Chapter 541
Elder Xiong lowered his head and scrutinized the several alchemical formulas in his hands. After a long hesitation, he finally asked, "Why do the Five Sects wish to keep the Five Elements Orchid a secret?"
Zheng Fan could see that although Elder Xiong was afraid, he also recognized the value of the Five Elements Orchid—after all, the Five Sects wouldn’t go so far as to banish a mere weed.
"This item is likely related to the revered Tianhe."
Elder Xiong suddenly looked up, then lowered his head again, his gaze darting between Zheng Fan and the alchemical formulas in his hands, clearly agitated.
Perhaps the Grand Elder of the Qingmu Sect felt he had been tricked, but Zheng Fan remained calm… After all, wasn’t recruiting the Qingmu Sect precisely for this purpose?
In fact, if Zheng Fan hadn’t been unable to find anyone skilled in alchemy, he wouldn’t have even shown the Qingmu Sect these formulas. The Xuanwei Realm was filled with those who sought fortune and risk; if one offended the Five Sects, they could obtain the secret methods of the Tianhe.
There were certainly many willing to take that chance.
To put it bluntly, he tacitly allowed the Qingmu Sect to dominate the Alchemist Guild in the future, but that wasn’t charity, was it?
Zheng Fan felt he had paid a hefty price for his life!
You can’t just talk about loyalty when it’s convenient for you!
Elder Xiong seemed to grasp this point as well, his expression a mix of pain and joy, like someone who had boarded a pirate ship only to find the hold filled with spirit stones, with a group of people ready to divide the spoils, inviting him to join in the dilemma.
He took a deep breath, his tone sounding resigned, "What can I do?"
"I only have the formulas, and I’m not even sure which one is the right one… I don’t even know if there’s a usable formula."
This was Zheng Fan’s helplessness.
Their search had yielded only fragments of information.
Whether any of these formulas contained the elixirs once used by the revered Tianhe, they truly couldn’t be sure.
"So…," Elder Xiong understood, "I need to first refine these elixirs and then figure out which one is usable?"
Zheng Fan knew he had understood.
To put it simply, the only clues they had regarding the applicability of the "Nine Mountains Golden Elixir Method" were these formulas.
In other words, they had a rough idea of the materials but couldn’t even clarify the production process, let alone produce a finished product.
What Zheng Fan wanted to do now was to leverage Elder Xiong’s knowledge of alchemy to see if they could restore the production process—this was certainly not simple, but fortunately, these elixirs were meant for the Golden Core stage, which should still be within Elder Xiong’s comfort zone as a Nascent Soul cultivator.
However, Elder Xiong clearly didn’t feel comfortable; on the contrary, his face was filled with bitterness, and he seemed ready to back out.
At this moment, Zheng Fan could understand him; it was like having a brilliant idea but lacking a skilled programmer—Elder Xiong was that programmer, and it was perfectly normal for him to resist a bit.
To be honest, Zheng Fan was a bit afraid that this person would slack off:
They knew too little about alchemy, and the risks of these formulas were too great. If in the future Elder Xiong brought people from the Qingmu Sect to study the formulas, but didn’t put in the effort, merely going through the motions to fool Zheng Fan, the "client," then the people of the Jiushan Sect would be none the wiser, merely acting as unwitting pawns.
He needed to ignite this person’s initiative…
"Elder Xiong, for this elixir development, the Jiushan Sect’s investment… has no upper limit."
Zheng Fan’s words were not empty promises.
This elixir was related to the "Nine Mountains Golden Elixir Method," a fundamental technique of the Jiushan Sect.
But it wasn’t just about Zheng Fan’s own cultivation.
Not to mention that the "Tian Gang Di Sha Transformation" was actually based on the "Nine Mountains Golden Elixir Method."
According to Senior Sister Zhang, this was the essence of the Jiushan Sect’s path; no one could stop it!
Elder Xiong’s lips twitched at this, looking slightly comforted.
"Moreover… Elder Xiong, if we successfully develop the elixir, the Jiushan Sect will offer a substantial merit reward." Zheng Fan added, "Of course, this merit is also to buy out the patent rights to these formulas…"
At least in the early stages, Zheng Fan needed to keep control of these formulas in his hands.
Otherwise, it would be easy for them to leak out and be discovered by the Five Sects.
Elder Xiong nodded but didn’t seem particularly moved, simply shaking his head and saying honestly:
"What merit? My lifespan is limited; I don’t really care about that…"
"It would be good for the Qingmu Sect."
Zheng Fan smiled, "What if I told you that merit can be exchanged for resources for transformation?"
"Transformation!" Elder Xiong’s eyes suddenly widened, "The Jiushan Sect is willing to teach me the transformation method?"
