Free Web NovelChapter 229: Chapter 219: Purification Potion
「Late at night.」
Everyone in the courtyard was asleep. The sound of snoring rose and fell, exceptionally clear in the silence.
Li Yao was curled up on the bed in Ian’s room, covered by a ragged blanket, sleeping soundly.
Ian was not asleep.
He sat cross-legged in the center of the bedroom, a few items laid out before him.
A small iron pot, a ceramic bowl, a few dried stalks of Blazing Flame Grass, a small packet of Bright Moonflower Petals, and a pinch of silvery-white powder carefully wrapped in oil paper.
Starlight Dust.
This was what he had managed to buy after spending his very last Dust Crystal—a tiny pinch, just enough for refining two portions of the Potion.
’My first attempt...’
Ian took a deep breath and lit the pile of firewood at his feet.
He placed the small iron pot over the fire and poured in 500 milliliters of clean water. The water quickly boiled, bubbling vigorously.
Following the formula, Ian dropped the three stalks of Blazing Flame Grass into the water.
HISS!
The moment the leaves hit the boiling water, a plume of acrid, green smoke rose up.
The water rapidly turned a faint red, like diluted blood.
Ian was completely focused, staring at the changes in the pot.
His [Starlight Perception] was operating at full capacity, clearly presenting the flow of Energy within the pot to his mind.
’The medicinal properties of the Blazing Flame Grass are dissolving quickly, releasing scorching Energy. The Bright Moonflower Petals need to be added soon, at just the right temperature...’
’The Starlight Dust is the most critical component. It must be mixed in below 40 degrees, or the Energy will dissipate...’
Time passed, second by second.
Five minutes later, Ian scooped out the boiled dregs of the grass and added the Bright Moonflower Petals.
The pale red liquid quickly turned pink, emitting a faint, sweet fragrance.
He extinguished the fire and waited for the temperature to drop.
He held his palm over the pot, feeling the subtle changes in temperature.
When the sensation on his palm shifted from scalding to warm, he swiftly opened the oil paper packet and poured the pinch of silvery-white Starlight Dust into the pot.
BUZZ!
The moment the Starlight Dust touched the liquid, the entire contents of the pot flared with a silver light!
It was as if countless tiny stars were swirling and twinkling within the liquid.
Ian immediately picked up a wooden spoon and began to stir clockwise at a steady pace.
One turn, two turns, three turns...
The silver light in the liquid gradually stabilized, changing from a piercing, bright white to a soft, faint blue.
Finally, he added ten milliliters of Basic Stabilizer and continued to stir.
The liquid became completely clear, turning a crystalline light blue, like the sky after a rain.
’Success.’
Ian put down the wooden spoon and let out a soft breath.
The difficulty of making this Potion was nothing compared to the ones his main body refined.
But his projection’s Power was still lacking. Fine beads of sweat dotted his forehead, and he felt mentally exhausted.
The process just now had seemed simple, but in reality, it demanded extreme precision and control.
Temperature, timing, stirring speed—an error in any one of these steps would have resulted in failure.
With the aid of the panel, he had perfectly completed his first attempt at Refining.
He picked up the ceramic bowl and carefully poured the Potion from the pot into it.
The light blue liquid swirled in the bowl, giving off a cool aura.
[Basic Level Purification Potion: Beginner 2%]
[Effect: Can effectively purify light Erosion. Has a mitigating effect on moderate Erosion.]
He felt the Potion’s quality was quite good. Comparing it from memory, its efficacy was about 20% above the standard.
A slight smile touched Ian’s lips.
In this world tainted by the Abyss, every small increase in a Purification Potion’s effectiveness was a quantum leap.
A twenty-percent improvement was enough to make this bottle worth over fifty percent more than a standard version.
He carefully poured the Potion into a glass vial, the standard type commonly used by merchant caravans.
The light blue liquid sloshed in the glass vial, as if a small piece of the starry sky had been captured inside.
"Brother... you succeeded?"
Li Yao had woken up at some point. He rubbed his eyes and shuffled closer, staring at the vial, his small face filled with amazement.
"Mhm." Ian handed him the vial. "Keep it safe. We’ll sell it tomorrow."
"Sell it? Brother, how much can we get for this Potion?"
"At least 30 Dust Crystals."
