Chapter 1633: Profiteering

A pill master capable of refining such a bottle of top-grade elixirs must possess exceptional alchemy skills.

Carefully, he set down the bottle of top-grade Body Tempering Elixir and picked up the second bottle to examine it.

Again, he opened the vial and inhaled the fragrance of the elixir. Cao Xiang immediately determined it was another bottle of Body Tempering Elixir, but this one seemed slightly different from the previous one.

Upon closer inspection, he was subtly impressed.

Could this be a supreme-grade Body Tempering Elixir?

He poured out a single pill from the jade bottle and examined it closely. Soon, Cao Xiang confirmed it was indeed a bottle of supreme-grade Body Tempering Elixir!

This was a truly rare commodity. Even with the highest alchemy skill, it’s not easy for a pill master to refine supreme-grade elixirs. During the refining process, many factors can affect the quality of the elixirs in each batch: the quality of raw materials, control of the heat, the material of the cauldron, and even the pill master's own mood can influence the outcome.

Therefore, even the most experienced pill masters find it challenging to refine supreme-grade elixirs. Producing supreme-grade elixirs requires both skill and a measure of luck.

Cao Xiang realized he had somewhat underestimated the skill of the pill master before him. Coupled with the fact that Lu Ye was disguised as a Moon Realm cultivator, it made him even more deferential.

Setting down the second bottle of Body Tempering Elixir, Cao Xiang picked up the third.

This time, judging by the elixir's fragrance, what was inside was certainly not a Body Tempering Elixir, but an elixir for the soul—undoubtedly a Spirit Refining Elixir!

Cao Xiang's spirits immediately lifted.

While Body Tempering Elixirs were good, their value couldn't compare to Spirit Refining Elixirs, as the latter's main ingredient was the Spirit Refining Herb.

It could be said that even if the Spirit Refining Elixir in his hand was only of medium-grade quality, its value would still far exceed that of the supreme-grade Body Tempering Elixir.

Moreover, judging by the fragrance, Cao Xiang determined that the Spirit Refining Elixir in his hand was far beyond medium-grade; it was clearly a top-grade Spirit Refining Elixir!

Refining Spirit Refining Elixirs was much more difficult than Body Tempering Elixirs. The fact that this pill master could refine supreme-grade Body Tempering Elixirs wasn't enough to deeply impress Cao Xiang, but being able to refine a bottle of top-grade Spirit Refining Elixirs undoubtedly indicated that the other party's alchemy mastery had reached at least the master level.

However, Cao Xiang was well-versed in the ways of the world. Having dealt with numerous clients and transactions here for years, his insight was naturally extraordinary. Thus, while he recognized the excellent quality of the Spirit Refining Elixir, he maintained his usual calm demeanor.

He gently set it down and picked up the last bottle.

As usual, he sniffed the elixir's fragrance. The next instant, Cao Xiang's eyes widened sharply, and he could no longer maintain his composure. He exclaimed in bewildered surprise, "This is..."

Without asking Lu Ye for permission, he quickly poured out a Spirit Refining Elixir from the jade bottle in his shock and examined it carefully. The more he looked, the more astonished he became.

One pill wasn't enough; he looked at a second, and continued until he had examined all the Spirit Refining Elixirs. Only then did Cao Xiang manage to suppress his unusual expression, but the shock in his heart was beyond words.

Because this bottle was entirely filled with supreme-grade Spirit Refining Elixirs! Each one was uniform in size and identical in color.

Although he had traded with many pill masters and purchased supreme-grade elixirs from others, he rarely had the opportunity to buy an entire bottle. Usually, transactions involved one or two pills, at most three or four.

But a whole bottle of supreme-grade Spirit Refining Elixirs—this was the first time ever!

So it wasn't that he was prone to making a fuss; it was truly because he had never encountered such a thing before.

He took a gentle breath, and after a moment of consideration, Cao Xiang finally spoke: "Esteemed guest, are all these elixirs for sale?"

