Yellow Court Daoist

"Yes, Senior Brother."

The people withdrew.

Before leaving, Zhang Qi exchanged a glance with Qin Hai.

Qin Hai looked at Lu Qingfeng, "Senior Brother Lu, is this—"

"It's nothing."

"In all major alchemy rooms, there are many items for supply and demand, consumption projects are also numerous. Have them go down and sort it out so I can study how to revitalize Feiyun Island. Year after year of failing the assessments, it's truly embarrassing to speak of it."

Lu Qingfeng said helplessly.

"Ha ha."

"Senior Brother Lu is joking. With your alchemy accomplishment, even if Feiyun Island fails the assessment every year, who in the entire Xuanyuan Sect would dare to criticize!"

Qin Hai said with a laugh.

Lu Qingfeng pursed his lips, noncommittal. Seeing this, Qin Hai suddenly seemed to remember something and hurriedly said to Lu Qingfeng, "Look at my memory, I forgot to bring two account books. Please wait a moment, Senior Brother Lu, I will go fetch them now."

Saying so, he turned and headed towards Feiyun Hall.

Lu Qingfeng did not stop him.

For a while.

In the hall, only Lu Qingfeng and Zhao Yunxing were left.

"Does Steward Zhao have anything he wishes to discuss with Lu?" Lu Qingfeng looked at Zhao Yunxing and inquired.

Zhao Yunxing lifted his head and saw Lu Qingfeng casually marking on a pile of account books—

"Yes!"

…

"Once the Island Master came back, he actually drove out Stewards Qin Hai, Master Zhang Qi, and Junior Masters Liu Qing and Zhou Qing from Feiyun Island!"

"Humph! Qin Hai, colluding with Zhang Qi, Liu Qing, and Zhou Qing, they embezzled our share of medicinal materials, lined their own pockets. They reported poor results in alchemy, causing Feiyun Island to fail the assessments three years in a row. How could the Island Master tolerate them!"

"That's too much, no wonder the Island Master was angry."

"Yes. Qin Hai and the others thought the Island Master was solely dedicated to alchemy and did not understand worldly affairs and accounts, trying to bluff their way through. Ridiculous."

"Now it's good. Being driven out of Feiyun Island and handed over to the hall. With the Venerable holding the Island Master in such high regard, they will not be let off lightly!"

Feiyun Island.

The disciples watched as the four people were taken away by someone from the hall, discussing angrily amongst themselves.

They originally thought it was truly because of their own lack of alchemy skills that led to the failure to pass the assessment, which in turn caused Feiyun Island's resources to continuously decrease, leaving them without any elixirs to refine.

Little did they know it was all Qin Hai and the others causing trouble.

The confidence that had been previously shattered began to return substantially.

Feiyun Hall.

Steward Zhao Yunxing, Second Rank Alchemist Liu Feng, First Rank Alchemists Fang Changzai, Jie Yingyuan, and Ye Mu, five people stood before Lu Qingfeng.

Their faces were somewhat awkward, and there was also a bit of relief.

This Island Master was indeed not someone easy to handle; no wonder he was valued by the Venerable and even made true inheritors from Jade Pillar Peak suffer a loss.

Seeing that everyone was a little reserved, Lu Qingfeng did not mind and took out four Jade Scrolls from his bosom and handed them to Liu Feng and the others.

"This is—"

"The Yellow Dragon Pill Recipe?"

All four of them were Entry-level Alchemists, and at a glance, the Yellow Dragon Pill, being a low-level elixir recipe, was almost immediately familiar to them.

Liu Feng, holding the Jade Scroll, looked at Lu Qingfeng quizzically, "This Yellow Dragon Pill has a similar effect to the Life Breath Pill and Fetal Breathing Pill in the Combined Pill Hall, all of which can aid Fetal Breathing Realm Practitioners in improving their cultivation. I'm not sure what Senior Brother means—"

Liu Feng was puzzled.

There were not many kinds of low-level elixirs.

In terms of enhancing cultivation, Life Breath Pill and Fetal Breathing Pill were completely sufficient, and the medicinal materials for refining these two elixirs were also very common. Many such low-level Medicinal Mountains and Medicine Gardens were cultivated within the sect, self-sufficient and not requiring outside sources.

