Translator: AnubisTL
At this point, the dust had finally settled, and the Modified Bone Cleansing Pill was ultimately accepted by the majority of Body Tempering Realm disciples.
Watching the Spirit Stones flow in like a river and the frenzied customers, Gu Feng felt immensely satisfied and extremely excited.
He immediately instructed Yan Xixi to take the huge sum of money and start purchasing medicinal herbs on the spot.
The Outer Sect Exchange and the disciples who set up stalls also had a keen sense of smell. Before Gu Feng could act, they had already started raising the prices of the relevant herbs.
Fortunately, the Sunset Glow Sect had strict requirements on prices. Even if there was a supply shortage, they were not allowed to raise prices excessively, exceeding the maximum price limit for items.
The rise in herb prices was within Gu Feng's expectations. The maximum price limits for several herbs had little impact on the highly profitable Modified Bone Cleansing Pill.
Soon, Yan Xixi came running back, breathing heavily, "Gu Feng, a few types of herbs are sold out!"
Oh? This was unexpected for Gu Feng. After a brief thought, he understood. The ingredients for the Modified Bone Cleansing Pill were identical to those of the Bone Cleansing Pill. A few of them were exclusive Spirit Herbs for the Bone Cleansing Pill, with little other use. The production of the Bone Cleansing Pill in the entire Outer Sect was low, and the demand for those Spirit Herbs was also minimal.
Thus, the entire Trading Hall had a limited stock.
"Go to the Outer Sect Mission Hall and issue a mission to purchase the relevant Spirit Herbs at the highest price. I'm sure many Outer Sect disciples would be willing to go and gather them!" Gu Feng decisively decided. This would also motivate those Body Tempering Realm disciples, creating a positive cycle. As long as they worked hard, they would definitely be able to buy the Modified Bone Cleansing Pill.
"But—issuing missions requires contribution points, and the rewards are also in points. How do you have so many points?" Yan Xixi tilted her head and asked.
To issue a mission at the Outer Sect Mission Hall, having money alone wasn't enough; you needed the corresponding contribution points.
"Points aren't a big issue. I earned some from completing a mission last time. Let's use them first.
In the future, I'll set a point price for some of the Modified Bone Cleansing Pills..."
Hearing this, Yan Xixi immediately felt that Gu Feng's reasoning was sound. She took Gu Feng's disciple token and ran out.
After Yan Xixi left, Chu Youhuan approached. Her lips curled into a smile, her eyes slightly narrowed, and the muscles on her cheeks were somewhat stiff, evidently from smiling too much, leading to a mild case of facial paralysis.
"Gu Feng, you're truly a talent. But with 40,000 cultivation rooms, do you have that many Modified Bone Cleansing Pills?" While happy, Chu Youhuan also expressed her concern.
To rent out all 40,000 cultivation rooms, they would need at least 40,000 bottles of Modified Bone Cleansing Pills. Otherwise, without the pills, who would be foolish enough to rent the rooms?
Hearing this, Gu Feng also felt a headache. 40,000 bottles of Modified Bone Cleansing Pills were no small number, and the pressure on him was immense. The task was extremely daunting.
He had thought of getting help to refine them, but the problem was that the Modified Bone Cleansing Pill was quite peculiar. Even Yan Xixi, who had exceptional talent in alchemy, couldn't refine it well, let alone others. He couldn't possibly ask the Alchemy Hall Elders for help!
These Elders could refine the Bone Cleansing Pill. No matter how high a price you offered, they wouldn't degrade themselves to help refine a simplified version of the pill.
"I'll think of a way to improve the efficiency of alchemy. It shouldn't be a big problem!" Gu Feng furrowed his brows and responded in a deep voice.
"How many cultivation rooms have been rented out?"
"A few thousand! We haven't even recovered the construction costs yet!" Chu Youhuan pouted, the harsh reality dampening her inner elation.
"Have them pay the rent in advance and assure them that anyone who rents a cultivation room will definitely be able to buy the Modified Bone Cleansing Pill, and it will be available half a month before the Outer Sect's year-end competition. First, recover the principal, pay the construction costs, repay the loans, and the rest will be pure profit."
"Alright!" Chu Youhuan nodded, convinced of Gu Feng's management skills. She would basically do as he said.
After a crazy day, Gu Feng was in a great mood and, for the first time, treated all the staff present to dinner. Of course, the cost of the meal was charged to Chu Youhuan's account and deducted from future profits.
Chu Youhuan could only roll her eyes and pout in silence, not voicing any objection.
Having made a truly big business deal, the cost of the meal was negligible. Although she hadn't really made much this time, one must always look ahead. There would be plenty of opportunities to make money in the future.
After dinner, Gu Feng went straight to the Alchemy Hall and rented the largest alchemy room in Yan Xixi's name!
This alchemy room had a hundred pill furnaces and was usually used for large-scale alchemy experience-sharing events, rarely used otherwise.
"Kid, have you made a fortune? Bring out the Spirit Herbs and let me have a good time!"