Lu Ye remained composed, swallowed a mouthful of tea, and adopted the air of a grand master alchemist. He calmly replied, "If not for sale, then why would I bring them here to amuse you?"

Cao Xiang looked sheepish. "Esteemed guest, you jest. Since they are for sale, I will take the liberty of offering a price. Of course, if you are satisfied, we can finalize the transaction. If not, we can discuss it further. The Myriad Manifestations Chamber of Commerce operates with integrity, fairness, and honesty to all, young and old."

Lu Ye offered no comment.

Cao Xiang then pointed to the bottle of top-grade Body Tempering Elixir and named a price. Lu Ye remained unmoved.

Cao Xiang was unsure if the guest was satisfied with the price, but the price he offered was indeed fair.

He then set a price for the bottle of supreme-grade Body Tempering Elixir. Lu Ye noticed that though both were Body Tempering Elixirs and only one grade apart, the supreme-grade one was more than three times the price.

However, Body Tempering Elixirs were not considered rare in the Myriad Manifestations Sea. The raw materials for refining them were also easily obtainable, and they didn't necessarily require spirit fish as there were many substitutes. Thus, while the price was appealing, it was still reasonable.

Because Lu Ye had a channel to acquire spirit fish, using their flesh and blood to refine Body Tempering Elixirs would save him significantly on materials.

By this calculation, even a single White Spirit fish, if its essence was used to refine Body Tempering Elixirs, would increase its value by nearly ten times.

That was quite good. In the future, even if Three Realms Island relied solely on selling Body Tempering Elixirs, it could sustain the cultivation needs of several hundred cultivators.

However, Body Tempering Elixirs were ultimately just a sideline. What Lu Ye truly wanted to know was the price of the Spirit Refining Elixirs.

When it came to the Spirit Refining Elixirs, Cao Xiang was noticeably more cautious and offered a price for the bottle of top-grade Spirit Refining Elixirs.

Lu Ye's spirits immediately lifted, because the price of this bottle of top-grade Spirit Refining Elixirs was five times that of the supreme-grade Body Tempering Elixir!

However, upon closer thought, it wasn't surprising. The refining materials were different. A bottle of Spirit Refining Elixirs required one Spirit Refining Herb as the main ingredient, whereas a bottle of Body Tempering Elixirs didn't even use an entire spirit fish.

"And this bottle?" Lu Ye asked calmly, pointing to the supreme-grade Spirit Refining Elixirs.

If top-grade Spirit Refining Elixirs were so valuable, the supreme-grade ones would surely be even more so.

Cao Xiang did not directly quote a price. Instead, he said, "Esteemed guest, if you trust me, I have a suggestion you might consider."

"Speak!"

Cao Xiang said, "In five days, our Chamber of Commerce will hold an auction. If you wish to maximize the value of this elixir, I suggest putting it up for auction. I believe many people will be interested in this elixir, and the price it fetches will surely satisfy you!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Ye suddenly remembered that the last time he participated in the Myriad Manifestations Chamber of Commerce's auction, a bottle of supreme-grade elixir was indeed put up for auction, and it was heavily contested.

That elixir, on that day, was merely for recovery. Its use and value were incomparable to the Spirit Refining Elixir. Therefore, his bottle of Spirit Refining Elixirs truly qualified for the auction, and it would undoubtedly fetch a high price.

Especially for Moon Realm cultivators, the demand for this item was most urgent. For Moon Realm cultivators aspiring to ascend to Sun Realm, they must consider the sublimation of 'spirit' among essence, qi, and spirit, and 'spirit' refers to divine sense.

The wealth of Moon Realm cultivators was naturally incomparable to that of Star Realm cultivators. Therefore, putting the Spirit Refining Elixir up for auction would certainly fetch a good price.

Cao Xiang's suggestion was indeed made with Lu Ye's interests in mind. Of course, it would also serve to enhance the auction's prestige.

However, Lu Ye had no time to wait for any auction. He was also concerned that revealing these few bottles of elixirs might attract unwanted attention. Even though the Myriad Manifestations Chamber of Commerce had a good reputation, certain precautions were still necessary; otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered disguising himself as a Moon Realm cultivator.

