After an incense stick's time, the carriage stopped in front of a magnificent building. The building was constructed of blue rock and had a unique design. The building was covered with windows, from which thick incense smoke would occasionally waft out and linger in the air.
The three of them descended from the carriage. Lu Ming gazed at the colossal building before him, which exuded the fragrance of elixirs, and was slightly amazed.
"This is the Alchemist Association, a gathering place for alchemists in various prefectural cities. It is usually built by the prefectural government and invites some highly respected and prestigious local Dao of Alchemy masters to serve as presidents. They usually preside over activities, gather many alchemists to trade spiritual herbs, and exchange and discuss alchemy techniques," Zhou Fuling introduced with a smile.
" Qingyuan Market also has Alchemist Association, but it's nowhere near as large as this one, since there are far too few alchemists there," Zhou Xuan added.
"The Dao of Alchemy master selling ' Netherwater Flame ' today is named Pang Qingsong. He is a veteran Dao of Alchemy master in Fengyang Prefecture and also the president of the Fengyang Prefecture Alchemist Association."
"Master, are there any Dao of Alchemy masters competing for the ' Netherwater Flame ' this time?" Lu Ming asked.
"It's just a low-level Spirit Fire. What Dao of Alchemy master would bother competing with a group of alchemists for it? Wouldn't that make them a laughingstock?" Zhou Xuan said with amusement.
"What about mid-grade Spirit Fire?" Lu Ming asked curiously.
"Mid-grade Spirit Fire is different. Its fire nature is powerful and abundant, which can help with alchemy and also enhance one's supernatural combat abilities. Therefore, even Dao of Alchemy masters are eager to obtain it. However, mid-grade Spirit Fire is quite rare and extremely valuable. If it appears in a trade fair, it would probably be worth millions of Heavenly Gold Sand," Zhou Xuan said.
"Millions of Heavenly Gold Sand..."
Lu Ming clicked his tongue twice. This kind of huge sum of money, even if you packed up the entire Thunderfire Hall, would not amount to anything.
My maternal grandfather's Golden Bell Mystic Gang Hall should have the resources, but it would probably have to lose a significant portion of its heritage.
"What about high-level Spirit Fire?" Lu Ming asked persistently.
"High-level Spirit Fire? Heh, you're really audacious. Even in the Great Shang Imperial Domain, I've only seen something like that three times, and its value is beyond what Heavenly Gold Sand can measure." Zhou Xuan laughed.
Are there even higher levels than high-level Spirit Fire?
"Yes, there's also the legendary 'Saint-Rank Spirit Fire.' That level of Spirit Fire possesses unimaginable wonder and earth-shattering power. Even Divine Ability Grandmaster Spirit Fire, whom you currently regard as unapproachable, wouldn't last more than a few breaths before being reduced to nothingness. I'm extremely curious about such a Spirit Fire, but unfortunately, I've never had the chance to see it," Zhou Xuan sighed and said.
"Saint-level Spirit Fire..."
Lu Ming blinked, inwardly assessing whether his " Flame of Life " could reach such a grade. Although the Flame of Life's offensive power was extremely weak, its boundless and vigorous life force could even accelerate the ripening of medicinal herbs. Such an incredible and wondrous ability was something even high-grade Spirit Fire probably couldn't achieve.
There were also two even more terrifying flames within the Black Ring space.
The Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame.
Void Devouring Flame.
The name alone sounds incredibly impressive; I wonder what kind of performance one must possess to deserve such a prestigious reputation.
As Lu Ming was feeling gratified and proud of the three wondrous fire seeds he possessed, Zhou Xuan led him and Zhou Fuling into the magnificent tower before them. There were Great Divine Ability Practitioner guards at the entrance, but they clearly recognized Zhou Xuan, so after bowing, they were allowed to enter.
Upon entering the pavilion, a very spacious hall comes into view. People come and go, but it is not noisy. Only the fragrance of cinnamon permeates the air.
Today's Alchemist Association is more lively than ever before, with many young alchemists gathered there, their eyes filled with eagerness, seemingly all there for the " Netherwater Flame," a low-level Spirit Fire.
On the second-floor terrace, several figures of clearly distinguished status and rank stood chatting and laughing, while observing the alchemists present.
Zhou Xuan then led Lu Ming and Zhou Fuling straight up to the second floor.
"Haha, Master Zhou Xuan is here."
Several figures on the balcony saw Zhou Xuan and all laughed.
Zhou Xuan responded with a smile.
Lu Ming looked at the several Dao of Alchemy masters from the prefecture city with curiosity. In terms of status, these people were probably even more prestigious than the True Qi Master. Even someone like Nether Spirit Master would have to treat them with great respect.
