Chapter 391: Whatever, We’ll Offend Then

Chapter 391: Whatever, We’ll Offend Then

“What are your thoughts on this new type of Magic Potion?” In a Conference Room, a group of people sat around a round table having a meeting. The topic of discussion was the recently appeared Semi-Awakening Potion. Honestly, all the new Magic Potions that had appeared lately were giving them a massive headache!

As for who these gathered people were?

Where there was a Mercenary Guild handling mercenary business, naturally there were also places related to other Auxiliary Profession Practitioners, such as this Potion Masters Association of theirs…

They didn’t need to discuss the Mana Enhancement Potion and the Paralysis Potion anymore. Once the characteristics of these potions were clearly understood, even without the original Elixir Formula, they could still be replicated—especially the Paralysis Potion. As for the Mana Enhancement Potion, they still hadn’t figured out how it achieved that mind-boggling compatibility!

To this day, they hadn’t found anything that conflicted with this potion. They had to remember, Mana was harmful to ordinary people who hadn’t undergone any cultivation. This potion directly gave people Mana. It worked on ordinary people too, yet it had absolutely no harmful effects. Could this darn thing even still be called a Magic Potion?

Some would believe it if you called it a regular concoction.

Then there was the Fixation Potion. The Purple Vine Guild held tightly onto the Elixir Formula for this potion. Even though they (the Association) promised many favorable conditions, even tried half-hearted threats, it was meaningless. They wouldn’t give it, and no matter what was said, that was the result. They were quite helpless about it too. The Purple Vine Guild’s strength was not weak; in a direct confrontation, they really wouldn’t back down.

Trying force?

The consequences would also be severe. The Potion Masters Association could influence some Magic Pharmacists, but that didn’t mean they could influence all of them. So even if it caused some trouble for the Purple Vine Guild, it wouldn’t hurt them seriously. In fact, doing so might even get them schemed against and bear the stigma of bullying others… That’s how much weight the Purple Vine Guild’s words carried.

At the same time, as a large-scale guild, they could also influence the Potion Masters Association. A large portion of the materials used by the Association were purchased from guilds. If the Purple Vine Guild were weaker, they could team up with other guilds, make some shady deals, and apply pressure. But the Purple Vine Guild wasn’t weak. They firmly ranked in the top three among all guilds. What could they do?

Since force didn’t work, and soft temptations were too low and beneath their notice, this matter ultimately had to be dropped. The Potion Masters Association was just a neutral organization. They clearly understood the association’s position. Once they deviated from that position, it would affect their development, rather than maintaining the smooth relations they currently enjoyed with both lawful and lawless sides.

Thus, they were frustrated, racking their brains trying to decipher the Fixation Potion’s Elixir Formula. But the composition of this potion was utterly baffling. It simply didn’t follow the usual patterns of normal Magic Potions. Among the components they managed to decipher, many materials were conflicting—what was up with that? How could you gather those things to make a potion?

It was more like making a bomb or poison!

Precisely because of this bizarre ingredient combination, their deciphering efforts had stalled multiple times. To this day, there had been no substantial progress. Fortunately, the Association also had its geniuses. One such genius finally concluded that the formation of the Fixation Potion might be based on the peculiar reactions born from this series of conflicts. Two conflicting materials indeed produced harmful substances, but that harmful part didn’t mean it couldn’t be utilized.

After other treatments, new reactions might occur, producing additional effects, eventually evolving into such a unique potion. Of course, this was just analysis. Just the unresolved issue of the conflicts alone was enough to stump all Magic Pharmacists. After all, the result of a conflict wasn’t limited to just harmful or currently useless products; others could also explode… Mishandle it, and a “BOOM” would render all efforts worthless.

Alright, despite this, with the Potion Masters Association’s determination to force a miracle, they had still managed to achieve some research results, giving them a sliver of hope. But not long after this hope appeared, an even more valuable new type of potion emerged, one that seemed even more outrageous… No, judging by its effects, the Semi-Awakening Potion seemed far more reliable than the Fixation Potion!

At least, strictly speaking, the Fixation Potion was truly the one that seemed inconceivable. You could call it a healing potion, yet it had little to do with healing potions. Call it an enhancement potion? That thing fixed your body in its current state, so not much connection either. During testing, they had discovered many frustrating results.

Even someone on the verge of death, with only their last breath, if you poured a bottle of Fixation Potion down their throat, as long as the potion kept flowing, the person could remain stuck in that state. According to current research, as long as the potion’s effect lasted permanently, maintaining it for eight hundred to a thousand years was no problem at all… as long as the person’s Soul could endure that long. Could this be considered an alternative way to extend life?

Although the cost was that there was no possibility of getting stronger oneself—even something like Mana wouldn’t increase under the Fixation Potion’s effect—it was precisely because of this effect that the Fixation Potion still sold in huge quantities. Especially for those older Professionals, time was everything.

