Chapter 91: Jade Tempering Pill

Chapter 91 - Jade Tempering Pill The Withered Orchid Villa glowed with midday splendor, its jade-tiled roofs catching the sun, surrounded by orchids that spilled a sweet, intoxicating scent into the air. Inside, amber wood panels gleamed, casting a golden warmth over the chamber where Lordi Payne sat across from Kinson Wexford. The senior brother's presence was electric—his dark robes crisp, his aura brimming with vigor, a spark of joy lighting his eyes. Lordi clutched the C-grade spirit stone Kinson had given him—equivalent to ten thousand D-grade stones—his pulse quickening at the wealth, though his face remained composed, respect masking a cautious thrill. Kinson Wexford smiled, his voice warm but brimming with effortless confidence. "Legendary-level Bone Tempering Pills, Junior Brother—they're rare treasures beyond compare—gifts of fate itself. Wherever they appear, alchemist masters and factions will claw over each other to claim them. These pills are never short of buyers—alchemists, especially prize them the most." His eyes gleamed with knowing amusement. "To those who wield the Dao Flame, even a glimpse into a Legendary-level elixir pill's secrets can elevate their craft and skill to new heights. What are a few dozen of thousand D $tones to such masters? A pittance, compared to the chance to refine their alchemy art." Kinson leaned back, satisfaction lacing his words. "Nine of the ten we auctioned went to famous alchemists or big clans who raise alchemists as faction retainers. Next time, I'll aim bigger—cross to a farther state's market. Higher bids, fatter purses" Lordi Payne nodded, his expression one of earnest admiration. "Senior Brother's wisdom leaves this junior in awe." Inwardly, however, his pulse quickened, thrilled at the payout's scale. A thirty percent cut earned him ten thousand D$T! Kinson Wexford's talent for turning elixir pills into profit was staggering—a boon for Lordi's desperate circumstances. With this pace, his sect's debts would vanish far sooner than he'd dared hope. Aloud, he clasped his hands respectfully. "Senior Brother," Lordi's eyes flickered, "I've labored day and night to produce more Bone Tempering Pills. But alchemy Legendary-level Bone Tempering pills... it's draining, mentally. I've only managed to stockpile... one hundred twenty." Yet beneath the gratitude, caution coiled tight. His tone stayed deferential, but his lie was deliberate—his pouch held nearly three hundred legendary pills, minus those he'd consumed for cultivation. But flooding the market—or worse, inflating Kinson Wexford's expectations—would chain him by the Dao furnace forever. Better to hoard the surplus. "Once the sect debt is cleared," Lordi determined, "then pivot to my own cultivation—not endless labor to become this Bloodline Lord's alchemy slave. Kinson Wexford's face lit up, oblivious to the deception, his delight unguarded. "One hundred twenty? Excellent work, Junior Brother Payne!" His voice boomed, kind and encouraging, a laugh bubbling up. "See Lordi? I told you—that seventy-thousand D-grade $tone fine is nothing! We're proving it, aren't we?" He clapped Lordi's shoulder, confidence radiating. Pondering, he added, "Well, one hundred twenty... That's too many pills for local average markets to swallow. Such a haul demands grander stages." His eyes sparkled with ambitious, already charting distant horizons. "I'll take them to the Serpent's Hoard Bazaar in Vermithys State—cross provinces, chase the real coin." Lordi Payne bowed slightly, his voice layered with earnest gratitude. "My deepest thanks, Senior Brother Wexford, for your tireless work." Then, hesitating just enough to seem cautious, he broached the delicate subject. "Speaking of the Dao Flame mission... I'd heard the Ice Pith Fire was initially claimed by the Dreadbloom Bloodline. Has there been any... lingering dispute?" Kinson Wexford chuckled, waving a dismissive hand. "That trifle? Settled days ago." His tone carried the ease of a man who'd already forgotten the matter. "Senior Sister Lith, her highness, has been in seclusion since Deerspring, but word's out—she's emerged, her cultivation soaring higher. We Deathveil Bloodline's influence has surged. The Wraithbone Bloodline's scrambling. Even the Dreadbloom pack wouldn't dare bare their fangs now." He chuckled, eyes gleaming with pride. "Besides, I tossed them some compensation. The matter's dead and buried. No need to fret, Junior Brother Payne." Lordi nodded, his faint smile mirroring Kinson's ease. "Senior Brother's foresight is unmatched," he said, voice warm with gratitude. Kinson's gaze sharpened, catching Lordi Payne's aura, his delight spiking with surprise. "Hold on—a month ago, you just hit sixth-layer with fusing the Ice Pith Fire. Now you're at its peak?" His voice rose, kind but tinged with awe, a mentor marveling at his own disciple. "That's lightning