Chapter 26: Tailor-Made

Faced with Liu Jiuchan’s clearly indignant attitude, Li Ji’an chose not to play the fool again, nor did he back down.

What use would the promised favor be otherwise?

He retrieved his guest tokens for the Nine Cauldrons Chamber of Commerce from his storage pouch and allowed a trace of his pure mana to ripple outward.

"Senior, please calm your anger. I am a man who remembers kindness and repays it. If I am fortunate enough to reach the Foundation Establishment stage and become a second-tier alchemist in the future, I will certainly not forget your actions today."

The guest tokens demonstrated his financial standing, while his pure mana revealed his potential for Foundation Establishment. With these two points alone, any intelligent person would understand the implication.

Furthermore, now that the Immortal City had changed hands and a top-grade Foundation Establishment Pill had been auctioned just yesterday, it signaled that resources for such pills would no longer be tightly controlled by the upper-echelon powers of Cangyun Province as they once were.

Had it been before, even with Li Ji’an’s wealth and potential, there would have been little hope for Foundation Establishment. But now, as long as one had the capital and connections within the Chamber of Commerce, the possibility of securing a Foundation Establishment Pill was quite high.

"Hmph!" Liu Jiuchan let out a cold snort, her eyes narrowing slightly, though the flicker of irritation from moments ago had largely dissipated.

She did not need to concern herself with a rogue cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage. In her estimation, even if Li Ji’an were a guest of the Chamber, it would take a first-tier alchemist years to scrape together enough wealth for a Foundation Establishment Pill. By the time he actually reached that stage, she might already be in the middle or even late stages of Foundation Establishment herself. Moreover, for a rogue cultivator, even with the pill, success was never guaranteed.

However, if he were to become a second-tier alchemist... while she might not care, her family would not be so dismissive.

She fell into deep thought. Suddenly, a spark of inspiration flashed in her eyes.

"I said that I am not a person who breaks her word, and I am certainly not one to bully a junior such as yourself. Stay here and wait."

With that, she turned and swept away in her red robes.

Li Ji’an raised an eyebrow. "It’s done."

"Greetings, Ninth Elder." When Liu Jiuchan arrived at the Beast Pill Chamber on the third floor, the steward in charge hurriedly bowed.

"Bring me that blood pill from before."

The steward was stunned, carefully searching his memory. "Do you mean the one researched several years ago?" he asked after a moment.

Liu Jiuchan nodded.

The steward’s eyes lit up instantly. "Is there someone willing to buy that pill?"

Spirit beasts primarily advance through the evolution of their bloodlines. Blood pills, refined from the essence blood of high-grade spirit beasts along with numerous rare natural materials, stimulate this bloodline evolution, eventually leading to a transformation and breakthrough.

However, spirit beasts also possess elemental attributes, and using a pill of a mismatched attribute would significantly diminish its effectiveness. Generally, those who purchased blood pills would first confirm the elemental affinity of their pets.

Years ago, an elder in the clan who specialized in beast pills had a sudden inspiration and developed a dual-element blood pill, aimed primarily at the amphibious spirit pets the family had been trying to cultivate without success—the most representative being the Vermilion Toad. These beasts were theoretically descended from the ancient, wild Heaven-Swallowing Vermilion Toad, but all that had been bred possessed only low-grade bloodlines, and not a single one had succeeded in reaching the second tier in decades. They had tried both earth-attribute and water-attribute blood pills, but to no avail.

Other amphibious spirit beasts, such as the Python Snake or the Three-Headed Lizard, only required their primary attribute to be stimulated to advance. Thus, the elder had attempted to refine a dual-element blood pill—half earth and half water—theoretically better suited for stimulating the bloodline of amphibious beasts.

The result was a failure; not only did the Vermilion Toads fail to advance, but the project was abandoned entirely. For other spirit beasts, the pill’s effectiveness was halved, and most attempts at advancement ended in failure.

That batch of ten pills had consumed a significant amount of essence blood from two high-grade spirit beasts, along with countless rare materials, making the production cost double that of a standard blood pill. They had long since given up on them, but during an inventory check last year, one was unexpectedly discovered. The steward had been agonizing over how to dispose of it ever since.

