"Master Di, you're back..." Holly Chance stared at Joe Di as he walked into Starspire Apothecary, hardly able to believe her eyes.
Joe Di looked around in confusion and asked, "I'm the honorary alchemist of Starspire Apothecary. Even though I don't draw a monthly stipend, I still need to come back and see if there's anything I can help with—and let Starspire Apothecary know where I'm living."
After a brief moment of disbelief, Holly Chance quickly regained her composure and said, "Master Di, please come upstairs with me."
On the third floor, Holly Chance poured Joe Di another cup of Starspire Immortal Tea and asked proactively, "Master Di, I heard that after leaving Wankong Resting House, you went straight to Cornerstone Street?"
Joe Di nodded, "That's right. I did go to Cornerstone Street."
Holly Chance was so shocked she forgot to set down her teacup. After several breaths, she finally asked, "Did you really go to help Quentin Pooler refine a pill?"
It was precisely because Joe Di had gone to Cornerstone Street that Holly Chance dared not continue searching for him. Quentin Pooler was a powerful Immortal King, and behind him stood an even greater Immortal Sovereign. Even if that Immortal Sovereign's fate was uncertain, Holly Chance wouldn't dare to casually ask about Joe Di's whereabouts.
"How could Quentin Pooler possibly let you leave?" To Holly Chance, if Joe Di went to help refine the Soulbind Elixir for Quentin Pooler, it was surely a death sentence.
Joe Di chuckled, "I successfully refined the Soulbind Elixir for him. Why would he have any reason to harm me?"
"You really managed to refine the Soulbind Elixir?" Holly Chance exclaimed, standing up in shock, unable to contain her inner astonishment.
If the Soulbind Elixir were so easy to refine, Joe Di wouldn't have been asked to help now. With all the alchemists coming and going in Cauldron Haven, someone would have already done it long ago.
"That's right, I did help him refine the Soulbind Elixir. So this time, I'm also here to tell you my address: Cornerstone Street, Block B, No. 291." Joe Di did not conceal this matter. The fact that he'd refined the Soulbind Elixir would be known to all sooner or later, so there was no need to hide it.
"Whew..." After a long moment, Holly Chance finally let out a breath and sat down, still muttering to herself, "You actually managed to refine the Soulbind Elixir."
"Master Di..." Holly Chance suddenly remembered why she came to find Joe Di. "I need to commission a batch of Grand Ether Pills. Are you able to refine them...?"
Before Joe Di could reply, Holly Chance slapped her forehead. "If you can refine the Soulbind Elixir, then Grand Ether Pills won't be a problem for you at all."
Joe Di was secretly delighted; he needed Grand Ether Pills himself. Despite having some fourth- and fifth-grade immortal herbs, he really didn't have any Golden Etherstar.
Golden Etherstar is the main immortal herb used to refine Grand Ether Pills.
"But the client has a condition: they need four Grand Ether Pills, and the fee is five thousand Liberty Credits. If you fail, the compensation is a hundred thousand Liberty Credits." Holly Chance finished, looking at Joe Di expectantly.
She'd originally been worried about this deal, but after hearing that Joe Di had successfully refined the Soulbind Elixir, she suddenly found herself looking forward to this batch of pills.
Joe Di thought to himself that the compensation was exorbitant. No matter how rare Grand Ether Pills were, a batch of pills wasn't worth a hundred thousand Liberty Credits. Still, he urgently needed the pills and was confident he wouldn't fail.
"I'll take this batch of pills." Joe Di didn't even ask whether the compensation for failure would be his responsibility or Starspire Apothecary's.
"Good! If the refinement fails, Starspire Apothecary will cover the compensation. Here are the alchemy materials." Holly Chance said happily, without any hesitation.
After speaking, she handed a storage pouch to Joe Di.
If Holly Chance hadn't seen Joe Di successfully refine the Soulbind Elixir, she would never have made such an offer. Now, her words were simply meant to win Joe Di over.
She was certain Joe Di wouldn't fail at alchemy, so she didn't mind making such verbal overtures, no matter how many times she repeated them.
Joe Di accepted the storage pouch and scanned it with his divine sense, confirming that it contained the materials for refining Grand Ether Pills. He immediately said, "I need to refine the pills at my own residence. Steward Holly, you can come by tomorrow afternoon to collect them."
"Master Di, here are some pill recipes I've collected." Once Joe Di put away the storage pouch, Holly Chance handed him another stack of items.
Joe Di gladly accepted the stack, scanning it with his divine sense, even more pleased with Holly Chance's gesture.
