Although Xiao Yan had long since broken through to the Dou Zhe realm, and the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid was no longer useful for his own cultivation, its ingredients were easy to obtain, and demand for it was enormous. At auction, it could fetch a handsome price. Thus, Xiao Yan and Yao Lao remained willing to keep refining it and entrust the Mittel Auction House with selling it for large sums of gold coins, which they would then use to bid on those special fruits and vegetables whose extraordinary effects Xiao Yan had personally experienced.
Just yesterday, Xiao Yan had eaten a portion of level-two potato and cultivated with the Fourth-Rank Burning Blood Elixir Yao Lao had refined. His cultivation had risen straight from Two-Star Dou Zhe to Three-Star Dou Practitioner.
It had only been a little over a month since he had officially become a Dou Zhe with the help of Qi Gathering Powder, and only a week since he had advanced to Two-Star Dou Zhe. In a mere seven days, his cultivation had risen another star, yet the foundation of Dou Qi within his body remained exceptionally solid, without the slightest risk of instability.
Normally, taking the Burning Blood Elixir subjected the body to agonizing, heart-rending pain, as though it were being scorched by raging flames. But the level-two potato's remarkable ability to nourish the meridians and temper flesh and skin greatly reduced that suffering. More importantly, the two medicinal effects did not clash at all. Instead, they blended together and enhanced each other, producing a miraculous result in which one plus one far exceeded two. That was what had made Xiao Yan's cultivation advance so swiftly.
Xiao Yan had previously eaten Spicy Jade while soaking in Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid. Both kinds of produce could be used alongside medicinal pills without any side effects.
Master and disciple had now truly witnessed the tremendous value and limitless potential of cultivating with these unusual fruits and vegetables alongside medicinal pills.
Only then did Yao Lao develop a truly intense interest in investigating the two peculiar spiritual plants Xiao Yan had repeatedly mentioned as potatoes and white radishes, which were actually potatoes and Spicy Jade.
Thus, last night, Yao Lao had spared no mental effort and refined dozens of bottles of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid in succession. He intended to have Xiao Yan make a substantial deal with Ya Fei, hoping to exchange them for more of this produce.
First, they could continue using the spiritual plants' unusual medicinal effects to accelerate Xiao Yan's cultivation. Second, Yao Lao had another plan in mind: he wanted to carefully analyze these special spiritual plants' medicinal properties and use them as a foundation to devise entirely new pill formulas with heaven-defying effects.
In this respect, Yao Lao and Xiao Yan could be said to have gotten ahead of Xia Kong.
Xia Kong had an endless supply of fruits and vegetables to eat and had never lacked cultivation resources. As such, he had never tried any medicinal pills, and naturally had no way to discover the wonders of combining this produce with them.
While Xia Kong was on his way over, the black-robed Xiao Yan sat in a second-floor VIP room at the Mittel Auction House, watching the bustling auction below with interest.
Ya Fei was not hosting the auction today. Though Xiao Yan found that a little strange, he did not dwell on it. He patiently waited for the Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid he had consigned to fetch a good price, while also preparing to bid on today's portion of level-two potato.
Yet he waited and waited, until even the auction's final highlight, a Third-Tier Magic Core, had been brought onto the stage. Neither his Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid nor the second-tier produce rumored to be appearing had shown up. Doubt quietly began to grow in Xiao Yan's heart.
"Teacher, why hasn't our Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid come up yet?"
Bidding for the Third-Tier Magic Core onstage had already broken through the final threshold of one hundred thousand gold coins. With the auction about to end, Xiao Yan could not help growing anxious.
"What are you panicking for? Are you afraid the Mittel Auction House will pocket your Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid? If they really refuse to play by the rules, they can hardly blame us for being merciless! Heh heh."
Yao Lao first offered a calm reminder, then seemed to think of some scheme, and a strange chuckle echoed through Xiao Yan's sea of consciousness.
Xiao Yan was no naive youngster ignorant of the ways of the world. He immediately understood Yao Lao's implication, and a trace of anticipation stirred within him. On second thought, however, a few concerns arose.
"But behind Mittel stands the enormous Mittel Family. They have not only a Dou Wang, but once had a Dou Emperor as well. If we fall out with them, won't that bring trouble upon the Xiao Clan?"
Hearing Xiao Yan's concerns, Yao Lao gave a pleased smile.
"You're considerably more levelheaded than you were a year ago."
At Yao Lao's praise, Xiao Yan sheepishly scratched the back of his head.
A year ago, full of youthful pride, he had publicly repudiated Nalan Yanran, the young sect master of the Misty Cloud Sect and the pearl in the Nalan Family's palm, as his wife. He had dragged her reputation through the dirt without considering the danger that the Nalan Family's and the Misty Cloud Sect's wrath might bring upon his clan.
