Chapter 20

The next day, when Mu Qianyue opened her eyes, her beautiful and petite face lit up with delight. With the help of the Essence Cultivation Liquid, she had another breakthrough and was now a sixth-stage True Cultivator! Moreover, she could clearly feel that her meridians were much wider than before and that her True Essence Energy had become much purer.

Sniffing herself, she could detect a smelly odor. There was plenty of filth and grease on her clothes due to the marrow cleansing effects of the Essence Cultivation Liquid which had worked to purge the impurities in her body once again.

Not wanting to wallow in that rancid smell, she took a relaxing hot bath and changed into a set of clean clothes.

After that, Mu Qianyue refined five bottles of Essence Cultivation Liquid, three bottles of Beauty Cream and two bottles of Youth Retention Water, before leaving the house to head to the medicinal shop on South Street.

“Miss, what are you looking for? I sell all sorts of medicinal herbs here,” the shopkeeper said with a broad beam when he saw Mu Qianyue enter.

Mu Qianyue shook her head. “I’m not here to buy medicinal herbs this time. I’m here to sell medicine. This is the Essence Cultivation Liquid I refined myself. How much money do you think this is worth?” As she spoke, she retrieved a bottle of Essence Cultivation Liquid and handed it to him.

A hint of astonishment flickered across the shopkeeper’s eyes. He hadn’t expected this young lady to actually know how to refine medicine! One had to know that she only looked about 15 years old! Although surprised, the shopkeeper regained his composure a moment later and asked with a respectful expression, “Young lady, are you an Apothecary?”

She nodded but neither said yes nor no.

Apothecaries were revered everywhere they went! This was because a highly-skilled Apothecary could help their entire family clan prosper. Some large family clans and empires even vied for such talents sparing no expense and resources! An Apothecary tended to have vast connections, hence many people would rather offend someone formidable than offend an Apothecary.

The shopkeeper reached out a hand to take the Essence Cultivation Liquid from her and said with a hint of solemnness, “I’ll need to get Master Lin to verify the authenticity of this Essence Cultivation Liquid first. Young lady, please wait here for a moment.”

With that, he turned around and went to the backhall of the medicinal shop.

“Master Lin, a customer wishes to sell this Essence Cultivation Liquid. Please verify its authenticity,” the shopkeeper said respectfully to the man seated on the old-fashioned wooden armchair who had his eyes narrowed slightly.

“Bring it over.” Lin Xu opened his eyes, a calm and incredibly arrogant look on his face. When he took the small bottle from the shopkeeper and opened the lid, a faint fragrance instantly permeated the air to fill the entire room. It was a lingering scent that smelled refreshing and pleasant.

Lin Xu immediately stood up from his chair, shock and astonishment written all over his face. “Th-this… where’s the person who refined this medicine?”

“Outside…’ Seeing the shock that erupted in Lin Xu’s eyes, the shopkeeper paused in surprise, before replying anxiously. But before he finished his sentence, Lin Xu had turned around and gone to the shopfront.

Narrowing his eyes, he merely saw a gorgeous young lady standing in the shop. She looked only to be about fifteen years of age, but other than her there wasn’t anyone else in the medicinal shop.

“Master Lin, this young lady is the person who refined the medicine,” the shopkeeper said as he followed Lin Xu out.

“Are you truly the one who refined this Essence Cultivation Liquid?” A trace of astonishment flickered across Lin Xu’s eyes. The concentration and purity of this Essence Cultivation Liquid was much higher than ordinary ones. Even he himself might not be able to refine something so pure. He had imagined the person who refined this medicinal liquid to be someone advanced in age. Hence seeing the young Mu Qianyue, naturally, he was blown away.

Mu Qianyue nodded. “Yes. Is there any problem with my medicinal liquid?”

“There’s no problem with the Essence Cultivation Liquid.” Lin Xu went on to ask, “Do you have a teacher? Are you really the one who refined this Essence Cultivation Liquid?”

Mu Qianyue creased her brows slightly. Clearly this Master Lin didn’t believe she was the one who made it. “Does this have anything to do with me selling this Essence Cultivation Liquid? You only need to tell me if your shop wishes to buy it from me or not.”

A hint of displeasure flickered across Lin Xu’s eyes. Ever since he became an Apothecary, no one had dared to treat him with disrespect. After pondering for a moment, he ultimately decided to offer a reasonable price. “Yes. 50,000 gold coins for this bottle of Essence Cultivation Liquid.”

“Alright, I have another three bottles here. I’ll sell all four to you.” Seeing that the price was reasonable, Mu Qianyue nodded in assent. She went on to retrieve three small bottles from her clothing.

After ascertaining there weren’t any problems with all three bottles, Lin Xu indicated for the shopkeeper to pay her 200,000 gold coins.

After obtaining the money, Mu Qianyue turned around and was in the midst of leaving, when Lin Xu’s voice rang behind her. “Young lady, I’m a fourth-grade Pill Apothecary, an elder of Elixir Point, and also an honorary guest in Phoenix Shadow Nation. I would like to take you in as my disciple.”

Rather than calling it a discussion, it sounded more like an order. His tone reeked strongly of arrogance, as though his willingness to take her in as a disciple was a great gift to her, as though Mu Qianyue ought to immediately drop down on her knees and thank him for his kindness.

Mockery flickered across Mu Qianyue’s eyes. fourth-grade Pill Apothecary?

“I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you, ‘Master’.” She continued walking out of the shop without stopping.

With Lin Xu’s current status and power as a fourth-grade Pill Apothecary, wherever he went he was revered and had people fawning over him. But she didn’t care, she hated his haughty demeanor, taking her willingness to oblige for granted.

“You’d better think through this carefully. You won’t encounter such opportunities otherwise! You’re merely an Apothecary now and not a Pill Apothecary yet. If you become my disciple, I can impart to you everything I know—my rich experience in refining medicines as well as controlling the fire. Just these alone will make you a widely-known Pill Apothecary!” If she was truly the one who refined these Essence Cultivation Liquids, it meant she had incredible talent in refining medicines. If groomed properly, she had limitless potential.

Seeing Mu Qianyue continue to walk ahead, Lin Xu got anxious. “Also, you haven’t summoned your Spirit of Fire yet, have you? There’s a difference between Apothecaries and Pill Apothecaries, you know? If you wish to become a Pill Apothecary you will need to summon your Spirit of Fire. I can help you with that!”

“I’m sorry, I’m unable to accede to your request. But thank you for thinking so highly of me.” Mu Qianyue halted in her footsteps and said. Though the word ‘sorry’ came out of her mouth, the expression on her face remained aloof and distant, and she didn’t look at all apologetic. With that, she walked off without even turning her head.

Having been snubbed by such an audacious girl, Lin Xu’s face turned green. As he stared at Mu Qianyue’s back view, he clenched his teeth in fury. Wasn’t she just a young lass puffed up with pride because of her exceptional talent? Hmph! He must make her beg him to take her in as a disciple in the future!

The shopkeeper was already stunned beyond words. Countless people in Phoenix Shadow Nation and even all over the continent would kill for Lin Xu to take them in as a disciple. It was a pity though, that Lin Xu was stuck-up and wouldn’t deign to take in any of them. Yet today when he offered to take someone in as his disciple, he was mercilessly rejected by that person!

“Heh heh, interesting. To think there exists someone who dares to reject Lin Xu.” On the roof opposite, an unkempt-looking old man with tattered clothes and messy hair lay sprawled without care. His skin was slightly tanned and stubble groused across his chin. With his eyes slightly narrowed, he chuckled to himself and picked up the gourd at his waist and gulped down a mouthful of wine.