Chapter 171: Chapter 170: Li Gang Is Not Chu Mu
Out of twenty refining attempts, thirteen ended up as charred messes.
Seven of those were even made with the Spiritual Radiance Blessing.
This meant that under normal conditions, he hadn’t succeeded even once.
The room was filled with rolling black smoke. Carrying a total of thirty-four Grain Avoidance Pills, Chu Mu emerged from the second floor. The Restriction dissipated, and his movements stirred the smoke, causing it to drift down to the first floor.
"Brother Mu, there’s a fire! Quick, put it out!"
Xu Yuan rushed toward the second floor, carrying a bucket of water.
"You idiot!"
Chu Mu irritably grabbed Xu Yuan and held him back.
"Isn’t there a fire?"
Xu Yuan, holding the bucket, looked completely baffled.
"I just failed at alchemy a few times. It’s nothing."
Chu Mu waved his hand dismissively, putting on a profound air, then quickly changed the subject. "How did that thing of yours go? Did you sign the contract?"
"It’s signed. I start work tomorrow."
"By the way, Brother Mu, what’s for dinner? Did you just buy these ingredients?"
"Yeah, you figure it out. Just whip something up. I don’t think I’ll be able to eat much for the next few days. I just took a Grain Avoidance Pill."
"Alright, I’ll go make dinner."
Xu Yuan replied and went down the stairs with his bucket.
Chu Mu walked out of the room and onto the street. He felt the bulging Jade Bottles filled with Grain Avoidance Pills in his robes, his brow furrowed in thought.
He had already completed most of the process of turning knowledge into wealth. All that was left was figuring out how to turn his successfully refined Grain Avoidance Pills into Spirit Stones.
For him, this step was a difficult one.
When the Sun Family ruled Jade Emperor Valley, all businesses were their own. They produced and sold everything themselves.
For a Loose Alchemist Cultivator in Jade Emperor Valley to turn their refined pills into wealth, their only options were to submit to the Sun Family, sell in the Black Market, or trade privately.
Although things were different now that the Longevity Sect ruled Jade Emperor Valley, the market was still largely a monopoly.
The only difference was that the Longevity Sect had completely opened up shop rentals. The shops in the Marketplace were no longer exclusively owned by the Sect and various Clans.
This motley collection of shops meant that sales channels were bound to exist within the Marketplace.
But there was a very practical problem.
Five Spirit Stones’ worth of Spirit Grain could be refined into five Grain Avoidance Pills, each worth two Spirit Stones.
The profit margin was double the investment.
However, after accounting for the consumption of other raw materials, while the profit was still substantial, this was only when compared to the market price.
That is, the retail price on the market.
If he sold his Grain Avoidance Pills to a shop, he obviously couldn’t sell them at market price.
The price would have to be lower than the market price, perhaps even far lower.
And his so-called "substantial profit" was based on that market price.
Furthermore, he also had to purchase his raw materials at market price.
The shops and trading houses specializing in pills would certainly have access to cheaper raw materials, unlike him, who had to buy at market price.
Besides, Grain Avoidance Pills weren’t some precious elixir. They were a basic, introductory product of Alchemy Skill, so there was no chance of them being considered rare or valuable.
But if he had to sell them to the shops at his cost price, he would definitely lose money.
’Take all these risks... just to lose money?’
This sales channel was clearly not viable.
Only by selling at market price, or slightly below it, could he earn a sufficient profit.
But...
...that was clearly difficult to do here in Jade Emperor Valley.
Only the Black Market or private transactions could make that possible.
The Black Market... after his experience at the Fengming Mountain Black Market, there was absolutely no way he would ever set foot in one again. Not even if it killed him!
As for private transactions, he didn’t have the connections.
Therefore, he needed a reliable and capable agent, even if it meant sharing some of the profits.
As his thoughts churned, a person he had long been considering came to mind again.
After a moment of contemplation, Chu Mu found a hidden corner, changed his appearance, concealed his aura, and then re-emerged, heading straight for the Marketplace.
’I have my suspicions, but I need to verify them with facts.’
He visited several trading houses that sold pills one after another. Finally, Chu Mu changed his appearance again and returned to the streets of the Marketplace.
"Twelve Broken Spirits."
Chu Mu’s expression was ugly. Although he had anticipated it, the reality was even harsher than he had imagined.
Out of five trading houses, the highest price offered was only twelve Broken Spirits per pill. At that price, he couldn’t even recover his costs.
Moreover, four of the five houses immediately wanted to sign a long-term contract, their intentions of prying into his business obvious.
Facts had now proven that this channel was completely unworkable.
In other words... his plan to find an agent was imperative.
Chu Mu looked at Wang Mazi not far away, who seemed to be soliciting customers. His eyes flickered with thought.
After standing there for a moment, Chu Mu abruptly turned and headed straight home.
He had thirty sets of materials left for refining Grain Avoidance Pills. This time, Chu Mu didn’t bother with practice. He used his Spiritual Radiance Blessing from start to finish, resulting in thirty successful refinements. This yielded one hundred and fifty Grain Avoidance Pills, twenty-three of which were One-Patterned.
In total, he now had one hundred and eighty-four Grain Avoidance Pills. Factoring in the One-Patterned ones, their market value was at least four hundred Lower Grade Spirit Stones.
For the next ten days or so, aside from mulling over the refining process for Grain Avoidance Pills, Chu Mu spent the rest of his time wandering around the Marketplace.
While he wandered aimlessly, his most important goal was to observe his potential agent... Wang Mazi.
