Chapter 351 - Big Business
Gu Zuo was guided to sit in front of a Purple Jade Peaceful Sandalwood table. Someone quickly came over clasping a cup of fragrant tea, and offered it to him. Meanwhile, sweet and aromatic fruits were arranged to the side. In a short period of time, he was treated as a noble guest, and was received with great propriety.
Ao Ying calmly stood behind Gu Zuo like a gate guardian. He maintained a defensive posture with a solemn and respectful air.
The qi emissions his body gave off as well as the nonhuman characteristics he presented allowed people to realize that Gu Zuo’s identity wasn’t ordinary.
Shopkeeper Fang walked over, and sat next to Gu Zuo. He used a natural and formal attitude to inquire: “Pharmacist Gu, would you take out the medicinal pills for a look? This humble Fang is considered to have decent eyesight when it comes to grading and inspecting pills. If the medicinal pills are sufficient, the quoted prices will certainly be to Pharmacist Gu’s satisfaction.”
Gu Zuo thought about it, and felt that he couldn’t reveal that he was short of money with a foolish appearance. He recalled the normal expressions of his close friend, Xu Lingxiu — He slightly lifted his chin, took out a bottle from his sleeve, and pushed it over: “Take a look. The product grades won’t disappoint you.”
Shopkeeper Fang smiled, grabbed that bottle, and carefully opened it.
In a split second, a blast of fantastic pill fragrance assailed the senses. He couldn’t help immediately waving a hand: “Damn! Use the Pill Locking Formation! Don’t let the matters here leak out!”
Someone promptly responded. At once, an invisible power enveloped this reception hall, locking up the pill fragrance wafting from that bottle. Not a single trace flowed outside.
Shopkeeper Fang sighed in relief. Following that, his tone bore a feigned grumble: “Pharmacist Gu has medicinal pills of such outstanding product grades. Couldn’t you have warned me in advance? It nearly caused this Fang to make a fool of himself!”
The corner of Gu Zuo’s mouth pulled up, and he continued to exhibit his acting skills, which had already gone through much tempering: “The medicinal pills of this Gu are naturally good ones.”
At this time, Shopkeeper Fang didn’t bother with the believability of Gu Zuo’s acting. He gently took out a jade bowl, and cautiously poured out one pill from inside the bottle. The jade bowl was moved to his eyes, and he carefully scrutinized it… Afterwards, he praised: “The product grade has actually reached grade eleven. Between top grade pills, it can be counted as above average. Based on its color and luster, its smooth and round shape, and an almost complete lack of impurities, its value truly isn’t low.”
After he finished observing, Shopkeeper Fang wanted to talk business with Gu Zuo. However, just as he was about to put this Innate Mending Pill back into the bottle, which was to prevent the dispersal of its medicinal properties, he accidentally let out a sound of surprise.
He quickly tilted the bottle, and two more pills rolled out and fell into the jade bowl. The impact produced clear and melodious ringing like gold clinking against jade.
“The additional pills have no pill fragrance…”
Just as he was speaking, Shopkeeper Fang got a clear look at the appearances of the other two medicinal pills. At once, he retracted his misgivings, and the pupils of his eyes shrank.
At that moment, he wasn’t able to restrain his emotions, and blurted out: “The dragon of the furnace swallows a purple river, and a pill begets rose-tinted clouds — This is an Innate Mending Pill that has produced prismatic clouds?”
Gu Zuo nodded with a detached attitude: “Correct. Sure enough, Shopkeeper Fang has good eyesight.”
Shopkeeper Fang’s throat moved slightly: “No blemishes and no leaks. Prismatic clouds, and a sealed fragrance… Such characteristics are beyond recognizable.”
Only medicinal pills at the golden level and above could possibly produce this kind of manifestation. However, the number of pharmacists who could genuinely refine such product grades were minuscule — It depended almost entirely on natural talent.
There were many pharmacists in the world who cultivated and passed through the path of spirituality. If one’s body cultivation method wasn’t too inferior, they could refine pills of grade seven, eight, and nine after their experience increased. These were commonly referred to as the three high grades of medicinal pills. If a pharmacist’s comprehensions were strong and they were very familiar with a certain type of pill, it wouldn’t be considered too surprising for them to take it a step further and refine pills among the three top grades. In particular were the grade ten and grade eleven pills. These two categories were seen relatively frequently.
