The Extreme Alchemist of the Mighty Cauldron

A ginseng the thickness of an arm, sporting two legs, was nimbly sprinting on a craggy wall.

The expression on Fang Lin’s face was spectacular, his mouth watering excessively, making him appear like a widow who had been alone for ten years suddenly laying eyes on a burly man.

Erm, no, it was more like a rapist stumbling upon a bare little beauty all of a sudden.

“This ginseng has turned into a spirit!”

“How can there be a ginseng with legs?”

“Could it be some demon beast?”

···

Everyone was wearing strange expressions, looking at the ginseng with two legs running back and forth on the rocky wall, completely puzzled about what it actually was.

Only Fang Lin, whose heart was thumping anxiously. If there wasn’t anyone else around, he would have pounced on it like a dog leaping at feces.

“It’s so rare, there’s a thousand-year ginseng here and it’s almost turned into a spirit!” Fang Lin muttered to himself, rubbing his hands together.

People familiar with Fang Lin would know that him rubbing his hands is the most direct display of his greed.

“Fang Lin, what are you rubbing your hands for?” Qing Jianzi glanced at Fang Lin.

Fang Lin chuckled, “Just excited to see a one thousand-year-old ginseng.”

A thousand-year-old ginseng?

Upon hearing Fang Lin call it a thousand-year-old ginseng, everyone was shocked and their eyes lit up, just like Fang Lin’s.

“So this is a thousand-year-old ginseng, no wonder it’s so strange, even growing legs and running on its own.” Yang Pojun couldn’t help but express his admiration.

Ginseng, in essence, is a treasure that is formed by collecting the essence of heaven and earth, usually growing in high-altitude snowy mountains.

A ten-year-old ginseng has great nourishing effects. A regular person who consumes one can strengthen their body, rid themselves of all ailments, and become as robust as a bull.

In wealthy households, when someone’s life hangs by a thread, a decade-old ginseng could often save them.

Basically, as long as there’s still a breath left in them, holding an old ginseng in their mouth could preserve that breath.

Once ginseng reaches a hundred years, its medicinal properties elevate to another level, and its value doubles every additional hundred years.

The oldest ginseng people usually encounter is around five hundred years old. Ginseng older than that is incredibly rare.

As for a thousand-year-old ginseng, it’s practically unseen.

Because once ginseng reaches a thousand years, it will acquire a spirit, turning into a sentient being, a demon beast, gaining some wisdom, growing legs, freely moving about, and drifting in the fortune and avoiding disaster.

Throughout history, many people have sought the thousand-year-old ginseng, but very few have ever found it.

The thousand-year-old ginseng has legs, it runs, it won’t foolishly squat there for you to catch, so naturally, it’s very hard to find.

In his previous life, Fang Lin, esteemed as the Pill Sovereign, once spent several years tracking down a thousand-year-old ginseng.

Unexpectedly, there’s another thousand-year-old ginseng in this Endless Dungeon, this is truly a pleasant surprise.

“Ahem, for this thousand-year-old ginseng, we can work together to catch it, and then we can consider other matters, how does that sound?” Fang Lin suggested to Yang Pojun.

After some contemplation, Yang Pojun nodded.

Qing Jianzi looked at Fang Lin with deep meaning but didn’t say anything. He had an inkling of what Fang Lin was thinking.

“This thousand-year-old ginseng is indeed good, but who gets to keep it after we catch it, how do we decide?” Gu Hanshan suddenly spoke.

As soon as this was said, it immediately caused the people from the Purple Mist Sect and the royal family to exchange glances, and the atmosphere became subtly tense.

Fang Lin turned his head and looked indifferently at Gu Hanshan. This guy is really disgusting. He purposely mentioned this at this moment, his main intention is to create a rift between the royal family and Fang Lin. They might even fall out over this thousand-year-old ginseng.

