The reason Quentin Pooler was so urgent was because Joe Di was, without a doubt, the most skilled alchemist he had ever encountered. But if Joe Di failed in the refinement, Quentin would still kill him. Deep down, Quentin knew that if Joe Di failed, there would be no other alchemist capable of refining the Soulbind Elixir with the remaining Seven Aperture Cloud Jade.
"Alchemist Joe, this Soulbind Elixir is for my daughter, Shirley Pooler. Her soul is fragmented and her spirit incomplete. I only have two pieces of Seven Aperture Cloud Jade. Years ago, I mistakenly trusted an incompetent alchemist and ruined one piece. If I lose this last piece, there will be no way to save my daughter." Quentin's tone sounded sincerely pleading.
The real meaning, however, was: If you ruin this last piece, I will have no choice but to kill you, because it is the only Seven Aperture Cloud Jade left.
Joe Di remained calm as he said, "As an alchemist, I will do my utmost to refine this batch of pills, and I am confident I can succeed. However, I must tell you, I never intended to gamble my life for a single batch of pills. If my life is at stake for this batch, it will put undue pressure on me and create an unfair transaction. This would be detrimental to both my alchemical progress and the success of this batch. If you agree, we can begin. If not, I will take my leave now."
Quentin Pooler gritted his teeth. "Fine, I accept your terms. You must begin refining the Soulbind Elixir immediately."
Joe Di's mention of pressure and the negative impact on refining the Soulbind Elixir made Quentin Pooler resolute. He was certain Joe Di was a master negotiator—just one sentence had forced him to agree to Joe Di's terms.
"No problem," Joe Di replied, raising his hand to produce two contracts. The contents were exactly as he had just described.
Quentin Pooler did not waste words and immediately imprinted his mark on the contract.
Joe Di put away one copy of the contract and said, "Bring out the ingredients. I will begin refining the Soulbind Elixir now."
Quentin Pooler carefully handed a ring to Joe Di. "Everything is inside. Take a look for yourself. I will wait here."
He had originally wanted to say that these were the last ingredients for the Soulbind Elixir, but remembering it might put pressure on Joe Di, Quentin forcibly swallowed the words.
Joe Di nodded, took the ring, and entered his own restriction once again. He believed that as long as Quentin Pooler wasn't a fool, he wouldn't interrupt the pill refinement.
Inside the ring were more than a hundred types of immortal spirit herbs. In the center, a white jade box emitted a faint ripple—one that seemed capable of resonating with the soul itself.
Joe Di knew this box must contain the Seven Aperture Cloud Jade.
Aside from these, there was also a jade slip inscribed with the Soulbind Elixir formula, detailed to the extreme. In truth, the hardest part of refining the Soulbind Elixir was not the recipe itself, but the purification of the Seven Aperture Cloud Jade.
After reviewing the recipe again, Joe Di opened the jade box.
The Seven Aperture Cloud Jade resembled a block of tofu, milky white, gently swaying within the jade box.
After cleaning the Genesis Cauldron, Joe Di summoned the Cosmic Flame. With his spiritual sense, he lifted the Seven Aperture Cloud Jade and sent it into the cauldron.
As soon as the Seven Aperture Cloud Jade entered the Genesis Cauldron, it suddenly became uncontrollable. This was unlike other immortal spirit herbs, which could be restrained with alchemical incantations and then liquefied for purification.
The Seven Aperture Cloud Jade itself was a top-tier treasure intimately connected to the soul, incomparably delicate. The moment it entered the Genesis Cauldron, Joe Di realized it could not be purified by ordinary means.
While wrapping the Seven Aperture Cloud Jade with Dan Seals, Joe Di infused his own alchemical principles. The Genesis Cauldron's vibrant life force and the Cosmic Flame's smooth control allowed him to manage the toxin transformation within the Seven Aperture Cloud Jade.
This filled Joe Di with wild joy—the purification of the Seven Aperture Cloud Jade was several times harder than he had imagined. Fortunately, he had the Genesis Cauldron and Cosmic Flame, along with his profound mastery of foundational principles and the Golden Principle, which perfected his alchemical path. Had any of these been missing, this batch of pills would have failed.
The Seven Aperture Cloud Jade truly was difficult to purify. Joe Di doubted anyone but himself could accomplish it. For this batch of pills, he had charged too low a price.
Once he gained control over the Seven Aperture Cloud Jade, the impurities were squeezed out by Joe Di's Dan Seals. It took two full hours for Joe Di to complete the purification, extracting all impurities. The Seven Aperture Cloud Jade in the Genesis Cauldron was now crystal clear, and just looking at it brought a sense of comfort.
