“Hehe, I knew I could do it. I’ve got the data now. After familiarizing myself a few more times, I’ll be able to stabilize it! As for the success rate, that can only be improved slowly.”

Wang Hao picked up a yellow pill and sniffed it lightly a few times. There was no strange odor. He popped it into his mouth. The moment the pill entered, it dissolved into a warm stream of liquid that flowed straight into his stomach. The next moment, a comforting warmth spread throughout his body, accompanied by a slight feeling of fullness.

This one small pill contained enough energy to sustain a cultivator for an entire day.

In theory, one batch should yield ten pills, but this was Wang Hao’s first success, so his yield rate was only twenty percent.

A bottle of Fasting Pills contained ten pills and typically sold for three Spirit Stones. With his current success rate, he was clearly operating at a loss. One had to remember that each refining attempt consumed ten jin of Spirit Rice!

Wang Hao meditated for two hours to recover his Qi, then refined two more batches, yielding three pills and two pills, respectively.

Ten days later, the Spirit Rice ripened again. Wang Hao started refining once more. He succeeded nine times out of ten attempts, and the last two batches even yielded five pills each. At this point, he was no longer refining at a loss.

Of course, if the consumption of Spirit Charcoal was factored in, he wasn’t making a profit either. To make money from Fasting Pills, he needed at least a sixty percent success rate.

After tidying up, Wang Hao bottled the Fasting Pills. The two refining sessions yielded four bottles in total. He didn’t eat these things himself anyway, so he might as well sell them. It would also be a chance to have someone appraise their quality.

Since he was going out, Wang Hao took a portion of the White Jade Watermelons and Spirit Talisman Grass with him. The refining effect of the watermelons wasn’t great for him anymore; it was more cost-effective to sell them and exchange the proceeds for Gathering Spirit Pills.

Donning his bamboo hat, Wang Hao headed straight for the Wang Family Pill Shop. The goods he was selling this time weren’t much, so there was no need for elaborate concealment.

Entering the shop, he found Wang Wenxin on duty again. He got straight to the point: “Do you buy spirit fruits and pills here?”

Wang Wenxin looked up and recognized Wang Hao as the person who had purchased pills last time. Just as he was about to attend to him, a cough suddenly came from behind.

Wang Yanfeng walked forward. “Wenxin, go attend to the customers over there. I’ll handle this Fellow Daoist.”

Although puzzled, since Wang Yanfeng was his Eighth Uncle, Wang Wenxin didn’t ask further questions and walked away.

Wang Yanfeng said, “Fellow Daoist, there is a private room upstairs. Shall we talk?”

Wang Hao had never met Wang Yanfeng before and didn’t know what he was up to. But within this market area, safety should be guaranteed. He replied, “Of course.”

“Please!”

Upon going upstairs, before Wang Hao could even sit down, Wang Yanfeng snorted. “You brat, coming to your own family’s pill shop all covered up like this? What are you trying to do?”

Seeing Wang Hao’s questioning look, he added, “I am your Eighth Uncle, Wang Yanfeng. Also an alchemist. I grew up with your father!”

“Oh! So it’s Eighth Uncle! How did you recognize your nephew?” Seeing it was family, Wang Hao relaxed. An uncle who grew up with Old Wang wouldn’t harm him, even if he didn’t particularly like him.

“Sit down first.” Wang Yanfeng tapped the table. “I recognized you the last time you came. With this shabby bamboo hat of yours, who could you possibly fool? I even went to check on your place a few times, but seeing you never came out, I assumed you were in seclusion and didn’t disturb you.”

Wang Hao chuckled lightly. “After what happened previously, your nephew felt too ashamed to show his face openly, so I bought this hat. I’ve made Eighth Uncle laugh.”

“This hat of yours only fools ordinary people. Since it’s our first meeting and your father entrusted me to look after you, I’ll give you a gift.” Saying this, he took out a black bamboo hat from his storage bag. “I bought this years ago. It doesn’t have any major effects, but it can block the Spiritual Sense detection of cultivators below the Foundation Establishment level. It’s yours.”

Wang Hao had been thinking about finding a better disguise technique himself; Eighth Uncle’s gift was quite timely.

“Thank you, Eighth Uncle! Nephew gratefully accepts.”

