"This young fellow truly has some backbone, and is rather unusual. I think he'd be quite a good match for your Qing Ya!"
The thin old man smiled. "Most importantly, both of them are alchemists, and both have good talent."
"No one can tolerate Qing Ya's temper; I think we should forget about it," President Lei shook his head.
After leaving the Alchemist Guild, Lu Fan and the others came to a tavern. They ordered a table full of dishes and began to eat slowly. They had already registered and were just waiting for the competition in three days.
"After we finish eating, we'll go buy something."
Lu Fan spoke, "My alchemy furnace is too crude. I want a good one."
"I wanted to say that a long time ago," Bi Yao said with a wry smile. "But I was afraid it would discourage you."
Lu Fan felt a little helpless. He wasn't afraid of discouragement, and besides, he was so outstanding, what impact could discouragement have?
After finishing their meal, they went to the main street. After inquiring, they arrived at the deeper part of the street. It turned out that this area was where all sorts of alchemy medicines and items were sold.
It had even formed a street, called Alchemy Street. On this street, one could find everything from pots and pans to various medicinal ingredients.
The reason for its prosperity was the high level of foot traffic and economic trade in Dan City.
Lu Fan casually strolled along the street and saw a purple alchemy furnace that looked quite dazzling. All the other alchemy furnaces were gray and black, but this one was purple, which made people curious.
"Boss, how much for this alchemy furnace?" Lu Fan examined it.
"Not much, only 100 spirit stones!" the boss said with shifty eyes. "This is a purple clay alchemy furnace, a top-grade one. If an alchemist uses this to refine medicine, they can even achieve twice the result with half the effort!"
"Is that true?" Lu Fan was somewhat skeptical. If it were really that miraculous, it wouldn't be priced at only 100 spirit stones.
"Of course it's true, and it's genuine!" the boss said earnestly. "You are all alchemists, I wouldn't dare to deceive you."
Lu Fan nodded slightly and asked the ancient old man Hong Meng, "How is this alchemy furnace?"
"Low-grade, probably the lowest grade!" Hong Meng said directly. "An alchemy furnace like this will explode after only a few uses. Most importantly, using this kind of furnace to refine medicinal ingredients will actually lower an alchemist's skill!"
Lu Fan's expression darkened. He hadn't expected the boss to be so confident, yet all his words were lies.
"Young fellow, if you truly want it, 80 spirit stones is fine!"
The boss quickly said, "This price is definitely reasonable."
"I think we'll pass!" Lu Fan shook his head.
"How about this? Fifty! Consider it my loss!" the boss said again.
Bi Yao and Long Yi stood by, even more surprised. They hadn't expected the boss to be so generous, cutting the price by fifty.
"Let me tell you this! I wouldn't take it even for 10 spirit stones," Lu Fan waved his hand. "This purple alchemy furnace is not a top-grade item at all. As a boss, you know this even better. If the Alchemist Guild finds out about you deceiving alchemists, who knows what will happen?"
"I was just saying anything, young fellow, please don't take it seriously." The boss quickly apologized. "If you are not satisfied, you can choose anything here freely, and I won't charge you a cent."
The boss was quite nervous. He knew very well that if the Alchemist Guild found out, he wouldn't be able to stay in Dan City at all.
"Seeing you like this, I won't make things difficult for you." Lu Fan waved his hand and walked forward.
Just then, the ancient old man Hong Meng spoke, "Go to the second stall on the left at the front. The alchemy furnaces there are of good quality!"
Lu Fan's face lit up with joy. He hurried over. Something that even Hong Meng praised must be extraordinary. If he wasn't quick, and someone else snatched it up, wouldn't that be a huge loss?
When he arrived at the stall, Lu Fan looked around but didn't see any alchemy furnaces. He only saw, not far from the stall, a broken and ugly alchemy furnace. Inside the furnace, some miscellaneous items were placed, making it look completely useless.
"Old man, you're not tricking me, are you? There are no alchemy furnaces on the entire stall!" Lu Fan said. "You've made me happy for nothing."
"Isn't there an alchemy furnace right in front of you!" Hong Meng glared at him. "As the saying goes, you can't judge a book by its cover. This alchemy furnace, although it looks old and worn, is actually a treasure."
"Even so, how can such a dilapidated alchemy furnace be used to refine pills?" Lu Fan asked in surprise. "What's more, there's nothing special about this broken alchemy furnace."
"Listen to me and just buy it!" Hong Meng said directly.
Lu Fan felt helpless and turned his gaze to the boss. "Boss, how much are you selling that alchemy furnace for?"
The boss glanced at Lu Fan as if he were an idiot. "Sir, are you trying to amuse me? This alchemy furnace is already completely broken and I'm using it as a container. Do you want it too?"
"Enough with the nonsense, just give me a price!" Lu Fan said directly.
"If you are sincerely willing to buy it, then it's 10 spirit stones!" the boss said directly. "Although it's a bit worn, it's still an alchemy furnace no matter what."
"10 spirit stones?" Lu Fan said.
"If you think it's too expensive, I can reduce the price a bit." The boss gave an awkward smile.
"10 spirit stones it is!" Lu Fan waved his hand. It wasn't that he thought it was expensive, but rather that it was too cheap.
Seeing Lu Fan's generosity, the boss was quite pleased and they completed the transaction.
Seeing Lu Fan holding a broken alchemy furnace, Long Yi looked embarrassed. "What's going on? Are you planning to use this broken thing in the alchemy competition?"
"This is a treasure, not a broken item!" Lu Fan said confidently. He believed that Hong Meng's judgment was never wrong.
Bi Yao stood by, also somewhat bewildered. He hadn't expected Lu Fan to choose such a tattered alchemy furnace.
"Junior Brother Lu, if you don't have spirit stones, you can tell me directly. Why be so frugal and buy a broken alchemy furnace!" Bi Yao said repeatedly.
Lu Fan gave an awkward smile but didn't know how to explain. He could only smile wryly.
After browsing Alchemy Street for a long time, Lu Fan not only bought an alchemy furnace but also some medicinal ingredients, planning to practice well tonight and get a feel for it.
They arrived at the inn and settled in. Lu Fan took a separate room and placed the old alchemy furnace on the ground. Then he looked at Hong Meng and asked, "How can this old alchemy furnace be restored?"
"I'll help you!"
Hong Meng smiled faintly. A surge of powerful spiritual energy gushed out and converged towards the alchemy furnace. The entire alchemy furnace, under the control of the spiritual energy, was actually being repaired.