Chapter 88: The Rise of the Holy Flame Alchemist
Without examining things too closely, Su Xiao sheathed the long blade in his hand and continued the trading at the Empty Seat Banquet.
The Blade Demon brought out a large amount of Black Maple Tree yield. In the past, these Black Maple Tree yields would have been quickly exchanged for various resources, but not this time. White Bull, Tuanzhang, the Undying Elder, and the Holy Maiden Seat were all waiting for Su Xiao to also produce Black Maple Tree yield.
The Black Maple Tree yield Su Xiao brought out couldn't yet be measured by the kilogram; the quantity was still too small, totaling 4000 grams. The Holy Maiden Seat was about to make a bid.
"500 Soul Crystals, in exchange for 2000 grams."
Tuanzhang made an offer. Strangely, he didn't offer Soul Crystal Cores.
"No Soul Crystal Cores?"
"There's a 'bottomless pit' on my end, it 'eats' too much. The few I sent to you last time were snatched from it by force."
Tuanzhang not only needed World Cores and Space-Time Power but also a massive amount of Soul Crystal Cores. As for the specifics, Su Xiao wouldn't ask, and even if he did, Tuanzhang wouldn't say.
Although there were no Soul Crystal Cores, Soul Crystals were also a resource Su Xiao urgently needed. With his dual Grandmaster abilities developing, without the income channel of the Starry Sky Seat, Su Xiao would have long been unable to sustain it.
"Deal."
Su Xiao divided half of the Black Maple Tree yield. The Holy Maiden Seat had wanted to bid earlier but was held back. After Su Xiao and Tuanzhang completed the transaction, the Holy Maiden Seat tried to speak again but was beaten to it by White Bull.
"Using the term from your Paradise, this thing is called a Soul Crystal Core. I'll offer three of these, plus this item."
White Bull took out three fist-sized Soul Crystal Cores and a key.
This key bore a φ mark. It was actually a World Key, usable only by Contractors/Hunters.
"This is an item from your Paradise. I obtained it by chance. It's said to be quite valuable and should be useful to you."
White Bull pushed the key across the table, and it slid to Su Xiao's front.
Upon touching the key, Su Xiao felt a slight surprise. This wasn't a key to a specific world but was used before entering a world. After use, it allowed entry into a mission world rich in resources.
While Su Xiao was hesitating, the Undying Elder also made an offer. He brought out Divine Bones, or more precisely, a pile of Divine Bones.
Seeing this small pile of Divine Bones, Su Xiao was somewhat tempted. Upon closer inspection, he found that the Divine Bones the Undying Elder produced were all incomplete. Such Divine Bones weren't without value. Under normal circumstances, three Divine Bones could be synthesized into a Divine Miracle. The ones the Undying Elder brought out might require ten, or even over a dozen, to synthesize a Divine Miracle.
Weighing his options for a moment, Su Xiao decided to trade with White Bull. With three Soul Crystal Cores, he could raise his Blade Grandmaster ability to Lv.60. This was a major threshold; once broken through, his strength would inevitably increase by another notch.
The remaining 2000 grams of Black Maple Tree yield went to White Bull. Within the Starry Sky Seat, no items had fixed prices; they were priced according to need. For instance, Tuanzhang, White Bull, the Undying Elder, and others would not trade high-risk dangerous items with Su Xiao.
Su Xiao possessed the Black Maple Tree and was also a Grandmaster Alchemist. If he died, it would be a loss for all other members of the Starry Sky Seat.
"Why, why is this? Three times now, and I haven't gotten even a tiny bit of Black Maple Tree yield."
The Holy Maiden Seat looked like a dried-up fish, as if life had lost all its luster. But she immediately thought that the Blade Demon had also brought Black Maple Tree yield this time. The Black Maple Tree yield from the Black Abyss was only slightly inferior to that produced by Arcane Eternal Star and was definitely much better than that from the Abyssal Dragon Depths. The Black Maple Tree yield from the Black Abyss was exorbitantly priced in the outside world.
Bang.
The Holy Maiden Seat slammed a wooden box onto the table, her eyes fixed on the Blade Demon.
"Please, I haven't brought Black Maple Tree yield back to my family for a long time. Those old immortals at home have been coming to me frequently lately."