However, refining a grade twelve flawless pill was incredibly difficult, and the pill fragrance of a flawless pill would permeate an entire room. Presuming that a pharmacist’s natural talents were unparalleled, there was a possibility of a phenomenon known as “the furnace dragon swallows a purple river” when producing a pill. And a medicinal pill refined in such a way would have rose-tinted clouds covering its surface. These prismatic clouds would completely lock up the pill fragrance!
…The reason why these prismatic clouds existed was due to the remarkably exquisite nature of the pill refining technique utilized. Not a fraction of the medicinal properties were allowed to flow away. All of the produced pill fragrance was instantly gathered up, and perfectly preserved!
A person who didn’t have enough talent wouldn’t be able to accomplish this at all.
As a result, even though flawless pills were already classified as a special grade within the golden-level pills, prismatic flawless pills were even more precious and valuable objects. For every single pill, it could be sold for a very high price whenever one appeared.
Prismatic pills were highly sought after. It wasn’t only because their medicinal effects were perfectly whole. There was another reason. When a person consumed them, there was a certain probability of hearing a Pill Note Mantra Echo. This was the inner sound of the medicinal pill, which corresponded to a certain rhythm. After a martial artist heard this Pill Note Mantra Echo, they could keep a record of it in their mind. During a future breakthrough or path comprehension, this sound could merge with one’s consciousness, allowing the martial artist to enter a special state and heighten their clarity of mind. Many things that were previously difficult or complex could be instantaneously resolved.
It was only a pity that the majority of pharmacists capable of refining prismatic pills had lofty and preeminent positions. They were kept hidden within the core areas of large organizations. Moreover, granted that they could refine prismatic pills, this didn’t mean that the pill frequencies were high — There weren’t enough pills to be used within one’s own organization. Whenever a few more pills flowed out, would martial artists on the outside be allowed to purchase them?
One couldn’t focus on how Medicine Heart Pavilion was backed by a gold-ranked organization. It was only the property of a certain powerhouse within this gold-ranked organization. And there wasn’t this kind of pharmacist in that powerhouse’s hands.
What’s more, the Innate Mending Pill was a very special type of medicinal pill. Strictly speaking, it was a pill that spanned across ranks. From golden to profound to earth, there was a type of medicinal pill called an “Innate Mending Pill” within each of these three ranks. As the name implied, the original effect of these medicinal pills was to supplement inborn deficiencies. Suppose that a martial artist was born with atrophied meridians, problems with their organs, or a badly damaged body. The Innate Mending Pill could repair all of these things. Merely, the greater the severity of damage, the greater the number of Innate Mending Pills required.
At the same time, Innate Mending Pills could also supplement insufficient talent. For example, a certain martial artist’s body had various attributes. The Innate Mending Pill could search out the one attribute among them that was slightly stronger than the rest, and reinforce it. In addition, it would simultaneously weaken the other attributes. What would finally be achieved was a formidable constitution that would only be a bit inferior to one with a pure attribute.
— Gu Zuo had studied this Innate Mending Pill as well due to his present internal qi and breakthroughs. Otherwise, even though the Innate Mending Pill was only a golden-level pill, perhaps it wouldn’t have been easier for him to refine than the most common profound-level pills. Regretfully, the Innate Mending Pill couldn’t treat the root problems of the Tiandu Body. Gu Zuo could only refine some, and give them to his big brother to alleviate any pain and strengthen the internal organs while in secluded cultivation.
Returning to the topic at hand.
So to say, when Shopkeeper Fang discovered that what Gu Zuo took out were actually prismatic flawless pills, he was almost unable to conceal the joy that suddenly sprung up within his heart. His frame of mind had also been incessantly shaken.
As it turned out, he was only that polite to Gu Zuo due to the Innate Mending Pills. Now, he practically treated the other party as a Buddha-like figure who was worthy of consecration and worship.
&#k2014; Fortunately, Shopkeeper Fang didn’t lose his calm.