Hearing this familiar voice, Gu Feng felt a headache coming on and said with a bitter face,
"Senior Zhu, please don't ruin my Spirit Herbs. It's not easy for me to earn money!"
"What do you need so much money for? You don't need to spend money on Cultivation Methods," Zhu Qingyan said unhappily, a hand formed of flames reaching out to snatch the Spirit Herbs from Gu Feng.
"I don't need money for Cultivation Methods, but I have to find a powerful Thunder Attribute Spirit Beast for you, which will likely cost Spirit Stones. What I have might not even be enough!" Gu Feng quickly thought of an excuse to protect his assets.
"That's true. Thunder Attribute Spirit Beasts are indeed expensive, often costing hundreds of thousands or even millions of mid-grade Spirit Stones. Some sellers specifically require high-grade or even top-grade Spirit Stones, and it's not always easy to buy one!"
Hearing this, Gu Feng immediately jumped up. He had anticipated that Thunder Attribute Spirit Beasts would be expensive, but he hadn't expected them to be this expensive.
Hundreds of thousands of mid-grade Spirit Stones, converted to low-grade Spirit Stones, would amount to tens of millions (Spirit Stones are exchanged at a 100:1 ratio!). He had barely managed to gather this huge sum after refining Modified Bone Cleansing Pills day and night!
"Senior... Senior Zhu, if I were to break the contract now, would you kill me immediately?" Gu Feng tentatively asked.
"No," Zhu Qingyan said eerily, then added, "I would torture you enough before killing you."
Sigh—
Gu Feng sighed, then took out a handful of Spirit Herbs and pointed to the pill furnace in the farthest corner, "This furnace is exclusively yours. Take these Spirit Herbs and have fun. Don't disturb me while I make money. I'm under a lot of pressure!"
Zhu Qingyan was also an easily satisfied person. Happily taking the herbs, she squatted in the corner to refine pills. Soon, thick smoke and the sound of explosions filled the room, causing Gu Feng's heart to ache.
Regaining his focus, he concentrated all his attention, activated the formation, and connected with the underground Spirit Fire. Gu Feng was determined to challenge himself to refine 99 furnaces of pills simultaneously!
Only in this way could he produce a large quantity of Modified Bone Cleansing Pills in a short time.
...
After returning to the Alchemy Hall, Elder Zhao immediately gathered several colleagues to analyze the Modified Bone Cleansing Pill.
"The ingredients for this pill are the same as the Bone Cleansing Pill, except for a few fewer Spirit Herbs and a reduced proportion of ingredients."
"From the refining technique, there's nothing particularly special."
"The taste is pure, but the efficacy is insufficient."
"Once we analyze the Spirit Herbs, we should be able to refine it."
"..."
These Alchemy Hall Elders were truly masters of alchemy. It took them only three hours to accurately analyze the types and proportions of Spirit Herbs. If Gu Feng had been there, he would have been amazed.
However, just as they thought they could soon refine the Modified Bone Cleansing Pill, a problem arose.
This seemingly ordinary pill left the Alchemy Hall Elders puzzled, unable to figure it out.
"Why can't we refine it?"
Reality was extremely harsh. They tried various refining methods, constantly changing the extraction and addition order of the Spirit Herbs, but they kept experiencing furnace explosions.
They were so frustrated they began to doubt their own abilities.
In desperation, they decided to personally test the pill, hoping to uncover its hidden secrets.
It must be said, these drug research Elders were truly dedicated.
Five or six Elders were in a sealed alchemy room, each sitting on a vessel of various shapes, experiencing diarrhea while holding a notebook, recording their bodily sensations and hypotheses.
The air was filled with a nauseating smell, yet they remained as composed as monks in deep meditation, enduring the stench assaulting their brains without stopping their research.
The sounds of retching, discussion, questioning, and argument... filled the entire alchemy room. This was a truly smelly pill research session.
Some were really having diarrhea; others, while having diarrhea, were contemplating. The Alchemy Hall Elders were like this, as was Yan Yexue, ranked tenth on the Inner Sect's Heavenly Rankings and known for her dual expertise in alchemy and martial arts.
Since she first took the Modified Bone Cleansing Pill and had a severe case of diarrhea, she had discovered something unusual.
This wasn't ordinary diarrhea but a way to expel impurities from the body through diarrhea. Among all Body Tempering Realm pills, the Modified Bone Cleansing Pill was unique and of great research value.
After the first episode of diarrhea, she began refining according to her own speculations, inevitably failing.
Unwilling to give up, she took another Modified Bone Cleansing Pill, only to fail again.
Two consecutive failures were a rare occurrence in her alchemy career, greatly fueling her competitive spirit.
Thus, she swallowed pill after pill, tirelessly delving into her research.
Now, she was hiding in her cave dwelling, squatting over a vessel, her crystal forehead covered in sweat, her fair face flushed, and a burning sensation at her seat. Without looking, she knew it must be red.
"I refuse to believe I can't deduce the refining method for this small Body Tempering Realm pill!"
Her pearly teeth clenched, and she occasionally hissed in pain, completely absorbed in her battle with the Modified Bone Cleansing Pill.
(End of the Chapter)
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