He had had a fair amount of contact with Wang Mazi. In fact, one could say that since entering the Cultivation Immortal Realm, Wang Mazi was the only person he could be considered familiar with.
But... you can know a person’s face, but not their heart. This was especially true for a middleman like Wang Mazi, who operated in a gray area.
Besides, his Cultivation was far higher than his own.
He observed him discreetly for over half a month. By the time winter faded and spring arrived, Chu Mu had finally resolved his inner conflict.
On this day, in the Jade Emperor Valley Marketplace, Chu Mu changed into a pale green robe. His figure and face transformed, turning him into a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy strolling down the street.
With the Illusionary God Mask, he naturally didn’t need to expose his true self. Instead, he prepared to approach Wang Mazi with a completely new identity.
The young... Alchemist: Li Gang.
’Even if it takes some time, it’s worth it to avoid any potential risks.’
After all, his current Cultivation was far too low. A mere Qi Cultivation Second Layer was so insignificant that people could... ignore him!
If he approached Wang Mazi as his true self, given what Wang Mazi knew about him, it would be a true test of the man’s moral bottom line. It would be an insult to his own meager Qi Cultivation Second Layer if Wang Mazi *didn’t* harbor ill intentions.
Just like his first contact with Wang Mazi, he started by purchasing some Magic, then gradually built up the relationship. This went on from the beginning of spring to the summer solstice.
Chu Mu was very patient. He didn’t use any clever tricks, simply revealing his identity as an Alchemist bit by bit, showing off his One-Patterned Grain Avoidance Pills and thus exposing his talent for Alchemy.
He even spent about ten Spirit Stones on a bribe to get a room for this identity in the Dingba District of the Marketplace.
In the end, what Chu Mu didn’t expect was that he wasn’t the one to lay his cards on the table. Instead, Wang Mazi approached him first.
"I’ll find you raw materials cheaper than the market price, and I’ll sell the pills you refine. You don’t have to worry about a thing, just focus on alchemy. I only want a forty percent cut of the profits!"
Wang Mazi rubbed his hands together, his face full of eager anticipation. Then, as if afraid Chu Mu would refuse, he quickly added:
"Li, don’t you worry! I guarantee you won’t be implicated in any of this. Just focus on your alchemy. If any trouble comes up, I promise I’ll handle it for you."
"Once we’ve earned enough Spirit Stones, I’ll get you a Pill Recipe for the Vein Nourishing Pill. With your talent for Alchemy, it’ll be a piece of cake! We’ll be rolling in money then!"
"If that’s not good enough, I’ll only take a thirty percent cut! You take seventy! How about it?"
Looking at Wang Mazi, who was already lost in fantasies of getting rich, Chu Mu was silent for a moment.
It wasn’t that he was afraid. If real trouble came, the worst-case scenario was that he’d just discard this identity. He was Chu Mu. ’What does anything Li Gang does have to do with me, Chu Mu?’
Rather, he felt it was a bit anticlimactic. He had envisioned this showdown countless times, but before he could even start, Wang Mazi had revealed everything himself.
Seeing Wang Mazi’s growing impatience, Chu Mu finally spoke with feigned hesitation, "Brother Wang, aren’t you under a Restriction?"
"Don’t worry! I’ve already found a way to deal with that stupid Divine Soul Contract. It definitely won’t cause any trouble for our business."
Wang Mazi immediately slapped his chest, offering a guarantee.
Chu Mu pretended to hesitate before finally agreeing. He took out several Jade Bottles filled with Grain Avoidance Pills and handed them to Wang Mazi.
As for the profit split, Chu Mu wasn’t too demanding. He went with Wang Mazi’s initial suggestion: a 60/40 split. He would take sixty percent, and Wang Mazi would take forty.
Although this diluted his profits, it also greatly mitigated potential risks by tying them both to the same venture.
They also had a tacit understanding not to mention signing a contract. After all, common Divine Soul Contracts could, at best, only restrain Qi Cultivation Realm Cultivators, and even then, they weren’t unbreakable.
Besides, Chu Mu had been concealing his Cultivation and masking his Divine Soul Aura the entire time. As long as Wang Mazi wasn’t a fool, he could guess Chu Mu’s intentions.
Maintaining a certain tacit understanding was a happy outcome for everyone.
The collaboration that followed went far more smoothly than Chu Mu had imagined.
Just two days later, Wang Mazi had already converted the four hundred-plus Spirit Stones from the sale of the Grain Avoidance Pills into more raw materials and delivered them.
Furthermore, the price of the raw materials was much cheaper than the market rate.
Spirit Grain, which cost at least one Spirit Stone per catty on the market, he acquired for just eight Broken Spirits. The other materials, like Spiritual Charcoal and Spirit Oil, were also significantly cheaper than market price.
As for whether Wang Mazi had padded the prices, that wasn’t Chu Mu’s concern. The price was already much cheaper than the market rate. If Wang Mazi could get it for even less, that was a testament to his own ability.
The collaboration continued with incredible smoothness.
Out of the total four hundred-plus Lower Grade Spirit Stones’ worth of raw materials, Chu Mu used one-fifth for practice. The remaining four-fifths, under the Spiritual Radiance Blessing, were transformed into nearly three hundred and twenty Grain Avoidance Pills, over forty of which were One-Patterned.
After setting aside over twenty of the One-Patterned Grain Avoidance Pills, Chu Mu handed the three hundred freshly refined pills over to Wang Mazi...
...
