Upon hearing this, Qiao Baishi was startled and quickly stood up. "Young Marquis, has our Medicine Hall given offense? I will return immediately to investigate! Whoever offended you, I'll make them pack their bags and leave at once!"
Jiang Chen raised a hand, calming him down. "Don't get agitated. I was just saying. The reason I called you here today was to speak some words from the heart."
"Whatever instructions the Young Marquis has, Baishi is all ears." Qiao Baishi's posture was exceedingly humble before Jiang Chen. He knew better than anyone that the Medicine Hall's current glory, and his own glory today, were all bestowed by Jiang Chen.
Just as Jiang Chen had said. What he could give the Medicine Hall today, he could take back tenfold tomorrow.
Jiang Chen nodded. "I'll be direct. I don't have time to run to your Medicine Hall every month, or even twice, or thrice. I need a confidant, a follower. Or, to put it more nicely, a nominal disciple who can heed my commands."
Qiao Baishi's heart stirred. How could the man who had become Hall Master be a fool? He naturally understood the meaning behind Jiang Chen's words.
This was asking him, Qiao Baishi, to declare his allegiance and swear loyalty!
"Third Hall Master, you are a clever man. I'll say only one thing: in the future, there will be those a hundred times more powerful than you who kneel at my feet, licking my toes, and I might not even accept them as disciples. What I can offer you is ten times, a hundred times beyond the limits of your imagination!"
Qiao Baishi's breathing quickened. How could he not believe it? With just three casual pill formulas, Jiang Chen had altered the entire landscape of spiritual medicine in the Eastern Kingdom.
In the future, the Medicine Hall's pills, sold throughout the Sixteen Surrounding Kingdoms, would undoubtedly make a fortune. And that, too, was all bestowed by Jiang Chen.
At this thought, Qiao Baishi hesitated not a moment longer. He dropped to both knees. "Master is above, Baishi greets you. Baishi is willing to follow Master for life, to learn the infinite Dao of Alchemy."
With that, he kowtowed respectfully, performing the full ceremony of taking a master.
Jiang Chen did not stand on ceremony and accepted his salute.
"Baishi, one day you will realize that you made a wise choice today. If you had hesitated even a moment longer, it would have meant the loss of my trust. The help I could offer you would have likely ended here."
Qiao Baishi was terrified.
"Since you take me as your master, I will pass on the core secrets of these three pill formulas. This will save me from having to visit your Medicine Hall every month."
What?
Qiao Baishi was completely stunned. He never expected that after becoming a disciple, he would receive such a benefit—being directly granted the core technology of three pill formulas!
This was an extravagance he wouldn't have dared to dream of!
"Don't be too surprised. To you, these three pill formulas are a heaven-sent fortune. In my eyes, they're hardly better than garbage."
This wasn't Jiang Chen boasting. With his attainments in alchemy from his previous life, these formulas were indeed nothing but commonplace street wares.
He said this not to boast, but to caution Qiao Baishi, to prevent him from getting carried away after obtaining these core secrets.
Qiao Baishi became even more apprehensive. "Master, I fear this disciple is incapable of mastering these formulas. At the Medicine Hall..."
"Since I've passed them to you, I'm not afraid you can't handle them. You must remember, you are different now than before. You have me as your backing. In the world of spiritual medicine, if anyone dares challenge you, you have the right to crush them to dust. If you cannot do that, you are not worthy of being my disciple."
"You should know, as long as I am willing, those who would kneel and beg to be my disciples could queue from my Jianghan territory all the way to the Royal Capital."
Qiao Baishi hastily said, "This disciple believes it. Master's divine abilities are vast; you must be a reincarnated ancient alchemy grandmaster. How could this disciple not believe? That this disciple has caught Master's eye is a fortune cultivated over a hundred lifetimes!"
Jiang Chen chuckled softly. A reincarnated ancient alchemy grandmaster? Qiao Baishi certainly dared to guess! But even with such a bold guess, he was still far too conservative!
Of course, Jiang Chen would not reveal his own secrets. He merely smiled mysteriously. "An ancient alchemy grandmaster? Baishi, if you have sufficient destiny, the longer you follow me, the more you will know how high the heavens are and how vast the world truly is."
For Qiao Baishi, this was destined to be a sleepless night.
That evening, he made a decision that would alter the trajectory of his entire life.
Jiang Chen trusted those he employed. He imparted all the profound secrets of the three pill formulas to Qiao Baishi, making the latter even more steadfastly devoted.
After sending Qiao Baishi away, Jiang Chen entered his cultivation chamber to continue training.
Although Jiang Chen had been busy lately, his nightly cultivation routine had never been neglected.
After these days of practice, he had fully entered the cultivation state of the "Nine Smiles Ocean Method." With the aid of this powerful technique, his Ocean Surge True Qi was progressing rapidly.
The six-meridian True Qi surged within him like six starving tigers, parched and eager, straining to break through to the seven-meridian True Qi.
"I didn't expect the 'Nine Smiles Ocean Method' to be so much more powerful than I imagined. I thought advancing to seven-meridian True Qi wouldn't be so easy. But the method has significantly enhanced the quality of my Ocean Surge True Qi. With such a supreme technique, breaking through to seven-meridian True Qi is actually as natural as water flowing downhill. There's no need for excessive accumulation."
Jiang Chen realized he had underestimated the quality of the "Nine Smiles Ocean Method." During the days he had practiced it, his Ocean Surge True Qi had clearly improved substantially.
"Fine. Since this Ocean Surge True Qi is already so eager, it shows there is no point lingering in the True Qi Realm any longer. I shall attempt it!"