"..."
The Blade Demon remained silent. After taking the wooden box pushed over by the Holy Maiden Seat, he gave her nearly a third of the Black Maple Tree yield on the table in front of him—a quantity of over ten kilograms.
The Holy Maiden Seat was completely stunned. After coming to her senses, she quickly stored away the Black Maple Tree yield she had obtained.
Seeing this, the Undying Elder placed his hand on the pile of Divine Bones in front of him. The Blade Demon raised his hand again and divided about ten kilograms of Black Maple Tree yield, and the two completed the transaction.
White Bull and Tuanzhang both seemed interested. After White Bull finished consuming the Black Maple Tree yield he had obtained from Su Xiao, he exchanged for about five kilograms from the Blade Demon. He habitually picked up a branch and put it in his mouth to chew.
The more White Bull chewed, the stranger his expression became. He had never eaten the Black Maple Tree branches provided by Su Xiao before, so there was no comparison. Now, he felt a strange taste in his mouth, almost dizzying. He couldn't spit it out either, as the Blade Demon was watching.
Gulp.
White Bull swallowed the Black Maple Tree branch in his mouth. Whether it was an illusion or not, he felt the thing was a bit scratchy on his throat.
This was actually a kind of balance. Su Xiao provided a small quantity of ultra-high-quality Black Maple Tree yield, while the Blade Demon provided a large quantity of medium-to-high-quality Black Maple Tree yield. For the other members of the Starry Sky Seat, this was a good thing.
After the Holy Maiden Seat, White Bull, and the others traded a few more items, the trading session ended.
"Bai Ye, can you master this kind of alchemical blueprint?"
Tuanzhang produced a blueprint. It was a stabilization device, designed to prevent spatial repulsion phenomena.
Su Xiao took the blueprint and examined it, finding that the device wasn't difficult to manufacture; it just required the inscription of many alchemical arrays.
"It's not a particularly complex structure. Just ensure that space isn't interfered with by the 'Iswick Reaction.' This uses the 'Shi-style Array' and..."
Su Xiao gave a brief explanation. The other members of the Starry Sky Seat listened as if to a 'book from heaven' and remained silent, completely unable to understand.
Tuanzhang now had a measure of Su Xiao's alchemy level. He had previously gone to see the Tree Sage and presented this alchemical blueprint. The Tree Sage looked as if he were constipated, struggling for a long time before finally saying he was powerless.
"And the cost?"
"You provide the materials. The first collaboration is free."
"The first collaboration, huh."
Tuanzhang smiled and said no more. In fact, he had once asked Su Xiao to prepare a potion. Regarding the compensation for that occasion, he intended to pay but had never decided what to give. He had many precious items, but these items were meaningless to Su Xiao at his current stage. What was good was something that could immediately, or in the near future, enhance himself. The high-rank missions in Reincarnation Paradise were fraught with danger; even high-rank Hunters were not immune to the risk of death.
"And me! I'm also a first-time collaborator!"
The Holy Maiden Seat produced a formula.
"You are not a first-time collaborator."
"I am!"
"Last time, I helped you prepare the Holy Flame Baptism."
"You charged me last time! The Supreme Blade you just received was the payment! You can't treat me like this!"
The Holy Maiden Seat grabbed Su Xiao's clothes and shook them back and forth. Outside, she had to maintain the dignity of a powerhouse, but inside the Starry Sky Seat, she didn't care. The Starry Sky Seat's mascot wasn't called that for nothing. The greatest advantage of being a mascot was that no matter what she did, it wasn't embarrassing. Once, she even bit the Blade Demon. What wouldn't she do?
Su Xiao turned sideways, vaguely feeling that the Holy Maiden Seat in the adjacent seat might pounce and bite him at any moment. Bubu Wang looked up at the Holy Maiden Seat, thinking, "I may be a dog, but you are definitely not human."
Just as the Holy Maiden Seat was about to throw a tantrum and pounce to hug Su Xiao, Su Xiao decided to give her one free service. He actually needed this potion formula as well.
"Formula, materials."
White Bull took out a metal box containing a formula and three sets of materials. Su Xiao opened it, examined it, and nodded to White Bull.
