"Kid Jiang, take these Elixirs. This fulfills that IOU."
Elder Ding handed four bottles of Elixirs to Jiang Feng.
Two of them contained thirteen Supreme-Tier Sea Origin Elixirs refined by Elder Ding himself.
The third bottle held nine Supreme-Tier Sea Origin Elixirs refined by Jiang Feng.
And the fourth bottle stored a single One Danxia rank Sea Origin Elixir.
Jiang Feng accepted the Elixirs, feeling quite pleased.
He had succeeded in Alchemy today and obtained so many Elixirs.
The only question was—how long could these Sea Origin Elixirs sustain his cultivation?
"By the way, Elder Ding, I'd like to ask a question."
Something had suddenly occurred to Jiang Feng, prompting him to speak up.
"Go ahead."
Elder Ding responded.
"The batch of materials we just used—roughly how much did it cost, and how many Elixirs need to be refined to break even?"
Jiang Feng asked curiously.
"Hehe... Rare to see a sword cultivator worry about an Alchemist's concerns..."
"Not gonna lie, to break even on refining Supreme-Tier Sea Origin Elixirs, one needs to produce at least four Elixirs from a batch."
"For other Elixirs, the same—four Elixirs from one batch is the breakeven point."
"That One Danxia rank Sea Origin Elixir you just refined—just one of those is enough to recover the full cost."
Elder Ding explained.
Thinking back on the previous scene, he felt rather conflicted.
He had refined Elixirs for decades, yet couldn't match this prodigy's monstrous talent.
Indeed… you can't compare yourself to freaks—it's too demoralizing!
"Huh...? So Alchemy can actually be this profitable…!"
Jiang Feng blinked in surprise.
That meant his last batch of Elixirs...
He actually made a net profit of nine Supreme-Tier Sea Origin Elixirs.
Even if he spent three on materials, he still had a surplus of six.
If he kept this cycle going...
Tsk tsk tsk...
Jiang Feng's eyes gleamed.
He could almost see Mysterious Qi Stones pouring into his pocket.
Elder Ding: "...."
Xiao Ziyue: "...."
The two of them rolled their eyes in unison at Jiang Feng's remarks.
"Kid Jiang, you think everyone can produce ten finished Elixirs from a single batch like you...?"
"Most Alchemists, if they can break even on Elixirs of the same rank, they're doing pretty well already."
"I, an Old Man, when refining Rank 7 Elixirs, feel lucky if I get two per batch—breaking even isn't even on the table."
Elder Ding glared at Jiang Feng with annoyance.
Alchemists often operated at a loss in the lower ranks.
Only after reaching Rank 5 could they start to profit.
In this world, Alchemists had to endure heavy investments early on to enjoy gains later.
Within Demon Sky Sword Sect, he was the Peak Elder of Danxia Peak and its only Rank 7 Alchemist.
Danxia Peak had over 3,000 disciples.
Yet those with any Alchemy talent numbered less than 500.
Among them, he had only three Rank 6 Alchemists, and fewer than thirty Rank 5s.
The rest were still in training.
It showed how hard the Alchemist path truly was.
"Hehe… I see now."
Jiang Feng chuckled awkwardly.
"By the way, Elder Ding, what rank is the Sea Origin Elixir?"
Jiang Feng asked.
"A Rank 5 Elixir. Why do you ask?"
Elder Ding replied.
Rank 5, huh...?
Even a Rank 7 Alchemist like Elder Ding only had about a 60–70% success rate.
Jiang Feng nodded slightly.
"Then, Elder, what's your usual success rate when refining Rank 6 Elixirs?"
After a brief pause, Jiang Feng asked another question.
"For Rank 6 Elixirs? About 30%."
Elder Ding didn't dare exaggerate in front of Jiang Feng.
He might get slapped in the face unexpectedly—he couldn't afford to lose face.
"Elder Ding, I have a money-making proposal..."
"You provide the Rank 6 Elixir recipes and corresponding materials, I'll handle the Alchemy..."
"Regardless of success rate, you get at least five Elixirs; the rest go to me."
"If luck has it and we produce two One Danxia rank Elixirs, we split them one each."
At last, Jiang Feng revealed his little plan.