So he calmly said, "You name a price. If it's suitable, I'll sell them to your Chamber of Commerce. As for the auction, forget about it."

Cao Xiang secretly felt it was a pity, but then again, if he acquired this bottle of supreme-grade elixir for the Chamber of Commerce, he could still put it up for auction himself, and it would bring even greater profit to the Chamber of Commerce.

So, after a slight pause for thought, he quoted a price.

This price was a full ten times higher than that of the top-grade Spirit Refining Elixir he had just quoted!

Lu Ye quickly calculated in his mind.

Before leaving, he had specifically asked Hua Ci and Shui Yuan about the materials and quantities needed to refine these elixirs. Thus, it was easy for him to calculate the potential profit.

The supreme-grade Body Tempering Elixirs yielded about five times the cost, which was considered enormous profit. The profit from Spirit Refining Elixirs was even more astonishing. Top-grade Spirit Refining Elixirs alone yielded about ten times the cost, while supreme-grade Spirit Refining Elixirs yielded a full hundred times the cost!

Li Shang had previously told Lu Ye the price of a Spirit Refining Herb: roughly five thousand spirit jades per stalk. Including other materials, the cost of this bottle of Spirit Refining Elixirs would not exceed ten thousand spirit jades. However, selling them could yield at least a million spirit jades!

A million spirit jades wasn't a huge amount in Lu Ye's eyes, but for ordinary cultivators, it was a considerable sum. After all, Tang Jun back then didn't even possess that much wealth.

This was definitely a good way to get rich.

And this was just the price for one bottle of supreme-grade Spirit Refining Elixirs...

However, for late-stage Moon Realm cultivators, if they could use twenty or thirty such bottles of elixirs to aid them in exchange for an opportunity to break through to Sun Realm, it would only cost them twenty to thirty million spirit jades.

Who wouldn't be willing to trade twenty to thirty million spirit jades for a chance to break through to the Sun Realm?

A short while later, Lu Ye, warmly escorted by Cao Xiang, left the Myriad Manifestations Chamber of Commerce.

Cao Xiang was undoubtedly very attentive to a client like Lu Ye. He had originally intended to exchange a communication token with Lu Ye, so Lu Ye could seek him out directly with any future valuable items. However, Lu Ye did not agree, which left Cao Xiang feeling quite regretful.

Nevertheless, having completed this transaction, Cao Xiang was already very satisfied, as he would also gain a share of the profits.

Lu Ye returned to Three Realms Island. He sought out Hua Ci and Shui Yuan, who had been waiting, informed them of the profits from this trip, and handed over the spirit jades to them.

Shui Yuan said, "Judging from this, establishing ourselves here won't be too difficult, but this kind of business isn't sustainable in the long run!"

Of course, all this relied on the Pill Gourd. Otherwise, with just her and Hua Ci's alchemy skills, they might even incur losses, let alone such huge profits.

However, this was only temporary. Once their cultivation improved and their skills became proficient, they would have no problem making a living in the Myriad Manifestations Sea with their own abilities.

Just like Hua Qianying, with her alchemy mastery, she could even join the Myriad Manifestations Chamber of Commerce without an issue.

Lu Ye nodded and said, "Indeed."

Like the previous transaction, selling a few bottles occasionally wouldn't be a major issue, but selling a large quantity of elixirs for an extended period would inevitably arouse suspicion.

Hua Ci suggested, "Perhaps we could do this: There are many top-tier powers in the Myriad Manifestations Sea. We don't need to sell exclusively to the Myriad Manifestations Chamber of Commerce. We can choose to sell to different chambers of commerce. That way, if we sell a few bottles to the Myriad Manifestations Chamber of Commerce every three to five months, there won't be any issues."

That was also a viable method.

After a brief contemplation, Lu Ye said, "For now, let's only sell the Body Tempering Elixirs. See if you can research and refine other types of elixirs. As for the Spirit Refining Elixirs, don't sell them; we'll need them for ourselves later."