Chapter 127: Chapter 125: Evil Cultivator, Pill Formula

Don’t look down on a recommended student.

And a recommended student from Yiben Daoist School is still a recommended student.

"Teacher Li, I want to learn some more Martial Techniques. My Qi and Blood has reached the Eighth Layer, and the True Martial Seventeen Scattering Hands is nowhere near powerful enough anymore!"

Chen Che added.

"So it really is the Eighth Layer..."

After checking for himself, Li Xiaoshuang couldn’t help but let the corner of his mouth twitch.

"I’m not much of an expert in Martial Techniques. I’ll discuss this with Wei He and have him put together a reading list for you..."

...

’Old Li is really good to me!’

Even after returning to the Market, Chen Che couldn’t help but exclaim with sincere admiration.

The only condition was that you had to have good grades.

Someone like Zong Yudao, for instance, couldn’t have taken the opportunity even if it was handed to him.

’Still, I can’t rush picking a Tier Two Spell. I have to choose one that’s a perfect fit for me.’

Chen Che tapped his fingers, his mind racing with calculations.

At the same time, the Cultivation Techniques from Old Li’s list flashed through his mind, one by one.

Swordsmanship...

Magic...

Body Technique...

「Outside the Market.」

The rain poured down in sheets, PITTER-PATTER, striking the old trees and green tiles, then cascading from the eaves like a beaded curtain.

Ding Fei flicked the beads of his abacus, writing in his ledger.

Zhao Deyou tended to the Medicinal Herbs, with Zhao Changping watching and learning diligently at his side.

"Chen Che, so you’ve finally decided to grace us with your presence!"

Suddenly, a soft laugh rang out.

Chen Che raised his gaze slightly and saw Meng Qingxuan walking down the long street, holding an Oil Paper Umbrella.

"Miss Meng, please..."

Upon seeing her, Ding Fei rushed forward and ushered her into the Pill Shop. He took her umbrella, then quickly served some Fragrant Tea. Timid as a quail and following her every step, he asked with a fawning politeness:

"Why didn’t you go hunt for Demon Beasts today?"

"Are you blind?"

Meng Qingxuan snapped in reply. She picked up the teacup, blew on the fragrant liquid, and glanced sideways at Chen Che, who sat with his eyes half-closed, ignoring her.

"The rain’s too heavy today, and my Fiery Flying Crane refuses to fly, so I stayed in the Market. I didn’t expect to find Tributor Chen had returned. I was starting to think he was planning to avoid me for the rest of his life!"

She truly hadn’t expected him to leave for half a month without so much as a word. This man was really quite strange. Everyone else who met her would try to curry favor, but he was the only one who kept a respectful but distant attitude.

"I was out handling some matters."

Chen Che replied dismissively. "Besides, I already cleared my absence with Lu Yi."

"Hmph."

Meng Qingxuan scoffed lightly.

’She naturally understood the meaning behind his words. She wasn’t from Jinyun Valley, so what right did she have to keep tabs on him?’

"What kind of matters were you handling?"

Putting down her teacup, Meng Qingxuan looked up and asked:

"With your status, you only need to say the word and someone will do it for you. Why go personally...? Hey, I’m talking to you! Why are you looking outside?"

Chen Che’s eyes narrowed. He really didn’t feel like dealing with her.

However, his brow suddenly furrowed as he looked out of the Market.

Meng Qingxuan hadn’t noticed anything. She turned to look out of the shop and saw that in just a few moments, the rain had grown even heavier, coming down in a torrent that made it nearly impossible to see. All the sounds within the Market seemed to be drowned out by the rain, and the long street was now completely deserted.

"What are you looking at?"

Meng Qingxuan looked for a few moments, but she couldn’t see anything besides the heavy rain.

Just as she finished speaking,

a figure slowly emerged from the heavy rain.

The figure wore a white robe and a bamboo hat. The torrential rain seemed to part around him, not a single drop touching his body. Judging from his slow, deliberate pace, his Cultivation was clearly impressive. However, what drew Chen Che’s attention the most was the rod-shaped object on the man’s back.

The object was wrapped in black cloth and bound with gold thread.

It was wrapped so tightly it seemed to be sealed.

To an ordinary person, it might look like a short spear or a Qimei Stick. But under Chen Che’s powerful Divine Sense, he could ’see’ a layer of black Yin Sha Qi shrouding the object, constantly spreading into the surroundings.

’An evil object? This is an Evil Cultivator!’

The first lesson of the Immortal Sect: Stay away from Evil Cultivators!

