Chapter 2552 — Trading for Qi-Gathering Pills

Moreover, even the Marrow-Cleansing and Bone-Refining Pill, once its ingredients were simplified, could be turned into a Life-Extending Detox Pill—but Physician Guan's Trauma Ointment simply could not compare. Though its effects were much the same, Wei Zhao had tinkered with it until it was barely recognizable.

"Which goes to show, good things never lack buyers. Besides, most of the people who come to this kind of trade fair belong to the ancient circles. In ancient sects and ancient clans, having a second-rank alchemist is nothing remarkable—they need to buy up large quantities of ingredients to hone their craft." Leader Bai explained.

"So that's it. Why didn't you just say it was an ancient-circle trade fair?" Wei Zhao said with a bitter smile. That much he could understand easily enough—even the Ice Palace had its alchemists!

"Heh, I assumed you weren't familiar with the ancient circles..." Leader Bai said with a laugh.

The two of them walked shoulder to shoulder into Leader Bai's office. The routine was the same as before: Leader Bai handed Wei Zhao a stack of materials and said no more than that.

"Thank you, Teacher Bai. I'll be on my way, then." Wei Zhao nodded with the implicit understanding they shared, but inwardly he hesitated. Should he return the favor and show Leader Bai the alchemist's notes he had obtained from Zhang Liju's tomb?

By rights, Leader Bai was Zhang Liju's successor, so showing him Zhang Liju's alchemist notes would hardly count as breaking any rule. Put plainly, it was just Wei Zhao letting him take a look at something that had originally belonged to him anyway.

"Very well, off you go." Leader Bai nodded, then added, "When you have time, bring Jingjing around to my home for a visit. If any problem comes up, she can come to me directly as well."

"Will do." Wei Zhao understood that Leader Bai had, in effect, accepted Han Jingyi as his student.

Stepping out of Leader Bai's office, Wei Zhao spotted You Panhu standing far off at the end of the corridor, pretending to be absorbed in the bulletin board on the wall. Seeing Wei Zhao approach, he flashed a smile and greeted him, "Ha, if it isn't my classmate Wei Zhao! What's this—Teacher Bai giving you more good stuff again?"

"He is. But I don't want to trade with you." Wei Zhao came straight to the point. "All right, step aside."

"Gah?" You Panhu had not expected such bluntness this time—it was nothing like the previous two occasions. But this time, having overheard Leader Bai's words, he was quite confident about the materials in Wei Zhao's hands. And seeing that Wei Zhao was not playing hard to get but had frankly admitted they were good materials and refused to trade, that only confirmed it.

"Wait a moment!" You Panhu hastily blocked Wei Zhao's path. "All right, Wei Zhao, since you're being so direct, I won't beat around the bush either. I know what you've got there—it's Leader Bai's master's alchemy notes, isn't it?"

"And what if it is?" Wei Zhao said coldly. "I don't want to give it to you this time. I'll admit that the last two times I was somewhat stringing you along, playing hard to get. But this time, I have no intention of trading with you whatsoever, so give it up. No need to say more."

"Don't be like that..." You Panhu said. "Wei Zhao, don't speak so absolutely. Everything has its value. You're refusing me because you think I can't possibly offer a price that would move you—but I can tell you plainly, I can."

"You can?" Wei Zhao shook his head. "I don't think you can. And I don't want to trade with you anyway. Step aside unless you want a beating—I don't want to start a fight here at Teacher Bai's place."

"This..." You Panhu had not expected Wei Zhao to be impervious to both persuasion and pressure, apparently dead set on having nothing to do with him. He grew anxious at once! This time it was genuinely good stuff, and You Panhu absolutely did not want to miss out. He had already made two mistakes, and now, knowing full well that what Wei Zhao held was valuable, he found Wei Zhao refusing to trade, which left him rather helpless.

"I still need to go eat." Wei Zhao skirted around You Panhu and strode onward.

"Wei Zhao, just tell me what you need! Isn't buying and selling all about haggling?" You Panhu said. "State your terms—you have to at least give me a chance!"

"Oh, fine then. I want Qi-Gathering Pills. Do you have any?" Wei Zhao asked.

"Qi-Gathering... Pills?" You Panhu was taken aback, then his face darkened. Where on earth would his family get something like that? Qi-Gathering Pills were third-rank pills. Quite apart from the scarcity of the ingredients, refining them was extremely difficult. Even if the Xuandan Sect could refine them, they would not go refining such things for no reason!

For one thing, third-rank pills could not be refined at any time one pleased. Even the Xuandan Sect's patriarch would think long and hard before refining a third-rank pill, weighing whether it was truly worth the effort—because refining a third-rank pill, success or failure, consumed an enormous amount of physical strength and true qi. It would take nearly half a year, even a full year, to recover, and during that time no other pills could be refined.

So even though third-rank pills could fetch a fortune and were priceless treasures, the Xuandan Sect's patriarch would not refine them unless absolutely necessary—such as the Blazing Sun Pill he had refined for Kang Zhaoming. That had been unavoidable, and so the patriarch had taken action and refined it.

As for the third-rank pills offered as rewards in the Xuandan Sect's trials, for the victorious trial-takers to choose from, some were accumulated over the generations by the Xuandan Sect, some were provided by that place, and some had been found in ancient ruins. Very few had been refined by the patriarch himself.

This was also why Bingtang had begged and pleaded high and low to refine a third-rank pill and still gotten nowhere.

"Wei Zhao, aren't you just making things difficult? You know full well it's impossible. Never mind my family—even the Xuandan Sect doesn't have any!" You Panhu said with a bitter smile, chasing after Wei Zhao as he spoke.

"If you don't have any, then forget it. Right now I lack nothing except a Qi-Gathering Pill to break through to the Heaven rank!" Wei Zhao said. "If you had one, I might consider it. If not, then never mind."

"Don't be like that—can't we discuss something else?" Hearing that Wei Zhao intended to break through to the Heaven rank, You Panhu felt a chill in his heart and cursed inwardly: Damn you, you're only at the peak of the mid Earth rank right now, and you can already instantly kill early Heaven-rank and early-peak Heaven-rank experts. If you break through to the Heaven rank, will anyone else even be allowed to live? Would you be invincible beneath the heavenly dao?

But You Panhu only entertained the thought briefly. What he wanted most right now was the material in Wei Zhao's hands—one way or another, he had to get it.

"Want me to beat you to death?" Wei Zhao glanced back at You Panhu.

"Uh..." You Panhu's face twisted slightly. He hesitated, then decided not to follow any further.

What to do now? After Wei Zhao had gone, You Panhu furrowed his brow and fell into thought.

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