After I left the sect, the entire sect knelt down and begged for forgiveness.

Chapter 49 Assassinations are like leeks, they come in one crop after another.
A hint of surprise appeared on Lin Yan's face. She had thought that the cultivators who ambushed her wouldn't have much in their storage bags. They were all people who frequently engaged in murder and robbery, and they knew that if you walk by the river long enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet. Their storage bags usually only contained items needed for assassinations.

This storage bag was a pleasant surprise. Inside were not only hidden weapons, poison powder, and other items needed for ambushes and assassinations, but also cultivation manuals and about 100 mid-grade spirit stones.

She moved everything out and arranged it neatly by category. Among the cultivation manuals were two: one on alchemy and one on poison making, both beginner-level, suitable for those new to alchemy.

She guessed that this person must have attacked a pill cultivator before ambushing her, stealing the cultivator's storage bag. The 100 mid-grade spirit stones inside were probably obtained by selling the pill cultivator's storage bag and other easily resold items.

She picked up the second storage bag and erased the spiritual imprint on it in the same way. This bag didn't contain many items, only some pills, poison powder, hidden weapons, talismans, etc., all prepared for murder and robbery, and the quality was not high, the highest being only second grade.

Sigh, what a pity. These people usually risk their lives for treasure hunting, they must have accumulated quite a few good things, it's just a shame they didn't put them in their storage bags when they go out, otherwise she could have made a fortune.

The next storage bags were uninteresting. Most were the same as the second one. A bit disappointing. She was hoping that organization would send some cultivators who had stored their entire fortunes in those bags to assassinate her, so she could make a fortune just by fighting back.

She packed everything into her storage bag with considerable disappointment, intending to sell off the items she no longer needed along with the monster corpses at the next airship docking point.

As long as that organization keeps sending people to ambush her, she won't lack profits. Now she doesn't even need to figure out how to cultivate the Xuan Grass herself. She can just deal with those cultivators who come to assassinate her, take their storage bags, sell them, and she'll have the money to buy the Xuan Grass.

As long as the assassins who come to kill her are not cultivators who are a whole realm higher than her, she is confident that she can fight back and eliminate them.

The cultivators who are a whole realm higher than her are at the Nascent Soul stage. Cultivators at this level usually go into seclusion to comprehend the power of heaven and earth; they would never stoop to doing something so despicable. It's like an elephant not deliberately stepping on an ant.

Thinking this way, Lin Yan wished that the organization selling hallucinogenic flower seeds would come to assassinate her more often, several times a day! Like leeks, one crop after another.

So much had happened that day that she was exhausted. After setting up her own protective barrier in the private room, she sat down on a futon to meditate and cultivate.

When cultivators practice, they concentrate their minds and gather their energy, using spiritual power to cleanse their bodies—this is their form of rest. At her age, she can't sleep, so she uses cultivation to replace sleep.

The next day, she opened her eyes, raised her hand, and completed the cleansing spell. Lin Yan took out some mystical herbs to feed the rabbit, then left it in the private room while she went out for a walk.

Yesterday, Lin Yan acquired an introductory manual on alchemy. She also recalled seeing alchemy techniques on the flying boat and felt that her control over spiritual energy was better than those two alchemists. Moreover, she had a fire spiritual root, so perhaps she also had some talent for alchemy.

Pills are a highly profitable commodity. If she could become a pill refiner, would she still have to worry about not being able to afford to raise the Crimson Demon? Then, Xuan Grass would be its staple food, and Crimson Spirit Fruit would be its snacks, allowing her to raise it to be plump and healthy!

There were several alchemists on the flying boat. When the demonic beasts attacked the city, the alchemists stayed on the flying boat to hide, and only went out to help feed the wounded pills after the battle was over. When she returned to the flying boat, she saw that the alchemists were walking towards the flying boat together.

She might run into one or two while she goes for a walk, and find an opportunity to get close to them and learn about their alchemy experience.

Alchemists are generous in sharing their experience. This is because alchemy cannot be replicated simply by listening to others' experiences. Even slight errors in the details can lead to lower quality pills or even a furnace explosion! Therefore, while there are many alchemists on the Canghai Continent, only a handful can be considered "master" alchemists—fewer than the number of Nascent Soul cultivators.

Lin Yan was self-aware. She didn't aspire to become a master alchemist; she simply wanted another skill to make money. As a rogue cultivator, cultivation resources were crucial, so why not try acquiring them through technique? She could make time; she could replace sleep with cultivation and allocate some of her remaining time to learning alchemy.

She went up to the deck and saw the two alchemists who had competed earlier walking back together from the market, chatting intimately. They were very close, almost touching, and occasionally whispered in each other's ears, getting even closer as they talked.

Lin Yan's face flashed with surprise. Weren't they at each other's throats just a moment ago? How come they're acting like brothers who grew up wearing the same pair of pants now?
As they stepped onto the deck, she approached them and politely inquired, "I noticed you two fellow Daoists have returned from the market, your faces beaming with joy. Is there something good happening?"

The taller alchemist explained, "To express their gratitude to the cultivators for fighting off the demonic beasts, the Azure Sea Chamber of Commerce is offering a bottle of Grade 2 healing pills to any cultivator who participates in slaying the demonic beasts and rescuing the wounded."

Second-grade pills are of little value to cultivators with high cultivation levels. The merchant guild distributes them for free to help cultivators with lower cultivation levels.

This attack by the demonic beasts was an undeserved disaster for those cultivators. They hadn't participated in the exploration of the Lishan Secret Realm, and even if the Lishan Secret Realm were to open in the future, it would be controlled by sects and aristocratic families. They wouldn't get anything, yet they were implicated as a result.

The Bihai Chamber of Commerce made this decision to appease them. It would set a good example to win people's hearts and enhance the Chamber's reputation—a win-win situation.

She nodded, then casually asked, "You two are alchemists, and you only have second-grade healing pills. There's no need for you to be so happy."

"Of course. The Chamber of Commerce also provides tokens to participating alchemists. With this token, they can use the Chamber of Commerce's alchemy room for free for the next two years. The alchemy pills they refine can be sold through the Chamber of Commerce, and the Chamber of Commerce will only charge a 0.5% handling fee."

She nodded and then added their communication passwords.

The two alchemists were also good at making friends. Without much thought, they generously showed their jade disc numbers, added each other, and then walked into the pavilion side by side.

As Lin Yan watched the two figures walk away, she felt that something was amiss.

It took her a while to realize that the two of them had been walking too close to each other on the way to the pavilion, their embroidered robes pressed together, making it impossible to see that their hands were clasped together underneath.

Is this what good brothers are like? I don't quite understand...

I had originally planned to chat with these two alchemists on the jade disc and ask them for advice on alchemy, but it seems that won't be possible now.

Having gained nothing, Lin Yan returned to the private room. She sat on the coffee table and took out the beginner's manual on alchemy to read.

Thank you everyone for your votes, I'm so touched I'm in tears (*).

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(End of this chapter)