Desolate Devouring Art

Liu Wuxie’s bold claim left Master Mao and Elder Wen nearly toppling over in disbelief. Elder Wen, inflamed like a provoked bull, laughed mockingly. “I’ve never seen such arrogance. This is truly an eye-opener,” he sneered, itching to eject Liu Wuxie from the warehouse. He had reached his limit, unable to tolerate Liu Wuxie’s audacious claims, especially when he was exploiting the medal given by Mu Yueying.

“Wuxie, you mustn’t make such reckless statements!” Master Mao cautioned anxiously, reminding him that the Treasure Pill Pavilion could withstand a loss of 20,000 spirit stones.

Dismissing them with a wave of his hand, Liu Wuxie exited the warehouse, unwilling to waste any more time arguing. Without fifth-grade pills, he had to abandon the idea of refining them, which meant his advancement to the seventh level of the Spirit Cleansing Realm would be delayed.

As Liu Wuxie’s Ghost Eye swept over the herbal shelves, his gaze narrowed when it landed on the area storing third-grade herbs. He quickened his pace, bypassing the fourth-grade herb section to reach the larger area housing the third-grade herbs, where over a hundred thousand herbs were stacked like a mountain.

Liu Wuxie pushed aside the pile of herbs and started searching for something among the third-grade herbs.

This puzzled Master Mao while Elder Wen sneered, waiting to see Liu Wuxie embarrass himself. Elder Wen had decided to complain to the lady in a while.

“Found it!” Liu Wuxie found a nearly withered herb among the pile. This herb only had a few leaves, looking insignificant as though it hadn’t matured fully.

“Isn’t this the Seedcore Grass?” Master Mao recognized the herb that Liu Wuxie was holding. This was a common herb that could be found everywhere, and it was an ordinary third-grade herb.

“The Seedcore Grass?” Liu Wuxie’s lips curled into an almost crooked smile.

“Wuxie, isn’t this the Seedcore Grass?” Master Mao asked softly with uncertainty.

“The Seedcore Grass has triangular rhizome. But look at this one,” Liu Wuxie handed the herb over to Master Mao for him to take a closer look at it. t bore a resemblance to the Seedcore Grass, but something felt off.

“You’re right. The Seedcore Grass has a triangular-shaped rhizome, and the roots should be red. It’s hard to discern this from Seedcore Grass without looking at it closely. The rhizome is round with pale yellow roots.” This revelation sent a tremor through Master Mao, who realized that this might not be a Seedcore Grass.

Elder Wen scoffed, “Young man, don’t speak nonsense. This is a Seedcore Grass. A batch came in today at a meager price,” his voice laced with disappointment that the newly appointed chief alchemist couldn’t even identify the herbs correctly. He was determined to report this to the lady and expose this deception.

“Do you still have any more?” Liu Wuxie asked, ignoring Elder Wen’s words. He knew that refining fifth-grade pills with just one herb was impossible, but if he had more, and combined them with fourth-grade herbs, he could potentially refine fifth-grade pills.

“Over here. They’re freshly delivered.” Elder Wen pointed to a pile of herbs at the entrance that had just arrived. He hadn’t had the chance to sort them before Liu Wuxie’s arrival.

Liu Wuxie quickly approached the pile. Using his Ghost Eye, he soon identified more fifth-grade herbs similar to the one he had previously found.

“Aren’t these Seedcore Grass?” Elder Wen was stumped. These were fresh herbs, but they were Seedcore Grass, even if the color of their roots wasn’t apparent.

“You two should have a record of herbs, right?” Liu Wuxie asked, suggesting that they should have reference books on herbs, which some alchemists typically carry. He proposed that Master Mao could use such a book for comparison.

Master Mao took out a book from his interspatial pouch and soon flipped to the page that introduced the Seedcore Grass. The herb recorded on it differed entirely from the one in Liu Wuxie’s hands.

“This is weird...why is this Seedcore Grass different from the one in the book?” Master Mao was briefly stunned. He compared for a long time, and there were some differences even if they looked close to identical.

“Wuxie, stop messing with us. What herb is this?” Master Mao asked anxiously, scratching his head in embarrassment. He feared becoming a laughingstock if he misidentified the Seedcore Grass, especially given his age.

Meanwhile, Elder Wen looked on with disdain, convinced that Liu Wuxie was merely putting on a show. In his eyes, the herb was undoubtedly a Seedcore Grass, regardless of how it appeared.

“This is the Dragon Whisker Grass. It takes ten years to mature, and these are at least fifty years old. They might not be comparable to hundred-year-old herbs, but they’re still valuable,” Liu Wuxie said.

Elder Wen nearly fell to the ground upon hearing that. The Dragon Whisker Grass was a fifth-grade herb and highly valuable. They would be a laughingstock if they mistook a fifth-grade herb for a third-grade herb, as it was a tremendous waste.

“Old Wen, quick! Bring the book that introduces fifth-grade herbs!” Master Mao said anxiously. His book didn’t include the introduction of fifth-grade herbs, and there was no way he could compare them. Thus, he could only turn to Elder Wen.

Elder Wen retrieved a worn-out book from an old cabinet and carefully turned the pages until he found the section on Dragon Whisker Grass. He was taken aback when he realized that the description matched exactly with the herb in Liu Wuxie’s hand.

“H-How is this possible!” Elder Wen exclaimed, his forehead breaking out in a cold sweat as he realized the magnitude of his mistake.

