Chapter 17: A Six-Thousand Spirit Stones Tycoon, Seeking to Learn the Art of Alchemy
Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW
You can buy coins here to unlock advanced chapters: https://gravitytales.com/coins-purchase-page/
Yu Xian reacted quickly.
He took two quick steps back, dodging the mouthful of tea that had been spat out. Still smiling, he said, “Four hundred and sixteen pieces.”
The middle-aged man, coughing and wiping tea from his chest, set down the teacup.
With disbelief written all over his face, he looked at Yu Xian and asked, “Four hundred and sixteen? Kid, where did you get so many Fiery Sun Essence Stones?”
Yu Xian’s smile froze briefly before fading. Looking calmly at the man, he said, “What, seniors now ask about the source of materials when receiving them?”
“Oh? Pretty cautious, aren’t you?”
The middle-aged man composed himself. Four hundred essence stones was a surprising number, not insignificant—but not unheard of either.
He was just shocked at first, having not expected this young fellow to have so many Fiery Sun Essence Stones—it far exceeded his expectations.
Now that he’d collected himself, he chuckled and looked at Yu Xian. “I’d love to know, but would you actually tell me?”
“No.”
“Well, there you go.”
The man shrugged. “Just curious. Don’t worry, even if you robbed the chief miner of the Hundred Mines Market, it’s none of my business.”
Yu Xian’s expression relaxed a little, a smile returning to his face. “Junior was overthinking.”
“Four hundred and sixteen, not bad at all. That’s roughly the output of the Fiery Sun Mine over three or four months. You’re impressive.”
The man nodded, casually tossing over a storage pouch. “Put them in there.”
Yu Xian didn’t dawdle. He took the pouch and loaded in all 416 essence stones, then handed it back respectfully. “Please verify, senior.”
The man took a glance inside and smiled. “Really is 416. All top-grade. Not bad at all. Let me calculate how many spirit stones it’s worth.”
Each Fiery Sun Essence Stone could be exchanged for fourteen low-grade spirit stones. That made a total of 5,824 spirit stones.
Yu Xian had already done the math.
The man furrowed his brow, doing mental calculations for a moment before waving his hand dismissively. “5,800-something… Forget it, I’ll give you six thousand. Let’s keep it simple.”
Yu Xian’s brow twitched. This man was surprisingly generous.
Rounding up to 5,900 would’ve been enough—but he went straight to 6,000.
The man flipped his hand, swapped out the essence stones, loaded in the spirit stones, and tossed the storage pouch back to Yu Xian. “Count it, kid. Don’t say I scammed you.”
Yu Xian opened it and was greeted by a dazzling glow—exactly sixty mid-grade spirit stones, neatly stacked inside!
Yu Xian’s heart skipped a beat but quickly calmed.
He transferred the mid-grade spirit stones to his own pouch, then handed the empty one back with both hands. “Thank you, Senior.”
“Mm.”
The man nodded, then leaned back and looked at Yu Xian. “I won’t ask about the source of the stones, but can you tell me your name?”
“Junior is Yu Xian.”
“Yu Xian.”
The man nodded. “Nice name. I’ll remember it.”
Yu Xian remained respectful but firm. “It is this junior’s honor to be remembered by Senior. Then, I shall take my leave.”
“Go on.”
The man waved his hand and closed his eyes to rest.
Yu Xian simply turned and left swiftly.
“Yu Xian… Is this kid someone’s errand runner, or did he really gather all those Fiery Sun Essence Stones himself? Interesting… Reaching mid-stage Qi Condensation at such a young age, rare indeed. A promising talent. I wonder if he’ll shine brightly in the future…”
After Yu Xian left, the man remained with eyes closed, his soft mutterings drifting in the air…
—
Once outside the Forging Hall, Yu Xian felt as if even the sky was brighter.
Wealth!
This was real wealth!
Sixty mid-grade spirit stones—aside from the head of the marketplace and a few top managers, probably no one else in the outer sect had such wealth.
In high spirits, Yu Xian strode toward the Alchemy Hall.
He still needed pills, but he’d already made up his mind:
He was going to learn alchemy.
Otherwise, just buying pills was a massive loss—how many hours of hard work did it take to get a single pill?
They cost over ten times more than the ingredients!
An alchemist could earn more than someone with a jade token digging up ore veins!
There weren’t many people in the Alchemy Hall. Most came and went in a hurry.
Yu Xian stepped into the main hall and didn’t head for the self-service counter like before. Instead, he walked straight up to the people in charge inside.
“Hm? This junior brother, is there a particular pill you couldn’t find?”
Chapter 17: The Six-Thousand Spirit Stone Tycoon Desires to Learn Alchemy (2/2)
A disciple from the Alchemy Hall looked confused when Yu Xian approached him.
