long explanation to Xiao Zhan.

Carrying the other copied set, Xiao Le arrived at the Mittel Auction House. He stated directly that he wished to sell cultivation methods and was led to the VIP room.

"Young Master Xiao Le, why didn't you come looking for me when you arrived?" Before long, Ya Fei's intoxicating voice drifted in.

Ya Fei approached Xiao Le with elegant yet alluring steps, a refreshing fragrance washing over him.

Xiao Le deliberately took a deep breath as though enchanted and praised, "Miss Ya Fei, you truly are no ordinary person. Every meeting with you is unforgettable!"

He had not noticed last time, but Xiao Le now realized that he had met Ya Fei before.

Xiao Le studied Ya Fei with great interest and teased, "Some time ago, a rather interesting business appeared at our Xiao Family Market—gambling on magic cores. But what I remember most was the masked female owner at the time. Tell me, will I ever meet her again?"

As he spoke, Xiao Le leaned closer to Ya Fei, the smile on his face growing broader. How could Ya Fei not realize that Xiao Le had recognized her?

"Oh? I wonder whether Young Master Xiao Le remembers any distinguishing traits of that woman. While our Mittel Auction House may not compare to the Xiao Family, we can still lend a hand," Ya Fei said without the slightest trace of timidity.

"That woman has haunted my dreams. No matter whether she is beautiful or ugly, I, Xiao Le, would be willing to marry her. What does Miss Ya Fei think?"

Xiao Le looked at Ya Fei as though he had figured something out. In truth, he had recognized her only because he saw the [Attract Wealth] tag on her. It was impossible for a small place like Wutan City to have two people with the same golden tag.

"Ha ha!" Ya Fei chuckled twice, her expression utterly unchanged. She continued, "What is it that Young Master Xiao Le wishes to sell today?"

Xiao Le waved at the empty wooden table, and ten booklets appeared atop it. He explained, "There are five high-grade Yellow-tier cultivation methods of different attributes here, along with five high-grade Yellow-tier battle skills. How much is the Mittel Auction House willing to offer?"

A look of surprise could not help appearing in Ya Fei's eyes. Not to mention Wutan City—even within the Jia Ma Empire, these were fairly rare.

Ya Fei's gaze was no longer calm. She reached out, picked up the battle skill and cultivation method manuals on the table, and began reading them. Though Ya Fei was not particularly gifted in cultivation, her eye for such things was still excellent.

She had the attendant at the door summon the Mittel Auction House's appraisal master, who specialized in assessing cultivation methods and battle skills. Before long, an elderly man in plain robes entered the VIP room.

The old man examined the booklets one by one, his hands moving without pause. Occasionally, he even followed the instructions within and attempted to perform them. After a long while, he nodded to Ya Fei.

After the old man left, Ya Fei smiled sweetly. "Young Master Xiao Le, regarding these..."

Xiao Le understood what Ya Fei was worried about. "Don't worry. None of these came from our Xiao Family Battle Skill Pavilion, and they won't cause any trouble. Still, I hope the Mittel Auction House can keep this confidential."

Ya Fei's smile became even more radiant. "The Mittel Auction House's reputation is beyond question. There are five cultivation methods and five battle skills here, including one each of the rare lightning- and ice-attribute cultivation methods and battle skills. How about this? Let us consider it a gesture of friendship from the Mittel Auction House to Young Master Xiao Le—six hundred and seventy thousand gold coins. What do you think?"

"No problem!" Xiao Le did not care. After all, obtaining these cultivation methods and battle skills had cost him no effort. He took out a list and said, "Prepare ten sets of the ingredients listed in this prescription."

The Mittel Auction House worked efficiently. Before long, a gold card and a storage ring were handed to Xiao Le.

In the mountain behind the estate, inside the hot spring cave.

Xiao Yan stared dumbfoundedly at the herbs scattered across the ground, unable to speak for a long time.

Medicine Elder did not mind the trouble and immediately began refining medicine.

"Hmm?" Xiao Le looked toward a corner of the hot spring pool, delight flashing in his eyes.

[Mountain Essence Milk]: Contains the essence of the mountains. Its medicinal nature is gentle, strengthening the foundation and replenishing vital energy.

Looking at the description of this dark blue tag, Xiao Le was extremely excited. He hurriedly downloaded it, then touched the rock and downloaded it again.

He had struck it rich. Two portions of Mountain Essence Milk—even if the pale green starlight point within his body faded from green and became a deep blue point, Xiao Le still felt it was worth it.

But what followed gave Xiao Le a headache. How was he supposed to use the Essence Milk after it had become a tag? He could not possibly use it directly on himself, right? What if his body mutated?

His gaze inadvertently swept over the hot spring on the ground. He wondered whether he could bestow it upon the spring water. With that thought, Xiao Le began trying.

It worked!

Perhaps because there was so much water in the pool, there was no visible change. He merely felt the air become fresher, overflowing with vital energy.

"Hmm?" Medicine Elder looked doubtfully at the pool of hot spring water, seemingly deep in thought.

A peak eighth-grade alchemist was no simple matter. Even with only a remnant soul remaining, Medicine Elder finished refining ten portions of Foundation-Building Elixir in less than half an hour.

"This?" To Xiao Le and Xiao Yan's confusion, Medicine Elder directly poured all the Foundation-Building Elixir into the hot spring. Instantly, a dense medicinal fragrance, so rich it seemed to congeal, spread through the cave.

Splash! Splash!

Before the two could react, Medicine Elder sent them flying into the spring with a streak of force, followed by his explanation.

"For some reason, the Mountain Essence Milk within this small mountain has fused into this pool of water. This is a fortunate opportunity. Make good use of it and hold on!"

The surging medicinal power did not need to be actively absorbed; it rushed impatiently into their bodies. The two hurriedly steadied themselves, formed hand seals, and began actively refining and absorbing the medicinal power.

Like wild horses breaking free of their reins, the medicinal power invaded wildly as they absorbed it, sweeping through their fragile meridians. Fortunately, along with the medicinal power, a thread of tiny milky-white energy entered their bodies as well.

This milky-white energy was exceptionally gentle. Like a healer, it followed unhurriedly behind the medicinal power, merging into every inch of their meridians and cleaning up the damage left in the medicinal power's wake.