When Wen Jue returned, Qin Zhou was grinding pills in their quarters.

The Yaoyue Sect had brought ample pill ingredients. Qin Zhou made some for the sect, reserving the rest for himself.

Seated in the courtyard, he held the mortar and pestle in both hands, grinding herbs at a steady, unhurried pace.

“You didn’t buy any candied hawthorn?” Qin Zhou asked without looking up.

Wen Jue: “…”

“There’s one on the table. Go get it yourself.”

Wen Jue raised an eyebrow and strode into the house. After grabbing the candied hawthorn, he emerged again. “You bought it?”

“Chen San passed his aptitude test. He happened to see a street vendor selling candied hawthorn while walking and bought two skewers.”

“He still eats this?” Wen Jue was surprised.

“Don’t you eat it too?”

Wen Jue bit into one. “I do because when I was young… my family was poor back then, so I couldn’t afford it. But that was many years ago. After cultivating immortality and practicing fasting, I no longer crave sweets. But since you bought them, I’ll grace you with my presence and eat some.”

His cheeks bulged as he ate.

Qin Zhou kept his eyes lowered, continuing to grind the herbs.

“Making more pills?” Wen Jue pulled over a small wooden stool and sat down, watching Qin Zhou’s meticulous movements before asking.

He’s unusually quiet and well-behaved today, Qin Zhou thought.

“For the Yaoyue Sect. I’m meeting the Snowflake Pavilion Master tomorrow. It can’t hurt to prepare some pills.”

“The one at the city gate that day?”

“Mhm.”

“Qin Zhou, what do you need all that money for?”

“…” This question finally stumped Qin Zhou. After all, he came from a world where survival depended on wealth.

“Others cultivate to relentlessly boost their cultivation. You, however, seem in no hurry, spending your days solely on alchemy,” Wen Jue inquired. “Don’t you wish to ascend to the upper realm after enhancing your cultivation? Before possessing this mortal body, did you have no family or friends in the upper realm?”

A hint of probing lingered in Wen Jue’s tone.

Qin Zhou glanced at him and answered truthfully, “No.” Back in his own world, there was no distinction between the upper realm and the lower realm.

Wen Jue: “…”

Fine, fine, fine. Qin Zhou’s mouth was as stubborn as the hardest clam shell in the world!

Qin Zhou stood up and carried the freshly rolled pill pellets to the alchemy room.

Wen Jue watched his retreating figure, then took a grudging bite of his candied hawthorn. “I noticed you listened intently to the matters of the Thousand Machinery Divine Sect today. You must be curious about the upper realm, right?”

“Quite curious. But cultivation isn’t something achieved overnight.”

“I know quite a few secrets of the sects,” Wen Jue hummed lightly.

“What about the Cangyun Sword Sect?” Qin Zhou named the only sect he knew.

Wen Jue nearly choked upon hearing those four words. “The Cangyun Sword Sect?”

Qin Zhou glanced back at him, his tone casual. “Does that sect hold any secrets?”

Wen Jue chuckled. “Oh, indeed it does.”

Without hesitation, Wen Jue continued, “Cangyun Sword Sect’s Cangyun Sword Immortal had an affair with the Supreme Patriarch of the Demon Sect back in the day. They even had a son. Oh, right, they were both men.”

Qin Zhou fell silent.

This statement had truly hit him in his knowledge blind spot. Men… having a son?

“Fertility Pills. You’re a pill master—you must know about them,” Wen Jue said, narrowing his eyes. Fertility Pills? That was the old man’s creation.

Qin Zhou: …

So this was his doing.

Indeed. Fertility Pills were the brainchild of Qin Zhou, a veteran pill master, conceived on a whim during his research into a new formula.

The reason? Simple.

He found the village population too sparse, and the methods of recruiting or obtaining villagers through in-game events were far too random. So he concocted the Fertility Pill.

His original plan was to pair two high-potential villagers together, aiming to cultivate superior offspring.

Unfortunately, the villagers were all fixated on cultivating immortality and showed zero interest in the breeding project.

Thus, the Fertility Pill proved largely ineffective.

Later, Qin Zhou did manage to achieve a few successful cases.

But he soon discovered that the baby villagers’ aptitude wasn’t influenced by their parents’. Consequently, the Fertility Pill was gradually pushed to the back of his mind.

Could it be that after that, his Fertility Pill formula was passed down among the villagers?

Or even… popularized?

“What Fertility Pill? I know nothing of it,” Qin Zhou replied dismissively, turning to leave. He had no desire to be bothered by some Sword Immortal or the head of some Demon Sect—it sounded like nothing but trouble.

