Li Chonglou recounted the events at the safe zone, though he slightly altered the order.
He had first gone on a mission with the Little Knife team. However, before reaching their destination, he felt unwell and returned alone. On the way, he encountered Hei Zi. Thanks to his excellent stealth techniques, he successfully concealed himself behind Hei Zi.
What followed was Hei Zi battling a berserk mutated beast. This gave Li Chonglou the opportunity to strike from behind, leading him to discover this Heavenly Soul Grass.
The entire narrative was seamless, even detailing Hei Zi's strength and using the mutated beast Li Chonglou had previously slain as a reference. He successfully deceived Master Jianwen.
"I must say, your luck is truly incredible. A team with only a leader of Hei Zi's caliber, facing a mutated beast on the verge of breakthrough at the seventh level. With just one different circumstance, you probably wouldn't have made it back."
Li Chonglou also expressed his relief. "I didn't expect it to go so smoothly. In the end, I interrogated a dying Hei Zi, and he even told me about this Heavenly Soul Grass. As soon as I returned, I asked Uncle Lang to find someone to refine it into a pill."
Master Jianwen nodded. "You mean Uncle Lang by the market?"
Li Chonglou also nodded. "Yes."
"That fellow Xiao Lang certainly knows many people. You picked the right person to ask."
Shifting the topic away from the incident itself, Li Chonglou quickly asked, "Then, Master Jianwen, this Heavenly Soul Grass, you..."
"Seeing as you're a talented individual, I'll give you a favorable price. Three hundred blood crystals. The pill will be ready in half a month. Although its efficacy has been slightly reduced due to your oversight, I guarantee it will be at least of fine or superior quality!"
Master Jianwen was direct and forthright. However, the three hundred blood crystals caused Li Chonglou's expression to freeze. His entire fortune combined was less than two hundred, and he didn't have time to farm for more blood crystals now. Where would he get another hundred?
"Don't worry. I know you're new. You can pay a deposit of one hundred blood crystals for this, and the rest can be paid later."
Master Jianwen grinned, but Li Chonglou immediately detected a trap in his words.
A deposit was required, not the full amount. Others might have readily agreed, but the problem was that, under normal circumstances, what newcomer could afford even one hundred blood crystals upon arrival?
However, Li Chonglou was quick to react and immediately steered the conversation back to Hei Zi.
"A hundred blood crystals for a deposit? But from Hei Zi's corpse, I only found a total of eighty-six, and I gave some to Uncle Lang. That makes it one hundred..."
Li Chonglou said dejectedly, looking down at the Heavenly Soul Grass in his arms with regret in his eyes.
Master Jianwen smiled upon seeing this. "Kid, only charging you one hundred for a deposit is already very accommodating. This is because you're new. If it were anyone else, I wouldn't even consider acting without at least half the deposit upfront."
This fellow was still probing.
Li Chonglou remained silent for a while, then suddenly reached into the glass container.
Master Jianwen's expression stiffened. "What are you doing?"
Li Chonglou sighed. "Master Jianwen, it seems I'll have to find someone else. Uncle Lang mentioned that among the masters he knows, you have the strongest skills and refine the most effective pills. But as someone new, I can't possibly afford this hundred blood crystal deposit."
As he spoke, his hand had already taken out the Heavenly Soul Grass, making Master Jianwen react decisively.
"Hey! What are you doing, kid? Without the spiritual cultivation medium, this Heavenly Soul Grass is wasting its medicinal properties every second!"
Master Jianwen spoke as he tried to stop him, but Li Chonglou pushed the spiritual cultivation medium towards him.
"It was an unexpected find, and I don't dare to seek perfection. Even half the efficacy would be considered great for me. I'll come back to you, Master, when I have more money."
Master Jianwen immediately grew anxious. "You don't seek perfection, but I do! And when will you next have such good luck to find another top-grade Heavenly Soul Grass?"
An aura of the seventh level suddenly surged. Before Li Chonglou could react, the Heavenly Soul Grass in his hand was snatched away by the other party and quickly placed back into the spiritual cultivation medium.
Li Chonglou was overjoyed internally but had to maintain an anxious expression.
"Master Jianwen, what are you doing?"
His anxiety was clearly about the other party taking his belongings. Master Jianwen rolled his eyes. "Didn't you just say you were being sensible a moment ago? What, do you think I, a Grandmaster Alchemist, would steal your Heavenly Soul Grass?"
He said this, but his hand holding the spiritual cultivation medium did not loosen its grip at all.
"But I don't have that much for a deposit."
"It's business, of course. We can negotiate. The price can be discussed until we agree. I detest seeing valuable things wasted."
It seemed this Heavenly Soul Grass was not so simple.
Li Chonglou showed a look of surprise, but internally he began to speculate. According to what Uncle Lang had said previously, Master Jianwen hated people who haggled with him. Yet now, he was the one initiating the negotiation.
Li Chonglou firmly believed that there were no absolute bottom lines in this world, only those that had not yet been lowered. What could cause such a change was only profit.
However, he couldn't worry about that now; he only wanted the pill. The underlying mechanics were of no concern to Li Chonglou.
Their cooperation proceeded relatively smoothly. Master Jianwen finally reduced the deposit to thirty blood crystals, but in exchange, he requested an additional seven days for the refining process. The longer the time, the more confident he was in producing a superior quality pill. Li Chonglou naturally did not refuse this.
Despite recovering from the third to the fifth level in just seven days, the later stages would require exponentially more herbs. If he had to recover it himself, it would likely take one to two months to return to his peak condition.
This was even without considering the risks. If he encountered any emergencies, similar to the mysterious expert he met before, the time would only increase.
Therefore, having a reliable alchemist working for him was undoubtedly the best outcome.
After resolving this matter, Li Chonglou took two more actions before leaving the underground world.
One was to find Uncle Lang, feigning an urgent need to return to the surface world, and ask him to notify him when the Little Knife team returned.
The other was to find the frontline负责人 of Camp Number One to understand the basic situation and procedures for leading people to the front lines.
Although he didn't know Chen Pao's decision, it was good to understand the situation beforehand. This could also serve as his fallback plan. If something went wrong with the Little Knife team's affairs, he could also retreat to the front lines to lie low.
Having completed these tasks, Li Chonglou departed from the underground world.
Tong Gu Ming Jin Company.
More than a week had passed since Li Chonglou's departure. Chen Pao and the others had already made their decision, but unfortunately, no one could contact him. They could only wait at the company.