speed, Junior Brother!" "Listen Lordi," Kinson Wexford said, voice firm but kind, "talent like yours will reach Foundation Stage inevitably. But don't let haste fracture your root base. Quick gains crumble. Slow and safe wins." "Aye, Senior Brother!" Lordi replied, voice earnest, nodding with practiced humility. "Your guidance is treasured. I've cultivated meticulously step by step, no shortcuts, no recklessness. Just steady progress between alchemy sessions." Internally, though, triumph thrummed. "Good. He suspects nothing on the number." Kinson Wexford nodded, satisfied, his delight softening into approval. "Wisely said. You know your limits. A cultivator's patience is as vital as his prowess." His voice was kind, a mentor's pride shining through. Following a few more cordial exchanges, Kinson Wexford's hearty laughter echoing through the villa's amber-lit chamber, Lordi Payne sensed their business was concluded. He stood, offering a deep, respectful bow, his voice steady and polite. "My gratitude for your time, Senior Brother. With your permission, I'll take my leave." Heady scent of orchids drifting through the chamber where Kinson Wexford sat alone. The moment Lordi Payne departed, Kinson Wexford wasted no time. With a delighted grin, he upended the storage jade vial, spilling a cascade of Legendary-level Bone Tempering Pills onto the surface. Each pill gleamed, their surfaces etched with intricate Ice Pith Fire Dao Flame patterns—swirling, frost-like veins that shimmered with an otherworldly luster. Kinson's breath caught, his eyes tracing the magnificent designs, captivated by their craftsmanship. "This Junior Brother, Lordi Payne's, talent is monstrous," Kinson Wexford mused, voice soft with awe, a mix of pride and calculation. He leaned closer, fingers hovering over a pill, its glow reflecting in his eyes. "A month ago, he barely touched the sixth layer. Now? His aura is already pressing against the threshold of the Advanced Qi Refinement Stage." "This is a true goldmine, well I'm his talent scout. And... I'm a good one." Reluctantly, Kinson Wexford tucked the pills back into the jade vial. His mind shifted, strategic and ambitious. "This trip... I must secure at least a mid-level Jade Tempering Pill for this junior brother. Better yet, for a genius like Lordi Payne, the Alchemy Formula itself." The Jade Tempering Pill, a rare elixir for breaking the barrier from Refined-tier to Jade-tier bone, was Lordi's next step to the Seventh Layer Qi Refinement Stage. If Kinson couldn't secure one—or the formula, Lordi would have no choice but to buy from the Tower of Hundred Treasures, the holy sect's exorbitant market—where prices were inflated tenfold for outsiders, and even alchemy talented disciples paid in more than just spirit stones. The Tower demanded tribute: a fixed quota of lesser pills before granting purchase rights. Worse, their highest-quality Jade Tempering Pills never exceeded mid-level. Premium-level pills? Rare as a phoenix feather. Legendary-level? A myth, snatched the moment they formed. Besides, Mid-level Jade Tempering Pills were the best the Tower could offer, and even that's a fight. Kinson Wexford's brow furrowed, the sect's elixir economy a ruthless maze. It wasn't that the Holy Sect lacked master alchemists. The issue was demand. The Jade Tempering Pill was singular in purpose: shattering the barrier between Refined Bone and Jade Bone. Every senior cultivator hoarded them—not just for themselves, but for their heirs, disciples, stockpiled for future breakthroughs, and for future bargains. So the top quality Jade Tempering Pills would vanish instantly from auctions. Entry and mid-level quality Jade Tempering Pills trickled into the Tower of Hundred Treasures chain shop across the entire Abyss Pit Sect, guaranteed and sustained by the large quantity of Holy Sect's legion of alchemists. But premium and Legendary-level? Those required alchemy mastery skills beyond mere mass production. When one appeared, not to mention Lordi Payne, even Kinson Wexford—backed by Sect Successor Lith—had to move swiftly or lose the chance to bid. "Serpent's Hoard Bazaar—big markets, deep pockets. Vermithys..." Kinson clenched his fist. "Don't disappoint me." —— While Kinson Wexford plotted his journey to Vermithys, Lordi Payne had already returned to the Outer Sect's Alchemy Peak atop a Corpse Cloud. The mountain paths buzzed with Outer Sect disciples, their robes a riot of colors weaving through stalls and mist. The stench of necrotic qi clung to Lordi's robes as he disembarked, wrinkling his nose. And the cloud's rental fee stung again. "Renting these things is tedious. Maybe buy a proper Dao artifact for transport?" Spotting cultivators casting spells to launch flimsy paper boats, a thought sparked in Lordi's mind. To own a Dao artifact for travel—faster. But Hugo Payne's ambushed boat flashed in his memory, a grim lesson in fragility. His