63: Chapter 63 Head of the Pill Recipe

Xia Shaoxin came to Baotong Tower for the second time.

He was surprised to find that no one was setting up stalls today; it was quiet and deserted.

Walking inside, each shop was guarded by one person, and everyone was practicing on their prayer mats. No one visited each other, and it was deathly silent both upstairs and downstairs.

When he arrived at the Danfang Pavilion, the same Senior Sister from last time was still there, eyes closed as if in deep meditation.

"Senior Sister, the deacon sent me here..."

"Oh!"

The Senior Sister's eyes snapped open, and she exclaimed with great joy, "So it's you! The deacon notified me that from now on, someone would be taking over my shop-keeping duties, but I didn't expect it to be you."

It was as if her legs were fitted with springs; she bounded right in front of him.

She grabbed Xia Shaoxin's hand and pulled him to the back of the Danfang Pavilion.

Xia Shaoxin felt a chill on his palm. Looking down, he saw it was a small token.

The Senior Sister muttered something unintelligible, and a needle suddenly extended from the token, pricking Xia Shaoxin's palm. A drop of fresh blood was absorbed by the token.

"Congratulations, Junior Brother, you have become the Master of the Danfang Pavilion." The Senior Sister's eyes flashed with a cunning glint.

A wealth of knowledge rapidly flooded Xia Shaoxin's mind.

It turned out that this token was called the "Pill Formula Manager Token," and he had become the new generation Pill Formula Manager, which was essentially the keeper of the Danfang Pavilion.

Every Pill Formula was passed down from ancient times.

This Danfang Pavilion was not only a place where the Chiyan Sect sold Pill Formula, but also a place where the Alchemist craft was passed down.

After Alchemists came here to study Pill Formula, they were required to leave behind their Legacy.

However, it was not free; a fee had to be charged.

The price was set by the inheritor, though the Sect would adjust it if they deemed it inappropriate.

A large number of Pill Formula had no practical value in the current era, so their prices were set very low, such as the three-flower spirit gathering pill he bought last time.

In ancient times, Spiritual Qi was abundant, Spirit Medicine was easy to find, and the output of Spirit Stone was high. Those with slightly inferior Aptitude but great wealth and power would use this pill to assist their Cultivate.

In later generations, the Chiyan Sect didn't even have a single Foundation Establishment, so such a Medicinal Pill was naturally useless.

But they couldn't let the Legacy be lost, so they placed it in the Danfang Pavilion, waiting for those fated to find it.

Once he became the Pill Formula Manager, he possessed the ability to lift the Restriction on the Pill Formula.

"Are you done?"

The Senior Sister's voice suddenly rang in his ear, pulling him back from the ocean of knowledge.

The Senior Sister was still holding his wrist, her large eyes blinking and staring happily, waiting for him to finish receiving the information from the token.

"Ah, Senior Sister, I..."

"Alright, no need for nonsense, take this."

The Senior Sister handed him a notebook.

"What is this?"

"This is the record of all the Pill Formula inheritors, as well as the transaction ledger. If a Pill Formula is sold, you must deliver the Spirit Stone to the people in the ledger."

The Senior Sister's expression was very serious, and she was unwilling to say a word more, hurriedly instructing:

"In ancient times, the Danfang Pavilion was a place specifically for collecting Pill Formula. Later, regulations were made that Alchemists must purchase them to learn Alchemy, which is why it was moved to Baotong Tower."

"Every Alchemist must register what Pill Formula they purchase; the Sect needs to keep track of everyone's situation."

Xia Shaoxin flipped through the ledger in his hand and was surprised to see that more than a dozen people had purchased the qi gathering pill, one of whom was none other than Senior Brother Liang Ruoran.

It was worth ten Spirit Stone.

He immediately understood that the method for refining the qi gathering pill couldn't be given away for free, but he and Senior Brother Liang Ruoran were on such familiar terms that it would be awkward to talk about money.

He had brought several kinds of dried Poisonous Insect today, which sold for quite a high price in the Chiyan Sect. He estimated he could earn over twenty Spirit Stone, and since he planned to learn the qi gathering pill anyway, he would just help out Senior Brother Liang.

The qi gathering pill was suitable for those at the Lower Stage of Qi Refining and belonged to the lowest Rank of Medicinal Pill.

