Wei Yuan thus entrusted Xu Henshui with modifying the formula for the Body Nourishing Pill to suit Qingming's conditions, while he himself set about pondering how many of the pills would be required and how they ought to be allocated and utilized.
This matter bore upon Qingming's century-long master plan. Wei Yuan attached the utmost importance to it, deeming it of even greater significance than the Foundation Establishment Pill.
The medicinal properties of the Body Nourishing Pill were mild. Its purpose was to maintain the vigor of a Dao Foundation cultivator's dharmic body, and prolonged ingestion could even slowly enhance one's physical constitution. It was also taken by many aged Dao Foundation cultivators as a health supplement in their twilight years, effectively preserving their physical condition and allowing them to live out their old age with dignity. In fact, more were sold for the latter purpose than the former.
For mortals, however, the pill's potency was far too intense. Furthermore, as a product of the Monastery of Creation, it was inevitably expensive—ordinary scions of noble clans could scarcely afford it, let alone commoners. It had to be overhauled.
After Wei Yuan departed, Xu Henshui went into secluded meditation on the spot to revise the formula. He brought out pharmacopeias and searched through them entry by entry, stripping out all the rare and precious medicinal herbs in the recipe and replacing them exclusively with abundant, inexpensive substitutes. In the end, his new formula successfully slashed the ingredient cost to a mere twenty percent of the original.
After refining a trial furnace, Xu Henshui discovered that the pills produced by the new formula were still excessively potent. A cultivator at Great Completion of Body Casting would be severely injured if not killed outright by taking one. But having spent considerable time in Qingming, Xu Henshui had long developed an unconstrained, unconventional way of thinking. He promptly dissolved the pill in water, ladled out a bowl, took a sip, and only then felt it was about right.
Thus, Xu Henshui simply transformed the Body Nourishing Pill into Body Nourishing Soup; a single pill could be diluted into a hundred servings of soup.
Next came the technical details. Xu Henshui gathered the alchemists to study what sort of water to use for dissolving the pills and what kind of bottles would be best for packaging. Right in the midst of their heated discussions, an authoritative voice suddenly rang out behind them: "What are you doing here? Why has everyone stopped refining pills?"
Xu Henshui turned around to find Zhidan Sanren standing behind them, having arrived unnoticed and currently watching them stir the medicinal water with a stern expression.
Xu Henshui explained the intended purpose of his modified Body Nourishing Pill. Zhidan Sanren picked up the formula, cast a glance over it, and his expression instantly darkened. Displeased, he remarked, "This formula was originally balanced and harmonious—at the very least, it adhered to the doctrine of the mean. Modified by you, it has become crude and primitive. You turned fine grain into pig slop! How do you intend to sell such swill?"
Zhidan Sanren possessed peerless cultivation, so Xu Henshui replied respectfully, "This is for internal use within Qingming. The current cost is one Qingyuan per pill, and this disciple intends to sell them for merely two Qingyuan."
Zhidan Sanren grew even more displeased, his voice sinking as he said, "Selling them for only two yuan? You are, after all, a candidate for the next monastery master, the dignified inheritor of an immortal idol lineage! If word got out that your pills only double in value, what sort of disgrace would that be? It is bad enough that you brew pig slop for Qingming's sake, but how can the pill value increase by only a single fold? Could any random disciple in our monastery fail to produce a fourfold return? How have you become inferior to even an outer disciple?"
Xu Henshui smiled wryly and said, "Patriarch Zhidan, the Body Nourishing Pill has widespread utility and will be consumed in colossal quantities. Although the value of each pill only doubles, the sheer volume will be immense. It hardly brings shame upon the Monastery of Creation."