Indeed, Gu Hanshan’s words did have an effect. Although Yang Pojun’s face didn’t show any change, his gaze had become somewhat wary of Fang Lin and Qing Jianzi.

“Fourth brother, there’s only one of this thousand-year-old ginseng, it should rightfully belong to our royal family.” Yang Qingyao voiced her opinion.

“Your words are in error. Everyone who sees the thousand-year-old ginseng should get a share. How can we let your royal family monopolize it?” Yu Qiufan retorted.

“Hmph, everything within my Daqian country rightfully belongs to my royal family!” Another royal-family youngster spoke up coldly.

“Laughable!” A martial-sect disciple said in disdain.

The two sides were locked in a heated disagreement and the atmosphere kept growing tenser, with a hint of a potential explosion.

With a cold smile on his face, Gu Hanshan quietly watched both sides argue. This was the outcome he desired. The more chaotic the situation, the higher his chances of muddying the waters.

Qing Jianzi and Yang Pojun watched each other while Fang Lin was continuously observing the thousand-year-old ginseng, darting around.

“Brother Yang, arguing now seems a bit improper, doesn’t it? We don’t even have the thousand-year-old ginseng in hand and considering we’re in this Endless Dungeon, both our parties should be cooperating.” Qing Jianzi was rather tactful and took the initiative to speak.

Yang Pojun’s brows furrowed slightly, “It’s not that our royal family wants to fall out, but this thousand-year-old ginseng is precious beyond compare. Who it belongs to needs to be thoroughly discussed.”

His meaning was clear too. It seemed that it would be difficult for both parties to cooperate like before without settling the distribution of the thousand-year-old ginseng.

Qing Jianzi was somewhat helpless and even slightly angry, and he looked back at Gu Hanshan, contemplating killing him.

With a cautious look on his face, Gu Hanshan had his hand on his Nine Palace Bag, ready for any possible situations.

Qing Jianzi cursed inwardly but ultimately, he didn’t let the anger cloud his judgment. Right now, killing Gu Hanshan served no purpose. The animosity between him and Yang Pojun’s groups had already begun. Killing Gu Hanshan would only weaken his own forces.

But, Qing Jianzi didn’t want to give up the thousand-year-old ginseng either. After all, it was a thousand-year-old ginseng. He didn’t know when he would encounter it again. If he missed it now, he would undoubtedly be filled with regret.

Even if the Purple Mist Sect and the royal family had a good relationship, they still had to fight for what they should fight for.

“Fang Lin, what’s your opinion?” Seeing as Fang Lin hadn’t spoken yet, Qing Jianzi wanted to hear what he thought.

Without turning his head, Fang Lin replied, “The best use of this thousand-year-old ginseng is for pill refining.”

Qing Jianzi was speechless. I didn’t ask you what the thousand-year-old ginseng is used for, I’m asking you how should we resolve the ownership of the thousand-year-old ginseng.

Suddenly realizing what he meant, Fang Lin looked at Yang Pojun and Qing Jianzi and suggested, “How about this then, we, Purple Mist Sect, claim the thousand-year-old ginseng, and all other normal ginsengs here belong to the royal family, how’s that?”

“No!” Both Qing Jianzi and Yang Pojun immediately refused.

Fang Lin shrugged, “Then how about this, we divide all other ginsengs equally between us, and the thousand-year-old ginseng goes to our Purple Mist Sect for pill refining. We can share half of the refined pills with the royal family.”

This proposal made Qing Jianzi’s eyes light up and he secretly nodded in agreement.

As for Yang Pojun, his brows were knitted together, a thoughtful look on his face, seeming very hesitant.

“Hehe, Prince, don’t trust his words. This Fang Lin is insatiable. If the thousand-year-old ginseng falls into his hands, I’m afraid the royal family will get nothing.” Gu Hanshan’s cold voice rang out suddenly.

Upon hearing this, Fang Lin turned his head and looked intently at Gu Hanshan, a cold smirk spreading across his face.