At this moment, there were still many things he was puzzling over.
For instance, were these pills really refined by Pharmacist Gu? What was the identity and origin of this Pharmacist Gu? How many prismatic flawless pills could Pharmacist Gu still take out? What price did Pharmacist Gu wish to sell these pills for?
And so on and so forth.
But at this time, not a trace was revealed on Shopkeeper Fang’s face.
He was merely being cautious. With extreme care, he put the couple of medicinal pills back into the bottle. Then, he showed Gu Zuo a smiling and eagerly attentive expression: “Pharmacist Gu, the Innate Mending Pill is an incredibly rare pill. Among the golden-level pills, it’s one of the few types that are said to be the hardest to refine. Even if it was a medicinal pill of the three mid grades or three high grades, it would fetch for a pretty good price. Besides a grade eleven Innate Mending Pill, Pharmacist Gu is also currently offering two prismatic flawless pills. Those prices would be even higher.”
Gu Zuo listened as Shopkeeper Fang spoke, and only thought that this person completely avoided the main topic of discussion. This narration was truly too long-winded!
Could it be that the important point right now was to not directly tell him how much money these Innate Mending Pills of different product grades could be sold for — No, how many spirit crystals they could be exchanged for!
But Gu Zuo didn’t show anything. He used a finger to lightly tap the tabletop. He continued to remain aloof: “Shopkeeper Fang’s meaning is?”
Shopkeeper Fang didn’t dare to neglect anything. First, he quietly asked: “Pharmacist Gu, would you have any more of these Innate Mending Pills in your possession…”
Gu Zuo’s heart thumped. He immediately valued the attractiveness of the Innate Mending Pills even more, and shook his head: “Getting these already wasn’t easy. In order to do this, I wasted lots of medicinal ingredients. If it wasn’t for the fact that I have no use for Innate Mending Pills and I currently need many ingredients to research a new prescription, I wouldn’t have taken these out.”
Speaking up to here, he deliberately looked Shopkeeper Fang in the eyes: “I’ve heard that the organization behind Medicine Heart Pavilion is out of the ordinary. I believe that having such a large force backing it would mean that its prices ought to be fair. Thus, I came here.”
Shopkeeper Fang had a respectful appearance: “Pharmacist Gu, please rest assured. Our Medicine Heart Pavilion certainly won’t disappoint thee!”
Soon after, he talked about the prices in a low voice: “Normally, golden-level medicinal pills are calculated with spirit crystals. For grade four to grade six Innate Mending Pills, the prices are between six to ten spirit crystals. Grade seven to grade nine are ten to fifteen spirit crystals. Grade ten to grade eleven are twenty to thirty spirit crystals. If a grade twelve flawless pill is attained, the price jumps to fifty or more. If it goes to auction, one to two hundred spirit crystals is possible. As for a prismatic Innate Mending Pill… It can be called a treasure. At an auction, the starting bid for this kind of treasure would be two hundred spirit crystals. The final sales price would be hard to estimate.”
Gu Zuo’s heart was amazed.
The Innate Mending Pill was difficult to refine, but for him, it was just a small challenge.
Within golden-level pill prescriptions, the cost of its medicinal ingredients was only above-average. While it was said to be rare, the refining process could be rated as harsh — For ordinary pills, if one’s heat control was just slightly off, it could be saved so long as the pharmacist caught it in time. If a pharmacist’s technique was brilliant enough, they could still form a flawless pill. Though, a prismatic flawless pill would be out of the question.
However, when refining the Innate Mending Pill, if there was the slightest mistake, the furnace would blow up immediately. All of the medicinal ingredients would be wasted!
When Gu Zuo was refining Innate Mending Pills, he inevitably blew up his furnace two or three times. But following this, he already became proficient. In the wake of using ingredients, he had no issues in the later stages when refining flawless pills. In every furnace, one or two prismatic flawless pills could appear… Of course, in one batch of Innate Mending Pills, there would be just three pills at most.
