183: Chapter 183 Stop with the fluff

That afternoon, Fang Zhenhai called Zhao Shan and Vice President Li into the chamber's main hall.

By the time the two arrived, Fang Zhenhai was already seated in the primary seat. Spread before him was a simple hand-drawn map, with the general route from Tianlan Province City to Xuanhuo Ridge marked in cinnabar.

Zhao Shan's first reaction upon entering was to look at that map, and after finishing, he looked at Fang Zhenhai.

Vice President Li's first reaction upon entering was to look at Zhao Shan.

Fang Zhenhai didn't beat around the bush: "Young Master Su has a mission that requires the two of you to lead a team to execute."

Zhao Shan's chest puffed out unconsciously.

In the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce, the meaning of the four words "Su Family Father and Son" was more concrete than the two words "Mister."

Mister was an existence high above in the clouds, while the Su Family father and son were people who had truly met them face-to-face, distributed Medicinal Pills, and assigned tasks.

They all knew clearly the weight the Su Family father and son held in the chamber's current situation.

Fang Zhenhai explained the mission details point by point.

When Su Chengyuan's name was mentioned, Zhao Shan and Vice President Li exchanged a glance.

Of course, this name was also "Wang Lin," and they were very familiar with it.

When mentioning the escort configuration of Foundation Establishment Cultivators, Vice President Li took the initiative to speak: "Are four Foundation Establishment Cultivators enough? Do we need to add a few more?"

Fang Zhenhai shook his head: "Young Master Su set the number, so it should be enough. This time it is only to gather information."

“There are also Medicinal Pills and Talismans.” Fang Zhenhai handed over the Jade Slip Su Cheng had given him. “Purchase them according to the list; everything must be in place within a month. If there's something you can't get your hands on, come to me, and I will find a way personally.”

Zhao Shan took the Jade Slip and cupped his hands: “This subordinate accepts the order. I will certainly have them all ready within a month.”

“I'll emphasize this once more.” Fang Zhenhai stood up. “The primary priority of this trip is Brother Su's safety. The targets of investigation, the route, and the plan are all under his command. If you encounter uncontrollable danger, you must guarantee his safety first and foremost.”

“Understood.”

“Also, this trip will depart under the guise of inspecting a new trade route; say that to everyone externally. I'll arrange the procurement of goods tomorrow. At least make it look convincing so people don't see any flaws.”

Vice President Li responded: “Leave this to me. I'll have the subordinates go to the Spiritual Material Market to buy a batch of goods. I'll choose common Spirit Medicine and ordinary Ore so it won't look out of place no matter where we go.”

Fang Zhenhai nodded and waved for the two of them to withdraw and prepare.

As the two reached the door, Zhao Shan suddenly turned his head.

“President, is Young Master Su still in the chamber?”

“He is. Why?”

“It's nothing.” Zhao Shan paused. “I just thought that this mission must be handled beautifully.”

His expression when saying this was very simple—just the drive of a subordinate wanting to do a good job in front of a superior.

But Fang Zhenhai read another layer on Zhao Shan's face: awe.

It wasn't awe for Fang Zhenhai, but awe for that young man who wasn't very old and didn't have high cultivation, yet held the entire chamber in his hands.

After arranging the matters, Fang Zhenhai went to find Su Cheng and said that everything had been arranged, and the manpower and resources would be ready within a month.

Su Cheng didn't say much and left it all for Fang Zhenhai to handle.

There were still about ten days left of his one-month leave. He wasn't in a hurry to return to the Sect, but instead went to Qingfeng Alley a few times to check on the progress of Zhou Changgeng and Sun Boyong.

Sun Boyong had already begun dismantling the peripheral Array Inscriptionss of the wanbao mirror. The clanging sounds in the workshop rang from morning till night, interspersed with Zhou Changgeng's miserable cries as his Revered Master scolded him until he was covered in dog's blood.

Immediately following was an even more violent clanging sound; that was the noise of Zhou Changgeng gritting his teeth while redoing the work.