Their lifespan was gradually reaching its end because their strength had hit a bottleneck and couldn’t progress normally. But if given more time, there might still be a chance to break that bottleneck and resume improving their strength. As long as their strength could increase subsequently, it meant their life could keep getting “+1S, +1S…”

Only their strength would be stuck at the stage where their lifespan was nearly exhausted, indicating they needed even more time to have a chance at breaking the bottleneck limiting their strength growth. They once had no opportunity, but now, with the Fixation Potion, it was different. Even if their strength couldn’t improve, it didn’t prevent them from deepening their understanding of their own power. By forcibly fixing their body’s current state, they could buy more time. What if one day they suddenly gained new insight into their power and could break the bottleneck?

Once the Fixation Potion’s effect wore off, wouldn’t that be like completing a life’s “+1S”?

The Fixation Potion was incredibly popular among these Professionals. Not only did the people of the Potion Masters Association not anticipate this, but even Zheng Yichen initially didn’t expect the most widespread use of this thing wouldn’t be for unleashing forbidden moves, but for people to use it to force-extend their lives… Who said people from the Otherworld weren’t smart?

Look at how brilliantly they were using this clever trick!

Zheng Yichen thought that if he ever became truly amazing in the future and created a permanent Fixation Potion, perhaps he could rename it? How about calling it the legendary “Potion of Penglai”?

Then find a white-haired, red-eyed, pure-manly girl… Ahem!

Anyway, because of this, Zheng Yichen became like a savior in the eyes of those Professionals nearing the end of their lives. Nobody wanted to die, especially those with power. Some relied on this potion to keep striving—after all, the potion wasn’t absolute, and the Fixation Potion price wasn’t low. Even if used to maintain a life state and the consumption wasn’t huge, needing a bottle every few days wasn’t affordable for too many people.

Others simply hoped Zheng Yichen could develop even more powerful potions. Some even thought about directly taking away his Alchemical Avatar to make him continuously conduct related research. However, due to the Sanctuary Church, these people couldn’t do this and didn’t dare. Besides, there were others who set their sights on the Purple Vine Guild.

After all, relying on potions to extend life wasn’t absolute. It was fine if you didn’t fight, but once you engaged in battle, it would rapidly consume the Fixation Potion’s effect. Once the effect was exhausted and couldn’t be replenished in time, you’d still die of old age!

Yet they didn’t know that the mastermind behind the Purple Vine Guild was a Witch. Even though Qin wasn’t particularly strong in frontal combat, her ability was even more insidious and hard to guard against. She didn’t need to fight; people could fall victim silently and imperceptibly.

Forget about those Professionals or other important figures with different behaviors who were nearing the end of their lives. Even among the Potion Masters Association, some of the higher-ups currently attending this meeting were using the Fixation Potion to maintain their own states. Even though they still had a long time to live, since there was a method to indirectly extend their lifespan, why not use it?

After all, improving their strength by a large margin in a short time was very difficult. Their current strength was sufficient for researching potions. The Fixation Potion only stabilized their physical state; their brains could still think, and all the experience accumulated during research would remain. This was also why the higher-ups of the Potion Masters Association were even willing to risk affecting their neutral status, wanting to use any means to get the Fixation Potion Elixir Formula.

Precisely because they were an association dedicated to researching Magic Potions, they understood the true value of this potion better than anyone else. Currently, the Fixation Potion mainly affected the body and had no effect on the Soul. This was another flaw of using the Fixation Potion for life extension. But that didn’t mean there was no possibility of a breakthrough later. After all, there were precious Magic Potions that could repair Soul damage among potions.

So affecting the Soul was entirely feasible—as long as deep, follow-up research could be conducted, if they had the Elixir Formula… If only they could conduct subsequent research and develop related potions, the future status of the Potion Masters Association would absolutely skyrocket, becoming incredibly powerful… Crushing other major associations would be no problem. Uh, well, that was roughly the idea.

With such a potion, they could easily establish connections with any powerful force or The Empire, gaining all sorts of conveniences. It would be strange if they didn’t flourish.

They had indeed considered directly poaching that Magic Pharmacist in Kaja… They knew of Zheng Yichen’s existence, as the Potion Masters Association had many channels regarding potion matters. To poach Zheng Yichen, they had made many preparations. They just hadn’t acted yet due to the Sanctuary Church’s presence.

Now, a new potion had appeared. If they could confirm that this potion was also related to Zheng Yichen… they simply couldn’t sit still any longer. Offending someone, fine, let them offend. It wasn’t destroying the world; the Sanctuary Church wouldn’t directly annihilate them… After all, Zheng Yichen had never publicly declared joining the Sanctuary Church, which meant everyone else had a chance to poach him, right?