Ninth In the World

Panda Novel

“These are the elixirs that I have helped refine, Deacon Huo,” said Di Jiu as he handed a ring over to Huo Jianqian.

Although Huo Jianqian knew she shouldn’t be taking out the bottle, which was labeled as “Great Unity Elixir”, in front of Di Jiu, she couldn’t stop herself. She wouldn’t have bothered for any other elixir, but this bottle of Great Unity Elixir had been brought by an important client.

“There are three two-patterned elixirs and one four-patterned Great Unity Elixir…” said Huo Jianqian excitedly. Her voice was trembling as she asked, “How did you do it, Alchemy Master Di?”

Before Di Jiu could answer her, she had taken out the rest of the elixirs from the bottle. All of them were special-class elixirs. There wasn’t a single high-grade one. Although there weren’t any four-patterned elixirs, most of them were three-patterned immortal pills.

“If I wasn’t even able to do this, then I wouldn’t have been able to refine the Seven-Orifice Soul Condensing Elixir. Here, this is the Seven-Orifice Soul Condensing Elixir that you wanted,” answered Di Jiu nonchalantly.

As he spoke, he took out another jade bottle for Huo Jianqian.

Huo Jianqian grabbed hold of the jade bottle and scanned it with her Spiritual Force. She saw that it really contained a three-patterned Seven-Orifice Soul Condensing Elixir.

She covered the jade bottle excitedly as she said, “Thank you, Alchemy Master Di. Thank you very much.”

A grade-five Alchemy Grandmaster was totally different from an Alchemy Grandmaster who could refine four-patterned special-class immortal pills.

She could imagine how big a commotion and craze she would stir up once she revealed this batch of elixirs.

Di Jiu waved his hands and said, “There is no need to thank me. I get paid for refining all these elixirs.”

Huo Jianqian could tell that Di Jiu had something on his mind. She had placed Di Jiu on the same level as herself before. However, she now regarded Di Jiu more highly than herself.

Huo Jianqian stood up and looked at the shelves of elixirs around him. She hesitated for a bit before she said, “Alchemy Master Di, you will definitely be regarded as the best person in the Alchemy Dao in the Gigantic Tripod Liberal Immortal City in the time to come. It won’t be long before you become an Alchemy King. However, the Gigantic Tripod Liberal Immortal City has a mixture of good and bad, so complex power struggles ensue. I suggest that you don’t run an elixir business here…”

If Di Jiu had been an ordinary Alchemy Grandmaster, she might have been able to help out with his elixir business. However, Di Jiu was someone who could refine three-patterned special-class immortal pills at his every whim and fancy. If he started selling immortal pills in the Gigantic Tripod Liberal Immortal City, it would certainly be a suicidal move.

“Thanks, Deacon Huo. I have my own plans,” said Di Jiu as he cupped his fists. He knew that Huo Jianqian’s words were heartfelt.

“In that case, I shall leave first. I will try to find more of those level-six immortal spirit herbs that you need.” Huo Jianqian’s excitement had not died down yet. She had to let the higher management of the Star Elixir Dispensary know that Di Jiu was a grade-five Alchemy Grandmaster who could refine three-patterned grade-four immortal pills.

This might be a good opportunity for the Star Elixir Dispensary. If they could win Di Jiu over, they would have a strong foothold in places other than the Gigantic Tripod Liberal Immortal City.

…

After he saw Huo Jianqian off, Di Jiu instructed Little Tree to stand guard over the first floor of the store while he went upstairs to start researching his own Immortal Spirit Tea.

Although Di Jiu had split the Immortal Spirit Tea Tree that Huo Jianqian had given him into 1,000 smaller ones, he had collected all the young, tender leaves from it.

Di Jiu wanted to come up with a brand-new Immortal Spirit Tea that would consist of only tea leaves, without the addition of other things, just like the tea leaves on Earth.

Di Jiu already had a rough idea of the steps he would take to brew this tea.

If he wanted his Immortal Spirit Tea to be sellable, it would have to be unique. The Creation Cauldron and Dao fire were some of the things that could help make it unique.

However, Di Jiu knew very well that the Creation Cauldron and the Dao fire were only auxiliary items. His real winning edge would come from his understanding of the Foundation Order and Tea Dao.

The art of drinking tea placed emphasis on one’s state of mind, intent, and peacefulness.

Di Jiu’s understanding of peacefulness stemmed from both the tea culture on Earth, as well as his understanding of the nomological Peacefulness Dao in the Foundation Order.

Naturally, Di Jiu’s Foundation Order did not consist only of the 108 Foundation Orders that he had gained insight into while he had been in the Five Continent Dao Pagoda. On top of that, he had also vaguely sensed the Foundation Order of all beings from the Book of the World, as well as a blurry order of the void of the Universe from the streak of Golden Dao Law that had escaped.

The Dao fire licked the Creation Cauldron as Di Jiu threw a bunch of young, tender tea leaf-blade tips into the cauldron. He didn’t use the Alchemy Art. Instead, he used only his Spiritual Force, combined with his own understanding of the nomological Peacefulness Dao, to toss the leaf-blade tips in the Creation Cauldron. Then, he incorporated his own nomological Peacefulness Dao aura.

Two hours later, Di Jiu opened his eyes. Then, he brought out and placed a small handful of refined tea leaves onto the white-jade plate beside him.

The tea leaves laid on the white-jade plate looked as if they had just been plucked from the tree. They hadn’t lost any moisture and they still looked fresh, green and crystal clear. Di Jiu then took out a jade cup and put a few dozen tea leaves into it. Then, he opened his palm and a ball of water was tossed and turned in mid-air above his palm.

