The Alchemist God Chapter 5

“Wow 3 Gold Yin coins!” Said Chu Yao, her beautiful eyes sparkling, god knows how long it had been since she last saw Gold Yin coins!

“Gold Yin coins?” Ling Mu Yu was stunned.

The concept of money was still vague to Ling Mu Yu, after all he had just arrived in this world.

Eagle Eye sneered and said: “Incision Medicine normally sells for a Silver Yin coin a bottle at the market; your product is extremely good so I’ll give you 10 times the normal price. Do you want it or not?

“Ah Yu, this is a lot of money. You’ve made in 3 days what would have taken us 3 months to make. Tonight we can buy a chicken and make stew,” whispered Chu Yao.

Bai Ling Medicine Shop was not doing well from a sales point of view and so it was rather hard to get any fresh food for them these days. Usually every meal consisted of some steamed buns and rice gruel. So it didn’t take much prodding for Lin Mu Yu to accept the 3 Gold Yin coins from Eagle Eye’s hand. ”Thank you heroes’ for your patronage!” said Lin Mu Yu smiling.

”Hero?”

Eagle Eye could not help but smile. Carrying an Axe stained with dried blood, he said: “I’m no hero. I just kill for money. I’m a Mercenary, nothing more.”

Whilst saying that, he pointed his Axe at Ling Mu Yu’s shoulder. “Do you know how I lost my right eye? This eagle took it out. After that, I caught this beast but I didn’t kill it. Instead, I tamed it so that it now kills for me. Boy, I tell you, there are no heroes in this world, only these three things: money, women, and killing!”

Ling Mu did not bother listening to Eagle Eye’s brainwashing; he only stared at the Gold Yin Coins and happily sat down.

……

“Boss, let’s go!” Urged several mercenaries behind Eagle Eye.

Eagle Eye nodded. Looking at Ling Mu Yu, he put his tattered boot on the table and asked: “Boy, I ask you, are these bottles of Incision Medicine really personally refined by you?”

“Yes.” Answered Ling Mu Yu.

“Really?”

Eagle Eye suddenly took up his Axe and sliced down towards Ling Mu Yu’s neck. With the amount of strength he displayed in that move, Eagle Eye looked like some sort of crazed General. All of a sudden, Ling Mu Yu felt the skin of his neck burning, yet he did not move an inch. Eagle eye’s Axe had chopped an approaching fly and stopped right before Ling Mu Yu’s neck. Looking at at Ling Mu Yu who kept his calm, he could not help but be impressed and said: ”Boy …  You have good character, it has been many years since I have last seen someone like you!”

Ling Mu Yu seemed calm but he was truly terrified, so much so that he couldn’t even take a single step. The attack had simply been too fast and even after the Axe had been taken away he still couldn’t move, his legs weren’t responding at all.

“Well ……”

”Boy, I need 10 bottles of Stone Skin and 20 bottles of Paralysis Medicine, but they must be of grade 2 or better. If you can do the refining, I will reward you generously. Do you dare accept?”

Lin Mu Yu was dumbfounded. Both of these were level 4 medicines, which he had never made before. Although he wasn’t sure whether he could make them he nevertheless agreed, “It’s possible but I will need 20% as a down payment.”

”Deal!”

Eagle Eye, carrying his Axe, smiled said: “According to the current market price, the Paralysis bottles go for 10 Silver Yin coins each. So for the 10 bottles I will pay 5 times the market price: 5 Gold Yin Coins total. As for the stone skin bottles, at market price, should sell for a total of 20 Gold Yin Coins. The grand total of what I owe should be 25 Gold Yin Coins. I’ll give you a 20% down payment, so take these 5 Gold Yin Coins. Lastly, tell me your name and the name of the Pharmacy you are from.”

”Ling Mu Yu from the Bai Ling Medicine Shop.”

”Oh, I’ve never heard of that pharmacy. Well, it doesn’t matter. Bring those bottles of medicine tomorrow and make sure they get to me.”

“Got it.”

Eagle Eye looked down at Ling Mu Yu, a grin showing on his face, “If by the same time tomorrow I do not get the 30 bottles of medicines, I will unscrew your head. And whatever I, Eagle Eye, say, I will do.”

