Chapter 267: Chapter 117: Monster Martial Pill! Star Patterned Gold Alchemy Furnace!_3

“The Monster Martial Pill, with the demon monster’s crystal core as its main ingredient and supplemented by several dozen rare medicinal materials, is an elite pill medicine for enhancing Inner Strength cultivation. Its medicinal properties are powerful and extraordinary, but the pill contains the remnants of the demonic nature of the crystal core; it must not be consumed by those without strong mental fortitude! It must not be taken by those without a robust physique and a solid foundation! Moreover, one should not consume it excessively; if any abnormalities are felt in the body, one must stop immediately!”

Su Changkong glanced at the introduction to the Monster Martial Pill and couldn’t help but click his tongue in wonder.

This Monster Martial Pill is indeed worlds apart from ordinary pill medicine, and the final product of the Monster Martial Pill is even more bizarre.

Ordinary people and even common martial artists have no qualifications to take it! The remaining demonic nature of the demon monster’s crystal core can affect one’s mind.

And with its powerful medicinal strength, only a body strong enough could possibly refine it; otherwise, it could harm the body, and taking too much would still affect it. Without thinking, Su Changkong could guess that it probably related to turning into a demon monster.

The most direct use of a demon monster’s crystal core is to merge it with one’s heart, but the cost is a drastic change in temperament and demonization.

Using the crystal core for alchemy, however, greatly diminishes the effects, but they’re still there. As such, the pill medicine refined with a demon monster’s crystal core usually has some side effects, and just the consumption threshold alone blockades nearly 99% of martial artists!

Su Changkong was confident in himself, certain that consuming a few would definitely not be a problem.

However, thinking so much was futile if the Monster Martial Pill couldn’t be refined in the first place. If alchemy failed, everything would be just empty talk.

“The ingredients required for the alchemy of the Monster Martial Pill are too stringent…”

Su Changkong frowned deeply.

The most difficult to obtain primary material, of course, was the demon monster’s crystal core, and Su Changkong had one. However, the other medicinal materials were equally precious; most could likely be bought on the market at a high cost.

Su Changkong estimated that the materials for a single batch of Monster Martial Pills, excluding the crystal core whose value was difficult to calculate, would cost tens to hundreds of thousands of taels of silver—assuming that one could buy them smoothly. Among these, there were one or two types of materials that would require luck to find.

For instance, Red Blood Jade Ginseng that’s at least three hundred years old is rare and precious! As soon as it appears on the market, it’s quickly bought up!

Not only that, but the Monster Martial Pill also has requirements for the Alchemy Furnace used!

“For the alchemy of the Monster Martial Pill, one must use a Star Patterned Gold Pill Furnace and intense flames to utilize the properties of Blue Gold and refine away some of the demonic nature within the crystal core.”

Su Changkong saw the Pill Recipe’s instructions about the Alchemy Furnace needed for the alchemy process.

“Star Pattern Gold… this stuff is incredibly valuable, a very rare metal. One tael of Star Pattern Gold equals a thousand taels of gold, and you can’t buy it no matter the money!”

Su Changkong felt a huge headache coming on.

Star Pattern Gold is a rare metal that, when a small amount is fused into weapons or armour, can greatly enhance the quality of the product, creating high-quality arms! It’s found only in some mines in limited quantities and is controlled and mined by the official powers, making it unavailable on the open market. Only some experts loyal to the court have a chance to receive exquisite weapons infused with Star Pattern Gold, which serve both practical use and as symbols of status!

To forge a Star Pattern Gold Alchemy Furnace… even if you don’t need Star Pattern Gold as the main component, you still need at least twenty pounds of it.

With that pricing in mind, twenty pounds of Star Pattern Gold would start at two million taels of silver, and that’s if you can even find it at all with money.

Even though the Ghost Market might trade in Star Pattern Gold, in small amounts like one or a few taels, such a large quantity of twenty pounds is too great, and it might not be possible to find so much Star Pattern Gold at the Ghost Market!

Even if it were accessible… Su Changkong wouldn’t have enough money. Having spent the majority of his savings on attempting the Qi Blood Seven Transformation, he only had one million taels of silver in savings.

“It’s difficult to get things done in an unfamiliar place!”

