Chapter Five: The Charlatan Sells His Remedies (Part Two)

After a brief silence, the young master of the Meng family, Meng Rushan, spoke again. "Are you a disciple of Star-Gazing Valley?"

"I sell elixirs on the territory of Star-Gazing Valley, so of course I am a disciple," Chen Mu replied. Seeing that Meng Rushan was still skeptical, he produced his identity token.

Meng Rushan frowned, about to speak, but Chen Mu cut him off. "Young Master Meng, I can't make decisions for this. You should discuss it with the higher-ups of Star-Gazing Valley. If you keep pressing me, you'll only be interfering with my business. You know the temperament of alchemists—if you provoke my master, it will do neither of us any good."

Meng Rushan was left with no choice. He would have liked to stir up trouble and claim all of Chen Mu’s elixirs for himself, but this was Star-Gazing Valley's domain; causing a scene here would be tantamount to declaring war on them.

So he could only take a step back. "Then I'll do as everyone else—just one pill, is that acceptable?"

Now it was Chen Mu’s turn to frown. He had no intention of selling to Meng Rushan. If the pill was for an elder of his family, that elder might well discover the secret of the elixir's life force. Refusing, however, would be unreasonable; after all, the young master was buying medicine for an injured relative, which was justified. Even if refused, Meng Rushan could still find a way to obtain the pill from someone else.

If Chen Mu rejected him, it would seem as though he was targeting the Meng family, which would only lead to their resentment and retaliation. The focus would then shift from himself to the life force within the pill made by the so-called mysterious alchemist. If he died, it would be for real.

Unless he admitted to making the pill himself—but that would be no different from courting death.

With no strong backing, Chen Mu had no choice but to agree to sell Meng Rushan one pill. After all, he had already shifted responsibility to the fictitious alchemist behind him.

If someone had to take the blame—no, to bear the consequences—it would be Steward Liu Quan, not himself. He was content to remain a nameless pawn.

Young Master Meng was lavish, handing over a thousand gold coins on the spot. He was clearly currying favor with the supposed alchemist behind Chen Mu and chatted with him for a moment, inquiring after this master's name.

Chen Mu, of course, was not foolish; he invented a name on the spot. After a few awkward exchanges, Meng Rushan boarded his carriage and left in haste.

With the Meng family’s young master gone, the crowd quickly gathered again to buy out the remaining Regenerative Pills.

Soon, all thirty were sold. Returning to the valley, Chen Mu was delighted. He promptly exchanged his earnings for Meridian-Opening Pills.

Meng Rushan’s thousand gold coins, plus the two thousand nine hundred from the other twenty-nine pills, totaled three thousand nine hundred gold coins. He spent three thousand on thirty Meridian-Opening Pills and kept the remaining nine hundred as an emergency fund.

...

Not long after, at the Meng family’s ancestral residence, an aged elder received what Meng Rushan claimed was a Regenerative Pill.

This man was the family’s strongest—Meng Rushan’s grandfather, Meng Wuchang.

"Shan’er, is this the Regenerative Pill you spoke of? Isn’t this a Fasting Pill?" Meng Wuchang’s voice was as chilling as a ghost’s, sending shivers down the spine.

"Yes, Grandfather. Though it looks like a Fasting Pill, many have tried it, and I witnessed it myself—the pill truly has the power to regenerate flesh and relieve pain."

Meng Wuchang fell silent, then swallowed the pill whole. Moments later, he was overcome with joy; his cultivation, once diminished to Foundation Realm by injury, now climbed steadily to Core Formation, and then to the late Core Formation stage.

Clearly, his injuries had cost him his cultivation, but now, fully recovered, he let out a thunderous roar.

The entire clan rushed over at the sound, and upon seeing the Grand Elder fully healed, everyone offered their congratulations.

"Hahaha! Regeneration and pain relief? Nonsense! This is pure life force!" Meng Wuchang laughed, utterly delighted.

"This new elixir was crafted by Star-Gazing Valley’s master alchemist?"

"Yes, Grandfather. The master sent his apprentice to the market to test the waters," Meng Rushan replied respectfully.

