Chapter 309: If I Have No Morals, How Will Void Refining Respond?

Thanks to this retarded System, Qi Yuan's originally wonderful mood vanished in an instant.

By now, that icy Female Sword Immortal must have figured out what kind of things those novels he gave her were. It would be a blessing if she didn't slash at him with her sword the next time they met.

In other words, Qin Lingxue's current favorability toward him was most likely negative. In her mind, his identity as the Dao Child of Tai Xuan was probably on par with a perverted sex fiend. The difficulty of conquering her was at the Hell level… The more Qi Yuan thought about it, the more his head ached. He simply decided to stop thinking about it for now and planned to set this task aside until after the Alchemist Competition.

Anyway, the time given by the System for the task was quite ample, so there was no need to rush.

Thinking of this, he suppressed his guilt, casually withdrew the Restriction set up in the room, pushed open the door, and walked out.

As soon as he stepped out, he saw several people wearing the attire of the Alchemist Association standing under the inn's porch, seemingly waiting for something.

When Qi Yuan emerged from the room, their eyes instantly lit up, and they quickly came forward to greet him.

"May I ask if Your Excellency is Young Master Xu, Xu Fu?"

The speaker was a short, plump middle-aged alchemist with a round face and a small goatee. His face was covered in smiles, making him look very kind.

Seeing these people, Qi Yuan raised an eyebrow and nodded, saying:

"Indeed, I am the Loose Cultivator Xu Fu. May I ask what advice you all have for me?"

Hearing him admit his identity, the middle-aged alchemist's expression became even more eager. He cupped his hands amiably and said:

"Young Master Xu, I am Fan Xiao, an Executive Elder of the Alchemist Association. Our President has important matters to discuss with you and has specially ordered us to escort you to the association headquarters for a talk."

Hearing this, Qi Yuan did not act pretentious and immediately nodded in agreement:

"In that case, I'll trouble you all to lead the way."

He had long expected an invitation from the Alchemist Association. After all, he had used the identity of "Xu Fu" when registering at the inn yesterday. If they couldn't even find that, then the Alchemist Association would be far too useless… Not long after, Qi Yuan entered the Alchemist Association headquarters again under the lead of the group of alchemists.

Unlike the last time, he took an internal passage, completely avoiding the noisy crowds outside.

Outside a secluded and quiet thatched cottage, Fan Xiao stopped and respectfully made a gesture of invitation toward Qi Yuan, saying politely:

"Young Master Xu, please go in. The President has been waiting for a long time."

Qi Yuan said nothing and stepped into the cottage.

As soon as he entered, a rich aroma of herbs greeted him.

The four walls of the room were bare, and the furnishings were very simple and plain. Aside from a desk and a few bamboo chairs, there was nothing else.

If one hadn't seen it with their own eyes, it would be hard to imagine that the person living here was the immensely wealthy President of the Alchemist Association.

Among the countless major and minor forces in the Cultivation World, if one were to talk solely about wealth, the Alchemist Association, which controlled the circulation of Medicinal Pills throughout the world, claimed second place, and no other organization would dare claim first.

On a prayer mat woven from grass and wood inside the room sat a middle-aged man wearing a bamboo crown, plain clothes, and hemp shoes.

The man looked to be about thirty or forty years old, with a tall, straight figure and handsome features. Aside from the emblem on his sleeve representing his status as a Heaven-rank Alchemist, there was not a single decoration on him.

However, just by sitting there, he gave off a feeling of being as majestic as a mountain and as deep as the vast ocean. He was clearly a Hedao Realm Cultivator.

The man in plain clothes was the renowned Heaven-rank Alchemist and President of the Alchemist Association, Chu Ren.

"I am Xu Fu. Greetings, President Chu."

While greeting him, Qi Yuan silently recalled various pieces of information about the man.

Although Chu Ren was the eldest Disciple of the alchemist Zu Chengzhi, his cultivation Aptitude far exceeded that of his Grandmaster, Zu Chengzhi.

Zu Chengzhi was known as the number one person in the Dao of Alchemy, but his cultivation was only at the Late Stage of Void Refining, which was a huge gap compared to his attainments in Alchemy.

In contrast, while delving into the Dao of Alchemy, Chu Ren had reached the Hedao Realm in less than two thousand years.