White Bull felt a great weight lift from his heart. Even a powerhouse like him felt this way, showing how important this potion was to him. The potion he needed was for recovering permanent physical damage. Back when he fought the Abyssal Dragon, not only was White Bull himself severely injured, but after he was gravely wounded, his sister came to reinforce him and was also injured by the Abyssal Dragon.
The most terrifying aspect of the Abyssal Dragon was that the injuries it inflicted were extremely troublesome. Many powerhouses died after fighting it.
In that battle back then, White Bull paid a price, and so did the Abyssal Dragon. To this day, it was still recovering at the bottom of the Abyssal Dragon Depths.
White Bull knew in his heart that his hidden ailment was almost impossible to recover from, even if Su Xiao was a Grandmaster Alchemist. And indeed, that was the case. Su Xiao had no way to treat White Bull's injuries, even if his alchemy level were to increase further. White Bull's injuries had been suppressed for too long.
Unless White Bull found some kind of Curio, in which case, combined with Su Xiao's proficiency in Alchemy, it might be possible to prepare a potion that could restore White Bull's injuries.
As for treating White Bull through surgery or similar methods, it was fundamentally impossible. White Bull's body was incredibly powerful. Without his own suppression and the cooperation of his Life Source, his injuries would claim his life in a short time.
White Bull's sister wasn't too severely injured back then. As long as a sufficiently rare potion was prepared, she could recover.
Following White Bull, the Undying Elder also produced a formula and several very bizarre materials.
"Is this... a potion formula?"
Su Xiao examined the formula in his hand. He understood it but knew the success rate of preparing it was very low. Moreover, he felt that this thing wasn't really a potion. The Life Force content was too exaggerated. The most likely outcome of drinking it was being burst apart by the violent Life Force. Considering it was for the Undying Elder to consume, it might be a great tonic.
"At most a 20% success rate. Don't get your hopes up too high."
Su Xiao put away both the formula and the materials. This harvest was considerable—three high-rank alchemical formulas, all extremely rare.
Only the Blade Demon had no request for potion preparation. This was normal. The Blade Demon wouldn't collect formulas, so there was no question of commissioning potion preparation. Besides, his previous encounters with Su Xiao hadn't been very pleasant.
The Empty Seat Banquet was essentially over. The Blade Demon was the first to stand up and leave, followed by Tuanzhang and the Undying Elder. Just as White Bull was about to move, Su Xiao shifted his gaze.
"Meow."
Beini emerged from inside the Holy Maiden Seat's clothes, her body carrying a lingering fragrance as she jumped onto the stone table.
"Meow, meow meow meow, meow meow..."
"This business... not bad."
White Bull's eyes grew brighter and brighter. As the King of Ten Thousand Beasts, he could naturally understand what Beini was saying. Beini was discussing with White Bull matters concerning the Holy Flame Alchemist, as well as potion materials, preparation, transportation, and sales.
Su Xiao planned to cooperate with White Bull, selling potions in the Void under the identity of the Holy Flame Alchemist, to fully establish the Holy Flame Alchemist's reputation.
"What are you two doing?"
The Holy Maiden Seat was full of question marks but didn't delve deeper. She floated up and left the Starry Sky Seat. This time, she returned with a full load, having obtained eleven kilograms of Black Maple Tree yield. The old antiques in her family would be very pleased.
Half an hour later, Beini and White Bull reached an agreement. The remaining matters would be handled by White Bull's subordinates. As the underground Black Emperor of the Void, White Bull had many channels. Once he mobilized these channels, within no more than half a month, the name Holy Flame Alchemist would spread across most of the Void.
At that time, Su Xiao would prepare a small quantity of potions specifically for Spellcasters. It had to be a small quantity; he wouldn't overly aid the enemy. The small quantity was the bait.
Under these circumstances, could Arcane Eternal Star still hold back? With the appearance of a Grandmaster Alchemist far surpassing the Tree Sage, Arcane Eternal Star would inevitably invite Su Xiao to visit Arcane Eternal Star as a guest.
That would be very interesting. Numerous Spellcasters welcoming a Law Destroyer to Arcane Eternal Star—what kind of scene would that be? Absolutely unprecedented. If Su Xiao wanted, he could even specifically request Mage Sage Seraphilia to give him a tour of Arcane Eternal Star.