Eternal Cultivation of Alchemy

"Do you have any wounds?"

"No, I already ate a healing pill," Alex answered.

"Then do you have the conflict recorded on some talisman?"

"No, there was no time for that," Alex answered again.

"And the pill you made, did you have an agreement written down beforehand? Or did you take the job through the Mission Hall?"

"No, it had to be done quickly, so I didn't have the time." Alex was frustrated, but he still answered the question without letting the emotions slip into his voice.

"Then I cannot help you."

The Elder in front of Alex looked at him with impassive eyes as he answered him. "Please come again once you've gathered some evidence."

Alex had a blank expression by the end, unable to believe that the Elder had fully ignored his request. Had that really just happened?

'I can't believe this,' Alex thought.

Alex wanted to ask the elder if he didn't like what he did, or if he was simply protecting Bai Wanzhao. Neither question would put him in a good place, so Alex ignored the man in the end and left the Disciple Hall.

'Goddamn sect! I can't wait to leave this place once I've gathered enough money for myself,' he thought.

Alex decided to go back home, but before he could leave the valley, he remembered that Elder Lan had called him to the Elder's Hall later that day.

'Actually, it should be time now,' Alex thought and made his way to the Elder's Hall.

The Elder's Hall was a large pyramid-shaped, 5-storied building with a large base and narrow top. Alex entered the building but was immediately stopped in the hallway.

"Disciples aren't allowed here," an Elder he had never met before said and tried to push him out.

"I'm sorry, Elder. I come upon Elder Lan's request. Would it be alright to ask if you know where he is?" Alex asked.

"Elder Lan? Which one?" the elder asked.

"Um, the one that manages the Alchemy store," Alex answered.

The elder nodded. "Come with me."

Alex followed the elder and arrived at a small room.

"Elder Lan, did you request a disciple to come meet you?"

Elder Lan poked his thin head out of the room and looked at Alex. "Ah! Junior Dawnblade, you're here. Thank you, Elder Jin, I did request him."

The elder nodded and simply left.

"Come on in," Elder Lan said and walked back into the room with Alex following behind.

As Alex entered, the very first thing he noticed was the various combinations of aromas in the air that were very much telling of the fact that a lot of pills had been made in this room, and that too very recently.

The white room Alex entered was quite large with a few Alchemists already working inside, but they were all Elders or at least staff hired by the sect. Those weren't disciples at all.

"Come on, sit. What did you think about my request? You must've accepted it, that's why you came, right?" Elder Lan asked.

"Our discussion was cut short, Elder Lan. I'm afraid I do not fully understand what I'm getting myself into, which is why I came. I do believe I will like what you have to offer, but I should listen to it fully."

"What I ask of you is simple," the elder said. "You make pills in this room on behalf of the sect, and in return, you get paid for it."

"How heavy is the workflow?" Alex asked.

"Somewhere between 800 and 2000 pills a month. But don't worry, as you can see we have 3 other people working at all times, so you won't have to make a lot of pills," Elder Lan said excitedly. "Not to mention, you will only be making the easy pills. Anything unique or rare, I will handle."

Alex nodded. While 200 pills a week would certainly be a lot to handle for him, considering how mentally draining it was to make a single Immortal pill, he was certain he could handle it when working in a group.

"If I have to make no more than 100 pills a week, then I can work with that," Alex said. 15 pills a day wasn't too much to ask for.

Elder Lan chuckled. "You are a new Immortal. We certainly can't ask you for more than 100 pills a month at the start, let alone a week. You will make 3 or 4 pills every day at best. Maybe we will increase the number depending on how you do."

Alex was quite grateful for how thoughtful the Elder was being about the whole thing. It was improving his mood quite a bit after what had happened just an hour earlier.

Alex recalled not being paid by Bai Wanzhao and realized he needed to ask about that.

"What about my compensation, Elder?" Alex asked. "Do I get paid in contribution points? If possible, I would like to request to be paid in alchemy ingredients."

"Alchemy ingredients? Are you sure?" the Elder asked.

"Absolutely," Alex said. "While Contribution points would be good as well, I will ultimately use them to buy those ingredients anyway."

Elder Lan chuckled once again. "I was intending to pay you in Spirit stones, but if ingredients will work, then sure," he said.

Alex paused. "I'm sorry. Spirit stones?" he asked.

Elder Lan saw his puzzled look and smiled. "Yes, Spirit stones."

Alex continuedbeingpuzzled. "Don't all disciples get paid in Contribution points? I've never heard of anyone being paid in Spirit stones."

"It is true thatdisciples are only paid in Contribution points," Elder Lan said. "But while you work for me, for the sect, you become a little more than just a disciple."

"While you aren't exactly a staff, you do get some of their perks. One of which is that you get paid in Spirit stones," the elder said.

"Oh!" Alex was surprised, and then a smile formed on his face. "May I ask how much I will be paid?"

"5 Immortal Spirit stones for every pill you make," the Elder said. "1 Spirit stones for every additional 5% beyond 50% until 75%. Then 1 Spirit stone for every additional 1% above that. Oh yeah, 50% is the very minimum you need to make or the pill will be discarded, and you will not get paid for it."

Alex's mind didn't even process the second half of the information. He was simply stuck on the fact that he would be earning 5 Immortal Spirit stones with the potential to earn 5 extra Spirit stones each time even after messing around with the recipe.

In fact,he had the opportunity to easily earn 35 Immortal Spirit stones with each pill, but he had to hold back when making the pills. He couldn't show off too much after all or it would draw attention to him.

He was supposed to live his life in the shadows until he reached his family in the Sky God's Palace.

"I can already see that you're excited about this," Elder Lan said. "What do you say? You wanna join?"

Alex gave a wide grin and nodded. "Absolutely,Elder Lan. Count me in."