When the White Moonlight Holds the Script - Chapter 19

After Wan Mengchen revealed that the contents of the porcelain bottle were Qingling Pills, both the eldest senior brother and the sixth junior brother trembled.

Snapping back to reality, they quickly tightened their grip on the bottle, afraid of dropping it.

The sixth junior brother was the first to voice his doubt, “Third Senior Brother, are you sure you didn’t misidentify it?”

Just last night, they had been discussing how incredibly expensive Qingling Pills were, and now they had them in their hands. If such a situation were to occur, he thought it would be more plausible in a dream.

Hearing this question, even Wan Mengchen began to feel uncertain. “Probably, right?”

In truth, he was quite confident in his sense of smell and ability to identify items as someone who made a living reselling goods for profit and aspired to become the world’s greatest merchant, lacking such skills would be like volunteering to be fleeced.

But, this situation felt too unreal, so unreal that Wan Mengchen began to doubt himself first.

How could their junior sister afford Qingling Pills with so few spirit stones? Besides, she hadn’t even gone down the mountain!

Could Qingling Pills just materialize out of thin air?

Zhu Zhihan didn’t let them speculate any further. With a light smile, she gave them the answer, “They are Qingling Pills. Each bottle contains three pills.”

Wan Mengchen was stunned. “Genuine?”

“Genuine.”

The sixth junior brother immediately tucked the small porcelain bottle securely into his robes. Wan Mengchen tapped him on the head and said, “Isn’t a storage pouch safer than your robes?”

The sixth junior brother paused for a moment. “Oh, right.”

The eldest senior brother asked, “Junior Sister, do you have any for yourself? Don’t give them all to us.”

Zhu Zhihan was momentarily taken aback, then smiled. “I have some too.”

After a flurry of commotion, the group finally accepted this bombshell.

Wan Mengchen looked at her with a complicated expression. “Junior Sister, you…”

Zhu Zhihan said, “Come inside to talk.”

The three of them entered the room, looking somewhat uneasy.

To ease their discomfort, Zhu Zhihan thoughtfully dropped another bombshell: “I refined these Qingling Pills myself.”

The sixth junior brother’s eyes widened. “Refined? Like the old woman mentioned yesterday? Alchemy?”

Wan Mengchen also found it unbelievable.

Just moments ago, he had wondered if the pills had materialized out of thin air. Now it seemed they really had been “created”!

Zhu Zhihan briefly explained to them.

“On the day I chose the wooden blade, Aunt Tu Meng gave me a small cauldron for alchemy. I had studied a bit before, so I thought I’d give it a try.”

“The grade of the pills isn’t very high. One batch was ruined, but the final product turned out quite well.”

The fact that a legendary alchemist was right among them left all three of them feeling dazed.

The sixth junior brother was the first to accept it. “No wonder you went to buy spirit herbs, Junior Sister!”

In his eyes, his junior sister was exceptionally talented she had become the disciple of the formidable sect leader, practiced the blade with relentless dedication, and persevered where others would falter. For such an extraordinary junior sister to know alchemy didn’t seem so strange after all.

Wan Mengchen and the eldest senior brother weren’t as quick to accept it as the sixth junior brother, but they eventually came around though this was mostly because they had no idea how difficult it was to cultivate an alchemist.

Wan Mengchen teased her with a smile, “So you had this planned all along, just waiting to shock your senior brothers, huh?”

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” Zhu Zhihan reflected and realized she had indeed given them a scare. She couldn’t help but laugh. “I wasn’t sure if I could actually refine them, so how could I have boasted about it beforehand?”

That much was true.

Alchemy truly relies heavily on a master’s touch. Although she possessed the experience from her past life and the system’s “second talent,” and had inspected the small cauldron beforehand, she still wasn’t entirely confident about how she would perform in practice.

Using an unfamiliar cauldron could mean it wasn’t compatible with her, requiring several failed batches to adapt, or there might be undetected issues with the cauldron itself.

Fortunately, neither of these unfavorable scenarios occurred.

The small cauldron proved quite compatible with her, and she succeeded after only one failed attempt.

While the sixth and eldest disciples were immersed in their joy, Wan Mengchen stroked his chin thoughtfully and murmured, “Junior Sister, I have an idea.”

Zhu Zhihan looked at him. “What a coincidence, I have one too.”

After a brief exchange, they found their ideas aligned perfectly.

Zhu Zhihan had already planned to refine pills to earn money for the sect.

Wan Mengchen, with his keen merchant’s intuition, sensed a business opportunity, if the junior sister could refine pills now, she could certainly do so in the future. The cost of herbs wasn’t high, and the potential profit margin was staggering.

Not seizing this opportunity would be a crime!

In the small room, the group huddled together to scheme.

The first matter they settled was the distribution of profits something that would have sparked endless disputes in other sects was practically a non-issue among the members of the Blade Sect.

The Blade Sect was small in numbers, its members living modestly with little to fight over. Instead, they held a strong sense of collective pride, all hoping for the sect’s improvement.

After discussion, they outlined a preliminary plan: if they earned money, they wouldn’t keep it for themselves. Part of it would be set aside temporarily for future contributions to the sect, while the rest would be used for purchasing materials and operational expenses.

Wan Mengchen made the arrangements: “Junior Sister, you focus on refining the pills. I’ll handle the selling.”

He clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Those Sky Tiger Sect folks are such a hassle. I can’t go myself, but I know plenty of people. I can have someone sell on my behalf, though they’ll take a cut.”

For someone as money-obsessed as him, even the slightest loss was unbearable.

But there was no better alternative.

Zhu Zhihan, however, shook her head. “The quantity of pills will be large, and I have other types of spiritual pills to sell as well. This cultivation market can’t handle it all.”

The Qingling Pill, which could be used by Golden Core cultivators and below to increase their chances of breakthrough, was quite expensive likely only affordable to those at the Golden Core stage.

During her visit the previous day, she had observed that most of the rogue cultivators frequenting the market were around the Foundation Establishment level, with almost no Golden Core cultivators in sight, the place was simply too remote, which was why the Sky Tiger Sect could dominate so easily.

She estimated that the Sky Tiger Sect might have some Golden Core or higher-level members who could afford the pills, but she didn’t want these pills falling into their hands.

The Sky Tiger Sect had their eyes fixed on the Blade Sect, and she had no intention of strengthening an opponent while weakening herself.

Wan Mengchen also considered this. “You’re right. The Sky Tiger Sect controls this cultivation market. Given their past behavior, they might pressure us to sell the pills at a low price or even force us to reveal the source.”

It seemed they had hit another dead end.

He scratched his head in frustration. “Then what should we do? Should I write to our second senior brother and the others outside to ask if they know of any other good places?”

Zhu Zhihan nodded. “That’s one way.”

She hesitated for a moment. “Actually, I do have a place in mind, but it’s a bit risky.”

Wan Mengchen’s eyes lit up slightly. “Tell me.”

Zhu Zhihan recalled her previous life: “A month from now should be the day the Snow Mountain Secret Realm opens. We can set up shop outside before the realm officially begins.”

“Such secret realms are always guarded and maintained by major sects to ensure order and safety, so we don’t need to worry about being robbed or ambushed. Those who can obtain entry passes to the realm are undoubtedly wealthy enough to afford our goods.”

She pondered for a moment: “We’ll start with this round of sales. Senior Brother can take the opportunity to meet more people and explore if there are other opportunities. We can plan further afterward.”

After Zhu Zhihan finished speaking, she noticed the surrounding silence.

Before she could reflect on whether her words were inappropriate, Wan Mengchen was the first to give a thumbs-up: “Brilliant! Let’s go with that!

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