New Side Quest, Soul Infant Fruit, Little Fairy Doctor in Tears

After receiving the gold coins, Wang Teng became even more worried.

There was nowhere to spend them.

He had bought out the ingredients for Qi-Recovery Pills, Blood-Booster Pills, and Force-Combining Pills throughout South Star City. The herb merchants were now transferring stock in from other cities.

He was still missing one ingredient for the Body-Tempering Pill, so he could not refine it.

Fortunately, Ya Fei came by in the evening.

Wang Teng told her what he needed and handed over every gold coin he had received that day.

All Ya Fei had to do was resell them, and she would make a hefty profit from the price difference.

Yet she still looked troubled.

Wang Teng had not intended to pry, but a prompt suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[ Ding! Side quest issued: Ya Fei's Troubles! Find out what is troubling Ya Fei and resolve it. Reward unknown. Accept? ]

A quest had arrived.

Wang Teng's eyes lit up, a flash of delight passing through them.

He stopped Ya Fei as she rose to leave. "You look like you've run into some trouble. Can you tell me about it?"

"Is it that obvious?" Ya Fei asked in surprise. She forced a smile. "It's nothing major. Just something involving the auction house."

Wang Teng pressed, "What is it?"

"It's not something Master Wang Teng needs to worry about." Ya Fei shook her head.

The South Star City branch had opened, but it had yet to hold a single official auction. Since it would be their first, she had scheduled it for one month after the opening.

By her calculations, there were only two weeks left.

But so far, she had not found a suitably significant item to serve as the finale lot.

Ya Fei was happy to see Wang Teng taking the initiative to care, but she did not want to trouble him.

After all, Wang Teng was only an alchemist. The only things he could offer were pills.

But no matter how good pills were, they were not suitable as a finale lot. If word got out, people would only praise the alchemist's skill, not say the auction house was impressive.

"You should tell me anyway. We're partners. Seeing you so worried makes me concerned about the herb purchases," Wang Teng insisted.

Ya Fei's expression turned serious. "I am a qualified businesswoman. I will not let my emotions affect business."

Wang Teng froze for a moment, feeling a headache coming on.

Can't you just tell me what the problem is?

"If there's nothing else, I'll head back first. Those herbs will be delivered as soon as possible." Ya Fei took her leave.

"Wait, there's one more thing," Wang Teng said.

"Please, go ahead," Ya Fei replied.

"I have something I want to entrust to you for auction," Wang Teng said. "Use all the proceeds to buy herbs for me."

Even though he had bought a great deal of ingredients, Wang Teng was still not satisfied.

He knew very well that to win this Alchemist Tournament, being a third-tier alchemist was not enough. Even reaching the fourth tier was no guarantee.

His opponents at the tournament would not only include Xiao Yan, but also that alchemist from the Cloud Empire.

Therefore, he needed to acquire as many herbs as possible and continuously refine them into pills, using that to level up his professional skill and improve his ability.

He also had to consider the matter of cultivation techniques. It had already been a week, and he still had not seen Kato Taka deliver it. I can't just keep waiting like an idiot.

"That works. What do you want to auction?" Ya Fei asked.

Wang Teng took out a scroll.

"A cultivation technique or a combat skill? What tier is it?" Ya Fei asked casually as she accepted it.

"A high Xuan-tier flight combat skill," Wang Teng said.

"A flight combat skill?" Ya Fei's hands paused. She raised her head to stare at Wang Teng in disbelief, her eyes brimming with excitement.

Why was she so excited?

Wang Teng was taken aback and nodded instinctively. "Yes."

Ya Fei hurriedly unrolled the scroll. As she read its description, the light in her eyes grew brighter and brighter.

It was actually an extremely rare flight combat skill!

As far as I remember, none have appeared in the Jia Ma Empire for years. Not even the imperial capital has auctioned one.

And this is a high Xuan-tier flight combat skill. Even at the headquarters, it would qualify for a Di-tier auction house.

The Mittel Auction House's imperial capital headquarters was enormous. It contained four auction houses, divided into Tian, Di, Xuan, and Huang tiers. Just to attend a Xuan-tier auction required a fortune of at least a million.

This showed just how highly Ya Fei regarded the flight combat skill scroll.

She looked at Wang Teng. "Are you sure you want to auction it? You won't use it yourself?"