Zhidan Sanren gave a heavy snort. "Earn a lot? Can it earn more than the Moonlight Soul Nourishing Pill? Can it earn more than the Mystic Origin Longevity-Extending Pill? Wouldn't any random Scenery Command spirit pill be worth thousands or tens of thousands of your Body Nourishing Pills? An immortal pill would be worth a hundred or two hundred thousand of them! Henshui, an alchemist's craft is hard-won and must not be sold cheaply. Since when did products bearing the name of our Monastery of Creation become so worthless?"
Xu Henshui sighed. "I truly am not selling it cheaply; it simply cannot be priced any higher. Had I not needed to build three brand-new alchemical workshops, I wouldn't have priced it even this high."
Seeing that Xu Henshui refused to heed his advice, Zhidan Sanren finally lost his temper and snapped, "You are ruining the Monastery of Creation's reputation! I forbid you from making it!"
Xu Henshui was gentle on the outside but unyielding within. In a soft, mild tone, he said, "I belong to Patriarch Danming's lineage. If Patriarch Zhidan wishes to bar me from refining pills, you would need to inform Monastery Master Danming first. That is the first point. The second point is, when speaking of generating pill value, earning ten yuan from one pill is no different from earning one yuan each from ten pills. If twenty pills are sold, the total pill value is clearly higher, which brings greater prestige to our Monastery of Creation. Would the Patriarch not agree?"
Zhidan Sanren snorted, "Heresy and fallacies! Fine, even if, as you say, the consumption is large, just how large can it possibly be? Isn't any random immortal pill worth hundreds of thousands of Qingyuan?"
Xu Henshui said, "Since the Patriarch puts it that way, I shall boldly venture a wager with you. What if the total pill value of my Body Nourishing Pills ranks among the top three in all the pills you have refined in your lifetime?"
Zhidan Sanren sneered, "Wouldn't that be taking advantage of a junior like you? How about this: as long as its value makes it into my top ten, I will admit my fault!"
Xu Henshui replied, "There is no need to admit fault. It is just that this disciple has recently developed a new pill known as the Foundation Establishment Pill. If the Patriarch loses, you need only help me refine and improve its formula."
Zhidan Sanren waved his broad sleeve dismissively. "A trivial matter! I shall stay right here for the coming month and see just how many you can sell!"
Xu Henshui knew that Zhidan Sanren was extraordinarily protective of his own prestige and the monastery's reputation. If he failed to convince him beyond all doubt, this hurdle would prove insurmountable.
He then summoned a disciple and instructed, "Go ask the Realm Lord how many Body Nourishing Pills he wishes to order."
The disciple took the order and left, directly locating the Dao Foundation martial cultivator posted by Wei Yuan at the alchemical monastery to relay Xu Henshui's inquiry.
A moment later, Wei Yuan, who was already in the State of Ji, received word. Passing the message to Zhang Sheng, he said, "It seems Uncle Xu is being given a hard time by a senior from the Monastery of Creation."
After reading it, Zhang Sheng remarked, "So Zhidan Sanren has arrived; no wonder. I've heard this patriarch cherishes his feathers above all else, constantly fretting that the Monastery of Creation's reputation might be tarnished. When less money is made—well, they are accustomed to calling it 'pill value'—he feels the monastery's name has suffered."
Wei Yuan flicked the message slip and smiled. "Shall we vex Patriarch Zhidan's Dao heart a little? To tell the truth, I have had a poor impression of the Monastery of Creation since childhood."
Zhang Sheng was instantly reminded of the past, when she had spent half a month chopping and mincing in the Hall of Heavenly Craft, only for all her hard-earned money to vanish in a single visit to the Monastery of Creation, yielding a mere handful of pills. She too let out a snort and said, "I don't think much of the Monastery of Creation either!"
Wei Yuan chuckled. "Then it's settled. The Body Nourishing Pill is vital to Qingming's master plan for the coming century, so we cannot afford to be stingy. I plan to purchase the entire lot in Qingming's name and distribute them as wages, salaries, and basic welfare benefits. That way, we can ensure every single household receives a basic quota of Body Nourishing Pills. What do you think?"