With that, Qin Zhou turned and entered the pill room.

Wen Jue: “…”

What did he say? He didn’t know about Fertility Pills? Impossible! How could the old man not know about Fertility Pills!

 ━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

By the time Qin Zhou emerged from the pill room again, Wen Jue was nowhere to be seen.

He guessed it was time for Wen Jue’s spirit to return to its place. Even with the aid of the Core Stabilizing Pill, Wen Jue couldn’t remain in the lower realm indefinitely.

The lower realm seemed to impose numerous restrictions on cultivators from the upper realm.

Qin Zhou didn’t dwell on it.

He stuffed the refined pills into his bag, preparing to keep his appointment with the Yaoyue Sect and Snowflake Pavilion.

 ━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Snowflake Pavilion truly lived up to its reputation as one of the provincial capital’s largest pill merchants.

If the Qin family shop was a sparrow with all five organs intact, then Snowflake Pavilion was undoubtedly a phoenix.

Lifting his gaze, everything within sight was resplendent in gold and splendor.

An entire street of shops—all owned by Snowflake Pavilion.

A golden plaque stood at the street entrance, and from afar, the tallest pavilion at the street’s center was the Snowflake Pavilion’s Pill Storage Tower.

Rumor had it that the finest pills from the entire Snowflake Pavilion were stored there.

Even the guards stationed at the entrance were cultivators employed by the Snowflake Pavilion. In terms of treatment, they were no worse off than inner-door disciples within sects.

The moment Qin Zhou stepped onto the street, someone approached him immediately—

“May I ask if you are Young Master Qin of the Dragon-Phoenix Pill?”

Dragon-Phoenix Pill was the new name Qin Zhou had just given to the Qin family shop.

Qin Zhou nodded, and the attendant led him into the central Pill Storage Tower.

The heads of Yaoyue Sect and Snowflake Pavilion were already waiting.

Today, the Snowflake Pavilion head wasn’t wearing that snow-white robe. Probably because Wen Yue’s pearls and jade had set the standard.

Qin Zhou walked over.

“Young Master Qin has arrived.” He Wenfeng gave him a slight nod.

The Snowflake Pavilion Master also rose to greet him. “Young Master Qin, welcome. Please be seated. Today, at last, I have the chance to repay that long-overdue meal.”

Qin Zhou readily took a seat. “The Snowflake Pavilion Master is too kind.”

He Wenfeng looked surprised. “Did you two know each other before?”

“I met Young Master Qin earlier at the city gate. I must confess that the greedy earth lion likely caught the scent of alchemical pills on Young Master Qin and nearly offended him. Looking back, this must be fate. I’ve examined the pills Elder He delivered—they are indeed rare treasures.” Snowflake Pavilion Master sighed with a smile. ”It is Snowflake Pavilion’s good fortune to conduct business with Young Master Qin.“

”However, I must still ask, Young Master Qin, can you truly provide a stable supply? Premium grade… None of the major elixir sects today dares to boast they can consistently supply premium grade.“

Qin Zhou: ”I can.”

His three words were utterly unremarkable. So unremarkable that the Snowflake Pavilion Master couldn’t even begin to speculate.

Before Qin Zhou arrived, he’d thought this might just be a ploy to seal the deal.

But upon hearing that simple “I can,” Zhou Shilin found himself at a loss for rebuttal. Especially given Qin Zhou’s calm demeanor, which somehow felt utterly convincing.

Such individuals were terrifying in Zhou Shilin’s eyes.

Either he was deceiving others and himself so thoroughly that not even a flicker of doubt crossed his face. Or he possessed such profound confidence that he was merely stating facts.

“Young Master Qin… are you serious?” Zhou Shilin couldn’t help but ask again, “If this is true, then I must ask: where does this ‘precious-grade’ quality come from?”

“I am a pill master.” Qin Zhou remained unhurried as he retrieved several more pills from his pouch. “First-tier, second-tier—I can provide precious-grade quality for both. Freshly refined this afternoon.”

To the uninitiated, one might mistake him for describing cucumbers or greens from the market. Fresh?

Zhou Shilin wanted to laugh, but seeing the golden, precious-grade spirit pills gleaming on the table, he couldn’t bring himself to smile.

“Lord of Snowflake Pavilion, Young Master Qin has indeed mastered the art of refining precious-grade pills.” He Wenfeng nodded, his eyes fixed intently on the fresh pills on the table.

He had just delivered ingredients to the Qin family’s pill shop that morning, and by afternoon, they had produced pills. Could it be… these pills…

“The Yaoyue Sect’s share is here.” Qin Zhou pulled out another bag and handed it directly to He Wenfeng.

