However, Jiang Chen's calculations were clearly not the same as the Green Phoenix Pill King's. His understanding of the Heavenly Luminous Grass went far deeper than the Green Phoenix Pill King's.
Before long, someone brought the Heavenly Luminous Grass over to Jiang Chen. Jiang Chen casually produced four hundred million Sacred Spirit Stones and handed them over to the Purification Fire Hall.
This auction was conducted on-site, with transactions completed immediately. It was refreshingly straightforward, and it drew the most attention.
The very first item fetched an astronomical price of four hundred million. An auction of this scale was exceedingly rare — nothing like it had occurred in the nearly thousand-year history of the Purification Fire Hall.
Jiang Chen carefully tended to the Heavenly Luminous Grass, placed it in a spirit case, and stored it properly before putting it into his Storage Ring.
The Peerless Emperor noticed Jiang Chen's contented smile, as though he had just struck a tremendously satisfying deal, and couldn't help but ask, "Young brother, I know a thing or two about the Heavenly Luminous Grass myself. If it's used solely for refining the Sacred Smile Pill, the yield would be unlikely to exceed fifty pills. Even at ten million Sacred Spirit Stones per pill, that's only five hundred million. This single stalk of Heavenly Luminous Grass already cost you four hundred million. What about the supplementary materials? The alchemist's labor, the time, the effort? No matter how you calculate it, it's a losing proposition. The Green Phoenix Pill King's math can't be wrong. Are we just that ignorant?"
Seeing that the Peerless Emperor was equally curious, and the Green Phoenix Pill King was eyeing him with suspicion, Jiang Chen knew that if he didn't provide an explanation, they would never let go of their curiosity.
So he had no choice but to speak honestly. "My honored teacher once told me about the Heavenly Luminous Grass. It has a hidden property that most people in the world don't know about."
"A hidden property?" The Green Phoenix Pill King started. "What hidden property?"
At this point, even Wang Xuetong craned his head forward, eager to hear the answer. The four of them sat close together, like a small clique.
Jiang Chen smiled. "It's not that I can't tell you, but once the secret is out, it loses its value. So if you all want to hear, you'll have to keep it confidential."
The Green Phoenix Pill King promptly swore, "I swear by my Heart Demon that I will absolutely not reveal what I hear to anyone outside."
Wang Xuetong chimed in as well, "I also swear by my Heart Demon — I won't breathe a word. Hey, I'm a Grandmaster of Formations; alchemy matters are outside my expertise anyway."
The Peerless Emperor chuckled. "Very well, I'm no exception. I too swear by my Heart Demon never to reveal the secret of the Heavenly Luminous Grass."
None of them were especially nosy people, but Jiang Chen had genuinely piqued their curiosity. What reason could possibly drive a young man to spend four hundred million to outbid everyone for this single stalk of Heavenly Luminous Grass?
Jiang Chen let out a sly chuckle, his tone mysterious. "In truth, this hidden property is remarkably well concealed. The Heavenly Luminous Grass is indeed the primary ingredient for refining the Sacred Smile Pill. However, it possesses a special characteristic — it can regenerate."
"Regenerate? What do you mean?" The Green Phoenix Pill King looked bewildered. "Spiritual medicine can regenerate?"
"When I say regenerate, I don't mean reincarnation. I mean it's like leeks — you cut one crop, and another grows back. That's its form of regeneration!"
In truth, many plants possessed this property — spring came and went, flowers wilted and bloomed again.
But the world of spiritual medicine was different. Most spiritual medicines had a single-use lifecycle. Some could go through multiple cycles, and a few could even sustain themselves for tens of thousands of years without declining.
Yet the Heavenly Luminous Grass had always been regarded in the spiritual medicine world as a single-use, consumable herb — absolutely incapable of multiple cycles.
The Green Phoenix Pill King couldn't help but say, "The Heavenly Luminous Grass is universally recognized in the spiritual medicine community as non-regenerative. Are you... perhaps mistaken?"
"Indeed, the Heavenly Luminous Grass is universally recognized as non-regenerative. But what is universally recognized isn't necessarily correct. Its regeneration requires certain conditions. Without thorough research into these conditions, there's no way to unlock the potential."
"What conditions?" The Green Phoenix Pill King's curiosity had been thoroughly stoked.
"First, whenever you harvest the Heavenly Luminous Grass, you must never remove more than one-quarter of its volume. If you damage the main body of the herb, regeneration becomes impossible. Second, its regeneration cycle takes at least three years — in some cases, even more than five. Third, to stimulate regeneration, you need one critical factor: the right spiritual fertilizer. This fertilizer is the key to its regeneration. It must perfectly match the Heavenly Luminous Grass's elemental properties and seamlessly align with its growth characteristics. Only when all three conditions are met can regeneration be triggered. And once it starts, it continues indefinitely — only when the main body of the Heavenly Luminous Grass eventually withers will the cycle end. A full major cycle lasts at least two thousand years."
The Green Phoenix Pill King was completely lost, while the Peerless Emperor and Wang Xuetong wore expressions of sheer disbelief.
The Peerless Emperor let out a bitter laugh. "Don't tell me this is also something you happened to hear your teacher mention?"
Every time this fellow demonstrated something extraordinary, he always claimed it was a coincidence. If this was also a coincidence, it was far too convenient.
Jiang Chen didn't so much as blink. He let out another sly chuckle. "This time it wasn't a coincidence. These properties of spiritual medicine are foundational knowledge I learned as a child. In particular, Heaven Grade and Earth Grade spiritual medicines require special attention to master."
Upon hearing this, a sharp gleam flashed through the Green Phoenix Pill King's eyes, and he couldn't help but say, "In that case, Brother Shao, you must know Heaven Grade and Earth Grade spiritual medicines like the back of your hand?"