This type of Medicinal Pill did not contain Spiritual Qi, but rather True Qi. After consuming it, it directly infused True Qi into the body, making it the most important type of Medicinal Pill.

This was exactly what cultivators pursued.

He already had a plan: use the Spirit Cave to Cultivate while consuming Medicinal Pill.

He looked up at the room full of Pill Formula, his heart blossoming with joy.

Sooner or later, he would learn them all.

His mind wandered, and he suddenly asked, "Senior Sister, now that I am the Pill Formula Manager, what if I secretly learned all these Pill Formula and left behind a spirit talisman to pass on the knowledge?"

The Senior Sister chuckled, "Studying Pill Formula is a very arduous task. The higher the Rank of the Medicinal Pill being refined, the more painful the learning process. You wouldn't do such a thing."

The Senior Sister then shoved a key into his hand.

"Remember, you must come to open the door every day. Open at the Chen hour, and close at the Wei hour."

Then, with a beaming smile, the Senior Sister let go of his hand and scurried away in a flash.

Her retreating figure looked like a happy butterfly.

Xia Shaoxin stood there blankly, his mind still processing the series of requirements for the Danfang Pavilion, unable to snap out of it.

He didn't know the name of this Senior Sister, and he never saw her again.

Turning to look at the dazzling array of items in the Danfang Pavilion, he felt a sense of loneliness.

He wasn't afraid of loneliness, but he never imagined that after becoming an Inner Sect Disciple of the Sect, he would be assigned to guard a shop—such a boring job.

He found a dozen envelopes in the most conspicuous place, all of which were for the qi gathering pill.

The last time he touched these Pill Formula, he was repelled.

Now, in his capacity as the Pill Formula Manager, he could flip through them at will, and only then did he realize that the envelopes had a fixed format.

The name of the Pill Formula was written on the front, and the name of the inheritor was written on the back.

He searched through them one by one and was surprised to see Senior Brother Liang Ruoran's name on the back of one of the envelopes.

He opened it right there and used the Alchemist's method of passing on knowledge to infuse the spirit talisman's knowledge into himself.

A flash of spiritual light appeared, and he instantly learned the method for refining the qi gathering pill.

He couldn't help but be overjoyed; this Pill Formula Manager position really allowed him to get Pill Formula for free!

No wonder; the Danfang Pavilion was essentially a library, and weren't books meant to be read at will?

He glanced at the countless envelopes inside; he would eventually learn them all.

Just then, a torrent churned in his stomach, cold sweat broke out all over his body, his head pounded, and he felt nauseous, heartburn, and suffocation...

He collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

He didn't know how long it had been before he woke up, his body feeling as if he had suffered a major illness.

When he fainted, he seemed to have caught a glimpse of some heavenly secret.

It turned out that in this world, knowledge itself possessed power.

Medicinal Pill that directly infused True Qi belonged to the most taboo category, and learning such Pill Formula required paying a great price.

Only now did he realize why the Senior Sister had guarded this stall without having any interest in the Pill Formula.

After all, Spirit Medicine was precious and had to be used where it mattered most; those strange and peculiar Pill Formula were truly useless.

Fortunately, he only needed the qi gathering pill for now; the others were useless.

There was an empty spot on the shelf, so he had to take another copy and put it back.

The Chiyan Sect was entirely composed of Qi Refining Disciple, so the qi gathering pill was the most popular, which was why there were so many Pill Formula for it.

He walked out of the Danfang Pavilion, turned a corner, and arrived at the shop selling Spirit Medicine.

It was larger, and there were three Disciple guarding it.

Unlike the Danfang Pavilion, there were two people purchasing Spirit Medicine in the Spirit Medicine shop.

Xia Shaoxin asked one of the Senior Brother directly if they would buy Spirit Medicine.

"We do. What do you have?"

Xia Shaoxin took out a few boxes and opened them. Upon seeing the Poisonous Insect inside, the Senior Brother's eyes widened sharply.

"Whoa, these are good stuff!"

The other two who were selling Spirit Medicine, along with the two who were buying, all crowded around.

"These are good items. Where did you get them?"

Xia Shaoxin asked calmly, "Just tell me how much they are worth!"

The Senior Brother counted them one by one and finally gave him twenty-three Spirit Stone.

Not bad; it was about half a year's income.