Master Mao was also dumbfounded because fifth-grade herbs were highly precious. Even if the fifth-grade herbs were given to him, it would be impossible for him to refine them into pills. But that didn’t mean that he couldn’t sell them to fetch a hefty price.

“Elder Wen, where were these herbs harvested?” Liu Wuxie inquired. The Dragon Whisker Grass must have been harvested from somewhere, and the person who had done so had mistaken the Dragon Whisker Grass for Seedcore Grass, selling them to the Treasure Pill Pavilion.

“These were collected from the Western Breeze Mountain Range by a mercenary group. They were gathered unintentionally,” Elder Wen confessed, his forehead slick with sweat. Remembering his earlier mocking remarks towards Liu Wuxie, he couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.

“What a pity!” Mercenary groups typically wandered aimlessly around the mountain, making them difficult to locate as they primarily hunted demonic beasts. Moreover, Dragon Whisker Grass was only found in severe environments, and with so many harvested, they were likely now extinct.

Liu Wuxie stowed all the Dragon Whisker Herbs into his interspatial pouch, with no intention of removing them. After all, these herbs were vital for his advancement to the Spirit Cleansing Realm.

Neither of them attempted to stop Liu Wuxie, recognizing that without his intervention, the herbs would have been sold as mere third-grade ones.

“Master Mao, I’ll trouble you to bring me to an alchemy chamber. Help me prepare ten cauldrons while you’re at it; I want to refine pills.”

As the Treasure Pill Pavilion’s chief alchemist, he naturally had to help the Treasure Pill Pavilion. Not to mention that Mu Yueying had helped him multiple times, and he would feel guilty if something happened to the Treasure Pill Pavilion.

Most importantly, Liu Wuxie didn’t want to owe the Treasure Pill Pavilion any favors. He was a person who was clear about the debts and favors. He would repay those people who treated him well tenfold, and he would pay back a thousandfold to those who wanted to kill him.

“Y-you want to refine using ten cauldrons at the same time?” Master Mao was speechless, unable to find words to describe his feelings. Ordinary alchemists would refine using one cauldron at a time, which was the limit. It was unimaginable for someone to refine ten cauldrons at the same time.

“Just follow my instructions. Time is limited, and I have to start refining pills quickly.” Liu Wuxie was in a rush because he would visit Azure Billow City in five days.

Master Mao didn’t dare to delay. The three came out from the warehouse together, and Elder Wen locked the gate, planning to take a look as well. After all, it was unprecedented for someone to refine pills using ten cauldrons simultaneously.

Sang Yan and the other alchemists, including Sheng Lian, were refining pills. But they were suddenly interrupted by Master Mao, who asked them to vacate and move their cauldrons to the four-star alchemist chamber.

The Treasure Pill Pavilion had over twenty alchemists, and no one knew what was happening when they came out.

They all had disbelief when they learned that Liu Wuxie was planning to refine pills using ten cauldrons at once. Some even had a hint of sneer as many people were unhappy with Liu Wuxie’s status as the chief alchemist.

This was because Jiang Yue had formed a network of connections throughout the years. Many people blamed and held a grudge against Liu Wuxie when Jiang Yue was kicked out of the Treasure Pill Pavilion. After all, Liu Wuxie was the reason why Jiang Yue was kicked out.

Ten cauldrons were swiftly moved to the largest alchemy chamber in the Treasure Pill Pavilion. This chamber was used by Master Mao in the past. A crowd had already gathered outside the chamber by the time Liu Wuxie arrived.

“Have you all heard? Our newly promoted chief alchemist plans to refine ten cauldrons of fourth-grade pills simultaneously.” Two two-star alchemists chatted softly, who were taught by Jiang Yue throughout the years.

Following Jiang Yue’s expulsion, numerous alchemists sought out Mu Yueying, hoping she would rescind her decision. However, all their pleas were dismissed.

“This is ridiculous! I must let the lady know this man is just a show-off. This person isn’t qualified to be our chief alchemist!”

The position of a chief alchemist was highly esteemed, akin to a teacher, and all alchemists were expected to follow his directives. Many sects had a Pill Pavilion structure, with an elder responsible for selling the herbs refined by the alchemists and overseeing the entire Pill Pavilion. In the Treasure Pill Pavilion, Liu Wuxie’s position was second only to Mu Yueying.

“Let’s watch him make a fool of himself. We only have two hands, and I refuse to believe that he can refine ten cauldrons of pills at once.” Most of the people were scornful of Liu Wuxie, viewing him as overly arrogant.

The youngest alchemist here was in his thirties, while Liu Wuxie wasn’t even twenty. So, how could they bear a youngster becoming their superior?

No one had any opinion when Master Mao was the chief alchemist as he was highly respected. However, when Liu Wuxie took this position, many people became unhappy. Many of them had even waited for Liu Wuxie to come to the Treasure Pill Pavilion, eager to make trouble for him.

However, they did not anticipate that Liu Wuxie would stir up such a significant commotion upon his arrival after a month.

“If he can refine pills using ten cauldrons simultaneously, I will quit becoming an alchemist!” A three-star alchemist spat angrily, and his phlegm nearly landed on Master Mao’s face.

“Remember your words!” Liu Wuxie and his group of three emerged, their gaze fixed on the middle-aged man who had spoken. This man was nearing fifty, yet he was merely a three-star alchemist. What gave him the audacity to utter such words?

Liu Wuxie was already well-informed about these alchemists, thanks to information provided by Master Mao not long ago. The middle-aged man who had spoken was named Geng Ye. He had been an alchemist at the Treasure Pill Pavilion for two decades, gradually progressing from a one-star alchemist.

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