He didn’t seem to doubt that the Jiushan Sect had such a method—in the eyes of outsiders, the Jiushan Sect was on par with the Five Sects.
But…
The transformation method was not something to be easily shared.
However, Zheng Fan knew that their transformation method hadn’t even been created yet; the elder was still locked away in seclusion, and Zheng Fan was merely painting a picture that hadn’t yet been realized.
Just by observing the fluctuations of spiritual energy, it seemed that the transformation would go smoothly.
If all else failed, he could always pass on the "Great Freedom True Method" to Elder Xiong…
Elder Xiong, who had been quite calm just moments ago, now seemed to be breathing a bit faster, clearly moved…
No cultivator willingly accepts the end of their life.
No Nascent Soul cultivator wishes to transform.
What Elder Xiong hadn’t expected was that the opportunity for transformation he was about to give up had suddenly appeared before him!
The Tianhe secret method, the opportunity for transformation.
These two things seemed to ignite a fire in Elder Xiong’s eyes; he clutched the alchemical formulas, no longer hesitating:
"Rest assured, Alliance Leader… I will do my utmost!"
Seeing that he was genuinely moved, Zheng Fan felt a bit relieved. He pointed to Madam Xuanhua and Jiao Wujie beside him and said, "For this alchemical formula development, Xuanhua and Jiao Wujie will assist you."
Elder Xiong’s expression turned even more puzzled.
Madam Xuanhua was a master of weapon refinement.
Jiao Wujie was a great demon of transformation.
But did they really need them for researching alchemical formulas?
Zheng Fan took out a jade tube from his pocket and handed it to Elder Xiong, saying, "Elder, since you’re new to Jiushan, you might not know our research system, especially… we have some ideas regarding alchemical studies."
Elder Xiong’s expression changed, looking quite unhappy, as if he felt that as a professional, he was being guided by a bunch of amateurs, which was quite frustrating.
But he wasn’t a real bear; in the blink of an eye, his expression returned to normal as he took the jade tube and began to read it carefully.
After a while, his expression improved significantly: "I just need to refine my own elixirs?"
"Yes." Zheng Fan nodded, "What we want to do is simply record your alchemical process and analyze the finished product."
"What’s the use of that?"
"If you want to learn, I can teach you."
Elder Xiong seemed to be less concerned now.
But he still doubted the usefulness of these operations.
He even thought Zheng Fan was trying to steal the Qingmu Sect’s techniques.
Zheng Fan thought for a moment, realizing that he couldn’t explain it clearly at this point, so he simply smiled and said, "I can’t just test the medicine myself, can I?"
That wasn’t untrue.
In the end, alchemical experiments had to verify the efficacy of the medicine.
Currently, within the Jiushan Sect, only Zheng Fan was cultivating the "Nine Mountains Golden Elixir Method."
Given Zheng Fan’s cautious nature, he would never test the medicine himself.
At this moment, the roles of Madam Xuanhua and Jiao Wujie came into play.
According to Zheng Fan’s plan, Madam Xuanhua would combine the "Golden Elixir Project" with the elixirs refined by Elder Xiong to see if they were effective.
In simple terms, it meant simulating the "Nine Mountains Golden Elixir Method" using the "Golden Elixir Project" while adding the elixirs to see if they would cause any changes in the spiritual materials.
This was equivalent to an external experiment.
As for Jiao Wujie, he was currently raising some demon beasts, preparing to use them for animal testing—though these demon beasts couldn’t cultivate the "Nine Mountains Golden Elixir Method," they could at least prove that the elixirs wouldn’t be lethal…
Madam Xuanhua was responsible for verifying the medicinal properties of the elixirs, while Jiao Wujie was responsible for verifying their safety.
Only after passing these two validations would Zheng Fan personally take the medicine.
After Elder Xiong understood this, the way he looked at Zheng Fan changed.
Once he grasped the content of the formulas and the jade tube, he took Zhao Jingfan and headed toward the herb garden to gather the necessary materials. Halfway there, he suddenly burst into laughter.
It was the kind of laughter that couldn’t be suppressed, having been held back for so long that it finally erupted.
"Grand Elder?"
"I’ve never seen someone so cautious about taking a pill…"
"Are you talking about Zheng Fan?" Zhao Jingfan was puzzled. Was it really that funny?
"What’s with recording my alchemical process? Isn’t it just to prevent me from tampering? After the elixir is completed, there’s still one experiment, then another. Zheng Fan is just too… um, cautious."
Zhao Jingfan wanted to defend Zheng Fan, but thinking of Zheng Fan’s past reluctance to stand out, it was really…
Hard to speak with a clear conscience.
"This is a good thing!"
Unexpectedly, Elder Xiong praised him.
"Huh?"
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