SPMT : Chapter 95 – Alchemy

 

At the Bifeng Academy.

 

“Ouyang Jinyue left?” Mo Bei asked.

 

Ouyang Jing nodded and said, “Yes.” Originally, she wanted to establish a relationship with Ouyang Jinyue on this occasion, but unfortunately, Ouyang Jinyue was very guarded and didn’t take her seriously at all.

 

Thinking of Ouyang Jinyue, Ouyang Jing couldn’t help but feel a bit envious. They were both from the Ouyang family, but while others could easily gain prestige and resources, she had to fight for everything herself and was constantly looked down upon.

 

“Isn’t that Xiao Jingting?” Ouyang Jing exclaimed as she looked into the distance.

 

Mo Bei nodded and said, “Yes! He’s Xiao Qingyan’s younger brother. It seems he’s not a student of the Azure Peak Academy, so why is he here?”

 

“Could he have come to the wrong place?” Ouyang Jing asked.

 

Although Xiao Jingting had achieved great success by advancing to the seventh level of Qi Refinement, at his age, the academy would not accept him.

 

“I heard that Xiao Jingting’s son bought a piece of mediocre-looking stone, gambled on a spiritual medicine silkworm, exchanged it for over ten pieces of spiritual stones, and even formed a good relationship with a Foundation Building cultivator,” Mo Bei said.

 

Ouyang Jing nodded and said, “Yes.” When Xiao Fan gambled on the spiritual silkworm, she happened to be nearby.

 

Ouyang Jing had always thought that gambling on stones was not a good idea. However, seeing Xiao Fan, a child, gamble out something so precious, she couldn’t help but try her luck with some silver. Unfortunately, she didn’t win anything, and she felt extremely uncomfortable seeing her hard-earned silver disappear like that.

 

“Xiao Jingting is really lucky!” Mo Bei said.

 

Ouyang Jing nodded, agreeing deeply. “Yes!” During the previous competition, there were rumors in the Hou Mansion that Xiao Jingting and Xiao Jinfeng had both entered the seventh level of Qi Refinement, probably because they had gained great opportunities in the secret realm. They were truly blessed!

 

Xiao Jingting carried Xiao Xiaofan and suddenly two people blocked his way.

 

“Do you need something?” Xiao Jingting looked at Ouyang Jing and Mo Bei and asked.

 

“Xiao Jingting, you’re probably not a student of our Azure Peak Academy, so why are you here?” Mo Bei asked. Seeing Xiao Jingting, he felt extremely uncomfortable. Xiao Jingting, a second-generation young master, had achieved such success by seizing an opportunity, reaching the seventh level of Qi Refinement. Mo Bei’s own cultivation, of which he was proud, was not in an advantageous position compared to Xiao Jingting’s.

 

Xiao Jingting glanced at Mo Bei and said, “I rented the academy’s Fire Room, and the Azure Peak Academy gave me a token.”

 

Mo Bei was somewhat surprised. “You rented the Fire Room?”

 

Xiao Jingting nodded and said, “Yes.”

 

“Do you still have the spiritual stones given to you by the senior? I’ll offer thirty thousand taels for one,” Mo Bei said.

 

Xiao Jingting paused for a moment, then smiled. Mo Bei thought Xiao Jingting was a fool. The market price for spiritual stones was around sixty thousand taels. In fact, he couldn’t buy them at all for this price. Cultivators above the seventh level of Qi Refinement rarely needed silver anymore. The currency in circulation was mainly spiritual jade and spiritual stones. If he sold the spiritual stones on the black market, he could easily sell them for a hundred thousand taels each.

 

“Sorry, I’ve already used them all,” Xiao Jingting said.

 

Mo Bei furrowed his brows, his dissatisfaction evident. “Brother Xiao, you’ve used them up so quickly! With so many spiritual stones, even at the eighth level of Qi Refinement, you could have used them for a long time.”

 

Xiao Jingting smiled bitterly. “There’s nothing I can do! I can’t control myself. Whenever I see something good, I want to buy it, and the spiritual stones are all gone.”

