Chapter 473 - Provocation
Eventually, no one else entered. Within the pavilion, numerous people conversed with those seated beside them — Having come to this place, although they wanted to listen to the pill king’s experiences, there were others who also wanted to make friends with fellow enthusiasts.
In this crowd of profound-level pharmacists, Gu Zuo was considered to be the youngest one. Naturally, this was quite conspicuous. In a well-behaved manner, he didn’t speak much originally. At most, he chatted with Senior Sect Brother Xu in a low voice, but he didn’t cause trouble. However, off to the side, there was someone among those older folks who looked at him unfavorably.
“A mere yellow-mouthed youngster is actually sitting in the same place as us?!”
The person speaking really was an older individual. Looking at his face, he was around fifty to sixty years old.
It went without saying that pharmacists were like the physicians of the modern era. Ordinary martial artists always trusted older pharmacists more than younger pharmacists — In most cases, this was due to sufficient experience. Even if one knew that this was a psychological effect, wasn’t it still effective? As a result, there were always some older pharmacists who were complacent and self-satisfied. They were jealous of the innate talents of younger pharmacists who were of the same rank as themselves. At the same time, they were narrow-minded, and felt that those young, genius pharmacists were as unreliable as a youth without facial hair.
Wasn’t this old fellow with a goatee exactly the kind of person previously mentioned?
After seeing Gu Zuo’s appearance, he had a stuffy feeling in his chest. Shortly thereafter, he felt that it was definitely impossible for this youngster to be the same rank as him. This pharmacist must’ve been placed here by mistake. Following this, he shouted scoldings.
Gu Zuo: “...”
Who was supposed to be provoking who?!
Glancing at that goateed man’s features, Gu Zuo felt that he was difficult to get along with.
Arguing with him would be too uncouth, but it also appeared a little cowardly to let himself be scolded.
After a conflicted moment, Gu Zuo still pretended that he hadn’t heard anything.
In any case, they weren’t familiar with one another, so he could just feign sudden hearing loss. Not to mention anything else, wouldn’t arguing at the grand assembly of this pill king simply annoy that very pill king?
Originally, that quarrelsome person only saw something he didn’t like, and spoke out of envy. If he was able to provoke Gu Zuo’s begrudging anger, and got him to counterattack, then Gu Zuo would’ve certainly lost face. That quarrelsome person would’ve felt delighted, too. However, Gu Zuo didn’t acknowledge the verbal barb. It was like it wasn’t worth it to lower himself to that guy’s level — With the lungful of anger in that fellow’s chest blocked up, he was in an incredibly bad mood.
Hence, the man with the goatee couldn’t help saying: “A younger generation without any manners! This senior spoke, but unexpectedly, he pretends to be ignorant! Truly, what unacceptable behavior!”
Gu Zuo turned his face away, and chatted with Gongyi Tianheng: “Big brother, let’s take a stroll around the business district here afterwards. There are so many people now, so maybe there’s something good...”
Tianheng had a smile on his face. He faintly nodded his head while listening to Gu Zuo talk. It looked like he was paying extremely close attention.
Gu Zuo continued to speak: “Big brother, how many profound crystals can I use this time?”
Tianheng’s smiling expression deepened: “Ah Zuo can help himself to however much he wants. There’s no need to ask for my permission.”
By acting as if no one else was present, the goateed man’s complexion turned ashen. He was almost about to flip the table in front of him!
Fortunately, someone by his side restrained him, and persuaded: “You can’t act this way! This place is the pill king’s&#k2014;”
Speaking of the latter, he also lowered the volume of his voice for fear of the pill king witnessing this spectacle. At the same time, he was also quite depressed at heart. When he normally interacted with the guy by his side, he only felt that this fellow’s temperament was a little flawed. He didn’t expect that his anger would flare up regardless of the situation. If he had known earlier, he wouldn’t have been willing to come here with this guy.
The man with the goatee was unable to constrain his towering fury: “Brat! You have the cheek to ignore this old man?!”
Off to the side, that man hurriedly advised: “Senior Brother Yang...”
