53: Zhu Changqing, got the Qi and Blood Pill

As dusk approached, the lanterns hanging under the carved eaves of Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion lit up one after another, their soft glow illuminating the ancient door frame.

The shop was still bustling with people, groups of Martial Artists gathered in front of the fragrant sandalwood counters, quietly selecting the Medicinal Pills they needed.

A wave of hot air, mixed with the rich fragrance of medicinal herbs, washed over Xiao Zhuo. As soon as he stepped through the threshold, the familiar scent of lingering pill fire and Spirit Medicine wafted into his nostrils.

His gaze swept across the slightly noisy first-floor hall, and Xiao Zhuo quickly located the young attendant who had served him last time.

The young attendant had just seen off a customer. As soon as he looked up, he saw Xiao Zhuo entering through the door, and his eyes instantly lit up with surprise and delight. A warm smile spread across his face, and he hurried over to greet him.

"Young Master, you've come again! Welcome, welcome!" The young attendant deliberately lowered his voice, which trembled with barely suppressed excitement.

The commission from those three sixth-grade Medicinal Pills last time was enough to cover half a year of his hard-earned money. In his eyes, this young Young Master had clearly become a walking god of wealth.

"Are you here for qi and blood pills again this time?"

"Mm." Xiao Zhuo nodded slightly, his voice calm. "The seventh-grade qi and blood pellet I mentioned last time, do you have it in stock now?"

A hint of embarrassment immediately appeared on the young attendant's face: "This... I'm truly sorry, the seventh-grade qi and blood pellet is currently out of stock in the warehouse..." But he immediately straightened his back, his tone carrying a sense of shared pride, "However! Our Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion's chief Alchemist, Great Master Zhu Changqing, just returned to the city this morning and is currently enjoying tea in the quiet room on the third floor! With Great Master Zhu's skill, I presume seventh-grade pills will be out of the furnace in the next few days!"

"Oh?" Xiao Zhuo's eyes flashed with a hint of disappointment upon hearing this, though he had already prepared himself mentally.

Seventh-grade Medicinal Pills, even in a large city like Jizhou City, were certainly not ordinary goods.

He changed the subject, getting straight to the point: "No matter. Last time you said Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion was buying high-grade Demon flesh and primordial elixir at a high price. Does that offer still stand?"

"Of course it stands! Young Master, do you have some goods?" The young attendant's spirits lifted, his eyes growing brighter. "May I ask... what grade are the Materials?"

"Both sixth- and seventh-grade," Xiao Zhuo's voice was calm, yet it clearly carried through the relatively quiet area around the counter.

Hiss—!

A collective gasp of cold air immediately sounded around them.

The Martial Artists who were still choosing Medicinal Pills all turned their heads, their gazes uniformly focused on Xiao Zhuo's unusually young face, a mixture of surprise, curiosity, and disbelief intertwined.

Sixth- and seventh-grade Materials? Those corresponded to Calamity-Grade and even King-rank Demons!

Could such a young Martial Artist really possess such goods?

"Young Master... is this true?!" The young attendant's heart pounded, his voice rising a few octaves, immense joy almost bursting from his chest.

High-grade Demon Materials, especially King-rank flesh and primordial elixir, were major transactions easily worth tens of millions of gold!

If he facilitated this deal, his commission would be unimaginably generous!

He instantly decided that Xiao Zhuo—this generous, extraordinary young Prodigy—was definitely his benefactor!

Others might be skeptical, but he was convinced.

Someone who could casually buy three sixth-grade Medicinal Pills for his own use, his background or personal strength, making it possible to acquire King-rank Materials was absolutely not impossible!

"Naturally." Xiao Zhuo smiled faintly, taking in the young attendant's ecstasy and the surrounding people's surprise.

Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion's desire for high-grade Materials was self-evident.

"Young Master, please follow me to the third floor!" The young attendant's attitude became even more respectful, even carrying a hint of cautiousness. "For such a valuable transaction, this Junior cannot make the decision. Great Master Zhu must personally negotiate with you."

He turned to lead the way, his posture humble.

Xiao Zhuo nodded, and under the complex gazes of many on the first floor, he calmly and unhurriedly ascended the stairs leading to the third floor.

Behind him, hushed discussions could faintly be heard:

"Whose Young Master is that? Does he really have sixth- and seventh-grade Materials?"

"He looks unfamiliar, not like someone from the city..."

"Heh, he's not just bragging, is he? How could he get his hands on such Demon Materials?"

