"This young man indeed has some backbone, and is rather unusual. I think he's quite a good match for your Qingya!"
The thin old man smiled, "Most importantly, both of them are alchemists, and their talent is quite good."
"Qingya's temper is unbearable for anyone. I think we should forget about it," President Lei shook his head.
After leaving the Alchemists' Guild, Lu Fan and the others went to a tavern. They ordered a table full of dishes and began to eat slowly. They had already registered and were just waiting for the competition three days later.
"After we finish eating, we'll go buy something."
Lu Fan said, "My alchemy furnace is too crude. I want a good one."
"I've wanted to say that for a long time," Bi Yao said with a wry smile, "but I was afraid of discouraging you."
Lu Fan was a little helpless. He wasn't afraid of being discouraged. Besides, he was so outstanding, what impact could discouragement have?
After finishing their meal, they went to the main street. After asking around, they arrived at the deeper part of the street. It turned out that this area was where all sorts of alchemy ingredients and related items were sold.
It had even formed a street called Alchemy Street. On this street, you could find everything from pots and pans to various medicinal ingredients.
The reason for its prosperity was the high level of population and economic trade in Dan City.
As Lu Fan strolled casually down the street, he spotted a purple alchemy furnace that looked quite dazzling. Other alchemy furnaces were gray and black, but this one was purple, making people curious.
"Boss, how much is this alchemy furnace?" Lu Fan examined it.
"Not much, only 100 spirit stones!" the boss said with shifty eyes. "This is a purple clay alchemy furnace, a top-grade alchemy furnace. If an alchemist uses this to refine medicine, they can even achieve twice the result with half the effort!"
"Is that true?" Lu Fan was a little skeptical. If it were really that miraculous, it wouldn't be priced at only 100 spirit stones.
"Of course it's true, and it's genuine!" the boss said seriously, "You are all alchemists, I wouldn't dare to deceive you."
Lu Fan nodded slightly and asked the ancient elder Hong Meng, "What do you think of this alchemy furnace?"
"Low-grade, probably the lowest grade!" Elder Hong Meng stated frankly, "Alchemy furnaces like this will explode after only a few uses. Most importantly, using such a furnace to refine medicinal ingredients will actually lower an alchemist's skill level!"
Lu Fan's face darkened. He hadn't expected the boss to be so confident while telling lies.
"Young brother, if you truly want it, 80 spirit stones will do!"
The boss quickly said, "This price is definitely a good deal."
"I think it's better to forget it!" Lu Fan shook his head.
"How about this, fifty! Consider it my loss!" the boss said again.
Bi Yao and Long Yi stood by, even more touched. They hadn't expected the boss to be so generous, dropping the price by fifty.
"Let me tell you this! Even for 10 spirit stones, I wouldn't take it," Lu Fan waved his hand. "This purple alchemy furnace is not a top-grade item at all. As a boss, you know this even better. If the Alchemists' Guild were to find out about someone like you deceiving alchemists, who knows what would happen?"
"I was just saying, young brother, please don't take it seriously." The boss quickly apologized, "If you are not satisfied, you can choose anything here freely, and I won't charge you a single cent."
The boss was quite nervous. He knew very well that if the Alchemists' Guild found out, he wouldn't be able to stay in Dan City at all.
"Seeing you like this, I won't make things difficult for you." Lu Fan waved his hand and walked forward.
Just then, Elder Hong Meng spoke, "Go to the second stall on the left at the very front. The alchemy furnaces there are of good quality!"
Lu Fan's face lit up with joy, and he hurried over. Something that Elder Hong Meng praised must be extraordinary. If he didn't hurry, and someone else took it, wouldn't that be a huge loss?
When he arrived at the stall, Lu Fan looked around but couldn't find any alchemy furnaces. He only saw a broken and ugly alchemy furnace placed not far from the stall. Inside the furnace were some miscellaneous items, making it look useless.
"Old man, you're not fooling me, are you? There are no alchemy furnaces on the entire stall!" Lu Fan said, "You made me happy for nothing."
"Isn't that an alchemy furnace right in front of you!" Elder Hong Meng rolled his eyes. "As the saying goes, you can't judge a book by its cover. Although this alchemy furnace looks old and broken, it is a treasure."
"Even so, how can such a broken alchemy furnace be used to refine pills?" Lu Fan looked surprised. "More importantly, there's nothing special about this broken alchemy furnace."
"Listen to me, just buy it!" Elder Hong Meng said frankly.
Lu Fan was a little helpless, so he turned to the boss, "Boss, how much is that alchemy furnace?"
The boss glanced at Lu Fan as if he were an idiot, "Esteemed sir, you're not joking with me, are you? This alchemy furnace is already broken and beyond repair, and I'm using it as a container. Do you want it too?"
"Enough nonsense, just give me a price!" Lu Fan said directly.
"If you sincerely want it, then it's 10 spirit stones!" the boss said directly. "Although it's a bit worn out, it's still an alchemy furnace regardless."
"10 spirit stones?" Lu Fan said.
"If you think it's too expensive, I can lower the price further," the boss said with an awkward smile.
"10 spirit stones it is!" Lu Fan waved his hand. It wasn't that he thought it was expensive, but rather too cheap.
Seeing Lu Fan's generosity, the boss was quite pleased and completed the transaction.
Seeing Lu Fan holding a broken alchemy furnace, Long Yi looked embarrassed, "What's going on? Are you planning to use this broken thing to participate in the alchemy competition?"
"This is a treasure, not a broken thing!" Lu Fan said confidently, believing that Elder Hong Meng's judgment would never be wrong.
Bi Yao stood by, also somewhat bewildered. He hadn't expected Lu Fan to choose such a dilapidated alchemy furnace.
"Junior Brother Lu, if you don't have spirit stones, you can tell me directly. Why be so frugal and buy a broken alchemy furnace!" Bi Yao said repeatedly.
Lu Fan gave an awkward smile, but not knowing how to explain, he could only smile wryly.
After browsing the entire Alchemy Street for a long time, Lu Fan not only bought an alchemy furnace but also some medicinal ingredients, planning to practice well that night to get a feel for it.
Upon arriving at the inn, they settled in. Lu Fan took a room alone, placed the broken alchemy furnace on the ground, and then looked at Elder Hong Meng, "How can this broken alchemy furnace be restored?"
"I'll help you!"
Elder Hong Meng smiled faintly, and a powerful surge of spiritual energy gushed out, converging towards the alchemy furnace. Under the control of the spiritual energy, the entire alchemy furnace began to repair itself.