Chapter 1977, Pill Recipe

Inside the back room, Yang Kai took a seat but did not rush to touch the tea in front of him.

The shopkeeper of this Spirit Pill Plaza was a bit too enthusiastic, which made Yang Kai become a bit wary and thus showed a cautious demeanour.

Kang Si Ran apparently noticed this as well, but did not pay it any mind and simply smiled lightly, “I heard that Young Master Yang wishes to purchase some pill recipes?”

“Indeed!” Yang Kai nodded.

Kang Si Ran’s eyes lit up hearing this and asked, “Does that mean Young Master Yang is an Alchemist?”

Yang Kai frowned and asked lightly, “Does your noble establishment have a policy of inquiring about your customer’s details before selling them things?”

Yang Kai made no attempt to hide the blame in his voice, but Kang Si Ran did not become angry and instead apologized, “Please do not take offence, Young Master Yang, it was not this old master’s intention to appear rude. This old master will offer this cup as an apology!”

Saying so, he really drank down the cup of tea in one gulp.

Wiping the residual tea from his lips, Kang Si Ran continued, “If Young Master Yang is really an Alchemist and your accomplishments are high enough, this old master can deliver you any pill recipe you want.”

“Shopkeeper Kang’s meaning is?” Yang Kai was genuinely confused now.

Kang Si Ran smiled bitterly when he heard these words and did not answer right away, taking some time to consider his words before finally saying, “Very well, this old master will be succinct.”

“Please speak, Shopkeeper Kang.”

“The situation is this,” Kang Si Ran began his explanation. “My Spirit Pill Plaza is currently shorthanded of Alchemists… If Young Master Yang is an Alchemist at the Origin King Grade, this old master would like to hire him to work here and can offer very favourable treatment. This old master has two proposals which Young Master Yang may choose from, either offering a certain fixed salary for each month of work, or a percentage of the profits from the shop’s sales for each pill Young Master Yang refines. Young Master Yang is free to decide.”

Yang Kai was stunned when he heard these words, “Does your noble establishment really lack Alchemists?”

“Indeed,” Kang Si Ran said with a troubled expression on his face. He had been worrying constantly about this issue as of late, so now that he saw a glimmer of hope, he knew he had to make an attempt, “Originally my Spirit Pill Plaza had three Alchemists in its employ, but two recently left, leaving only one behind. The last remaining Alchemist is unable to refine enough pills to keep up with ordinary demand. However… Young Master Yang may rest assured. If you agree to assist this old master at this time, you may freely look through any pill recipe Spirit Pill Plaza owns.”

This answer could not help making Yang Kai a little excited; after all, he didn’t have many Source Crystals on hand right now, so if he were really forced to purchase pill recipes, the most he could probably buy was one or two. As for the pill recipe of the Source Condensing Pill… it would no doubt be extremely expensive, so given his current financial resources, Yang Kai doubted he would be able to afford it.

Yang Kai was only planning to check what kind of price these pill recipes sold for today after which he would go and raise the required amount of Source Crystals some other way.

Unexpectedly, after coming to this Spirit Pill Plaza, he had encountered this kind of pleasant surprise.

Maintaining a calm demeanour, Yang Kai asked, “Why did those two Alchemists suddenly leave? Was it because Shopkeeper Kang did not compensate them fairly?”

“How could that be possible?” Kang Si Ran smiled bitterly, “This old master has lived in Maplewood City for many years now and has always engaged in fair and upright business. The compensation for those several Alchemists was definitely not low, it’s just… as water flows to the lowest point, people always try to ascend to the highest heights. It is because of this immutable truth that they chose to leave this pill shop when faced with greater interests.

Listening to what he said, Yang Kai understood.

“Someone poached them!”

Kang Si Ran heard it put bluntly and couldn’t help showing a trace of annoyance on his face as he nodded, “Exactly. Spirit Pill Plaza is actually a subsidiary of Violet Source Chamber of Commerce, while the other major pill shop in Maplewood City is owned by Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce. As such, it was only natural for them to target us.”

“Violet Source Chamber of Commerce, Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce?” Yang Kai frowned.

“Has Young Master Yang not heard of our two establishments?” Kang Si Ran was visibly surprised by his reaction.

Yang Kai smirked and shook his head.

Kang Si Ran was stunned for a moment. He could see that Yang Kai was a Third-Order Origin King, so for him to have never heard the names of these two chambers of commerce was quite shocking. In the Southern Territory, besides the supreme overlord Star Soul Palace, Violet Source Chamber of Commerce and Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce were among the most famous and powerful great forces.

Yang Kai’s strength was not low, so how could he not even have heard about them before?

However, Kang Si Ran was an experienced businessman, so in order to avoid embarrassing Yang Kai, he hurriedly smiled and said, “It seems that Yang Master Yang has secluded himself from worldly affairs to focus on his cultivation. En, no wonder Young Master Yang has such profound strength at such a young age, this old master is very impressed.”

Yang Kai gave a dry laugh but did not answer.

However, judging from the information disclosed by Kang Si Ran, the relationship between the two chambers of commerce seemed to be hostile. It was not difficult to understand that rivals would be enemies; since both of these great forces obviously engaged in business, it was natural for them to compete with one another.

The pill shop owned by Seven Glories Chamber of Commerce probably offered a higher price to snatch the two Alchemists from Spirit Pill Plaza, leading to its current embarrassing situation.

Without enough Alchemists, there would naturally not be enough Spirit Pills to sell, and as time passed, fewer people would patronize Spirit Pill Plaza. As the shopkeeper of Spirit Pill Plaza, Kang Si Ran would become anxious in such a conundrum.

