Mo Wangchen arrived when the sky was still bright at noon, and now the bright sun was setting in the west. The white clouds were covered with a layer of dusk; it wouldn't be long before night fell.
Fangtian City at night was much livelier than during the day, and now the Alchemy Pavilion was naturally welcoming more guests.
"Has that kid come out yet? Master Lin Qing went to Jianye City today to refine pills for the Zhang Family. He will be back soon. Make sure he doesn't find out I rented the alchemy room to someone else!" Master Fang Mu had just gone out, and upon returning, he asked the servant who had previously attended to Lin Feng.
"I haven't left my post since Master Fang Mu instructed me. I haven't seen Young Master Mo come out yet either..."
Having earned more than six hundred gold coins in commission today, the servant was overjoyed. He was willing to stand here all afternoon, even for three days and nights. Watching the young ladies and noblewomen passing by, he couldn't help but puff out his chest with pride. He was now a man of wealth.
"Still not out?" Fang Mu's face darkened. Could that kid possibly be sleeping inside?!
With this thought, he was about to rush upstairs to drag Mo Wangchen out when he saw Mo Wangchen coming down the stairs, yawning and stretching lazily.
Damn, he really was sleeping?!
Seeing Mo Wangchen like this, Fang Mu's face immediately turned dark with frustration!
He then snorted coldly and walked up to Mo Wangchen as he descended the stairs. "Young Master Mo, have you gained any insights? With your 'talent,' you must have achieved plenty, right? Haha, was that tens of thousands of gold coins well spent?"
Hearing the mocking words, Mo Wangchen sneered internally, but his face remained unperturbed. He smiled and nodded. "Yes! I had a sound sleep. In my dream, I became an Alchemy Dao master, and countless cultivators begged me to refine pills for them, but I scorned them."
Before Fang Mu could react, Mo Wangchen took a step and left.
In fact, after successfully refining the third batch of medicinal materials into pills, he indeed took a nap.
"This kid is hopeless. The Mo Family Head, Mo Xiaotian, is in the Spirit Transformation Realm, one of the top experts in Fangtian City, yet his son turns out to be such a waste."
Watching Mo Wangchen's departing figure, Fang Mu shook his head and muttered to himself.
Not long after Mo Wangchen left, a carriage stopped in front of the Alchemy Pavilion, and an elderly man dressed in blue alighted.
"Master Lin Qing!" Fang Mu was shocked, hurrying to welcome him with a smile, no trace of the pride he had shown in front of Lin Feng.
Master Lin Qing was the only second-grade alchemist in Fangtian City, wielding significant power. Even figures like Mo Xiaotian had to show him respect.
"Mm!" Seeing that it was Fang Mu, Lin Qing nodded and asked, "How's the business in the Alchemy Pavilion today?"
"With your reputation, Master Lin Qing, how could business not be booming? Today's profits surpassed usual gains by quite a bit," Fang Mu said cautiously, almost bowing. Today, he extorted tens of thousands of gold coins from Mo Wangchen, more than doubling past earnings.
He thought that if Master Lin Qing knew Fang Mu was overseeing the Alchemy Pavilion with such success, he would certainly praise him profusely.
With this thought, Fang Mu couldn't help but smile and ask, "Master Lin Qing, did you succeed in refining the Spirit Transformation Pill for the Zhang Family in Jianye City today?"
"Ah, don't mention it..."
Upon hearing Fang Mu's question, Lin Qing sighed with a troubled expression. "The Spirit Transformation Pill is a third-grade pill and extremely complex to refine. My skills fall far short..."
Uh!
Hearing Lin Qing speak like this, Fang Mu knew the refining must have failed. The Spirit Transformation Pill, as the name suggests, is meant for those about to break through to the Spirit Transformation Realm. Consuming it increases the chance of success by at least thirty percent!
Generally, this pill is more troublesome to refine than others, especially since Lin Qing was only a second-grade alchemist; creating a third-grade Spirit Transformation Pill was hardly even ten percent likely.
"Bring me two sets of Spirit Transformation Pill materials to the alchemy room; I must refine this pill!" Lin Qing said, not waiting for Fang Mu and heading alone to the alchemy room on the second floor.
Watching Master Lin Qing's figure disappear from view, Fang Mu sighed with relief, wondering, "Master Lin Qing usually refines pills at his residence; why use the alchemy room today? Luckily, Mo Wangchen left. If Master Lin Qing had caught him, I might have been blamed!"
"If I could further advance my skills to a third-grade alchemist level, the chance of successfully refining a Spirit Transformation Pill would exceed fifty percent. But now, over fifty years old and with talents exhausted, reaching that level..."
In the alchemy room on the second floor, Lin Qing stood alone, sighed, and continued musing, "While refining today, I accidentally exploded the furnace. It's shattered; I lost face entirely. The new furnace won't arrive for days; I'll have to try refining here..."
He sat down on the spot.
"Hmm?"
As soon as he sat, he felt something hard underneath him.
"What is this..."
Confused, Master Lin Qing retrieved the hard object, and moments later, an incredulous expression appeared on his face.
"This pill... who refined this?!"
"Though incomplete, it's just a step away from success, something must have gone wrong at the crucial moment. As for this pill's color and fragrance..."
"This craftsmanship... who could it be? Is it a third-grade alchemist?!"
"Impossible! A third-grade alchemist couldn't be in such a small city as Fangtian City, and this pill seems unfamiliar..."
Master Lin Qing murmured, eyes alight with curiosity, then sniffed the slightly flawed pill. "Boneless Flower, Heavenly Spirit Grass, and several other medicinal ingredients..."
"Boneless Flower is Yin while Heavenly Spirit Grass, growing in the desert, is Yang. These two shouldn't mix."
Indeed, Master Lin Qing, as a second-grade alchemist, easily discerned the ingredients in the semi-finished pill just by its scent.
This pill was a Body Tempering Pill, one of Mo Wangchen's previous failed attempts. He forgot to take it before leaving.
Bang!
Without any regard for a master's image, Lin Qing kicked the door open and was about to go downstairs to ask Fang Mu who had been refining here.
But just as he rushed out, he saw Fang Mu holding two sets of Spirit Transformation Pill materials, looking at him with a shocked expression.