Su Changkong felt a headache intensifying.

Even with the Pill Recipe in hand, it’s difficult to cook without rice; the various materials needed for the alchemy of the Monster Martial Pill were enough to cause a headache for anyone.

“First, I’ll buy the medicinal materials that are available, then wait for the Ghost Market to open next month to see if I can find enough Star Pattern Gold…”

Su Changkong also understood that one must not only focus on the difficulties and fail to take action.

Step by step, the goal can always be achieved!

Su Changkong memorized and secured the Monster Martial Pill recipe. He then left the desolate Ghost Market, disguised himself once again, and went back to Dafeng State City to purchase the more than thirty types of medicinal herbs needed for forging the Monster Martial Pill.

Dafeng State City was incredibly prosperous, with resources centralized; this place afforded a wider range of goods and they were easier to procure than elsewhere—as long as one had the money!

Time passed to over half a month later.

In a quiet and elegant VIP booth, a green-clothed middle-aged man with a smiling face said, “Young Master Qin, this is the Frost Sky Grass you requested. Please count them. As for the 300-year-old Blood Jade Spirit Ginseng you need, we at Spirit Medicine Pavilion will keep an eye out for you.”

Across from the green-clothed middle-aged man sat a man in his twenties with eyebrows like swords and stars in his eyes.

“Hmm.”

The young man known as Young Master Qin nodded slightly, seemingly not much for words. He simply took out several silver notes from his bosom and placed them on the table.

He then left the Spirit Medicine Pavilion, one of the top establishments in Dafeng State City, under the green-clothed middle-aged man’s courteous farewell.

This Young Master Qin was none other than Su Changkong in disguise, purchasing ingredients for the Monster Martial Pill in Dafeng State City.

“To forge the Monster Martial Pill, all I need now is the 300-year-old Blood Jade Spirit Ginseng! The real challenge lies in the Star Pattern Gold Pill Furnace though,” Su Changkong thought to himself.

The 300-year-old Blood Jade Spirit Ginseng would eventually appear; he might obtain it if he spent tens of thousands of taels. However, the Market lacked Star Pattern Gold, and its price was exorbitant. Su Changkong needed a Star Pattern Gold Pill Furnace to forge the Monster Martial Pill, and that was the greatest challenge!

“In a few days, the Ghost Market will open. I’ll check it out and see what I can find,” Su Changkong decided, planning to try his luck at the Ghost Market—a place teeming with all sorts, where the visitors were no ordinary people, and the news was definitely well-informed.

Several days later, on the fifteenth of the month, came the day when East Forest Mountain Ghost Market opened its doors.

At night, within the desolate and silent East Forest Mountain, Su Changkong arrived at the Ghost Market village sporting a new disguise, wearing a dog’s head mask.

On the streets of the Ghost Market, pedestrians came and went in silence, each person concealing their identity and harboring their own motives.

After wandering idly for a while, Su Changkong sat down at the side of the street and placed a wooden placard beside him, on which was briefly written “Buying Star Pattern Gold” in five large characters.

Most people who walked past Su Changkong looked at the sign with a hint of surprise, and then left, shaking their heads slightly.

Star Pattern Gold, such a precious item! A tael of Star Pattern Gold equated to ten thousand taels of silver! Not something the common man could possess.

“This person can afford to buy Star Pattern Gold… who is he?”

Many others felt curious about Su Changkong’s identity, deciding that anyone with the confidence to buy Star Pattern Gold was not someone to be trifled with.

“No chance then?” Su Changkong felt resigned, aware that Star Pattern Gold was indeed difficult to purchase, even inside the Ghost Market.

What surprised Su Changkong was that, as midnight approached, some people left and others arrived.

A man shrouded in black, with a sheep’s face mask, entered the Ghost Market village. He took a round and, upon seeing Su Changkong’s note, he paused obviously.

Quickly, the man in the sheep’s mask looked around to see if anyone was paying attention to him and then approached Su Changkong, his lips buzzing, “You want to buy Star Pattern Gold?”

This voice was audible only to Su Changkong. The man in the sheep’s mask was using a technique to contain his voice with True Qi, a Secret Voice Transmission, not letting it leak out—his Inner Strength cultivation must be strong!