These days, Kang Si Ran had been searching frantically for a suitable Alchemist for Spirit Pill Plaza to hire, but Maplewood City was not a big city in the Star Boundary, so even if some Alchemists were living here, most of them already belonged to certain great forces. As for lower-level Alchemists, even if Kang Si Ran were to hire them, they would not be of much use.

That was why he was so passionate about Yang Kai and immediately had the shop hand invite Yang Kai inside when he heard about the latter wanting to purchase pill recipes.

A person who wanted to buy pill recipes must be an Alchemist, as average cultivators would not care about pill recipes at all. Normal cultivators just needed to gather enough materials and compensation to ask an Alchemist to refine the pill they wanted.

“May I ask what grade of Alchemist Young Master Yang is?” After explaining his dilemma, Kang Si Ran asked Yang Kai nervously and expectantly.

If Yang Kai’s Alchemy level wasn’t high, he wouldn’t need to waste any time with him.

Yang Kai thought for a while before replying, “I can refine Origin King Grade Spirit Pills.”

His answer was not complete, and actually concealed many details, but it was good enough to satisfy Kang Si Ran.

Hearing Yang Kai personally say he was an Origin King Grade Alchemist, Kang Si Ran was already overjoyed, his eyes filling with a sincere, almost pleading light.

Without waiting for him to speak, Yang Kai said, “Shopkeeper Kang should understand: I am only interested in earning some Source Crystals by performing Alchemy and using it as an auxiliary to my cultivation right now, it is not my primary interest or profession, and not a job I intend to practice continually. That being the case, I suggest Shopkeeper Kang look for another master to hire.”

The attitude of the other party was very sincere, so Yang Kai did not want to deceive him and so explained his circumstances in a straightforward manner.

After all, to Yang Kai, Alchemy was just a means of cultivation, a field he did not plan on investing too much time and energy into. If he agreed to Kang Si Ran’s request, it would be equivalent to attaching himself to Spirit Pill Plaza, which would restrict his time and freedom in the future.

That wasn’t a situation Yang Kai wanted to see.

“Not your primary interest or profession?” Kang Si Ran was stunned but quickly smiled, “That does not matter. As long as Young Master Yang can assist this old master with Alchemy for three… no, no, two months, everything will be fine. This old master promises he will not delay Young Master Yang’s cultivation for long.”

“Just two months?” Yang Kai looked at him in surprise.

“En, in fact, the situation here has already been reported to the chamber of commerce’s headquarters by this old master, and they have agreed to transfer two Alchemists to assist, but it will take some time for them to arrive; after all, the road to this small place is quite long. What’s more, headquarters will not pay too much attention to a single shop in a small place like Maplewood City. Even so, Young Master Yang will only need to help this old master for two months before help arrives.”

“So that’s how it is!” Yang Kai nodded lightly.

“What does Young Master Yang think? Is it possible?” Kang Si Ran asked nervously.

He had not slept at all since this incident arose, so upon finally meeting a suitable candidate, Kang Si Ran really did not want to miss this opportunity.

“If it’s just two months… it should not be an issue, but Shopkeeper Kang, those pill recipes…”

Before Yang Kai even finished speaking, Kang Si Ran waved his hand boldly, “If Young Master Yang really joins Spirit Pill Plaza, he may freely read all of the shop’s pill recipes. Even taking copies of them is acceptable.”

“Among the pill recipes your noble establishment owns, is there one for Source Condensing Pills?”

“Almost every pill shop will have a recipe for Source Condensing Pills, but each recipe is slightly different. Why? Has Young Master Yang not refined Source Condensing Pills before?”

Suddenly, Kang Si Ran became a little nervous as he worried about whether Yang Kai was lying to him. Which Origin King Grade Alchemist did not own the pill recipe for Source Condensing Pills? This was the pill with the greatest demand amongst Origin King Realm cultivators.

Yang Kai smiled awkwardly and could only say, “I came from a very remote place where there are very few powerful cultivators, so…”

Although this explanation was full of loopholes, it could still be regarded as a proper reason.

Kang Si Ran did not press him further on the issue.

“Good, Shopkeeper Kang, please provide me with a list of pills your noble establishment sells and prepare the appropriate pill recipes. I will go back for today and consider your proposal carefully. I will have an answer for you within three days,” Yang Kai did not rashly agree to Kang Si Ran’s request; after all, he wasn’t familiar with either Spirit Pill Plaza or Kang Si Ran. Who knows if he was a real man of integrity or not?

Acting cautiously was always advisable.

“Fair enough, then this old master will await Young Master Yang’s return. However, please consider this old master’s proposal as soon as possible. The pills in my Spirit Pill Plaza’s stock are all currently running out.” Kang Si Ran knew that this matter could not be rushed, so he could only agree to Yang Kai’s request.

As such, he quickly arranged a list of pills before handing it to Yang Kai.

After bidding farewell to Kang Si Ran, Yang Kai did not immediately return to his residence and instead began wandering around the city.

Whenever he saw a shop selling Spirit Pills, he would go in and ask some questions.

Although he had just negotiated with Kang Si Ran, he still wanted to see whether he could buy pill recipes from other places; after all, if he could act on his own, it would be better than hiring himself to Spirit Pill Plaza as he could monopolize all of the benefits.

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Of course, cooperating with Spirit Pill Plaza also had some advantages, such as a fixed source of customers, sufficient materials, and no need to worry about sales channels.

There were pros and cons to both options.