“Practice makes perfect. So, I must still continue practicing,” Su Yu said as he started cultivating peacefully.
The alluring Cabinet Mistress, who was next to the gate, sniffed a faint elixir fragrance and looked at Su Yu’s private room in surprise. She then revealed a faint smile and said, “It’s another guy who doesn’t know when to give up and wants to take a shortcut in practicing alchemy.”
She had witnessed many disciples who went into the Raging Flame Cabinet secretly and used its fire to practice alchemy. Most of them did this just to make elixirs and gain merit points, but some of them had bigger ambitions. These few hoped to get one of the sanctum’s alchemist elders’ favor, thus achieving a meteoric rise.
It was a pity that if they really had talent in alchemy, it would be discovered early on at the outer sanctum’s exam. So, trying hard now was just a meaningless struggle. At the very least, the disciples she witnessed had just wasted too much time and merit points before all of them gave up in disappointment.
All of a sudden, another elixir fragrance assaulted her nostrils. The alluring Cabinet Mistress was slightly surprised by it, and she asked, “A second grade elixir? It seems like he still has some talent in alchemy! But, it’s really a pity, as second grade elixirs can still allow him to live well in the outside world, yet in the Red Blood Palace, no one will care about them. This is especially true of a Vital Energy Powder, as in the Elixir Hall’s primary alchemists’ eyes, this could even be considered as a defective product.”
All of the Red Blood Palace’s alchemists were both controlled and protected by the sanctum because they were a rare resource. Moreover, all of the elixirs that they made had to be handed over to the sanctum.
She had never heard about a disciple who didn’t belong to the Elixir Hall, who was making elixirs all by himself. Even if one appeared occasionally, he would quickly be taken into the Elixir Hall by force to ensure that the Red Blood Palace held all control over the elixir business.
As time passed slowly, Su Yu, who was in the private room, started dripping with sweat. He had already used all of the Vital Energy Powder’s ingredients, yet he had only managed to make second grade elixirs.
This was a grave blow to Su Yu. This Vital Energy Powder seemed to be just a defective product, which wasn’t worth anything.
Forcing himself to accept this disappointing fact, he focused his energy on making Primordial Chaos Vital Pills. He figured that if he could make pills that reached the third grade, he could then start making some money.
Su Yu cleared his mind of all distracting thoughts, then concentrated wholly as he started making Primordial Chaos Vital Pills. The first one was as expected, just a second grade pill.
It could also be considered as just a defective pill, but if he put it up for sale for 10 merit points, someone would probably be willing to buy it. However, 10 merit points couldn’t even cover the production cost! As such, only a third grade pill was really worth making.
Su Yu wasn’t willing to accept such an outcome, so he doggedly continued to manufacture them. However, he still failed again and again. After numerous tries, he felt like he had at least managed to learn something and felt like he finally knew what he should do.
For example, he started to figure out how he should control the temperature of the flames, how intense he should make the flames, at what time he should start the fusion process, and how long he should wait before stopping it. As soon as he gradually had adapted his own process, the production of the pills became much easier for him.
Although he still failed, he had inadvertently ended up entering a strange state. It was like he didn’t need to consider what he should do at all before his body would react and continue refining pills. It was almost like it was a robotic procedure.
As Su Yu got caught in this strange state, he felt like he was a silkworm, which was about to break free from its cocoon and be reborn. Time elapsed slowly while Su Yu was immersed in this state. Finally, there weren’t any ingredients left, as the last batch of them was already in the furnace.
At this time, he wasn’t anxious. In fact, his mind was calm and serene. His body completed each process exquisitely, as if it was being guided by a spiritual god.
Everything from the initial preparation to the fire control, and until the last fusion into a pill, all of the procedure’s steps were completed without a hitch. He seemed like he was an alchemist with a broad range of experiences under his belt at this moment.
After an hour, the Elixir Flame gradually went out, bringing the elixir production to an end. When Su Yu opened the furnace, a powerful aura surged out of it, bring a round cyan pill along with it, which flew into the air. Su Yu’s hands moved nimbly, caught it, then place it into a jade bottle and sealed it inside.
