62: Perfect Foundation Building Pill

The road sign before him made Zhou Yan suspect that the toxicity hadn't worn off yet; he instinctively shook his head and rubbed his eyes.

Ultimately, he confirmed that the road sign was not an illusion.

"Let's go, don't just stand there, it's right ahead."

Zhou Yan was just about to complain—in the middle of this desolate wilderness, they just dug a big hole and put up a sign, so where was the entrance?

Surely you wouldn't really make me crawl through a hole just because you're a mouse?

Unfortunately, before he could speak, he saw Hui Yuxuan swaggering right into that sign.

The moment she stepped inside, ripples spread across the sign's surface like water.

"Holy crap, that's so sneaky."

"So the pit back there really was just a construction site, and this construction sign is actually the fake?"

Zhou Yan slowly reached out and touched the surface of the sign.

It was indeed a sign.

But as he gradually increased his force, the originally hard sign began to turn soft, as if it were a non-Newtonian fluid, allowing his hand to sink in easily.

After confirming it was feasible, Zhou Yan took two steps forward and submerged his entire body into it.

The surrounding scenery shifted abruptly.

It was no longer the quiet night of the outskirts, but an underground scene that suddenly burst into view.

Beneath a high rock ceiling was a vast and noisy market. Everburning Lamps and Spirit Stone fluorescence intertwined to illuminate the entire space as bright as day.

The roadsides were densely packed with various stalls selling Magical Artifacts, Medicinal Pills, Talismans, ancient books... a wide variety of items, everything one could need.

Among the crowds were not only Cultivators but also figures with masked faces and obscured auras; occasionally, non-human forms could be glimpsed, such as demon cultivators, ghost cultivators, and even some difficult-to-identify races.

The air was filled with the fragrance of Spiritual Plants and the scent of refining minerals, occasionally mixed with a hint of blood and rot, like the aura of certain products of the Demonic Path.

The sounds of hawking, bargaining, and distant artifact forging were constant; though not chaotic, it formed its own busy scene.

Zhou Yan felt slightly surprised but quickly steadied his mind.

His gaze swept over several stalls featuring Magic Treasures of clearly dubious origin, as well as demons and even Cultivators sealed in cages, and he understood in his heart.

The scale of this Black Market far exceeded his expectations; it truly did have "everything."

"Hey, catch."

*Slap.*

Hui Yuxuan suddenly produced a mask and tossed it toward Zhou Yan, who caught it with ease.

"It's your first time here, so it's better to be careful."

"This mask is made of a special material that can connect to the rules of this small Secret Realm, making it impossible for others to identify your true identity within the realm."

"However, this thing is useless once you leave, so you should still keep your wits about you. This is a Black Market, after all; we can at most guarantee that nothing will happen to you here, but once you're out, it has nothing to do with us."

After saying that, Hui Yuxuan turned into a wisp of grey smoke and vanished.

"So it's a small Secret Realm..."

Looking at the mask in his hand and the suddenly vanished Hui Yuxuan, Zhou Yan guessed this must be an effect of possessing Secret Realm authority.

It seemed the Hui Family had a significant degree of control over this Secret Realm.

Fortunately, he had been relatively polite before; aside from the initial unpleasantness with Hui Yuxuan, they had gotten along okay afterward.

Otherwise, if he were lured into the Secret Realm, it probably wouldn't be as simple as taking a heavy punch from a little mouse; it would likely be a one-sided massacre straight out of a "Ratatouille" episode.

But since he had reached the task location, it was time to start preparing for Foundation Establishment!

Zhou Yan enthusiastically began searching for stalls selling the foundation establishment pill.

Then... "Huo— mmph!"

Just as he opened his mouth, Apothecary Huo hurriedly covered it and dragged him into the storage room behind the stall.

He then peeked out and glanced left and right before closing the door, taking out a badge, and deploying a protective barrier with an aura similar to Zhou Yan's mask.

"Wait, how did you even recognize me?"

"Besides, this is a Black Market, don't call me by my real name!"

Apothecary Huo was truly speechless; he was just trying to earn some extra cash, yet he spent the whole day living in constant fear.

Especially this one in front of him—he hadn't even recognized the boy, yet the boy saw through him at a glance?

Seeing that Zhou Yan didn't answer, Apothecary Huo waved his hand helplessly.

"Forget it, forget it, don't tell me such things; I'm afraid knowing will shorten my life."

Zhou Yan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

In reality, Apothecary Huo had hidden himself extremely well this time; it was only because Zhou Yan had switched to the indoor map the moment he stepped into the stall that he saw that exceptionally conspicuous "Friendly NPC" marker and instinctively called out.

It was better that the other party didn't press for answers, saving him from having to cook up a lie on the spot; after all, he was terrible at lying.

"Anyway, Apothecary Huo, you clearly had high-quality foundation establishment pills, so why didn't you sell them to me directly back then?"

"Don't call me Apothecary Huo here; you have to call me 'Apothecary He.' The Night Roaming Ruins..."

"I get it, I get it, the Night Roaming Ruins has its own rules. So, Apothecary He, isn't it a lot of trouble to go back and forth like this?"

Sigh.

Apothecary "He" let out a long sigh and sat down on a medicine box, finally explaining the reason.

"There's no other way. With a pharmacist license, one can receive a certain free quota from the Pill Workshop as training resources for practice."

"Even some rare Materials are included in that."

"As an Alchemist, it would be a lie to say I wasn't tempted. Unfortunately, I had bad luck; during my internship period, I ran into that old bastard apothecary, and he made me sign a contract for over a hundred years in one go."

"In the Foundation Establishment Stage, one only lives for two hundred-odd years!"

"I have to spend half my life working for the Pill Workshop. If I don't get some Longevity Pills, with my Aptitude, it'll be hard even to form a False Core, let alone having a whole family to support."

"So out of necessity, I use the practice quota to refine some 'black pills' and then bring them to the Black Market to sell."

"But Fellow Daoist, don't worry; although the source is a bit irregular, the quality is definitely not an issue. Although I'm still a second-tier Alchemist, I'm actually on the threshold of the third tier."

"I can't say for sure about other things, but as for this foundation establishment pill, it's a solid third-tier level."

After speaking, Apothecary "He" confidently held out a wooden box.

"This is my most perfect work from the past ten-odd years."

He caressed the wooden box like he was stroking his most beloved child, his eyes full of affection.

"It is of unique quality and quite valuable, making it difficult to sell normally, so I mostly keep it for my own comprehension in preparation for breaking through to a third-tier Alchemist in the future."

"But my contract is almost up, and I'm urgently needing resources."

"Seeing that you are generous with your spending, Fellow Daoist, I wonder if you can take this item off my hands."

With that, Apothecary "He" slowly opened the wooden box as if he were holding some rare treasure.

[Perfect foundation establishment pill (Tier 3)]: Foundation Establishment success rate +90%, refined with special techniques +8%.

[Special Effect]: Slightly increase Aptitude after consumption.

Zhou Yan stepped forward quickly, snatched the wooden box, and scrutinized it repeatedly in his hands.

"Good! Good! Good! This is the one!"

"Such a Medicinal Pill is rare in this world; I must study it carefully."

Seeing that Zhou Yan's even his "vibe" had suddenly changed, Apothecary He instantly felt a wave of panic.

How did this refined and elegant Fellow Daoist's aura suddenly become like that of a demonic cultivator?

After finishing his careful examination, Zhou Yan tucked the wooden box into his robe and turned around.

Apothecary He felt as if he could "see" the expression on the other man's face through the face-concealing mask.

"Apothecary He, it's fate that we've met; why not do me one more favor..."