"Thirty?!" Li Yao’s eyes went wide. "Doesn’t that mean we’re rich?"
Ian smiled and ruffled his hair.
"This is just the beginning."
The next morning, Ian took Li Yao and two of the more clever men to the Old Cripple’s Pharmacy on Outer City East Street.
The pharmacy wasn’t large. Its storefront was dilapidated, and the characters on its sign were already blurred.
An old man with graying hair sat at the entrance, the pant leg on his right side hanging empty. He supported himself with a wooden crutch.
Seeing Ian’s group, the old man lifted his eyelids slightly.
"Buying or selling potions?"
"Selling a potion." Ian took the vial of light blue Potion from his coat and placed it on the counter.
The old man picked up the vial and held it up to the daylight from the window. A flicker of surprise crossed his murky eyes.
"A Purification Potion? You refined this yourself?"
"I did."
"How effective is it?"
"Twenty percent better than what’s on the market."
The old man was silent for a few seconds, then uncorked the vial and brought it to his nose for a sniff.
A cool aura washed over him, carrying the unique sense of purity characteristic of the stars.
He recorked the vial and looked at Ian. "How much do you want for it?"
"30 Dust Crystals."
"Too expensive," the old man said, shaking his head. "The market price is only 20."
"The ones on the market aren’t this effective," Ian said calmly. "A twenty-percent improvement is worth 10 Dust Crystals."
The old man stared at Ian for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed.
"Kid, you must be new here, huh? In a place like the Outer City, it doesn’t matter how good a Potion is if no one trusts it. I have no way of verifying this Potion’s effects. If I buy it and it doesn’t work, who do I go looking for?"
"You can test it," Ian said. "Pay after you’ve verified its effects."
The old man froze for a moment, looking Ian up and down.
"You sure?"
"I’m sure."
The old man was silent for a moment before fumbling for a small wooden box under the counter and opening it.
Inside lay half a piece of dark-green jerky. Its surface was covered in fine black spots—traces of Erosion.
"This is rotten flesh I took off a Fallen last month," the old man said, looking at Ian. "I’ve already used two Purification Potions on it, but neither could completely purify it. If your Potion can clear the corruption on this..."
He didn’t finish, but his meaning was clear.
Ian took the rotten flesh and placed it in his palm.
The dark-green piece of flesh was cold to the touch. The black spots on its surface seemed to squirm slightly, like living things, emitting an unsettling, foul aura.
He opened the Potion vial and dripped a single drop onto the rotten flesh.
SIZZLE!
The moment the light blue liquid touched the rotten flesh, a wisp of green smoke curled up.
The black spots faded as if they had been scorched, turning from deep black to grayish-white, and finally disappearing completely.
The entire process took about ten seconds.
The old man’s eyes were wide, fixed on the piece of rotten flesh.
The piece of meat, originally dark green, now had a healthy, light red color.
The black spots on the surface were completely gone, leaving only a small scorch mark where the Potion had been dripped.
"This... this effect..."
Shock filled the old man’s eyes. This didn’t seem like the power of a mere twenty-percent improvement.
He had been in the medicinal ingredient business for decades and had seen at least eighty, if not a hundred, Purification Potions.
But only a High Level Purification Potion could be this potent and purify this quickly.
"30 Dust Crystals. I’ll take it."
The old man agreed readily. He fumbled for a small cloth pouch under the counter and counted out 30 Dust Crystals.
"Also... how many more do you have? I’ll buy them all."
"For now, just this one," Ian said, taking the Dust Crystals.
The old man’s eyes lit up. "What materials do you need? I can provide them. For any potions you refine, I’ll buy them at market price plus five percent."
"Deal."
Ian nodded in agreement. For the time being, he would exchange for some materials here.
’As for Elder Chen, I still need to inform him. Besides our previous agreement, this is also a way to show my worth.’
After exchanging for the materials, he went to the gate of the Inner City and gave Elder Chen’s name to the Guard.
"Just leave an address and go wait for news."
The Guard didn’t let him into the Inner City, so Ian had no choice but to hurry back to his residence and continue refining Potions.
Besides Alchemy, he would also set aside some time to teach some of the promising youths.
Among them, Li Yao’s Power was progressing the fastest. He believed the boy would soon be able to touch the Nascent Yuan Level.