 

Xiao Jingting didn’t want to pay much attention to Mo Bei. After exchanging a few words with him, he took Xu Mu’an and his two sons to the Fire Room.

 

Xiao Jingting spent a hundred and fifty thousand taels to rent an ordinary Fire Room.

 

The Fire Room was divided into a fire chamber and a resting chamber, with the latter being quite small.

 

“Just this little space costs fifty thousand taels a month,” Xiao Jingting shook his head and said.

 

There were over a hundred Fire Rooms in the Azure Peak Academy. If all of them were rented out, it would be five million taels a month! Well, it was said that the prices for advanced Fire Rooms were even higher.

 

Xu Mu’an smiled and said, “This is the Azure Peak Academy. The houses within the academy’s jurisdiction are quite expensive.”

 

Xiao Jingting nodded, feeling that this made sense. This was like school district housing! There was no reason for school district housing to be cheap.

 

Xiao Xiaofan, sitting on the bed, looked at the flames burning in the Fire Room with great interest and asked, “Dad, are we going to stay here for three months?”

 

Xiao Jingting nodded and said, “Yes.”

 

Xiao Xiaofan scratched his head, feeling a bit troubled. “Is that so?”

 

Xiao Jingting looked at Xiao Xiaodong and said, “The fire elements in the Fire Room are quite dense. You and your brother are young, so it’s not suitable to stay for long. Keep an eye on your brother and try to practice outside as much as possible.”

 

Xiao Xiaodong nodded and said, “I understand.”

 

Xiao Jingting looked at Xiao Xiaofan thoughtfully. The fire elements in the Fire Room were quite dense. Xiao Jingting could see tiny red stars falling on Xiao Xiaofan’s body, entering his body. Xiao Jingting squinted. It seemed that his younger son’s constitution was somewhat special. Without using any techniques, he automatically absorbed spiritual energy.

 

It was said that the Alchemy Room could not only be used for alchemy but also for assisting fire attribute cultivators in their cultivation. However, the fire elements in the Fire Room were quite violent, and cultivators couldn’t stay in it for long.

 

In the adjacent Fire Room, Xu Mu’an was studying the jade slips in his hand. These jade slips recorded some of Wang Huacheng’s alchemy insights.

 

Previously, Xiao Jingting and Xiao Jinfeng had found Wang Huacheng’s cave during their adventures, which allowed them to advance to the seventh level of Qi Refinement. Xiao Jingting had obtained Wang Huacheng’s alchemy insights at that time, but he was too busy cultivating to pay attention to them. Now, he finally took them out for study.

 

The process of alchemy was quite dull, and the two of them had to explore slowly. Fortunately, there were plenty of spiritual herbs in the spatial ring, so Xiao Jingting didn’t have to worry about the consequences of failure.

 

Looking at the pile of spiritual herbs next to the alchemy furnace, Xu Mu’an couldn’t help but feel excited.

 

In the Azure Peak Academy.

 

“Brother Mo, I heard that the guy who won the spiritual medicine silkworm rented a Fire Room for three months,” Pei Song said.

 

Mo Bei nodded and said, “That’s right.”

 

“Xiao Jingting, this guy is really rich!” Pei Song said.

 

Mo Bei nodded and said, “Yes.” Pei Song, with his cultivation at the seventh level of Qi Refinement, had been stuck there for six years. The stronger one’s strength, the fiercer the competition for resources.

 

After Xiao Jingting won the spiritual medicine silkworm, Pei Song had his eyes on him. Pei Song had originally contacted several people, planning to intercept Xiao Jingting when he left the city. The Pei family also had Foundation Building cultivators, so Pei Song wasn’t too concerned about the threat of that Foundation Building cultivator at the time.

 

In Pei Song’s opinion, that Foundation Building senior had only casually helped Xiao Jingting. If Xiao Jingting really died, that Foundation Building cultivator probably wouldn’t care. After all, Foundation Building cultivators were very busy. Xiao Jingting’s strength was not bad, but he had a fatal weakness—he had two children who had no self-protection ability. Xiao Jingting had been targeted by many people who were greedy for his wealth. Pei Song couldn’t wait to rob this fat sheep after Xiao Jingting left the Azure Peak Academy.

