Chapter 168 - 164: Talent Transformation

Chapter 168: Chapter 164: Talent Transformation

A moment later, the shop assistant came to Chen Yue, holding five small blue-and-white porcelain vials.

The vials weren’t large. Simple orchid grass patterns were painted on their bodies, the blue-and-white glaze elegant and understated. They looked even more valuable than the Elixirs themselves.

The assistant carefully placed the five vials on the counter, lining them up in a row, then looked up at Chen Yue.

"Sir, each vial contains six Blood Nourishing Pills, for a total of thirty. Please inspect them."

Chen Yue reached out, picked up one of the vials, and removed the stopper.

A faint medicinal aroma wafted from the opening. He tilted the vial and poured a Blood Nourishing Pill into his palm.

The Elixir was round and smooth. Chen Yue brought it to his nose and sniffed it, then nodded.

He placed the Elixir back in the vial, resealed it with the stopper, and then opened and inspected the other four vials one by one.

"They’re all fine."

Chen Yue nodded, tucked the vials into his robes, and took some silver from his sleeve. "Thirty taels."

He placed the silver on the counter. The assistant counted it, confirmed the amount was correct, and beamed.

Chen Yue nodded but didn’t leave, remaining at the counter.

Afternoon sunlight streamed in diagonally from the doorway, illuminating the wood grain on the counter. Tiny dust motes floated slowly in the beams of light.

Chen Yue’s fingers tapped twice on the counter, as if he were contemplating something.

"Does the pharmacy sell any Elixirs with special effects?"

The assistant tilted his head slightly, a questioning look in his eyes.

"Like these Blood Nourishing Pills, which can slightly increase a Martial Artist’s recovery speed. Do you have any other Elixirs with similar effects?"

The assistant thought for a moment.

"We do. For example, we sell Bone Marrow Cleansing Pills, Bone-Enhancing Pills, and Antitoxic Pills. The Bone Marrow Cleansing Pills can slightly improve one’s constitution, Bone-Enhancing Pills can increase bone strength, and Antitoxic Pills can boost resistance to toxins."

Chen Yue nodded. "Yes, things like that. But I don’t need those three. Do you have any other types of Elixirs?"

As soon as Chen Yue finished speaking, a cheerful voice came from behind the counter.

"Many of those Elixirs are meant to give a Martial Artist better martial arts Talent."

The voice grew closer, accompanied by the soft footsteps of cloth shoes on the floor.

Chen Yue looked up to see a slightly heavyset, middle-aged man walk out from the inner room behind the counter. He was carrying a purple clay teapot, from which steam was gently rising.

He had a warm smile on his face, and deep crow’s feet crinkled at the corners of his eyes.

The middle-aged man walked to the counter, set down the teapot, and clasped his hands in a formal greeting to Chen Yue, his posture composed and refined.

"I am the Shopkeeper of this establishment, my surname is Zhou. A pleasure to meet you, sir."

Chen Yue looked at the Shopkeeper and returned the gesture with a slight nod.

"What the Shopkeeper says is reasonable. Does the shop have any such Elixirs?"

The Shopkeeper smiled and nodded. He picked up the purple clay teapot from the counter and leisurely took a sip.

"Of course we do. However, they are quite expensive, and the effects of many are not as good as one might hope. I must make this clear to you beforehand, sir."

Chen Yue chuckled softly. "Rest assured, Shopkeeper, I just want to try them out. I am well aware of whether the effects are good or bad, and I won’t blame your esteemed shop."

Hearing this, the smile on the Shopkeeper’s face deepened.

He came around from behind the counter, made an inviting gesture, and led Chen Yue to the other end of it.

The Shopkeeper stopped in front of the counter, bent down, and took out a small blue-and-white porcelain vial from a cabinet.

This vial was much more exquisite than the ones for the Blood Nourishing Pills. It was painted with a delicate pattern of orchids and bamboo, the shades of the blue-and-white glaze tastefully varied.

"This is a Tender Tendon Pill."

The Shopkeeper pointed at the vial. "It can make the muscles and bones more supple. As a martial practitioner, you must know that when cultivating some Cultivation Techniques, one needs not only strong muscles and bones, but also sufficient flexibility."

Chen Yue’s expression flickered as his gaze fell upon the exquisite vial.

The Shopkeeper’s words hit the mark. Strong muscles and bones were a good thing, of course, but it would certainly be better if that strength also came with suppleness.

The human body wasn’t truly made of metal. When attacked, having enough flexibility would allow one to neutralize and disperse a portion of the force.

As for Cultivation Techniques, the ones at the Panshi Sect were all of the direct and forceful variety, emphasizing unyielding and domineering power.

These Cultivation Techniques didn’t have high requirements for flexibility; one could even say they hardly required it at all.

But Chen Yue could give it a try, to explore more possibilities.

’My path on the Martial Dao is still long; I won’t forever remain at the level of head-on clashes.

In the future, I might learn more diverse Cultivation Techniques and face more diverse opponents.

By then, flexibility in my muscles and bones will become an important advantage. It wouldn’t be a bad thing to lay the foundation for it now.’

"I’ll take one of these."

Chen Yue tapped the blue-and-white porcelain vial with his finger and then looked up at the Shopkeeper. "Are there any other Elixirs?"

Seeing how decisive Chen Yue was, the Shopkeeper couldn’t help but smile.

He bent down, took another vial from the cabinet, and placed it next to the Tender Tendon Pill.

This vial was a size larger than the previous one. It was made of coarse, grayish-blue porcelain with few decorations, looking plainer but also more substantial.

"This Tender Tendon Pill isn’t cheap."

