Beast Tamer Ascension

Vol 3 Chapter 18: The Wandering Alchemist

"A shop, huh…"

Lin Jing set his sights on Qingming Commerce Guild's trading district.

In the chaotic land of Qingzhou, renting a storefront here would provide a rare place of order.

With a Void Mystical-stage cultivator overseeing the Qingming Commerce Guild, no one dared cause trouble in its trading district.

Even if Lin Jing, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, displayed treasures tempting enough for Nascent Soul cultivators, they wouldn’t dare break the rules maintained by the Commerce Guild.

And as a business organization, the Commerce Guild valued its reputation above all else—they likely wouldn’t covet his low-grade treasures either.

Of course, none of this was absolute.

But as long as Lin Jing carefully balanced the value of the items he revealed, this place would serve as an excellent temporary base.

"I can collect some and have Pine Leaf Mouse fuse them in the Beast Taming Space, see if anything useful emerges to strengthen my foundation."

"Then, using those fused herbs, I can develop some novel, specialized low-grade pills."

"With these pills, I’ll establish a unique alchemy market."

"And when the time comes, the key currency for purchasing these pills won’t be Spirit Stones—it’ll be Exotic Flame intelligence! Or, even better, the Exotic Flames themselves."

Lin Jing felt that searching for flames alone to strengthen his Fire Qilin Dragon and refine his Heavenly Demon Physique was too inefficient.

Recalling his experience in establishing the Dragon Palace at the academy, an idea struck him—@@novelbin@@

Why not use alchemy to have others gather the flames for him?

And in Qingzhou, the Qingming Commerce Guild’s trading district would be the perfect stage for this plan.

"Besides, with my current illusion techniques, I can even manifest the aura of a Nascent Soul cultivator if necessary."

"At the right moment, I can create the illusion of having a Nascent Soul master, deterring petty troublemakers."

"With this dual-layered protection, I’ll have plenty of time to steadily increase my strength."

Having made up his mind, Lin Jing followed the map he had "acquired" from Thousand Illusions Mountain and set out for Tianqing City, the second-largest city in Qingming Path.

The largest city, Qingming City, was ruled by a Void Mystical-stage cultivator—too risky to visit.

But Tianqing City was only overseen by a Nascent Soul cultivator, making it relatively safe. He didn’t have to worry about his illusions being casually exposed.

After all, not every Nascent Soul cultivator was as skilled in illusions as Thousand Illusions Mountain’s patriarch.

..........

Tianqing City – Qingming Commerce Guild Trading District

A young alchemist, dressed in Firecloud Pill robes, arrived at the shop rental office.

Inside, a bald Golden Core elder sat behind a counter, casually toying with a mechanical lock. Without looking up, he spoke lazily:

"Renting a shop?"

"Yes. I am a wandering alchemist looking to rent a place to refine pills, rest, and sell my creations."

Lin Jing met his gaze directly, showing no signs of submission despite being a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator facing a Golden Core expert.

"Mid-stage Foundation Establishment… What grade of alchemist are you?"

"Eighth-grade."

Hearing this, the elder paused briefly before breaking into a smile.

"Not bad—so young, yet already a third-grade alchemist. Impressive. Who is your master? Do you have alchemy certification?"

"My master is Fire Dragon Pill Sovereign, a rogue cultivator. No official certification…" Lin Jing replied, then extended his hand.

"But… is this enough?"

A miniature flame furnace appeared at his fingertip, a hundred layers of fire waves swirling around it, dazzling in its brilliance.

"Third-tier fire control technique…" The elder nodded in approval.

"That’s enough."

A third-grade alchemist could refine third-grade pills.

Generally speaking,

First-grade pills were for Qi Refinement cultivators.

Second-grade pills were for Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Third-grade pills were for Golden Core cultivators.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator who was also a third-grade alchemist was far rarer than ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators. Even some Golden Core cultivators who couldn’t refine pills would treat them as equals. ṝ𝘈𝐍ỌＢÊᶊ

Thus, by revealing his third-grade alchemist status, Lin Jing had no need to act subservient to a Golden Core cultivator—this was exactly how a true alchemist of his caliber would behave.