Aside from Memory Stones, the stack also included many ancient leather scrolls, all containing various pill recipes.
These pill recipes could easily be compiled into a single Memory Stone, but Joe Di understood why Holly Chance hadn't done so—she wanted to show that she'd collected them from various sources, investing considerable effort.
No matter what Holly Chance's intentions were, Joe Di accepted the favor.
"Thank you, Steward Holly. I won't forget this favor. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave." Joe Di stood up. As a Grand Immortal Alchemist, the only thing he lacked was various pill recipes. Now, with these recipes, he had more options.
Seeing Joe Di about to leave, Holly Chance was at a loss.
Did Joe Di really think Starspire Apothecary only had one commission for Grand Ether Pills after all this time?
Holly Chance hurriedly took out another ring and handed it to Joe Di. "Master Di, these are the pill commissions Starspire Apothecary has received—mostly fourth-grade immortal pills, with a few third-grade ones."
Joe Di accepted the ring, hesitated briefly, and said, "Steward Holly, I don't want to refine third-grade immortal pills anymore, and please try not to give me too many fourth-grade ones. If there are fifth-grade immortal pills, I can refine those. However, I'd prefer my payment not to be Immortal Crystals or Liberty Credits—I want high-grade immortal herbs, at least sixth-grade and above."
Holly Chance was overjoyed and blurted out, "Master Di is a fifth-rank Grand Immortal Alchemist?"
Joe Di nodded, "That's right. I can refine fifth-grade immortal pills."
Joe Di had enough immortal herbs to qualify as a fifth-rank Grand Immortal Alchemist. To quickly improve his alchemy skills, he needed even more high-grade immortal herbs.
He did have some sixth-grade immortal herbs, but the quantity was limited. Moreover, the ones he had were rather ordinary and weren't enough for him to become a sixth-rank Grand Immortal Alchemist.
Holly Chance clenched her fists in secret—she'd struck it rich, truly struck it rich. Starspire Apothecary had actually recruited a fifth-rank Grand Immortal Alchemist. If word got out, no one would believe it.
Even the top pill tower in Cauldron Haven, Grand Cauldron Apothecary, only had one fifth-rank Grand Immortal Alchemist at most. They could take commissions for higher-grade pills, but those had to wait at Grand Cauldron Apothecary until a stronger alchemist arrived.
As for Starspire Apothecary, even the headquarters only had one sixth-rank Grand Immortal Alchemist—and their success rate with sixth-grade pills wasn't even that high.
As for why Joe Di wanted sixth-grade and above immortal herbs, Holly Chance could guess—he was aiming to become a sixth-rank Grand Immortal Alchemist.
"Good, good! Thank you, Master Di. I'll try to take more commissions for fifth-grade immortal pills in the future." Holly Chance felt her luck had truly arrived. Since meeting Joe Di, the surprises he'd brought her just kept coming.
"Master Di, I have a favor to ask..." Holly Chance finally suppressed her excitement and softened her tone.
"Please, Steward Holly. If I can help, I will." Joe Di was also very pleased—he'd gained a wealth of pill recipes and now had Starspire Apothecary bringing him business. Perhaps, with time, he'd even become a seventh-rank Immortal Pill King.
Holly Chance quickly thanked him before saying, "I'd like to request a Soulbind Elixir..."
As she spoke, Holly Chance nervously watched Joe Di. Though the Soulbind Elixir was a fourth-grade immortal pill, its value surpassed many seventh-grade pills. Pills that could repair the soul—who wouldn't want them?
Joe Di silently thought he'd made a mistake—if he'd known Holly Chance wanted the Soulbind Elixir, he wouldn't have kept five Nine-Mark pills for himself.
He couldn't let anyone know about the Nine-Mark Soulbind Elixirs he possessed. Still, Holly Chance had helped him so much that, both emotionally and logically, he ought to help her with this small favor.
"I have a very good friend whose soul was torn apart. She's fared better than Chi Yuanqing's daughter and survived, but without the Soulbind Elixir, she'll be stuck at the Grand Immortal stage for life, unable to advance further... Of course, if it's inconvenient, Master Di, that's fine too." Seeing Joe Di remain silent, Holly Chance added this explanation.
Joe Di could only reply, "My friends also need the Soulbind Elixir. I've already used my two pills for them. But don't worry, Steward Holly—I can ask Chi Yuanqing; he should have extra Soulbind Elixirs."
Holly Chance was delighted. "Thank you so much, Master Di! Actually, many of the pill recipes I gave you were for my friend."
(That's all for today's update, friends. Good night!)