Wanfa Daojun, starting from the Little Cloud and Rain Technique

Chapter 638 Crimson Flame Pavilion

The medicine shop of the Guanghan Zhenren family has been in business for more than ten years, but it can only barely survive under the pressure from competitors, whether overt or covert.

The forces that took action to suppress them included shops that had long supplied the family with medicinal herbs, because the other party only wanted them to be raw material suppliers.

She was truly unwilling to transfer the shop; she harbored a strong desire for her family to further develop and expand, and couldn't just remain a material supplier.

Spiritual herbs can only generate more profit when refined into pills. However, the family's alchemists are weak and can only refine pills for the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages.

Because of intense competition, profits are relatively meager.

There are many alchemists in the Immortal City. It is difficult to make a living if your skills are not up to par. Family alchemists can only break even on the cost of refining second-tier pills. Their skills have reached a bottleneck and improvement is too slow. They are currently unable to get involved in refining third-tier pills.

Ji An inquired about the location and basic information of the medicine shop and thought it was quite good, only one street away from the certification association. He then asked:
What is the annual rent for the shop?

"Under normal circumstances, the rent for a shop location fluctuates around three thousand high-grade spirit stones. Fellow Daoist, you have agreed to help train my clansmen, so it only costs two thousand four hundred high-grade spirit stones."

Actually, no special training is needed. Fellow Daoist, you can guide them to refine one batch of second-tier pills each month.

After learning about the shop rental from Zhang Jun, Guanghan Zhenren deliberately inquired about Ji An's true identity.

Although we don't know much, we can be sure that the pills refined by this unassuming cultivator are of extremely high quality.

The pill shop is like a chicken rib in the family's hands. If they can train a family member who can skillfully refine second-tier pills with the help of others, the situation will gradually change.

"That sounds good, but I might not have time to give you guidance. My fellow disciple, True Person Yu Hua, is a third-tier, one-star alchemist. Would it be feasible to have her guide me in refining pills sometimes?"

It only takes him an hour to refine a batch of second-tier pills. Of course, he has time to give guidance, but he needs to go to the Myriad Transformations Mountain Range, which may cause delays.

The Moon Goddess hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said:
"Of course, if you have other matters to attend to and don't have time to instruct me, you can make it up to me later."

Although I don't know how skilled the other person is at alchemy, a third-level alchemist should be able to guide his clansmen.

After testing the waters, Ji An realized the other person wasn't the difficult type to talk to, and nodded.
"For the opening of my new shop, I need a supply of medicinal herbs for second-tier pills. What herbs can you provide? How much can you provide per cycle?"

The growth of elixirs is calculated in cycles, and it is impossible to produce them every year.

"Our family cultivates second-tier spiritual herbs in a ten-year cycle, which can reliably provide the complete materials for Vermilion Flame Grass Pill and Jade Flower Pill. Each cycle yields three batches of herbs, and each batch produces five pills."

In addition, we can provide materials for the Canglan Baoguang Pill every fifteen years, which is also the amount of five pills per batch, but it lacks the main ingredient, Canglan Lingwu Fruit.

In another six months, the ingredients for the three types of elixirs will be ready for harvest.

Guanghan Zhenren replied that she could not predict whether the other party could gain a foothold. If they could, she would choose to increase her investment. If not, the amount of medicinal materials she provided would not be large and would not affect her relationship with other partners.

"I have the Azure Mist Fruit," Ji An smiled and said meaningfully.

"Fellow Daoist is very cautious. Thank you for your support. I hope we can expand our cooperation in the future."

"As long as your store thrives, our cooperation will inevitably deepen."

The Moon Goddess paused, then asked cryptically:
"How long do you plan to keep the shop running, fellow Daoist?"

As a local, she learned that the other party was from the Western Continent, and she worried that he would not be able to settle down for long.

The length of time the shop lasted also influenced her decision.

"If possible, we might create a shop that lasts for a thousand years."

Ji An said with a smile that even if he didn't intend to continue, the sect could take over the operation of the shop.

The Moon Goddess didn't quite believe it and chuckled twice:
"It's good that you have confidence, fellow Daoist."

"I need to go to the store to inspect it in person. If I'm satisfied, I can sign the lease agreement directly."

“Fellow Daoist is so generous, we can set off at any time.”

"Okay, please wait a moment while I inform my junior sister to come, and we'll go together."

Han Yan will be the actual operator of the store, so she must listen to the other party's opinion.

Ji An took out the communication golden sword, entered the information, and immediately activated it.

The spiritual light burst forth from the cave, leaving a golden trace before quickly dissipating.

The two chatted casually, and the topic turned to planting. Guanghan Zhenren discovered that the other party did not know much about the secret methods for improving the grade of spiritual fields, but had an extremely profound understanding of planting spells.