"Star-Gazing Valley, hmm... They have Nascent Soul cultivators among them. Find out who this alchemist is! We must establish good relations with him. If I can unravel the secret of this life force, perhaps I might break through to Nascent Soul myself."

...

Unbeknownst to Chen Mu, he had already attracted dangerous attention.

Within a week, he had opened a total of eighteen meridians.

Aside from two bouts of fever and chills, nothing major occurred. His breakthrough to the mid Meridian-Opening stage, however, did catch the notice of some outer disciples. After all, Chen Mu had been stuck at the early stage for so long that nobody expected anything from him, so his sudden progress was remarkable.

At this time, Chen Mu was about to learn his first spell—Starlight Flame Control.

Starlight Flame Control was a long-range fire manipulation spell, focusing on the control of flame. It was an excellent way to practice and refine flame manipulation, which would benefit Chen Mu’s future mastery of fire techniques.

Moreover, this spell complemented his cultivation method. Fueled by Star Essence, its attack power could be greatly enhanced. In fact, it could do more than attack from afar—it could be used as a light source at night, or to enshroud his fists and feet in flame for melee combat. If he aspired to be an alchemist, it would also serve as early practice for handling flames. All in all, it was an extremely versatile spell.

Chen Mu was quick-witted; within half an hour, he had mastered Starlight Flame Control.

On the practice field, the flickering starfire gathered at his fingertips. With a thought, the fire shot toward the target, scoring a perfect hit.

Then the starlight flame transformed into fiery gauntlets on his hands; with a punch, a wave of fire surged forth, dazzling and brilliant.

After training, his inner energy was spent. Chen Mu lay contentedly on the practice field, and after steadying his breath, returned to his quarters.

A few days later, the Meng family began their machinations. They bribed several disciples, openly and secretly probing into the new pills made by Star-Gazing Valley’s alchemists, but their efforts were fruitless. All indications pointed to the young apprentice who had been selling pills at the market.

This so-called apprentice was, of course, Chen Mu. But his status was a ruse, and he himself had made the Regenerative Pills; how could he possibly reveal his secret?

When Chen Mu appeared again at the market to sell elixirs, Meng Rushan approached him as expected.

"Thanks to the Regenerative Pill you sold me, my elder’s injury has been completely healed. To express our gratitude, my elder wishes to pay personal respects to your master. Would you be able to arrange this?"

"My master prefers solitude and does not wish to be disturbed by strangers. I hope you understand." Chen Mu sneered inwardly; clearly, the Meng family had seen through the pill’s true value and their gratitude was but a pretext—they were after its secret.

"Don’t be so quick to refuse, my friend. If you agree, wealth, glory, and beautiful women will be yours for the asking. Besides, I see your cultivation method is quite ordinary—your sect likely does not value you. If you help me, I can arrange with the Azurefall Dao Sect to make you an inner disciple, and grant you access to the sect’s core techniques. How about it?"

Such generous terms made Chen Mu’s heart beat wildly. The Azurefall Dao Sect was the strongest order in the Great Xia Empire; while Star-Gazing Valley was powerful, it could not match Azurefall’s foundation. Access to their core techniques would make his path smooth and unimpeded.

After a moment of covetous excitement, Chen Mu forced himself to calm down, took a swig from his flask, and replied steadily, "Please, young master, leave. I will not betray my master or my sect. Let us pretend this conversation never happened."

Seeing Chen Mu’s earlier eagerness, Meng Rushan had thought success was assured. He was furious that a mere sip of water had steeled Chen Mu’s resolve.

But Chen Mu saw through the situation: if he agreed, his secrets would be exposed. He might not even know how he died, let alone become an inner disciple.

Meng Rushan’s face darkened. "Think carefully—defying the Meng family and Azurefall Dao Sect will have consequences."

"Young master, please leave. Star-Gazing Valley may be weaker than Azurefall, but it is not afraid of them."

"Very well! Remember your choice today—do not regret it in the future." With that, Meng Rushan flung his sleeve and departed.

Chen Mu wiped the sweat from his brow. Thankfully, he had resisted temptation; had he agreed to meet the fictitious alchemist, he would surely have met his end.