 

However, after the auction ended, Xiao Jingting unexpectedly didn’t leave the Azure Peak City. Instead, he entered the academy.

 

Pei Song had no choice but to wait again. Pei Song had planned to wait, but the other people he had contacted were unwilling. Ten-odd spiritual stones were quite a lot, but waiting for three months for them wasn’t worth it. Besides, after three months, Xiao Jingting and Xu Mu’an would have used up most of the spiritual stones. For such a small amount of spiritual stones, those people couldn’t wait.

 

“It’s been three months since the rental. Does this Xiao guy want to learn alchemy?” Pei Song asked.

 

Mo Bei nodded and said, “It’s possible. There are always some people who are ignorant and want to learn alchemy, only to realize their mistake after hitting a wall.”

 

“Maybe he’ll give up in less than a month,” Pei Song said. If alchemy were so easy, alchemists wouldn’t be so rare.

 

In the rest chamber.

 

Xiao Xiaofan rolled on the bed lazily. The space in the rest chamber was very small, so he couldn’t roll around as much as he wanted. He couldn’t even roll around comfortably.

 

“Brother, can we sneak out to play?” Xiao Xiaofan asked.

 

Xiao Xiaodong opened his eyes and shook his head. “No.”

 

Xiao Xiaofan frowned and asked, “Why not?”

 

“You’ve been targeted by people. Many people want to catch you,” Xiao Xiaodong said as he opened his eyes from meditation.

 

Xiao Xiaofan was a bit confused. “What? People are targeting me. What do they want to catch me for?”

 

“They want to roast you because you’re fat,” Xiao Xiaodong said.

 

Xiao Xiaofan’s face contorted in disgust. “I’m not tasty.”

 

Xiao Xiaodong: “…”

 

Xiao Xiaofan grabbed a few pieces of jerky from his spatial ring. “Spicy, hot, salted, five-spice, cumin… we eat grilled meat every day. I’m going to get constipated.”

 

Xiao Xiaodong glanced at Xiao Xiaofan and said, “Eat, eat, eat. All you know is eating. You once said that as long as you’re not hungry, you’ll be happy. Now you’ve become picky.”

 

Xiao Xiaofan scratched his head and said, “But Dad’s cooking is delicious! Don’t you want to eat?”

 

Xiao Xiaodong snorted and didn’t say anything.

 

Xiao Xiaofan leaned in front of Xiao Xiaodong and asked, “Brother, have you seen Dad alchemize?”

 

Xiao Xiaodong nodded and said, “Yes, what’s the matter?”

 

“Dad is clumsy at alchemy. Last time, when I went to see him, I saw Dad ruin the elixir, and the whole house smelled bad,” Xiao Xiaofan said.

 

“Elixirs are not easy to refine,” Xiao Xiaodong said.

 

The status of an alchemist was very high. Even in Mo City, which was not a small place, there was not a single official alchemist.

 

Xiao Xiaodong also felt strange. He had also watched Xiao Jingting and Xu Mu’an refining elixirs. Every time, there would be a pile of spiritual herbs next to them. Xiao Xiaodong estimated that if they were sold, they could fetch several million taels of silver. He didn’t know where the two fathers had obtained so many spiritual herbs.

 

Xiao Xiaofan shook his feet and said, “Dad, we’ve been cooped up here every day. If we stay here any longer, grass will grow on my head.”

 

Xiao Xiaodong looked at Xiao Xiaofan, feeling a sense of urgency.

 

Xiao Xiaodong thought to himself, “Once Xiao Xiaofan can cultivate, his cultivation speed will be extremely fast. Even if his brother doesn’t cultivate much, his cultivation progress will still be very fast. Xiao Xiaofan’s talent should be pretty good. I must work hard to cultivate and not let my brother surpass me.”