"One strike from a Peak Dou Huang in exchange for you helping to refine a single fifth-grade pill—this price isn't expensive, is it?"
Xiao Xue watched as Medusa said this with such confidence, her eyes widening involuntarily.
Having lived two lifetimes, she, Xiao Xue, had never seen such a thick-skinned snake!
Very well, woman, you have successfully caught my attention... scratch that.
"Besides, aren't you about to break through to Sixth-Rank? I imagine that for an Alchemist, the best way to break through their Rank is by refining medicine, right?"
Medusa continued, "Also, though my Snake-People Clan has fallen on hard times, we still have some ancestral savings."
"Perhaps there are some things you would be interested in?"
Xiao Xue paused, ultimately not voicing her refusal.
Medusa's meaning was clear—
If you help my Snake-People Clan refine medicine, I can take charge and give you some of our clan's inventory.
To Medusa, some medicinal herbs or other items were of little use in her hands since they couldn't be processed or their uses weren't understood.
Exchanging these things that weren't very useful to the Snake-People for some Medicinal Pills that could directly increase their strength was a guaranteed profit.
And for Xiao Xue, the Snake-People Clan's inventory might contain some treasures that couldn't be bought anywhere else.
After all, although this was a desolate desert, it was still part of the Northwest Region of the Fighting Qi Continent—a place where talents emerged, spirits flourished, and Opportunities were everywhere.
If there really was something good, she would truly hit the jackpot.
The two of them were like one person who didn't know the value of things and another who also didn't know the value; both sides thought they were the ones committing robbery.
Xiao Xue couldn't help but recall the time the Rabbit sold rockets to the Camel.
["Dear, I want this much."]
["Young hero, your business conscience is too good."]
["I meant in USD."]
["Does the young hero look down on this Sha? Of course it's USD."]
Both parties in the transaction were very satisfied.
Xiao Xue smiled and nodded, "Alright, Queen, a pleasure cooperating with you."
"Very well. Hua She Er, take the guest down to rest," Medusa said, turning to Hua She Er.
"Yes, Queen." After witnessing Xiao Xue's strength, Hua She Er lowered her head and accepted Medusa's arrangement.
"Honored guest, please follow me."
Xiao Xue followed Hua She Er out of the temple, eyeing the back of Hua She Er as she led the way.
Although this Hua She Er didn't look bad, the way her snake waist swayed was more than a level below Medusa's temperament.
"How many sets of Materials for the Dou Ling Pill can your Snake-People Clan scrape together right now?"
On the way to the Sleeping Quarters with Hua She Er, Xiao Xue asked casually.
Hua She Er hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided to obey Her Majesty's orders:
"These Materials are quite precious. I'm afraid the Snake-People Clan can only gather ten sets at most right now."
"Just that much? Then bring them all to me tomorrow. I can finish eight or ten Dou Ling Pills in two or three days."
Hua She Er: "...?"
Hua She Er looked confused. In her memory, when asking an Alchemist to refine medicine, one usually prepared three sets of Materials to receive one Medicinal Pill, plus some extra rewards to entice the Alchemist.
In short, wasn't it normal to get three or four finished products from ten sets of Materials?
Even when inviting a high-Rank Alchemist to refine low-Rank pills, one still needed to prepare three sets of Materials.
Even if they could refine more pills, most Alchemists would pocket the extra Materials or pills.
This was already a "rule" that everyone tacitly understood.
But she was seeing someone like Xiao Xue for the first time—someone who claimed they could give eight or ten pills for ten sets of Materials.
However, since Xiao Xue didn't elaborate, she didn't dare to ask.
Thus, Xiao Xue settled down right next to Queen Medusa's temple.
Besides Hua She Er guarding her, there was also a group of Dou Master-Rank Snake Girls specifically serving Xiao Xue.
The next day, Hua She Er not only brought the Materials for the Dou Ling Pill but also, under Medusa's instructions, brought the fifth-grade Medicinal Formulas and matching Materials from the Snake-People Clan's collection.
Usually, the Snake-People would just mix these Materials together, crush them, and consume them directly.
Now that they could be refined directly into Medicinal Pills, it was naturally much better than swallowing them raw.
The next few days passed quite peacefully.
Xiao Xue was refining medicine for the Snake-People Clan, while Medusa was preparing for her evolution.
Xiao Xue basically maintained a pace of refining two fifth-grade pills a day, with her success rate stabilizing at over ninety percent.
During these days, there was no shortage of Snake-People seeking an audience with Queen Medusa.
Without exception, they were all dissatisfied that a human held such a high status within the Snake-People Clan.
However, after Xiao Xue released her Soul Power to intimidate the various leaders of the Snake-People Clan and produced the Dou Ling Pills...
Under Medusa's authorization and her own strength, those voices of resistance were gradually suppressed.
While refining medicine, Xiao Xue was also Cultivating her Fighting Qi, taking time to level up a few times and reaching the Three-Star Dou Ling Rank.
After all, she would soon be able to refine the Bone Chilling Flame and completely step into the Sixth-Rank Alchemist Realm.
Any pill below the eighth grade could be compensated for with refining techniques and Soul Power.
Xiao Xue's Soul Power had always been sufficient; by comparison, her Peak Sixth Grade Soul Power was comparable to an ordinary Dou Zong.
Her physical strength was also comparable to a Rank 4 or even Rank 5 Demonic Beast, while her Fighting Qi cultivation was only at one-star Dou Ling.
With Xiao Xue's Dou Ling cultivation, even if her Soul Power reached Peak Sixth Grade, she wouldn't be able to refine high-grade sixth-Rank pills.
Intermediate sixth-Rank was her current limit after refining the Bone Chilling Flame.
Because Xiao Xue's Fighting Qi simply wasn't enough to support such long periods of consumption.
Ordinary Alchemists were often limited by insufficient Soul Power and relied on Breakthroughs in Fighting Qi to enhance their Soul Power.
Xiao Xue was different from most; her Fighting Qi cultivation couldn't keep up with her Soul.
Medusa had not yet handed over the ice spirit cold spring and ice spirit cold marrow, clearly using them as bargaining chips.
If Xiao Xue took the items and ran, Medusa might not be able to stop her, which would mean losing both the bait and the fish.
Therefore, if Xiao Xue wanted to get the items and refine the Bone Chilling Flame, she would likely have to wait until after Medusa's evolution.
However, Xiao Xue wasn't in a hurry; the Snake-People Clan was right here, and the monk can run but the temple can't.
As for the Bone Chilling Flame, a day or two really wouldn't make a difference.
This month, Xiao Xue used thirteen sets of Materials to refine nine Dou Ling Pills and several other pills, all of which she handed over to the Snake-People Clan.
This resulted in Hua She Er and the other snakes respecting Xiao Xue even more—
In their understanding, this was a success rate that only a Sixth-Rank Alchemist could achieve.
Although Xiao Xue was a human, her status within the Snake-People Clan was now second only to Queen Medusa.
A few days later, seeing that Xiao Xue had finished her refining, Hua She Er stepped forward with a sway of her hips and said:
"Master Xiao Xue, Her Majesty is preparing to evolve in the next few days. She hopes you can rest recently and build up your strength."
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/DaoistRoeoNQ
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"