Chapter Thirty-Nine: Exchange

Liu Jie’s mind raced. He cupped his hands and said, “Fellow Daoist Ge, your words are exactly what concerns me. It’s clear from your speech that you are quite knowledgeable in the art of alchemy. Might I ask for your guidance to help clarify my confusion?”

Ge Qian replied, “To be frank, I am merely a fifth-rank lower-tier alchemist. But I dare say that at my level, aside from myself, there is no one else capable of refining the Aqua Spirit Elixir. I once refined a batch for Senior Sister Hongmei of my sect, and it was a great success.”

Liu Jie was overjoyed at once, his voice trembling with excitement. He immediately bowed deeply to Ge Qian and said, “Fellow Daoist Ge, I sincerely hope you can help me refine a batch as well. I have already prepared all the spiritual herbs. I do not want any of the resulting pills; you may have them all.”

Ge Qian smiled faintly and said, “To refine the Aqua Spirit Elixir, it must be done in a place abundant with water spiritual energy. Besides, I am not particularly interested in those items. I wonder, what do you have to offer that might persuade me?”

Liu Jie gritted his teeth and said, “I noticed that this enemy-entrapment formation of yours is somewhat incomplete, which severely affects its power. I can ask my elder sister to help you restore it fully. She is a genius in crafting formations, and for her, repairing this formation would be a simple task.”

Ge Qian’s heart stirred. Formations are crafted by formation masters using array flags and plates, drawing on the power of heaven and earth to defend or attack. The power of the defensive array in the medicine garden had left him deeply impressed, and now that he’d met the brother of a formation master, he couldn’t let this opportunity slip by.

He said, “That would be agreeable. However, you should know that I have matters to attend to in Wuyue City. The matter of alchemy will have to wait until I return.”

Liu Jie frowned slightly and said, “I understand, Fellow Daoist Ge. Allow me to accompany you to Wuyue City first, and when we return, you can refine the elixir for me. How does that sound?”

Ge Qian answered at once, “Of course. I’ll be relying on you for the matter of the formation as well.”

Liu Jie could hardly refuse, and added, “Fellow Daoist Ge, quickly remove the formation. The other four members of the Wang Clan’s Five Wolves have already passed over us and are searching the rear. We must hurry to Wuyue City. If they come to their senses and double back, we’ll be in grave danger.”

Ge Qian gave an awkward smile and said, “I thought of this long ago. But unless the spiritual stones completely run out of power, I cannot deactivate the formation.”

Liu Jie suddenly understood and said, “So that’s the issue—the problem lies with the formation itself! Why didn’t you mention it earlier? Give me a moment; I’ll break the formation with another array.”

He took out a five-sided array flag, his eyes flashing as he silently recited an incantation and tossed the five flags out in a swift motion. With a thunderous roar, mist billowed, and the five flags bounced back into his hand. They were the very flags of the enemy-entrapment illusion array, which he then placed in his storage pouch. With another spell, his own array flags also flew back into his grasp.

Liu Jie handed the spiritual herbs for the Aqua Spirit Elixir to Ge Qian, giving a sly smile. “Fellow Daoist Ge, I’ll take these array flags back and have my sister repair them before returning them to you. As for the spiritual herbs for the Aqua Spirit Elixir, I’ll leave them in your care for now. When the time comes, we can exchange them—how about that?”

Ge Qian smiled lightly and said, “That is only fair—neither of us will be at a loss. But without the enemy-entrapment illusion array, I’ll be missing a powerful aid. If you have another defensive formation, could you lend it to me for the time being?”

Immortal Path of the Mortal World, Chapter Thirty-Nine: Exchange—complete!