Early morning, when Lin Zhou entered Fu Yuan Hall.
Shopkeeper Chen was holding a teacup. Seeing him enter, he naturally smiled and said,
"Fellow Daoist Lin, you're here? How much did you bring this time?"
His words already showed familiarity.
Ever since Lin Zhou's Cultivation Technique reached Perfection, his cultivation efficiency increased again, and the Medicinal Pills he consumed daily grew exponentially.
He continued to buy Medicinal Pills for Cultivation with a large amount of Spirit Stones. During this period, the two had traded five or six times. The Talismans Lin Zhou brought each time were of stable quality and moderate quantity, becoming a stable source of goods for Fu Yuan Hall.
"Same as usual." Lin Zhou smiled as he took out the Talismans from his Huai and laid them on the counter.
"Please inspect them."
Shopkeeper Chen put down his teacup, skillfully picked up a fireball talisman, and with a slight probe of spiritual power, nodded:
"Clear lines, even spiritual power."
He then randomly checked a few golden body talismans.
"Hmm, this batch is as stable in quality as usual."
He quickly finished counting:
"Ten high-grade fireball talismans, ten High Grade golden body talismans, thirty Medium Grade fireball talismans, and thirty Medium Grade golden body talismans. According to the Spirit Stone price, a high-grade fireball talisman is eleven Spirit Stones, and a golden body talisman is thirteen Spirit Stones; a Medium Grade fireball talisman is four Spirit Stones, and a golden body talisman is five Spirit Stones. A total of five hundred and ten Spirit Stones."
Shopkeeper Chen took out Spirit Stones from under the counter while chatting leisurely:
"Fellow Daoist Lin, your Talisman crafting skill is getting more and more stable. There are no more than five people in the market who can consistently produce High Grade Talismans."
Lin Zhou took the bag of Spirit Stones but did not count them on the spot.
He followed the conversation and said,
"Practice makes perfect. But Old Brother Chen, how is the Medicinal Pill market recently?"
"Still the same, supply can't meet demand."
Shopkeeper Chen picked up his teacup again, "qi gathering pills and true essence pills are the most sought after, and all the great Families and shops are eyeing them."
"Are Alchemists that rare?"
"They're hard to Cultivate."
Shopkeeper Chen shook his head,
"Just the initial investment can cripple an ordinary Loose Cultivator. Fellow Daoist Lin, are you interested in this?"
"Just asking." Lin Zhou smiled,
"I always feel that having many skills doesn't hurt."
Three days later, Lin Zhou came to Fu Yuan Hall again.
This time, he took out fifty Talismans and neatly placed them on the counter.
Shopkeeper Chen initially didn't pay attention, casually picking one up for inspection.
The moment his finger touched the Talisman paper, his movement froze.
He picked up the second, then the third... After continuously checking seven or eight, Shopkeeper Chen looked up, with surprise in his eyes:
"This batch... all High Grade?"
Fifty Talismans, twenty-five fireball talismans, twenty-five golden body talismans, each with full Talisman patterns and contained spiritual power.
"Just lucky, I was in seclusion for a few days, and my touch felt better."
Lin Zhou's tone remained calm.
Shopkeeper Chen carefully inspected them, then took a deep breath:
"It's not just a good touch. Fellow Daoist Lin, your Talisman crafting skill seems to have advanced another step. All High Grade, not a single Medium Grade, this control..."
He paused, then continued with the old rules:
"high-grade fireball talismans are eleven Spirit Stones each, and golden body talismans are thirteen Spirit Stones. This batch of goods is six hundred Spirit Stones."
While settling the bill, Shopkeeper Chen couldn't help but say,
"Fellow Daoist Lin, with your current Talisman crafting level, if you specialize in this Dao, establishing yourself in the market is absolutely no problem."
"Thank you for your guidance, Old Brother Chen."
Lin Zhou put away the Spirit Stones and suddenly asked,
"If I want to try Alchemy, can Old Brother point me in the right direction?"
Shopkeeper Chen was startled, seriously sized up Lin Zhou, and seeing his serious expression, he also solemnly said,
"You really want to try? The initial investment is not small."
"I want to try."
Lin Zhou nodded, "Success is certainly joyful, but failure is also fine, my Talisman crafting skill is still there."
Shopkeeper Chen tapped the counter,
"Like this, for the Pill Furnace, I know the shopkeeper of an Artifact Refining shop and can get you a Tier 1 Low Grade Pill Furnace, thirty percent off. For fire control techniques, I have a basic 'Fusion Fire Art' here, I'll charge you five Spirit Stones for the copying fee. As for Medicinal Materials—I'll help you contact a few apothecaries, you can get a discount for large quantities."
He paused, then added,
"But Old Brother has to say one more thing, your Spirit Stones, if thrown into a Pill Furnace, you might not even hear a sound. You need to be aware of that."
"I understand."
Lin Zhou smiled,
"With Old Brother Chen's help, many troubles have already been saved."
Five days later, Lin Zhou received all the items.
A three-legged bronze Pill Furnace, priced at forty Spirit Stones, and the Fusion Fire Art Jade Slip, five Spirit Stones.
Two hundred and fourteen portions of qi gathering pill Materials, and two hundred and fourteen portions of true essence pill Materials.