Adding another low-level elixir was purely superfluous, and for the alchemy apprentices of Feiyun Island, it added unnecessary burden.

Jie Yingyuan, Ye Mu, and Fang Changzai also looked towards Lu Qingfeng.

Lu Qingfeng pointed to the Jade Scroll, "Take another look."

Liu Feng was startled and looked at the scroll again. This time, his expression changed.

"This is an Intermediate Elixir?!"

Liu Feng raised his head to look directly at Lu Qingfeng. Initially, seeing the materials used to refine the Yellow Dragon Pill, which were all commonly used in low-level Fetal Breathing Pills and Life Breath Pills, Liu Feng had assumed it was also a low-level elixir.

Only after a careful look did he realize that although the elixir recipe used low-level medicinal materials, the refining technique and material ratio were quite refined. The Yellow Dragon Pill produced had an effectiveness that could actually rival that of an Intermediate Elixir!

"That's correct."

Lu Qingfeng spoke aloud, "First master the Yellow Dragon Pill yourselves, and then among the two hundred alchemy apprentices of Feiyun Island, on top of the original twenty apprentices, each of you select thirty more apprentices to impart the Yellow Dragon Pill refining methods."

"For the coming year, focus on the Yellow Dragon Pill."

Upon hearing this, Liu Feng, Jie Yingyuan, and the others exchanged glances, their eyes revealing a hint of surprise and delight.

Refining an Intermediate Elixir from low-level medicinal materials.

Even if you refine twenty batches of elixirs and only one batch is successful, it's enough to break even!

…

[Elixir: Yellow Dragon Pill]

[Grade: Intermediate]

[Derivation Technique: Five times enhancement]

[Annotation: Postnatal Fetal Breathing Realm cultivation elixir, capable of bolstering Inner Breath]

"The difficulty of refining low-level elixirs is not high and the profit has been squeezed. The cost of refining one Yellow Dragon Pill is about twenty-five portions of low-level medicinal materials. The value of one Yellow Dragon Pill is fifty portions of low-level medicinal materials. If the success rate were one hundred percent, the profit margin would be a full hundred percent. But even for top-level alchemy apprentices, the highest success rate for refining a low-level elixir is only about ninety-five percent. Once the low-level alchemy apprentices are proficient, it's approximately eighty percent."

"Also reaps a sixty percent profit."

"And a Yellow Dragon Pill enhanced five times is comparable to an intermediate elixir, its value a tenfold increase over low-level elixirs."

"The required medicinal materials for refining Yellow Dragon Pills remain unchanged."

"The profit margin jumps directly by ten times!"

Lu Qingfeng bestowed the Yellow Dragon Pill Recipe, and declared the closure of Feiyun Island. On Feiyun Island, whether alchemists or alchemy apprentices, deacons, or secular disciples, none were allowed to leave the island.

This was to prevent the Yellow Dragon Pill Recipe from being leaked.

It wouldn't take long.

Lu Qingfeng initially took five years to master the Yellow Dragon Pill Recipe. But at that time, in reality, he was on the run, while in the game, those five years were, in fact, less than three full years.

Three years of practice, and he mastered the refining of the Yellow Dragon Pill.

Although the alchemy apprentices on Feiyun Island had inferior talents and lower standards, which among them, having been accepted into Xuanyuan Sect and entering the Combined Pill Hall as an alchemy apprentice, would truly be considered a waste?

If they were said to be lacking, it is only in comparison to other alchemists in the Combined Pill Hall with superior qualifications.

Compared to Lu Qingfeng, each of them had talents that are many times stronger.

With massive practice, in at most half a year to one year, all these alchemy apprentices would be able to master the refining of Yellow Dragon Pills. Then, they could use the profits from Yellow Dragon Pills to purchase medicinal materials for refining other elixirs.

This would create a virtuous cycle.

Lu Qingfeng could also take the opportunity to 'improve' a few more elixir recipes.

Feiyun Island would assuredly rake in a fortune every day.

Besides the portion handed over to the hall, all these would belong to Lu Qingfeng's private wealth, which could also serve as another overt source of income for Lu Qingfeng, apart from his dealings in refining crystals and Alcohol Liquid.

More importantly, this showed his loyalty, demonstrated his talent, won the hearts of people, and trained a large number of core alchemists.

One move, multiple gains.

