Commissioning an Array, Gathering Fire

Zhou Ning bought three sets of ingredients for Stasis-Clearing Pills and one finished Stasis-Clearing Pill.

He spent fifty-three jin of rice in total, nearly most of the wealth he could openly draw upon.

He still had to set up a Fire-Gathering Array, which would be another expense.

Any more than that would probably arouse suspicion.

Holding the Pill Furnace, he ran across the water and hurried back to Bamboo Creek Island.

While hunting fish recently, Xu Qinghou had found many water chestnuts imbued with Spiritual Qi in the shallows.

Generous by nature, he carried a bag over to share the local delicacy with his neighbor, Old Jia.

They had barely exchanged a few words when a figure suddenly appeared on the golden, shimmering surface of the lake, a white trail stretching out behind him.

The figure drew closer and closer. With one final leap, he landed steadily on the shore, and the ripples scattered.

A trace of envy appeared on Xu Qinghou's face. For a moment, he wanted to learn martial arts.

Then he remembered that martial arts were ultimately a minor path.

Old Jia, meanwhile, stared fixedly at the Pill Furnace at Zhou Ning's waist. "Kid Zhou, did you strike it rich?" he asked in disbelief.

He had always heard that Zhou Ning aspired to refine pills, but had never seen him take action. Instead, Zhou Ning had become engrossed in mundane martial arts. Now, after one trip out, he had actually obtained a Pill Furnace.

Could he have come into a windfall?

Zhou Ning had made no attempt to hide the Pill Furnace. This was part of his plan.

He said, "Someone lent it to me."

Xu Qinghou asked, "A man or a woman?"

He often chatted with Old Jia and knew a little about the price of Pill Furnaces. They probably cost several Spirit Stones.

Old Jia frequented the market and had a keener eye. A brief glance told him that the brass Pill Furnace was of a fairly high grade. Even damaged, it had to be worth at least four Spirit Stones.

Zhou Ning said, "A woman, of course."

Xu Qinghou felt a little sour at the answer.

Zhou Ning had run into such a generous woman. What special talent did he have?

Old Jia thought for a moment. Then his gaze shifted slightly as he looked at Zhou Ning, and he ventured in a low voice:

"Um, may I ask how old that female cultivator is?"

A jolt went through Xu Qinghou's mind. He looked again at Zhou Ning's rather handsome face, and everything suddenly became clear. No wonder! He understood!

A failed breakthrough, unwillingness to live an ordinary life, and a turn onto a crooked path...

For the great Dao of cultivation, Zhou Ning was actually willing to go so far. Xu Qinghou felt ashamed of how he measured up.

He shuddered as he thought of the cultivators on Cuiwei Lake who sold their bodies and had been drained into living corpses.

Concerned, he said, "Zhou Ning, if you feel you can't keep up, I still have an Essence-Nourishing Pill. You can take it and use it!"

Zhou Ning was speechless at the pair. He stopped keeping them in suspense and spoke frankly:

"Don't make wild guesses. I went to Luyou Island today and happened to run into the eldest young lady, Su Yunjin. She saw that I had the aptitude to be an Alchemist and lent it to me for my use."

Old Jia was dumbfounded. "What?"

Since when had the Su Household become so kind?

Xu Qinghou, on the other hand, thought for a moment and understood the reason.

It had to be connected to Jiang Xiaohua of the Azure Mystic Sect.

He offered his congratulations. "I hope you become an Alchemist soon, big brother!"

Old Jia stopped dwelling on it and likewise offered his congratulations. Then he hinted that even if Zhou Ning lost money refining pills, he must not turn onto a crooked path.

After all, most people who learned to refine pills lost their entire investment and ended up deep in debt. They might even be reduced to selling themselves.

As for mastering it and becoming an exalted Alchemist?

For cultivators at the bottom, that was nothing but a fool's dream!

Among the Su Household's retainers, the ones doing best at present were people like Yuan Dahu and Scholar Xu.

Zhou Ning asked, "Old sir, do you know if there's an array master in our area? I'm planning to set up a Fire-Gathering Array to refine pills."

True to his experience traveling far and wide, Old Jia quickly pointed him in the right direction.

The next morning.

For the sake of his dream of refining pills, Zhou Ning once again ran across the water.

Thirty li to the north was a small island covered in lush trees. A cluster of courtyards stood by the lake, with a tranquil air that made it feel cut off from the world.

An array master named Su Youyou lived there.

Old Jia had warned him that the woman had an eccentric temperament.

Zhou Ning called out from outside, "I am Zhou Ning, a retainer of the Su Household from Bamboo Creek Island. I would like to ask the fairy to set up a Fire-Gathering Array."

Half an incense stick later.

