Chapter 157

: Foundation Building Pill
Translator: 
_Dark_Angel_ 
 Editor: 
Kurisu
Ling Han only nodded at Xiao Ying before proceeding to the third floor of the palace, escorted by Yuanchu.
This was where high-ranking alchemists would concoct alchemical pills and rest.

How about this? I won’t limit the number of people today. You all can observe me concoct alchemical pills, and I’ll simply accept an observation fee of a million silver coins,
Ling Han said to Yuanchu.

Pu,
once again, those four disciples of Yuanchu choked.
It was simply observing the pill concoction process, and you want to collect a fee of a million silver coins… were you trying to rob them?
Even Liu Yu Tong’s lips twitched at this. A million silver coins for observing him concoct pills once… even if there were only ten people, Ling Han would be able to earn ten million coins for every time he allowed them to observe, and observing him for ten times would allow him to earn a hundred million.
One hundred million!
The Liu Clan was a large clan and had many businesses under their name, so their monthly income was definitely not just a mere hundred million coins. However, if you were talking about net profit, then there was definitely not as much as a hundred million, and it was far below such a colossal amount of money.
The earnings of a single person were able to equal the earnings of an entire clan!
No wonder Ling Han was so confident he would be able to utterly defeat the Chen Clan in terms of finances. It was really too easy for him to earn money.
But still, would Yuanchu actually agree to such a condition?

Really?
Yuanchu’s eyes widened, an expression of pleasant surprise on his face,
Just a million coins?

Damn!
Liu Yu Tong and his four disciples suddenly felt like they were going to pass out. Yuanchu actually thought one million coins was a bargain!
That was natural. If he could manage to observe Ling Han concoct alchemical pills for a few more times, he’d be able to advance up the ranks. How could that kind of benefit be measured in terms of money? Moreover, once he managed to advance to the next level, he’d be able to concoct even higher grade alchemical pills. Plus, when an alchemist advanced one level, the price of the pills he could concoct would also soar to a whole new level.
One could definitely say that every high-level alchemist was extremely wealthy, but the majority of alchemists were not hoarders of their wealth, and would instead use their immeasurable wealth to improve their ability as an alchemist. But when an alchemist had reached Black Grade, which of them would not have a few dozen millions in savings?
A million was absolutely nothing to them!
Ling Han was also not one who would attach a lot of importance to monetary wealth. Money was a worldly item, and when one’s ability reached Flower Blossoming Tier, mere money would not be able to buy the cultivation resources one needed. At Flower Blossoming Tier and beyond, one would have to trade for the resources he needed with something else that his trading partner wanted.
Of course, money was still quite useful to him now. Otherwise, Ling Han would not demand an ‘observation fee’.
Yuanchu Yuan immediately went off to call the other alchemists. Very quickly, the various Black Grade alchemists all arrived one after another. However, there was a pitifully small number of Yellow Grade alchemists. There was only Li Si Chan, Qi Zhan Tai, and a few others, and the last to arrive was Fu Yuan Sheng.

Old Fu, you’re right on time. Help me collect money,
Ling Han said, without any kind of reservations at all.
At this, those four disciples of Yuanchu really fainted. That was Fu Yuan Sheng he was addressing, one of the two big bosses of alchemy in Rain Country, but in Ling Han’s mouth, he had become Old Fu.
Meanwhile, Fu Yuan Sheng stepped forward, his expression all smiles. It was his honor to be able to serve a Grandmaster Alchemist! Moreover, whom among all these high-ranking alchemists had not begun from the position of an alchemist’s apprentice? They had all started from doing odd jobs and assisting a higher-ranking alchemist, so it was nothing new to them.
Thus, no one felt any disdain for Fu Yuan Sheng. On the other hand, they were all indescribably envious.
…To be able to serve a Grandmaster Alchemist, what an enviable task!
Everyone delightedly paid the observation fee, while only Li Si Chan and Qi Zhan Tai were exempted from paying. Black Grade alchemists really did not lack monetary wealth.

