Chapter 217 - I'm Iron Crutch Li

It was the end of the year.　　The middle - aged cultivator who used to collect spiritual medicines for the Starry Sky Elixir Gate arrived at the door.　　He walked with his customary unhurried gait, head held high. With a casual kick, he pushed the door open, then stood with his hands clasped behind his back, regarding the interior of the house with a look of disdain.　　The first thing that caught his eye was Chen Xia, leaning against the wall with a walking stick.　　He furrowed his brows slightly. He couldn't fathom what the old man Zhang Daoming was thinking. He had barely refined any pills, and now he'd taken in a disabled person.　　"Zhang Daoming, where are your pills this year? If their quality is still subpar, you'll have to make up for it out of your own pocket!"　　Zhang Daoming was sitting in a rocking chair. He took a sip of wine, a smile spreading across his face, causing his wrinkles to bunch together as he replied.　　"Not a single one."　　The middle - aged cultivator knitted his brows. The jade - like twin horns on his head glimmered as he stared intently at Zhang Daoming for a few moments, his tone growing more forceful.　　"Not a single one?"　　"Have you lived so long that you've lost your will to live, or do you simply not care about the Starry Sky Elixir Gate?"　　Zhang Daoming waved his hand. "Hear me out. Don't be hasty."　　"Not be hasty? I think you're courting death!"the middle - aged cultivator roared, his face contorting with anger.　　Hearing the commotion, the big yellow dog came running over, its tail wagging. When it saw the middle - aged cultivator, it rolled its eyes, clearly showing its displeasure.　　Chen Xia stood by, watching quietly and even yawning casually.　　Suddenly, Zhang Daoming waved his hand and shouted, "Chen Xia, show him what you've got."　　The middle - aged cultivator furrowed his brows. His eyes followed the direction Zhang Daoming was pointing and landed on Chen Xia. He first inspected the walking stick made of some unknown material, then glanced at Chen Xia's relatively youthful face. He sneered and said,　　"You must be senile. You've lost your wits and just picked someone at random to deceive me. If you don't hand over any pills today, neither you nor this lame man will escape!"　　Chen Xia limped forward, leaning on his walking stick. He fully withdrew his hand from his sleeve to truly demonstrate his skills. Then, he gave the big yellow dog a meaningful look and motioned,　　"Bring out the pot you use for stewing herbs."　　The big yellow dog scurried off and promptly returned with an iron pot that still had some grease on it.　　This left the middle - aged cultivator even more perplexed. He gently stroked his jade - like twin horns and sneered,　　"What? Are you planning to stew this dog and serve it to me? I don't touch such lowly things."　　Chen Xia shot him a disdainful glance, a hint of annoyance flickering in his expression. Without a word, he dumped all the remaining herbs that Zhang Daoming had into the pot.　　The middle - aged dragon - race cultivator was now thoroughly confused. He furrowed his brows deeply. This didn't seem like the proper way to refine pills, yet herbs were being used.　　Chen Xia snapped his fingers, and a flame ignited in his hand. With a swift flick, he threw the flame into the pot, instantly igniting the herbs. Then, using his spiritual energy to form a spatula, he began stirring the contents of the pot.　　He applied some knowledge of pharmacology to make a decent combination of the herbs, and his technique became quite proficient.　　This was definitely not haphazard refining.　　The middle - aged cultivator watched with a frown, suspecting that Zhang Daoming and this lame man were trying to trick him. Just as he was about to shout and curse, his expression suddenly turned to one of shock.　　A radiant glow of the medicine emerged from the iron pot, accompanied by an extremely rich aroma of the medicine!　　He furrowed his brows deeply, finding it hard to believe. He let out a low growl,　　"You're just putting on a show! Don't try to fool me!"　　Just as he was about to reach out to touch the contents of the pot, Chen Xia plucked a pill with golden patterns from the pot and smiled, asking,　　"Do you recognize this?"　　Well, he clearly didn't.　　The middle - aged cultivator's eyes widened. After a careful examination, his gaze shifted back and forth between Chen Xia and the pill. He said in a deep voice,　　"With this method, you've refined a top - grade spiritual pill?"　　