Once the tossed water was poured into the jade cup, the tea leaves in the cup emitted a thick life-force aura, just like the tea trees which had just awakened in the early morning.

The verdant leaf-blade tips exuded a faint, delicate fragrance that could make one’s frustration calm down and become peaceful. It made people involuntarily want to close their eyes and not think about anything.

Di Jiu lifted the teacup and took a gentle sip.

Although it was hot tea, a cool feeling gushed up instead. All it took was one sip of the tea and Di Jiu could feel his cultivating state of mind become stabler and more peaceful. Its foundation seemed to have become stronger too.

There was no more anxiety. No more urge to break through to the Immortal Emperor Realm…

This was definitely an excellent tea. His tea was many times better than the tea from the Star Immortal Spirit Tea, which was made purely with immortal spirit herbs. When it came to the art of drinking tea, peacefulness was the most important factor. Immortal Spirit Qi was secondary.

Di Jiu only took a sip. Then, he poured away the tea leaves in the cup, as well as the bunch of tea leaves that he had just refined. He threw them all into the garbage.

These tea leaves would definitely cause a mad craze if he showed them. However, it still wasn’t the kind of tea leaf that he wanted.

Although the tea could instill peacefulness, it still lacked a kind of charm. This charm could not be given. Instead, it was a sense of peacefulness derived from assimilating oneself with all the beings of Heaven and Earth. The peacefulness of the tea that he had just refined had been given by his Foundation Order. It was still a little off from the peacefulness derived from all the beings of Heaven and Earth.

After he threw the Immortal Spirit Tea he had just refined away, he put yet another bunch of verdant leaf-blade tips into the Creation Cauldron and began refining the second cauldron of tea leaves.

In the beginning, as he was brewing the Immortal Spirit Tea in the Creation Cauldron, Di Jiu still paid attention to his surroundings, as well as the time he spent brewing. However, toward the last part of the process, he completely forgot that he was still brewing tea. It felt as if his state of mind had become one with the Immortal Spirit Tea in the Creation Cauldron.

After more than 10 days, Di Jiu had immersed himself completely in this cycle of brewing tea, drinking it, pouring it away, then brewing it again, drinking and pouring it away again…

A brand-new art of brewing tea was slowly forming in the process of refining the Immortal Spirit Tea. However, Di Jiu wasn’t even aware of it.

…

More than 10 Elders and a number of Alchemy Grandmasters were sitting in the conference hall of the headquarters of the Star Elixir Dispensary. There was a sea of silence in the hall. A four-patterned Great Unity Elixir rotated amongst all the people in the hall.

When this elixir was passed back to the man in the first seat, that man said with a hoarse voice, “Even I have rarely seen a four-patterned Great Unity Elixir. Moreover, those elixirs usually come from either Elixir Kings or Alchemy Supremacies. I didn’t expect that we’d actually have an Honorary Alchemy Master who can refine such elixirs at the Star Elixir Dispensary… Can everybody share their view on what kind of meaning this has for the Star Elixir Dispensary?”

The man who spoke was Cheng Xingren, the founder of the Star Elixir Dispensary. He had the strength of an early-stage Immortal Supremacy and was even rumored to be a grade-seven Alchemy King. However, this remained a rumor, as nobody had ever actually seen him refine a grade-seven immortal pill before.

An elderly man whose beard and hair was almost completely white was sitting beside Cheng Xingren. He took a glance at Huo Jianqian, who was sitting in the corner, before he said, “The Star Elixir Dispensary branch in the Gigantic Tripod Liberal Immortal City is not where the bulk of our business is carried out. Credit must be given to Deacon Huo for discovering such a formidable Honorary Alchemy Master.”

“There are definitely only benefits and no drawbacks to the Star Elixir Dispensary having an Honorary Alchemy Master like that. However, I could not let my mind be at peace if we kept an Alchemy Master like that in the Gigantic Tripod Liberal Immortal City. I suggest that we bring this Alchemy Master Di over to the headquarters. Only then will the Star Elixir Dispensary take the leading position…”

Huo Jianqian had felt elated when she’d heard that she was given credit. She thought that she would be promoted soon. However, she hadn’t expected that Elder Bi would deviate from the original progression and want to bring Di Jiu over to the headquarters of the Star Elixir Dispensary instead. Although Elder Bi sounded tactful, Huo Jianqian knew very well that he wanted to put Di Jiu under house arrest.

Huo Jianqian felt very anxious. She knew a little about what kind of a person Di Jiu was. He was obviously an Alchemy Master who made clear distinctions between gratitude and hatred. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have given her a Seven-Orifice Soul Condensing Elixir without asking for Liberal Points in return.

Therefore, Huo Jianqian said, “Sect Master Cheng and Elder Bi, Di Jiu is only a grade-five Alchemy Grandmaster. The Star Elixir Dispensary has many Alchemy Masters like him. I am aware of Di Jiu’s temperament. He definitely wouldn’t agree to come here…” She didn’t want to become enemies with a capable man like Di Jiu.

Elder Bi smiled as he waved his hand at Huo Jianqian. “You don’t have to worry that we will take him by force. We want him to join the Star Elixir Dispensary and serve us wholeheartedly, so we will make him come here willingly. He may even beg us to let him come. You don’t have to worry about this. We will make the necessary arrangements. You will just have to explain everything to him clearly and ask him to come to the Star Elixir Dispensary headquarters when he begs you.”