Zhang Sheng replied, "Your capability in these matters has long surpassed mine as your master, so I will take the chance to be lazy. You decide."
"You may be lazy, but I want a reward."
Helpless, Zhang Sheng could only lean over and lightly touch her cheek against Wei Yuan's.
Pacing back and forth, Wei Yuan mused aloud, "The Monastery of Creation's pricing is not an isolated case, but the universal practice among all alchemists in the world today. This system passed down from master to disciple—valuing rarity over quantity—yields few pills and is profoundly detrimental to fostering human cultivators. Today, I will start with the Body Nourishing Pill and let them experience the might of the words 'Qingming Procurement'! Once we pull the first brick from the Monastery of Creation's pricing structure, it won't be long before the entire edifice collapses. Then, being in a favored position, Qingming—which also stems from the Palace of Grand Beginning—can naturally put the monastery's alchemists to work for us."
Zhang Sheng nodded. "Be careful that Patriarch Danming doesn't give you a thrashing."
Wei Yuan was entirely unconcerned. "What is there to fear? We have Patriarch Xuanyue! Isn't a patriarch meant to be used for moments like this?"
"That is true enough."
Wei Yuan then drafted the procurement requisition, generated an administrative decree through the Splendor of the Many Realms, and had it dispatched to the alchemical workshop.
Inside the workshop, Zhidan Sanren sat upright sipping tea while dispensing guidance on the Dao of alchemy to the assembled alchemists. Seated beside him, Xu Henshui listened attentively, gleaning great insights as well.
Just then, a disciple hurried over and presented the document. "The Realm Lord's procurement decree has arrived."
Xu Henshui glanced at Patriarch Zhidan and smiled faintly. "The outcome of our wager will be decided shortly."
Yet his hands trembled ever so slightly; in truth, he was nervous as well. Unfolding the decree before Patriarch Zhidan, Xu Henshui took a single glance, and his breath caught in his throat!
Steadying his nerves, he handed the decree to Zhidan Sanren. Giving a snort, Zhidan Sanren took the document and looked at it, only to feel his eyes blur as though the numbers were doubling before him.
The decree was succinct, bearing Wei Yuan's signature style: "...Procure Body Nourishing Pills: precisely 50,000,000 pills."
Even with cultivation nearing the perfection of Scenery Command, Zhidan Sanren had to count the digits several times before confirming that this procurement was neither five hundred thousand nor five million, but fifty million pills—a total of one hundred million Qingyuan.
At the current exchange rate between Qingyuan and immortal silver, the pill value generated by this single order amounted to seventy-five million taels! With a value like that, never mind breaking into the top ten; it exceeded the combined total of the top ten pill values of Zhidan Sanren's entire life.
Once the pleasant shock passed, Xu Henshui suddenly realized a fatal problem. Looking at Patriarch Zhidan, he asked, "How are we going to refine fifty million pills?"
Zhidan Sanren said in a deep voice, "The ancestral methods are clearly useless here! To build anew, the old must be torn down; we shall start from scratch and develop a new method! I won't be leaving for the next few months—not until I help you work out a refining method!"
Zhidan Sanren's attitude had undergone a total reversal, and the Xu Henshui before him now appeared entirely different. Previously, Xu Henshui's talent and track record had been merely acceptable, giving him only a slight, indistinct edge over the other candidates for monastery master.
Now, things were completely different. By virtue of the pill value from this single Body Nourishing Pill alone, Xu Henshui could string up and thoroughly outclass all the younger generation of alchemists in the Monastery of Creation combined. As long as he fulfilled this order, he would be the undisputed second-in-line candidate for the next monastery master!
The first candidate had always been Wei Yuan, and that had never changed.
Moreover, through this unprecedented procurement order, Zhidan Sanren realized the terrifying extent of Qingming's financial might. Just when had Qingming grown into such a colossal behemoth?
Chapter 1024