Chapter 14: Explosive Yuan Pill

The next day, Ye Yuan came to the Fragrance of Medicine Pavilion again.

Ye Yuan clearly noticed the different looks from the shop assistants. What had happened yesterday made everyone look at this super wastrel with new eyes.

Ye Yuan had experienced this kind of look too many times in his past life, so he didn't care much. Today, he came to the Fragrance of Medicine Pavilion to collect medicinal herbs. Ye Yuan urgently needed to improve his strength, and the fastest way to do so was undoubtedly by taking pills.

Wouldn't Ye Yuan be a fool if he didn't use his strength as a Pill Emperor?

Ye Yuan had countless pill formulas in his mind, but the pills he could currently refine were too few—only first-grade pills, and even that relied on his powerful soul. Otherwise, with his cultivation at the first level of the Yuan Qi Realm, he couldn't even refine the dregs.

Ye Yuan spent the entire night searching through the first-grade pill formulas in his memory and felt that a first-grade superior pill called the Explosive Yuan Pill suited him best.

Explosive Yuan Pill, as the name suggests, is a pill that explosively increases yuan power.

The first-grade pill circulating on the market that can increase yuan power and aid cultivation is the Yuan Qi Pill, suitable for martial artists in the Yuan Qi Realm. However, ordinary martial artists simply cannot afford such pills and can only rely on hard training to increase their strength.

One Yuan Qi Pill can save a martial artist months of hard training. If one could train using Yuan Qi Pills, reaching the ninth level of the Yuan Qi Realm would only be a matter of time. But those who can consume Yuan Qi Pills so freely are extremely rare—only the imperial family and some noble子弟 can afford them.

Ye Yuan could certainly afford them, but for him, Yuan Qi Pills were too weak and couldn't achieve the effect he wanted.

Although Yuan Qi Pills are good, their effectiveness diminishes with repeated use. His predecessor had consumed quite a few Yuan Qi Pills, but he had hardly refined their medicinal power, causing much yuan power to leak from his body. Now, Yuan Qi Pills were of little use to Ye Yuan.

The Explosive Yuan Pill is an upgraded version of the Yuan Qi Pill, with several times the potency. It was most suitable for Ye Yuan to improve his strength. Of course, Ye Yuan had even more powerful pill formulas, but those were either too high in grade or too strong in potency for the current Ye Yuan. Once his strength improved, refining those pills would come naturally.

“Young master, are you here to collect herbs again today?” The shopkeeper greeted him with a smile, a complete contrast to yesterday.

Ye Yuan didn't expose him and smiled, “Yes, here are the herbs I need. Prepare three portions of each.”

As he spoke, Ye Yuan handed the shopkeeper a prescription listing the various herbs for the Explosive Yuan Pill. Although the Explosive Yuan Pill was much more precious than the Yuan Qi Pill, the herbs used were only first-grade and could be bought in ordinary shops. As the largest herb merchant in the imperial city, the Fragrance of Medicine Pavilion naturally had them in stock.

The shopkeeper glanced at the prescription and frowned. Ye Yuan asked curiously, “What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”

“Young master, there’s no issue with the other herbs on this prescription, but the six-leaf grass…” The shopkeeper looked troubled.

Ye Yuan was even more puzzled. “As far as I know, although six-leaf grass is somewhat rare, it’s still a common herb. Surely our Fragrance of Medicine Pavilion can prepare three portions?”

The shopkeeper smiled bitterly. “Young master, we do have six-leaf grass, but we don’t stock too much of such herbs. We happen to have only three portions, all stored in the warehouse. Unfortunately, those three portions were already ordered by someone yesterday, and the deposit has been paid.”

Saying this, the shopkeeper secretly glanced at Ye Yuan, afraid he would fly into a rage. This little ancestor was not to be trifled with; if dissatisfied, he might cause a huge uproar. Although Ye Yuan’s performance yesterday was impressive, old habits die hard—who knew if he would lose his temper now?

Seeing Ye Yuan’s expression unchanged, the shopkeeper felt relieved, thinking, “Has this little ancestor really changed?”

“Who ordered the herbs?”

“A young man about your age, and he was in a hurry,” the shopkeeper said cautiously.

Ye Yuan nodded. “When did he say he would pick them up? I’d like to talk to him.”

The shopkeeper was startled, thinking Ye Yuan intended to force the other party to cancel the order. Such an action would greatly harm the Fragrance of Medicine Pavilion’s reputation.

Ye Yuan saw his concern and added, “Don’t worry, I won’t do anything rash.”

The shopkeeper was still uncertain whether this little ancestor had truly changed. But seeing that Ye Yuan showed no sign of leaving, it seemed he was determined to get those three six-leaf grasses.

“He said he would come early in the morning to pick them up. He seemed very anxious. I reckon he should be here soon,” the shopkeeper had no choice but to tell the truth.

“Good, I’ll wait for him here.” With that, Ye Yuan ignored the anxious shopkeeper, found a spot, sat down, and closed his eyes to rest.

The shopkeeper sighed and let him be, hoping this little ancestor wouldn’t cause trouble. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Ye Yuan, but the impression Ye Yuan had left on everyone was too deep.

…

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Ye Yuan, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly heard an urgent voice: “Shopkeeper, I’ve come to pick up the six-leaf grass I ordered yesterday.”

“This…” The shopkeeper showed a troubled expression again.

The newcomer was a young man of about fifteen or sixteen. Seeing the shopkeeper’s expression, he said urgently, “Shopkeeper, we agreed yesterday, and you’ve already taken the deposit. You can’t go back on your word!”

“Since the deposit has been taken, I naturally won’t go back on my word. But I’d like to ask, brother, what do you need this six-leaf grass for?” It was Ye Yuan who spoke.

The young man turned around and saw a richly dressed youth of similar age, but he was not so polite: “What’s it to you?”

The shopkeeper was startled. Daring to provoke this little ancestor—was this young man tired of living? He was about to speak but was stopped by Ye Yuan’s gaze.

Ye Yuan smiled. “Of course it’s none of my business, but I’m curious why you’re buying herbs instead of finished pills. Could it be that you want to refine them yourself? Let me guess. There are three first-grade pills that require six-leaf grass: one is the Heavenly Spirit Pill, used to break through to the Liquid Essence Realm. You’re only at the fourth level of the Yuan Qi Realm, so it’s probably not that. The second is the Clear Heart Pill, used to keep the mind clear and ward off inner demons, suitable for breaking through bottlenecks. You’re not at a bottleneck now, so it shouldn’t be that either. The third is the Great Return Pill, a first-grade healing elixir. Seeing how anxious you are, could it be that a relative is seriously injured and needs this pill to save their life?”

The young man’s mouth fell open, looking at Ye Yuan in shock. He was astonished by Ye Yuan’s profound knowledge of pills and even more by his sharp insight.

Ye Yuan’s analysis was as if he had seen it with his own eyes, and the facts were exactly as Ye Yuan had guessed.