Chapter 177
Chapter 177: Master, Truly Amazing
The Swift Movement Pill was a full star realm medicine, purchased once before for five hundred thousand starstones per pill. With each increase in fragrance, the speed improved by ten percent, and the price would rise by another five hundred thousand starstones. The fourth fragrance? That would be two million starstones per pill.
This bottle contained thirty pills—truly valuable.
“By the way, there’s this too. Only one left, but I’ll give it to you,” Su Le added, handing over another vial.
Wang Jie took it. “Feign Death Pill?”
Su Le nodded. “I hope you don’t have to use it.”
The Feign Death Pill was a Wandering Star realm medicine, priced at twenty million starstones per pill. Su Le had never bought it, as it wasn’t available in the Four Path marketplace. Such pills were rare, rarely concocted by anyone.
“Thank you,” Wang Jie said.
Su Le spoke again, “It was my impulsiveness that led to your assassination attempt. This is the least I could do. If you want, you can stay with me for a while. No one would dare harm you in my place.”
Wang Jie initially thought to refuse, but after a moment of thought, he agreed.
The shop’s purpose had already been fulfilled, and the three factions dared not move against him. It was time for him to find a place to rest and focus on cultivating. He had been looking for somewhere to stay last night.
Living with a young lady? Why not? Especially when there was no need to worry about assassinations.
But he’d wait for Mu Ran and the others to arrive first.
Gao Chi was released a few days later. He cooperated with the enforcement team’s investigation, but despite Wang Jie’s firm insistence that Gao Chi was behind the assassination, there was no evidence, and his words alone couldn’t be taken as truth.
Once released, Gao Chi confronted Wang Jie in the shop, creating a scene that left many people around staring in disbelief.
They had never seen someone from the Wandering Star realm argue on the street.
Gao Chi, unable to do much else, really wanted to slap Wang Jie to death but held himself back.
More than ten days later, Du Xian came to test whether Wang Jie had the Sixth Fragrance Explosive Star Pill. Wang Jie insisted he didn’t. Du Xian couldn’t force the issue but suggested a new arrangement: from now on, all the pills Wang Jie crafted would be sold through the Star Dome Trading Hall, meaning he wouldn’t need to run his own shop.
“There’s a fixed sales channel,” Du Xian explained.
“You’re not worried they might not sell?” Wang Jie asked.
Du Xian smiled. “Thank you for your concern, but our market isn’t limited to the Four Directions Star Cluster. Of course, we can only purchase at wholesale prices—not the retail price.”
“And the price difference?”
“About twenty percent off,” Du Xian replied.
Wang Jie pursed his lips. Was this some sort of revenge?
In the end, he agreed. Running a shop had no real meaning—how long would it take to sell a single pill? Selling directly to Du Xian would allow him to quickly recoup his costs. If he found the right pills, he could make a significant profit. Why not?
Soon, the shop was emptied out, with only the Star Force pills remaining.
Du Xian bought the regular Star Force pills too. A few hundred thousand starstones wasn’t much to her. However, she didn’t buy the Gravity Star Force Pill or the Burning Sun Star Force Pill. Those were too expensive, and she wasn’t a fool. The Strange Star Force Pills were valuable for research, but difficult to sell, making them not worth the investment.
Looking at the now-empty shop, Wang Jie exhaled. There hadn’t really been much left anyway.
A few days later, Mu Ran and his group arrived.
Almost three hundred people gathered outside the shop, and the crowd nearby thought they were there to smash the shop.
“Thank you, Master.”
“Thank you, Master Wang, for saving us.”
“Thank you…”
Mu Ran knelt down on one knee at the front, facing Wang Jie with deep gratitude.
Wang Jie raised him up, telling everyone to stand.
Mu Ran was moved. “If not for Master’s help, we would have been stuck mining forever.”
Wang Jie asked, “What about the others? Is this everyone?”
A disciple behind him spat angrily. “Those bastards betrayed us! They’d rather slander Elder Xing Xue than mine! Tch!”
Many disciples cursed in fury.
