Chapter 887, The First Guest
In the Holy Master Courtyard, Yang Kai was quietly feeling the various designs of the internal structure of the long shuttle artifact, trying to determine its function and purpose.
This artifact was quite unusual. Not only had it been quite difficult to refine and nourish, but it was also taking a long time to produce a resonance with.
It had already been four months since Yang Kai had become capable of taking it into his body, and since that day he had not stopped nourishing it with his True Qi and Spiritual Energy yet there was still not the slightest response from it.
The artifact itself had now been dyed with Yang Kai’s aura but it still refused to resonate with him, leaving him quite helpless.
Yang Kai suddenly sensed someone approaching and a moment later, Xu Hui’s voice came over, “Holy Master, subordinate seeks an audience!”
“Come in!” Yang Kai called out.
With hurried footsteps, Xu Hui quickly walked inside, a slightly strained look upon his face as he cupped his fists and reported, “Holy Master, there is someone here to request Alchemy from our Holy Land…”
“Oh?” Yang Kai’s lips curled into a grin, “Someone finally came?”
“En… finally indeed,” Xu Hui smiled bitterly.
Since the day Yang Kai made the Elders use their various relationships and communication channels to release the news, an entire month had actually passed, yet today was the first time anyone had actually come seeking Alchemy from the Holy Land.
The main cause of all this was that, although Nine Heavens Holy Land was truly world-famous, no news about them possessing a Saint Grade Alchemist had previous existed, so when people heard Yang Kai’s bold announcement no one believed it. To make matters worse, Xu Hui and the others had done as Yang Kai asked and announced that even Saint Grade Mid- Rank pills could be refined, making the whole thing sound even more questionable.
Such a proclamation was basically the same as saying there was at least one Saint Grade Mid-Rank Alchemist in Nine Heavens Holy Land!
Saint Grade Mid-Rank Alchemists were incredibly rare in Tong Xuan Realm, their number countable with one hand. Each of these Grandmasters had world-shaking fame and it was well known that none of them had anything to do with Nine Heavens Holy Land.
To put it simply, no one believed an Alchemist capable of refining such high-grade pills exited in the Holy Land.
After an entire month, only one person had even shown up.
“Where is our first guest then?” Yang Kai rolled up his sleeves, appearing unusually motivated.
“We have brought him to the main palace’s reception room,” Xu Hui replied quickly.
“Good. Since it’s our first customer, I’ll handle the matter personally,” Yang Kai said, getting up and flying off together with Xu Hui towards the mentioned reception room.
“Did that person say what pill he wants refined?” Yang Kai asked along the way
“A Spirit Grade Top-Rank Soul Solidifying Pill…”
“Spirit Grade Top-Rank?” Yang Kai was slightly stunned, he had thought someone coming here specifically to ask for Alchemy services would at least want to refine a Saint Grade pill, but it turns out they only wanted a Spirit Grade Top-Rank pill.
Yang Kai was inevitably somewhat disappointed.
However, when he thought about it, the Holy Land had yet to establish any kind of reputation in the field of Alchemy, so having someone come to make a request at all was a good sign. Immediately cheering up, Yang Kai prepared to welcome this first guest with the best hospitality possible.
One month ago, when Yang Kai learned of the financial predicament the Holy Land found itself in, he had this flash of inspiration.
If this was handled properly, not only would he be able to alleviate the Holy Land’s resource crisis, he would also be able to sweep away all the negative rumours about Nine Heavens Holy Land.
Most importantly though, Yang Kai could make use of this situation to help improve his Alchemy level!
This was his true goal!
It was truly too difficult to find and collect Saint Grade materials. By just relying on his own efforts, who knows how long it would take him to further improve his Alchemy skills.
However, most of the high-level cultivators of the world had a habit of collecting various herbs to refine high-grade pills they wanted. Inviting these masters to the Holy Land by offering Alchemy services was simply a win-win situation.
Since he had begun studying the Alchemic Way, with the exception of when he first started out, Yang Kai had almost never failed to refine a pill, which was why he made Xu Hui and the others release the bold statement that if the refining failed, the Holy Land would offer full compensation for the wasted materials. All of this was to attract customers to the Holy Land.
“A Soul Solidifying Pill…” Yang Kai muttered thoughtfully, “This customer must have a friend or loved one whose Soul suffered a severe wound.”
“Has Holy Master also studied about various pills?” Xu Hui looked at him in amazement. Determining the purpose of a pill after only hearing its name was not something Xu Hui could do.
“Just a little,” Yang Kai chuckled.
A moment later, the pair arrived at the reception room.
Inside the room sat a middle-aged man wearing a grey robe, seemingly somewhat nervous as he maintained a somewhat rigid posture.
To the side of the room, several pretty maids stood by.
The man had already been served a fragrant cup of tea, but it was obvious he had not touched it, his face conveying some anxiety as his brow furrowed with concern.
Yang Kai swept his eyes over the middle-aged man and quickly determined he was only a First Order Transcendent, immediately understanding why he had come to Nine Heavens Holy Land for Alchemy.
This cultivator’s strength was not too high and he did not wear any high-end artifacts on his body, it seems he was from some small family or Sect.
Such a cultivator wanting to collect the materials for a Spirit Grade Top-Rank pill must have experienced a great deal of frustration and trouble as well as expended a great deal of his wealth.
If he were to use an unreliable Alchemist to refine the pill he wanted, once it failed, he would have to start this arduous process all over again.
However, Nine Heavens Holy Land was different. Xu Hui had already announced that even if the refinement failed, a full compensation would be offered, so there was much less to worry about.
It was mainly this promise of full compensation after a failure that attracted this man to the Holy Land.