Based on the spiritual insights she felt in the woods outside the cave, she had more confidence in the cooperation.

About 15 minutes later, Han Yan arrived at Black Stone Mountain.

Ji An introduced the two to each other, and after exchanging a few pleasantries, they flew towards the Immortal City together.

Magnolia Street, Baodan Pavilion.

Led by the owner, Ji An and his companion strolled around the deserted shop, discussed it briefly, and made their decision.

"Fellow Daoist, let's sign the agreement. When will you be moving out?"

The Immortal of Guanghan pondered and said:
"We need to dispose of the remaining pills, which will take about a month."

I'm very sorry for the inconvenience caused, fellow Daoists. I can give you one month's rental period as a gift, with the rental period starting the month after next. How does that sound?

"Sure, that gives us more time to prepare."

Ji An nodded in agreement. After taking over the shop, he would need to make some adjustments to the layout, and the living room would need to be redecorated.

He may not care whether his cave dwelling is simple or not when he is cultivating, but he cannot appear shabby when he is running a business.

After a moment's thought, the Immortal of the Moon Palace said:
"A deposit for an additional year's rent is required for the lease, and the lease term must be at least fifty years; otherwise, the deposit will not be refunded."

The guidance time must be long enough so that more clansmen can benefit from the guidance of a third-tier alchemist.

"can."

The two parties discussed the details of the lease, signed an agreement, and agreed on a handover time before Ji An and his companion left.

Once on the street, Han Yan frowned and said:
"Fifty years is too long, isn't it? Does Senior Brother have other considerations?"

"The sect can use this place as a base to open the door to communication with the Central Continent."

I have traveled to the Southern Continent and the far north, and found that the Middle Continent is the most prosperous place.

"Traveling here can broaden your horizons. The fact that the sect leader sent you here shows that he has made up his mind to establish regular exchanges and contact."

"Your thinking is truly far-sighted. I don't have such foresight; I only want to hone my alchemy skills and strive to improve my cultivation."

No matter how far I go in the future, I only wish to have no regrets in this life.

Han Yan changed the subject and said:
"By the way, since the entire immortal city is built on a spiritual vein, there's no need to continue renting out my cave dwelling, right?"

"Keep it; I'll use it to grow spirit trees, which will also generate income."

I've notified Zhang Liangyu to come over, firstly so you can get to know each other, and secondly so I can exchange the spiritual fruits the sect gave me for medicinal herbs.

We have two months left, and we need to prepare a batch of elixirs.

The Lingong factions that have approached us about cooperation are all observing; the better we perform, the more support we'll gain.

After arriving at the medicine shop, Zhang Liangyu left. He knew his place perfectly well and wouldn't stay to get in the way. Han Yan nodded in deep agreement, "People love to add flowers to brocade, but few offer charcoal in the snow."

"Alas, if we buy medicinal herbs from other pharmacies to refine pills, the profit margin will be much lower."

"Hehe, they're afraid of giving it away for free."

Lower profits are unavoidable; we have no backing.

However, with our alchemy skills, the difficulties are only temporary.

Han Yan covered her mouth and chuckled, saying proudly:

"That's true. The quality of pills made by two alchemists who possess the spiritual fire of heaven and earth is very guaranteed."

What kinds of elixirs do we plan to primarily deal in initially? We need to plan this carefully.

"The targets are Vermilion Bird Flame Grass Pill, Azure Flower Pill, Azure Treasure Light Pill, Vajra Pill, Treasure Flower Pill, and Fire Essence Pill. Other categories will be released gradually."

Don't expect a complete range of medicines; that's impossible for us at present.

The two chatted quietly about their plans when Zhang Liangyu arrived, speeding over on his spirit shuttle.

"Senior, what do you want?"

Ji An pointed at Han Yan and said:

"This is my fellow disciple, Master Yuhua. She will be in charge of running the shop from now on. You two should get to know each other."

Zhang Liangyu respectfully cupped his hands in greeting:

"If you have any orders, I will arrive as quickly as possible."

Han Yan smiled slightly, "Let's exchange magic imprints. I'll need your help with many things in the future."

After the two exchanged their marks, Ji An said:
"Liangyu, take us to the shops that sell spiritual herbs. We want to buy a lot of spiritual herbs to refine pills of level two and above."

After saying that, he took out two high-grade spirit stones and handed them over.

"You've reached a supply agreement and found a shop; you deserve it."

"Thank you for your kindness, senior. Please follow me."

Zhang Liangyu's voice rose an inch, his joy overflowing. He had already obtained four high-grade spirit stones; he was rich!
As long as the senior makes a transaction in a shop that has a cooperative relationship with him, he can also get a commission from the shop, thus making another profit.

