"Come in."
Pushing open the door revealed a woman dressed in a green robe, elegant and graceful, with an unparalleled beauty. Her cool demeanor gave off a sense that she was to be admired from afar and not trifled with.
"Xiao Xun'er, what brings you here?" Yun Tianming was indifferent towards the aloof girl, hence had no time for pleasantries.
"I've come to purchase Ice Spirit Pills and a large quantity of Fire Energy from you," Xun'er cut straight to the point without unnecessary words.
She had established a faction named "Pan's Gate" within the inner courtyard, attracting most of the new students with her personal charm. This had offended other major factions. To grow and expand, she needed a substantial amount of Fire Energy.
"Ice Spirit Pills require Fire Energy for purchase."
"And since you need a large amount of Fire Energy, what do you intend to trade with?"
Yun Tianming's eyes flickered with interest as he looked at Xun'er.
"You should have some understanding of what kind of person I am."
"Let's get to the point, then. Do you want Qi Methods, Dou Techniques, or Pills?"
Xun'er was wealthy and prepared to use her resources to gain access to cultivation materials in the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower.
"Just as I expected!"
Yun Tianming's eyes lit up. Xun'er hailed from one of the ancient Eight Clans, the powerful Gu Clan, and her wealth was undoubtedly vast beyond imagination.
"I want a Heaven Rank Dou Technique."
"That's quite a hefty request."
"In that case, how about a High-level Earth Rank Dou Technique?
"As I said, you better not ask for an exorbitant price."
"Earth Rank Mid Level."
"I do have it, but how much Fire Energy do you think you need to pay?"
Xun'er became interested.
"I can provide Fire Energy to Pan's Gate on a long-term basis."
Yun Tianming hinted that as a Mentor he could easily earn large amounts of Fire Energy with just a few classes, and selling Pills was also a solid currency. He couldn't possibly use it all himself.
Xun'er nodded thoughtfully, and then a golden scroll flew out from her Spatial Ring.
Yun Tianming promptly handed over his Fire Energy card with tact. He paid in full for the goods.
"Earth Rank Mid Level Dou Technique: Golden Light Qi Method!"
In ancient times, Golden Light Venerable created this close-combat Dou Technique, integrating offense and defense. With it, he defeated three Dou Venerates of the same level without fail.
"Great stuff!"
Yun Tianming simply glanced over the content of the scroll containing the Dou Technique and couldn't help but sparkle with excitement. It was perfect for him as he lacked a close-combat Dou Technique.
After unabashedly deducting seven hundred Fire Energy from his card, Xun'er handed it back and instructed, "Next week, I'll send someone to collect another seven hundred days' worth of Fire Energy."
"Okay."
Yun Tianming twitched his mouth slightly. Earning so much Fire Energy in just one week meant he had to work hard teaching classes and crafting Pills.
————
"Alright, Mentor Yun, I'll leave my Dou Spirit Pills to you."
"Don't worry! I have enough materials! Additionally, I'll throw in an extra three hundred days' worth of Fire Energy for you."
Elder Hao, who guarded the herb storage room, looked at Yun Tianming with a pleasing expression.
"Elder Hao, you're too kind."
"But let me clarify beforehand, the Dou Spirit Pill is a Fifth Grade pinnacle Pill. With my current alchemy skills, it typically takes three sets of ingredients on average to successfully refine one."
In order to quickly earn Fire Energy, Yun Tianming proactively spread the word about being able to refine Dou Spirit Pills, immediately attracting the attention of Academy elders.
"Hehe, these herbs are stored here, but sooner or later, those old fogeys from the alchemy department will find excuses to take them away. Besides, a thirty percent success rate is already quite good."
Elder Hao waved his hand, friendly patted Yun Tianming's shoulder, and smiled, "Mentor Yun, I won't beat around the bush. If you can refine the Dou Spirit Pill, I'll use my authority to allow you to freely choose one herb from this storage room. How about that?"
A single herb for one type of pil
Yun Tianming furrowed his brows slightly.
As if sensing his concern, Elder Hao hurriedly explained, "Hey, don't think I'm taking advantage of you. You should know, this storage room contains precious herbs for Sixth Grade Pills. Trading a Fifth Grade Pill for them is quite a deal."
"Well, alright then."
Yun Tianming nodded in satisfaction.
Having received the jade token from Elder Hao to access the herb storage room, Yun Tianming passed through the spatial blockade and entered a spacious room bathed in a faint fluorescence.
The entire inner wall of the room was enveloped in a layer of milky-white jade, and even the floor beneath his feet was seamlessly pieced together from immaculate white jade blocks. The faint fluorescence emanated from these white jades.
This wasn't just for aesthetics; this type of jade was highly effective for storing herbs, especially with the outer spatial blockade that maximized the preservation of the herbs' potency, ensuring no loss of medicinal power whatsoever. It was far superior to a few Spatial Rings combined.
Inside the room, several corridors were also arranged, with tall counters made entirely of white jade on both sides. On top of these counters were placed some oddly-shaped herbs, emitting faint medicinal fragrances of various flavors.
"Yinhan Magic Flame Grass, Purple Spirit Body-Shaping Flower, and Cold Blood Fruit. Tsk tsk~ These are all rare and precious herbs rarely seen outside."
Yun Tianming looked on with envy, feeling the urge to pack them all up and take them home right then and there. But he could only fantasize about it because he sensed powerful spatial barriers set on each counter, triggering alarms if anyone were to touch them.
After searching the spacious storage room for over an hour, Yun Tianming finally found his target.
In a corner of the counter, there was a peculiar fruit alternating between red and white, emitting both heat and cold simultaneously. These two seemingly extreme attributes were perfectly fused in a single fruit. Nature truly was incredibly marvelous.
"Found it! Asparagus Ice Fire Fruit! The key ingredient for refining the Ground Spirit Pill!"
Yun Tianming hung the jade token on the counter, marking it as reserved. Once he successfully refined the Dou Spirit Pill, he could take away this Asparagus Ice Fire Fruit.
Just then, as if appearing out of thin air, a delicate hand effortlessly passed through the spatial barrier on the counter and directly took the Asparagus Ice Fire Fruit inside!
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