Chapter 167: Essential Techniques for Refining Pills

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How could Lin Le not know what Qi Sheng was worried about? He could not help laughing bitterly to himself. It seemed that Boss Qi had truly been frightened out of his wits by the people from the Divine Pill Sect. He was even willing to give up ten million, without any fear that Lin Le might take the millennium ganoderma and flee.

“Ah, all right, Boss Qi. I’ll transfer the money to you shortly. We’ll be leaving now.”

With that, Lin Le stepped forward and reached for the wooden chest containing the millennium ganoderma.

“Wait, that chest is very—”

Qi Sheng had not even finished saying “heavy” when, with a loud thud, Lin Le had already seized the chest by its handle and lifted the entire thing with one hand.

“Boss Qi, what were you saying?” Lin Le asked, puzzled.

When he looked back at Qi Sheng, he found the man staring in astonishment at the chest in his hand, completely dumbstruck.

The millennium ganoderma alone weighed more than seventy kilograms. With the wooden chest added, the total weight absolutely exceeded two hundred pounds.

Qi Sheng had intended to warn Lin Le that the chest was so heavy it would take two people to carry it. He had never imagined that Lin Le would be so outrageously strong, lifting the chest with one hand as effortlessly as if it were a chick.

Qi Sheng could not help marveling inwardly. Just what kind of extraordinary person was this Mr. Lin whom Teacher Jia had introduced to him?

“Ah, no… It was nothing… Take care, Mr. Lin!” Qi Sheng said with an awkward smile.

Lin Le had no idea what had just happened. He merely shrugged, tucked the chest weighing more than two hundred pounds beneath his arm as casually as a briefcase, and walked toward the door.

After bidding farewell to Qi Sheng, Lin Le, Ji Xiaorui, and the others headed toward the distant parking lot.

“By the way, Master Liang, haven’t you also been looking into medicinal herbs these past few days? Have you found anything?” Lin Le suddenly asked.

Although he now possessed this millennium ganoderma, aged medicinal herbs were still something Lin Le could never have too many of.

“I was just about to tell you, Mr. Lin. I’ve visited every pharmacy of any size in Upper Capital. I even made inquiries at the Qi Family Pharmacy we just visited, but the results were far from satisfactory. Nearly all the aged medicinal herbs collected by these pharmacies have already been bought up by the people from the Divine Pill Sect!” Liang Qiuyang said helplessly.

“Ha. It seems the Divine Pill Sect really is astonishingly wealthy.” Lin Le smiled bitterly.

Aged medicinal herbs were anything but cheap. To purchase every such herb in all of Upper Capital would require an astronomical sum. It seemed that in the mere two years since its rise, the Divine Pill Sect had already amassed tremendous wealth.

“Master, what do you need so many herbs for? Don’t tell me you’re planning to open a pharmacy?” Ji Xiaorui teased from the side.

“What pharmacy? I’m obviously going to refine pills.” Lin Le rolled his eyes at her.

“Refine pills?” Ji Xiaorui was stunned. “Master, I had no idea you could do that too! Damn, you’re incredible. Aside from giving birth, is there anything in this world you can’t do?”

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Lin Le was so exasperated that he nearly vomited blood.

Liang Qiuyang, standing nearby, could not help smiling wryly as well. He thought to himself that although the young girl did not even look old enough to have graduated elementary school, she certainly knew far too much.

Lin Le then said to Ji Xiaorui, “That’s why you’d better cling tightly to your master’s coattails. Once I finish refining the pills, I’ll reward you with a few. Perhaps they’ll help you break through to the pinnacle of inner-force mastery.”

Lin Le was not exaggerating.

Among the five hundred years of memories inherited from Emperor Soaring Firmament, there was far more than merely the Soaring Firmament Art. They also included many other invaluable things, among them the art of alchemy.

Emperor Soaring Firmament’s alchemical techniques were the highest form of pill refinement inherited from the world beyond the heavens. He had compiled them into a canonical text known as The Essential Art of Tempering Pills.

The Essential Art of Tempering Pills could be said to contain the most fundamental knowledge of all alchemical arts in the entire cultivation world, gathering together every one of their deepest principles.

