In Bufa City, with the help of Madame Cixiu, Wu Ling rented a small villa on one of the lower levels of the underground city. Despite being so far down into the abandoned spirit crystal mine that no natural light could be seen, it felt more like walking around a busy city at night than dwelling underground.
The streets were lined with brilliantly glowing spirit crystal lanterns and the faint traces of shattered spirit crystals still embedded in the cavern walls and ceiling sparkled faintly like stars in the night sky. Along the streets, carefully tended gardens had been planted, filled with plants that normally thrived in the constant shade of dense forests.
The villa itself was small, consisting of three squat buildings around a central garden courtyard. Still, it provided a comfortable space for each member of the group to cultivate, even if their sleeping arrangements were a bit cramped. Most importantly, it nestled in an unobtrusive neighborhood next to several other villas.
Many of those villas stood empty while their owners were away from the city, giving Wu Ling's group a chance to avoid both the bustle and the dangers of the city's upper levels.
The day after everyone settled into the small villa, Yu Jinqi returned to the upper levels along with Xiong Dahuo and Zhang Buyan who trailed behind him like ferocious guard dogs.
Wu Ling had secured masks for everyone, and while Yu Jinqi joined their group's leader in sporting a refined fox mask, Xiong Dahuo had donned the mask of a ferocious demon while Zhang Buyan sported a golden bird mask that had been selected to match a similar mask Wu Ling had given to Jin Wuya.
The effect the two men had in their masks, emanating a bubble of menace that extended for several meters around them, would have intimidated Yu Jinqi if he didn't know that they were his good friends under their frightening masks.
"Remember," he said as they approached a tall building decorated with glowing illusory flames and polished golden cauldrons. "You're not to mention my name or sect to anyone here. From the moment I go in there, I'm just a wandering alchemist, understand?"
"Rest easy Brother Jade," Zhang Buyan said easily, his smile hidden behind the bird mask. Yu Jinqi had made it clear that he wanted to avoid being seen associating with the Alchemy Consortium but that didn't mean his friends wouldn't find time to tease him about it later. For now, however, they were all happy to play along if it helped to keep their friend safe in this place.
"Welcome to the Bufa City branch of the Alchemy Consortium," a cheerful young woman's voice called when they entered the ostentatious building. "We have many medicines, elixirs, and even pills available for purchase," she continued, gesturing to racks of finished goods that occupied much of the first floor of the large building.
"If you gentlemen would like, this humble one can be called Little Bai," the young girl said, bowing before them. "I would be happy to be your guide to the services our Consortium offers."
When Yu Jinqi looked at the young woman, he realized that she couldn't be more then fourteen or fifteen summers old. While she was clearly mortal and hadn't yet awakened, her fingers bore the stains of working with medicinal herbs and a faint medicinal fragrance clung to her despite the layer of scented soap that tried to mask it. Clearly, she had hopes of becoming an alchemist herself one day, even if she was limited to playing the role of a shop attendant at the moment.
"We're not here for finished goods," Yu Jinqi said gently, hoping that his companions didn't frighten the young girl too much. Unconsciously, he treated her the way he'd treat a junior at his sect who still hoped to awaken one day.
"Little Bai can call me Jade Fox, or Senior Jade if you prefer," he continued. "I've been wandering for some time and never joined the Consortium. Since I'm here and have some business at the upcoming auction, I thought it might benefit me to do so now," he said as though it was nothing important.
Wu Ling had suggested he put on airs the same way he'd done when they were discovered by Bullheaded Mao near the lake and had even offered to help the young alchemist practice if he needed to. Yu Jinqi, however, didn't feel the need to practice acting like obtaining a badge from the Alchemy Consortium was no big deal. To him, not only wasn't it a big deal, it was mildly embarrassing! He didn't need to do any acting to convey how little he cared about joining the Alchemy Consortium.
"I understand, Senior Jade," the young woman said, bowing deeply. "Since Senior Jade isn't a member of the consortium, does he have a badge from another sect he would like to have our consortium honor? If not, I'm afraid that Senior Jade will need to take an exam before joining the Consortium."
"It's just a Novice exam," Yu Jinqi said. "It's not too much of a bother. After that, will you be able to show me the herbs you have available for sale? I might also have a few rare specimens to trade if your Consortium is open to such."
"Of course," Little Bai said with a small bow. "Since it's a novice exam, I'll need to fetch one of the Master Alchemists to administer your exam. There will be a fee of fifty spirit crystals as well. If that's no bother, I can lead you to a room to wait for one of the Masters to be available."
"One of the Masters?" Zhang Buyan couldn't help but ask. "Just how many Master Alchemists reside here?" It wasn't that he'd never met a Master Alchemist, in fact, there were three Master Alchemists and even a Grand Master alchemist in the Inner Sect of the Golden Tide Martial Hall. In the Outer Sects, however, the number of Master Alchemists in all the sects, excluding the Alchemy Sects like Yu Jinqi's, could be counted on a pair of hands with fingers left over.
"This branch of the Alchemy Consortium is overseen by a Blessed Alchemist," Little Bai said, shocking Yu Jinqi and his companions. "Blessed Youfu is attended by two Grand Masters and twelve Masters at this branch. Since it's only a Novice exam, one of the Masters is usually available for matters like this."
"If it was an Independent Alchemist Exam," she continued as she showed them to a small sitting room on the second level. "You would need to provide at least three days' notice so that a panel of two Masters and a Grand Master could be arranged. Senior Jade can wait here with his attendants," she said, gesturing to the small sitting room. "When the time comes, I will guide them to a place where they can observe you taking the exam."
"Brother Jade," Zhang Buyan said once the young woman had left the room. "You've said that the standards of the Consortium aren't very much compared to your sect, but isn't the Sect Master of the Jade Cauldron Sect a Blessed Alchemist? Then, the person overseeing this branch is on the same level as your Sect Master in the Inner City?"
"It's not like that," Yu Jinqi said firmly, though he was starting to wonder if the things he'd heard about the Alchemy Consortium from his sect might have been misleading. "A person's alchemy rank is only one part of their story. Just because a person meets the minimum standard of a stage, doesn't mean that they're of the same level as one who sits at the pinnacle of it."
"Comparing our seniors is unwise," Xiong Dahuo said firmly. The difference between the power his master, Hong Xuefeng, had demonstrated and the power he'd seen from the Outer Sect Elders of the Sanguine Saber Sect had made it abundantly clear that Yu Jinqi spoke the truth. Even then, the weakest elder of the Sanguine Saber Sect could crush someone like Xiong Dahuo as easily as a bug under his feet.
People without similar power had no business comparing the power of their elders or looking down on them for being lesser than others of their generation. They simply didn't have the qualifications to do so!
"You're right," Zhang Buyan acknowledged. "But, that brings up a second point. Brother Jade, if they have so many alchemists here, will you truly be able to concoct things that will sell well at the auction?"
"Alchemists have our own ways of competing against each other," Yu Jinqi said, smiling behind his mask. "I'll have to find out which of the recipes I have access to aren't available to the consortium at large. There is value in producing what they cannot. Then there are the ingredients I harvested from the lake with the help of Sister Hua's talisman," he added. "Making something from a rare ingredient also lets me offer something unique."
"Brothers don't need to worry," Yu Jinqi said, relaxing into his seat. "Once I finish this exam, I'll be able to obtain the ingredients I'm missing to concoct items for the auction. Once the auction is over, I should have enough money to purchase components that help in your own cultivations. It won't be long before Sister Su is joined by two more Soldiers in our group," he finished confidently.