“This… holy crap…”
Seeing two more bottles of the Pill of Myriad Mysteries placed on the table, Master Meng’s mouth hung open as he blurted out a curse.
He hurriedly snatched the two bottles from the table, disregarding his composure to examine them closely. The more he looked, the more shocked he became.
The quality of these two bottles of elixirs was even better than the previous ones, indicating the person refining them hadn’t even reached their limit yet!
‘This… it doesn’t seem like…’
Master Meng was completely stunned, reflexively looking at Su Xuan.
Based on his experience, the Alchemist who refined these pills must be at least Rank 3, perhaps even higher. It was definitely not the level of strength this young man should possess.
An Alchemist required not only control over Spiritual Power but also a certain level of cultivation and an understanding of the Alchemy Dao. Such people were extremely rare.
In the entire Marketplace, there were only him and two or three other Rank 3 Alchemists, all of whom were prominent figures.
“Pardon me for asking, but where did these elixirs come from?”
According to the rules of Lingsu Pavilion, they never asked about the source of purchased elixirs. However, Master Meng held back as much as he could until he finally couldn’t resist asking.
Su Xuan said nothing, only smiling as he watched him.
The current situation was unclear, so he didn’t dare to rashly expose himself.
“Never mind… I was simply too excited by such a find and acted flippantly. Please do not take offense, young friend.”
Master Meng looked at him and gave up after a moment.
As he spoke, he pulled two high-grade Spiritual Stones from his robe and handed them over.
After a moment’s thought, he produced a Jade Slip and said, “I truly admire this Alchemist’s attainments in the Alchemy Dao. I have a certain elixir here; I wonder if you could ask him if he is interested?”
“Oh? What kind of elixir?”
Su Xuan was curious.
“A Rank 3 elixir, the Evil-Warding Pill. This is the recipe. You can take it back and have a look,” the old man replied, looking a bit embarrassed.
As a Rank 3 Alchemist, he had been studying this Rank 3 elixir for one month without making any progress.
However, this Evil-Warding Pill was essential for entering the Marketplace’s Ancient Battlefield. Otherwise, the baleful energy inside would instantly consume a person’s sanity.
Especially last night, for some unknown reason, the Ancient Battlefield had suddenly fluctuated, releasing the aura of countless ancient treasures, making the refinement of this elixir even more urgent.
“A Rank 3 elixir? The Evil-Warding Pill?”
Su Xuan looked at the Jade Slip in the old man’s hand, understanding the situation.
The only place in the Marketplace related to baleful energy that required special treatment was the Ancient Battlefield. This pill was being refined specifically to deal with that place.
However…
He looked at the recipe, feeling tempted.
In the game, he didn’t have these hints. A Rank 3 recipe had cost him nearly a year’s worth of savings, which had been extremely painful. He already wanted to improve his alchemy skills, and now he was getting a recipe for free, which would save him a lot of Spiritual Stones.
“As long as your friend is willing to try, we will provide the medicinal materials required by the recipe directly.”
Seeing Su Xuan’s interest, Master Meng added another incentive, clearly desperate.
“I can ask them to try, but if it doesn’t work out…”
Su Xuan wanted to clarify the risks.
“It would be our honor if your friend is willing to refine it. It doesn’t matter if they fail. If they succeed, you can ask for whatever Spiritual Stones or materials you want!” Master Meng said hurriedly, his tone becoming more respectful.
“Then… I’ll try to persuade them?”
Su Xuan nodded and took the Jade Slip.
“Thank you, young friend! Thank you!”
Master Meng looked invigorated and nodded repeatedly, no longer showing his initial indifference.
“Men, prepare three… no, five sets of materials for our honored guest.”
He gave an order to a servant.
“If it’s not enough, just ask me. Please, don’t be polite,” he said, turning to Su Xuan.
Each set of materials was not cheap, but he couldn’t care about that anymore. Every bit of hope counted right now.
A moment later, a servant walked over with a large pile of materials and a bag of Spiritual Stones, respectfully handing them to Su Xuan.
Su Xuan took the items. It was a heavy pile, so he gave a strained cupped-fist salute and took his leave.
“Young friend, if there aren’t enough materials, just say the word.”
“If there’s any progress, let me know immediately…”
—
Master Meng escorted him all the way to the main entrance, constantly adding reminders like a rambling old man.
He only pulled back his gaze after Su Xuan walked out the door. He looked at the porcelain bottle in his hand, a look of amazement still lingering on his face.
“Master Meng, the Market Master is waiting for you upstairs,” a servant whispered as he ran down from the upper floor.
Master Meng shuddered. Gone was his previous boldness and laziness; he shrank his neck and hurriedly trotted upstairs.
He pushed open the door to the innermost room. A sturdy middle-aged man was sitting there with a domineering posture, his clothes bulging with the outlines of his muscles.
“Market Master,” Master Meng stepped forward and bowed.
“Meng Ye, you saw the disturbance yesterday. The date for exploring the Ancient Battlefield has been moved up. How is your elixir preparation going?”
The middle-aged man picked up a cup of tea and asked calmly.
“It’s coming along! I’ve already mobilized all the Rank 3 Alchemists in the Marketplace. I estimate there will be progress soon.”
Master Meng acted as if he were facing a great enemy, speaking with trepidation. Clearly, his status as a Rank 3 Alchemist gave him no sense of superiority in front of this man.
“By the way, there is also a hidden expert in the Marketplace!”
As he spoke, he pulled out the bottles Su Xuan had refined and handed them over.
“This person’s attainments in the Alchemy Dao far exceed mine. Even I find it difficult to refine elixirs of this quality, but every one of his is like this!”
“He… he will definitely be able to refine it soon.”
The middle-aged man blew on the foam atop his tea, savoring it on his own.
“Half a month.”
“There is only half a month left. If there is still no news…”
The middle-aged man was Shangguan Sheng, the Market Master of Qinghe Marketplace. He had no interest in elixirs at all and didn’t even take them, speaking impatiently.
Yet another hidden expert…
Yesterday, his Steward reported that a hidden Sword Cultivator had appeared in the Outer Market, possessing unfathomable sword skills. Even his disciple’s sword cultivation was far beyond the norm.
Today, he came to check the progress of the elixirs, only for his own master alchemist to present a hidden Alchemist, claiming that person’s alchemy skills were also unfathomable.
Shangguan Sheng felt inexplicably irritated hearing those words.
The more hidden experts there were in Qinghe Marketplace, the more it meant it was a place of crouching tigers and hidden dragons. This should have meant he had more resources to mobilize. It should have been a good thing.
The problem was, the eldest young lady of the clan had set her sights on his Marketplace and wanted to take it over. This meant his days of ruling the Marketplace and taking whatever he wanted were coming to an end. No matter how many talents appeared in the Marketplace, they would have nothing to do with him anymore.
‘Damn it, why?’
Shangguan Sheng felt another surge of irritation. His right hand clenched suddenly, and with a *pop* sound, the teacup was crushed into powder.
“That bitch is coming to the Marketplace tomorrow. If she approaches you, you know what to do, right?”
His tone was full of threat.
“I understand, I understand. We will definitely not give her any opportunity. She won’t be able to refine an Evil-Warding Pill in this lifetime!”
Master Meng wiped away his cold sweat and nodded hurriedly.
“As long as you understand. When the Ancient Battlefield opens, it will be time for her to tuck her tail and crawl back.”
“The sky over this Marketplace… it won’t change.”
Shangguan Sheng then flicked away the powder and turned to leave.