In truth, he knew his actions had not been much better than Nalan Yanran's. But his pride would never let him admit that, deep down, he actually felt a considerable amount of gratitude toward her.
"All right, what's past is past. In two years, the grievances between you and Nalan Yanran will naturally be wiped clean. As for today, don't forget that you've been acting as a mysterious black-robed figure all this time. Ya Fei only believes you're a reclusive Alchemist. How could she possibly connect you to the Xiao Clan of Wutan City?"
With Yao Lao's guidance, Xiao Yan's mind suddenly cleared. All that remained was the excitement of plotting how to give Mittel's treasury a good shake.
Just as Xiao Yan was about to summon the maid outside and have Ya Fei come over to explain herself, the door to the room was gently pushed open from outside. Dressed in her signature jet-black, backless cheongsam, Ya Fei walked slowly in, her figure graceful and alluring.
"Sir, I'm terribly sorry. Some unexpected developments have occurred within the auction house. Mittel is willing to purchase your consigned Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid outright for forty thousand gold coins, matching its highest previous sale price."
Ya Fei apologized softly, then handed the black-robed figure a gold card containing forty thousand gold coins.
Faced with this dazzling woman's humble, utterly sincere manner, Xiao Yan suddenly had nowhere to vent the anger he had built up. His throat felt slightly dry, and all the schemes he had just been entertaining vanished like smoke.
Neither Xiao Yan nor Yao Lao was unreasonable, so they let the matter drop.
Master and disciple silently admired Ya Fei's tactful, thorough handling of the situation. Still, they could not help wondering what sort of trouble had arisen within Mittel's branch that even someone as shrewd as Ya Fei could not resolve it. But she maintained a gentle smile and said nothing about it. Xiao Yan could hardly pry into another family's private affairs, so he brought up the true purpose of his visit.
"Miss Ya Fei, word outside is that second-tier potatoes will be auctioned today. Oh, no, I mean a Second-Tier Potato. Is that merely a rumor, or do you really have such an item?"
Ya Fei heard the probing note in Xiao Yan's words and gave a faint sigh of weariness and helplessness. She knew him somewhat, and also wished to befriend both him and the Alchemist behind him, so she did not conceal what had happened.
"To be frank, a Direct-Line Young Master has arrived from the Imperial Capital, and he and I are very much at odds. He seized your Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid outright before the auction. As a result, some of the originally scheduled lots were also withdrawn."
"So that's what happened. I detest those useless wastrel young masters who do nothing but bully men and tyrannize women, too."
Perhaps out of sympathy, Xiao Yan momentarily forgot that he was posing as an old man. A little of his youthful temperament slipped out as he casually voiced his agreement. But his goal was not to inquire into Mittel's internal troubles, so he stopped beating around the bush and stated his true purpose.
"Miss Ya Fei, I'm determined to obtain that Second-Tier Potato today. Since Mittel took a bottle of my Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid without putting it through the auction, surely it isn't unreasonable for me to buy a Second-Tier Potato directly from you. After all, a private transaction is your only option now, isn't it?"
After delivering that lengthy speech in one go, Xiao Yan was somewhat breathless. He drew deep breaths and watched expectantly, waiting for Ya Fei's answer.
Ya Fei had long known Xiao Yan's age, as well as his past, so his youthful temperament did not surprise her.
But when she once again heard the slightly awkward term for potatoes from Xiao Yan's mouth, her delicate body gave an almost imperceptible tremble. Only then did she realize that he had initially seemed to use the same everyday name for potatoes as Xia Kong, before correcting himself to the other term. At first, she had noticed nothing amiss. After all, Xia Kong had often used that everyday name in front of her, and she had grown rather accustomed to it. But she soon came to her senses and realized how unusual this was.
She had once asked Xia Kong why he used that name for potatoes. His answer had been that it was the colloquial name used by people in the hometown of his dreams, while the other term sounded more elevated and elegant. Thus, Mittel had always used the latter term publicly. Within Mittel, only she and Xiao Qin knew that colloquial name. Yet Xiao Yan could not possibly have heard it from either of them. How, then, had he learned it?
Upon discovering this, Ya Fei began discreetly studying the black-robed Xiao Yan.
As her thoughts turned, Ya Fei remained composed, her gaze carefully examining Xiao Yan beneath his loose black robe.
The robe's hood concealed most of his face, revealing only a sliver of his chin. His aura was so well restrained that she could discern nothing at all.
An almost imperceptible layer of subtle tension quietly settled over the room.
PS. I spent all yesterday running an event. Today, I finally have a rare day off, so here are 2,800 words to start with. There'll be another chapter tonight.
Before you continue