Ling Mu Yu nodded gently, “I know.”

Ling Mu Yu did not like the thought of his head being unscrewed.

Ed: Nope nope nope. Most definitely not!

……..

Watching Eagle Eye and his mercenaries leave, Li Qin from Shen Yu Medicine Hall walked over and sneered at Ling Mu Yu: ”Seems like you brats have a death wish! Don’t you know how many people he’s killed already? You already took Eagle Eye’s gold and unless you are a Medicine King, there is no way you can refine 2 other medicines to Tier 1; be obedient and just die tomorrow!

The group of young apprentices behind Li qin started to laugh and joke about Bai Ling Medicine Shop.

Ling Mu Yu didn’t say much, neither did he stay to sell the remaining Incision Medicine. Instead, he simply said: “Chu Yao Jie, let’s go and gather the ingredients needed now since it’s near closing time.”

Wang Ying and Luo Kai were still stunned and did not recover from the shock until Chu Yao and Ling Mu Yu had disappeared into the alley .

But Lin Mu Yu did not head back. Instead, he leisurely brought Chu Yao along with him to a nearby herb shop. Unlike the calm Lin Mu Yu, Chu Yao became anxious and said: “Ah Yu, in the end I still don’t know what hidden talents you possess but those two Tier 1 medicines, Paralysis and Stone Skin, aren’t easy to make and failure will not only harm you but also the Bai Ling Medicine Shop. Eagle Eye is nothing but a brutal mercenary!”

“Chu Yao Jie, help me hold onto the medicine box!”

Lin Mu Yu did not respond to Chu Yao’s concerns. Passing the medicine box to her, he took 10 Gold Yin coins and walked into the herb store. Upon seeing the boy and the girl enter, the boss of the herb store walked to the front counter and asked: “Do you want to buy anything?”

“Boss, a pound of Magic Snake Flower.”

“Hmm? Magic Snake Flower?” The boss stared blankly at the young man. “That’s a level 4 herb, what do you want to do with it?”

“I’m buying on behalf of my teacher.”

“Ohh, so that’s the case….”

Chu Yao, who was standing in the corner, secretly admired Lin Mu Yu’s cleverness. Being too provocative might not have been a good thing since expert alchemists with the ability to refine level 4 herbs were far and few between, and the both of them seemed too young to be at such a level.

……

A pound of Magic Snake Flower cost 1 Gold Yin Coin.

Lin Mu Yu continued walking further into the herb store and looked around at the many herbs. His eyes landed on a huge black colored tree that was roughly 2 meters in height and filled with thorns near the top of its trunk.

“You recognize that tree?” the boss asked, staring at the two of them.

Lin Mu Yu raised the corner of his mouth and replied: “A 121 year old Black Steel Tree.”

“What?” the boss was shocked, staring at Lin Mu Yu with his mouth gaping open “You…. knowing the name is understandable, but how could you also figure out the age of the tree?”

Lin Mu Yu pointed towards the thorns on the Black Steel Tree and said: “Black Steel Trees grow a new thorn every year. This tree has a total of 121 thorns, so it’s a 121 year old Black Steel Tree, right?”

The boss laughed: “Indeed that’s the case! But you wouldn’t be able to afford this tree. I’ve already spent quite a hefty sum obtaining this from the mountain.”

“I’ll buy it for 7 Gold Yin Gold Coins.” Lin Mu Yu Said.

The boss was dumbfounded again, this youngster in front of him actually had 7 Yin Gold Coin. Seeing the poor manner in which he was dressed, being able to fork out 7 Yin Copper Coins would already be considered quite a feat.

“What? Are you not selling it?” Lin Mu Yu laughed: “I know Black Steel Trees only grow on cliffs and its body is harder than steel. Their roots penetrate deep into the rocks to absorb rain water and nutrients to grow. And to uproot a Black Steel Tree, one must also remove the surrounding rocks of the cliff. Even with all that, this Black Steel Tree can be sold for 7 Yin Gold Coin at most.”

The boss’ eyes narrowed in interest at the youth. “A Black Steel Tree’s body is comparable to metal and is even more sturdy than the Iron Pear Flower. Any alchemist below the level of Alchemist Sheng would not be able to extract the essence. Young man, whose disciple are you to have the need to buy this Black Steel Tree?”

