Chapter 1943: Old Acquaintance

He had collected a total of 257,200 points this time. One pill cost 100,000 points alone, so there was no way for him to purchase a second one.

In terms of his feelings, he had planned to give the Marrow Cleansing Pill to Huanzhao. After all, her aptitude was the lowest, and she was also the first one to show him warmth in this world. But his reason told him that if he gave this Marrow Cleansing Pill to Huanzhao, it would only raise her from being a cultivation idiot to an ordinary person. Doing so would still be quite upsetting to everyone else. In contrast, if he gave it to someone with very good aptitude, it could raise their aptitude to an even higher level, so the effects would be great.

He was starting to feel a headache when he suddenly thought of something. He remembered that in the secret dungeon, the Baopu Sutra had unlocked the Gourmet System. As long as he knew a recipe and tasted it before, he could recreate the original dish. Still, he wondered if this Marrow Cleansing Pill was considered food.

Zu An was a bit hesitant. After all, this thing would already be useless to him even if he ate it. If the Gourmet System didn’t activate, that would only waste a Marrow Cleansing Pill.

He thought about all of his sweethearts and how all of them needed it. Even if he left this pill behind, it wouldn’t be enough to divide between them. Thus, he gritted his teeth and scraped off a bit to put into his mouth.

Suddenly, he felt a strange sensation spread from the tip of his tongue. It was as if the data stream from ‘The Matrix’ flew through his mind. The Gourmet System’s voice calle dout:

“Sample insufficient; unable to carry out further analysis. Please add in more of the sample.”

Zu An’s eyes lit up. There was a chance! As such, he decided to just throw the entire pill into his mouth. He didn’t even dare to make any swallowing motions, and instead let it slowly dissolve in his mouth, doing his best to taste the pill so the Gourmet System could fully analyze its components.

A while later, a line of text floated before his eyes.

Marrow Cleansing Pill, a rare pill medicine used in the cultivation world to increase one’s aptitude. Its components are a Greenfire Brain, Hollow Cicada Leaf, and Devilight Sand, as well as an auspicious beast’s parts as the primary ingredient; for instance, a Bai Ze’s horn, a Sphinx’s core…

Zu An was overjoyed. This Gourmet System not only provided the composition, but also gave him a detailed recipe. That meant as long as he had the necessary ingredients, he could make as many of them as he wanted, and he didn’t have to worry about the limitations of the Rage system at all. He recalled how unhappy he had been when he first heard about the new system, thinking that it was mocking him for not knowing how to cook or something.

I was wrong! The system is the GOAT.

At the same time, he was a bit curious. Just what kind of thing had given him this system? He had still been weak in the past, so he'd only had endless joy after obtaining the system. He had seen too many fictional novels, and the main character having such a system was just too common. He had been too lazy to think about the deeper implications of it.

But as he grew more and more powerful, and now that he was practically the strongest being in this world, he had an entirely different view of the system. He had two worlds worth of experiences in one body, and he had even visited many of the mysterious secret dungeons of this world and encountered too many powerful beings that exceeded the limits of his imagination. And yet, even though his experience and knowledge were vast, he still couldn't understand the system at all.

He didn’t understand the fundamental principles at work, he didn’t know whether it was a tangible thing, and he had no idea how he was able to use so many miraculous abilities. Just what kind of thing had created this keyboard system?

Whoever it was, he must have been really handsome, right…

He thought to himself for a long time, but he didn’t manage to get anywhere. He could only temporarily bury those thoughts at the bottom of his heart. Thus, he turned his attention to the Marrow Cleansing Pill’s materials - the Greenfire Brain, Hollow Cicada Leaf, and Devilight Sand. These were all things he was only hearing about for the first time, and the main medicine consisting of parts of auspicious beasts also seemed a bit difficult to procure.

He had heard of the Bai Ze before, as it was something that had appeared before in his previous world’s mythology. It was something that could communicate with all things and recognized the appearance of all living things. It knew all kinds of strange names and ways of subduing them, and its entire body was a treasure. It could even miraculously bring back one from the brink of death. That was why it was always known as a symbol of auspiciousness. It was rumored that its head and four claws were like those of a lion, and its forehead had a single horn. Around its neck was a ring of white hair like that of a lion’s mane. Its tail was shaped like that of a fox, and was shaggy and extremely fluffy. Most of the Bai Ze’s body was white in color, but its back, four limbs, and the tip of his tail were a dark gray…

Zu An was getting a bit of a headache. Where would he find a legendary creature like that?

Meanwhile, the Sphinx was an old acquaintance. It was an ancient Egyptian creature. There was even a famous statue of a Sphinx. He had heard Zhao Han’s group talk about encountering a creature that was supposed to be a Sphinx in the secret dungeon he'd entered, and it was something that had only cast its projection from a different dimension far away.

Hm? Wait a minute… Why do I feel as if China's Bai Ze and Egypt’s Sphinx look a bit similar? They look a lot like lions. They're not the same creature, are they? Could it be that they just have different names in different places?

Still, regardless of whether it was the same type of creature, they were both extremely rare. He didn’t know where he would be able to find them at all.

Sigh, I was planning to refine more of these Marrow Cleansing Pills, but now, who knows whether purchasing them through Rage points or creating them will be easier.

…

He was so frustrated that he left the room and went straight to Shen Xuzi’s place midway up the mountain. After all, in terms of knowledge regarding pill refinement, there was probably no one who knew more than him. Perhaps he would know about many of the ingredients involved.

When he arrived, Shen Xuzi was excitedly showing off some unnecessarily complicated machines and puppets.

