Chapter 162: The Renewal Purity Pill
If it’d been anyone else, they would’ve hesitated a bit before kowtowing and taking the oath. They’d be concerned about their personal gain, weigh up their face, and consider gains and losses from all aspects.
But old man Fei was quite straightforward as he immediately kowtowed.
After he kowtowed, he didn’t stand up and voice some pleasantries like ordinary folks, neither did he feel regret, anger, or humiliation.
Old man Fei did nothing of that sort. He put on his thickest skin and drew close to Jiang Chen with a smile. “Young master, old Fei is one of yours from now on. You wouldn’t let one of your own come off worse, would you now?”
He rubbed his hands as he talked, and his expression was as wily as it could be. His eyes looked around shiftily and he looked quite comical.
It was Jiang Chen’s turn to be left without a comeback this time. He’d thought that this old man would struggle for a bit, contemplate it for a while, or even angrily reject it.
Who would’ve thought that this old man would be so decisive?
In this way, Jiang Chen didn’t even have the grounds to be demure and modest even if he wished to.
“Old man Fei, will you really have no regrets about this?” Jiang Chen asked faintly.
“Regret what? I, old man Fei, have lived a long life and have never known what is regret. Instead, I think that if I turned this down, then I really would regret it.”
“Oh? You’re that confident in me?” Jiang Chen had thought this old man had acted on the spur of the moment. Could it be that there was another motive behind all this?
“Heh heh.” Old man Fei strutted with pride. “Young master, I haven’t lived to this age for nothing. How long has it been since you’ve arrived at the capital? You could quickly deploy three out of the four great sites to back you up. Moreover, you had them back you up while running the risk of offending the Dragonteeth Guard. I, an old man have a favor to ask of you, but could it be that the Southern Palace and the Myriad Treasures Palace also have favors to ask of you?”
“Alright, even if they did have favors to ask of you, then at the very least this means that you’re not a simple person, since you were able to lead three great sites by their noses in such a short timeframe. I wouldn’t believe it even if you beat me to death if you say that there’s not a hint of a mystery surrounding this kind of person.”
When he spoke to this point, old man Fei smiled in a way that showed off his cleverness, “Young master, how would you say my powers of comprehension are?”
“Not bad, you’ve got some. You’re decisive enough. Old man, this is the recipe for the Renewal Purity Pill, take it.” Jiang Chen reached randomly and took out a recipe, throwing it over.
Seeing that Jiang Chen was throwing over a recipe like a piece of trash, old man Fei’s initial thought was that Jiang Chen was joking.
The Renewal Purity Pill was an ancient recipe! Even if there was a patron behind Jiang Chen, he wouldn’t hand it over that easily, right?
At the very least, Jiang Chen could raise all sorts of requests and add all sorts of conditions, taming him so that he was properly docile before taking out the recipe.
He carelessly spread out the recipe and took a look at it. Old man Fei’s expression immediately stiffened as his hands started trembling uncontrollably in a sign of weakness. It was as if his entire body had been electrocuted as he suddenly shook.
“This… this truly is the Renewal Purity Pill?” Old man Fei cried out hoarsely.
Old man Fei wasn’t an unprofessional outsider. Despite the fact that he’d never seen the recipe for the Renewal Purity Pill, he’d still more or less heard of it and had studied the medicinal theory behind recipes.
If it was a fake recipe, a professional would be able to identity the problems with a single glance.
If it was a real recipe, a professional would also be able to discern its validity with a single glance.
This recipe may have been hastily written, but the ingredients, refining methods, knacks, and so on that were within it were all logical and reasonable. Only another professional could’ve written this.
“What? Do you think I would’ve fobbed you off with a fake recipe?”
Old man Fei’s next move made Jiang Chen stare with his mouth agape.
The old man’s legs bent as he once again kneeled down, and bambambam’ed, kowtowed three times.
“Old man, didn’t you already kowtow earlier? What’s this for?”
“Heh heh, that kowtow from before was merely a function of the circumstances. This kowtow is from the heart. Young master, if you tell me to go east in the future, I will absolutely not go west. If you tell me to kill someone, I daren’t set a fire instead!”
“Ah forget it. You’ve quite a few years on you and have some reputation in the outside world as well. It’s asking a bit too much for you to call me by young master. Call me young Jiang or young Chen in the future. Don’t call me young master. It’ll make people think that I actually have some sort of amazing background.”
“Young Chen, if you don’t have an amazing background, then no one within the Skylaurel Kingdom has an amazing background.” Elder Fei chuckled and appropriately changed what he was calling Jiang Chen.
The old man could understand less and less of Jiang Chen now.
Although Jiang Chen appeared to be from the Eastern Kingdom on the surface, it was apparent even if one thought with their feet that he absolutely wasn’t as simple as he appeared on the surface.
How could a young man who could easily take out an ancient pill recipe like the Renewal Purity Pill have a simple background?
At this moment, ripples of emotion were indeed rising in the old man’s heart. He had seen generous young folk, but to give away ancient pill recipes like they were wares by the roadside, this was seriously his first.
Just from Jiang Chen’s demeanor alone, it was enough to leave all the young folk within the capital in the dust, to speak nothing of anything else.
“Heh heh, this old man is still wise and brilliant. If I’d made that kowtow of mine that little bit later or had been less resolute, then maybe young Chen wouldn’t have trusted me as much, and probably wouldn’t have given me the Renewal Purity Pill recipe outright. What a haul! Mm mm, young Chen has such an amazing background, he must possess many more good things on him. I must closely follow behind young Chen’s footsteps. Who knows, there may even be greater surprises in the future. Damn it all to hell. So what if I offended an elder in the Precious Tree Sect and had been sent here to this middling kingdom for decades. Huh huh, perhaps by following young Chen, I can swagger back to the Precious Tree Sect in the future!”
