Nonsense! How could my adopted son be a villain?

After Song Nan left, Xu Lingguang took stock of the pills he had accumulated over this period.

There are a total of 353 high-grade Qi-replenishing pills and 6 mid-grade pills in the Qi-replenishing pills and bone-strengthening pills. Both of these pills are first-grade basic pills, and he can refine them quickly and easily. Except for the first two batches which produced a few mid-grade pills, all the pills he refined afterward were high-grade.

Then there's the Crimson Sun Pill, a second-grade elixir. It's much more difficult and time-consuming to refine, with a maximum of five batches per day. Xu Lingguang didn't reach the required quantity until the fifth batch on his first day.

Over the past few days, I've accumulated a total of 162 high-grade, 10 medium-grade, and 4 low-grade stones.

Adding the twenty-three Spirit Nourishing Pills he had left, Xu Lingguang planned to go down the mountain to Qianjin Tower to sell these pills and also to find out which pills were rarer and more valuable.

The next morning, before the sun got too hot, Xu Lingguang rode his little donkey down the mountain.

This time he didn't bring much. There was only a small basket hanging on the back of the donkey, which contained some medicinal herbs that Xu Lingguang planned to sell.

Xu Lingguang went to Qianjinlou, a place he knew well. The young boy at the door recognized him and immediately ushered him in, then went to invite Manager Zhao over.

Manager Zhao greeted him with a beaming smile, his tone slightly tentative: "It's been a long time since I've seen Young Master Xu?"

Xu Lingguang didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point, taking out the pills: "I've been studying alchemy lately. Do you think Qianjinlou can accept these pills? I also brought some medicinal herbs."

When Manager Zhao heard him talk about studying alchemy, he was initially a little skeptical. After all, alchemists were scarce and pills were expensive. Many cultivators tried to study alchemy to save money, hoping to cultivate both alchemy and martial arts.

But if alchemy were so easy to learn, why would alchemists be so scarce?

However, Manager Zhao was a shrewd man. He felt from the bottom of his heart that Xu Lingguang's background was extraordinary. Since he was willing to befriend him, even if the quality of the pills he refined was mediocre, Manager Zhao would not refuse him. Therefore, he smiled and flattered him, saying, "Qianjin Tower is in short of a batch of pills. It would be best if Young Master Xu had some pills here."

After saying that, he casually picked up a bottle of pills to examine it, but the smile on his face froze, and he exclaimed in surprise, "A high-grade Crimson Sun Pill?"

He squinted, washed his hands, and carefully poured out a pill. He then held it up through a handkerchief and examined it closely: "The spiritual patterns are so fine and dense that they are almost invisible without close inspection. It is a top-grade pill."

Unconvinced, he poured out a few more Crimson Sun Pills and examined them carefully one by one. Each one was flawless. His frivolous expression, which had been merely flattery, vanished, and Manager Zhao looked at Xu Lingguang with a serious expression: "How many of these top-grade Crimson Sun Pills has Young Master Xu refined?"

Xu Lingguang took out all the small porcelain bottles containing pills, counted out two bottles and placed them aside.

Manager Zhao was very happy, but also a little regretful: "There are three bottles in total?"

Xu Lingguang shook his head: "Except for these two bottles which contain mid-grade and low-grade pills, the rest are all high-grade Crimson Sun Pills."

This time, Manager Zhao was truly astonished. He stared wide-eyed in disbelief, and after scanning the porcelain bottles, he counted them all – a total of sixteen bottles.

There were sixteen bottles of top-grade Crimson Sun Pills!!!

His gaze was fixed intently on Xu Lingguang, as if he had spotted some great treasure: "Sixteen bottles of top-grade Crimson Sun Pills?"

Xu Lingguang didn't understand why he looked so surprised. In his opinion, the Crimson Sun Pill was just a second-grade pill. Manager Zhao was the manager of Qianjin Tower, and he was knowledgeable and experienced. He shouldn't be making such a fuss, right?

He even suspected there might be hidden pitfalls he didn't know about, so he nodded hesitantly: "Yes. There are one hundred and sixty in total." He didn't take out the remaining two to make up the number.

Manager Zhao opened his mouth wide, as if he wanted to ask something but didn't dare, his face turning red with suppressed urges.

Xu Lingguang was quite uneasy because of his behavior, so he simply said, "Manager Zhao, please ask whatever you want."

Seeing his usual openness, Manager Zhao couldn't help but sigh that a master is indeed a master, but he still couldn't help but ask cautiously, "If I may ask, may I inquire about Young Master Xu's teacher?"

Xu Lingguang's refining of the Crimson Sun Pill resulted in 90% high-grade pills. With such alchemy skills, even if he wasn't apprenticed to the Pill Emperor, he must at least be a Grandmaster.

At this moment, Manager Zhao felt a mix of pride and trepidation. He was proud of his foresight in befriending Xu Lingguang early on and establishing this connection. However, he was also worried that the treatment he had given Xu Lingguang in the past might not have been enough.

Xu Lingguang had no idea about Manager Zhao's complicated thoughts, nor did he know what was so special about the Crimson Sun Pill. He simply chose a pill that seemed to have a wide market after reading Yuan Jiu's notes.

Moreover, he figured out his own methods of alchemy on his own. If we have to name a master, Yuan Jiu should be considered his master.

However, firstly, Yuan Jiu belonged to the Chenghuang clan, which was not something to mention; secondly, Yuan Jiu was no longer alive and had not taken him as a disciple, so Xu Lingguang did not have the audacity to try and ride on his fame. Therefore, he scratched his face and said, "I don't have a master. I just follow the alchemy manual to refine pills."

Upon hearing this, Manager Zhao immediately gave him a knowing look. Xu Lingguang himself had an extraordinary background, so it seemed that the power behind him was not to be underestimated. These days, many powerful families and sects prefer to keep a low profile and are unwilling to flaunt their influence.

He sensibly stopped asking questions and instead explained the special properties of the Crimson Sun Pill to Xu Lingguang.

"Young Master Xu, you may not know this, but the Hundred Refinements Competition between Cangfeng Sect and Jiuzhuan Manor will begin in half a month. The competition will take place at Wenling Slope, a hundred miles away from Qingyu City. When the competition begins, not only will the elite disciples of Cangfeng Sect and Jiuzhuan Manor come out in full force, but it will also attract countless cultivators. Among these cultivators, fire attribute cultivators will make up the majority, so Qianjin Tower needs to prepare a large amount of pills, weapons, and so on that fire attribute cultivators will need in advance."

What is the Hundred Refinements Competition?

Since transmigrating, the farthest Xu Lingguang had ever gone was to Qingyu City. Upon suddenly hearing about the competitions that are common in cultivation novels, he immediately became interested.

I don't know why the name "Cangfengmen" sounds vaguely familiar.