Old Man was dumbfounded, his gaze toward Henry Langley burning with excitement. He immediately said, “{Young friend}, please come upstairs for a chat, let This Old Man properly host you.” The hospitality was just a pretense; what he really wanted was to coax more pill recipes out of Henry Langley.

—In his mind, Henry Langley must be the heir of some great alchemy family.

Henry Langley smiled, but replied, “No.”

“Why not?” Helen Carter grew anxious. This kid was likely a walking encyclopedia of pill recipes!

“Someone told me to get out,” Henry Langley said deliberately, glancing at George Brooks as he spoke.

With a thud, George Brooks fell to the ground, utterly miserable.

How could he have known that Helen Carter would treat Henry Langley like this? If he’d known, he would have worshipped Henry Langley like an ancestor. What now? His face turned ashen.

The others in the shop saw this and shook their heads inwardly. If only George Brooks had been a bit more polite and less aggressive earlier, he wouldn’t be in such a dead end now.

He brought this on himself!

Helen Carter immediately turned his head, his old face darkening with a terrifying anger.

How could he not be angry?

As an alchemist, his lifelong pursuit was to improve his pill-making skills and acquire more recipes. Now, with a “living encyclopedia” right in front of him, this idiot actually told him to get lost? Are you trying to ruin me?

“You fool!” he roared. “What happened? Tell me!”

George Marshall wanted to die, but under Helen Carter’s interrogation, he didn’t dare refuse. He stammered out what had happened, not twisting the facts, but of course he didn’t repeat the insults he’d hurled at Henry Langley—he wasn’t that stupid.

“How arrogant!” Helen Carter immediately slapped him, spinning George Marshall around three times before he stopped, completely dazed. “Just because you haven’t heard of it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist! There are plenty of herbs you’ve never heard of—are you going to uproot them all?”

“Let me tell you, all five of these herbs absolutely exist!”

“Purple Lotus Grass can be found in Chenxiang Valley, Kulan Fruit is in a valley in the Bailian Mountains, Hundred-Year Red Bamboo grows in places of extreme yang, Redleaf Yam is under volcanic ash, and Rotten Leaf Dead Tree Root is rare—you can only find it in roots of trees that have decayed for over a hundred years.”

“I was wrong! I was wrong!” George Marshall apologized repeatedly. With even Helen Carter saying so, what was there left to doubt? He slapped himself, saying, “I shouldn’t have been so arrogant, I looked down on others!”

Helen Carter turned to Henry Langley again and said, “{Young friend}, I’m truly sorry, truly sorry.”

He suddenly froze, because he remembered that before he left his master, he’d once heard of a recipe from his teacher—a potion to repair spiritual roots, which included several of the herbs Henry Langley wanted to buy.

Back then, his master had sighed, saying that although this recipe didn’t require refining into a pill, its effects were extraordinary. Unfortunately, it was so ancient that only a few main ingredients were known, and the exact preparation had long been lost.

Because of this, the memory was deeply imprinted in his mind, and now it suddenly resurfaced.

Could it be that Henry Langley was buying these herbs to make Yuanxin Fuling Powder?

The Old Man’s heart pounded wildly. If he could obtain this recipe and offer it to his late master, surely his teacher would rest in peace.

“{Young friend}, are you buying these materials to prepare—”

“Yuanxin Fuling Powder.” Henry Langley nodded, not hiding anything. “My spiritual root was slightly injured.”

Pfft!

George Marshall immediately spat out. Spiritual root damage was a fatal injury for martial artists, and as far as he knew, it was incurable! But from Henry Langley’s tone, it sounded like a trivial matter.

Emily Thompson’s beautiful eyes also lit up. As a noble daughter of the Liu family, she wasn’t an alchemist herself, but she knew of many high-level pills. For example, the “Moon Essence Pill” could heal spiritual roots.

The problem was, the Moon Essence Pill was so precious it was beyond words. Even the Liu family would have to pay a huge price for one, and might not even be able to get it.

Henry Langley, oh Henry Langley, just how many secrets are you hiding?

She grew more and more curious about Henry Langley. Now, even if Henry Langley told her not to be his follower, her curiosity would probably keep her by his side.

Chapter 0008: Convinced

“{Young friend}, please have a seat!” Helen Carter invited warmly, extremely polite, not daring to put on any airs as a profound-level alchemist. “{This old man} can guarantee that within five days—no, three days—I’ll have the herbs you need delivered.”

“Good!” Henry Langley nodded. In his previous life, he’d stood at the very peak, but now he was still weak. It wouldn’t hurt to make more friends and connections.

As for small fry like George Marshall, a light punishment was enough; there was no need to stoop to his level.

Helen Carter was overjoyed, quickly leading the way, bringing Henry Langley and Emily Thompson up to the third floor and into an elegant study.

“May I ask, Young Friend, who is your master?” The Old Man inquired.

“I have no sect or master, I’m self-taught,” Henry Langley replied. In his previous life, he had visited all the great alchemy factions, mastering their arts and eventually founding his own school, becoming the greatest alchemist in history.