Chapter 121: Chapter 121: Bloodthirsty Stone

Jiang Chen rejected Ling Xuan’s application.

’Ling Xuan is going to regret this for the rest of his life,’ he thought.

’You wronged my Jiang Family, so I’ll see to it that you can’t join the Alchemy Master Guild.’

He finally had Ling Xuan right where he wanted him.

If Ling Xuan wanted to join the Alchemy Master Guild now, there was no way around him. Jiang Chen was the Senior Steward in charge of reviewing applications.

He was in high spirits.

Instead of leaving, he headed straight for the Alchemy Master Guild’s Material Hall.

The Alchemy Master Guild had a Material Hall dedicated to displaying Alchemy Materials.

Inside the Material Hall were unused materials, including some that the guild’s Alchemists had found but had no use for.

Everything was gathered in one place. Anyone who needed them could purchase them at a relatively discounted price.

This place was unique to the Alchemy Master Guild, and it was Jiang Chen’s own creation.

It served as a place for the guild’s internal Alchemists to exchange goods.

"Are there any rare treasures today?"

"Doesn’t look like it."

"It’s all the same old materials that nobody wants."

As Jiang Chen entered the Material Hall, he saw Alchemists from the guild walking about in twos and threes, searching for materials they could use. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

His arrival immediately drew the attention of quite a few people.

"Look, it’s him, the new Senior Steward, Jiang Chen."

"Yeah, I heard he isn’t even an Alchemist. He only became a Senior Steward by relying on his powerful master."

Just then, a more dissonant voice rang out.

"You’re all wrong."

Everyone turned to see a young Alchemist step out from the crowd.

Gasps of surprise rippled through the onlookers.

"It’s Bai Shu."

"Bai Shu is an Official Alchemist now. I’m so jealous."

"And his master is Elder Xiao Gu. He got incredibly lucky."

Many people stared at the emerging Bai Shu with envy and jealousy.

Bai Shu glanced at Jiang Chen. With Xiao Gu as his master, he showed Jiang Chen no respect whatsoever.

This was despite Jiang Chen’s position being far superior to his own.

"So it’s Bai Shu."

"Quick, tell us what you were about to say."

Many people tried to curry favor with Bai Shu. After all, he was a young man who had been on a lucky streak recently.

Elder Xiao Gu himself was Bai Shu’s master.

There were many Alchemists in the Alchemy Master Guild, but very few managed to become Official Alchemists.

Once one became an Official Alchemist, any Elixirs they refined could be sold at the guild’s Elixir Workshop, and they would receive a large cut of the profits.

And the Elixirs from the Alchemy Master Guild practically monopolized the entire market in Hanwu City.

The three great families of Hanwu City could only get the scraps left over by the Alchemy Master Guild.

Even so, those scraps were enough to build up the three great families.

A smug smile appeared on Bai Shu’s face.

"You all think he’s so impressive? He’s not."

"Jiang Chen isn’t just relying on his master. His current position as Senior Steward is just a substitute role for his master. Within the Alchemy Master Guild, he’s nothing."

As Xiao Gu’s disciple, Bai Shu had heard about what happened in the main hall from his master.

"What? Is that true?"

"Looks like he really is just a good-for-nothing riding his master’s coattails."

"A guy like that is just a bit lucky. I look down on him."

"Pah!"

One person even shot Jiang Chen a look of undisguised contempt.

Jiang Chen glanced at Bai Shu.

A cold glint flashed in his eyes, but he paid the other man no mind.

He needed to find some materials right now.

He began to scan the shelves.

Bai Shu and the others saw Jiang Chen examining the materials on the shelves, many of which they didn’t recognize.

They began to sneer.

"A guy like him doesn’t know anything, but he still has to put on an act."

"It’s ridiculous."

Everyone disliked Jiang Chen and kept their distance from him.

Bai Shu, however, stood out like a crane among chickens, surrounded by the crowd. It was clear he held a rather high status among the younger generation of the Alchemy Master Guild.