Although old man Fei had the final say on everything in the Qingyang Valley, he also had his share of sad and bitter past events. In actuality, he had offended a mighty man within the Precious Tree Sect and couldn’t make it there anymore. Thus, he’d ran to the Skylaurel Kingdom and became the head of a secular site. With his abilities, this was actually a huge grievance for him.
Old man Fei had always wanted to return to the sect for every second these past decades and redeem himself with revenge.
It was a pity that his abilities and fortunes were limited. He’d offended an elder of the Precious Tree Sect. It was almost impossible for him to return to the sect.
Even so, old man Fei had never given up. Returning to the sect had become his goal for this lifetime and also his internal demon.
Everything he did was in pursuit of this goal.
Except, reality was a harsh and cruel thing. No matter how he tried, he had always instead drifted further and further away from that goal. From beginning to end, he was never able to catch a glimpse at a ray of hope.
However, Jiang Chen’s appearance caused this door that had seemed tightly shut to suddenly open a crack, allowing a beam of light to shine in.
How would Jiang Chen know that old man Fei would have such bittersweet thoughts? He only saw old man Fei smile foolishly sometimes and then cry painfully for a bit, as if deep in thought.
“Old man, are you so happy with this mere pill recipe that something’s gone wrong with your brain?”
“What ‘just this pill recipe’?” Old man Fei shouted out. “This pill recipe is my lifeblood. Young Chen, you are truly the blessed savior of my life.”
“Cut the blather. Oh right, I have something for you to do.”
“What is it? Go ahead young Chen, if I don’t handle it well, then kick my ass.” The old man slapped his chest.
“Find a standard pill room for me, it’s best if it’s the kind with a formation to refine pills.”
“Standard pill room? Formation to refine pills?” Old man Fei’s expression was lost. “Young Chen, what’s a formation to refine pills?”
Pfft!
Jiang Chen had been taking a sip of tea when he sprayed out his mouthful after hearing old man Fei’s question, spraying it all over the latter’s face.
The old man didn’t wipe it off or make any motions. He just stood there with a face full of innocence. “Young Chen, don’t do that. I really don’t know what’s a formation to refine pills.”
Jiang Chen was completely speechless. He’d still overestimated the Skylaurel Kingdom’s infrastructure. After thinking about it however, this was normal. Most pills used in the realm of true qi could be refined through an ordinary pill cauldron. Who needed the aid of a pill refining formation?
Even among the spirit level pills, there were very few that required a pill refining formation.
“Young Chen, don’t stay silent. This must be very advanced level of knowledge. Please explain to me on the basis that I’m quite eager to learn.”
Seeing that the old man had a face full of desire, Jiang Chen didn’t know what to say.
“A pill refining formation is as its words. It’s employing formations to supplement the dao of refining pills. Complicated pills are sometimes completely uncontrollable with just a pill master’s own level of training, particularly when it comes to controlling the flames. If the pill master’s level of training isn’t high enough, he will be greatly restrained. With a pill refining formation, he can manipulate the formation, and utilize it to create energy to aid the refinement of pills. Although the costs of this are high, it can help the pill master have an easier time refining pills while the chances of success will also be much, much higher.”
“Utilize formations to refine pills?” This completely upended old man Fei’s knowledge of the dao of pills and opened an entirely new door for him, allowing him to glimpse into a new world of the dao of pills.
“Can such a marvelous formation exists in this world? What… what genius invented this? Using formations to help refine pills, this is absolutely the innovation of geniuses!” Old man Fei’s face was full of excitement as his spray and spittle flew everywhere, he was so agitated that he spinned in circles where he stood.
Innovation of geniuses?
Jiang Chen, again, didn’t know what to say. This was as common as home cooked food in the past Jiang Chen’s eyes. There was nothing remarkable about it at all.
One had to say, the Skylaurel Kingdom was a small place after all. The matters they could come in contact with were simply too few.
The spirit medicines that Jiang Chen had obtained from Lu Wuji had actually been to refine a certain type of pill.
This pill had an exceedingly low rate of success. For insurance’s sake, Jiang Chen had thought of using a pill refining formation, but he hadn’t expected that the Skylaurel Kingdom wouldn’t have it at all.
“Old man, so there’s no pill refining formation. How about a proper pill room? There’s got to be that at least, right?”
Old man Fei chuckled. “Not a problem at all. The Qingyang Valley is the site amongst the four that is most adept at the dao of pills after all. We have many strongholds within the capital, and plenty of pill rooms. I often refine pills in the capital as well. Young Chen, do you need one now, or…?”
“The sooner the better.”
“Alright, I’ll go prepare that right away.” Old man Fei was a man of his words as he tore off in a great hurry.
“Ai, it looks like my starting place after reincarnation is seriously low. Seems like I’ll have to spend some thought on this since there’s no pill refining formation.”
The pill that Jiang Chen wanted to refine this time was no trivial matter. It was the golden key to success in forging his physical body, cleaving the spirit ocean, and transmuting from mundane to spirit.
It wasn’t that Jiang Chen was anxious for results, but that he had clearly felt that his current level of martial dao was too low. This made it very difficult for him to even protect himself in this world.
Jiang Chen didn’t wish that his life would always be in the care of others. Therefore, he desperately needed to break through!