After all, everyone needs to seek elixirs sometimes.
"That old man in blue is Pang Qingsong, the Dao of Alchemy master who sold the ' Netherwater Flame ' this time, and also the president of the Fengyang Prefecture Alchemist Association," Zhou Fuling introduced softly beside Lu Ming.
Lu Ming followed the gaze and saw the Dao of Alchemy master named " Pang Qingsong ". He was wearing a blue robe, had a round face, and had a rather imposing presence.
"I've heard that Master Zhou Xuan comes from the ' Great Shang Imperial Domain.' With such a status, why would he serve as the master of Qingyuan Market? This is truly beneath him." At this moment, a faint laugh rang out. Lu Ming glanced around and saw that the speaker was an old man in a yellow robe.
Lu Ming didn't recognize him, but the young man standing behind him looked somewhat familiar. He was the young alchemist who had bid against Zhou Fuling for the century-old high-grade spiritual medicine at the Spirit Herb Pavilion a few days ago.
His name seems to be Song Ren.
So the old man in the yellow robe in front of him must be his teacher, and also the highly respected veteran Dao of Alchemy master in Fengyang Prefecture that Huo Qing mentioned.
When Lu Ming's gaze swept over Song Ren, he found that the latter was staring at him and Zhou Fuling with some resentment and anger.
Lu Ming immediately realized that the reason was because he was unhappy about spending a full 200,000 Heavenly Gold Sand to buy a high-grade spiritual medicine that had been stored for a hundred years at the Spirit Herb Pavilion a few days ago.
"That's petty. Didn't you carry that yourself?"
Lu Ming shook his head inwardly, too lazy to bother with it.
"So it's Master Ye Changfeng. I feel quite drawn to Qingyuan Market. My main purpose is to find a peaceful place to hone my alchemy skills," Zhou Xuan said with a faint smile.
"I've recently heard that some strange things have happened in the Black Rain Zone of Qingyuan Market, including the appearance of a ' Sacred Ruins '. Could it be that Master Zhou Xuan moved into Qingyuan Market six months ahead of schedule?" The old man in the yellow robe named Ye Changfeng asked with a smile.
Recently, news about the " Sacred Ruins " in the Black Rain Zone of Qingyuan Market has begun to spread throughout Fengyang Prefecture. Although many people are skeptical, they have eventually learned of some of the rumors, which is unavoidable.
Zhou Xuan went to the prefectural city to ask Huo Shanhe for help in slowing down the transmission of the message and preventing it from spreading too far, so as to avoid causing real trouble.
Although Her Highness is a formidable force, she is still too young. Even with unparalleled talent, her foundation is not as strong as those princes who have been adults for many years. This time, she went to the Great Luo Domain in secret, not wanting to clash with the real local tyrants who have been entrenched in the Great Luo Domain for hundreds of years.
"There seems to be some rumor about it, but the ' Black Rain Zone ' is unpredictable and mysterious. No one knows if it's some kind of Rain Spawn magic used to lure people deeper into it," Zhou Xuan said with a smile, not completely denying it.
"If that Sacred Ruins is fake, that's fine, but if it's real, Qingyuan Market is going to be in for a stir, and then Manager Zhou Xuan will have a real headache." The speaker was a middle-aged woman, who was probably a master Dao of Alchemy from the Alchemist Association.
Behind him stood a pretty, short-haired woman who looked somewhat similar to him.
"Master Su Wan is absolutely right, so after I finish dealing with things in the prefectural city, I must hurry back to maintain order."
Zhou Xuan smiled and nodded, then changed the subject, saying, "President Pang, everyone here today is after that ' Netherwater Flame ' in your hand. Why not take it out first and let these young people see it?"
Upon hearing this, all the young alchemists in the hall turned their fervent gazes toward it. Although only a very few people present probably met the requirements to compete for the Netherwater Flame, being able to witness Spirit Fire was still an eye-opening experience.
Even Lu Ming was invigorated.
Under the intense gaze of the crowd, Pang Qingsong smiled and nodded. Then, with a flick of his sleeve, a faint black gourd appeared and landed in his hand.
Pang Qingsong held the black gourd and poured water from its mouth. To everyone's surprise, black water poured out of the gourd and lingered in mid-air.
The black water exuded a chilling aura, but outside the black water, intense flames rose, and a fiery energy carrying a chill permeated the hall.
As Lu Ming gazed at the black water flames, he faintly sensed a subtle fluctuation emanating from the Fire Lotus Mark on his Divine Ability Bone.