The Shopkeeper’s tone suddenly grew a bit more serious as he looked directly at Chen Yue. "A single pill costs twenty taels of Silver. I want you to be aware of that, sir."

Chen Yue nodded calmly, expressing no objection.

Seeing that Chen Yue had no objections, the smile on the Shopkeeper’s face relaxed and widened.

He picked up the grayish-blue porcelain vial, pushed the stopper open with his thumb, and tilted the opening slightly so Chen Yue could see the Elixir inside.

"This is a Bone-Strengthening Pill. It makes the muscles and bones stronger. It is the hard to the Tender Tendon Pill’s soft; they complement each other perfectly."

Chen Yue sniffed the medicinal aroma twice and looked at the Shopkeeper. "Is its effect similar to the Bone-Enhancing Pill?"

Hearing the name ’Bone-Enhancing Pill’, the Shopkeeper paused for a second, then smiled and nodded.

"They are indeed similar. I’ve heard that the Bone-Strengthening Pill was created based on the Bone-Enhancing Pill, but with a more refined combination of medicinal ingredients."

Chen Yue nodded.

’I already have the fully formed Talent, Copper Skin Iron Bones. If I take a stronger Elixir of the same type, will my body undergo some other change?

After all, if Cultivation can be increased through Elixirs, is it possible that my Talent could also undergo another transformation from external stimulation?

This idea isn’t based on much evidence; it’s more of an intuition.’

"I’ll take one of these too. Anything else?"

Hearing that Chen Yue also wanted a Bone-Strengthening Pill, the smile on the Shopkeeper’s face grew even wider. He bent down and took another vial from the cabinet, this time a small, snow-white porcelain bottle with no markings at all.

The Shopkeeper placed the white porcelain bottle on the counter and tapped it lightly with his finger. "This is a Lighting the Acupoints Pill. It has the effect of Wisdom Eye Brightening."

Chen Yue nodded, his reply short and crisp. "Good. I’ll take this one too. What else?"

Seeing that Chen Yue accepted everything offered, the Shopkeeper grew even more enthusiastic.

One by one, he took more vials from the cabinet and lined them up on the counter.

"This is a Qi Absorption Pill. It can slightly enhance the capacity of one’s Dantian..."

"This is a Wind Listening Pill. It can improve one’s hearing..."

"This is a Clear Heart Pill. It helps one maintain Qi Guarding Spirit Platform, making the Heart Spirit more stable..."

"Sir."

The Shopkeeper’s voice was low and earnest. "The effects of these Elixirs are truly very slight."

Chen Yue nodded and said with a smile, "I understand."

’Of course I understand.

If the effects of these Elixirs weren’t so slight, how could their prices max out at only several dozen taels of Silver?

An Elixir that could significantly improve a Martial Artist’s Talent wouldn’t just be several dozen taels of Silver; people would be fighting to buy it even for several hundred or several thousand.

Price is the most honest signal; it tells you plainly just how much something is worth.’

Seeing Chen Yue had no objections, the Shopkeeper smiled and clasped his hands in a farewell gesture.

"Take care, sir. Please come again."

Chen Yue returned the gesture, took the bag of vials, and walked out of Jishi Hall.

Chen Yue did not head back in the direction of the Panshi Sect.

’I need to test the effects of these Elixirs. I’ll take advantage of staying in the courtyard tonight to try everything I need to, and by tomorrow, I’ll know which Elixirs to buy more of.’

Chen Yue walked at a steady pace, crossing several streets before turning into a familiar alley.

The courtyard walls on both sides of the alley were covered in morning glories, their purple blossoms blooming profusely in the afternoon sun. A few bees were busy BUZZING among the flowers.

Chen Yue pushed open the courtyard gate and walked in.

In the courtyard, Lin Quan was squatting in a corner sorting through a pile of miscellaneous items. He looked up, and a flash of surprise crossed his eyes when he saw Chen Yue.

Lin Quan stood up and patted the dust off his knees. "Didn’t you say you were going back to the Sect?"

Hu Shaoyu peeked his head out of the kitchen, a cleaver still in his hand. He, too, was startled to see Chen Yue, then broke into a grin.

"Chen, I thought you went straight back to the Sect!"

Both of them were happy and welcomed Chen Yue into the courtyard. Lin Quan went back inside and brought out a dish of peanuts and a dish of pickled radishes, placing them on the table as snacks.

Chen Yue sat down at the stone table and took a sip of the tea Hu Shaoyu had poured for him.

His gaze swept across the courtyard, but he didn’t see a familiar figure.

"Where’s Shen?" Chen Yue asked, putting down his teacup, a little puzzled. "How come he’s nowhere to be seen?"

Hu Shaoyu sat down across from Lin Quan, crossed his legs, and said while shelling a peanut:

"Shen said he was going out to buy something and would be back in a bit. I asked him what he was buying, but he wouldn’t say. He just waved his hand and left."

Hu Shaoyu continued, tossing a peanut into his mouth, "You know how Shen is. If he doesn’t want to say something, there’s nothing anyone can do."

Chen Yue nodded and didn’t ask any more questions.

He sat for a little longer, drank two cups of tea, and ate a few peanuts before standing up. "I’m going to my room first. I have some things to take care of."

Lin Quan nodded without asking any questions.

Chen Yue walked into his room and closed the door.

Chen Yue sat down on the edge of his bed, took the bundle out of the Little Pill Furnace, and placed the vials from inside on the table one by one.

His gaze swept from the first vial to the last, pausing for a moment before he reached out and picked up the one on the far left.

The Tender Tendon Pill.