"No,"Chen Xia shook his head and chuckled. "It's a whole pot."　　He waved his hand, dissipating the excess pill - energy above the iron pot, revealing five other neatly arranged top - grade golden spiritual pills inside.　　The middle - aged cultivator didn't know how to describe his feelings at this moment. All he knew was that his hands were trembling. Looking at the remaining five top - grade spiritual pills in the pot, he could scarcely believe his eyes.　　After a while, he managed to suppress his shock. His expression composed, he clasped his hands behind his back, nodded, and smiled.　　"Your pill - refining skills are quite remarkable. You can be a valuable asset to our Starry Sky Elixir Gate. I'll overlook your previous rudeness."　　Chen Xia tilted his head and asked with a chuckle, "Do you want these six pills?"　　"What do you mean?"The middle - aged cultivator furrowed his brows.　　Chen Xia placed the pill he was holding back in the pot and motioned to him. "Come here."　　The middle - aged cultivator was puzzled but complied. He approached Chen Xia, eager to see what he was up to.　　Chen Xia took out the walking stick from under his arm and grinned at him. "Although I usually prefer to win people over with my abilities, when I encounter someone as disrespectful as you, I can't help but be annoyed. By the way..."　　He pointed at the walking stick. "This is made of profound iron."　　Before the middle - aged cultivator could react, he heard a fierce whooshing sound cutting through the air. In the last instant, he caught a glimpse of a color.　　Was it... a walking stick?!　　Bang!　　A loud noise resounded. The middle - aged cultivator was sent flying backwards to the door. His face was slightly dented, and there was a distinct stick mark on it.　　Does it hurt to be hit by a profound - iron walking stick?　　Chen Xia held the walking stick on his shoulder. The end that had struck the man was slightly bent, indicating the great force exerted. He smiled and said,　　"Call me Li Tieguai."　　The big yellow dog, which had been watching from the sidelines, rushed over and called out, "Wait, wait."　　It grabbed Chen Xia and pleaded, "You hit too hard. He can't take it. Let me do it. I'll only hit once, I promise."　　As it spoke, the big yellow dog even stroked Chen Xia's walking stick and exclaimed, "Such a divine item."　　Chen Xia rolled his eyes at it and released the walking stick. The big yellow dog happily picked it up and, like playing whack - a - mole, gave the middle - aged cultivator a hit.　　After that, it quickly scurried away and stood aside, whistling as if it had nothing to do with it.　　It was really being both timid and eager to have fun.　　Chen Xia remained where he was, not even bothering to look at the middle - aged cultivator. He casually tossed the top - grade spiritual pill he was holding back into the pot and said disdainfully,　　"You're not worthy to talk to me. Send someone who can actually make decisions."　　One virtue of the cultivators in the realm was that they generally didn't put up a stubborn front. If they were defeated, they would yield, and they wouldn't resort to baseless threats by bringing up powerful backers.　　So, the middle - aged cultivator got up from the ground, covering his face. With a look of trepidation, he bowed his head to Chen Xia and said, "I'll go and report this. Someone will come to see you in about two days."　　Indeed, a good beating can make people behave.　　Chen Xia nodded and casually waved his hand. "Go."　　What Chen Xia intended to discuss with the Starry Sky Elixir Gate was cooperation. According to the rules of the realm, the first step in discussing cooperation was to demonstrate strength.　　Only when the strength was comparable could one negotiate terms on an equal footing. Otherwise, no matter how outstanding Chen Xia's pill - refining skills were, he would end up being just a laborer for the Starry Sky Elixir Gate.　　Only pill - refiners above the Sea - Overturning Realm had the qualification to truly negotiate cooperation terms with the Starry Sky Elixir Gate. If they were even more powerful, needless to say, they could become honored guests of the Starry Sky Elixir Gate.　　Chen Xia wiped the blood off the walking stick. He found it quite satisfying to hit someone with this profound - iron walking stick. He might try it more often in the future.　　Now, he just needed to wait for someone from the Starry Sky Elixir Gate to arrive.