28: Chapter Twenty-Eight: Purchasing a Shop

Lin Feng frowned and asked directly. He had been working himself to the bone, soloing for several hours, not just for a bit of experience and gold. The exclusive alchemy technique was the real prize!

Xu Xiu slowly stood up and said awkwardly, "Well, I haven't escaped danger yet! Escort me out of this Venomous Snake Valley, and I will immediately pass on the full set of my secret alchemy techniques to you. I will never go back on my word!"

"Fine." Lin Feng nodded, turned around to lead the way, and said, "Follow me closely and don't wander off. There are still quite a few Qinglin Snakes here, and I don't have time to keep saving you."

With his current strength, he no longer feared the mobs along the way. The journey was smooth, unimpeded, and easy.

Ten minutes or so later, the two of them walked out of the Venomous Snake Valley, arrived in the wilderness, and returned to a safe zone.

Lin Feng stopped and asked, "We've arrived. No more problems now, right?"

The old man Xu Xiu felt as if he had been given a new lease on life and laughed, "My worthy brother, you are truly a dragon among men! I will now pass on my secret alchemy techniques to you!"

[Ding!]

[You have received Xu Xiu's inheritance: Alchemist]

[You have successfully activated the sub-profession: Alchemist LV1]

[Obtained skills: Herb Gathering LV1, Alchemy LV1]

[Because you are the first player to obtain Alchemist through a hidden quest, reward: Alchemy extra production chance +35%]

...

As the system prompt faded, an alchemy auxiliary skill immediately appeared in his skill bar.

Xu Xiu looked at him, his face full of gratification, "My worthy brother, I believe in you. In the future, you will surely become a legendary Alchemy God!"

"Too much... that's too much..." Lin Feng waved his hand.

After watching Xu Xiu leave, he couldn't suppress his curiosity and opened the alchemy skill. The materials required to synthesize level 1 pills appeared before his eyes—

Level 1: resurrection pill. Requires: Qingling Grass × 5. Effect: Instantly restores 100 HP/MP upon use, 1-second cooldown.

Level 2: Qi-Boosting Pill. Requires: Corpse Insect Flower × 5, Honey × 5. Effect: Instantly restores 300 HP/MP upon use, 1-second cooldown.

Level 3: Qi-Gathering Pill. Requires: Light Body Leaf × 3, Snake Gallbladder × 3. Effect: Instantly restores 500 HP/MP upon use, 1-second cooldown.

Level 4: Qingling Pill. Requires: Ginseng × 3, Spirit Honey × 3. Effect: Instantly restores 800 HP/MP upon use, 1-second cooldown.

Level 5: Earth Spirit Pill. Requires: Bear Paw × 3, Licorice × 3. Effect: Instantly restores 1200 HP/MP upon use, 1-second cooldown.

Level 6: Suxin Pill. Requires: Dragon Fish Meat × 3, Wolfberry × 3. Effect: Instantly restores 1800 HP/MP upon use, 1-second cooldown.

Level 7: Agility Pill. Requires: Leopard Gallbladder × 3, Angelica × 3. Effect: Instantly restores 2500 HP/MP upon use, 1-second cooldown.

Level 8: Yin-Yang Pill. Requires: Bear Heart × 3, Yam × 3. Effect: Instantly restores 3500 HP/MP upon use, 1-second cooldown.

Level 9: Great Restoration Pill. Requires: Willow Branch × 3, Sweet Dew × 3. Effect: Instantly restores 5000 HP/MP upon use, 1-second cooldown.

Level 10: Emperor Grade Pill. Requires: Pearl × 3, Milk Tea × 3. Effect: Instantly restores 10000 HP/MP upon use, 1-second cooldown (The above recipe is pure nonsense, please do not imitate...)

...

They were all instant-recovery pills, much stronger than the recovery potions sold in the in-game apothecary.

Lin Feng looked at the level 1 to 10 pills before him, and a plan instantly formed in his mind.

He had to quickly raise his alchemy skill level while other players still lacked sub-profession skills. The materials for the resurrection pill only required 5 pieces of Qingling Grass. On the way to the Venomous Snake Valley, he had vaguely spotted some near a patch of forest, but since he didn't have the gathering skill at the time, he had to give up.

It was only a ten-minute journey from here.

Lin Feng didn't delay any further. He picked up the pace and sped off. A few foolish mobs along the way tried to block his path, but he instantly killed them with a set of skills.

