To refine a single Grade Seven Pill, Chu Zhou demanded both compensation equal to the pill's value and an equally valuable refining fee. That meant handing over enough resources to refine three Grade Seven Pills at once. It sounded like an exorbitant demand, yet Su Qian and the other two only thought he was being fair.
Only a handful of Alchemists on the Northwest Continent could refine Grade Seven Pills. Most would head to the Central Plains and join the Pill Tower, yet even the entire Pill Tower had very few Alchemists of that caliber.
Among them, Grade Seven Alchemists capable of refining the Heavenly Sect Pill were rarer still. Unless something unexpected happened, they would eventually reach the level of Eighth-Tier Alchemists.
Even Dou Zun experts standing at the top of the Dou Qi Continent's pyramid would treat an Eighth-Tier Alchemist courteously, curry favor with them, and do everything possible to build a friendship. They would never offend one if they could help it.
Any other Alchemist with Chu Zhou's skill and talent would demand two sets of ingredients as a basic requirement, then ask for compensation and a refining fee on top of that.
If the Alchemist enjoyed exceptional status, extensive connections, and ties to certain factions, they might not agree to refine a pill for you even if you were willing to pay that price.
Often, you would also have to owe them a favor, or provide the compensation and refining fee in the form of the cultivation methods and combat skills, heavenly treasures, or other things they wanted.
Thus, although this was merely an opportunity for an ordinary business arrangement, all three felt they had gotten a bargain.
"Master Chu, I admire your straightforwardness," Su Qian said first, stroking his beard with a smile.
Jia Nan