Chapter 13: Who Was That Junior Brother Just Now?

As dawn broke, Cao Xuan arrived at the Spirit Herb Pavilion in the Qingshan Market. Having reached the fourth level of Qi Refinement, he still had over seventy Qi Gathering Pills and forty bottles of Qi Condensing Powder left. He set aside more than twenty Qi Gathering Pills and ten bottles of Qi Condensing Powder for his daily cultivation, and exchanged the rest for a total of three hundred and sixty spirit stones.

The Qi Gathering Pills sold for five spirit stones each, and the Qi Condensing Powder for ten per bottle, but the buyback price was, of course, lower. The Pavilion bought Qi Gathering Pills at three spirit stones apiece, and the powder at seven per bottle. Then, using one hundred and sixty spirit stones, Cao Xuan bought a good amount of yellow ganoderma, ginseng, Qi Gathering Orchid, and Qi Condensing Grass, intending to try his hand at alchemy when he returned.

At that moment, a steward from the Spirit Herb Pavilion emerged. Upon seeing the cloud-patterned azure robe on Cao Xuan, his brows knit for a moment, but quickly relaxed. “Please wait, fellow cultivator!” he called.

Cao Xuan looked over in puzzlement as the steward continued, “I am Bai Qu, a steward here—you may call me Steward Bai. I noticed the quality of the pills you sold; they are on par with those made by the personal disciples of the Alchemy Peak. I wonder, were these refined by you?”

Cao Xuan’s mind stirred. The pills were indeed produced by his system, given to Lin Miaoxuan in exchange for cashback. At that time, he had bought pills made by Senior Sister Ye Caixuan of Alchemy Peak, and the cashback was one-to-one. He hadn’t expected Steward Bai to misunderstand, but since he would soon be able to refine such pills himself, he nodded. “That’s right. Is there a problem?”

Steward Bai’s face lit up. “I saw you purchasing yellow ganoderma and other herbs, so I guessed as much. Here is my proposal: if you have more pills to sell in the future, I am willing to offer half a spirit stone—no, a full spirit stone—above our usual purchase price!”

He looked at Cao Xuan with great anticipation. After all, these two types of pills sold best in the Pavilion. In Qingshan Market, cultivators at the ninth level of Qi Refinement were the main clientele, but whether at the first or ninth level, everyone needed these pills for cultivation.

The Pavilion’s prices for these pills were fixed, but quality varied. Superior pills built a good reputation and increased customer loyalty. After all, these pills weren’t exclusive to the Spirit Herb Pavilion. Many stalls in the market sold them as well, sometimes half a spirit stone cheaper.

The Pavilion’s current sales relied on the fact that their quality usually surpassed that of the stalls. As he spoke, Steward Bai took out a pouch. “There are eighty spirit stones here, a token of my sincerity.”

Cao Xuan thought, another channel is another opportunity, and there was no reason to refuse the eighty spirit stones. Although he could use the system to acquire resources, spirit stones were the hard currency of the cultivation world—there would always be times when he needed them. He nodded in agreement, promising that the Pavilion would be the first to receive any pills he refined.

Just as Cao Xuan was about to leave, Steward Bai gritted his teeth and continued, “Would you be willing to provide us with thirty Qi Gathering Pills and ten bottles of Qi Condensing Powder each month? The Pavilion will pay two hundred spirit stones monthly for them. As an outer disciple, even if you completed your sect tasks, you’d only earn twenty spirit stones a month. It’s worth considering.”

Indeed, prospective outer disciples received ten spirit stones a month, outer disciples twenty, inner disciples eighty, and personal disciples or guardians as much as two hundred. Earning these stipends required completing four sect tasks per month, and the tasks had specific requirements. An inner disciple couldn’t simply take on four simple tasks meant for prospective outer disciples and expect eighty stones—no such luck.

Hearing this, Cao Xuan couldn’t help but click his tongue in surprise. Was this the treatment of an alchemist? As an outer disciple, without doing any tasks, he could earn as much as a personal disciple just by making pills.

Internally, Steward Bai was also taking a gamble. To be honest, his earlier frown came from doubting that an outer disciple could be an alchemist, let alone make high-quality pills. But when Cao Xuan produced fifty Qi Gathering Pills and thirty bottles of Qi Condensing Powder in one go, Bai had no choice but to take the risk. If Cao Xuan agreed, he would know he’d made the right bet.

Cao Xuan pondered for a moment. He had a fourth-grade spirit root, and his talent was mediocre. Though he had luckily become an outer disciple, most of the outer sect tasks were time-consuming and fraught with danger. Many, with no other way to gain resources, would remain stuck at the fourth level of Qi Refinement all their lives, eventually leaving the mountain to found families and live out their days.

In truth, this was the fate of most outer disciples of the Azure Cloud Sect—no different from oxen and horses in his previous life, working for a company while the boss got rich. Only a few geniuses could accumulate enough resources “working” to eventually strike out on their own and become members of the upper echelon—personal disciples, guardians, elders.

As a transmigrator, Cao Xuan naturally had no desire to waste his life. With his system, he had never intended to rely on sect tasks for resources. Aside from completing the bare minimum each year, he wouldn’t waste his cultivation time that way. As for alchemy, with the True Explanation of the Dao of Alchemy in his possession, there was no reason he couldn’t refine suitable pills. Even if his success rate was low at first, he could use Lin Miaoxuan and Chen Qianru, who provided tenfold returns, to multiply his output—one pill became ten, almost effortlessly.

Having thought it through, Cao Xuan immediately agreed to the arrangement, took the eighty spirit stones from Steward Bai, and said with a smile, “Let’s have a fruitful partnership.”

Steward Bai grinned as well. “A promising youth indeed. When you become a leader in the Azure Cloud Sect, don’t forget the Spirit Herb Pavilion.”

At this point, Cao Xuan had no idea just how large the Pavilion was—he only knew it had branches throughout Yunzhou. Of course, in Qingshan Market, it was a small, self-sufficient shop relying on the Azure Cloud Sect for survival.

Accepting the eighty spirit stones, Cao Xuan also realized that had he refused the partnership, he likely wouldn’t have seen a single stone.

Not long after he turned to leave, a veiled beauty entered the Pavilion. Unlike with Cao Xuan, she received immediate, obsequious attention from Steward Bai, without the need for a service attendant.

“Why, if it isn’t the personal disciple Ye! Please, come upstairs—I have a new batch of Biluochun Qi Condensing Tea that you simply must try.”

This was none other than Ye Caixuan, senior sister of Alchemy Peak in the Azure Cloud Sect, a mid-stage Foundation Establishment personal disciple. Her alchemical talent was matched only by her prowess in cultivation.

“No need for that. Here are the pills you ordered. Have you prepared the spirit stones and the herbs I requested?”

Steward Bai rubbed his hands eagerly. “Of course, everything is ready!”

He handed over a pouch; unlike the small leather bag given to Cao Xuan, this was a storage pouch.

Ye Caixuan nodded and suddenly asked, “Who was that junior brother just now?”