The Yaoyue Sect had been a great help during this trip to the provincial capital. Therefore, the pills he gave were more, not less.

He Wenfeng quickly put them away. “Thank you, Young Master Qin.”

“This pill business is straightforward. I sell finished products retail and take bulk production orders. For retail, pay with spirit stones; for bulk, provide the pill ingredients. If quality falls short, I refund.”

Zhou Shilin was stunned by this simple statement. He’d assumed Qin Zhou was taciturn, which was why he’d brought in He Wenfeng to assist. Little did he know Qin Zhou had already mapped out his entire business strategy.

Finished retail… bulk production… these four words were remarkably novel and concise. But what was most astonishing was how, in his mouth, these meticulously crafted pills sounded as commonplace as cheap candy.

At this moment, Zhou Shilin had no time to question whether Qin Zhou could reliably supply precious-grade pills. The pills Qin Zhou had produced were enough to drive low-tier cultivators into a frenzy.

As the owner of Snowflake Pavilion, Zhou Shilin was a decisive man.

Without hesitation, he asked, “What price for retail sales? And how much for bulk production?”

“For retail, I demand the raw material cost plus fifty percent of the selling price. For bulk production, I won’t supply the ingredients—I take forty percent of the selling price.”

At first glance, this price seemed outrageously steep.

But Zhou Shilin understood: a pill master capable of crafting precious-grade elixirs was worth every penny.

“As far as I know, Young Master Qin also owns a shop called Dragon Phoenix Pill in the provincial capital. With such alchemical prowess, why not sell directly instead of partnering with Snowflake Pavilion?”

Qin Zhou raised his eyes. “Dragon Phoenix Pill only sells within the provincial capital. Snowflake Pavilion has extensive connections, distributing to various regions and sects. It’s a win-win situation—why not?”

”At the end of the day, Snowflake Pavilion is merely a pill merchant. Selling Master Qin’s pills under the Dragon Phoenix Pill banner—shouldn’t the price be lower?“ Zhou Shilin smiled. ”Master Qin, I need to see some sincerity in this partnership.“

Qin Zhou showed no willingness to budge. ”A stable supply of precious-grade pills is already the utmost sincerity.”

Zhou Shilin was rendered speechless.

He must admit, he hadn’t anticipated Qin Zhou being this difficult to deal with.

Though not a merchant himself, Qin Zhou had extensive experience in negotiations as the former lead project manager for a gaming venture.

The conversation seemed to reach an impasse.

Zhou Shilin lowered his head in deep thought, while Qin Zhou waited calmly.

After a long pause, Zhou Shilin asked—

“Then what would be the price if we were to invite Young Master Qin to Snowflake Pavilion?”

“No.” Qin Zhou refused decisively.

Zhou Shilin smiled, not entirely surprised. “This business deal, I’ve discussed with Young Master Qin. But whether we pursue a long-term partnership, we won’t commit too rigidly.”

“Agreed.”

 ━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

After seeing off He Wenfeng and Qin Zhou, Zhou Shilin’s attendant cautiously approached to pour him tea.

“Master, did you just agree to that?”

Zhou Shilin: “Agreed. Who wouldn’t be tempted by precious-grade elixirs? With these precious-grade elixirs, Snowflake Pavilion can finally outdo that Qilin Pavilion.”

“But… he can only provide low-tier precious-grade pills. Against Qilin Pavilion, isn’t that a bit unimpressive?”

Zhou Shilin waved his hand dismissively.

“That’s not what I’m after.”

He picked up his teacup and took a sip.

Low-tier precious-grade pills were certainly tempting.

But this deal wasn’t just about pills.

Qin Zhou had undergone the talent assessment, and the results had reached Zhou Shilin that very day. How could someone deemed a complete failure by all in the talent test transform within a single month into an heir with a rare treasure-grade spiritual root?

Pills possessed the power to defy fate and alter destiny.

Zhou Shilin had once heard tales from his ancestors about the existence of bone-marrow-cleansing techniques in this world.

Yet he had never witnessed such a thing firsthand.

He didn’t know if Qin Zhou had altered his fate in this manner. But… if such a bone-marrow-cleansing method or elixir truly existed.

And if Snowflake Pavilion could obtain it…

That wouldn’t just put them a step ahead of Qilin Pavilion.

It would be a genuine method for all mortals in the entire lower realm to defy fate and rewrite their destiny.

Perhaps, the dream of universal cultivation would no longer be mere fantasy.

Zhou Shilin chuckled as he rubbed his head.

Of course, this was merely a wild ambition of his.

In any case, collaborating with Qin Zhou brought Snowflake Pavilion no loss.