“You brat being so polite is different from how your father described you!” He pointed at Wang Hao with a smile. “I don’t know how you angered Second Brother; every time he mentions you, it’s with sighs.”

“Uh…” Wang Hao awkwardly rubbed his forehead, thinking inwardly that this wasn’t his fault; it was all on the original owner!

He said, “People always have to grow up eventually. I’m eighteen now; considered an adult. My mother has been gone for many years; I need to live properly.”

“It’s good if you think that way! If Second Brother knew, he’d surely be very happy. Enough small talk; let’s discuss why you came today.” Wang Yanfeng changed the subject.

Wang Hao didn’t beat around the bush either. He took out the Fasting Pills and fifteen White Jade Watermelons. “Some days ago, a friend sold these White Jade Watermelons to me. Unfortunately, after refining them myself, I found the effect quite poor, so I thought of exchanging them for Gathering Spirit Pills! As for these pills… they were refined by me personally; please give me some pointers, Eighth Uncle!”

“You actually know alchemy too?” A look of surprise appeared on Wang Yanfeng’s face. Ignoring the watermelons for now, he picked up the Fasting Pills instead. He took one out, sniffed it, and then swallowed it directly.

“Hmm… the quality is fairly decent indeed… Ah, right! You’re Second Brother’s son; what’s so surprising about being able to refine pills?”

Hearing this made Wang Hao unhappy inwardly—he worked hard to refine these Fasting Pills himself! What did Old Wang have to do with it? Well… actually there was a connection—the pill formula and notes were given by Old Wang…

But still! One should distinguish primary from secondary factors! What did being Old Wang’s son have to do with anything?

Wang Yanfeng then examined the White Jade Watermelons. “These White Jade Watermelons are grown extremely well; they can be considered top grade… But they truly aren’t very suitable for mid-stage Qi Refining cultivation… Alright then—I’ll make an executive decision here—I’ll exchange these watermelons plus your pills for fifteen Gathering Spirit Pills total. Are you satisfied?”

These watermelons would fetch at most thirty Spirit Stones at other shops anyway. Fasting Pills sold at three Spirit Stones per bottle, but obviously, shops’ purchase prices wouldn’t be that high. Eighth Uncle here was giving him extra!

“Then thank you, Eighth Uncle!” Wang Hao wasn’t an ungrateful person; he quickly bowed in thanks.

“Alright then—if you can focus on cultivation properly without angering your father further, then Eighth Uncle’s care won’t have been wasted.”

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Wang Hao finally left carrying his new batch of pills.

Afterward, Wang Hao found himself within a secluded alleyway. He took out the black bamboo hat given by Eighth Uncle earlier, swapped out his old one, and wound through several twists and turns before finally arriving at the Qingyuan Sect’s Pill & Talisman Pavilion. There, he sold twenty jin of Spirit Talisman Grass, earning eighty Spirit Stones in total.

Next, he headed towards the Qingyuan Sect’s Weaponry Pavilion, where he finally purchased the long-desired Red Gold Sword.

He would inevitably need to venture outside eventually.

Although he had already collected most of the medicinal herbs required for Tier 1 pills, he was still missing several key supplementary ingredients. Most importantly, he needed the main ingredient for the Foundation Establishment Pill: the Condensing Essence Fruit. He had to obtain it sooner rather than later.

The Condensing Essence Fruit Tree was a Tier 2 High-Grade spiritual plant. Its growth time required a hundred years, and then it flowered and bore fruit once every fifty years. Thus, it took a total of one hundred and fifty years. Within the farm, the growth time would be fifteen years. If he waited until the late stage of Foundation Establishment before seeking it, it probably wouldn’t mature before he reached age sixty.

Condensing Essence Fruit Trees were mostly monopolized by major powers; targeting them was unrealistic.

However, the Southern Sea’s development was relatively recent. Even within the Duan Yuan Mountain Range, many areas remained untouched by humans, so possibly undiscovered specimens remained. Rumor had it that the Qingyuan Sect’s Condensing Essence Fruit Tree was obtained from the Duan Yuan Mountain Range. Relying upon that tree, the Qingyuan Sect continuously strengthened itself, ultimately growing to become the regional hegemon.