“Not exactly,” Yu Xian shook his head and said, “Senior Brother, I want to ask—do you sell alchemy recipes here? I wish to learn alchemy.”
“Huh?”
The man was stunned, staring at Yu Xian for a moment before exclaiming, “You mean… you want to buy your own recipe, buy your own herbs and materials, and then refine the pills yourself?”
“Yes,” Yu Xian nodded.
“Pfft… hahaha!”
The man burst into laughter. He looked at Yu Xian like he was a fool and couldn’t help himself, “Junior Brother, do you even know what you’re saying? Alright, stop joking around here.”
Yu Xian frowned slightly and said seriously, “Do I look like I’m joking?”
The man’s smile gradually faded. Shaking his head, he said, “I don’t have time for nonsense. Buy pills if you want. If not, move along.”
To him, the young man in front of him was simply naive. Alchemy? Just having a recipe and materials doesn’t mean you can refine pills! With no one to teach you, nowhere to learn, and not even a furnace, how do you expect to do it? It was laughable.
Yu Xian realized he must have said something foolish and was being mocked. So, he shifted tactics, bowed respectfully, and said, “Please don’t be offended, Senior Brother. I truly want to learn alchemy. May I ask, why can’t I refine pills on my own?”
“You’re really stubborn, huh?”
Seeing Yu Xian’s sincere attitude, the man softened a little. After all, it wasn’t wrong for a young cultivator to be eager to learn.
He explained, “Alchemy isn’t as simple as having a recipe. First, you need to learn the techniques—it takes at least two years to learn the basics. Then, you need to assist senior alchemists and watch them refine pills, another couple of years. By your fifth year, maybe you can try on your own. And even then, expect many failures. That’s a lot of wasted spirit stones.”
He added with a pained expression, “Take me for example. I studied for six years. Just to refine a minor Spirit Pill, I’ve burned through nearly all the spirit stones I’d saved. Out of five furnaces, I may only succeed once—and even then, I barely break even. That’s how hard alchemy is!”
“I see.”
Yu Xian nodded in understanding, though his eyes still shone with determination. “Senior Brother, do you know where I can buy a book that teaches alchemy techniques?”
“Oh come on, are you still at it?” The man looked exasperated.
“Just sell him a copy of Ten Thousand Pill Record and Complete Alchemy Guide,” another disciple nearby grumbled impatiently. “These newbies never listen. Let him waste time and figure it out himself.”
“Fine, I won’t bother convincing you anymore.”
The man shrugged, then pulled out two books. “These are the Alchemy Hall’s basic manuals—same idea as your mining manuals. Give me ten spirit stones and they’re yours.”
Ten lower-grade spirit stones for two books—that was probably overpriced.
But Yu Xian didn’t mind. He handed over the spirit stones, accepted the books, and smiled gratefully. “Thank you, Senior Brother, for the guidance.”
Then he turned and left.
“Hey, if you ever gain some real understanding, you can rent one of the Alchemy Hall’s refining rooms to practice.”
The man called out to Yu Xian’s back.
“Got it! Thank you again!”
Yu Xian waved as he disappeared around the corner.
“What a fool, he’s clearly just bored.”
“Let him be. When he finally realizes it, he’ll regret wasting his time.”
“You’re pretty ruthless, haha…”
The group chuckled and joked amongst themselves, clearly thinking Yu Xian’s ambition was just a naïve joke.
Meanwhile, Yu Xian purchased several bottles of Earth Spirit Pills, Focus Pills, and Spirit Gathering Pills, as well as one high-grade Origin Spirit Pill worth two thousand spirit stones before heading back to the mining area.
Upon returning, he didn’t stop at all and immediately went into the newly opened mine.
That mine cave was now his residence.
He cultivated, mined, read the alchemy manuals, and practiced techniques—days passed without him noticing.
Over the next ten or so days, Yu Xian didn’t mine much—only around seventy to eighty refined ore stones. Most of his time was spent reading the alchemy manuals, learning the techniques, and cultivating.
He was still at the mid-stage of Qi Condensation, but his spiritual pool had grown deeper, and his dantian had expanded by one zhang, two chi, and five cun (roughly 12.5 meters in total).
As for the Origin Spirit Pill, Yu Xian hadn’t consumed it yet. He intended to wait for the optimal moment to use it to break through to the late stage of Qi Condensation.
If he took it now, it would only deepen his current level, not help him break through. Worse, it could cause his body to develop resistance, reducing the effectiveness of future pills.
That day, inside his mountain cave, piles of miscellaneous items lay in front of Yu Xian—various grasses, branches, stones, and other odd things.
At that moment, in Yu Xian’s eyes, all these items were potential alchemy materials!
