The Dawn of the New World

Hao Xuan agreed and went where Ryfon had pointed without wasting any time. Ensis and Monk had been gone the entire night and they should have had some news by now.

He checked the spirit band but it didn't have any signals, which wasn't unexpected. It shouldn't work here since this was a different space altogether.

"Baracus, make the list of items you need. I'll give it to Ryfon so he can have it made while I'm staying here. I don't think I will have time to personally meet with the blacksmith. Also, take into account any other things we might need in the future and buy them at once, money isn't an issue right now," Hao Xuan reminded Baracus.

*Beep*

"Do you trust this Satyr creature with something like that?" Baracus inquired about the deal Hao Xuan had made with Ysolt.

Back at the inn when he showed the purple liquid to Ysolt, he almost had a heart attack.

***

"Where? S-Sell it to me!" Ysolt stuttered and bit his tongue in the process.

"Ouch! Damn it!" he spat out a mouthful of blood and looked at Hao Xuan earnestly, "Please, sell this to me, I'll give you howeve-WHATEVER you want! Please!" he almost fell to his knees begging for it.

Even Hao Xuan himself was taken aback when he saw his reaction. Ysolt was a pretty high-level alchemist, able to create potions, elixirs, and everything in between for cultivators of Profound Realm even. He surely wasn't lacking any gold or silver, that was for certain.

"Relax relax, calm down, jeez. Why do you need it so badly? I mean I know it's expensive but why are you so desperate?" Hao Xuan asked curiously.

Ysolt fell on the chair behind him lifelessly, taking a few deep breaths to collect his thoughts and calm down.

"Listen, since Ryfon introduced us, I'm not going to lie to you. This thing is precious, much more so than you realize but that's not why I want it. I want it for personal reasons, that's all I can say," Ysolt wiped the blood off his face and knelt.

"But if you sell it to me, I will owe you for the rest of my life, I swear to the heavens above and hells below, and everything in between. I will be at your beck and call for as long as I live, that is my promise to you."

His voice started cracking near the end and Hao Xuan realized just how badly he wanted this little vile that was a literal drop in the ocean for him.

He bent down and picked Ysolt up by the shoulders, "A man shouldn't be so quick to kneel. You have helped me today, so think of this as a gift, keep it. In exchange, if you can, tell me what's the use for it and why you want it so badly? It's just to satisfy my curiosity. If you don't want to say anything then forget asked," he winked and patted his shoulder before sitting down and lighting up one of the cigarettes for the first time.

Ysolt's eyes almost popped out of his sockets as he stared at the small vile in his hand, "You...would really just....give it to me? Even after I told you how valuable it is?"

Hao Xuan sucked on the herbal cigarette for the first time and started coughing. The whites of his eyes turned red instantly as he nodded while trying to stop himself from coughing his lung out.

*Cough*Cough*Cough*

"Y-Yeah, I have more where that came from-"

*Cough*Cough*Cough*

"-so don't worry about it."

*Cough*Cough*

Ysolt extended his hand and a stream of blue Qi came out of his palm and attached itself to Hao Xuan's chest. It entered his body through his skin and helped the smoke reach where it needed to, stopping his coughing.

"T-Thanks," Hao Xuan took in a deep breath, "That went down the wrong hole oh my god..." he said taking in another breath. T

his was his first time smoking so obviously, it would be a learning process.

Ysolt looked at Hao Xuan and realized he really didn't want anything in return.

"Thank you, truly. Anytime you need something you can just ask, it will be on the house," he told Hao Xuan resolutely.

Hao Xuan laughed, "Don't worry about it. So, its uses?"

"Oh, well, that's easier asked than answered. This 'liquid' doesn't have a set name. It's called by different names in different places, but they all roughly translate to 'panacea'. It has as many uses as you can imagine. It can be used in alchemy to 'significantly' boost the effectiveness of elixirs and medicines, thereby saving entire fortunes."

"Saving how much exactly?"

"That depends on the elixir in question you know. Alchemy is a trial and error process. Even if you have the exact recipe, you will still fail 8-9 times of out 10. Of course, the higher the alchemist's mastery of the elements, of his or her own skills, etc, the higher the chance of success but it still doesn't get better than 40% success rate even for the top experts."

"But just a few drops of this magical little thing, that success rate can reach 90% and it even increases the effects of whatever you're making. Similarly, it can also be used by blacksmiths, by engravers, by talisman experts, by the formation experts, treasure crafting, etc. Basically, if something uses any ingredient or item that has spiritual energy, this liquid can increase its power and efficiency."

"As for why I need it, its a long story for some other time."

***

"Yeah, he had honest eyes. He doesn't seem like a bad person," Hao Xuan replied remembering their conversation. He told Ysolt that there was a lot more of it where this came from and whether he could find someone to sell it.

Ysolt told him that if he just wanted to sell it quickly then he didn't have to look far. Ryfon or Wu Jin would gladly buy every last drop, but he suggested an alternative as well.

"There is always a demand for high-quality elixirs, medicines, potions, poisons, etc of all kinds. Instead of selling it directly, make use of it. With such a high success rate you could literally be rolling in money, women, men if that's your thing, whatever the hell you want, but that will take some time."

What Ysolt suggested was a long term project.

So Hao Xuan called Wu Jin and told him to work with Ysolt in an official capacity and help him with whatever he needed.. As one of the three biggest clans in the academy, it shouldn't be a problem if he was to take part in it.