Elder Yunnie pressed on without stopping, continuing the refinement.
But because he was too excited, the second Six-Vein Profound Dragon Pill suffered a minor flaw in its handling and reached only mid-grade quality.
When he refined the third pill, Elder Yunnie calmed himself once more, following the same rhythm as the first one. When the third pill emerged, it was again upper-grade.
Although no supreme-grade quality had appeared, two upper-grade pills and one mid-grade pill already far exceeded Elder Yunnie's expectations.
Before Jiang Chen's arrival, Elder Yunnie's wish had simply been to refine a single acceptable lower-grade Six-Vein Profound Dragon Pill.
And now his harvest had obviously surpassed every benchmark by a wide margin.
"Congratulations, Elder Yunnie." Jiang Chen felt no jealousy whatsoever over the Six-Vein Profound Dragon Pill. First, at his current stage, he had no use for this pill. Second, as long as he gathered enough materials, he could easily refine it himself, with at least a thirty to forty percent chance of achieving supreme-grade quality.
However, seeing the beaming smile on Elder Yunnie's face, Jiang Chen knew the elder was extremely satisfied with this harvest.
Since he was satisfied, it was time to pay out the rewards, wasn't it?
What Jiang Chen cared about more was Elder Yunnie's reward.
"Hahaha, Jiang Chen — this old man was able to refine this Six-Vein Profound Dragon Pill, and you deserve the top credit. I've heard that your talent in flame control and cauldron assessment are both outstanding. So, how about it? Any interest in leaving Danxia Valley and coming to work at the Hall of Herbs?"
Elder Yunnie rarely stepped outside, yet he was the Master of the Hall of Herbs — its true controller.
When Jiang Chen heard the words "Hall of Herbs," he couldn't help but show a wry smile.
His, Jiang Chen's, name must surely have become public enemy number one in the Hall of Herbs by now. So many Hall of Herbs elders had tried to recruit him, and Jiang Chen had turned them all down.
"What's wrong?" Elder Yunnie noticed Jiang Chen's wry expression. "Do you look down on the Hall of Herbs?"
Jiang Chen quickly shook his head. "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare. It's just that my reputation in the Hall of Herbs must be terrible by now. If I went to the Hundred Herbs Hall, I wouldn't want to become a target for everyone's arrows."
"What do you mean?" Elder Yunnie was baffled. He had been shut away in his cave dwelling recently and hadn't paid much attention to outside affairs.
Moreover, the Hall of Herbs elders' failure to recruit Jiang Chen was somewhat embarrassing, so they wouldn't have publicized it. As a result, Elder Yunnie had been kept completely in the dark.
Jiang Chen was open and straightforward, recounting how those elders had tried to recruit him.
After hearing the full story, Elder Yunnie couldn't help but laugh in spite of himself, then cursed, "Those bastards — each of them had quite the far-sighted scheme. Good, good, you weren't recruited by any of them. Otherwise, you wouldn't have gone to the Four Seasons Hall to take on that task, and this old man's Six-Vein Profound Dragon Pill — who knows when it would have been completed. There truly is fate at work in all this."
Elder Yunnie laughed heartily as he spoke.
He called out, "Someone come! Go to the treasury and bring the rewards I've prepared."
Before long, Elder Yunnie's attendant arrived with the rewards.
One thousand Foundation Nurturing Pills, the genuine article, all upper-grade — far superior in quality to the kind Mu Xiaoxian had offered.
Four or five half-sage artifacts, allowing Jiang Chen to choose one.
"This old man always keeps his word. Jiang Chen, these half-sage artifacts were all gifts from various friends across the Myriad Forms Territory. I have no use for them now — pick one."
Without a moment's hesitation, Jiang Chen selected a set of bow and arrows.
The bow was entirely golden, radiating an imposing, dominating aura.
"Haha, this is the Sun-Shooting Bow. Though it's only a half-sage artifact, its power is no lesser than that of a first-refined or second-refined sage artifact," Elder Yunnie said with a smile.
Jiang Chen was very fond of this bow and arrow set. "In that case, this disciple will shamelessly take the Sun-Shooting Bow."
Elder Yunnie was in excellent spirits. "As for the Spiritual Medicine reward, whenever you have need, you may come and select from my treasury at any time. Any Spiritual Medicine I have in stock — take whatever you want. Come, come, stay and chat with this old man for a while. Before you head back, you can pick out your medicines."
The successful creation of the Six-Vein Profound Dragon Pill had instantly cured Elder Yunnie's years-old ailment, lifting his mood immeasurably. Life suddenly felt so wonderful.
The attendants, hearing Elder Yunnie's words, were filled with envy.
But thinking about how Jiang Chen had helped Elder Yunnie solve the Six-Vein Profound Dragon Pill problem, they were envious but not quite jealous.
In their hearts, they quietly resolved to build a good relationship with this Jiang Chen. Looking at the way things were going, he would surely become a regular visitor at Elder Yunnie's cave dwelling from now on.
Such a young genius — not only did Palace Master Danchi think highly of him, but now Elder Yunnie also owed him a favor. Given time, he would inevitably become a towering figure in the Danqian Palace. Befriending him now was still in time.
Wait until Jiang Chen truly rose to prominence and became one of the sect's top figures — by then, trying to curry favor would be too late.
Having received his rewards and seeing how hospitable Elder Yunnie was, Jiang Chen naturally wouldn't refuse the elder's invitation to stay. He accompanied Elder Yunnie on a tour of his cave dwelling.