Sang Qien saw Zu An and her eyes immediately lit up. Even though she was really interested in what her teacher was teaching her, she always felt a bit nervous when she was separated from big brother Zu.

“Does the libationer have something important, to have come in such a hurry?” Shen Xuzi asked, keenly sensing Zu An's arrival.

Zu An consoled Sang Qien through a ki transmission first, then said, “So it’s like this. I was wondering if you had heard of some medicinal ingredients before…”

When he heard everything, Shen Xuzi said, “Devilight Sand is important for many high-quality pills and is quite rare. It’s something countless alchemists wish to get their hands on. You might not even find a trace of it if you search your entire lifetime.”

Zu An frowned and asked, “Then doesn’t that mean I’m out of luck?”

To think that one ingredient was this rare; he still had so many others to worry about!

Shen Xuzi had a proud expression as he said, “Worry not, libationer! I have some here.”

No one even saw him do any gestures, but then a puppet walked over, creaking audibly. In its hands was a container. Shen Xuzi reached out his hand and carefully poured out a bit of sand from the jar. From how carefully he treated it, it was as if he were handling the root of life. Zu An noticed that the sand was different from ordinary sand. It gave off a faint purple hue, and didn’t look precisely like sand, but more like a bowl of water.

“Is the libationer preparing to refine some pills?” Shen Xuzi asked with a smile. “Since the libationer has just taken your position, this Devilight Sand will just be my congratulatory gift then.”

“How could I accept something like this?” Zu An replied. Despite that, he didn’t hold back, his eyes shining as he took the container right out of Shen Xuzi's hands. He was going to refine Marrow Cleansing Pills, and the amount he needed was considerable.

Shen Xuzi was stunned.

I meant that I was going to give you the bit in my palm, so why did you take the entire container away?

He said resentfully, “This thing is really precious, you know? I can’t just give you that much unless you pay more!”

“But of course,” Zu An said with a smile. “It’s just that I urgently need this stuff, or else I wouldn’t have asked for so much.”

He knew that Shen Xuzi was well-known for being poor. After all, whether it was alchemy or puppet refining, they both burned up money.

As such, he took out roughly a cubic meter of heaven-grade ki stones from his Brilliant Glass Bead and asked, “Is this enough?”

These ki stones had been given to him by Yu Yanluo from Cloudcenter Commandery.

Having a sugar mommy really does feel good.

“It’s enough, it’s enough!” Shen Xuzi replied, his eyes shining brilliantly. He had naturally seen this amount of ki stones before, but not heaven-grade ones! He eventually remarked, “By the way, can the libationer let me take a look at your storage pouch one day? I want to see just how it's able to store so much…”

After all, the amount storage pouches could contain was extremely limited. They could only carry some essential goods. How could they produce a cubic meter of ki stones in an instant?

“It’s not a storage pouch, but rather a treasure I obtained in the past,” Zu An replied.

“Is that so?” Shen Xuzi replied, feeling a bit disappointed. If it was a treasure, he couldn't really ask for it. And if it wasn’t even a storage pouch, he had no way of duplicating it.

“Right, do you know about the other ingredients?” Zu An then asked.

Shen Xuzi replied, “The Greenfire Brain is called a brain, but it's actually a flower. When the flower blooms, it resembles a burning flame, but also like a human brain. That's how it obtained its name. This item is also extremely precious, and I don't have any on me. If I'm not mistaken, the Imperial Hospital shouldn’t have any either. The libationer can ask around in the Hub of Freedom. I’ve heard that it's appeared before in their auctions.”

“Hub of Freedom?” Zu An repeated with a frown. From the intelligence he had received before, the Hub of Freedom seemed to have ties with the Meng clan’s royal family. With his status as the imperial grandson, he really didn’t want to become too involved with them. The late libationer seemed to have had deep ties with the Hub of Freedom, though. His disciple…

“Right, I visit them pretty often. The Hub of Freedom offers a medium of exchange for all of the world’s cultivators. After all, many of the world’s precious things can often only be bartered for,” Shen Xuzi replied.

When he saw that Shen Xuzi and Hub of Freedom didn’t have the kind of relationship he was thinking of, Zu An sighed in relief. He didn’t want to get any further involved with Hub of Freedom, so he could only have the Embroidery House look into it. At least with his current status as the Embroidered Envoy's Chief Commander, Academy's libationer, and the human and fiend Regent, looking for the Greenfire Brain was much easier than if he had to search on his own. He had to admit that status and position changed everything. It made everything much easier than if he had been an ordinary person. It was no wonder that, whether it was the previous world or this one, everyone wanted to climb up the social ladder.

“As for the Hollow Cicada Leaf, I've never heard of it. If I'm not mistaken, you won’t be able to find it in the Hub of Freedom,” Shen Xuzi said with a hint of pride. If it was something he didn’t even know about, the Hub of Freedom naturally wouldn’t either.

Zu An was a bit discouraged.

Could it be that this item doesn’t exist in this world?

Sang Qien suddenly said, “From what I know, the second sir in the rear mountains is a doctor who knows about all of the herbs of the world. Do you think he might know about this Hollow Cicada Leaf?”

Shen Xuzi’s eyes lit up. He said, “I would have almost forgotten if you hadn’t talked about it. Second brother might actually have a chance of knowing about this thing.”

Zu An couldn't help but ask, “Just who is this second brother of yours?”

Shen Xuzi said with a smile, “The libationer also came from Brightmoon City, now that I think about it, so you might know second brother. His name is Ji Dengtu. With his skills in medicine, even if he has declined, there's no reason for him to be completely without fame. Has the libationer heard of him before?”