Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Ning Xiaochuan obliterated the Heart-nourishing Herb completely before absorbing it into his blood and into the Heart-nourishing Cauldron.
With the low-grade Magnetite clasped tightly in his hands, Ning Xiaochuan broke it down into crystal grains using Combat Qi before absorbing it into his blood and into the Heart-nourishing Cauldron.
Every person possessed a Core Flame within their body and this Core Flame had insurmountable power. A martial artist with Stage Four Qi would possess a Core Flame powerful enough to refine the Heart-nourishing Herb.
The medicinal Qi of the Heart-nourishing Herb originally existed as gas but it was now beginning to liquefy.
The first drop of Heart-nourishing Liquid had successfully condensed.
It was a success!
He could become a Heart-nourishing Master now!
Ning Xiaochuan was excited for this single drop of Heart-nourishing Liquid which cost eight thousand copper coins, four times the price of one Heart-nourishing Herb.
He continued!
The second drop of Heart-nourishing Liquid had condensed!
The third drop of Heart-nourishing Liquid!
In the end, there was no fourth drop of Heart-nourishing Liquid. After all, this was his first time refining a Heart-nourishing Herb. The fact that he managed to produce three drops of Heart-nourishing Liquid was already a commendable feat.
When it came to refining Heart-nourishing Herbs for the first time, most Heart-nourishing Masters would only be able to produce a single drop of Heart-nourishing Liquid. Only extremely talented people could grasp the skills of refining medicines in a single go, thus producing two drops of Heart-nourishing Liquid.
“I actually produced three drops. If the fourth drop had successfully condensed, I’ll be earning an extra eight thousand copper coins. Ah! I’ll improvise!”
The three drops of Heart-nourishing Liquid were cocooned by Combat Qi and rode along Ning Xiaochuan’s veins. The liquid dripped from Ning Xiaochuan’s fingertips into three vials that he had prepared in advance.
The Heart-nourishing Liquid was green, only the size of dewdrops, and produced a light and sweet fragrance.
Ning Xiaochuan immediately covered the vials. These were precious treasures, they must not volatilize!
Three drops of Heart-nourishing Liquid had a rough value of about twenty-four thousand copper coins, so he had made tenfold in revenue.
As for the piece of lower-grade Magnetite that was originally as big as a black peach1, it was now thinner for about a tenth of itself had been consumed.
“Haha! I’m going to be rich!”
Naturally, Ning Xiaochuan was very excited since becoming a Heart-nourishing Master would mean a constant flow of money in the future!
“The Qi within me has again increased. Who knew refining mysterious medicine will heighten my Cultivation, this is practically killing two birds with one stone.”
However, what Ning Xiaochuan did not know was that other Heart-nourishing Masters could not heighten their Cultivation through refining mysterious medicine. He could do so only because he was a weirdo with a Seven-orifice Devil Heart.
As he had placed his Heart-nourishing Cauldron in his heart, the cauldron had refined the Magnetite grains while he was refining the mysterious medicine. The Qi that had been produced as a result was assimilated by his heart and absorbed by his blood, thus heightening his Cultivation.
Other Heart-nourishing Masters had their Heart-nourishing Cauldrons in their Combat Atrium, which naturally repelled all foreign matters. Thus, the Qi within the stone would not have been directly absorbed by the Combat Atrium and would have dissolved into the medicinal liquid instead.
Therefore, it was exactly because of this that other martial artists could not directly absorb the mysterious medicine into their blood; the blood and the heart both repelled all foreign matters. Only Heart-nourishing Masters were able to directly absorb medicine after it had been refined by the Heart-nourishing Cauldron.
All in all, the heart orifice could accommodate any foreign matter and assimilate these foreign matters so that they would change into things beneficial for the body.
Ning Xiaochuan had spent more than half a day compacting the Heart-nourishing Cauldron and refining the Heart-nourishing Herb. It was getting late and the sun was setting.
Ning Xiaochuan planned to sell the three drops of Heart-nourishing Liquid right now.
…
Ning Xiaochuan arrived before a giant building that was six floors high. It had jade pillars and red walls, with marble lining its floors. It was a truly solemn yet magnificent place. Many people, mostly martial artists, entered it in droves.
On the gate, a gold-encrusted plaque had the words “Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall”.
Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall was one of the top three Heart-nourishing Halls in the Yulan Empire. It possessed a lot of wealth and influential power and was also one of Jinpeng Conglomerate’s pillar industries. It had a lot of branches within the Yulan Empire and even recruited a lot of their own Heart-nourishing Masters.
It was also rumored that the mastermind behind everything was actually the first ruler of the Yulan Empire—Great King Jinpeng!
This place possessed an impressive background.
“Miss, I’ll like to sell some Heart-nourishing Liquid, which counter do I go to?” Ning Xiaochuan bowed at the maidservant by the door before asking politely.
“Are you a Heart-nourishing Master?” asked the maidservant curiously, who looked to be nothing older than sixteen or seventeen years old. Dressed in white, she had skin like delicate snow.
Ning Xiaochuan hesitated for a moment before he grinned, his white teeth showing as he nodded.
“My word! Sir Heart-nourishing Master, let this humble servant greet you properly. I apologize, I apologize, this humble servant does not know the law and delayed you, Heart-nourishing Master.” The maidservant went pale with shock as she immediately kneeled down to greet him.
This young man before her was a great Heart-nourishing Master and she was nothing more than a maidservant. How dare she let this Heart-nourishing Master bow to her; if this were to get out, her legs would definitely be broken as punishment.
Ning Xiaochuan never expected a simple bow would cause her such fear and felt quite regretful to her. He quickly smiled and said, “I’m merely here to sell a few drops of Heart-nourishing Liquid, so I’ll have to trouble you to show me the way as well. Thank you!”
