Reaching the pinnacle from Doupo

Chapter 592 Negotiation and Admonition

"You mean... Bone Spirit Cold Flame?" After a moment's thought, Yao Lao immediately realized and confirmed in a deep voice.

"Of course it's the Bone Spirit Cold Flame," Lin Yuan said calmly, picking up his teacup.

"No, no, absolutely not!" Upon hearing this, the old apothecary waved his hand in refusal almost without hesitation, saying, "The Bone Spirit Cold Flame has accompanied me for many years; it is my comrade-in-arms, my good helper in alchemy and battle..."

"I have to pay more?" Lin Yuan took a sip of his tea, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes. "Is this what you mean, senior?"

"Add...add more money?!"

Hearing Lin Yuan's teasing words, Yao Lao was slightly taken aback.

After a moment, he came to his senses and said with a wry smile, "What are you thinking? What I mean is that the Bone Spirit Cold Flame is not for sale."

"That's hard to say," Lin Yuan said, unconcerned about Yao Lao's refusal. "In this world, apart from the bonds between people—an elusive thing—nothing is untradeable. Ultimately, it comes down to whether the price is right."

"Before you refuse, senior, why not listen to my understanding of you, the situation of the Four Directions Pavilion, and... the price I'm offering!"

After speaking, he finished the tea in his cup, gently put the cup down, and looked intently at the old doctor with a meaningful smile on his face.

"Is it only loyalty and friendship that cannot be traded?"

With a soft murmur, the old apothecary's gaze softened slightly, and he pondered, "In that case, let me hear the insightful opinion of the 'Number One Prodigy of the Continent'!"

Whether or not a transaction takes place, the opinions of the person in front of you are always worth listening to.

"Very good!" Lin Yuan nodded, then his expression turned slightly serious. He said, "In my opinion, although the Four Directions Pavilion and you, senior, are currently enjoying great success, they are also fraught with danger and may capsize at any time... and the Strange Fire is one of the reasons."

"Due to the emergence of the secret method for synthesizing different types of fire, the value of natural different types of fire has increased significantly compared to before."

"Sifang Pavilion has three daughters; it's a bit conspicuous, isn't it?"

"You should know," he paused briefly, then released the information he had obtained, "that in recent years, the Medicine and Flame clans have been searching for the Strange Flame, but their results have been rather meager..."

"The two clans went to great lengths, but each only managed to collect two different flames."

"The Medicine Clan collected the Turtle Spirit Earth Fire and the Yin-Yang Twin Flames; the Flame Clan collected the Nine Dragons Thunderfire and the Xuanhuang Flame."

"The Medicine Clan, a prestigious ancient clan and a lineage of alchemists, only possesses three different flames. In contrast, the Four Directions Pavilion also has three different flames: Bone Spirit Cold Flame, Wind Fury Dragon Flame, and Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame, all of which are types that neither the Medicine Clan nor the Flame Clan possesses."

"What does this mean? I don't think you haven't thought about it... have you?"

At this point, he narrowed his eyes slightly, staring intently at the old man sitting opposite him, his eyes flashing with a stern light.

Upon hearing this, Elder Yao gave Lin Yuan a deep look and said calmly, "You mean that the Yan Clan and the Yao Clan might attack the Four Directions Pavilion for the sake of the Strange Flame?"

His expression remained calm, but his heart sank.

As Lin Yuan said, he had considered this matter, but he had been deliberately ignoring it, clinging to a侥幸心理 (a gambler's mentality).

Lin Yuan shrugged, his voice carrying a cruel undertone, revealing the cold reality: "Senior can't rule out that possibility, can he?!"

"To those two clans, the Four Directions Pavilion, with only one Dou Sheng but three different flames, is no different from a child holding gold in a bustling marketplace."

"Their strength is something that neither you nor the Four Directions Pavilion can withstand."

"The two clans could fuel the Soul Palace's attack on the Four Directions Pavilion and ultimately seize the three different flames. Alternatively, they might simply use the Soul Palace's name to launch a direct attack, but if that happens, the Four Directions Pavilion will inevitably face annihilation."

"With the development of the Four Directions Pavilion, the Soul Hall's next move, the grudges between the seniors and the Xiao Clan and the Soul Hall... many factors are intertwined, and the Four Directions Pavilion and the Soul Hall will inevitably clash sooner or later."

"In other words, if things continue as they are, the day when you face the Soul Palace is not far off."

"At the latest, once Brother Xiao enters the Heavenly Tomb and obtains the Xiao Clan's inheritance, the Soul Palace will become alert and regard the Four Directions Pavilion as a thorn in their side, targeting you with all their might."

"Once the war begins, it will be the best time to fish in troubled waters."

"What's worse is that the Medicine Clan and the Flame Clan might compete to make a move to prevent the three strange flames from falling into each other's hands... As time goes on, natural strange flames will become increasingly difficult to find, and their willingness to make a move will also increase."

"In any case, it is not a wise move to gamble one's safety on the character and integrity of someone one does not know well."

