The Path of Immortality: Starts With Creating Water Bear Gu

Chapter 19: The Little Medicine Boy

Two days later.

After a long absence, Long Xuan returned to this bustling market with his face covered once again.

He was here to gather materials for the Hundred Flowers Pill and to buy an alchemy cauldron to take back with him.

That's right. The pill formula that Old Long hadn't completed in ten years, he finished in just two days. He wondered what face Old Long would make.

Especially since he spent most of his time researching the Divine Ice Flame formula.

He realized that the Divine Ice Flame formula was another huge project, and who knew how long it would take to complete.

Unlike the Gu formula, being an entomologist, he had a keen sense of which spiritual insects could be fused together and could find some patterns.

But when it came to spiritual fire formulas, he had no experience. He had no clue which materials were suitable for refining fire and couldn't find any patterns, so he could only rely entirely on luck. This meant more hard work for him.

As soon as he completed the Hundred Flowers Pill formula, he couldn't wait to start trying alchemy. He didn't want to wait even one more day since it directly impacted his cultivation speed, which was always his top priority.

The materials for the Hundred Flowers Pill were easy to gather. All the spiritual flowers planted in Old Long's medicinal garden were materials for the Hundred Flowers Pill.

Since all the materials were flowers, this was the reason Old Long's medicinal garden was filled with flowers.

This made it convenient for Long Xuan to gather materials, as they were all readily available. The only thing he needed to collect were the three newly added main ingredients.

Although the main ingredients were expensive, they were the lowest-grade first-tier spiritual medicines and could be found in this market. As long as you had spirit stones, you could definitely trade for them.

The only trouble was the alchemy cauldron.

Alchemists were rare, so naturally, alchemy cauldron were also rare. They were not easy to collect. He was here today to try his luck.

Today, the market was especially crowded, much busier than usual. Perhaps there really was someone selling an alchemy cauldron.

"Little medicine boy? Are you crazy for spirit stones? You're selling waste pills? Tell me, what use do waste pills have!"

"You're even stealing waste pills that Old Alchemist Master threw away to sell. You'll steal anything!"

"Don't you dare falsely accuse me. How can you call this stealing? If my master doesn't want something and I take it, what's wrong with that?"

"If I don't take them, they would be thrown away. Isn't that a waste?"

"And who told you waste pills are useless? Waste pills can kill people. Can't they be used as poison?"

"Some people have a natural immunity to poison or even a poison-resistant constitution. Aren't they suitable for consuming waste pills?"

"Many spiritual insects and Gu insects also have strong poison resistance. They can eat waste pills as food and might even transform because of it. Who says they are useless!"

"Besides, who knows, maybe some prodigy can turn waste into treasure. What is useless to others might be a treasure to them."

"My waste pills have many uses. You just lack the insight!"

While Long Xuan was browsing the various stalls, a quarrel nearby caught his attention.

Hearing someone being called a little medicine boy, he thought it must be related to alchemy and might have the alchemy furnace he needed. So, he curiously went over.

When he got closer, he saw a rogue cultivator with a scarred face arguing with a boy of thirteen or fourteen years old, who was also called a little medicine boy. It seemed that the boy was learning alchemy from Old Dan Master, but it was unclear if he was a true apprentice or just someone who watched the furnace.

The boy had a sharp tongue, describing obviously useless waste pills as invaluable treasures.

Long Xuan became interested and walked over, casually picking up a few waste pills to examine.

The waste pills varied in size, smell, and color, seemingly covering various types, though their specific functions were unknown.

Long Xuan suddenly thought that he had the Eye of Heavenly Secret, which could magnify everything. Could he use it to observe the microscopic structure of the waste pills and decode all their formulas?

He wanted to try and felt he had to buy some of these waste pills.

The little medicine boy wasn't entirely wrong; waste pills could indeed be useful to certain small groups.

Seeing someone examining his waste pills closely, the little medicine boy's eyes widened, and he asked, "Are you interested in waste pills? Do you have the ability to turn waste into treasure?"

"Uh!" Long Xuan was taken aback by his question, thinking this kid's imagination was too wild. If others thought he had some magical ability to turn waste into treasure, that would be trouble.

"I heard you are Old Alchemist Master's medicine boy. I need an alchemy cauldron. Do you have one?" Long Xuan asked calmly.

The best tactic was to change the subject and avoid explaining.

Explanation means concealment, and concealment means the truth.

The more you explain, the more people doubt you.

The little medicine boy stopped pressing the previous question and replied, "I do have an alchemy cauldron, but I need it myself. If I sell it to you, what would I use?"

Hearing that the boy indeed had an alchemy cauldron, Long Xuan thought he was lucky. He didn't expect to find such a rare item so soon after arriving at the market.

"Everything can be sold. If it can't, it's just a matter of the price being too low."

"As Old Alchemist Master's medicine boy, you surely have connections to get another alchemy cauldron. Out with the old, in with the new. How about selling this one to me?"

"I'll offer ten thousand spirit stones."

Considering the boy's status as just a medicine boy, Long Xuan didn't offer a high price, assuming the cauldron was of the lowest quality.

Long Xuan was right. The boy had a friend who was an apprentice blacksmith and could get discounts on forging items.

Ten thousand spirit stones could not only buy a new one but also make a good profit.

"Okay, but I don't want spirit stones. I want your Little Strong Gu."

Recognizing the familiar attire, the boy realized it was the masked vendor who often sold Little Strong Gu, so he thought for a moment before speaking.

Long Xuan was taken aback and said, "Do you also plan to blood-bond with a Little Strong Gu? Usually, the ones who come to trade for Little Strong Gu are burly men who favor physical combat. Their fighting style suits the Little Strong Gu."

"Your build isn't suitable for frontal assault. Keeping a few external Gu as bodyguards would be more appropriate for your fighting style."

The boy shook his head and said, "Thanks for your suggestion, but my fighting style doesn't involve hiding behind external Gu. Let's trade for the Little Strong Gu."

The boy seemed uninterested in advice, but he was secretly mocking Long Xuan's lack of imagination.

His interest in the Little Strong Gu wasn't for physical combat. At his age, he wasn't looking for a fight.

He was thinking that since the Little Strong Gu could nullify all conventional damage and the toxicity of waste pills was weak, it could definitely nullify the waste pills' poison.

If it could ignore the waste pills' toxicity, he could benefit from their medicinal properties without consequence.

As Old Dan Master's medicine boy, he had access to heaps of waste pills. He could consume them daily like meals, drastically speeding up his cultivation.

This would allow him to surpass his peers and become a renowned genius in the area. Just thinking about it excited him.

Of course, he wouldn't reveal this idea. He wasn't foolish.

Imagination was the most valuable thing in this world. If this idea got out, the price of Little Strong Gu would skyrocket, even tenfold, and there would be countless buyers.

Then waste pills would truly become treasures, and he wouldn't get them for free anymore, nor become a genius.