A plain white silk ribbon flew out of the courtyard and descended like a drifting cloud. Standing on it was a young woman with a pale face and exquisitely beautiful features, light and graceful as an immortal.

Surprise flashed in Zhou Ning's eyes. Good grief, did learning arrays pay that well?

Judging by appearances alone, this Law Artifact looked more otherworldly than Su Yunjin's flying boat.

This woman's cultivation was only at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer.

Su Youyou said, "Sixty jin of spirit rice. If you intend to haggle, don't bother."

The price was a little high.

According to Old Jia, setting up a small Fire-Gathering Array cost about fifty-five jin of spirit rice. Her quote was ten percent higher.

If he gave up, he could only look for an array master elsewhere, and he might even have to pay for their travel.

Zhou Ning agreed immediately. "Are you free, fairy? I can take you there now."

Su Youyou nodded.

Zhou Ning immediately used his qinggong, stepped back onto the lake, and ran ahead.

Su Youyou flew overhead. "..."

He couldn't even afford a flying Law Artifact, yet he actually dreamed of learning the Dao of Alchemy. She truly didn't know where to begin criticizing him.

Fortunately, with his qinggong enhanced by the Light Body Technique, Zhou Ning was not slow, and he soon returned to his courtyard.

To be cautious, he had already put the Illusion Array's array plate into the Jade Space.

After all, a genuine array master was coming today. If she noticed anything amiss, it would only create unnecessary trouble.

"The eastern side room, are you sure?" Su Youyou asked.

After receiving his answer, Su Youyou first observed the room for a moment, then took out a small jade cone.

With a light tap of her fingertip, the jade cone bored seven small holes in the ground.

She then picked up seven light gray stones and precisely fitted them into the holes one by one.

Zhou Ning stood nearby, trying to learn on the sly. "What are those?"

"Array stones."

"Uh, aren't they array flags?" It was Zhou Ning's first time hearing of array flags.

Su Youyou glanced at him and said, "They can be replaced, but it'll cost extra."

"Then forget it."

Su Youyou cast a Law Technique, and faint fiery patterns appeared on the ground, connecting with the Spiritual Qi of the Spirit Vein. The array stones glowed red in turn.

The next moment, a cluster of flames rose from the array, warming the room slightly.

Zhou Ning noticed that the flames were exceptionally steady. No wonder they were suited to refining pills.

Su Youyou swept her gaze over the array and, after confirming that it was operating properly, nodded slightly.

She sent out another trace of Spiritual Qi. The flames immediately went out, and the array stones dimmed.

"It's installed. From now on, just channel spiritual power into the array stones to turn it on or off."

Zhou Ning was stunned. "That's it?"

"Mm." Su Youyou held out her hand.

Zhou Ning was shocked. Wasn't it far too easy for array masters to make money?

He returned to the main room and took a bag of spirit rice out of a jar. Su Youyou cast a spell and stored it in her Storage Bag.

As she made to leave, she suddenly spotted a pile of dark purple things in a basket nearby. They were shaped like flattened balls, with short, pointed shoots at the top and a dampness about them.

They looked somewhat familiar to her. "Water chestnuts imbued with Spiritual Qi?"

Zhou Ning casually picked one up and peeled off its skin, revealing the snow-white flesh inside.

He said indifferently, "Just some wild things picked up in the lake. Nothing worth mentioning."

Xu Qinghou had dug them up in the shallows yesterday. They barely qualified as spiritual objects and were fairly rare, but their effects were inferior to spirit rice. Their advantage was that they were crisp and sweet, making them suitable to eat as fruit.

Su Youyou's gaze fell directly on the fruit, and she recalled the taste she had enjoyed as a child.

She looked away and said calmly, "Sell me some."

Zhou Ning had not expected that at all.

An idea occurred to him. He immediately put on a serious face and said regretfully:

"Fairy, you have a discerning eye. These are snow-mud fruits my sworn brother risked his life to gather from the lake!"

"...Greedy," Su Youyou said calmly. "I'll give you a twenty percent discount on today's array."

Delight spread across Zhou Ning's face. Just like that, he had a twenty percent discount?

He reached out and summoned a short knife, then picked up a snow-mud fruit with it.

The tip of the knife danced, stripping away every bit of its purple skin. He solemnly introduced himself:

"Fairy, you may not know this, but I come from the secular world. My ancestors once served as imperial chefs in the palace. Would you care to try this dish of water chestnuts with osmanthus and rock sugar?"

One incense stick later.

Su Youyou left the courtyard with a packed dish of water chestnuts with osmanthus and rock sugar, along with one jin of plain water chestnuts.

As for what she paid? She had given it to Zhou Ning today.

A forty percent discount on the array.