"Hehe, I knew it would work," Wang Hao said with a satisfied smile. "Now that I've got the data, I just need more practice. My pill-production rate will improve over time!"
He picked up one of the small yellow pills, sniffed it carefully—no odd smell—and popped it into his mouth. As soon as it dissolved, a warm flow spread through his stomach, leaving a gentle sense of fullness.
The Fasting Pill (Bigu) contained enough energy to sustain a cultivator for a full day without eating.
In theory, one alchemy batch should yield ten pills, but since this was Wang Hao's first success, his yield was only 20%—just two pills.
A vial of ten Fasting Pills normally sold for three spirit stones. Considering each batch cost five jins (about 2.5 kg) of spirit rice, he was still at a loss.
After meditating for two hours to restore his mana, Wang Hao refined two more batches, producing three pills in one and two in the other.
Ten days later, a new crop of spirit rice matured. With more practice and adjustments, his next batch yielded nine out of ten pills. In the two batches after that, he got five pills each. Now, finally, he was turning a profit on his alchemy!
Of course, including the cost of spirit coal, his margins remained slim. To be truly worthwhile, his yield rate needed to hit at least 60%.
Once he'd bottled the Fasting Pills—four vials from the last two batches—he decided to sell them (and get feedback on their quality). Since he was already headed out, he grabbed some White Jade Watermelons and Spirit Talisman Herb—useful but not helpful to his own cultivation—and planned to trade them for Accumulation Pills.
Topped with his bamboo hat, he went straight to the Wang family pill shop. He wasn't unloading huge quantities, so there was no need to hide.
Inside, Wang Wenxin was behind the counter. Wang Hao approached and went straight to the point:
"Do you buy spirit fruits and refined pills?"
Wang Wenxin looked up, recognized him as the customer who'd purchased pills last time, and was about to greet him when a soft cough sounded behind him.
Wang Yanfeng strolled over calmly:
"Wenxin, take care of those customers over there. I'll handle this cultivator."
Surprised, Wenxin obeyed—after all, Yanfeng was his uncle.
Turning to Wang Hao, Yanfeng smiled:
"Fellow Taoist, why don't we move upstairs for a private chat?"
Wang Hao didn't know Yanfeng personally, but since they were in the family shop, he figured it was safe.
"Sure."
Upstairs, before Wang Hao could even sit, Yanfeng snorted:
"You come to your own family's shop and still try to disguise yourself with that ragged bamboo hat. What are you up to?"
Wang Hao blinked in surprise, and Yanfeng continued:
"I'm your Eighth Uncle, Wang Yanfeng. I'm an alchemist too. I grew up alongside your father."
Wang Hao relaxed:
"Ah! So you're my Eighth Uncle! How did you recognize me?"
"Sit down first; let's talk," Yanfeng said, tapping the table. "I remembered you from last time. That shabby hat doesn't fool anyone. I even came by your house twice, but you were in seclusion, and I didn't want to bother you."
Wang Hao laughed:
"I was embarrassed after what happened with that wandering cultivator… I bought the hat to blend in a bit. But it seems I only entertain my uncle."
Yanfeng chuckled:
"That hat only scares chickens. Since this is our first real meeting, and your father asked me to look after you, let me give you a gift!"
He pulled a sleek black bamboo hat from his bag:
"I bought this long ago. It doesn't do much, but it blocks the divine sense of Foundation cultivators. It's yours."
Wang Hao was taken aback—he'd just been thinking about finding a disguise or technique. The gift was perfectly timed.
"Thank you so much, Eighth Uncle! I'm honored…"
Yanfeng smiled:
"Well-mannered, huh? You don't seem like the same kid your father complains about!"
Wang Hao scratched his head, embarrassed:
"People grow up, right? I'm eighteen now, and my mother's been gone a long time… I have to move forward and live properly."
"Your father would be happy to hear that. Now, what brings you here?"
Wang Hao produced four vials of Fasting Pills and fifteen White Jade Watermelons:
"A friend sold me these melons, but their effect felt weak after refining them. I'd like to trade them for Accumulation Pills. As for the Fasting Pills… I refined them myself. Could you evaluate them, Eighth Uncle?"
"You refined pills?!" Wang Yanfeng's eyes lit up in surprise.
Ignoring the melons for the moment, he took a pill, smelled it, and swallowed it.
"Hmm… very good quality. Well, as Second Brother's son, it's not entirely shocking."
Wang Hao was dumbfounded.
"Not entirely shocking? I sweated for these pills, you know?"
Okay, he used his father's formula and notes—but still! A little recognition wouldn't hurt!
Yanfeng then examined the melons:
"Excellent-quality melons, but of little use to intermediate-stage cultivators. How about this: I'll trade your melons and pills for fifteen Accumulation Pills. Sound fair?"
Melons would fetch at most thirty spirit stones elsewhere, and each vial of Fasting Pills was worth three stones. The shop's buy rate would be lower. Clearly, his Eighth Uncle was being generous.
"Thank you so much, Eighth Uncle!" Wang Hao gave a formal bow.
"Keep working hard and don't give your father more headaches, and you'll always have my support."
They talked a bit longer, and Wang Hao left the shop with the pills in his pouch.
Next, he slipped into a discreet alley, swapped the new hat for his old one, and after seven or eight laps around the city, arrived at the Danfu Pavilion of the Qingyuan Sect.
There he sold twenty jins of Spirit Talisman Herb for eighty spirit stones.
He then stopped by the sect's armory and finally purchased the Akajin sword he'd had his eye on.
"If I'm heading into the Duan Yuan Mountains, I need a decent magic weapon."
He had nearly all the ingredients for First-Grade pills, but was still missing some auxiliary herbs—and, most importantly, the key ingredient for the Foundation Establishment Pill: the Ningyuan Fruit.
This fruit grows on a second-order, high-grade spirit tree that takes one hundred years to mature and fruits once every fifty years—one hundred and fifty years total. On his farm, it would take fifteen years!
If Wang Hao waited until the final Refinement stage to seek it, he wouldn't have time to harvest before age sixty.
Moreover, Ningyuan Trees are monopolized by great powers. Stealing one? Unthinkable.
Fortunately, the Southern Sea remains a frontier. The Duan Yuan Mountains still hide many unexplored areas. It is said that the Qingyuan Sect itself discovered its first Ningyuan Tree there—and solidified its dominance in the region thanks to that find.