Shopkeeper Chen, relying on his old connections, cut the total price from two hundred and eighty-six to two hundred and sixty Spirit Stones.
Lin Zhou also purchased an additional hundred portions of qi gathering pill and a hundred portions of true essence pill Materials for backup, spending one hundred and eighty Spirit Stones.
As they parted, Shopkeeper Chen saw him to the door:
"Fellow Daoist Lin, the biggest taboo in Alchemy is impatience. It's common for the first furnace to fail, don't be discouraged even if the tenth furnace fails."
"I've noted it. Thank you, Shopkeeper Chen."
Lin Zhou cupped his hands, "I'll bother you again another day."
On the way back, Lin Zhou stopped at the edge of the market.
At the one-eyed old man's stall, he picked up the Basic Sword Control Art.
"Ten Spirit Stones." The old man quoted directly.
Lin Zhou didn't bargain and paid directly.
Sword control is every Cultivator's dream.
Riding a sword to the sky, traveling to the North Sea in the morning and Cangwu in the evening.
That feeling of freedom is something no Light Body Technique or Wind Riding Art can provide.
Inside the house, Lin Zhou first opened the Sword Control Art.
"The sword is the artifact, Divine Sense is the guide, Qi is the source..."
Basic Sword Control Art: Entry-level (/100)
He took out his magic sword and circulated his spiritual power according to the art.
The first time, the Flying Sword trembled and fell.
The hundredfold proficiency began to take effect.
Basic Sword Control Art Proficiency +10
The second time, it was three inches off the ground.
The third time, it hovered in the air.
Basic Sword Control Art: Proficient (20/1000)
When he stepped onto the sword body, the Flying Sword suddenly rushed forward.
Lin Zhou stumbled but stabilized, controlling it to fly in the air.
After half a day of practice, he could already quickly circle at low altitude indoors.
Three days later, in the early morning, Lin Zhou rose on his sword, three zhang off the ground, flying along the foothills.
The wind whistled in his ears, the mountains and forests retreated beneath his feet, and his speed was more than three times faster than a Light Body Technique at the Perfection realm.
The mountain wind blew against his face, what joy!
Basic Sword Control Art Perfection (3600/100000)
Besides flying on a sword, Sword Control Art can also be used for combat, which is better than Object Manipulation Art.
Sword Control Art's sword control is bound by Divine Sense and communicated by Sword Intent, making sword control as easy as moving an arm.
Whereas Object Manipulation Art involves spiritual power enveloping the magic sword, then pulling it with Divine Sense, resulting in delayed and imprecise control.
Next, it's Alchemy.
With the Pill Furnace placed in the room, Lin Zhou circulated the Fusion Fire Art.
Crimson flames rose from his palm, fluctuating in size with the adjustment of his Divine Sense.
Four hours later, fire control was as easy as moving an arm.
Fusion Fire Art Perfection (10/100000)
After carefully reading the qi gathering pill Formula and refining steps, text prompts appeared in his mind.
qi gathering pill: Entry-level (/100)
The rough refining method was already etched in his mind.
He took out the qi gathering pill Materials: Qi Gathering Grass, Dewdrop Flower...
Warm the furnace, add the medicine, control the fire.
Lin Zhou's Divine Sense split into three strands, closely monitoring the changes in the Spirit Medicine.
Soon, the flame instantly turned into a gentle flame, slowly calcining.
The medicinal liquid fused, the pills condensed, and the heat fluctuated like breathing.
Half an hour later, twelve dusty Medicinal Pills were at the bottom of the furnace.
Low Grade qi gathering pill, twelve pills formed.
qi gathering pill: Entry-level (10/100)
Lin Zhou picked one up for a closer look.
The quality was poor, no different from what he had bought before.
qi gathering pill Proficiency +10
Lin Zhou did not rush to refine the second furnace, because he realized a problem.
His Golden Finger gives proficiency as long as he completes it once, meaning it gives proficiency based on the number of times completed.
Regardless of whether the total amount of Medicinal Pills refined is one or twelve, it only counts as one completion of refining.
For Alchemy, if each portion of Spirit Medicine Materials is sufficient, the maximum number of pills that can be formed from one portion of Spirit Medicine is twelve.
Changing his thinking, could he divide one portion of Spirit Medicine evenly into twelve portions?
Refining only one pill at a time, and with less Spirit Medicine, the refining speed would be faster, consuming less spiritual power and Divine Sense, allowing him to more quickly farm Golden Finger proficiency!
Moreover! His Divine Sense was exceptionally powerful, and his spiritual power was pure and abundant!
Could he simultaneously refine multiple furnaces of Medicinal Pills!
Lin Zhou's heart pounded!
He was about to take off again!
Improving Alchemy efficiency and reducing Alchemy time would allow him to spend the saved time on Cultivation.
For Lin Zhou, this was equivalent to accelerating his growth rate.
He immediately tried it once; it only took ten minutes to form a pill, with negligible consumption of spiritual power and Divine Sense.
Although there was only one pill, the Golden Finger granted proficiency.
qi gathering pill Proficiency +10
qi gathering pill Proficient (10/1000)
He must go buy Pill Furnaces now! Immediately! Right away!
He would start by buying ten Pill Furnaces to try!