Wang Jie wasn’t surprised. It was normal. Not everyone could have feelings for the Frost Radiance Sect. He himself didn’t care either. Whether the Frost Radiance Sect existed or not wasn’t something he was concerned with.
What truly mattered was that they shouldn’t have slandered Elder Xing Xue.
Without Elder Xing Xue, these people wouldn’t have even made it this far. They might have died long ago in the cosmic void.
Those who had betrayed Elder Xing Xue wouldn’t have a good end. The Frost Radiance Sect disciples were already looked down upon by the Black White Heaven, and to insult the Elder who had saved them would only make things worse for them. They’d find it difficult to move a single step within the Zhi Academy in the future.
It was a miracle these people had lasted this long.
“Alright, follow me. You’ll stay with me for now,” Wang Jie instructed.
Mu Ran and the others responded in unison.
With that, the shop was closed, and they headed out—destination: Liuli Court.
Liuli Court was where Su Le lived within the Four Path Star Cluster. It was a beautiful place, reminding Wang Jie of the water town courtyards of Golden Hill.
Su Le was very pleased to see Wang Jie arrive, and Mu Ran and the others were all accommodated within the Liuli Court.
The spacious Liuli Court could easily fit hundreds of people without issue.
No one would dare bully them here.
Wang Jie, meanwhile, was led by Su Le to see the twelve rare starstones she had collected.
“This is the Mirage Qi Starstone,” Su Le explained. “It comes from a planet containing mirage qi. When the mirage qi merges with star force, the star force absorbed during cultivation carries an illusionary effect.”
“This is Earth Starstone. The name is simple, but the effect is quite good. The star force is thick and has defensive properties.”
“This is Bao Lei Starstone. As the name suggests, its star force contains heavenly thunder. There are many types of heavenly thunder in the universe, each with different properties. These Bao Lei Starstones contain thunder that can tear things apart.”
“This is the Burning Sand Starstone. Its star force is like burning quicksand. Once it touches you, it’s very troublesome. This is a very powerful Strange Star Force from Black White Heaven—one of the Realm Lord’s disciples cultivates this kind of star force.”
Su Le continued her explanations, including the Gravity Starstone and the Burning Sun Starstone that Wang Jie had already acquired.
In total, there were twelve different kinds.
“I’ve only managed to find these for now. The sect has discovered many Strange Planets over the years, but most of them were absorbed and destroyed by senior brothers and sisters. Cultivating Strange Star Force can break through the Full Star Realm, which would destroy a planet, so over time, the number of Strange Planets has greatly diminished,” Su Le said.
Wang Jie understood. He already knew about this.
“Not bad. Shall we begin then?” he said, fully aware of why he was so highly regarded.
Su Le was excited. “Yes! These are the pills. Please, Master, research them one by one.”
…
At the Black White Heaven, within the Zhi Learning Valley, the location of the three top factions in the Fourth Star Cloud, the Zhi Academy’s name itself came from this place.
Alchemy Heavenly Master Bai Ye resided in the Zhi Learning Valley.
“Disciple Zhi Shu, requesting to see Master Bai Ye,” a voice came from the depths of the valley.
A woman’s voice responded, “Master is in closed-door cultivation, not receiving guests.”
Zhi Shu spoke again, “Elder Sister Wan Yin, it’s been a long time. Can we meet?”
A woman emerged from the valley—her beauty graceful, her demeanor calm and dignified. There was an indescribable serenity in her every movement. “It’s been a long time, Junior Sister Zhi Shu.”
Zhi Shu smiled as she stepped forward and bowed slowly. “The last time I saw you, Elder Sister, was when we were competing for the Six Dao Wanderer title. It’s been years, and your elegance has only grown since then.”
The woman smiled. “Junior Sister, you flatter me. Master always says I’ve become lazier. If we were competing for the Six Dao Wanderer now, I might not win.”
“You’re too humble, Elder Sister. With your talent, you could easily become the Six Dao Wanderer.”
“Elder Sister, you’re too modest. But, Junior Sister, why have you come?”