Today, I’m going to concoct the ‘Foundation Building Pill’. All of you should know that this is a Black Grade high level alchemical pill, right? I’ll also get the license of a Black Grade high level alchemist while at it,
Ling Han said. He would be hitting two birds with one stone in this manner.
Foundation Building Pill!
When they heard the words ‘Foundation Building Pill’ from Ling Han’s mouth, all of them bore expressions of utter shock and astonishment.
There were many different types of Black Grade high level alchemical pills, and of course, the level of difficulty in concocting different Black Grade high level pills varied greatly. There were four different levels of difficulty and they were: Easy, Difficult, Extremely Difficult, and Practically Impossible. Those alchemical pills that fitted into the level of Practically Impossible were actually close to the level of Earth Grade alchemical pills. Thus, an alchemist who could successfully concoct an alchemical pill in this category was almost definitely able to advance to become an Earth Grade alchemist.
Foundation Building Pill was precisely one of those pills in the ‘Practically Impossible’ category.
This kind of alchemical pill could help a Spiritual Ocean Tier alchemist build his foundations to prepare for the construction of his Spiritual Pedestal. It belonged to one of the rarest types of alchemical pills that could help a Spiritual Ocean Tier martial artist break through to Spiritual Pedestal Tier. The reason why Foundation Building Pill was considered close to the level of Earth Grade was firstly because of the level of difficulty in concocting such a pill, and secondly because of the effects of the completed pill.
For a martial artist, three types of alchemical pills were the most valuable for them. Firstly, the type that would help them increase their cultivation; secondly, the type that would assist them in comprehending martial arts techniques; and thirdly, the type that could assist them in breaking through to the next level. If one would rank these three types of pills in order of importance and value, then it would be the exact opposite order. The most valuable, and also the rarest, was the type of pill that would help a martial artist break through to the next level.
…The type of pill that would extend one’s lifespan was not included in this division because only natural treasures would have that kind of effect. If these natural treasures were concocted into alchemical pills, the effect would be the exact opposite.
Everyone here had heard of the Foundation Pill before, but there was no one capable of successfully concocting it in a small place like Rain Country, and this included the two local big bosses of alchemy as well. If this kind of alchemical pill could be mass-produced for sale, the large number of Spiritual Pedestal Tier elites that would appear in Rain Country could be imagined.
This could very possibly overturn the balance of power in Rain Country!
Even merely the thought of it caused these people to shiver. A single alchemist… had the ability to completely change the power structure of a nation. It sounded like a fantasy.

I need these ingredients,
Ling Han said to Fu Yuan Sheng. The reason why the Foundation Building Pill was so close to the level of Earth Grade was because of the level of difficulty involved in concocting such a pill and its effects. However, there was not much difference between the ingredients necessary to concoct it and the ingredients necessary to concoct any other Black Grade high level pill, so the Heaven’s Medicine Pavilion would definitely have the necessary ingredients available.
And true enough, Fu Yuan Sheng immediately nodded, and waved his hand to command someone to retrieve the ingredients that Ling Han needed from their storage room.

How much do they cost?
Ling Han asked, smiling.

How can we accept Young Master Han’s money?
Fu Yuan Sheng hurriedly waved his hands in refusal.
Yet Ling Han was adamant and said,
You must accept!
Only if the Heaven’s Medicine Pavilion accepted his payment would the Foundation Building Pill belong to him entirely. How much could the ingredients for this little thing cost? A million? Two million? But for the completed pill… even if it was auctioned off for ten million, it would be considered a bargain. It was guaranteed that a large number of people would be fighting to buy it.
Fu Yuan Sheng could only smile sheepishly. He was intending to take the completed pill to study. One had to understand that the success rate for pills close to the level of Earth Grade was shockingly low. If the full number of pills that could be produced in a single furnace was ten, then it would be wonderful if there was a single completed pill that was successfully concocted. Two would be considered a logic-defying accomplishment.
The ingredients for a Black Grade high level pill were still very expensive. The ingredient value for a single furnace could be as high as three million, and if the furnace exploded during the concoction process, that would mean the waste of a whole three million coins. But if the pill was successfully concocted, the alchemist would be able to earn not only his investment back, but also a colossal profit.
That was what a high grade alchemical pill was worth, especially the rarer types of high grade alchemical pills.
Ling Han was completely doing business without any kind of capital. He came empty-handed, and with his ‘observation fee’, he earned eighteen million in one go. Now, he was only paying three million out of this eighteen million he had already earned. Moreover, with his ability, what would a pill that was merely close to the level of Earth Grade count as? Even if he only managed to produce three pills… just the thought of the value was terrifying enough.

Please observe closely, everyone. I am going to begin now,
Ling Han said. Because all these people had paid to observe him, it was only right for him to warn them beforehand.
All of them opened their eyes as wide as possible. They would not only be able to observe a Grandmaster’s techniques of alchemy, but would also be able to bear witness to the birth of a furnace of pills close to Earth Grade!
Merely the thought of it was enough to make them shiver in excitement!
Ling Han’s expression gradually became utterly serious. He was never negligent in matters related to alchemy.
After taking a deep breath, he suddenly moved. His movements suddenly turned smooth and incredibly natural, filled with a unique kind of beauty that was pleasing to the eye. It was as if his movements were in line with some unknown law of nature.