More importantly, he had called his master a "Pill Sovereign."

Usually, only Nascent Soul cultivators or fifth-grade alchemists could use the title "Sovereign."

As a result, the elder immediately became much friendlier—regardless of whether Lin Jing was lying, it cost him nothing to treat him with respect.

Of course, Lin Jing could refine third-grade pills.

But if he combined Fire Qilin Dragon’s fused Exotic Flames, he could actually refine fourth-grade pills as well.

However, he deliberately underreported his abilities—

A Foundation Establishment cultivator refining fourth-grade pills would be far too shocking.

Moreover, he hadn’t planned on selling fourth-grade specialty pills anyway.

"How long do you plan to rent?" the elder asked.

"The minimum rental period is one month."

"I’ll take six months."

The Qingming Commerce Guild trading district had an immense flow of customers. While renting a store here was expensive, as long as his products were high quality, he wouldn’t lose money.

"Let me check… Ah, there’s one available alchemy shop—though the location isn’t ideal."

Lin Jing nodded.

"Location doesn’t matter. Good pills attract customers, even in the deepest alley. As long as the price is fair, I’ll take it."

"Excellent!" The elder smiled.

"I’ll draft the rental contract immediately!"

..........

Lin Jing smirked—he had complete confidence in his pills.

The Rising Dragon Pill was proof enough.

However, he couldn’t sell it here, as it had already been auctioned in the Ancient Celestial Kingdom, making it too recognizable.

Similarly, common market pills were widely available—unless he lowered his prices drastically, customers would just buy from major alchemy stores.

Thus, to make his shop stand out, he needed to develop unique pills.

Of course, he already had several exclusive pills that had never been publicly revealed.

Unlike the Rising Dragon Pill, these hadn’t been auctioned before.

For example… Pain Pill.

But that was a demonic pill, which meant its market was too niche. He dismissed the idea.

Instead, the most promising candidate was likely Gluttonous Pill.

He and his group had used this pill frequently, refining it from Golden Spirit Rice.

Golden Spirit Rice was the first special spiritual ingredient ever synthesized by Pine Leaf Mouse’s Glazed Immortal Eyes, known for its digestive-enhancing properties.

When refined with other ingredients, it eliminated side effects and became far more effective.

Normally, a Foundation Establishment cultivator consuming a fourth-grade spirit herb would need years of closed-door meditation to fully absorb its power.

But with Gluttonous Pill, all they had to do was consume a large dose beforehand, and in just two days, they could fully absorb the spirit herb’s energy.

Even more outrageously—

Even a Qi Refinement cultivator could use Gluttonous Pill to safely consume high-grade pills.

Lin Jing had personally tested this when he force-fed a Qi Refinement first-layer insect a third-grade pill—

Normally, it would have exploded from excess energy.

But thanks to Gluttonous Pill, it perfectly absorbed the pill’s effects and even underwent a bloodline evolution.

For young elites or lucky cultivators struggling to absorb high-tier resources, this pill was priceless.

If Lin Jing weren’t a Longevity Body cultivator, he might have reached Nascent Soul already using this pill.

Before long…

A new shop opened in Tianqing City’s trading district—

"Nameless Vessel Pavilion."

While its shelves displayed common first, second, and third-grade pills priced in Spirit Stones, the shop’s centerpiece was:

Gluttonous Pill.

Effect: Allows low-level cultivators to safely consume high-grade pills with no side effects.

Price: Not sold for Spirit Stones!

Only exchangeable for Exotic Flame intelligence or actual Exotic Flames.

"No matter the grade of the flame, as long as my Fire Qilin Dragon has Flame Emperor Divine Ability, it can absorb and convert it into power."

"In Qingzhou, it’s the only beast I can openly train—priority is getting it to Golden Core stage!"

As Lin Jing sat in the back of the shop, observing his Pine Leaf Mouse planting seeds and Fire Qilin Dragon refining flames, he plotted his next moves…

Just then, his first customer stepped through the door.