The Traces of Earth Burial Lotus
Translator: Cinder Translations
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After sending Chu Qian off, Song Wen returned to his cave and took out the Foundation Establishment Pill recipe.
For Song Wen's current alchemy skills, refining the Foundation Establishment Pill was not difficult.
After studying the recipe for a day, he took out the alchemy furnace, summoned the Earth Core Refining Flame, and began adding various alchemical materials into the furnace one by one.
Five days later, the first batch of Foundation Establishment Pills was successfully refined, though the yield was not high—only three pills.
Five more days passed, and the second batch of Foundation Establishment Pills was successfully refined, yielding four pills.
After two days of rest, Song Wen began refining again, resulting in four pills from this batch as well.
The typical yield for a furnace of Foundation Establishment Pills was three to five pills, so with three furnaces, Song Wen had eleven pills in total, which he was quite satisfied with.
Carrying the Foundation Establishment Pills, Song Wen flew to Wu Ji Island. After notifying Chu Qian via a communication jade slip, he arrived at the Mission Hall to accept a pill refinement task.
Next, he went to the Tide Listening Pavilion to meet Chu Qian.
Song Wen found a private room and waited for a moment before Chu Qian hurriedly arrived.
"Senior Ji Yin, have the Foundation Establishment Pills been refined yet?" Chu Qian asked eagerly as soon as he entered the room.
Song Wen nodded and waved his hand, causing two jade vials to appear on the table.
"Three furnaces yielded eleven pills, and they are all here."
Chu Qian picked up one of the jade vials, opened it, and saw five pills inside. The pills were about the size of a thumb, round and full, with spiritual energy radiating from them.
A look of delight appeared on his face. "Senior, your alchemy skills are truly extraordinary! All the pills from three furnaces were successfully refined."
Chu Qian was not truly surprised by Song Wen's alchemy skills, but rather that Song Wen had not hidden any of the Foundation Establishment Pills. If Song Wen had only taken out two furnaces' worth of pills, Chu Qian wouldn't have been able to judge their authenticity.
"You flatter me, young friend," Song Wen said with a smile.
Chu Qian lifted the jade vial in his hand. "Senior, I'll take this bottle."
Then, using his spiritual power, he levitated the other jade vial and pushed it toward Song Wen.
"This one is for you, senior."
Song Wen took the vial and said, "It seems like you're at a disadvantage here."
According to their agreement, the pills were to be split evenly.
However, there were eleven Foundation Establishment Pills, so they could not divide them equally. Chu Qian had voluntarily taken the smaller portion.
"Even receiving five pills is enough for me, senior. Your alchemy requires time and effort, so you should take a little more," Chu Qian said.
Song Wen nodded. "In that case, I won't be polite."
As he spoke, he was about to store the jade vial.
"Senior, please wait," Chu Qian suddenly said.
"Young friend, is there something else?" Song Wen asked.
"May I ask, senior, what you plan to do with these Foundation Establishment Pills?" Chu Qian inquired.
"I will keep two of them, but the others I haven't decided on yet," Song Wen replied.
Chu Qian's expression brightened. "Senior, would you consider selling them to me? I'll offer two thousand middle-grade spirit stones for them."
Song Wen narrowed his eyes. Four pills for two thousand middle-grade spirit stones—this price was already quite high.
"Young friend, are you not worried about losing out with such a high price?"
Chu Qian replied, "Senior, I'm not hiding anything. These Foundation Establishment Pills aren't meant for resale. My father and I are in the inner sect, but we have close ties with certain outer sect families. These pills are meant for them."
Song Wen nodded slightly but didn't respond further.
Chu Qian's words had touched on the internal power struggles of Wu Ji Island, and Song Wen did not wish to get involved in such matters.
Where there are people, there are conflicts.
In large sects, it's common for factions to form and fight for power and resources. Chu Qian and his father, Chu Lingyun, were likely using these Foundation Establishment Pills to win over their subordinates.
Song Wen poured two Foundation Establishment Pills from the vial and handed the vial back to Chu Qian.
Chu Qian took the jade vial and handed over two thousand middle-grade spirit stones to Song Wen.
The transaction was completed without issue.