That night, he sat cross-legged on the bed, his eyes slightly closed, and began to practice Meditation.
The Starfall Core in his chest grew faintly warm, as if it were resonating with some distant star.
His [Starlight Perception] activated silently. The sparse, silvery points of light in the surrounding air slowly began to converge on him.
He could feel that his Realm had reached the bottleneck of the Awakening Late Stage.
He was just one opportunity away from breaking through to the Condensation Realm.
And deep within his bloodline, that ancient Power related to "Gravity" was slowly awakening...
「A few days later, deep within Blue Cave Mountain.」
In a branch of the Chixia Business Alliance, inside a secret chamber that was simply furnished yet exuded luxury from every detail.
Elder Chen sat behind a wide mahogany desk, holding a newly delivered intelligence report in his hand, his white eyebrows slightly raised.
The candlelight danced on a silver candlestick, casting his wrinkles into sharp relief.
The report contained only two lines of text:
[Li Xing has successfully refined a Basic Level Purification Potion. Efficacy is approximately twenty percent above market standard. He is now cooperating with the ’Old Cripple’s Pharmacy’.]
[Addendum: There appear to be traces of activity from the Fallen organization ’Dark Star Association’ in the Outer City of Blue Cave Mountain.]
Elder Chen put down the report, his gaunt fingers tapping lightly on the desktop.
’Twenty percent above standard...’
He murmured to himself, a sharp glint flashing in his murky eyes.
In an era where most Purification Potion formulas were incomplete and the success rate of Refining them was pitifully low...
...for a newcomer to Alchemy to produce a usable product on his very first try, and one that was twenty percent more effective than the standard...
...that was something that couldn’t be described by mere "Talent."
’Could it be... he’s had contact with potion refining before?’
’It’s highly likely that Li Xing possesses or has had access to a similar formula or Inheritance.’
’Either that, or he himself possesses some special bloodline Talent that allows him to control Starlight Energy with greater precision and purify medicinal properties more effectively.’
’Either way, it’s worth a fortune.’
Elder Chen stood up and paced over to the window.
Outside the window was the core district of Blue Cave Mountain, brightly lit and with clean streets.
Occasionally, one could see a Bloodline User in a magnificent Long Robe hurrying past.
Compared to the Chaos and filth of the Outer City, this place was like another world.
’Little fellow, your performance is even more outstanding than I anticipated...’
Elder Chen gazed at the night scene outside the window, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.
But when he thought of the matter concerning the Dark Star Association, the smile slowly vanished.
That group of Fallen had thrown in their lot with the Abyss. They specialized in luring and hunting humans, sacrificing their blood and Souls to the source of corruption.
’This won’t do...’ Elder Chen turned and sat back down behind the desk.
He took out a sheet of special stationery from a drawer, picked up a Feather Pen, dipped it in ink, and began to write.
The nib of the pen glided across the paper, making a soft, scratching sound.
[Effective immediately, raise "Li Xing’s" internal Business Alliance privileges to "Level Two Collaborator." He is to enjoy a twenty-percent discount on material purchases and may, with this privilege, be advanced medicinal materials or resources not exceeding one hundred Standard Crystals in value.]
[Addendum: Dispatch two Awakening Late Stage Guards to protect him in secret. They are not to interfere with his actions and are only to provide necessary vigilance within the confines of the Outer City.]
After writing, Elder Chen put down the pen, blew the ink dry, rolled up the letter, and stuffed it into a small copper tube.
He pulled a bell cord beside the desk.
A moment later, a figure dressed in tight-fitting black clothes with a mask covering their face appeared silently at the entrance to the secret chamber.
"Take this to the Outer City branch and deliver it personally to Steward Wang," Elder Chen said, handing over the copper tube.
"Yes, sir." The figure took the tube, and with a flicker of movement, vanished into the darkness.
Elder Chen sat back down in his chair, closed his eyes, and gently rubbed his temples.
’Investing in a promising young person is like planting a seed.’
’You never know if that seed will grow into a towering tree or die off midway.’
’But the value Li Xing has shown is already worth the gamble.’
’Li Xing, you’d better not disappoint me...’
The candlelight flickered, stretching the old man’s shadow long and causing it to waver on the wall.
