Prime Puresmoke was surprised that Jiang Chen was so cognizant of societal niceties. She and Holy Girl Yu Ling had gifted the spirit stones out of their appreciation and gratitude to him for helping the Martial Sacred Land. They really hadn’t been looking for anything in return.
But Jiang Chen had generously offered them a pill he’d refined himself, which further increased Prime Puresmoke’s opinion of him.
She smiled. “Ling’er, your senior brother is a genius in pill dao. His pills are opportunities that many yearn for. Since he’s kindly made the offer, you should take it. We who pursue the martial dao should be straightforward and decisive.”
Thanks to her master’s encouragement, Holy Girl Yu Ling set aside her reservations and took the pill. “Thank you, senior brother Jiang Chen.”
“Haha, you’re welcome. That’s the Crowning Empyrean Pill. There’s an eighty to ninety percent chance that it will unconditionally help you ascend a level without any cost. Given your talent, I believe the pill will work on you.”
Prime Puresmoke was surprised by the revelation. “I’ve heard about the Taiyi Skymender Pill and Crowning Empyrean Pill from the Eternal Sacred Land, but isn’t the latter still in development? You’ve already successfully refined it?”
In truth, Jiang Chen had refined the pill a long time ago, but hadn’t refined that many due to constraint of ingredients.
Some of the pills were already in circulation within the Eternal Sacred Land, yet to enter mainstream market in large numbers. Many around Jiang Chen had already acquired one.
It pained the first prime of the Eternal Sacred Land to see Jiang Chen give away the pill just like that, but they belonged to him. The sacred land was in no position to dictate what he would do with the pills.
They couldn’t stop him if he wanted to give them away. Besides, Jiang Chen had already refined a batch for them.
Since the Martial Sacred Land had accepted the gift, they would now have to support the Eternal Sacred Land to be the head of the alliance, wouldn’t they?
That made the first prime feel a lot better. It was a good thing that Jiang Chen’s personal investment would get them public support in return.
“The pill wasn’t fully developed before, but now the technique has matured,” Jiang Chen responded with a smile.
Prime Puresmoke smiled wryly. “The pill is too valuable. It’s us taking advantage of you then.”
“Don’t be so stand-offish. Given the relationship between the two sacred lands, there’s no need for such formalities.” Jiang Chen’s response was generous.
That pleased the first prime. Jiang Chen was indeed a good diplomat. Once he brought up the relationship between the two sects, the Martial Sacred Land would have no choice but to support the Eternal Sacred Land.
Unwanted ears were always listening in.
Many had heard mentions of the Crowning Empyrean Pill. A crowd gathered after Jiang Chen spoke of its successful development.
Those from Polylore Divine Nation approached Jiang Chen first since they’d been standing close to him. Jiang Chen snorted silently, thinking back to his initial clash with the aristocratic families from Polylore on Winterdraw Island.
Many of those houses had vanished by now. They must have been involved in the rebellion and been razed in punishment.
There were a few familiar faces among them that Jiang Chen had seen back in Bluesmoke. When he’d been in Miracle City trying to approach House Yan, he had met a group of young Polylore geniuses in the brothel, the Jade Revel Lodge.
The one named Ye Zhou had left a bit of an impression on him. It had been from their conversation that Jiang Chen learned about the sixteen golden hairpins of Myriad Abyss.
Ye Zhou still numbered among the Polylore group. From Jiang Chen’s conversation with Prime Puresmoke, he had figured out the young man’s identity.
Something about the young man reminded Ye Zhou of the time at Jade Revel Lodge. Although Jiang Chen had disguised himself at the time, considering his relationship with House Yan and what had happened afterwards, Ye Zhou had a feeling that Jiang Chen had been there as well.
The feeling of deja vu that surfaced when looking at Jiang Chen further confirmed his speculations, but he kept it to himself.
A demigod prime from Polylore smiled. “Daoist Qi, you shouldn’t play favorites. The Crowning Empyrean Pill is too valuable to not be shared.”
“It is,” the first prime said with a smile. “However, the pill belongs to Jiang Chen. Not even I have any say in what he does with it.”
The Polylore prime chuckled. “Ah, we’ve known each other for years. You can cut to the chase! We’re not asking for the pills for free. You won’t say no if we want to buy some pills with spirit stones, will you? Everything has a price. Polylore would like to order a hundred. What say you?”
A hundred pills?
The first prime frowned. “Do you think you’re buying radishes from a farmer? A hundred pills? I’d like that as well. Who’s going to make you that many?”
“How about fifty?”
Jiang Chen chuckled. “The ingredients for the pill are difficult to gather, senior. There may not even be fifty refined in a year.”
“That can’t be. Little brother, you aren’t trying to increase the price by artificially lowering the supply, are you?”
Jiang Chen shrugged. “Take my words however you want, senior. That’s all I can say to you. The Crowning Empyrean Pill is no regular pill. You can’t buy it in batches. Even a couple will cost you an arm and a leg.”
The man’s attitude bothered Jiang Chen immensely. What did he take the pill for, asking for a hundred right off the bat?
If Jiang Chen sold the pills in large quantity, he wouldn’t be able to gain much. Besides, he’d planned on earning the rest of the Great Formation spirit stones with the pills. The Crowning Empyrean Pill was a top level pill in Divine Abyss. That should be reflected in its price!
Although Jiang Chen had exaggerated a little, it was true he couldn’t easily produce a hundred pills right then and there.
Prime Puresmoke spoke up, “Daoist Zhao, you’re being obstinate. To my knowledge, there aren’t any pills in Myriad Abyss that rank higher than the Crowning Empyrean Pill. The ingredients required are very rare. In demanding fifty or a hundred of them, you’re gravely underestimating the difficulty of this pill.”