Because he realized the rarity of prismatic pills, everything that Gu Zuo gave Tianheng was comprised of only prismatic Innate Mending Pills and flawless Innate Mending Pills. The other types of medicinal pills were the same. Indeed, there really were only two prismatic Innate Mending Pills left in his possession. However, he absolutely didn’t expect that the market price for this category of pill would reach such levels!
These numerous thoughts flashed through his mind. Gu Zuo wanted to pull a long face, but his expression remained tranquil. His eyebrow rose up: “This place will even accept grade four to grade six defective pills?”
Shopkeeper Fang heard this tone of voice, and initially felt that this pharmacist was arrogant — Even mid grade pills were looked down upon, and he directly called them “defective pills”. What kind of natural talent did he possess to act this way?
At once, he said: “Naturally, we accept them. The Innate Mending Pill is difficult to refine, and ordinary people don’t even have the pill prescription. How could anyone compare to Pharmacist Gu, who has such rich experience and extraordinary skills? Consequently, this pill’s supply doesn’t meet its demand. For the past many years, our Medicine Heart Pavilion has caught wind of this pill, but few could pass through our hands. Once one did, it would usually be taken immediately. Therefore, it can’t be kept and displayed outside of the pavilion.”
He took a breath, and said: “If Pharmacist Gu feels that this price is tolerable, no matter how many Innate Mending Pills you have, our Medicine Heart Pavilion will buy them all!”
Gu Zuo silently trembled.
He was being flattered.
But such flattery left him with goosebumps…
After calming down, Gu Zuo’s index finger continued to tap on the table. It appeared that he was in deep thought.
On the other side, Shopkeeper Fang’s heart was hanging by a thread. He was very nervous.
A good while later, Gu Zuo finally stretched his hand into a sleeve. Soon after, one bottle of medicinal pills after another was taken out, and placed on the tabletop.
Meanwhile, he spoke a bit reluctantly: “Three bottles of grade four Innate Mending Pills, two bottles of grade five, two bottles of grade six, one bottle each of grades seven to nine, two bottles of grade ten, four grade eleven pills, one bottle of flawless pills, and two prismatic pills… I only have these. En, and each bottle has three pills.”
Shopkeeper Fang watched as those pill bottles were taken out one by one and continuously spread across the small table. His eyeballs wanted to fall out of his head. C-could it really be true that Pharmacist Gu had refined them all? From low grade to high grade, it was clear that these numbers of pills were from a single person who gradually became familiar with the process!
This was the first time he had seen this many Innate Mending Pills… He couldn’t help taking a deep breath.
Gu Zuo said: “Settle the account, please.”
Shopkeeper Fang suddenly clenched his fingers, allowing himself to calm down. Immediately following which, he started to calculate: “For grade four to grade six, this Fang will purchase each pill for ten spirit crystals. Grade seven to grade nine will be fifteen, grade ten to eleven will be thirty… This totals to six hundred forty-five spirit crystals. As for the flawless pills and prismatic pills, will Pharmacist Gu sell them directly to our Medicine Heart Pavilion or conduct an auction?”
Gu Zuo looked at Shopkeeper Fang, and the corner of his mouth curled into a grin: “Shopkeeper Fang can actually do business.”
Naturally, Shopkeeper Fang smiled apologetically: “It’s a bond of good karma.”
In fact, when it came to the flawless pills and prismatic pills, these two categories of Innate Mending Pills, Shopkeeper Fang certainly could’ve announced a price and directly purchased them. However, he took the initiative to mention that they could be auctioned. Undoubtedly, this favored Gu Zuo.
Gu Zuo thought about it, and said: “If the flawless pills are sold to Medicine Heart Pavilion, what price level are you willing to give me?”
Shopkeeper Fang spoke without the slightest hesitation: “One hundred fifty spirit crystals per pill.”
This was already a high price.
Admittedly, while it was true that it could reach two hundred in an auction, the auction house itself would take a cut of the profits. Moreover, it might not reach two hundred. What if it was only a hundred-something? Shopkeeper Fang’s quoted price was truly generous.
Gu Zuo pushed the bottle that contained the flawless pills forward: “In that case, I’ll sell it to Medicine Heart Pavilion.”