"Don't ask what you shouldn't." Liu Jiuchan took the blood pill and turned to leave.

Not long after, when Li Ji’an saw Liu Jiuchan again, she was cold and arrogant, her chin held high, her eyes filled with impatience.

"The market price for this pill is two thousand spirit stones. I’ll give it to you at a forty percent discount."

"Senior is a woman of her word and possesses noble character. This junior is truly impressed!" Li Ji’an immediately clasped his hands, offering polite praise, though he remained guarded in his heart. This woman was temperamental and deeply calculating; she was not a kind soul, and she shouldn't have been this generous.

Liu Jiuchan tossed the blood pill over.

Li Ji’an immediately inspected it with his spiritual sense. The shape, color, and scent were all normal; it was undoubtedly a genuine blood pill.

*Hm? A fusion of earth and water attributes? Is this custom-made for an amphibious beast like Guagua? Does she know my spirit beast is a frog?*

"What are you still dawdling for?" After throwing the pill, Liu Jiuchan urged him impatiently.

While Li Ji’an was busy wondering how she knew about Guagua, he hurriedly retrieved a pouch of spirit stones and handed it over.

"The promise is fulfilled. We have no further business. Begone." Having secured the spirit stones, Liu Jiuchan was eager to see him leave, as if she didn't want to look at him for a second longer.

***

*Could she have sensed Guagua’s presence when I was at Flame Mountain? Is it because Guagua was originally bred and sold by her family, so they have some special beast-taming method to detect it?*

It wasn't until he had left the Liu family territory that Li Ji’an figured it out. This made him wary of the Liu family; from now on, he would ensure Guagua never appeared near any of them unless absolutely necessary.

Looking back at the Liu estate, Li Ji’an’s brow smoothed. Although there had been a few minor setbacks, the result was satisfactory. He had saved eight hundred spirit stones more than expected, and the pill was perfectly suited for Guagua’s dual attributes. He was content.

Once he reached a secluded spot outside the inner city, Li Ji’an activated his full spiritual sense to scan his entire body, including the blood pill, to ensure there were no tracking marks or strange auras before heading home.

As soon as he returned to the courtyard, Guagua’s keen sense of smell caught the scent, and it hopped from beside Xiao Qiao directly onto Li Ji’an.

Li Ji’an patted its head. "Your nose is sharp indeed."

He took out the blood pill. "I endured much humiliation and spent a great deal of wealth to get this for you. You must make me proud; do not let my efforts go to waste."

After this earnest advice, he handed it to the frog. "Don't be in such a hurry to consume it. Adjust your state to the absolute peak first. I will provide you with a spirit-replenishing pill when the time comes. Try to make the breakthrough in one go!"

"Gua~" Guagua caught the pill in its mouth, storing it in its internal space. It then looked at Li Ji’an with large, watery eyes, looking pitiful, and stood upright as if wanting a hug.

Li Ji’an pushed it away with a touch of feigned disgust. "A successful advancement is the best repayment you can give me."

He ignored the frog and went into the alchemy room to organize the haul from the auction.

"These three auxiliary ingredients are among the rarest needed for the Foundation Establishment Pill. The others are much easier to find. Now, only the primary ingredient—the Nine-Star Fuling—is missing. Zhao Shuyao should be returning soon, shouldn't she?"

The recipe for the Foundation Establishment Pill had been optimized over generations, and the most efficient version was no longer a secret. The second-tier inheritance that Yan Qingwan had obtained years ago recorded it clearly.

Based on Li Ji’an’s years of alchemy experience and his deep understanding of that inheritance, he could likely concoct a Foundation Establishment Pill now without much trouble. He might not be able to guarantee the quality, but he was confident in his ability to produce a pill. After all, the fundamentals remained the same; his technique in controlling alchemy fire, managing spiritual pressure, and seizing the right moment for a first-tier peak-grade pill had reached a state of mastery.

Of course, aside from the primary ingredient, he still lacked a second-tier alchemy furnace.

That day, Li Ji’an followed the spiritual imprint once again to the inn where the alchemist Mo was staying.