"Yan Fei himself cultivates inner strength, and I don't know where he got this Vital Qi Spread recipe from, it must be for his own use,"
Su Changkong thought to himself.
The practice of inner strength is progressive and cannot be mastered overnight. Power will not surge suddenly; it requires a long time of cultivation and accumulation. And consuming pill medicines that aid the cultivation of inner strength is undoubtedly a shortcut that can save a lot of hard work!
"If I had this Vital Qi Spread, the breakthrough for my Turtle Breath Technique would certainly be faster."
Not long ago, Su Changkong's Turtle Breath Technique broke through to the 4th realm, giving birth to Turtle Breathing True Qi. However, the quality of his True Qi could only be considered mediocre at best, capable of supporting only a few bursts of his full effort before nearly depleting.
To achieve another breakthrough in the Turtle Breath Technique with Su Changkong's current talents would also take quite some time. With this Vital Qi Spread, perhaps the process could be hastened several fold!
As for how effective the Vital Qi Spread is, he would know once he tried!
"I'll go to Clearwater City tomorrow to purchase the medicinal ingredients on the recipe."
Su Changkong made up his mind. Tomorrow would be a day off, providing him with the perfect opportunity to acquire the necessary ingredients for the Vital Qi Spread.
Early the next morning, Su Changkong woke up early, practiced Five Animal Frolics for a while, and then set off from Black Iron Manor to head for Clearwater City.
Huff!
On the uneven road, Su Changkong sprinted with leaps and bounds. His speed exceeded that of ordinary humans, creating a gust of wind that slightly bent the flowers and grass on both sides of the road. His breathing remained steady without any shortness of breath.
Having reached the Internal Strength Realm in body refinement, his organs were strengthened, significantly enhancing his strength and endurance. He could rival many animals in prowess. For Su Changkong, a distance of thirty or forty li was nothing more than a short walk!
Half an hour later, Su Changkong arrived at Clearwater City.
He entered the city familiarly and went to a pharmacy to purchase the medicinal ingredients.
However, Su Changkong encountered a problem.
In a pharmacy, an elderly shopkeeper with greying hair looked at Su Changkong's shopping list and said, "Young man, the ingredients you are looking to purchase are very precious, and some of them are extremely rare. Most of them are not available in our store... and likely not in other stores either."
"Not available?"
Su Changkong's brow furrowed slightly upon hearing this.
The ingredients needed for the Vital Qi Spread were very rare, and compiling a single dose could cost about four or five taels of silver, beyond the means of ordinary people. Otherwise, Yan Fei wouldn't have gone about extorting money and amassing wealth.
What made matters worse was that these medicinal ingredients were hard to come by in the marketplace; most pharmacies didn't carry them!
"Then I won't trouble you any further," said Su Changkong to the shopkeeper. He still was not willing to give up and continued to look for the Vital Qi Spread ingredients at other pharmacies within Clearwater City.
Just as the previous shopkeeper had mentioned, aside from a few common ingredients, the recipe for the Vital Qi Spread included several key ingredients that were simply not available in the stores!
"To think that I can't buy them even with money?"
Su Changkong felt helpless. He spent a whole day in Clearwater City, visiting all the pharmacies to no avail!
As the sky gradually darkened, Su Changkong had no choice but to leave Clearwater City and return to Black Iron Manor.
"I couldn't buy the ingredients for Vital Qi Spread in Clearwater City, and it's likely going to be very difficult to find them in nearby villages and towns as well."
Su Changkong felt somewhat distressed.
Having not achieved his goal, Su Changkong went to bed early and practiced the Turtle Breath Technique.
When the next morning came, the weather was quite nice, and early in the morning, guests arrived at Black Iron Manor!
"Is this Black Iron Manor?"
A young man in his twenties, dressed in white, appeared on horseback outside Black Iron Manor, looking up at the plaque at the entrance.
This youth in white had a distinguished and handsome appearance, riding a white horse with two strong protectors, also mounted on horses, flanking his sides.
