Chapter 140: Deal
Wang Feifei looked thoughtful. Although it would be easier for her to simply kidnap this alchemist… her reputation would suffer in that case.
“Ah… to do…”
She frowned. These were turbulent times and there was a high price on various spiritual items, including pills.
Although the Sect of Nine Pills was able to meet current pill needs, it was only temporary.
Soon, the pill market was likely to become an expensive and difficult place to access. So the appearance of Gu Hen was almost a blessing for Wang Feifei.
“Freedom… at this time I’m not sure I can give you that,” Wang Feifei replied after thinking, “So, to avoid causing each other trouble, I propose the following.”
“I’m all ears.”
“I’m ready to cooperate instead of hiring. I think it will be much easier for you that way. Side A – that is, my organization will finance you and provide herbs, while your obligation, as Side B, will be to provide the prepared pills on time with a certain quality and purity,” Wang Feifei began to speak, looking serious. She took out two papers: “This is a contract of equal trade. You can read each point and if you have any questions, please ask me.”
“How kind of you.”
Xie Qing smiled warmly and took the document. He carefully read each line and examined it for formations that could then forge his spiritual trace and hide hidden conditions.
However, it seemed he was worried for nothing, as there was nothing of the sort.
To summarize all the conditions, Side A is obliged to pay for the services of Side B, and in addition, to provide the necessary recipes and ingredients. Additional costs are also covered.
Side B is obliged to prepare the pills within the specified time frame and then send the pills to the specified address within three working days. The pills must also have a purity of at least 90%.
For higher levels of purity, a +2% increase was added to the final payment.
“The terms are good, I have no complaints on my part,” Xie Qing replied and smiled, snapping his fingers: “I agree.”
Wang Feifei smiled contentedly. She waved her hand and the cultivator standing behind her bowed and then took something out of his spatial ring.
“Hmm? What is that, Lady Wang?” Xie Qing asked, raising an eyebrow.
In her hand, the woman held a small black object, but she was covering it with her hand, so Xie Qing didn’t have time to see what it was.
However, he didn’t have to wait long. Wang Feifei held out the object to Xie Qing and explained.
“This is a cauldron. Its name is ‘Eight Trigrams Cauldron’. Although the name is awe-inspiring, its main functions are to significantly increase the efficiency of purification, enhance the pill by 0.5 times, and hardness. It can also be reduced in size, which is suitable for travel.”
“Ooh…”
Xie Qing raised an eyebrow in surprise. It turned out to be an alchemy cauldron. And not a simple one, but one that looked extremely expensive.
“Are you sure? I would feel uncomfortable taking such a valuable gift,” Xie Qing said and smiled: “Maybe you want something in exchange?”
“Oh… Sir Gu Hen is so polite,” Wang Feifei nodded and stopped trying to change the subject: “My stay in this city is limited and unfortunately it will be extremely difficult for me to maintain further contact. Therefore, I would like you to help me with some pills first. Of course, I will give you the cauldron for free.”
“No problem. If you want me to make pills, it’s simple – give me the ingredients and I’ll be ready,” Xie Qing replied nonchalantly: “And, by the looks of it, you’re eager to see how I make pills?”
“I must admit, I’m excited. It’s the first time I’ve met such a young alchemist who can purify pills so exquisitely,” Wang Feifei replied, but despite her words, the expression on this lady’s face was indifferent: “May I watch? Of course, I’m willing to pay.”
“No problem. 17,000 Spirit Stones and I’ll show you the process without a problem,” Xie Qing named the price shamelessly. And then he thought to himself: “Young? Can she see my age? I’ve been hiding well…”
“Fair enough…”
Wang Feifei didn’t even flinch, handing over 17,000 Spirit Stones in the spatial ring. The young man made sure that the promised amount was there and nodded.
“Then please follow me.”
In the house that Xie Qing had rented, there was a separate room for alchemy. Not to say it was mega-cool, but it had pretty good features.
“Protection, soundproofing, and an exhaust formation,” Wang Feifei commented, raising an eyebrow: “Not bad, but why is there no Qi condensation formation, storage, and concentration improvement here?”
“Well… it’s all very expensive. And I doubt I’ll need it,” Xie Qing replied in a carefree voice.
“I see. I apologize for the silly question.”
“It’s alright.”
Xie Qing waved his hand. He was a Soul Nascent cultivator. Even if the cauldron exploded, he would be able to protect himself, so there was no problem.
His cultivation technique helped him to instantly restore the spent Qi. So the Qi condensation formation was useless. And the storage…
“Storage is a formation that holds a room-sized space with the function of creating categories for distributing ingredients. It consists of ten formations, so it is considered very complex and expensive,” Xie Qing recalled.
Placing such a formation in the room would require a lot of money, and although Xie Qing could afford it… there was little point.
He usually bought herbs from the system store – sometimes the prices there were even lower than market value.
So he didn’t have to worry about buying such a formation.
“So, judging by those herbs and the scales of the Evil Poisonous Lizard, you want me to create a Protection Pill, right?”
“Wang Feifei is impressed by your knowledge. You understood everything correctly,” the woman nodded and smiled faintly: “This pill is a bit difficult to prepare because the scales are very difficult to melt, but I believe in your abilities.”
“Yeah, I believe in me too.”
Xie Qing shrugged nonchalantly. Maybe for someone else melting the scales of the Evil Poisonous Lizard might be difficult, but his alchemical flame was good enough, and his Qi reserves were large.
So already half an hour later, when he finished melting the scales, Wang Feifei narrowed her eyes in surprise.
“This level almost reaches the level of a Great Alchemist. I can only admire his skills,” she thought to herself and looked curiously: “However, the scales can disappear almost immediately if the right formation is not applied. For this there is a Qi Condensation formation, so… how will he cope?”
The scales were extremely difficult to melt, but even if you melted them, there was a high chance that they would simply turn into air. This mystical property was still a mystery.
But the alchemists found a solution. You just need to feed this scale with Qi and slowly but surely mix it with other ingredients.
And twenty minutes later, Wang Feifei stood speechless. For she saw with her own eyes that the scales, even after melting, did not disappear, although Xie Qing did not activate the formations.
“The only assumption is that he can easily maintain the properties of the scales with his Qi!”
Wang Feifei was pleasantly surprised. If this was so, then this man could handle the rest of the difficult pills as well.
“I… hit the jackpot!” Wang Feifei couldn’t help but smile – her smile was both greedy and mischievous, like a child who had found an interesting toy.
Xie Qing was too focused on cooking to pay attention to Wang Feifei. And thanks to that, already two hours later the pill was ready.
“Please, take a look,” Xie Qing said, holding out the vial with the pill.
“With your permission…” Wang Feifei nodded and opened the vial, bringing it to her nose. She took a breath and narrowed her eyes: “Amazing. I can smell the clean scent of herbs. Judging by the look of it… the purity is 97%!”
Xie Qing couldn’t help but be surprised. He had seen many times that people could understand purity by touch, but this was the first time he saw someone recognize it by smell. Even he couldn’t do that.
However, it seemed that Wang Feifei was too busy analyzing the pill. In the end, she couldn’t help but comment.
“This pill… is perfect. I estimate that even a cultivator at the peak of Soul Integration would not be able to break through the defense.”
“Oh? Glad to be of service,” Xie Qing smiled, making an elegant bow.
Wang Feifei stared at him intently and narrowed her eyes. She was prepared for a lot, but not for the fact that this guy could make pills so well.
And she began to doubt. Was it necessary to agree to ordinary trade relations? After all, if Wang Feifei had received him as a subordinate, her income would have doubled, and the trading organization
