“Father, I’m heading out,” Chad Grant said.

“Eh…” Colin Grant grabbed Chad Grant beside him, exclaiming with delight, “Chen’er, your cultivation has improved? You’ve reached the third layer of the Postnatal Realm?”

After Chad Grant advanced to the fourth layer of the Postnatal Realm, he displayed his cultivation at the third layer, and sure enough, Colin Grant saw through it at a glance, just as Chad Grant had expected.

Chad Grant smiled and said, “Yes, it’s all thanks to the cultivation method the old immortal in my dream taught me. Father, the old immortal wants me to cultivate diligently. He’ll teach me new techniques in the future. When the time comes, I’ll ask him to teach me a superior Innate Realm technique so I can pass it on to you.”

Colin Grant said joyfully, “My son has such immortal fate—truly blessed. However, as a cultivator, you must never be greedy. The old immortal is willing to teach you because of your fate. Don’t trouble him on my account, lest you sever your own immortal destiny.”

Father always puts my interests first. But that old immortal is actually me—how could I sever my own immortal fate? When I bring out a superior Innate Realm technique, Father won’t have any worries.

Thinking this, Chad Grant said, “Don’t worry, Father. I’ll head out now.”

“Be careful.” Colin Grant watched as Chad Grant disappeared from sight before withdrawing his gaze, a warm smile on his face.

Chad Grant went to South City and spent over 400 wasteland coins to buy enough ingredients for refining Gathering Essence Spirit Liquid. He had about 500 wasteland coins left, with which he bought an 80-year-old Scaly Grass and an 80-year-old Hemp Flower, spending 400 wasteland coins. Then he bought some ordinary medicinal materials, spending all his coins down to the last one.

It had been half a month since he last came to South City to buy spirit herbs. No one would monitor Chad Grant every day, so this time he didn’t run into any trouble. After buying the herbs, he returned home and quickly refined a batch of fifty-year Gathering Essence Spirit Liquid.

After bottling the Gathering Essence Spirit Liquid in a light green vial, Chad Grant continued refining medicine. This time, the ingredients were Scaly Grass, Hemp Flower, and some ordinary herbs rarely used, even some odd materials that weren’t herbs at all.

Refining this medicine was very different from the Gathering Essence Spirit Liquid. The latter had a fresh fragrance during refinement, but this new medicine had a bitter taste. Its color wasn’t as clear and lustrous as the Gathering Essence Spirit Liquid, but rather a dry, tangerine-yellow solid.

The Gathering Essence Spirit Liquid was a liquid, but this medicine was a solid.

This medicine wasn’t a spirit medicine for cultivation, but a special pill called the Scaly-Hemp Pill, also known as the Disguise Pill. After taking it, yellow or white scaly patches would appear on the body, and the face would break out in dense pockmarks, making one extremely ugly—hence the name Scaly-Hemp Pill.

Three hours after taking this pill, one’s appearance would return to normal, or eating an ordinary fruit called ‘fig’ would also restore one’s looks. That’s why it’s also called the Disguise Pill.

Chad Grant was going to auction the Gathering Essence Spirit Liquid, but didn’t want anyone to know his true identity. If his identity as an alchemist was exposed, Chad Grant could forget about peace—if he wasn’t ‘invited’ away by some powerful force, he’d be kidnapped.

The next day, after leaving the Gu family, Chad Grant took the Disguise Pill in a deserted alley, turning into an ugly, short man with scaly patches on his hands and face, and pockmarks all over his face. He took off his outer robe, revealing a set of black clothes underneath.

A short, ugly man in black entered South City and headed straight for the auction house. Chad Grant’s appearance was so hideous that no one wanted to look at him.

Chad Grant wasn’t worried about being recognized. Although this Disguise Pill was a low-grade one, unless a cultivator above the Divine Sea Realm used their divine sense to probe, it was impossible to see through it with the naked eye. There were no Divine Sea Realm cultivators in Leshui City.

As for Innate Realm cultivators, Chad Grant felt no pressure at all.

“Excuse me… what brings you here?” When Chad Grant arrived at the place where auction items were received, a man in his early twenties asked in a puzzled tone.

This man in his twenties was at the eighth layer of the Postnatal Realm, but since Chad Grant had taken the Disguise Pill, not only was his appearance concealed, but his cultivation was hidden as well. He showed no spiritual energy fluctuations, looking no different from an ordinary person.

However, the white scaly patches and pockmarks on Chad Grant’s face were quite frightening. He looked nothing like a youth, more like an old man. The man had worked at the auction house for some time and knew that those who came to auction items were not to be trifled with. This ugly person before him was definitely not just an ordinary man.

No spiritual energy fluctuations meant the other party was concealing his aura. Maybe he was weak, but more likely, he was a powerful monster.

Chad Grant said in a hoarse voice, “I’ve come to auction some items. Can I sell them here?”

In his previous life, Chad Grant had lived to be a 500-year-old monster. He didn’t even have to pretend to sound like an old man—it came naturally.

“What items does Senior wish to sell? The Leshui City auction house is the largest within several hundred miles.” The man was already suspicious, and when Chad Grant referred to himself as ‘old man,’ he immediately addressed him as ‘Senior’ in a respectful tone.

“Spiritual medicine,” Chad Grant continued in a hoarse voice.