"Deal," Mo Qi said. "But I'll keep some for myself, and sell the rest to you."
Mo Qi walked to the counter again and took out some pills of various types: spirit pills, healing pills, and beast soul pills. He placed them on the counter for Jin Run Tu to count.
A moment later, these pills were exchanged for two large storage bags full of meteorite coins.
In an instant, he went from a pauper back to a rich man.
Sun Qian was also overjoyed. With this skill, she could have money wherever she went in the future.
Mo Qi used some of the meteorite coins to buy raw materials. After packing the materials, he prepared to leave. At this moment, Wei Xiyuan walked up and said, "Young master, can you tell me the truth? Who refined these pills?"
Mo Qi was a little annoyed. "I told you, I refined them. Why don't you believe me?"
"Oh, then this old man would like to ask," Wei Xiyuan took out a pill formula from his怀 and handed it to Mo Qi. "Please take a look and tell me if this formula can refine a fossilization pill?"
"Fossilization pill?" Mo Qi had never heard of it, but he still curiously took the formula.
A quick glance told him what the formula was for: a pill that granted eternal youth.
Mo Qi had also refined youth-preserving pills before, but those could only slow down aging, not make it permanent.
This formula, however, felt magical. It wasn't even in the secret recipes of the Divine Pill Sect.
But the formula seemed incomplete, missing a crucial ingredient that would be the finishing touch. It had the form but lacked the spirit, and thus wouldn't achieve the desired effect.
"You can't refine it," Mo Qi returned the formula and said.
"Then," Wei Xiyuan's eyes lit up, "is there an error in the formula?"
"What do you think?" Mo Qi asked with a smile.
"I," Wei Xiyuan's old face flushed slightly, "to be honest, I know it has a problem, but I don't know where the problem lies. If you know, please enlighten me."
"It's missing one ingredient: Zi Xin Qi," Mo Qi said calmly.
Zi Xin Qi?
"Yes, brilliant!" Wei Xiyuan slapped his thigh, his face suddenly showing surprise and joy.
Then, he looked at Mo Qi with disbelief. "This problem has troubled me for hundreds of years, and you've solved it in an instant. Your alchemy skills are so high, may I ask who your master is, and where you are from?"
Mo Qi said calmly, "I am self-taught. I'm just passing through."
"If you don't mind, young master, I would like to hire you as the chief alchemist of the Pill Pavilion. We will offer generous compensation. You won't need to refine pills regularly, just provide guidance." Wei Xiyuan said eagerly.
"Didn't I just say I'm passing through? I won't be staying here long," Mo Qi continued calmly.
Wei Xiyuan looked regretful, then took out a few more pill formulas and requested guidance.
These were all rare formulas that Mo Qi had never seen before, but he could understand them at a glance.
He then provided Wei Xiyuan with guidance, and in the process, secretly memorized those formulas, benefiting greatly himself.
Wei Xiyuan became increasingly shocked, more so than if he had met his own ancestors.
His understanding of pills improved greatly in an instant. Many previously vague concepts became clear, and he felt enlightened. He felt his alchemy skills had made significant progress.
In the end, Wei Xiyuan was so moved that he insisted on becoming Mo Qi's disciple. Mo Qi refused, but Wei Xiyuan wouldn't let him leave.
With no other choice, Mo Qi reluctantly accepted him.
Wei Xiyuan was overjoyed and performed the disciple ceremony on the spot. He then gave Mo Qi his token.
With this token, Mo Qi could refine pills for free at any Pill Pavilion across the country and receive free raw materials.
Mo Qi felt the token was somewhat useful, so he reluctantly accepted it.
Before leaving, Wei Xiyuan told Mo Qi that the royal palace was offering a reward for a fragmented pill formula. Anyone who could complete the formula would have the opportunity to enter Tian Fu Palace and marry a princess.
Tian Fu Palace was the most authoritative cultivation academy in the entire Tree World, with abundant cultivation resources. Many people with Golden Saint cultivation sought it out.
Therefore, this benefit was quite attractive to Mo Qi.
After leaving the Pill Pavilion, Mo Qi and his group headed towards the royal palace.
"Do you, do you really want to marry the princess?" Sun Qian couldn't help but ask on the way.
"No, I don't even know what the princess looks like," Mo Qi replied.
"Then why are you going to the royal palace?"
"To take a look. They say the reward has been posted for a long time, and no one has been able to solve it. It's a challenge in itself, and I want to try it," Mo Qi said.
"A challenge... And the princess, why would she allow such a reward? What if the person who completes the formula is a woman or an old man?"
"That's true. What are they thinking?"
The three of them rode the clouds to the royal palace. The entrance was already crowded with people.
People were forming a long queue, slowly entering a side gate of the royal palace. Another side gate was where another group of people was exiting.
Mo Qi went up and asked. These people were here to solve the reward problem. He then asked Xiao Yi and Sun Qian to wait aside and quietly joined the end of the line.
The line was formed, but when entering the side gate, there was a screening process. Some old men were kicked out.
This seemed to answer Sun Qian's question: what if an old man solved the problem? What if they wanted to marry the princess?
If old men were not allowed in, that problem wouldn't exist.
Later, he observed that many young people were also stopped and not allowed in, for reasons unknown.
At this point, Mo Qi felt a little uneasy. What if he was also stopped?
Thinking this, he moved forward with the crowd. After a moment, he reached the entrance.
There were two guards at the entrance. The guard on the left took out a pill formula and said, "This is missing one ingredient. Do you know what it is?"
So, there was a preliminary screening. This method of screening was quite humane.
Mo Qi felt confident.
He took a brief look and then wrote down "Licorice"!
"You can go in!" the guard on the right said after glancing at it.
Mo Qi walked in with his head held high.
Inside was a large square. Opposite the square, another group of people was queuing. Under the guidance of a guard, Mo Qi stood at the end of the line. Many people were still being turned away.
How many more levels were there? Mo Qi had no idea.
If he had known it would be so troublesome, he wouldn't have come. How long would Xiao Yi and Sun Qian have to wait outside?
However, since he had come this far, he couldn't give up halfway. He had to push through.
Soon, it was Mo Qi's turn.
A guard took out a piece of paper with various ingredients drawn on it. The question was to write down the name of each ingredient.
Mo Qi wrote them down with a stroke of his brush. The soldier looked at him with slight surprise and let him in.
Inside was another large square!