The alchemical arts found on Earth, by contrast, were no more than scattered fragments passed down from the world beyond the heavens. They could not even be considered foundational knowledge—at best, they were merely the outermost skin of true alchemy. Not only did they waste an enormous amount of raw material during refinement, but the medicinal effects of the resulting pills were also extremely limited. Compared with the mysteries of The Essential Art of Tempering Pills, they were worlds apart.

And that was speaking of the genuine alchemical traditions of the orthodox inner schools. A wild, unorthodox sect like the Divine Pill Sect, which might not even qualify as an inner school, was utterly incomparable to The Essential Art of Tempering Pills.

Thus, every pill refined by Lin Le would be capable of crushing any high-grade pill produced by the Divine Pill Sect. For a martial artist like Ji Xiaorui, such pills would provide immense benefits in advancing her cultivation.

Hearing this, Ji Xiaorui’s eyes lit up. She cried out, “No way! Is that really true? Darling, you have to save some divine pills for me once you refine them!”

As she spoke, Ji Xiaorui threw her arms around Lin Le’s leg, making it impossible for him to walk.

Most importantly, the heavy swell of her chest pressed against his leg so forcefully that it practically threatened to crush it.

“Hey, this is a public place. What are you doing?” Lin Le asked in astonishment.

“I’m clinging to your coattails. Didn’t you tell me to hold on tightly?” Ji Xiaorui blinked her limpid eyes and pouted coquettishly.

“As long as you’ll reward me with pills, darling, I’d do more than cling to your leg. I’d even sleep with you! What do you say? How about I come to your room tonight? The two of us can light a candle, drink some red wine, and discuss the meaning of life?” Ji Xiaorui raised her brows, her expression suggestive.

Lin Le: “…”

“If you keep this up, I’m calling the police!” Lin Le was practically at the end of his patience with this shameless woman. Talking was one thing, but she kept rubbing herself against his leg for no reason. Surely that already qualified as harassment.

Although Liang Qiuyang was enjoying the spectacle from the side, he was secretly looking forward to Lin Le refining a Foundation Establishment Pill as soon as possible. If that happened, his own cultivation of the Dao would be able to break through to the initial stage of Foundation Establishment.

After Ji Xiaorui pestered Lin Le for a while longer, she finally released his leg and stood up.

By then, they had reached the parking lot. Lin Le placed the wooden chest containing the millennium ganoderma into the trunk, and the three of them got into the car.

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“If things are really as Master Liang says, then the pills refined from this single millennium ganoderma will be extremely limited. It seems we’ll have to wait for Qi Sheng to acquire more herbs, or start looking in other cities.” Lin Le sounded somewhat disappointed.

Upper Capital was the heart of all China and a gathering place for the country’s major medicinal-herb merchants. If they began searching in other cities, they likely would not find what they needed so easily.

“That may not be necessary,” Liang Qiuyang suddenly said.

“Oh?” Lin Le looked at him in surprise and hurriedly asked, “Does that mean you’ve found another lead, Master Liang?”

A smug expression appeared on Liang Qiuyang’s face. “That’s right!”

He had just opened his mouth to continue when Lin Le’s phone suddenly rang.

Lin Le glanced at the number and froze. It was Qi Sheng.

Lin Le was puzzled. They had only just left the Qi Family Pharmacy, yet Qi Sheng was already calling. Could something have happened?

He answered the phone at once.

“Hello, Boss Qi…”

Before Lin Le could say anything else, Qi Sheng hurriedly spoke from the other end.

“Mr. Lin, this is bad! The people from the Divine Pill Sect came as soon as you left!”

His voice was filled with panic.

“They forced me to tell them where you went. I… Mr. Lin, I’m sorry. I had no choice but to tell them your whereabouts…” Qi Sheng said, deeply ashamed.

From his voice, Lin Le could hear the panic and terror he was trying to suppress. The people from the Divine Pill Sect had clearly used some sort of coercion to make him give in.

At that thought, anger surged through Lin Le, accompanied by a sense of guilt.

“I’m the one who should be apologizing. I’m sorry for causing you trouble, Boss Qi,” Lin Le said apologetically.

Hearing this, Qi Sheng felt even more ashamed of having betrayed him.

“Mr. Lin, they should already be on their way after you. Be very careful. If necessary, run as fast as you can!” Qi Sheng urged him earnestly.

“Don’t worry, Boss Qi. The ones who should be careful are them…” Lin Le’s expression suddenly darkened.