However, under the high-pressure policies of the Earth Element Star, the number of Evil Cultivators was already very small; most people had never even encountered one. At most, they only learned about the deeds of Evil Cultivators through news reports, newspapers, and community announcements.

Chen Che immediately withdrew his gaze. If this were the Earth Element Star, he would have already called the authorities.

Unfortunately, this was Yunzhou.

’That evil object on his back is no ordinary thing...’

Chen Che thought to himself.

During a "Public Anti-Evil" campaign, the Xianmen Law Enforcement Department had once brought an Evil Cultivator’s longsword to First Middle School for the students to observe up close, helping them learn how to identify Evil Cultivators.

And that had been a Tier Two evil object.

But this one...

Even its Yin Sha Qi hadn’t been as dense as that of the object on this person’s back.

’What in the world is this evil object, to have such dense Evil Qi?’

Furthermore, to Chen Che’s surprise, the man continued walking down the long street until he stopped and stepped directly into the Pill Shop.

"Who comes to buy Pills in rain this heavy?"

Meng Qingxuan muttered to herself.

Evidently, she had no idea who the man was.

Ding Fei, who was busy with his abacus and ledger, quickly rushed to greet him:

"Welcome, customer. What can I get for you?"

Lifting his head slightly, the man revealed a face of about eighteen or nineteen from under his bamboo hat. His gaze swept over everyone in the shop as he spoke in a hoarse voice:

"Where is Chen Che?"

’Looking for me?’

Chen Che was startled.

This feeling of being sought out by an Evil Cultivator was deeply unsettling. He glanced at the man; he didn’t look like an enemy seeking revenge. Putting down his teacup, he said:

"I’m him. What can I do for you?"

"...I’m looking for you to refine a Pill."

The man’s voice was still hoarse, and his gaze toward Chen Che now held a hint of surprise and scrutiny.

A moment later, he took out a Pill Formula and placed it on the counter.

"I asked around on my way here. The nearby Loose Cultivators all say that the most famous Pill Master in the Market is you, and that you’ve even refined a Tier Two Elixir. I must trouble you, Alchemist Chen, to refine a Pill for me..."

The Elixir Shop didn’t just sell finished Pills.

It also took private orders for custom Pills.

Of course,

the price was slightly higher, as it had been for Meng Qingxuan.

"You’ve come to the right place! Is there any Pill our master can’t refine?"

Hearing that Chen Che’s fame had spread, Ding Fei beamed and boasted, but when he took the Pill Formula, he couldn’t help but freeze.

Then, with a grimace, he passed the Pill Formula to Chen Che.

Chen Che only needed a single glance to understand Ding Fei’s expression. Judging from the Materials alone, this had to be a Tier Two Middle-grade Elixir. Its difficulty was a level higher than Meng Qingxuan’s Linghan Pill.

"Tier Two Middle Grade?"

Chen Che examined the Pill Formula. He had never seen this recipe before.

It seemed to be for healing, but then again, maybe not. It looked like it had other uses as well.

"That’s right."

The hoarse voice sounded again. The man looked up slightly, placed a Storage Pouch on the counter, and spoke with a surprising earnestness:

"There are three sets of Materials here. I urgently need this Pill, so I ask for Alchemist Chen’s help. However, I have no Spirit Stones and cannot pay you. If I get Spirit Stones, I will repay you at the first opportunity. I beg you, Alchemist Chen, please help me. I will be eternally grateful for this kindness."

With that, he cupped his fists and bowed deeply, performing a grand salute in front of everyone.

His head nearly touched his knees.

Seeing this, Chen Che couldn’t help but frown slightly.

"Customer, this is really against the rules..."

As soon as the man spoke, Ding Fei, who had been all smiles just moments before, put on a stern expression.

’Just say a few pretty words and a bow, and expect someone to refine a Tier Two Middle-grade Elixir? If word of this got out, the Pill Shop would be flooded with Cultivators trying to get free service with a bow!’

Meng Qingxuan also sneered and slowly shook her head.

The Meng Family was a great Demon-controlling Race, and they often encountered strange customers. There were those who showed up with no money, trying to get by on credit or their reputation, but it was rare to see someone so brazenly shameless about it.

Even Zhao Deyou secretly shook his head.

’No money? Then what Pill are you refining?’

’And you expect the master himself to do it?’

Sensing the change in the Pill Shop’s atmosphere, which was no longer as welcoming, and receiving no reply after a long moment, the bowing young man sighed as if he had expected this. He straightened up, reached for his Storage Pouch and Pill Formula, and prepared to leave.

However, Chen Che placed a hand on the Pill Formula and said calmly:

"I’ll take the job. Come back in seven days to pick up the Pill."