Xiao Yan furrowed his brows as he stared at the item on the table. When his Spiritual Strength swept over the black, broken jade fragment, he was puzzled to find that even his Spiritual Strength couldn't penetrate it to see what was inside.
'Could this be some kind of tool for storing spiritual information? But why can't even my Spiritual Strength pass through it?'
With his current level of Spiritual Strength, ordinary soul jade pieces could be easily penetrated by him to directly peer into their contents.
He had given emergency communication jade pieces of this type to Qing Lin and his two elder brothers.
Generally, aside from being used to send spiritual signals, these soul jade pieces could also store spiritual information such as Qi Methods and Dou Techniques.
Learning Qi Methods and Dou Skills normally required dedicating time to study and comprehend them oneself. However, soul jade pieces could directly transmit the information into one's soul via Spiritual Strength. It was akin to sudden enlightenment. This allowed the learner to skip the step of assimilation and comprehension.
Therefore, this kind of soul jade piece was extremely precious.
"Sir, what can I help you with?" The stall owner asked curiously, noticing that Xiao Yan had been standing in front of his stall for quite some time.
Interrupted from his thoughts, Xiao Yan glanced at the man in front of him and smiled as he picked up the black jade fragment. "Boss, how much are you selling this jade piece for?"
The jade piece didn't feel smooth in his hand. Instead, it was covered with tiny granules and appeared as if the material was not very good. Moreover, faint cracks were visible on its surface, and there was even sand and dirt lodged in the crevices.
With a simple touch, Xiao Yan could tell that this was likely excavated from some ruins or dug out from the soil.
The man's eyes lit up immediately; Xiao Yan was the first person all morning to inquire about prices.
"Um... I... I'd like to trade for a tier 3 medicinal pill to study and improve my alchemy skills. My talent in alchemy isn't very good; despite practicing for so many years, I'm still just an alchemy apprentice," the man said with an embarrassed laugh.
Xiao Yan smiled slightly and retrieved three pills from his storage ring: "Here are three types of medicinal pills, all for healing injuries. They are a tier 1 Blood Clotting Powder, a tier 2 Body Recovery Pill, and a tier 3 Minor Blood Replenishing Pill. This should be enough for you to study and learn from, right?"
At the sight of Xiao Yan's generous offer, the stall owner quickly rose to his feet. He carefully placed the medicinal pills into three wooden boxes and looked at Xiao Yan in surprise. "Sir, could you be a 3rd-tier alchemist?!"
Xiao Yan didn't say much more; since the transaction was complete, there was no need for him to linger.
As he walked away, Xiao Yan pondered over the jade fragment in his hand, 'No wonder none of the alchemists here discovered this soul jade piece. Using Spiritual Strength to probe it would just make one think it's an ordinary piece of black jade.'
Ordinary soul tools would provide feedback when probed with Spiritual Strength, but this black jade fragment felt just like an ordinary jade pendant, without any feedback at all.
'What was that feeling just now, and why has it disappeared?'
Tightly gripping the jade pendant, he noticed that the strange throbbing sensation he had felt upon entering the Alchemist Association was now gone.
Xiao Yan could feel a slight warmth emanating from within the jade piece, but he couldn't find any other clues. He wasn't in a hurry though. Putting the black jade fragment into his pocket, he decided he would need to study this item carefully after returning.
He continued to stroll through the marketplace, his eyes filled with curiosity as he examined numerous rare medicinal ingredients and other items that even he had never seen before. He had originally come in hopes of finding some treasures and to learn more about the rules of the Alchemist Grand Meeting.
'Alchemists really are arrogant.' Most of the stall owners he encountered along the way had an indifferent attitude; even when someone asked about prices, they would only nonchalantly state a number, acting as if they didn't care whether one bought their items or not.
Here, purchases were not made with gold coins; most transactions were conducted using medicinal pills or pill recipes.
Xiao Yan noticed a special kind of Peach Blossom Flame's fire seed, similar to the Amethyst Flame of the Amethyst Winged Lion King, as they were both kinds of Beast Flames. Eventually, it was exchanged by a cold and beautiful young woman for a tier 4 pill recipe.
Xiao Yan shook his head. He hadn't found any other items worth buying. Although there were many precious medicinal ingredients here, none were what he was looking for.
'Too bad there are no Heavenly Flames for sale.' Xiao Yan was truly daydreaming, thinking he could find Heavenly Flames to purchase here.
After wandering around, Xiao Yan approached the association's reception desk and asked in a low voice, "Hello, I need a detailed handbook of the rules for the Alchemist Grand Meeting."
The pretty receptionist glanced down at Xiao Yan's chest and, seeing that he wasn't wearing an alchemist badge, immediately put on an impatient expression. She said, "Only official alchemists can participate in the Alchemist Grand Meeting. Apprentices are not permitted."
Xiao Yan shook his head helplessly and said, "I am an alchemist."
"Then show me your alchemist badge." The receptionist rolled her eyes at him. Which alchemist didn't treat their badge as a symbol of their identity and status, wishing they could wear it even when bathing?
Xiao Yan crossed his arms and replied in an irritated tone, "Not all alchemists place so much importance on badge tiers. Is this proof enough?"
He extended a finger, and with a whoosh, a wisp of black flame appeared at his fingertip.
The receptionist's face changed drastically when she saw the condensed real fire. She exclaimed in shock, "Real fire! Could it be that you are a 4th-tier alchemist?!"
Some passing alchemists glanced over curiously when they heard the receptionist's exclamation.
"A 4th-tier alchemist! Where?!"
"You're saying this seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy is a 4th-tier alchemist? You've got to be kidding."
"If you're going to lie, at least make it more believable. Even if he started practicing alchemy in his mother's womb, it's impossible for him to be at tier 4."
Xiao Yan shrugged, not bothering to explain further, and smiled. "Can I have the handbook now?"
The receptionist's beautiful eyes flashed with a strange color. Regardless of whether Xiao Yan was truly a 4th-tier alchemist or not, being able to condense real fire meant his tier was definitely not low.
Xiao Yan accepted the handbook and noticed that it had an address written on it, along with a lipstick kiss mark. Glancing at the bashful expression of the girl in front of him, he smiled wryly and shook his head.
With a sweep of his black flame, he swiftly erased the marks before daring to step out of the Alchemist Association.
If Old Ling caught wind of this and word got back to Xun Er, there would be hell to pay.
As Xiao Yan walked back to the Nalan Mansion, he read through the rules in the handbook. The regulations of the Alchemist Grand Meeting were quite simple. Alchemists under the age of thirty could participate; the first round was the preliminary selection, followed by the second round of elimination matches, and the third round would determine the champion.
In addition to becoming an honorary elder of the Alchemist Association, the champion would be rewarded with a tier 6 pill recipe—the Spirit Fusion Pill.
"The Spirit Fusion Pill can fuse the soul with the body, rapidly restore Spiritual Strength, and even heal previous soul injuries? That's quite an exceptional pill recipe, capable of restoring Spiritual Strength and repairing soul damage."
Just as Xiao Yan was contemplating whether to participate in the competition to obtain this pill recipe, a cold voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
"Boy, get your hands on that Spirit Fusion Pill Recipe for me, and I'll spare your life in the future!"