"I need your help gathering some medicinal ingredients!" Yang Kai got straight to the point, not bothering to beat around the bush.
"What ingredients do you need?" Halika said with a smile. "Medicinal herbs may be scarce elsewhere, but our trade association will never be short of them."
Lin Mufeng and the middle-aged woman both nodded in agreement, indicating they would do everything in their power to meet Yang Kai's requirements.
Yang Kai immediately produced a list of materials needed for refining the Li Fire Pill. Halika took it and looked it over carefully, then said with a nonchalant expression: "The herbs on this list aren't hard to find. Our branch already stocks quite a few of them. Aside from the Dragon Turtle Spirit Fruit being somewhat rare, the rest shouldn't be a problem. However, if you can wait three to five months, we can have the Dragon Turtle Spirit Fruit transferred from one of our other medicine planets. It's just the timing..."
"Three to five months is fine. Even longer wouldn't matter, as long as it doesn't drag on for a year or two." Yang Kai shook his head.
"Within four months, I guarantee I'll have the Dragon Turtle Spirit Fruit delivered." Halika thumped his chest in assurance.
Certain medicinal ingredients required specific environments to grow. Although Rainfall Star was also a cultivation star, it simply didn't have the conditions suited for the Dragon Turtle Spirit Fruit. However, there was a Hengluo Commerce Association medicine planet nearby that produced large quantities of the stuff.
"How many ingredients does Brother need?" Lin Mufeng asked from the side.
"As many as you have—I want them all!" Yang Kai said in a low, serious voice.
"As many as we have?" All three were startled, staring at Yang Kai in disbelief.
They had assumed Yang Kai only needed a few sets of pill-refining materials. They never expected him to make such an outrageous demand with no upper limit at all.
Yang Kai proactively explained: "The method of salvation that Elder Zong Ao provided requires refining a pill that has a Pill Cloud. You should all know how incredibly difficult it is to produce a Pill Cloud. It's not something that can be achieved in one or two attempts. It requires a massive number of attempts and retries before there's any chance of success."
Upon hearing this, Halika and the others immediately understood why Yang Kai needed so many ingredients and couldn't help but feel a renewed sense of respect. Halika nodded: "So that's how it is. Master Zong Ao truly lives up to his reputation as a legendary alchemist—actually intending to refine a pill that bears a Pill Cloud. We are deeply inspired."
"In any case, this will be a losing proposition for your branch. The pills produced will all be the same type, and even if I hand them all over to you afterward, finding buyers will still be a problem. You should prepare yourselves mentally," Yang Kai reminded them.
"As long as we can awaken Lady Xue, these losses don't matter at all," Halika declared immediately. He was truly terrified—if Lady Xue were to actually perish, the Third Young Master Xueyue would absolutely not let him off easy. Even if it meant draining every last resource, he would gather all the ingredients needed.
"That's excellent!" Yang Kai was very satisfied with their cooperation. He didn't need to spend extra effort persuading them—these people were all reasonable and easy to talk to, and he didn't have to spell out the pros and cons for them.
"Brother..." Halika looked hesitant, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back. After calling out, he exchanged glances with Lin Mufeng, as though there was something they wanted to say but couldn't quite bring themselves to voice.
Yang Kai read their expressions and immediately understood what they were getting at. He said solemnly: "To me, the most important thing is saving Lady Xue. I won't ask about anything else."
The moment these words left his mouth, all three were overjoyed, and the looks they directed at Yang Kai grew even more warm and friendly.
Although all three had obtained the Profound Yin Sunflower Water and were quite excited, the incident on Rainfall Star this time was so major that they weren't sure whether or not to report it to the main star. Under normal circumstances, they would have had the ability to suppress news of Lady Xue's injury and unconsciousness, but things were different now. Yang Kai was Xueyue's bodyguard—even though his cultivation was low, what if he lost his mind and reported to the main star before they did?
Then all three would face even more severe punishment!
Having received Yang Kai's assurance, their hearts were completely put at ease.
Yang Kai chuckled and said: "I also don't want to be punished by anyone the main star sends over, so for now, let's not let news of Lady Xue's injury spread. Once she recovers, she'll make her own decision."
"Thank you, Brother!" Halika cupped his fists earnestly.
"However, this Profound Yin Sunflower Water... you'd best not touch it for now. Let everything await Lady Xue's decision," Yang Kai added.
"Of course. Even with the greatest audacity, we wouldn't dare casually use such a supreme cultivation treasure. We'll naturally wait for Lady Xue to wake up and handle it," Halika and the others nodded repeatedly, grateful that Yang Kai had pointed them toward the right course of action.
Moreover, from the very beginning, they had never intended to use the Profound Yin Sunflower Water. Although refining a single drop would cause one's strength to soar, none of them even knew how to do it. Halika had personally witnessed the power of the Profound Yin Sunflower Water—the cost was losing an arm. A single misstep, and rather than gaining any increase in strength, one might very well end up in the same state as Lady Xue.
Not daring to use it didn't mean it wasn't a merit. So the three of them had been circling the container before Yang Kai arrived, gazing at it with immense delight.
"Mm, asking for your help earlier was a matter of public concern. Now I have a private matter I'd like to ask your help with as well!" Yang Kai felt the timing was right and the atmosphere was warm enough. He planned to extract a few more benefits from them.
"Please, speak, Brother!"