His heart was filled with even more unspoken criticisms. When seeing a younger generation, this guy thought he could rely on old age to flaunt seniority and teach the other a lesson. However, someone so accomplished at such a young age was a hundred times more talented than them. How could anyone rely on age to give a lecture?
The others ignored this spectacle. It was because this was the pill king’s place, and they wanted to give face to the pill king. If it was him, he would’ve restrained himself long ago. How could this guy make such an aggravating move? Seriously... Rather than discussing the path of medicine refinement and forming a bond of good karma with such a talented young man, this guy started a feud! This was truly the height of stupidity!
Gu Zuo wasn’t clear about the two people’s thoughts, but wouldn’t talking aimlessly with big brother infuriate that goateed pharmacist? However, it wasn’t like he hadn’t been paying attention to that side. Afterwards, he saw that man with the goatee being pulled by another person so that he couldn’t really cause a scene in front of everyone. Gu Zuo inwardly sighed in relief.
He didn’t want to give others something to laugh at!
Shortly thereafter, Gu Zuo was met with Tianheng’s smiling eyes. He immediately became somewhat embarrassed: “Big brother, I...”
Tianheng chuckled, lightly patted his shoulder, and said: “Ah Zuo, take a look.”
As it turned out, that pill king made a move at this time.
One would only see the pill king flicking his finger. A strand of fiery thread burst forth, landed inside that pill furnace, and ignited into a raging inferno. The pill furnace was heated up almost instantly, which caused white, vaporous trails to float above it.
The flame within that pill furnace was very spirited. It was like dozens of threads were strung together. One strand after another jumped and interweaved in an extremely beautiful display.
This was a wondrous fire!
Gu Zuo recognized it from its shape. This was the Hundred-Strands Thousand-Threads Flame. It was a type of wondrous fire that was incredibly helpful when it came to medicine refinement.
With such a wondrous fire on hand, it was much easier to refine medicinal pills than it was for ordinary pharmacists. The rate of pill production was much higher, too.
On this continent, not everyone had a wondrous fire. However, pharmacists capable of owning a wondrous fire always had a higher chance of becoming pill kings than other pharmacists — One could also say that every pharmacist who became a pill king had to have a wondrous fire. This was because medicinal pills at the earth level and above possessed spirituality. One needed to use a spiritually-active wondrous fire to maintain this trace of spirituality in the pills to successfully refine them. As for common earthly fires, they would strangle this trace of spirituality over the course of medicine refinement. This was incredibly harmful when refining medicine.
However, in most cases, the greater the proficiency a pill king had in controlling wondrous fires, the higher their medicine refining standards.
Presently, this pill king only used that one move to prove that his standards were extraordinary.
This was a powerful pill king!
Hence, the other pharmacists watching this scene retracted their comments, and their eyes lit up.
Sure enough, to tell whether it was a mule or a horse, one simply had to take it out for a walk.
Soon after, this pill king demonstrated medicine refining methods that could practically be called sorcery. His movements were incredibly graceful, and every action beckoned a fiery thread to jump. His gaze faintly moved, and a certain number of medicinal ingredients appeared at his side. With another flicker of his gaze, these ingredients soared into the air, and directly fell into the pill furnace.
Following this, crackling and sizzling sounds were heard from the furnace, and strands of medicinal fragrances flowed out. Down below, the Hundred-Strands Thousand-Threads Flame leaped and danced with a rhythmic feeling. The flames lengthened and shortened, appeared and disappeared. After less than an hour, the pill furnace’s lid shot away. Immediately after that, a medicinal pill leaped out, producing a soft pill cry.
Once the earth-level pill came out of the furnace, it couldn’t be collected with an ordinary pill receiving seal. If pills below the earth level had the tendency to scatter in all directions, then this earth-level pill had the instinct to escape — This was due to that trace of spirituality.
Consequently, if the rank of the pill receiving seal was insufficient, the pill king would have no choice but to personally capture the pill. Fortunately, after reaching this level, only one medicinal pill could be successfully refined most of the time. Otherwise, it would be really difficult to catch them all.