Even the players grouped up to fight monsters nearby were stunned,

"Holy crap! Whose subordinate is that? So fierce..."

"Is that the mysterious big shot from the top of the combat power rankings? Hurry up and record it, post it on the forum to get some traffic!"

"I've been recording for ten minutes... didn't expect an unexpected harvest. Not long ago, someone online offered 100,000 to buy information on the number one player. We're going to get rich this time..."

"Did you capture the big shot's figure? Let me admire his demeanor first."

"Uh... I don't think so..."

"..."

Lin Feng ignored them and plowed forward. In less than ten minutes, he rushed to the edge of the forest.

What came into view was a large patch of Qingling Grass, covering the ground!

Lin Feng immediately activated the Herb Gathering skill, and a green light flashed.

[Ding! Obtained Qingling Grass × 1!]

[Ding! Skill proficiency + 2!]

[Ding! Obtained Qingling Grass × 1!]

[Ding! Herb Gathering skill proficiency + 2!]

...

After spending nearly two hours gathering all the materials in the meadow, his inventory was filled with Qingling Grass, with 99 per stack, totaling 10 stacks. His Herb Gathering skill had also soared all the way to LV2.

"That's enough." Lin Feng stood in place and activated the Alchemy skill.

A cyan furnace unfolded before his eyes, and a synthesis interface popped up in the middle.

He put 5 pieces of Qingling Grass inside.

"Start refining."

"Ding! Refining successful! Obtained resurrection pill × 2! Alchemy proficiency + 2!"

A double success in one batch!

Lin Feng showed a hint of surprise and continued to input Qingling Grass in batches.

"Ding~! Refining successful! Obtained resurrection pill × 1! Alchemy proficiency + 1! ... Ding~! Alchemist level increased! LV2!"

After spending twenty minutes, resurrection pills flowed into his inventory one by one. Thanks to the 35% extra production bonus, consuming 990 pieces of Qingling Grass resulted in 351 resurrection pills!

His Alchemy and Herb Gathering skills had increased to level 2, so he could refine level 2 Qi-Boosting Pills, but he wasn't in a hurry. He would deal with the pills in his inventory first.

Lin Feng didn't hesitate and crushed a Return to City scroll.

With a flash of golden light, he appeared on the busiest central street of Luofeng City.

An idea that had long been brewing surfaced in his mind.

The Trading House charged a 5% handling fee each time; selling something meant losing a large chunk of profit for nothing. Setting up a stall was even less realistic; he needed to grind monsters, gather, and snatch resources—he couldn't afford that time.

Purchasing an exclusive shop was the long-term solution. Moreover, it had to be in a prime location.

Lin Feng had already scouted the locations. There were a total of 12 shops for sale in Luofeng City, each in different areas. One was set at each of the four city gates, and the rest were distributed along the main roads, the plaza, and near the teleportation array.

The one with the most terrifying foot traffic and where players stayed the longest was undoubtedly Shop No. 6, directly opposite the central street.

All players returning to the city, teleporting, or setting up stalls would concentrate in this area, making it the golden location among golden locations.

To purchase a shop, one had to apply at the Administration Hall of the City Lord's Mansion. Lin Feng didn't hesitate and headed straight there.

Players along the way saw him, and many had already recognized his identity, glancing at him and whispering.

Lin Feng felt helpless; with a large number of transferred players entering the main city, he could no longer hide. After all, IDs and appearances could be masked, but levels could not.

He walked straight into the mansion and found the City Affairs Official NPC responsible for shop sales.

When he arrived, he found a crowd of players already surrounding the NPC. It seemed there were quite a few people like him who wanted to buy a shop, but they were destined to be disappointed.

"Damn it! Needing so many conditions just to buy a crappy shop, are they sick?"

"2000 Prestige Points? Are they crazy! I doubt anyone in the entire server has that much right now!"

"I run my legs off doing quests, only getting 50 points a day. These damn developers never thought about letting us commoner players show our ambitions..."

"Forget it, forget it. Let's just honestly set up stalls on the side of the road and work like laborers!"

...

Lin Feng squeezed through the crowd, came to the NPC, and said, "Sir, I want to purchase a shop..."

As soon as he spoke, the originally noisy Administration Hall fell silent instantly.

All the players turned their heads in unison. The next moment, everyone was shocked.

"It's him!! The big shot who is first on both rankings!!"