jaw tightened. "No paper junk. Nothing that flimsy." He glanced at the Tower of Hundred Treasures, its spire looming, tempting with Dao Artifacts but demanding steep prices. "Forget it," he muttered, voice firm, dismissing the thought. "Pay off the sect fine first. I'm not leaving Alchemy Peak soon anyway." Strode past the Tower of Hundred Treasures, Lordi entered the Grand Market. The air crackled with haggling and herb scents. Although he still had more than a hundred legendary-level Bone Tempering Pills in his hand, considering the consumption for future cultivation, Lordi Payne decided to stock up a bit more. Lordi, pouch heavy, full with raw materials—Ghost Placenta, Cold Iron Grass, Crocodile Tiger Bone, Red Alder Flower—stocking for future alchemy. With herbs and materials in hand, he marched into the Lab Hotel, its iron walls thrumming with energy from embedded alchemy arrays. After renting a D-Grade lab room, he stepped inside the austere chamber. The stone walls emitted a faint glow, and he switched the built in Dao Furnace stood in the center of the room with the high-end Kinson Wexford model. He scanned for traps, fingers brushing the hilt of his Blade of Life Hater, before taking his place before the furnace. With a composed voice, Lordi began the alchemy process. After refining a batch of Bone Tempering Pills using the AllFullOS System, he resumed his usual cultivation routine. "System, I want to cultivate. Select the Bone Tempering Art. Smart Duration! One-Click-Cultivation!" ~ Ding! *System Notification Chime* [AllFullOS: Version 1.0.0] > All-Smart Full-Host Cultivation SystemTM is at your service! > [OCC] - One-Click-Cultivation activated. > Features: Temporary practice, smart duration, and questionable decision-making. ... Lordi Payne's body went limp as the AllFullOS System took over, steering his qi through his meridians with cold, unerring precision. Lordi's thoughts drifted—Ten thousand D$t equals one C$t... Seventy thousand D$t in sect fines? Just seven C-grade spirit $tones. Pocket change. And Senior Brother Wexford's already eyeing grand markets beyond the state. Just how deep does the Abyss Pit Sect's influence go?— Then—a shockwave of energy ripped through him. His spirit power exploded, a raging tide crashing through his veins, raw and untamed. It pulsed like a war drum, each beat harder, hotter, as if some great seal inside him were fracturing. His muscles burned. His bones hummed. Every surge was a blacksmith's hammer, pounding his flesh toward something greater. A feral grin split his face. "Wow! Breakthrough? Now?" The seventh layer of Qi Refinement—right there, just beyond his fingertips. His heart pounded, not from strain, but from pure, exhilarated hunger. Lordi had estimated two more days, but the AllFullOS System's efficiency—mother abyss, it's so fast!—had outpaced his plans. His pulse raced, the surge intoxicating, like a newborn bird hammering its shell, wings itching to soar. He calmed himself, sinking into the sensation, tracking the qi's flow. It roared, a river of fire and ice, crashing against his sixth-layer peak, each wave sculpting his meridians wider, stronger, ready to ascend. However something faltered. The surging qi stuttered—its roaring crescendo fading like a dying flame, as if missing the final spark to ignite his breakthrough. Lordi Payne frowned, his excitement curdling into unease. "What's wrong?" he muttered inwardly. The fourth to sixth breakthroughs had been seamless. Why stall now? Did advancing to the late Qi Refinement Stage demand more time? Yet the energy swirling inside the body felt... incomplete. Fragmented. Is the system glitching? When he was puzzling the situation, the system prompt sound suddenly rang by his ear. ~ Ding! *System Notification Chime* [AllFullOS: Version 1.0.0] ... > Detected lack of Breakthrough Elixir: [Jade Tempering Pill] (Error: 193) - Host inventory: EMPTY - Error: Insufficient breakthrough elixirs for cultivation. > Executing optimal solution... Pending... ... Lordi's blood went cold. "You've got to be—" ~ Ding! *System Notification Chime* [AllFullOS: Version 1.0.0] > Pending... > All-Smart Full-Host Cultivation SystemTM has decided to be *GENEROUS* today! > Premium-level Quality Jade Tempering Pill x1 will be gifted to the host for FREE. > Processing... "DUDE! THE FUCK?!" Lordi Payne's body surged upright, fists crashing against the alchemy table, the impact rattling the Dao furnace and scattering herb dust. Before he could grapple with the absurdity, his limbs betrayed him, hijacked by the AllFullOS System's will. His legs launched forward, slamming the lab's iron door open with a bone-shaking BANG that echoed through the Lab Hotel's stone corridors. The startled shouts of nearby alchemists faded behind him as he shot through the Lab Hotel's lobby hall, his body hurtling forward with unnatural speed into Alchemy Peak's bustling night.