Though, this pill king wasn’t the same.
Seeing that the medicinal pill was about to escape with a clear whistling sound, the pill king pinched his fingers in passing. He drew out a streak of abstruse power, which rapidly enshrouded that pill. Soon after, that abstruse power acted like a fishing net. No matter how many times that pill bounced around inside, it was dragged back as he retracted his hand, and smoothly landed onto the hollow of his palm.
In the blink of an eye, the surface of the medicinal pill circulated with a jewel-like splendor. Crimson rays of light congregated, and practically illuminated the entire room.
Not only was this a successfully refined medicinal pill, it was an earth-level pill with a product grade of eight or higher!
Among the earth-level pills, being able to refine this product grade of this rank like it was nothing but a light swipe of the brush... This pill king’s standards were increasingly proven true.
After the pill king put the pill away, the numerous pharmacists down below let out exclamations of admiration. Though, some pharmacists still had fiery emotions in their eyes. They felt it would be even better if they could show off their own might. They hoped to become pill kings in the future. When they refined medicinal pills, they could move mountains with the lightest touch just like this pill king.
Gu Zuo saw this, and comprehend many profound mysteries from within.
Indeed, this pill king was powerful. Moreover, when refining this earth-level pill, there wasn’t a single redundant action. He only thought that every movement had been elegant and extraordinary.
Once the pill was refined, the achievements obtained were also worthy of appreciation.
Gu Zuo couldn’t help praising: “Big brother, this pill king is really awesome!”
Tianheng smiled, but didn’t say anything.
But at the same time, a voice echoed inside Gu Zuo’s head.
[Ah Zuo, you’ll certainly be even more awesome in the future.]
Gu Zuo’s face heated up, and his heart felt comforted.
— There was nothing better than when a beloved sweetheart believed in you.
At any rate, after the pill king refined this medicinal pill, he opened his mouth: “Today, this Han has become a pill king. The point of inviting these fellow enthusiasts to gather here is to compare notes on the path of pill refinement and share opinions and views. I must ask everyone to give their advice.”
The majority of pharmacists responded: “We don’t deserve your praise. We ask for this pill king’s guidance.”
There was also a small number of people who said: “We would be much obliged!”
Having heard what was said, Pill King Han still wore a smiling expression: “Since it’s like this, I invite whichever fellow enthusiasts with the intention of comparing notes to step forward.”
Gu Zuo’s heart stirred. He immediately sat up straight.
It was almost here!
Soon after, among those people who just said that they wanted to oblige the pill king, a man who looked to be in his thirties emerged. Carrying a small cauldron, he walked over in swift steps.
He was a profound-level pharmacist. The moment the small cauldron was tossed onto the ground, it suddenly transformed into a large cauldron. Although, it seemed that it wasn’t as big as that pill furnace.
The man said: “This Wang is adept at refining a type of medicinal powder. How does Pill King Han feel about this?”
Pill King Han glanced at this man. He smiled and said: “So it turns out to be...Honorable Junior Wang. This Han remembers that what Honorable Junior Wang is good at is a type of Myriad Golden Powder. It’s a miraculous medicine refined from ten thousand medicinal ingredients. It has marvelous effects on the internal and external injuries of martial artists. In addition, the worse the martial artist’s injuries, the more their internal qi grows after recovering with this medicine. It’s to the point that, once they take this medicine, they can directly break through a large realm following recovery. Is that right?”
The man surnamed Wang proudly said: “It’s precisely this miraculous medicine.”
Once he finished speaking, the man’s expression suddenly changed. He came back to his senses.
Off to the side, Gu Zuo couldn’t help laughing in secret.
This Pill King Han didn’t seem to be as good-tempered as he appeared on the surface. Meanwhile, it was obvious that this man surnamed Wang had been at the same level as Pill King Han in the past, and their ages were almost the same, too. Now, he was being addressed as an honorable junior... Although there was no problem in terms of seniority or strength, this was sufficiently damaging.
T/N: Thanks for the correction, Charysa.
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