Tiny clanging sounds transmitted from the jade bottle as the cyan pill was revolving within it unceasingly, like a mischievous beast. After several seconds had passed, the clanging gradually stopped, while three feather-like white patterns appeared before Su Yu’s eyes.
“It’s a success! I finally broke through my bottleneck and have become a primary alchemist! I managed to make a third grade spirit pill just by practicing alone! Moreover, it’s still a fairly difficult early grade spirit pill!” Su Yu exclaimed as he held the jade bottle excitedly.
From this moment, he would join the ranks of the primary alchemists. After so much arduous work and many sacrifices, his work had finally paid off!
Shock appeared on the alluring Cabinet Mistress’ face as a rich fragrance drifted past her. As she looked in disbelief toward Su Yu’s private room, she said, “A third grade spirit pill! Moreover, it’s the rare Primordial Chaos Vital Pill, which is quite difficult to make. How is this possible? He’s really a talented primary alchemist!”
After saying this, she realized something, and she waved her sleeves and dispersed all of the elixir fragrance in the cabinet. She then walked toward the private room, wearing a solemn look on her face.
When Su Yu surveyed his surroundings, he couldn’t help but smile bitterly. He had already used all of his ingredients, the results of which were a pile of defective elixirs and a single third grade Primordial Chaos Vital Pill that was worth just 50 merit points.
Just the ingredients alone that he had used were worth more than 50 merit points. Moreover, he had wasted 300 merit points in the Raging Flame Cabinet alone!
Su Yu now realized that even if he was capable of making elixirs, making money selling them was not as easy as he had first imagined. He decided that he should first consider the cost of advertising as well, as he had to be sure that people knew that he had elixirs for sale.
What he had to consider next was the sales cost. It was impossible for him to sell them alone, which meant that he had to hire someone to sell them for him. Moreover, it had to be a very trustworthy person.
The next order of business would be to calculate the cost of the ingredients. He had already figured out that a single Primordial Chaos Vital Pill’s ingredients cost 15 merit points.
What was decided last was the cost of renting the elixir production site. This was the most troubling matter. If he sold 20 pills each day, he would get, at most, 1,000 merits points, and the elixir production site alone would consume 300 of those merit points.
If he subtracted another 300 merit points for ingredients, he would be left with just 400 merit points. Then, the sales cost would probably be around 100 mert points, which would leave him with just 300 merit points.
Even if he didn’t consider what he would pay for advertising at the beginning, he figured that he could only get 300 merit points each day. Considering that, even if he didn’t cultivate for a whole month and dedicated all of his time to this process, he would still only manage to gain 9,000 merit points.
This made Su Yu seriously start to consider whether or not it was really worth paying such a great price for such a low return. After he mulled over it for a long while, Su Yu felt like it would be better to consider this matter at length before making a final decision.
After he collected the elixirs carefully, then cleaned the site in order to rid all traces of his elixir production, Su Yu opened the gate. When he opened the gate, he was startled to see that the alluring Cabinet Mistress was standing before the gate.
She was crossing her arms across her plump chest and wearing a charming smile on her face. She extended her snow-white arm, which was slightly flushed, then pushed Su Yu gently back into the private room. She then followed him into the private room and closed the door behind her.
This private room wasn’t big. In fact, it really wasn’t roomy enough for two people, let alone the alluring Cabinet Mistress, who was closing in on him at the moment, while wearing a faint smile on her face.
Su Yu couldn’t help but swallow his saliva as he fell back gradually. He was like a lamb being cornered by a tiger, and he gradually fell into a corner.
“Cabinet Mistress, I’m old, so please go easy on me.” As Su Yu spoke, he revealed his aged face to her.
However, the alluring Cabinet Mistress didn’t shrink back. Instead, she extended her fair fingers and raised Su Yu’s chin, similar to how a young thug would bully an innocent young girl.
Su Yu felt like he would be sick at this moment, and he wondered… What in the world is happening? Moreover, why is this Cabinet Mistress even more flirty than Xue Qi?
