When Ding Yong saw Meng Hao, he frowned and said, “So you’re Fang Mu?” In his opinion, the older a master alchemist, the better. To him, Meng Hao was obviously much too young.
Meng Hao frowned coldly, stopping in place. During his time with Li Tao, he had grown accustomed to how the man handled himself in front of the Inner Sect disciples. The position of master alchemist was one that inherently demanded respect. However, it also required a bit of personal effort to earn that respect. If you set the bar too low, then others would assume your skill was lacking.
Therefore, he stood in place, then flicked his sleeve and let out a cold snort.
“Bai Yunlai,” he said coolly, “from now on, there’s no need to seek me out for such pill concocting matters as this.” Without another look at Ding Yong, he turned and began to walk off.
Bai Yunlai often worked with master alchemists, and he was also very familiar with Meng Hao. How could he not understand what was happening? Feeling secretly pleased, he allowed horror to cover his face. Then he stared accusatorially at the target of Meng Hao’s little tactic, Ding Yong, who stood there gaping.
“He’s a master alchemist of the East Pill Division, it doesn’t matter if he’s young. He placed number one in the last promotion examination! Think about it! Out of one hundred thousand apprentice alchemists, only one was selected. You… Ai, you don’t know how long I begged Alchemist Fang to come before he agreed. And here you….” Shaking his head, he turned to chase after Meng Hao.
Ding Yong laughed bitterly, then sighed. He was not like Qian Shuihen and Lu Song, who had been able to leave the Sect to gain experience. But how could he not see the way Meng Hao carried himself? When he thought about Bai Yunlai’s words, he realized that this Fang Mu’s skill in alchemy must be significant. After a moment’s thought, a smile appeared on his face, and he walked forward a few steps.
“The grand name of Alchemist Fang has long since reverberated like thunder within my ears,” he said. “Just now when I saw how young Alchemist Fang is, I was so shocked that I made a slip of the tongue. Alchemist Fang, please don’t take offense.”
Meng Hao stopped again, then turned to looked Ding Yong in the eye coldly. “What pill do you need?”
Ding Yong’s eyes glittered. Seeing Meng Hao speak in such a manner led him to believe that he must be a person with a relatively short temper. He quickly said, “Barrier Breaking Pill!”
Meng Hao’s expression was the same as ever, without the slightest bit of change. Seeing this, Ding Yong came the conclusion that he was obviously very worldly wise and eccentric. Actually, Meng Hao was currently frantically searching through his memory. Unfortunately, he had no information regarding Barrier Breaking Pills.
“There are at least seventeen pill formulas for that type of pill,” he said coolly. “Furthermore, there are hundreds of types of medicinal herbs that can be used, along with many complicated variations, three hundred ninety seven to be precise. The refinement process requires delicate adjustments, which further adds seventy percent to the total possible variations. Which particular version do you want concocted?” In truth, his words were a complete fabrication. Next to him Bai Yunlai gasped; actually, he too had been wondering what a Barrier Breaking Pill was. Hearing Meng Hao’s words caused a look of admiration to appear in his eyes.
The way it looked to him, the words seemed to come from a perspective of extreme comprehension. At least, that was the feeling he got.
It seemed even Bai Yunlai had been duped. Naturally, Ding Yong stared in shock for a moment before a bright glow appeared in his eyes. Meng Hao’s words struck him as being profoundly enigmatic. He took a deep breath, then clasped hands and bowed. Avoiding any careless words, he said, “Alchemist Fang, to be honest, I’m not really sure which type. I just have one pill formula, perhaps… you could take a look, sir?” He quickly retrieved a jade slip from his bag of holding which he offered to Meng Hao.
Were Ding Yong not within the Sect, he might not be so easily bluffed. However, they were inside the Violet Fate Sect, and Meng Hao was a fellow Sect member. Furthermore, he knew that Meng Hao was a master alchemist who had the upper hand. Therefore, Meng Hao’s words truly had the desired effect.
Meng Hao accepted the jade slip expressionlessly, and then scanned it with Spiritual Sense. His face was the same as always, but inwardly, he was shocked.
“So, there really is such a medicinal pill. The Barrier Breaking Pill can actually only be consumed twice in a lifetime. If consumed a third time, instant death will result!
“The interactions of various medicinal plants, as well as the addition of various toxic vegetation, will create an explosive mixture that will stimulate the Qi passageways and give the Cultivation base the ability to break through a bottleneck!” Meng Hao was silent for a moment as he thoug