Shocking the Nine Heavens With My Sword
Chapter 554 - 533 Top Grade Green Brilliance Pill (5/5)

Chapter 554: Chapter 533 Top Grade Green Brilliance Pill (5/5)

Although his impression of Heavenly Treasure Pavilion had turned very poor because of Huo Tian, Zhou Heng had no other choice.

This small market boasted only one pharmacy-cum-magic artifact shop-cum-auction house, which was the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion; if he didn’t want to sell the Green Brilliance Pill to them, he would have to leave the market.

However, to understand the big picture from a small glimpse, Heavenly Treasure Pavilion was similarly a colossal business in the Immortal Realm. Everywhere he could run to would likely give the same outcome—at least, that was the case from the tenth to the twelfth Immortal City.

With no other options, Zhou Heng had to go to Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.

He altered his appearance slightly, a pity that the aura of his Divine Soul could not be masked, and the Stealth Talisman had lost its effect. Such a change would only work on mortals. Hmm, if he fully retracted his aura, even the Moonlight King shouldn’t be able to detect him, since he was, in fact, already at the strength of the Moonlight Sovereign.

Fortunately, most of the clerks at Heavenly Treasure Pavilion were at Quasi-Immortal level, and although the Moonlight Sovereign wasn’t considered an expert in the Immortal Realm, he certainly wasn’t going to descend to the level of a mere shop clerk in Hai Immortal City. If Zhou Heng was careful, he should be able to keep his identity hidden.

Upon arriving at Heavenly Treasure Pavilion and expressing his intention to sell pills, a pharmacist-clad elder emerged from within the shop, wearing a badge that flashed with silver light on the lapel of his robe, marked with a single star.

That was a symbol of certification from the Pharmacists Association, one star signifying a One Star Pharmacist, engraved with array patterns unique to the association, something ordinary people could not imitate—even if an expert could do so, they wouldn’t dare, for it would mean opposing the entire Pharmacists Association!

The old man had a cultivation of the First Layer Heaven. Zhou Heng let out a sigh of relief; it was almost impossible for the other to capture his aura now.

"Young man, what pill do you wish to sell?" The One Star Pharmacist squinted his somewhat blurry old eyes, asking Zhou Heng.

"Green Brilliance Pill!" Zhou Heng took out a pill bottle—a last-minute purchase he had thought of after leaving his abode, which contained twenty Green Brilliance Pills.

"G-Green Brilliance Pill!" The old pharmacist’s demeanor shook with excitement—this was a Three Grade pill, which he had seen but never had the capability to refine. However, he certainly had more than enough ability to judge its quality.

Zhou Heng placed the pill bottle on the table; it was a very ordinary porcelain bottle, terribly earthen, a consequence of his financial constraints, having spent all his Immortal Stones on Spirit Grass.

The old pharmacist had already doubted Zhou Heng could produce Green Brilliance Pills, and upon seeing the pill bottle, he almost spit out blood in disbelief—could it possibly contain Green Brilliance Pills?

But a guest is a guest, and while pharmacists are noble, it depends on where one is operating. Here, since he received sustenance from the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, he had to work for them!

Not only did the big shop bully customers, but it did the same to the clerks!

With discontent and disbelief in his heart, he casually took the pill bottle, carelessly popped off the stopper, and in an instant, his expression froze, his face impulsively revealing a look of thrill.

A One Star Pharmacist might not be outstanding, but he was a pharmacist nonetheless, and his reaction was much faster than Yang Lanxin’s—not having to wait until after ingesting a pill and being asked by Zhou Heng to realize its quality. The old pharmacist’s eyes sparkled at the scent of the medicine, as if he were a lecher who had just encountered a naked beauty.

"What a pure fragrance of medicine!" He hurriedly poured out a Green Brilliance Pill and then tightly closed the bottle. Holding the pill in his hands, he took a deep sniff, and then his face showed an utterly intoxicated expression as he fell into a speechless trance.

Seeing him unresponsive for so long, the clerk who had invited him out became a bit anxious, saying, "Mr. Xian Ming—"

"Nonsense, this old man is appreciating the medicine; how dare you interrupt?" The old pharmacist glared, frightening the shop clerk into stumbling back several steps—he had never seen the old pharmacist lose his composure like this before.

Could the pills sold by this young man really be that good?

After the old pharmacist savored the color and fragrance for a good while, he then carefully scraped a tiny bit off the Green Brilliance Pill and put it into his mouth.

"This, this, this..." The old man was suddenly at a loss for words, appearing as though he was about to cry, dancing with excitement, with nonsensical murmurs unintelligible to others.

As the commotion grew, the other clerks thought something had happened and came over to see, but upon witnessing the old pharmacist’s eccentric behavior, they all grew baffled.

"This is a Top Grade pill!" the old pharmacist finally spoke coherently, "Heavens, there’s actually someone in the world who can refine such a perfectly colored pill, this is the exquisite art that exists only in theory!"

Tears streaming down his face, the old man suddenly knelt on the ground, holding the Green Brilliance Pill aloft as if he were worshipping a deity.

Indeed, nobody could produce such a perfect pill! Therefore, this was not the work of a human, but of the Sun Gold Essence that had gained Spiritual Wisdom. Moreover, it had been refined into the Fire Divine Furnace, a creation destined for alchemy!

"Hey, old man, how much are these Green Brilliance Pills worth? Name your price!" Zhou Heng said impatiently.

—The Mo Family must be searching everywhere for him, and they might even set a bounty. It would be best if he spent as little time as possible outside.