Chu Qian was in a good mood. "Thank you, senior, for your help. If you ever need anything from me in the future, feel free to ask. I will never refuse."
Song Wen smiled slightly. "Actually, there is something I need your assistance with."
Chu Qian's expression stiffened. His previous words had just been polite banter—had "Ji Yin" actually taken them seriously?
"Don't worry, young friend. It's not a difficult matter. I just need some information on two types of spiritual materials."
Chu Qian relaxed a little. "May I ask which two spiritual materials you are seeking information about?"
"Earth Burial Lotus and Five-Colored Gold."
These were the materials still missing for refining the Blood Sea Seal, and despite years of gathering materials, Song Wen was only short of these two.
Chu Qian replied, "Senior, you might be disappointed. These two materials are extremely rare, and I don't have any information on them."
"There's a mission at the Mission Hall that is seeking to purchase Yellow Springs Corrupt Flame, with a reward of an Earth Burial Lotus. I'd like to ask if you could find out who posted this mission," Song Wen said.
Chu Qian's face showed a look of hesitation. After some time, he finally spoke.
"To be honest, I do know who posted the mission. However... the sect has issued an order that we cannot reveal the true identity of the mission issuer."
Upon hearing this, Song Wen's heart sank. This was likely just an excuse. Perhaps the identity of the mission issuer was too high-ranking, and Chu Qian dared not reveal it.
His expression darkened, and he became visibly displeased.
"This is just a small matter, yet it makes you so uncomfortable. It seems I was being too presumptuous. I treated you honestly, without hiding anything, presenting all the Foundation Establishment Pills, but still, I can't gain your trust."
With those words, Song Wen stood up, preparing to leave.
"Senior Ji Yin, please wait!" Chu Qian quickly called out.
Song Wen paused and turned around, waiting for Chu Qian to continue.
"It's Ji Qing."
"Are you referring to Ji Qing, the Golden Core elder of the inner sect?" Song Wen asked.
Chu Qian lowered his voice. "Yes, that's him. He is a peak Golden Core cultivator, one of the strongest below Nascent Soul. Also, he is a direct disciple of the Demon Sovereign. Senior, please remember, this matter must not be spread, or neither of us will be able to stay on Wu Ji Island."
"Don't worry, young friend. I understand the importance," Song Wen reassured him.
Song Wen gave Chu Qian a deep look, nodding in acknowledgment.
This served as a reminder for him: For outer sect disciples of Wu Ji Island, information about missions and their issuers was highly protected. But for certain inner sect cultivators, they could easily obtain such information.
This meant that in the future, when posting or accepting missions, they would need to be more cautious, especially when dealing with important treasures, to avoid bringing trouble upon themselves.
After a brief chat, the two of them left the private room.
As they walked through the Tide Listening Pavilion's main hall, suddenly, a voice called out to Chu Qian.
"Chu Qian, I didn't expect to run into you here."
Chu Qian looked in the direction of the voice. It belonged to an old man with gray hair.
The old man was tall and gaunt, with sunken eye sockets, and his body exuded a strong deathly aura, a typical image of a demonic cultivator.
Chu Qian's eyes flashed with caution, but he quickly lowered his head in respect and clasped his hands to the old man.
"Greetings, Elder Yu."
The old man sneered coldly. "There's no need for formalities, young one. I've heard from other Golden Core elders in the inner sect that you've been buying Jade Essence Grass and Seven-Star Grass recently. You've been busy collecting a large amount of Foundation Establishment Pill materials. What are you planning to use them for?"
Chu Qian maintained his respectful demeanor. "I must admit, my cultivation talent is average, and in order to have even a slim chance at forming a Golden Core, I've resorted to business dealings. Collecting Foundation Establishment Pill materials is just to earn some modest spirit stones."
The old man said, "I see. How many Foundation Establishment Pills have you refined so far? Perhaps you could sell me some."
"Refining Foundation Establishment Pills is not so easy. I haven't gathered all the necessary materials yet," Chu Qian replied, his face showing a hint of disappointment.
The old man chuckled mockingly. "You haven't even refined a single furnace of Foundation Establishment Pills yet? What a shame!"
(End of the Chapter)
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