"Of course, if you, senior, are willing to give up the Four Directions Pavilion's foundation and hide away with a few disciples and friends, with your strength as a Battle Saint, you don't need to worry about this matter."

"The specific choice is up to you, senior."

Yao Lao rejected Lin Yuan's final proposal without even thinking about it—how could he possibly abandon the foundation of the Four Directions Pavilion?!
Even disregarding the effort and emotion invested, it is unacceptable from the perspective of profit alone.

Yao Lao's cultivation aptitude is not particularly outstanding. Without a powerful force to supply resources, it would be difficult for him to make progress at the Dou Sheng level... The abilities of an individual and a force to gather resources and intelligence and handle affairs are completely different.

In the past, he had suffered because he lacked powerful forces and spent decades as a lonely ghost. Now, he was determined not to suffer the same fate again.

"In the end, isn't it all your fault that things turned out this way?"

Looking at the smiling young man sitting opposite him, the old doctor sighed helplessly and muttered to himself.

If Lin Yuan hadn't developed a secret technique that allowed him to synthesize a different kind of fire from different fires and then showcase it to the world at the First Thunder Ceremony, how could the value of a natural different kind of fire have skyrocketed so much?

This guy is the biggest contributor to how things have turned out this way.

"According to what you said, the Four Directions Pavilion's possession of three strange flames is a source of trouble. What about you? You have just as many strange flames as the Four Directions Pavilion."

After pondering for a long time, he shook his head, stared intently at the young man sitting opposite him, and asked in a deep voice.

What the old doctor could confirm was that the person in front of him possessed at least three kinds of strange fire: the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame, the Sea Core Flame, and the Fallen Heart Flame. If he could win the Pill Competition, he would also have a Volcanic Stone Flame. Over the years, he might have also obtained other strange fires.

Lin Yuan smiled slightly, confidently saying, "As for me, I don't have such concerns."

"Regardless of the difference in strength and resources between the Four Directions Pavilion and the Pill Tower, my personal value and the network of relationships I have cultivated are enough to withstand these risks..."

"Apart from the Soul, Medicine, and Spirit races, I have a very good relationship with the other races."

"However, due to his relationship with the Medicine Clan, he has not entered the circle of ancient clans for a long time, and the influence he has accumulated there is limited."

"In addition, since I came to Zhongzhou, the only natural strange fire I have shown in public is the Azure Lotus Earth Core Fire."

"More importantly, the potential I have shown surpasses that of my predecessors by a considerable margin." "In the eyes of all races, your breakthrough to the Dou Sheng realm is quite remarkable, and you have a good chance of becoming a Bao Dan Grandmaster, but your chances of becoming a Xuan Dan Grandmaster in the future are not very high; as for me, I have the potential to become a Xuan Dan Grandmaster in the future."

“In this situation, as long as I maintain good cooperation with them, they will not deliberately target me.”

The Grandmaster of Precious Elixir and the Grandmaster of Profound Elixir are not of the same caliber.

However, to become a Xuan Dan Grandmaster, regardless of one's talent in alchemy, one's cultivation level must be at least a Five-Star Dou Sheng.

Judging from the current situation, Yao Lao doesn't seem to have that potential. Therefore, even if he becomes a Grandmaster of Precious Pills like Lin Yuan, the level of attention he receives will be far lower than that of the latter.

When the skill levels are similar, talent becomes extremely important.

Lin Yuan's ability to establish connections with various races early on and receive their courtesy is largely due to his renowned talent in cultivation and alchemy.

Of course, his real confidence didn't come from these abstract things, but from his power and the ancient dragon clan behind him.

These things, of course, could not be told to the old doctor.

But the reasons given earlier are sufficient to address Elder Yao's question.

After hearing Lin Yuan's words, Yao Lao fell into a long silence—Lin Yuan's words were harsh, but there was nothing exaggerated about them, nor was there anything to refute.

Seeing that the latter was wavering, Lin Yuan pressed his advantage and continued to persuade him, trying to win him over in one fell swoop.

“Compared to the strange fire, Senior Yao, what you need more is strength.” His expression turned slightly solemn as he said earnestly, “The Soul Palace is not so easy to resist. These days, I have interrogated that Soul Purity Saint and obtained specific secret information about the Soul Palace.”

"Although you have advanced to the Dou Sheng realm, there are still some powerful figures in the Soul Palace who can pose a threat to you."

"The Soul Hall Master, Soul Extinction, is a peak four-star Dou Sheng with the cultivation level. He is in charge of the Heavenly Gang Hall and began deep seclusion several years ago."

"Soul Hall Vice Hall Master Soul Lin, with the cultivation of a three-star Dou Sheng in the late stage, is in charge of the Heavenly Gang Earth Hall."

"The Great Heavenly Venerable of the Soul Palace, Hun Cang, with the cultivation of a peak One-Star Dou Sheng, sits together with the Second Heavenly Venerable, Gu You, who is at the Half-Saint level, in the Heavenly Gang Human Palace."