The materials for second-tier pills are not cheap, so if the other party purchases in large quantities, the commission will definitely be substantial.

Inside the Black Stone Mountain cave, the tables and the ground were filled with wooden or jade boxes.

Han Yan had a silly smile in her eyes. As an alchemist, she had never seen so many medicinal herbs laid out in front of her.

In a sect, one would typically draw upon several batches of medicinal herbs, refine them, hand them over to the elixir, and then collect the herbs in return.

"Senior brother, how many batches of medicinal herbs did we purchase? I didn't keep track."

"In total, there are about three hundred batches. I've basically used up all the spiritual fruits I've accumulated over the years."

Ji An replied, equally delighted, 'Finally, some of the low-grade third-tier spirit fruits I had are used up!'

With one-third of his inventory depleted, he can still buy another six hundred batches of medicinal herbs.

Now a rather awkward situation has arisen: the small world is gradually ceasing to produce low-grade third-tier spirit fruits, and to exchange for medicinal herbs, one must obtain mid-grade third-tier spirit fruits, which would attract too much attention.

Han Yan's lips twitched. "Senior brother's family is really wealthy. I remember there are about seventy or eighty batches of medicinal materials for refining Fire Essence Pills."

She mentally calculated the number of third-tier spirit fruit trees on Crimson Flame Peak and concluded that the other party must have only handed over a small portion of the spirit fruits back then, otherwise there wouldn't be so many left.

Ji An chuckled, not continuing the topic, and said:

"Junior sister, what kind of pills are you planning to refine?"

Let's follow the sect's rules: hand over half of the pills, and keep the rest as your reward.

You can sell them through your shop, but you'll need to give me half a percent of the spirit stones.

The unwritten rule among alchemists in sects is to pay 40% of the total amount of pills produced, but since this is not in a sect and Ji An has taken on all the risks, he should ask for an extra 10%.

Han Yan nodded, "No problem, and I also want to thank my senior brother for providing me with the opportunity to practice."

Today I'll start by selecting ten batches of Vermilion Bird Flame Grass Pills, ten batches of Vajra Pills, and thirty batches of Fire Essence Pills.

She is very skilled at making Vermilion Flame Grass Pills, but she needs to refine Vajra Pills more often. Fire Essence Pills are the only third-tier pills, so she needs to practice them even more.

"There are only five batches of Vajra Pills available. The materials for this pill are hoarded by various powerful forces, and there are not many materials available for public sale. Take five more batches of Fire Essence Pill materials."

If Master Lieyang instructs you to refine the Vajra Pill, you must decline. For you, the success rate of this pill needs to be increased to 80% to be considered acceptable.

Ji An was confident and capable of refining these materials into more pills, but his real intention in refining pills was to use this as a cover to sell resources and collect high-level spiritual herbs.

Alchemy is not the goal, but merely a means; everything is done in order to improve one's cultivation level.

"Okay, Senior Brother, what is your success rate in refining the Vajra Pill?"

Ji An calmly looked into the other person's eyes and said nonchalantly:
"95%"

His soul was powerful enough and his connection with the Blazing Sun Furnace was very harmonious, allowing him to precisely control every step of the operation.

The failure of the half-finished product was not his fault, but rather due to the insufficient potency of the elixir.

Han Yan was discouraged. She wrinkled her nose and sighed. She could only occasionally improve the success rate of a certain type of pill to this extent.

Ji An took out a dark golden puppet from the Void Stone and said:
"This is a mid-grade third-tier puppet. It can reach a maximum size of 1.5 feet. Junior sister, take it and keep it with you for self-defense."

Han Yan understood what he meant and smiled:

"Senior brother, is it really that serious? I won't leave the Immortal City. Even if I return to my cave, this place is still within the radiation range of the Immortal City's grand formation."

Ji An's expression turned serious:
"Take it, just in case."

In the Western Continent, no cultivator would dare to provoke such a powerful figure, but here, it's a different story, as there are far too many powerful cultivators.

Two months later, a shop called "Red Flame Pavilion" quietly opened on Magnolia Street.

Several Lingnong forces that had established cooperative relationships came to offer their congratulations, but they all left gifts, bought some pills, and then left, and the shop quickly became deserted.

A faint worry appeared in Han Yan's eyes, "I wonder how long it will take for word about us to spread."

Without business at the pill shop, she wouldn't have a steady stream of opportunities to refine pills, and therefore wouldn't be able to support her regular consumption of Fire Essence Pills.

With the support of the Fire Essence Pill, his cultivation speed is much faster than when he was in the sect.

Ji An comforted him, "We've just opened, don't rush."

"After Master Guanghan and his companions purchased the elixirs, word of their success quickly spread within a small circle."

(End of this chapter)