It might even be possible to discover one or two alchemy geniuses among them.

With this.

Lu Qingfeng would have one more chip in the competition for the position of Hall Master of the Combined Pill Hall!

"The improved Yellow Dragon Pill can also serve as a stepping stone to establish a connection with Luo Zhen Hall."

Lu Qingfeng spent half a month setting up arrays and restrictive spells on Feiyun Island.

With his current array prowess, though hastily set up, at the very least it could stop Foundation Establishment Cultivators from freely entering and exiting. If a Spirit Void Practitioner came, whether they were going in or out, the array could give an early warning.

Lu Qingfeng, as a True Inheritor of the Combined Pill Hall, had also engaged in a grand battle with Zhou Su three years earlier, making a name for himself throughout Xuanyuan Sect.

Such a gifted True Inheritor, presumably, no one would dare to offend, casually intrude upon the island.

It was secure without worry.

Once the arrays on Feiyun Island were strengthened later on, and once everything on the island was on track, there would be the protection and escort of both the Combined Pill Hall and Xuanyuan Sect.

There would be no need for such vigilance.

After setting up the arrays, Lu Qingfeng left Feiyun Island and went to the Gathering Immortal Square.

…

Gathering Immortal Square.

In an elegant chamber of the Feather Immortal Pavilion, several people took their seats.

Lu Qingfeng and Yan Pingshu were notably present, along with an elder and a youth.

The elder had a kind face, though his gaze was somewhat muddled with only occasional flashes of sharp wisdom. The youth looked quite young, yet in reality, he had already reached the Spirit Void Divine Silence stage, surpassing Zhou Su by one level.

Matching the cultivation of Yan Pingshu and Xiang Chao.

"Lu Junior Brother has joined the sect not long ago, let Yan show Junior Brother around."

Yan Pingshu sat beside Lu Qingfeng, first introducing the elder, "This is Elder Feng Ping from Luo Zhen Hall. Elder Feng has been in Luo Zhen Hall for hundreds of years, with very deep seniority. Currently, twenty-three markets in the west of the Xuanyuan Water Realm are all managed by Elder Feng."

"Lu Qingfeng pays his respects to Elder Feng."

Lu Qingfeng hurriedly greeted.

This was truly a powerful elder indeed.

Besides its own shops in the markets opened by Xuanyuan Sect outside of the Xuanyuan Water Realm, there were other loose cultivators and sects that took up residence in those areas.

Elder Feng Ping, managing twenty-three markets, indirectly controlled countless livelihoods and fates of sects and loose cultivators.

For a small sect like the Luoxia Sect, he was as powerful as the tide.

Holding great power, Feng Ping was quite approachable, smiling at Lu Qingfeng, "I've long heard of the newly risen True Inheritor of the Combined Pill Hall, a genius of remarkable talent. Seeing you today, the reputation is indeed well-deserved."

"I dare not accept such praise."

Lu Qingfeng humbly replied.

As the two were about to continue with pleasantries, the impatient youth interjected in a clear voice, "Uncle Grandfather is the most long-winded, Lu Junior Brother better not learn from him."

Hearing this, Feng Ping stroked his beard with a bittersweet smile.

"This is—"

Lu Qingfeng looked at the youth, then at Yan Pingshu.

Seeing this, Yan Pingshu introduced, "This is Elder Feng's nephew grandson, the Direct Disciple and True Inheritor of Luo Zhen Hall, Feng Bai, and a good friend of Yan's for many years."

"So you are Brother Feng."

Lu Qingfeng made his salutations with a fist.

Although Feng Bai looked young, his cultivation had already reached the Spirit Void stage; he was actually quite a bit older than Lu Qingfeng in reality, so calling him 'Brother' was not at all inappropriate.

In the world of cultivation, it is not custom to judge by appearances, nor even by age or generation.

Having spent two thousand years in the game, Lu Qingfeng was well accustomed to this.

Nonetheless, Lu Qingfeng had not anticipated the relationship between Feng Ping and Feng Bai.

Feng Bai looked at Lu Qingfeng, waving his hand and saying, "I heard Lu Junior Brother is quite young and is a genius, extraordinary in both alchemy and artifact crafting as well as in arrays. I thought you would be spirited and vigorous, but you actually resemble my uncle grandfather, just as old-fashioned."