"Sell it," Wang Teng answered without hesitation.

Ya Fei revealed a captivating smile. "Understood. I'll make the arrangements and ensure it sells for a price that satisfies you."

Wang Teng's lips curled upward at those words. Who would ever complain about having too much money?

"Leave the item with me for now. However, we need to sign an agreement. Once the auction is confirmed, neither party can back out," Ya Fei said, her tone turning solemn.

Wang Teng took out paper and a pen.

Ya Fei quickly drafted two agreements. After they each signed one, she took her copy and rose to leave.

[ Ding! Quest "Ya Fei's Troubles" completed. Reward: one Soul Infant Fruit. ]

Soul Infant Fruit: A heavenly treasure that significantly increases soul power after consumption. There is a chance of causing the soul to mutate.

Wang Teng had been wondering why Ya Fei had suddenly become cheerful, when another prompt abruptly appeared before him.

How had the quest been completed already?

His face was full of bewilderment, but his attention quickly shifted to the reward.

A treasure that enhanced the soul? Why wasn't it a pill formula?

Wang Teng felt slightly disappointed.

The Soul Infant Fruit was about the size of a winter jujube. Its surface was purplish-black and covered in dense patterns. Looking closely, those patterns outlined tiny faces.

It was a little creepy.

He decisively put the Soul Infant Fruit into his mouth.

After all, the best way to overcome fear was to face it.

The Soul Infant Fruit was strange. It felt hard in his palm, but once it entered his mouth, its skin split easily with a gentle bite.

Wang Teng nearly chipped a tooth from using too much force.

Cool liquid flowed from the cracked Soul Infant Fruit. It was tasteless, spreading from his teeth and mouth toward his cranial cavity.

Coolness enveloped his head, and the soul power within stirred, rippling.

A moment later, the strange sensation faded. Wang Teng discovered that his soul power had increased, and he subconsciously activated the Mind-Splitting Technique.

One cluster, two clusters, three clusters...

This time, the Mind-Splitting Technique actually divided into four clusters, meaning he could now handle four tasks at once.

"Not bad. It just seems the mutation didn't happen." Wang Teng sighed regretfully.

At that moment, Little Fairy Doctor entered.

Wang Teng raised his eyes to look at her, and Little Fairy Doctor suddenly changed in his vision. A fist-sized mass of black qi appeared in the region of her lower abdomen.

"What are you looking at?" Little Fairy Doctor noticed that Wang Teng's eyes were shining like stars in the night.

For some reason, at that moment, she felt as though he had seen right through her.

"Come here," Wang Teng said seriously.

Little Fairy Doctor obediently sat down beside him.

Wang Teng reached for her wrist, but Little Fairy Doctor quickly pulled away.

"Give me your hand," Wang Teng said.

Little Fairy Doctor resisted. "Are you trying to take advantage of me? No."

However, Wang Teng was stronger than her. After a brief struggle, he successfully grabbed Little Fairy Doctor's wrist.

"Let go! Let me go!" Little Fairy Doctor's eyes reddened anxiously.

Wang Teng did not listen. He tightened his grip, pinching her skin red.

Soon, a wisp of black qi passed through Little Fairy Doctor's wrist and spread onto Wang Teng's arm.

Purplish-brown patterns appeared across the surface of his skin.

Little Fairy Doctor struggled even more fiercely at the sight, and the commotion even drew Wang Teng's parents over.

"Xiao Teng, Xian'er, did you two have an argument? What happened? Was it because of that woman in red just now?" Wang Teng's mother asked worriedly.

"Mother, don't come over. Little Fairy Doctor is sick, and I'm examining her. Don't get the wrong idea." Wang Teng raised a hand to stop her.

Little Fairy Doctor echoed his words, not wanting to worry the two elders.

Wang Teng's father pulled his wife outside. She kept looking back every few steps, still deeply concerned, and told Wang Teng to examine her carefully.

In that short time, Wang Teng's entire arm had already turned pitch-black, web-like patterns spreading beneath his skin.

Little Fairy Doctor finally broke free from Wang Teng and said angrily, "Are you crazy?!"

Her eyes were red. Seeing the changes in Wang Teng's arm, she was both anxious and furious.

The Poison Scripture's description of the Calamity Poison was terrifying. Once someone came into contact with it, they were almost impossible to save.