"What business does this young master have?"
The arrival of the man in white prompted a Black Iron Manor member at the gate to ask respectfully.
Anyone could see that the young man in white was no ordinary person, he obviously required respectful treatment.
With a faint smile, the young man in white replied, "I wish to see your Manor Lord; I have a business deal to discuss."
"This young master, please follow me, and I will take you to see the Manor Lord," said the robust man, hearing that the visitor had come to discuss business, with even greater respect.
The white-clothed youth and his two guards all entered Black Iron Manor.
...
"Clang, clang, clang!"
Inside the workshop, Su Changkong, with his robust upper body bare, swung the hammer, continuously and repetitively forging the glowing red steel in front of him. Sparks flew and occasionally landed on his skin, bringing a slight burning sensation, but he had long grown accustomed to it.
"Everyone stop for a moment, pay attention when I call your name."
At that moment, Director Liu entered the workshop and called out loudly.
"What is it?"
The busy people in the workshop paused their work, and a hint of confusion appeared on Su Changkong's face.
"Yang Chao!"
"Zhang San!"
...
"Su Changkong!"
Director Liu called out names, including Su Changkong's.
"Those whose names have been called, come with me."
In the end, Director Liu called out the names of about twenty people, and instructed them.
"What's this about?"
"I don't know, Let's go and find out!"
Although everyone was puzzled, they didn't ask further and followed Director Liu out of the workshop, through the pathway planted with trees, towards the rear garden of Black Iron Manor where distinguished guests were received.
In one of the large halls of the back garden, Su Changkong and the others saw Mo Tie.
Besides Mo Tie, there was another very unfamiliar white-clothed youth sitting nearby.
The white-clothed youth had an air of uncommon grace, flanked by two powerful-looking guards, indicating an extraordinary identity and background.
Upon seeing everyone arrive, Mo Tie introduced them, "This is Mr. Bai Shao from the White Jade Gang."
"The White Jade Gang?"
Hearing this, Su Changkong's heart stirred slightly.
He had heard a bit about the White Jade Gang. Near Clearwater City, the White Jade Gang was quite well-known, with immense wealth from their jade business, and their members numbered in the hundreds to nearly a thousand–a behemoth indeed!
The Gang Leader of the White Jade Gang, Bai Tianhao, was a man of renown in the martial world of Clearwater City. He was not only highly skilled in martial arts but also astute in handling affairs. Given that the white-clothed youth was named Bai Shao, it wasn't hard to guess his identity, most likely the son of the Gang Leader.
For him to personally visit Black Iron Manor, there must be some important matter!
Bai Shao had a gentle smile on his face, "All of you are skilled Forging Masters of Black Iron Manor. To be frank, I wish to hire you to go to our White Jade Gang to help us forge some equipment."
"Hire us? To forge equipment?"
The crowd was slightly taken aback.
The people Director Liu had called by name were all Forging Masters, and the reason they were summoned was due to this son of the White Jade Gang, who needed to hire a group of Forging Masters to help forge equipment at the Gang, according to his words.
Someone frowned slightly and questioned, "To forge equipment... why not directly place an order with Black Iron Manor? Is it necessary for us to work within the White Jade Gang?"
Indeed, whatever was needed could be ordered directly from Black Iron Manor. It seemed superfluous for Bai Shao to have them go to the White Jade Gang in person.
Bai Shao's smile remained as he replied, "The reason for this is inconvenient to disclose, but the payment is quite generous. For a period of four months, our White Jade Gang will pay each of you thirty taels of silver per month!"
"A month... thirty taels?"
As these words were spoken, many of the Forging Masters couldn't help but swallow hard.
It was known that an ordinary Forging Master could only forge two or three quality swords in a month, earning about three taels of silver.
But Bai Shao was very generous, offering each person thirty taels of silver per month. Working for one month would equal what they used to earn in nearly a year, and in four months, they could make as much as they earned from four years of hard work!