"I think it's unlikely, considering his age..."

"Indeed..."

Listening to these discussions, Xiao Zhuo merely wore a faint, almost imperceptible smile at the corner of his lips, completely unconcerned.

Upon reaching the third floor, guided by the young attendant, they soon arrived at the door of an elegantly decorated quiet room, filled with a faint sandalwood fragrance.

The aroma was refreshing and calming, completely different from the clamor outside.

The young attendant gently knocked three times on the open carved wooden door.

"Come in." A gentle, slightly aged voice came from inside the room.

The two entered the room.

The room's furnishings were simple and antique, all made of fine sandalwood, with a tea table and a writing desk readily available.

A white-bearded elder sat behind the tea table, carefully reading a yellowed pill scripture.

Purple copper incense burners on the table emitted wisps of smoke, adding to the tranquility.

"Great Master Zhu, this is Young Master Xiao." The young attendant bowed respectfully. "Young Master Xiao has a batch of sixth- and seventh-grade Demon flesh and primordial elixir he wishes to sell. This Junior dared not make a decision on his own, so I specially brought the Young Master here."

"Mm, I understand. You may go down now." Great Master Zhu Changqing slowly put down the scripture, his gaze like a torch, falling on Xiao Zhuo with a scrutinizing look, and he calmly instructed.

"Yes." The young attendant bowed again and quietly withdrew.

Xiao Zhuo stepped forward, cupped his fists, and bowed, neither humble nor arrogant: "Junior Xiao Zhuo of the Yuyang Sect, greets Great Master Zhu."

"Young Master Xiao, there's no need for such formality, please sit." Zhu Changqing flicked his sleeve slightly, gesturing for Xiao Zhuo to take a seat.

Xiao Zhuo sat down in the guest seat as instructed.

Almost simultaneously, a maid in green silently entered, served two cups of clear tea, and then quietly retreated.

Once only the two of them remained in the room, Zhu Changqing spoke, his tone carrying the steady composure characteristic of an Alchemist: "May I ask, Young Master Xiao, what specific types of Demon flesh are you looking to sell? And what categories of primordial elixir?"

Xiao Zhuo smiled faintly, removed an inconspicuous storage ring from his finger, and with a light flick of his wrist, the ring drew a graceful arc and landed steadily in Zhu Changqing's open palm.

Zhu Changqing remained calm, sending a wisp of his Divine Sense into the ring's space.

The next moment, an unconcealable shock and joy flashed in his usually placid eyes, like ripples on a lake when a stone is thrown in, but it was instantly suppressed by his powerful composure, returning to calm.

He tossed the storage ring back to Xiao Zhuo, his voice still steady, but with a hint of imperceptible warmth: "Young Master Xiao, are these treasures... all for sale to my Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion?"

"That's right." Xiao Zhuo took the ring, confirming with a nod. "Inside are approximately one hundred Nightmare-rank Demon flesh, twenty-one Calamity-Grade, and two King-rank... The number of primordial elixir is also roughly the same as the flesh."

"If this old man's Divine Sense is correct, those two King-rank are one Ape Demon and one Ox Demon?" Upon receiving a definite answer, the Alchemist Great Master's usual composure finally melted away, revealing a genuine smile.

He flicked his sleeve, and a cup of clear tea flew steadily towards Xiao Zhuo: "Young Master Xiao, for bringing such a generous gift to my Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion, this old man is immensely grateful. This is 'Spirit-Calming Tea,' Young Master, you might as well try it."

Xiao Zhuo took the teacup, its wall warm and smooth.

He took a light sip, and immediately felt a refreshing coolness rush to his spiritual platform, all distracting thoughts vanished, and his Divine Sense felt as if it had been cleansed, becoming exceptionally keen and clear.

The taste of the tea itself became secondary.

"Good tea!" After savoring it for a moment, Xiao Zhuo praised sincerely, then put down the teacup and got to the point, "Great Master, what price can you offer for these Materials?"

Zhu Changqing stroked his white beard, his eyes sparkling with shrewdness, and quoted a price: "Nightmare Grade flesh, one hundred thousand gold per piece. Calamity-Grade, one million gold per piece. As for these two King-rank..."

He pondered for a moment, then gave a very sincere price: "This old man can decide, each is priced at thirty million gold! primordial elixir are even more precious, their price doubled, calculated at one hundred percent of the same-grade flesh. What do you think, Young Master?"

This price was definitely higher than the market average, especially the King-rank portion, showing Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion's sincerity and Zhu Changqing's high regard for this batch of Materials.