With the Seven Aperture Cloud Jade wrapped in Dan Seals, the remaining spirit herbs were sent into the cauldron. Compared to purifying the Seven Aperture Cloud Jade, purifying the other herbs was exceedingly simple.
Joe Di discarded various impurities, and the medicinal liquids of the spirit herbs quickly became pure.
Purifying the Seven Aperture Cloud Jade had taken Joe Di two hours, but purifying all the other spirit herbs together took less than half a stick of incense.
With the ingredients purified, the subsequent pill separation and formation were simple for Joe Di.
Another stick of incense passed, and clouds of mist rose from the cauldron. Joe Di quickly formed several pill collection seals, retrieving nine pure white elixirs from the cauldron. Five Nine-Mark Soulbind Elixirs were placed into a jade bottle and stored in his own ring; the remaining four Soulbind Elixirs were placed in another jade bottle for Quentin Pooler.
At this moment, Quentin Pooler was anxiously pacing outside Joe Di's restriction. He dared not touch the barrier, but was extremely worried.
The Soulbind Elixir had no pill fragrance, so Quentin Pooler had no way of knowing how the batch was progressing from outside.
Fortunately, nearly three hours later, Joe Di finally opened the restriction.
"How did it go?" Quentin Pooler asked anxiously, his eyes fixed on Joe Di. If not for the contract, he might have already rushed in and grabbed Joe Di.
Joe Di lifted the jade bottle in his hand. "I am honored not to have failed you. The Soulbind Elixir has been successfully refined."
"Ah..." Quentin Pooler gasped, then was overwhelmed by joy. To be honest, he hadn't been confident that Joe Di could refine the Soulbind Elixir, but if he didn't try, there would be no hope of saving his daughter.
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Over the years, he had driven away or killed countless alchemists. Many knew his rewards were generous, but still dared not come and offer their services.
Meeting an alchemist like Joe Di, capable of refining a batch of superior immortal pills, left him with no other choice.
"Thank you, thank you..." Quentin Pooler's voice trembled.
Joe Di replied coolly, "This is just a transaction; there's no need for thanks. However, this batch of pills was extremely difficult to refine. Had it been anyone else, I fear they would have failed long ago. So, the price you offered was not especially high for this batch."
"I'll increase the price right away." Quentin Pooler watched the pills in Joe Di's hand with concern. As an Immortal King, he was confident he could kill Joe Di before the elixir was destroyed, but he dared not risk it—he had witnessed Joe Di's mastery of arrays, at least a fifth-rank Immortal Array Master.
Joe Di shook his head. "No need. Since we've signed a contract and agreed on the terms, let's stick to it."
"Alright, alright." Without hesitation, Quentin Pooler took out a deed, erased his own mark, wrote a voluntary transfer statement, and handed the deed to Joe Di.
Once Joe Di imprinted his aura on the deed, he would become the new owner of the property.
With a sweep of his spiritual sense, Joe Di confirmed Quentin Pooler had been completely honest. He accepted the deed and handed the jade bottle to Quentin, saying, "Here are your pills. By chance, I managed to refine a special Six-Mark Soulbind Elixir—this is the first time I've ever succeeded with such a pill. Consider it your good fortune."
At this moment, Quentin Pooler couldn't care less about Joe Di's words. He grabbed the jade bottle and opened it immediately.
"Farewell." Having received what he wanted, Joe Di didn't linger. He clasped his hands in salute, turned, and left. In just a few steps, he exited Quentin's shop—the sixth-rank trapping array couldn't hold him.
"Excellent pills! Two with three marks, one with four, and truly, a special Six-Mark Soulbind Elixir." Quentin Pooler's hands trembled with excitement—he knew his daughter could be saved.
Quentin Pooler hurried into a room where a pale young girl lay on the bed. With trembling hands, he took out the Six-Mark Soulbind Elixir and fed it to her.
In just half a stick of incense, the girl's complexion grew rosy and her aura strengthened. After another half stick, she opened her eyes and stared at Quentin Pooler, "Father, am I healed?"
Quentin Pooler wiped his eyes. "Yes, Shirley, you're healed. Truly healed."
He had waited far too long for this one Soulbind Elixir.
He owed it all to Alchemist Di. Without him, there would have been no Soulbind Elixir.
"Alchemist Di..." Quentin Pooler called out instinctively, but his expression changed—Joe Di was no longer in the house.
This meant Joe Di hadn't even regarded his sixth-rank Immortal Trapping Array. He was at least a sixth-rank Grand Immortal Array Master.
(That's all for today's update. Good night, friends. I thought I'd have to delay, but in the end I made it on time.)