"How much? Worth what?" The old pharmacist reacted as if his tail had been stepped on, suddenly leaping up from the ground, grabbing Zhou Heng by the chest and lifting him, "You brat, this is a priceless treasure! How much money? Do you think this can be bought with money?"

Although grabbed by the chest, Zhou Heng could sympathize with the old fellow’s excitement and laughed, saying, "Since it’s a priceless treasure, then let’s trade for all the goods and Immortal Stones here!"

"Hold on!" the old fellow had been too excited earlier and soon regained his composure, chuckling sheepishly, "What’s considered priceless also depends on who you ask. Our shop is in the business of making sales, after all; everything has a price!"

"Old man, you’re really not playing fair!" Zhou Heng sighed.

The Old Pharmacist felt somewhat embarrassed, but having lived so long, his skin had naturally become incredibly thick. He quickly muddled through the moment and turned to the shop assistants, shouting, "Well, what are you waiting for? Fetch twenty top-grade Pill Bottles right now! If the potency of these pills dissipates, can you afford the loss?"

At this point, the old man even gave Zhou Heng a "resentful" glance. This lad actually stored top-grade pills in the most ordinary porcelain bottles—such a waste of heavenly treasures!

Zhou Heng broke into a cold sweat under the old fellow’s glare and hurriedly said, "Old sir, let’s settle the bill!"

"Slowly, slowly, let me first appraise and assess the quality of these pills!" The Old Pharmacist was in no rush, and he leisurely examined the twenty Green Brilliance Pills back and forth.

Zhou Heng knew the old guy was deliberately dragging out the time to make him anxious, so that when it came to haggling over the price, he might act impulsively. He smiled faintly and said, "My master will be refining another batch of Green Brilliance Pills shortly—"

The Old Pharmacist’s movements suddenly stiffened, and he immediately sped up, swiftly placing the twenty Green Brilliance Pills into jade bottles. He cleared his throat and announced, "After my appraisal, all twenty Green Brilliance Pills are of top grade!"

He said it himself but was startled by his own words. All top grade... how is that even possible? Could it be those legendary Holy Level Pharmacists?

Even for such supreme beings, if they could produce one top-grade pill in ten batches, they would consider themselves lucky. But all twenty pills here were of top grade... Which Holy Level Pharmacist would have the leisure to refine at least two hundred batches of Green Brilliance Pills?

"Name your price. If it doesn’t satisfy me, I won’t sell!" Zhou Heng declared.

The Old Pharmacist hastily brought his arms together, clutching the twenty Pill Bottles to his chest, then watched Zhou Heng with a wary look, as if he was ready to fight if Zhou Heng dared to snatch them. After all, even if they were top-grade Green Brilliance Pills, in terms of potency, at best they were worth two pills with 60% potency. Just from this perspective, the price could only be doubled.

But the words "top grade" were not to be taken lightly, were they?

Pharmacists could naturally learn and benefit from observing pills. The perfect ratio of materials, the delicate control of the flames—all of this was the best kind of teacher!

"Two thousand per pill..." the Old Pharmacist said feebly. Even as he quoted the price, he felt somewhat ashamed; it was practically a blasphemy to the Dao of Alchemy!

"Not selling!" Zhou Heng stood up decisively.

"Two thousand five... no, three thousand!" the Old Pharmacist hastily called out.

Zhou Heng would have actually been content with any amount over one thousand per pill, but what irritated him was being taken for a fool! A price of three thousand Immortal Stones per pill was already a huge mark-up just based on its potency. As for the additional benefits it might provide to a pharmacist’s skill advancement... Zhou Heng brushed it off without a second thought.

That’s fine with me, he thought. Not only am I recouping my investment, but I also have many more Green Brilliance Pills left to sell!

"Deal!" Zhou Heng smiled.

"Quick, bring out sixty thousand Lower Grade Immortal Stones!" The Old Pharmacist seemed afraid Zhou Heng would change his mind, urging the shop assistants to fetch the Immortal Stones to complete the transaction, while clutching the twenty Pill Bottles as if they were precious gems, as though someone might rob him.

The Heavenly Treasure Pavilion hoped Zhou Heng would leave a contact address so they could do business again in the future, but Zhou Heng certainly wouldn’t reveal his whereabouts. He made up an excuse that his "master does not like to be disturbed" to get out of it.

After leaving the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, Zhou Heng wandered around the market several times to shake off any followers, then reverted to his original appearance before heading back to the inn.

Learning that Zhou Heng had made sixty thousand Lower Grade Immortal Stones in one go, Yang Lanxin was naturally speechless. That was more than the Yang family made in a year! Yet Zhou Heng had only sold less than one-tenth of his Green Brilliance Pills. To compare oneself to another... truly maddening!

Zhou Heng tossed a few Immortal Stones onto the bed and chuckled, "Come on, girl, give your big boss a smile!"

Yang Lanxin rolled her eyes at him; with every gesture and move, she radiated charm. In her heart, she pondered that if it weren’t for the entangling love net capturing Zhou Heng, how could mere promises from the Yang family retain such a genius?

Look, he earned in one day what you make in a year. Can you afford him?

"Is it safe for us to stay here?" With Zhou Heng shining so brilliantly, she willingly took on the role of dependent.

Zhou Heng pondered for a moment and replied, "It’s safer than in the woods, at least!"

Although the forests appeared desolate with few people, seemingly secluded, that very solitude made detection by Divine Intent all the easier, which was even less safe! Better to stay amidst the hustle and bustle of the city, where the complexity of the crowds made it impossible to sweep with Divine Sense.

—This might only be a market, but its scale was by no means inferior to a large city; imagine how many people there must be! (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to vote for it at Qidian (qidian.com) with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)