Xiao Zhuo's expression was calm, clearly having no objection to this price, merely smiling faintly: "The price is fair. However... this Junior has one more small request, which I hope Great Master can grant."

"Oh? Young Master, please speak freely." Zhu Changqing's joy deepened when Xiao Zhuo agreed, and he immediately asked.

"This Junior would like to purchase a batch of seventh-grade, and even eighth-grade, qi and blood pills from Great Master!" Xiao Zhuo's eyes were sharp. "Great Master is a grandmaster of the Dao of pills, so I presume you must have some precious collections. In terms of quantity, the more the merrier! As for the price, this Junior is willing to pay the market price and will absolutely not let Great Master suffer a loss."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Changqing merely pondered for a few breaths before laughing heartily: "Haha, this is a small matter! Since Young Master has a need, how could this old man refuse?"

He very readily took out a new storage ring with significantly more space (about five hundred cubic meters), and then successively took out exquisite pill bottles from his own storage ring, carefully placing them into the new ring.

Immediately after, he also took out a thick stack of gleaming large-denomination gold notes and placed them all inside.

"Young Master Xiao, please take a look." Zhu Changqing raised his hand, handing over the storage ring.

Xiao Zhuo took the ring and sent his Divine Sense into it.

Inside the ring's space, seventeen jade bottles were neatly arranged: fourteen bottles were labeled as seventh-grade qi and blood pellets, and three bottles were eighth-grade qi and blood pellets, each bottle containing ten pills.

Next to them were neatly stacked gold notes of large denominations. A quick scan with Divine Sense revealed a total of two hundred and twenty million gold.

Xiao Zhuo quickly calculated in his mind: the market price for a seventh-grade qi and blood pellet was about one hundred thousand gold, while an eighth-grade one was as high as one million five hundred thousand gold.

The bundled price Great Master Zhu offered, considering the cost of the Materials, was quite fair when converted, even slightly discounted.

"Confirmed, thank you, Great Master!" Xiao Zhuo nodded with satisfaction, tossing his storage ring, filled with Materials, back to Zhu Changqing.

"A pleasant transaction." Zhu Changqing took the ring, a beaming smile on his face, and even personally stood up to escort Xiao Zhuo to the door of the quiet room, showing his high regard for this transaction and for Xiao Zhuo himself.

At this point, most of the Materials Xiao Zhuo had acquired from slaying Demons on this trip had been successfully converted into enormous wealth and much-needed high-grade Medicinal Pills.

However, just a few steps after Xiao Zhuo exited the quiet room, his footsteps suddenly paused, and he turned back.

Seeing this, Zhu Changqing, who was about to go upstairs, stopped and asked gently: "Young Master Xiao? Is there something else?"

"Hehe..." Xiao Zhuo chuckled, looking a bit embarrassed. "It suddenly occurred to me that your esteemed shop also has many high-grade Medicinal Pills that are very beneficial to Martial Artists. This Junior would like to purchase another batch, just in case. I wonder if it's convenient?"

"Haha! Convenient! What's inconvenient about it?" Zhu Changqing laughed knowingly, waving his hand in excellent spirits. "Since Young Master has this need, this old man will personally take you to the second-floor storeroom to choose!"

An incense stick's time later, Xiao Zhuo walked out of the main gate of Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion again.

The more than two hundred million gold notes he had just acquired had already shrunk by over eighty million.

But his storage ring was much more substantial.

What was added were a large number of clearly labeled, high-quality Medicinal Pills—all of them precious items of sixth-grade and above!

In the Dao of pills, grade is only a rough classification.

Within the same grade, there are also distinctions of quality: low-grade, mid-grade, and high-grade.

The difference between the three lies not only in the significant disparity in efficacy but, more importantly, in the vastly different levels of "pill poison" they contain.

Low-grade Medicinal Pills can accumulate up to thirty percent pill poison, like maggots clinging to bone; mid-grade ones have about one to two percent pill poison, requiring careful refining; while high-grade Medicinal Pills have negligible pill poison, less than five parts, almost none, making them highly sought after by Martial Artists.

Xiao Zhuo, possessing the Devouring Dao Body, could refine all things, so a little pill poison posed no threat to him.

However, his current purchases were not entirely for his own use.

A considerable portion of them was prepared for his fellow disciples of the Yuyang Sect.

These high-grade Medicinal Pills, at critical moments, were the reliance for saving lives and breaking through realms!

Naturally, he had to choose the best.