"Besides the three of them, before Hun Qing went to the Northwest, the Hun Clan specially assigned a mid-stage one-star Dou Sheng and a early-stage two-star Dou Sheng to the Hun Palace to support it. Currently, there are five Dou Sheng-level experts in the Hun Palace."

At this point, Lin Yuan also felt a toothache.

The Battle Saint, who is extremely rare in the eyes of outsiders, is not exactly everywhere in the Soul Clan, but he is certainly not lacking.

Aside from the high-level Dou Sheng of seven stars and above, the number of mid-to-low-level Dou Sheng is only slightly less than the total number of the other races. However, most of the mid-to-low-level Dou Sheng, like the three hidden seven-star Dou Sheng, have not yet appeared in public.

"The Soul Clan is restrained by the ancient clans, and our Pill Tower will restrain the Soul Palace to some extent, but Senior himself, it would be best to break through to the second-star Dou Sheng as soon as possible."

Shaking his head, Lin Yuan cleared his mind of distractions and concluded in a deep voice.

Upon hearing this, the old doctor's expression also became very solemn, and a sense of urgency arose from the bottom of his heart.

If what Lin Yuan said is true, even if the Soul Palace's higher-ups have to guard the Three Heavenly Halls and defend against the Pill Tower, they can still spare two or even more Battle Saints for action.

In this way, it seems that his strength at the early stage of Star Dou Sheng is really not enough.

He can't even beat the Grand Celestial Venerable of the Soul Palace right now.

"That's the situation." Lin Yuan pondered for a moment, his voice becoming increasingly solemn: "What I just said were my personal opinions; you can consider them as you see fit, senior! What I'm about to say are my conditions..."

"Oh?" The old doctor raised an eyebrow, and said with great interest, "I'm all ears... Let me see just how rich you really are."

"As you just said, the value of natural strange fire has increased dramatically."

"From a transactional perspective, even if I were willing to trade Bone Spirit Cold Flame, you wouldn't be the only interested buyer."

"To exchange it, a scroll of the formula for a grade nine precious pill... is far from enough to exchange it for it."

Seeing the other party's attitude of demanding an exorbitant price, Lin Yuan was not displeased at all. On the contrary, he was secretly pleased. It was good that they were wavering. All the effort he had put in to persuade them with reason and emotion was worthwhile.

This method can also be used later when exchanging for Nine Dragons Thunderfire in Burning Flame Valley.

"Cough-cough-"

He coughed lightly, took a sip of clear tea to clear his mind, and then calmly began to state his terms.

"Don't worry, Senior Yao. We've known each other for a while now, I won't let you suffer any losses."

"Senior's most pressing need right now is to improve your cultivation. I can give you the recipe for the 'Divine Vein Foundation Pill' and even help you refine it. In addition, I can also give you a Grade 9 Treasure Pill."

"Senior is currently at the early stage of a one-star Dou Sheng. After consuming two precious pills, he should be able to advance to the middle stage of a two-star Dou Sheng, or even the late stage of a two-star Dou Sheng."

The other precious pill, of course, is the Thunder Tribulation Pill.

The higher the level of cultivation at the Dou Sheng level, the more energy is required for advancement.

A ninth-grade treasure pill of the same quality might raise a one-star Dou Sheng's rank by two or three minor ranks if he takes it, while a three-star Dou Sheng might only raise it by one or two minor ranks.

In any case, if Yao Lao can take two precious pills, there will be absolutely no problem for him to advance to the mid-stage of the second star.

In this way, only the Hall Master and the Deputy Hall Master of the entire Soul Hall have a higher cultivation level than him.

Hearing this, Yao Lao's eyelids trembled slightly, and he couldn't help but feel a little tempted... At his current cultivation speed, even if he cultivated hard for another ten years, he might not be able to break through to the level of a two-star Dou Sheng. However, a one-star Dou Sheng was too vulnerable to the Soul Palace.

However, as an alchemist, it was truly difficult for Yao Lao to give up the strange fire that had accompanied him for so long.

This is the Bone Spirit Cold Flame, a natural strange flame ranked eleventh on the Strange Flame Ranking!
If an alchemist loses his unique fire, it's like a swordsman losing his sword; his skills will be greatly diminished.

If the Bone Spirit Cold Flame is lost, it will be fine in terms of combat, since the Bone Spirit Cold Flame is only the eleventh of the strange flames, and it will not greatly increase the combat power of a Dou Sheng powerhouse. However, the impact on Yao Lao's alchemy skills will be absolutely significant!

So, in the brief moment that Lin Yuan paused in his speech, Grandma Yao's mind raced as she quickly weighed the pros and cons, her expression shifting between light and shadow.

As a fellow high-level alchemist, Lin Yuan naturally understood Yao Lao's concerns.

Casually, his slightly amused voice echoed in the latter's ears: "Senior Yao, if you're worried that your alchemy skills will decline after losing your strange fire, why not try synthesizing a strange fire instead?"

(End of this chapter)