A smile spread across Shopkeeper Fang’s face: “With that, another four hundred fifty spirit crystals are added. The total is one thousand ninety-five spirit crystals.”
Gu Zuo’s gaze fell upon the last two prismatic Innate Mending Pills. He hesitated: “As for these two prismatic pills… This Gu still wants to place them in the auction.”
However, at this time, Shopkeeper Fang suddenly made a proposal: “I won’t hide this from Pharmacist Gu. In Heavenly Martial Sect, the gold-ranked organization where our Medicine Heart Pavilion is located, numerous disciples cooperate with each other. The owner of our Medicine Heart Pavilion and the owner of the Wind God Trading Company are a pair of close friends. Any top-notch medicinal pills that Medicine Heart Pavilion obtains are usually mixed into the auctions conducted by the Wind God Trading Company.
“It just so happens that there’s a Wind God Auction being held in this city. If Pharmacist Gu is interested, why don’t you place the prismatic Innate Mending Pills in this auction?”
Gu Zuo blanked: “There’s an auction? When is it?”
Shopkeeper Fang earnestly said: “Tonight, at the middle of the eleventh period.”
Gu Zuo converted the hours. This was exactly at 8:00 PM? It was actually a good time.
Only, wasn’t the arrival of this auction too coincidental?
Shopkeeper Fang naturally saw the suspicion in Gu Zuo’s gaze, but in his opinion, this wasn’t a problem that was hard to explain. He spoke with a low chuckle: “Did Pharmacist Gu happen to see that elegant and outstanding woman beside this Fang? Her rank is higher than mine. On this trip, she came to inspect the properties on behalf of Medicine Heart Pavilion’s owner. She came here first precisely because the Wind God Trading Company is about to hold an auction.”
Gu Zuo slightly pondered this, and took his word for it.
It went without saying that his arrival to this exact store was random happenstance. However, the hosting of this auction certainly wasn’t done casually. The auction’s numerous goods would’ve had to be prepared long ago…
After that, Gu Zuo nodded his head, but he also furrowed his brows: “Will it be okay to put in the Innate Mending Pills?”
Shopkeeper Fang hurriedly said: “Naturally, it’s fine. Our Medicine Heart Pavilion has this bit of face. This Fang can even send someone to discuss the matter with the trading company. They won’t deduct that ten percent auctioning fee from Pharmacist Gu either—”
Gu Zuo tilted his head, and looked over: “What requests does Shopkeeper Fang have?”
Shopkeeper Fang let out a short laugh: “First, I ask that Pharmacist Gu carries out the auction in the name of our Medicine Heart Pavilion. Second, I ask that Pharmacist Gu only auctions one prismatic pill. The remaining one will be directly sold to our Medicine Heart Pavilion. Naturally, the second pill’s purchase will occur after the auction. The amount of spirit crystals the first prismatic pill is auctioned for is how much our Medicine Heart Pavilion will pay for the second pill — How about it?”
Gu Zuo replied in a straightforward manner: “Okay.”
Shopkeeper Fang cut to the chase and praised Gu Zuo to make friends with this honorable pharmacist who could take out prismatic pills. At the same time, this also left the remaining prismatic pill to be presented to the owner of Medicine Heart Pavilion.
Now, the goal had finally been reached.
Following this, Shopkeeper Fang swiftly collected all of the Innate Mending Pills, took out the corresponding spirit crystals, and handed them over to Gu Zuo. Thus, they settled the account of those medicinal pills.
Gu Zuo adopted an attitude, and flicked his sleeve. The spirit crystals were stored inside the Divine Medicine Palace Hall. Soon after, he silently calculated his finances, and discovered that he had basically recouped the loss of spirit crystals he spent a while ago. Inwardly, he was nodding his head with a pleased expression.
After that, Gu Zuo took out several batches of Trick Pills.
These weren’t perfectly preserved prismatic pills, and many were ordinary pills of the top three grades. Every batch was combined, and they all possessed unusual effects. However, with a martial artist’s strength, these wouldn’t be of too much help. It was only when one was out adventuring, and during some special situations, that these pills could provide great aid.