Upon hearing the sound of footsteps, the middle-aged man quickly got up and turned towards the approaching Yang Kai and Xu Hui, releasing an awkward laugh as he cupped his fists and bowed, “It is an honour to meet you, Great Elder Xu Hui.”
“En, there’s no need to act so politely. Please, sit,” Xu Hui behaved quite approachably. As a Second-Order Saint Realm master, speaking to a First Order Transcendent in such a manner was already extremely flattering.
His face flushing slightly with excitement, the man quickly sat back down before turning a curious glance towards the young Yang Kai.
Xu Hui hurriedly spoke, “All me to introduce you: This is the Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land, Yang Kai!”
The middle-aged man jumped back off the chair he had just stat on and with a look of shock and awe hastily exclaimed, “So it is Holy Master Yang… this one has heard so much about you.”
“All of it bad, yes?” Yang Kai joking spoke.
Some time ago, a lot of rumours about the new Holy Master of Nine Heavens Holy Land colluding with the Demon Race and Monster Race had been maliciously spread out, so the Holy Land’s current reputation in the Human Territory was actually quite poor, with Yang Kai’s personal image being even worse.
The middle-aged man never dreamed Yang Kai would speak such words, a stunned look appearing on his face for a moment before he waved his hands in a flurry, “This one wouldn’t dare to…”
“It’s fine, I know well what kind of rumours are circulating outside… Good, let’s not discuss such things, we’re here to talk about Alchemy! How should I address this friend?”
“This humble one’s name is Lu Qing!”
“I heard that you want to refine a Soul Solidifying Pill. Have you brought all the required herbs?”
“Yes,” Lu Qing replied quickly, pulling out a small package from his bag and placing it on the table.
Seeing this scene, Yang Kai was even surer of his previous guess, this man was truly not very well off.
It was easy to tell because he didn’t even have a Universe Bag, the herbs were actually carried on his person.
Yang Kai motioned to Xu Hui who quickly picked up the package and delivered it to Yang Kai.
Opening the package and carefully checking the herbs inside, Yang Kai nodded lightly, “These spirit herbs are not bad. They’ve obviously been handled carefully so their medical efficacies have not deteriorated too seriously; using them for Alchemy is possible. However, in the future, they should not be stored like this; at the very least some separate containers used to preserve their freshness should be prepared.”
Lu Qing smiled awkwardly, “What Holy Master Yang said is quite right, this Lu will pay more attention to this in the future.”
“However… the set of herbs you’ve brought is not complete…” Yang Kai calmly smiled, “There is no Solidifying Soul Grass, so if you rely solely on these materials, the Alchemy success rate will be greatly reduced. At most, there is only a thirty percent chance a usable pill can be refined.”
“Ah?” Lu Qing was shocked and looked confused, “That’s can’t be…”
“The person who gave you the list of herbs required for this pill must not have a very high Alchemy level,” Yang Kai said unceremoniously.
Lu Qing nodded, “It was a Spirit Grade Low-Rank Alchemist…”
“No wonder. Refining with these materials, even if you are lucky enough to acquire a usable pill, its efficacy may not be enough to cure your loved one or friend.”
“How did Holy Master Yang know…” Lu Qing directed a stunned look towards Yang Kai, shivering slightly as he stared.
“This pill has the effect of stabilizing and repairing one’s Soul,” Yang Kai said lightly, “Anyone who is familiar with such a pill will know what it is intended for. If I am not mistaken, one of your family members or close friends suffered severe trauma during a battle and is still unconscious, yes?”
A look of admiration and respect filled Lu Qing’s face as he nodded, “It is as Holy Master Yang said, the one who was injured was my son…. It has been almost half a year yet he remains in a coma. This Lu has spent every moment since then collecting these herbs and only recently managed to acquire them all. I was looking for an Alchemist to help refine them when I heard rumours about Nine Heavens Holy Land offering Alchemy services so I rushed over.”
“En, if you had sought out any other Alchemist, forget about success of failure in refining, he would most likely not even accept your request until you sought out a stalk of Solidifying Soul Grass…”
Lu Qing looked at Yang Kai nervously, for fear that he too would say this.
After all, it would only be a matter of course.
An Alchemist was only responsible for performing Alchemy, searching for the required ingredients was the responsibility of the one requesting for Alchemy.
“My Holy Land has Solidifying Soul Grass, there’s no need for you to search for one.”
Hearing this, Lu Qing was overjoyed and bowed his head once more, “Many thanks, Holy Master Yang, many thanks, Holy Master Yang!”
“A minor matter. Good, wait here for a moment, I will help you refine the pill you need. If there is no accident, half an hour to an hour will be enough,” Yang Kai declared before holding the package of herbs and leaving the reception room.
Now, there was only Lu Qing, Xu Hui and the maids who were standing off the side left in the room.
Xu Hui wore a doubtful expression.
Although he didn’t know much about Alchemy as he had never studied this particular field, he was experienced enough to know how hard refining a Spirit Grade Top-Rank pill was.
Was it really possible to finish refining one in half an hour to an hour?
Where did the Holy Master find such a fierce Alchemist? On top of that, the Holy Master had declared with full confidence that there was no chance of failure. Was there really an Alchemist who had a 100% success rate of refining pills?
Xu Hui simply couldn’t understand.
As for Lu Qing, he was even more restless. He sat right at the edge of his chair as if he wanted to stand up and pace to ease the anxiety in his heart, but in front of Xu Hui he didn’t dare act so loosely.
Seeing his appearance, Xu Hui smiled and said, “There’s no need to be so nervous. Since my Holy Land released such a statement, even if the refining fails, we will certainly compensate for your loss so you can ask another Alchemist to help you. My Holy Land won’t go back on its word for a few spirit herbs.”