Of course, this was also related to his master being Xiao Gu.

’Well, what do you know. There’s even Black Divine Wood.’

Jiang Chen spotted a piece of Black Divine Wood on a shelf.

Black Divine Wood was a material used to refine a Third-Grade Elixir, which Jiang Chen couldn’t refine yet.

Furthermore, the Black Divine Wood here was priced expensively—a full ten million.

He didn’t buy it for now.

"Hm?"

Suddenly, Jiang Chen stopped in surprise before a row of shelves.

Before his eyes, a blood-red, fist-sized stone sat quietly.

’A Bloodthirsty Stone! It’s a Bloodthirsty Stone!’

Jiang Chen grew excited upon seeing the blood-red stone.

Many of the materials here were not labeled with names, simply because the people in the Alchemy Master Guild didn’t recognize them.

Even if someone did recognize them, they often had no use for those materials.

The stone Jiang Chen saw was called a Bloodthirsty Stone.

A Bloodthirsty Stone could be used to refine a terrifying Elixir called a Bloodthirst Pill.

The Bloodthirst Pill was a Second-Grade Elixir.

If a Bloodthirst Pill reached Purple Gold Quality, an ordinary person who consumed it would go berserk, transforming into a bloodthirsty monster.

Moreover, their Cultivation would instantly skyrocket to the Combat Power of a Martial King, reaching a peak equivalent to a Martial King Ninth Heaven.

’Using a Bloodthirst Pill... it’s too contrary to the natural order.’

Jiang Chen muttered to himself. The Bloodthirst Pill was too contrary to the natural order.

After consuming a Bloodthirst Pill and going berserk, a person’s Cultivation would rapidly reach the Martial King realm, but they would lose all reason and kill indiscriminately.

Furthermore, one hour after the berserk state began, the Elixir’s effects would wear off. At that point, the user would lose all their Combat Power and even suffer a certain degree of physical damage.

After all, it was a forced increase in Cultivation with no foundation to speak of, so consuming a Bloodthirst Pill came with significant side effects.

Even though Jiang Chen knew the side effects of using a Bloodthirsty Stone, he still decided to buy it.

’Right now, I need as many life-saving measures as I can get.’

Although the Alchemy Master Guild seemed peaceful on the surface, who knew how many hidden crises lurked in the shadows.

The moment it was exposed that his master didn’t exist, he would undoubtedly face terrifying threats.

Although he was once the President of the Alchemy Master Guild, he wasn’t anymore. He had to start over from scratch.

He immediately walked over to the staff member in charge of the Material Hall and said, "I’ll take the item on shelf three, row seventeen, number twenty-nine."

What?

The staff member was stunned.

After all, Jiang Chen was a Senior Steward; his status was undeniable.

Despite his disdain, he still offered a reminder, "Steward Jiang, that material hasn’t been touched in a hundred years, and no one even knows what it is. Are you sure about this?"

"The original price is 120,000 essence crystals. With your status as a Senior Steward, you can buy it for 100,000."

Jiang Chen nodded. "I’ll take it. Here’s 100,000 essence crystals."

Jiang Chen took out a Qiankun Bag and handed it over. Inside were 100,000 essence crystals.

Seeing this, the staff member didn’t say anything more.

"Alright, I’ll register it. You can go get it yourself."

Jiang Chen smiled faintly, then walked over and took the Bloodthirsty Stone in his hand.

When Bai Shu and the others saw Jiang Chen buy the Bloodthirsty Stone, they all started laughing at him.

"Haha, look at that idiot! He bought a rock that no one has wanted for a hundred years."

"And he spent 100,000 essence crystals on it."

"This is killing me! He really doesn’t know anything. How embarrassing."

Bai Shu and the others reveled in Jiang Chen’s foolishness.

Jiang Chen paid them no mind whatsoever. He continued to browse on his own, bought a few more materials, and then leisurely departed.

He was utterly content.

These materials were very difficult to find on the open market.