Not only did these Trick Pills give Gu Zuo an income of less than a hundred spirit crystals, they couldn’t even compare to a single flawless Innate Mending Pill. Still, this was considered better than nothing.
Then, Gu Zuo took out some all-purpose Detoxification Pills of the top three grades. Likewise, they were useful during adventures. These medicinal pills were even more popular than Trick Pills. Dozens were exchanged for three to four hundred spirit crystals. This was a pretty good price.
In the end, Gu Zuo already obtained about one thousand five hundred spirit crystals before his trip to the auction.
En, after smoothing out his accounts, he earned a tidy profit.
Following that, he would wait for the prismatic Innate Mending Pills to bring him even more income!
Off to the side, Shopkeeper Fang was satisfied as well.
Today, Shopkeeper Fang had received this honorable Pharmacist Gu. Not only did this fellow give their Medicine Heart Pavilion a chunk of business, he also revealed a powerful inheritance and natural talent — Besides the Innate Mending Pill, the other medicinal pills also weren’t bad!
In the future, perhaps a long-term cooperation could really be established. At that time, they wouldn’t lack top-notch medicinal pills… Moreover, this Pharmacist Gu was presently at the golden level. Once they waited for the other party to reach the profound level and above, then the help brought about would be incalculable!
After this was over, Shopkeeper Fang needed to make a report. He hoped that the owner of their Medicine Heart Pavilion made friends with this pharmacist…
Gu Zuo couldn’t completely guess Shopkeeper Fang’s thoughts.
Currently, he felt much more carefree. His frame of mind was quite relaxed.
On the Central Continent, top-notch medicinal pills were extraordinarily valuable. And what he feared the least was refining top-notch pills. In the blink of an eye, he didn’t have to worry about depleting a mountain of wealth anymore.
From afternoon to evening, apart from briefing that charming woman about a few circumstances within the store and sending her off at the storefront, Shopkeeper Fang spent the rest of the time chatting with Gu Zuo and keeping him company.
Every word and sentence was filled with cordial and sycophantic intents. However, among these casual chats, there also wasn’t necessarily any lack of discreet inquiries. He wanted to know Gu Zuo’s true origins.
Gu Zuo was the most inexperienced in things like this… But he was currently playing the role of a pharmacist genius with a haughty temperament. So long as he recalled how Xu Lingxiu dealt with others, he would repeatedly cycle through short phrases such as — “En.” “That’s right.” “So what?” “I have my own plans.” From time to time, he would make scoffing or harrumphing noises, hook up the edge of his lips into a sneering curve, slightly raise his chin, and do other things to maintain his deception.
Contrary to what one might expect, during this period of time, Gu Zuo became aware of the general information of Medicine Heart Pavilion’s owner from the words that Shopkeeper Fang specially divulged.
The owner seemed to be an exceptional genius of a gold-ranked organization. Although his potential definitely hadn’t reached the level of a prodigy during the tests back then, the distance to a true prodigy was but a line away. Merely, that person wasn’t satisfied with this kind of outcome. Later on, he passed through numerous adventures, and his strength advanced by leaps and bounds. Even though he didn’t have the title of a prodigy, it seemed he faintly possessed the makings of one. Presently, that exceptional genius had already broken through to the Celestial Realm. He obtained large quantities of Heavenly Martial Sect’s resources. Moreover, his forces had also been operating well. Among them, this Medicine Heart Pavilion was running extremely well.
Gu Zuo gradually understood Shopkeeper Fang’s meaning.
He was doing his best to speak favorably on his master’s behalf. He wanted to make Gu Zuo interested in his master — Granted that there was probably no hope of roping in Gu Zuo, it was good to strike up friendly relations with Gu Zuo in advance.
Originally, Gu Zuo didn’t particularly care, but after listening for a while longer, his mind had a few notions.
Ah, the Celestial Realm… Compared to the Immortal Realm, it was three large realms higher. If everything ran smoothly, he could talk to Tianheng about that exceptional genius once his big brother came out of seclusion.
After all, the person belonged to a gold-ranked organization, and was a hard worker. If he could facilitate a relationship of mutual external aid, it would be of great help to his big brother’s future development.
T/N: Thanks for the corrections, Charysa.
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