“This does not concern you, are you selling it or not?”

“Of course I’m selling, if there’s business how could I not!”

The boss sold the Black Steel Tree without a second thought. The Black Steel Tree is a level 4 herb and one of the main ingredients for Stone Skin. Lin Mu Yi did not know how that youngster named Li Qin was able to refine the essence of the Black Steel Tree. However, he was certain the youngster definitely lacked the ability to do so on his own, therefore it should have been done with the assistance from an expert within his family.

Obtaining the essence from a Black Steel Tree would be almost ten times more difficult than from a Steel Tipped flower. A 121 year old black steel tree would have 121 layers of iron shell which must be completely removed before reaching the essence and to achieve that would require the use of Sublimation Hand.

After that he bought a bunch of black colored fungus, also a level 4 herb, known as Swallow’s Ear which was another key ingredient for Stone Skin medicine.

Chu Yao felt a tinge of heartache. Lin Mu Yu had nearly spent all of the 10 Gold Yin Coins in the blink of an eye. However, she did not stop him as she could instinctively feel that Lin Mu Yu was up to something big.

……

After returning to Bai Ling Medicine Shop, Lin Mu Yu tied the Black Steel Tree onto a wooden shelf. He stood in front of the sturdy tree and opened his hands. On his palms was the distinct mark of the Sublimation Hands: a green aura.

To strip the 121 layers of Black Steel Tree was easier said than done. However, there was no alternative since he knew that Stone Skin Medicine better than Tier 2 can only be made with Black Steel Trees that are over 100 years of age, otherwise the product is doomed to fail. That youngster Li Qin’s Stone Skin Medicine is only of 9th grade, so the Black Steel Tree that he used was only a few years old.

……

Working until evening, only 47 out of the 121 layers on the Black Steel Tree had been removed. Sweat profusely ran down Lin Mu Yu’s forehead. In fact, his whole body was already drenched in sweat. He had constantly released his aura till the point where he felt like collapsing from sheer exhaustion but he could not afford to stop. The Sublimation Hand’s ‘peeling’ process was really just expanding the fine grains of the Black Steel Tree’s trunk and would not literally peel the layers off. If Lin Mu Yu had paused for even a moment, the process would certainly fail.

Knock Knock!

From the door came Chu Yao’s voice: “Ah Yu, I brought you some food!”

A faint scent of fragrance penetrated his nose. Tonight’s dinner was chicken mushroom stew, but Lin Mu Yu could not halt the peeling process of the 121 layers of Black Steel Tree. He simply smiled and replied: “Chu Yao Jie, you can eat first. I need to finish this before I can eat.”

“Then I’ll wait for you!”

Chu Yao stood stubbornly in a corner and just like that, she accompanied Lin Mu Yu.

……

Much later in the night, the last layer of the Black Steel Tree was finally removed. From the tree’s body appeared small fine lines that released faint light from it. Despite being about to collapse from utter exhaustion, Lin Mu Yu instead took a heavy breath and increased the strength of his Sublimation Hands. The whole Black Steel Tree began trembling and multiple miniscule beads of essence started to fly out from it.

“Ah? They are flying away, what now?” Chu Yao looked at the sky, both excited and anxious.

Lin Mu Yu smiled slightly. “It’s fine, they won’t fly away.”

As he spoke, he uncovered a nearby bucket filled to the brim with Swallow’s Ear which was soaking in water. The moment he did so, the cloud of Black Steel Tree essence in the room was immediately drawn towards the bucket and entered the Swallow’s Ear!

This was the secret to creating Stone Skin Medicine. Swallow Fungus, once soaked, would suck the essences of the Black Steel Tree towards it, as Black Steel Tree’s essence and Swallow Fungus were already originally attracted to each other.

……

“Success!”

Lin Mu Yu smiled and said: “Chu Yao Jie, take this Swallow’s Ear and grind it to powder, afterwards use some water to dissolve it and it will become Stone Skin Medicine!”

“Okay!”

Chu Yao was unable to hold her excitement, as though she herself was the one who had made the Stone Skin Medicine.

Chapter end