Flawless Pill

'Everything is impure', this is an undisputed fact of alchemy. Impurities exist in everything.

And similarly, when an alchemist gathers the ingredients, burns the fire, heats the cauldron, uses his essence Qi and spiritual energy, the process is flawed and every part, every ingredient is impure.

Alchemist tries to refine these impurities, to make the pill pure, flawless but even his efforts are flawed and there always remains a small speck of impurity in the pill. In the process of refining, these impurities also refine and gain a faint spirituality like the pill, in-process becoming toxic to cultivators.

It is an unfortunate reality most alchemists had to live with, that every pill they refine is toxic. The toxin not strong, but for every pill, cultivators eat, the toxin slowly accumulates in the Essence Qi, makes it dirty.

In the conventional sense, they should not exist. No matter how small, every pill should contain an impurity but there were geniuses in every era, cultivators that made the impossible possible. The pill without any impurity, a miracle given form, a flawless perfection.

That is the highest grade of pill purity achievable, the Flawless pill.

In the lobby of the Blooming Lotus Pavilion, everyone looked at the small green pill in astonishment. A Flawless pill is almost mythical among cultivators.

A pill with low-grade purity is half full of impurities, while a mid-grade one is sixty percent pure. Despite that, the same pill with mid-grade purity is nearly twice as potent as one with one low-grade purity. The purer the pill is, the more potent it becomes and legends say that when the pill loses every bit of its impurity, it undergoes a metamorphosis.

And the pill in front of them was a Flawless grade Foundation Strengthening Pill, a pill used to correct defects and strengthen the foundation of cultivation in the Foundation Establishment Realm. Anyone who ate it will no doubt gain a pearless base foundation for cultivation, and clearing bottlenecks in future cultivation would be easier.

Sheng Zhen looked around, not missing the hungry looks. The Young Lady Wen in front of him also looked shocked, before she regained her composure after a moment.

"Grade One Foundation Strengthening Pill, purity Flawless... that is the pill's appraisal", she answered, looking a lot more courteous than before.

Anyone who can refine a Flawless Grade pill can't be any minor character, Sheng Zhen could almost hear others thinking that.

Lady Wen closed the box and the pill aroma disappeared. She looked at Sheng Zhen and politely asked, "On behalf of Blooming Lotus Pavilion, I Wen Peizhi would like your master's permission to auction the Flawless pill. With respect to your esteemed master, Blooming Lotus Pavilion will take just a five percent cut from the sale."

But Sheng Zhen shook his head, "I am afraid I will have to decline."

Immediately Young Lady Wen's aura changed, but Sheng Zhen continued, "My master instructed this humble servant to exchange the pill for twenty sets of ingredients of Five Elementals pill."

She stopped, debating internally. Five Elements Pill was a grade three pill, twenty sets of its ingredients were going to be expensive, more than the Flawless pill would auction for. But on the other hand, it's a Flawless Pill.

"I am afraid we don't have this many sets of materials."

"Lady Wen, the main ingredient of Five Elements Pill is the cores of five demonic beasts corresponding with affinity to one of the five basic elements. Please don't jest by saying that Blooming Lotus Pavilion did not even have that", Sheng Zhen's voice was perfectly even, but no one missed what he was implying.

Lady Wen gritted her teeth but did nothing more. Twenty sets of materials were equivalent to fifty cores of False Core realm beasts not to mention dozens of precious spirit herbs that balance and bind the five cores of different elements. But on the other hand was a Flawless Pill, that alone could propel the reputation of Blooming Lotus Pavilion to whole new heights.

She calmed down and reached a decision, ordered a guard to get a deacon to bring the twenty sets of ingredients of Five Elements Pill. Guard bowed and ran off. Looking around, she noticed the spectators,

"Don't you all have anything to buy? I not, get out of here." She shouted hotly, and people gathered around dispersed in an instant, fearing the wrath of a Young Lady.

After some time a middle-aged man in his fifties came and respectfully gave her a spatial ring and said something to her, she nodded and turned to Sheng Zhen.

She handed Sheng Zhen the spatial ring, "Everything you requested is in here. Consider the spatial ring as a compliment and a gesture of friendship from the Blooming Lotus Pavilion." During the entire time, she had not let go of the box containing the pill.

Sheng Zhen accepted the ring and checked the contents. Everything was in order. He immediately dragged Uncle Zihao with him and left the pavilion.

"Tail them, I want to know who their master is", Wen Peizhi instructed the Deacon, who nodded and vanished in a burst of speed.

But the moment he reached outside, he could find neither hide nor hair of Sheng Zhen and Zihao.