The wanbao mirror was currently dismantled into pieces, with the mirror surface and back separated. Five elemental Array Inscriptionss had been stripped off one by one by Sun Boyong and laid out neatly on the formation table. Only the vortex formed by Creation Spiritual Power at the core was carefully sealed in a spirit jade box, completely untouched.

Seeing the wanbao mirror dismantled into parts for the first time, two words naturally surged in Su Cheng's heart: truly expensive.

This didn't refer to the price in Spirit Stones, but the price of the craftsmanship.

Sun Boyong's technique for stripping the Array Inscriptionss allowed Su Cheng to understand what a "Third-Rank Top-Tier Artifact Refining Master" meant.

Compared to this kind of precision, his own previous crude method of forcefully sticking the Five Elements Array Inscriptionss together was more than a hundred thousand miles away.

When he wasn't at Qingfeng Alley, Su Cheng would go to give lessons to the five First-Rank Alchemists of the chamber.

Of course, Su Cheng didn't personally lecture every time; most of the time, it was Chen Yuan lecturing.

However, Chen Yuan's lecturing had a characteristic: he was talkative, but his chatter was nutritious.

He could spend half an hour talking about seven pre-treatment methods for a single Spirit Medicine, interspersed with a dozen stupid mistakes he had made during Alchemy. Those listening both laughed and took notes, and the effect was surprisingly good.

With any extra time, Su Cheng would begin to Cultivate.

The circulation of the Qiankun Creation Art was as stable as ever. The phantom of the dao foundation furnace rotated slowly in his Dantian, and the total amount of Qi of Creation grew by a tiny bit every day.

Early Foundation Establishment Stage—he was still far from the Middle Stage.

Su Cheng wasn't anxious about this speed.

There were too many things he was anxious about; cultivation was the one thing that couldn't be rushed.

On the sixteenth day, Su Cheng went to Qingfeng Alley for the last time to bid farewell.

As usual, Sun Boyong sat on the reclining chair holding his wine gourd. The parts of the wanbao mirror had already been re-categorized and organized by him, with the peripheral Array Inscriptionss completely stripped away. The next step was to change the base Materials and re-inscribe them.

“Come pick it up in three months.” The old man waved his hand lazily.

Su Cheng cupped his hands in a salute.

When Zhou Changgeng saw him to the door, he broke precedent by saying a polite word: “Be careful on the road.”

“Alright. When I come back in three months, I hope you'll already be a Third-Tier Artifact Refining Master.”

The corner of Zhou Changgeng's mouth twitched.

He had never been one for pretty words, but Su Cheng's words happened to poke at his most vital spot.

Third-tier was his greatest obsession at this stage.

“Cut the nonsense.” Zhou Changgeng pulled the door half-shut and threw out one last sentence from the gap: “When you come to pick up the item in three months, you'd better bring a few jars of the Danding Sect's good wine.”

Su Cheng smiled and turned to leave.

On the morning of the seventeenth day, Su Cheng and Chen Yuan met at the entrance of the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce and flew out of the city on their swords.

The outline of the Prefecture City gradually shrank behind them, turning into a grayish-white shadow on the horizon.

During the flight, Chen Yuan suddenly became sentimental.

“Junior Brother, I feel like you should take me with you whenever you go on long trips in the future.”

“Why?”

“Have you tried that Spirit Spring Green Bud Tea in the Prefecture City? There's a shop in the small alley opposite the Treasure Gathering Tower. It's brewed with three-hundred-year-old spirit spring water, three Spirit Stones a bowl—it's so delicious it makes you want to swallow your tongue.

And that roasted spirit pork rib shop in the south of the city; I secretly went to eat there four times before you even left.

Then there's that Zhao Qingming under your chamber. Although he's first-rank, when he talks about the origins and market conditions of Spirit Medicine from various places, he's very knowledgeable—much more interesting than the records in the Dharma Transmission Pavilion.”

Chen Yuan spoke with increasing enthusiasm, counting on his fingers what he had eaten, drunk, and seen during this month in the Prefecture City.

“Oh right, I gave over a dozen lectures to those five alchemists of yours; you have to calculate my wages.”

“How should we calculate it?”

“Just take me with you next time you go out.”

“We'll see.”

“Hey... wait for me.”