To master alchemists, NOT using the Pill Blacklist made it that much more of a deterrence. After all, after the second usage, its effectiveness vanished.
The names of everyone on the one hundred years Pill Blacklist were branded onto the medallion. After becoming a master alchemist, Meng Hao earned the right to use the power of the medallion, but of course, was also required to respect the arrangement. Currently, there were thirteen people who had been Pill Blacklisted; for one hundred years, no master alchemist, Meng Hao included, would concoct pills for these thirteen people.
He looked at the Pill Blacklist medallion for a moment longer, then put it away. After a moment’s thought, he retrieved a jade slip and branded it with some information. Then he ignited it; in the blink of an eye, it disappeared.
Not much time passed before he heard a voice from outside the Immortal’s cave. He lifted a finger, and the door to the Immortal’s Cave opened. A pretty girl entered who appeared to be about eighteen or nineteen years old. As soon as she entered the Immortal’s Cave, her nose wrinkled as if she were gagging on the odor of the exploded pill furnace.
“Alchemist Fang,” she said, smiling, “I was feeling a bit confused yesterday. I was wondering why so many days had passed since you asked me for a replacement furnace….” She produced a brand new pill furnace from her bag of holding and handed it over to Meng Hao with a smile.
The girl’s name was Lin Rui, and she was in charge of daily affairs for master alchemists. Her Cultivation base was not very high, but according to the rumors, one of her Clan members was a Violet Furnace Lord. Furthermore, she had a pleasing personality. Therefore, many of the master alchemists had taken a liking to her. Over time, she came to take care of whatever the various master alchemists needed.
For example, during the past two months, she had delivered pill furnaces to Meng Hao on forty six different occasions. Today would be the forty seventh.
Feeling slightly embarrassed, Meng Hao cleared his throat. He accepted the pill furnace, along with a jade slip that she handed over. Now that he was a master alchemist, he didn’t actually have to pay up front for pill furnaces, medicinal pills, pill formulas. The Sect would provide them willingly. However, that didn’t mean that they were free. They could be acquired on credit. But eventually, he had to provide compensation in the form of medicinal pills.
“How much do I owe?” he asked, looking at the jade slip with a frown.
“Including today, you owe 6,757 Qi Condensation Pills to the Sect.” She winked at him, and covered her mouth as she laughed. Then she continued on in a conciliatory tone: “It’s not a big deal. You actually don’t owe very much. The most I’ve seen someone owe is 1,730,000. That much… would probably require a lifetime of pill concocting to pay back….”
Hearing the enormous number caused Meng Hao to stare in shock. Then he smiled wryly, shook his head, and sighed. He took out his own jade slip and inscribed the information on it, then handed the original back to the girl.
“Alchemist Fang, just keep working hard. Um… the most recent Pill Delivery Day has already passed. Do you think you could provide a bit more than the quota? If you do, it will make it easier to make an explanation.” Lin Rui’s smile was like a flower. It was little wonder the master alchemists all liked her. Of course, Meng Hao was the youngest master alchemist by far, so every time she came here she would find opportunities to make fun of him a little. She seemed to love it when Fang Mu blushed with embarrassment.
Meng Hao sighed, then picked up one of the pill bottles. Inside were five Qi Condensation Pills. He handed them to the girl. It was his first time turning over pills toward his quota.