Xiao Ziyue blinked rapidly.
She was shocked: Junior Brother Jiang really dares to say anything…!
She was about to offer a word of caution, but her master spoke first.
"Agreed! Let's cooperate just as you said!"
"Wait here, I'll go make preparations right away!"
Before the words even faded, Elder Ding rushed out like a whirlwind.
He didn't give the two a chance to respond at all...
Elder Ding was in great spirits.
He actually thought Kid Jiang was getting cocky.
After all, he was just starting in Alchemy, with little experience.
To make such a high-risk promise to a veteran like him-
Clearly, he had no idea how difficult it was to refine Rank 6 Elixirs!
Elder Ding's little scheme was this:
Once Jiang Feng failed repeatedly and racked up debts of high-Tier materials and Elixirs, it would be too late to back out.
When Old Man Yun came to retrieve him, he wouldn't have the resources to do so.
Hehehe...!
Elder Ding praised his own brilliance.
Kid Jiang was destined to stay with Danxia Peak!
"Junior Brother Jiang, did you just walk right into my master's trap?"
"Maybe... you should sneak away while you still can...?"
After Elder Ding left, Xiao Ziyue spoke up worriedly.
After all, Jiang Feng had saved her life.
She felt her master was being a bit underhanded this time.
To agree to such an impossible deal...?
Clearly taking advantage of Junior Brother Jiang's ignorance about the difficulty of refining high-Tier Elixirs...
"This is fine. I know what I'm doing."
"By the way, Senior Sister Xiao, is there a secret chamber here... I'd like to cultivate a bit."
Jiang Feng nodded, then asked.
"Mm... there is. Let me show you."
Seeing he had no intention of leaving, Xiao Ziyue stopped persuading him.
Soon, Jiang Feng was led to a secret chamber below.
Once the door was shut, Jiang Feng took out a bottle of Top-Tier Primary Spirit Elixirs.
These were his reward for placing first in the Outer Mountain Grand Competition.
Now that he had plenty of Elixirs, he decided to cultivate the Formless Immortal-Suppressing Seal first.
Jiang Feng took one Top-Tier Primary Spirit Elixir and swallowed it.
In an instant, it transformed into pure energy.
Under Jiang Feng's control, the Formless Immortal-Suppressing Seal began to circulate.
This pure power flowed through his Eight Extraordinary Meridians in a special path.
But after just one cycle, he noticed something wrong.
That's it...?
The Sea Origin Elixir's effects were already gone...?
What the hell! That's outrageous!
This was a Top-Tier Primary Spirit Elixir!
And it only sustained the Formless Immortal-Suppressing Seal for one cycle...?
Jiang Feng's face darkened...
He was dumbfounded.
Now he finally understood what Elder Yun meant when he said:
"This Cultivation Technique burns money. The more you practice, the poorer you become."
It wasn't just "burning money"-it was incinerating it!
But fine. He had a way to make money now.
This Heaven-Rank-transcending Cultivation Technique—he'd bite the bullet and train it anyway.
Jiang Feng looked up and popped the remaining nine top-Tier Primary Spirit Elixirs into his mouth.
Buzz... buzz... buzz...!
Nine Top-Tier Sea Origin Elixirs transformed into vast streams of pure power, rushing through Jiang Feng's entire body.
He felt his Eight Meridians ache from the pressure.
If it were an average cultivator, they'd probably have their body torn apart.
Fortunately, he had previously cultivated Mountain-Bearing Art to the Sixth Layer.
This had built a strong foundation.
So even though this power was wildly surging, he only felt some pain—nothing serious.
Jiang Feng gritted his teeth and continued cultivating Formless Immortal-Suppressing Seal.
When the Primary Spirit Elixirs ran out, he switched to Supreme-Tier Sea Origin Elixirs.
He had no intention of leaving the chamber until all his Elixirs were used up.
Just like that, three days passed.
Outside the chamber, Elder Ding was getting impatient.
He had gathered every Rank 6 Elixir formula and high-Tier material in Demon Sky Sword Sect.
In his words: "If we're playing, let's play big!"
This round would either end in massive profit or just wasted materials!
But either way, he was determined to make Jiang Feng this little monster take him as a master—
and stay at Danxia Peak forever...
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。