Zhi Shu’s expression grew serious. “Elder Sister, is Su Le still at Zhi Academy?”
“Yes, little Junior Sister has been at Zhi Academy for some time, training. Why do you ask?”
“I’ve come to ask that you bring her back. She’s too innocent, kind, and sincere, and could easily be deceived into unnecessary disputes.”
“Ah? Tell me more.”
Zhi Shu explained Su Le’s actions in defending Wang Jie, speaking earnestly, “Ancestor Zhi Qing is furious and wanted to come personally, but I know Su Le didn’t mean any harm. She wasn’t interfering with Zhi Upper Realm’s matters. So, I convinced Ancestor to let me handle it. Please, Elder Sister, understand. Wang Jie is devious, cunning, and has vile methods. He must have deceived little Junior Sister.”
The woman nodded, understanding. “I see… But…” Her expression turned troubled. “Little Junior Sister is Master’s most favored disciple. If Master doesn’t intervene, I can’t do anything either.”
“Can’t you bring her back from Zhi Academy?”
“Not only can I not bring her back, but even if I were to scold her, she would go straight to Master, and I’d be in trouble. So, Junior Sister, please wait for Master to emerge. He’ll handle it personally.”
Zhi Shu left the Zhi Learning Valley, returning to Zhi Upper Realm to report.
“This Mo Wan Yin is clearly protecting Su Le. The Bai Ye lineage has always been like this. Ancestor, what should we do now?”
Zhi Qing’s tone was icy. “Back then, Bai Ye defied the entire Black White Heaven for a disciple. In the end, it caused quite a mess. This Su Le is even more important to her now than that previous disciple. We can’t count on her intervening. The people from Zhi Academy are already more cautious about the Zhi Learning Valley.”
“Are we just going to let Wang Jie stay at Zhi Academy? He’s caused chaos in the Lock Path Interval, and even though he’s gone now, the Elder’s Hall is still after Wu Yun’s people. We can’t intervene for now. The outside world is mocking us. If we can’t even handle Wang Jie, we…” Zhi Qing’s gaze swept across the room, and Zhi Shu paled, not daring to speak further.
After a long pause, Zhi Qing’s voice echoed. “If we can’t deal with him after one or two tries, it’s not because Xing Xue is helping him. It’s because this person has real power. He intimidated the Lock Path Interval, kidnapped people from the Elder’s Hall, intercepted Xiao Rong on a Strange Planet, and escaped under Wu Yun’s pursuit. This is no ordinary person.”
“If he weren’t just a Lock Force cultivator, I’d want to recruit him.”
Zhi Shu frowned but didn’t speak further.
“He wants Lock Force? Fine, give it to him. The materials from Lock Path Interval aren’t available for now, and he won’t get them either. To reach the Full Star Realm, he’ll need to go to Devour Star.”
Zhi Shu gasped. “Devour Star?”
Zhi Qing turned his gaze to the stars. “Announce it to the outside world—Devour Star is open.”
…
Back at Zhi Academy, Wang Jie had spent over a month conducting experiments. Well, it was actually just half a day, but he couldn’t be too quick about it. He spent the rest of his time quietly cultivating.
To the outside world, it seemed like he had been testing things day and night for over a month, which deeply moved Su Le.
It wasn’t that he had intended to deceive her, but it was just too unbelievable to explain.
Who else could refine so quickly?
“Among these pills and rare starstones, only two can be refined—Primal Bone Pill and Bone Strengthening Pill.” Wang Jie took out four pills. “Two Primal Bone Pills, one refined with Metal Star Force, the other with Earth Star Force. The same goes for the Bone Strengthening Pills. As for the rest, they haven’t been successful yet.”
Metal Star Force was a type of star force that had an interfering effect on metal items. In the realm of Strange Star Force, it wasn’t particularly noteworthy.
Su Le eagerly took the four pills, inspecting them closely. “They’ve all increased to First Fragrance after refinement! You really can refine pills.” She looked at Wang Jie in awe. “Master, you’re truly amazing.”