“Hehe, I’m fond of people like you, who seem mature on the outside, while still having a young heart.” The alluring Cabinet Mistress chuckled.
Blue veins popped out on Su Yu’s forehead, and he found himself incapable of bearing this any longer as he said, “Cabinet Mistress, if you have something to say, please state it bluntly.”
The alluring Cabinet Mistress took away her hand, still wearing a bright smile. At the moment, her snow-white breasts were jumping up and down before his eyes.
“Hehe, little guy, are you trying to resist me?” The alluring Cabinet Mistress smiled mischievously, like a fox whose scheme had just prevailed. “I looked for you because I want to discuss a business deal with you.”
Su Yu was surprised by this, and he asked, “A business deal? You are a Cabinet Mistress. Do you still need to take part in business matters?”
The alluring Cabinet Mistress spoke resentfully, “Aren’t Cabinet Masters people, too? Don’t I need merit points as well? The 10,000 merit points that the inner sanctum grants me each month is far from being enough.”
After she spoke up to here, Su Yu realized what it was that she wanted. He rolled his eyes slightly as he asked, “Are you implying that you want to cooperate with me in my elixirs production?”
The alluring Cabinet Mistress replied with a smile, “Yes! You are smart indeed! That’s exactly what I mean!”
Su Yu spread his hands out and said, “I can make elixirs by myself, so why would I want to share my gains with you… For nothing?”
“Well… Because I’m the Raging Flame Cabinet’s Mistress, and I can provide raging flames cultivation rooms for your elixir production for free. That could save you a large sum of money.” The alluring Cabinet Mistress was clearly confident in herself and what she had to offer.
Su Yu was startled by this. If he agreed to these terms, he could reduce most of his production cost, thus saving 200 merit points each day!
“How many do you want?” Su Yu asked.
The alluring Cabinet Mistress extended two fair fingers and smiled like a crafty fox as she said, “Not much… Just 200 merit points each time.”
Upon hearing this, Su Yu rolled his eyes and said, “Then, what difference is there between this and paying 200 merit points for elixir production all by myself?” If Su Yu gave all of his remaining merit points to this woman, he wouldn’t get any profit!
The alluring Cabinet Mistress smiled sweetly and said, “I will surely not let you suffer a loss. You just need to pay me 200 merit points daily, and you won’t need to worry about selling them, as I will take care of that. Moreover, the lowest price I will sell them for won’t be any lower than 60 merit points.”
She then added, “Moreover, you don’t need to trouble yourself with going to purchase ingredients, as I will prepare them all for you in advance. Although, you must still pay for them.”
In other words, Su Yu would just need to make the elixirs, then hand them over to her and wait for her to sell them before counting his money. In this way, Su Yu could save a large amount of time, energy, and money!
Su Yu’s eyes lit up slightly as he thought of how he could save most of the production costs like this. By providing her with 20 pieces daily, which would then be sold for 60 merit points apiece, they would make a total of 1,200 merit points!
Then, if he subtracted 100 merit points for the Raging Flame Cabinet’s entry, 300 merit points for ingredients, and the alluring Cabinet Mistress’s fee of 200 hundred, he would still be left with 600 merit points. Then, if he worked for a whole month doing exactly this, he would get, at the very least, 18,000 merit points. When he thought about it this way, Su Yu figured that he would be a fool to not agree to such a profitable business deal!
“I really didn’t expect that a solemn Cabinet Mistress would have connections with the disciples’ black market,” Su Yu said in surprise.
The alluring Cabinet Mistress revealed a fake smile as she said, “Well… It isn’t like I’m the only Cabinet Mistress who has ever joined the black market. So, will you do it or not?”
“I will do it,” Su Yu said confidently.
However, just after he had uttered those words, he realized that the word ‘do’ had another inappropriate meaning. As the alluring Cabinet Mistress also detected this double entendre, an odd look appeared on her face.
“Cabinet Mistress, I still don’t know your name…” Su Yu said.
The alluring Cabinet Mistress lowered her head, then took him off guard by kissing his forehead suddenly. She then revealed a charming smile and said, “It’s Xue Lian… What about you?”