The maidservant was shocked because this Heart-nourishing Master did not blame her at all. She immediately stood up and respectfully brought Ning Xiaochuan into Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall.
The remaining three maidservants heaved sighs of relief as well before they stood up.
One of the maidservants patted her chest lightly and said, “It’s great that the Heart-nourishing Master wasn’t angry.”
“This Heart-nourishing Master is so kind. He didn’t act all high and mighty at all, not to mention he’s so young. It must be nice to be his maidservant.” Another maidservant was starry-eyed with infatuation, her eyes swimming with adoration.
“Stop dreaming! Do you think just any person can become the maidservant of a Heart-nourishing Master? Even the daughters of great families want to be maidservants to Heart-nourishing Masters. After all, becoming the maidservant to a Heart-nourishing Master will mean endless guidance and benefits!”
In the eyes of these maidservants, Heart-nourishing Masters were beyond their reach. The Hallmaster of Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall was a Great Heart-nourishing Master and also a guest of honor at the mansions of Nobles, meaning that they were on equal standing as Nobles!
“Sir Heart-nourishing Master, please wait here for a moment. This humble servant will now go retrieve the Attendant.” The maidservant had brought Ning Xiaochuan before a counter before she moved back slowly.
Ning Xiaochuan smiled and nodded his head slightly. After a moment of waiting, a beautiful lady dressed in a Heart-nourishing Master’s robe emerged from behind the counter and immediately went up to Ning Xiaochuan. He retrieved the three vials and placed them upon the counter before asking with a smile, “Attendant, three drops of Heart-nourishing Liquid, how much is their value?”
The beautiful lady behind the counter, who was in a beautiful moon-white robe, gently raised her sleeves to reveal a pair of pale arms and fingers like jade scallions, soft and slender.
She carried her slender and tall body elegantly, her snow-white skin further elevating that elegance
Her name was Yu Qianqian and she was also the thirteenth princess of Great King Jinpeng’s Residence!
Yu Qianqian was of extremely honorable status. She had on a Junior Heart-nourishing Master’s robe and was originally here to gain insight from the Great Heart-nourishing Master when a maidservant had reported that a young Heart-nourishing Master had arrived at Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall.
Yu Qianqian was curious and had personally come to attend to this person. After all, every Heart-nourishing Master was a respectable figure. Of course, it would be best if she could also recruit this person into Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall as well.
Although both of them were descendants of Nobles, Yu Qianqian had higher status as a princess whereas Ning Xiaochuan was nothing more than a patient from Marquise Jiange’s Residence. Their standings were poles apart so they had never interacted nor seen each other before. Even if they had, Yu Qianqian’s standing would have never allowed her to build a proper impression of a sick man.
Yu Qianqian had a noble air about her, with her teeth clean and white. She opened one of the vials and a delicate yet thick medicinal fragrance permeated the air. The medicinal fragrance was extremely aromatic and she looked at the thin young man before her in surprise before asking, “Did you refine this Heart-nourishing Liquid?”
Ning Xiaochuan replied, “Yes. How much will three drops of Heart-nourishing Liquid sell for?”
“The three drops of liquid must first be tested for their grade, purity, and attributes before I can give you the price.” Yu Qianqian summoned a maidservant and had her send the three vials to the second floor of the Heart-nourishing Hall.
Ning Xiaochuan was not worried that Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall would claim his Heart-nourishing Liquid for their own. To Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall, three drops of Heart-nourishing Liquid was nothing.
Yu Qianqian’s eyes glimmered like stars as they shifted into crescents. She started a conversation with Ning Xiaochuan. “I’m Junior Heart-nourishing Master Yu Qianqian, and how may I address you?”
“Ning Xiaochuan!” replied Ning Xiaochuan.
Yu Qianqian felt that she heard this name before but did not think more of it as she said, “How long have you been a Heart-nourishing Master, Mister Ning?”
“I had just compacted the Heart-nourishing Cauldron today, so it’s my first time refining Heart-nourishing Liquid,” answered Ning Xiaochuan.
“Does this mean Mister Ning isn’t officially a Heart-nourishing Master yet?”
Yu Qianqian’s heart pumped with joy as she roped Ning Xiaochuan in. “Of the three major Heart-nourishing Halls, our Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall has always offered the best benefits. All Heart-nourishing Masters that join Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall have a lot to gain such as high monthly payment and noble ranks or government posts. Besides, buying mysterious medicine within Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall is cheaper than buying on the outside. We also invite Senior Heart-nourishing Masters to give lectures monthly. Why not consider us, Mister Ning?”
“Monthly pay?” asked Ning Xiaochuan.
To a doctor, the first thing that should be considered was the monthly salary. Having a stable income was most important, followed by other benefits.
Yu Qianqian said, “Once you join Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall as a Junior Heart-nourishing Master, you’ll be offered five hundred thousand copper coins as monthly pay. As you gain more experience, your monthly payments will increase to reflect that as well.”
“Five hundred…thousand.” Ning Xiaochuan’s heart had skipped for a moment and without hesitation, he said, “Okay, it’s a deal!”
He had no choice! He had been offered a number he just could not refuse.
Ning Xiner was a direct descendant of Marquise Jiange’s Residence and was a top genius of the Divine Body Realm, yet she only earned five hundred thousand copper coins a month.
If he were to join Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall as a Junior Heart-nourishing Master, he would immediately be elevated to the same standing as a direct descendant of Marquise Jiange’s Residence. This was the nobility that came with being a Heart-nourishing Master.
The maidservant returned with the three vials. She greeted Yu Qianqian respectfully before announcing in glee, “The test results are here. These are top-grade Heart-nourishing Liquid of the purest quality, they are of the Hybrid Attributes!”