His cultivation speed was not at all inferior to the top prodigies of the Seven Great Holy Lands, and the difficulty was several levels higher than theirs. He could completely be called a Prodigy.

Because of this, Chu Ren became the President of the Alchemist Association as everyone expected, and he held extremely high prestige among alchemists.

"Young Master Xu, there's no need for such formality. This sudden disturbance is truly a last resort. I hope Young Master Xu won't take offense."

Chu Ren slowly put down the Alchemy Manual in his hand, looked up at Qi Yuan with a gentle smile on his face, and spoke frankly:

"To tell you the truth, I have a matter here that I hope Young Master Xu can help solve. If Young Master Xu is willing to lend a hand, regardless of success or failure, our Alchemist Association will be eternally grateful."

His tone was incredibly sincere, making it easy for people to feel well-disposed toward him.

Hearing this, Qi Yuan feigned confusion and raised an eyebrow, asking with a surprised expression:

"President Chu holds a high position and has countless talented people under his command. What could possibly be so difficult that even you cannot solve it and must ask for help?"

At this moment, he was certain that the other party was a difficult character. He seemed to have said a lot, but in reality, it was as if he had said nothing at all.

The so-called "eternal gratitude" didn't have a single practical thing to it. How many Spirit Stones was gratitude worth?

Of course, there was nothing wrong with the strategy Chu Ren was using. In a negotiation, revealing one's hand too early would only lead to being led by the nose. Testing the waters bit by bit was the correct approach.

If he started by saying "at any cost," he would just be waiting for the other party to demand an exorbitant price.

Unfortunately, Qi Yuan had already learned how much the Alchemist Association craved the completion of the Pill Formula through Zu Chengzhi's attitude. He was also very clear about his own requirements and didn't fall for this.

Chu Ren let out a soft sigh and said in a heavy voice:

"The purpose of our Alchemist Association's establishment is to protect the Legacy of the Dao of Alchemy and to strive for the welfare of all alchemists in the world."

"Unfortunately, the Alchemist Association has been established for too short a time. Many Pill Formulas and Alchemy techniques have been lost over the long years, resulting in some Legacies being incomplete or even broken. This is a huge loss for all alchemists in the world!"

At this point, he carefully took out a roll of parchment from his sleeve and requested with a sincere expression:

"This Archaic Pill Formula is one of them. If possible, I would like to ask Young Master Xu to help complete it. What does Young Master Xu think?"

As if afraid the other party would refuse, Chu Ren continued to persuade him:

"If this long-lost Archaic Pill Formula were to reappear in the world, it would definitely be a benevolent act that benefits all living beings and brings boundless Karma."

Qi Yuan glanced indifferently at the parchment, but in his heart, he wanted to laugh.

In the end, he wanted help but didn't want to pay too high a price. Where in the world was there such a beautiful thing?

The so-called benefiting all living beings and boundless Karma was even more nonsensical. It was just putting on a grand display first and then using moral kidnapping.

If I simply have no morals, how will Your Excellency respond?

Thinking of this, Qi Yuan smiled slightly and said with a serious face:

"As expected of the President, your judgment of people is quite accurate… Indeed, I do have the ability to repair this Pill Formula!"

"That's wonderful."

Hearing this, Chu Ren's eyes lit up suddenly, and he said eagerly:

"In that case, I'll have to trouble Young Master Xu to put in some effort!"

"Hehe, President Chu, there's no need to be polite."

Qi Yuan smiled reservedly and then said:

"It's just that I also have a difficulty here. If President Chu can help me with it, completing the Pill Formula is but a small matter, and I would be happy to be of service at any time."

Hearing him say this, Chu Ren's heart skipped a beat, but he still maintained a smile on his face and asked:

"Young Master Xu, please speak. As long as I can do it, I will definitely put in all my effort."

"For the President, this matter is just a simple task."

Qi Yuan didn't beat around the bush and said straightforwardly:

"In this Alchemist Competition, I want to be first!"

Although the System's requirement was the top three, as a man, he had some damned competitive spirit. Since he was participating, how could he not be first?

Moreover, as the saying goes:

To achieve the middle, one must aim for the top. It's always best to leave some margin in everything.

Who knew if something would go wrong during the competition? If an accident happened, even slipping down one or two places would be barely acceptable.

Therefore, his condition had long been decided: to take first place!