After about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, Ye Renxin and Zhu Fan finally returned.
At this moment, Zhu Fan was beaming with satisfaction, holding an ornate box in his hands. "Chengfeng, this contains whale glue—six pieces in total, each from whales over ten thousand years old."
Hearing this, Dai Chengfeng nodded in satisfaction.
Six pieces weren't many, but they should be enough for both him and Zhu Fan to use.
After all, any medicine would develop resistance with repeated use, and the effects of taking the same drug within a short period would diminish significantly.
"Elder Ye, how much do these whale glues cost?"
Ye Renxin leaned back in his chair, his expression calm. "One hundred thousand gold soul coins."
"How much?!"
Dai Chengfeng could hardly believe his ears.
After all, a single gold soul coin was enough to feed an ordinary family of three for several months. For just six pieces of ten-thousand-year-old whale glue, one hundred thousand gold soul coins was already the limit.
And yet Ye Renxin had the audacity to ask for a full one hundred thousand?
Even though Dai Chengfeng wasn't short on money, this was still outrageous…
However, the next second—
"I'll pay, I'll pay… Chengfeng! One hundred thousand gold soul coins isn't expensive at all!"
With that, Zhu Fan cheerfully handed over his purple crystal card to Ye Renxin. "Master Ye, please charge my card."
Ye Renxin nodded in satisfaction. "I've given you so many top-quality tonics for only one hundred thousand gold soul coins. That's already a ten percent discount, considering you saved Lingling."
"Yes, yes, hehe…"
Zhu Fan patted his lower back and nodded repeatedly.
"…"
Watching Zhu Fan's fawning demeanor, Dai Chengfeng finally understood where the one hundred thousand gold soul coins had gone!
After swiping the card, Ye Renxin sat back down and looked at Dai Chengfeng.
"Boy, do you have anything else to discuss?"
"If not, then leave. Don't disturb my peace."
Dai Chengfeng took a deep breath and gave a slight bow. "To be honest, Elder, there is one more thing I'd like to seek your help with."
"What is it?"
Ye Renxin narrowed his eyes slightly and took a sip from his teacup.
"Do you happen to have records of various divine flowers and rare herbs?"
"If you do, I'm willing to pay a hefty price to purchase them!"
With that, Dai Chengfeng stared intently at Ye Renxin, filled with anticipation.
"I see. Buying whale glue was just a pretense; this must be your real purpose for coming to me, right?"
Ye Renxin smiled as he looked at Dai Chengfeng.
Dai Chengfeng nodded seriously. "To be honest, that's exactly my intention."
"Do you have such records, Elder?"
"If you do, I'd like permission to make a copy. Money is no object!"
"Records of divine flowers and rare herbs? I indeed have some." Ye Renxin looked at Dai Chengfeng with confidence. "After all, if I didn't know some of the top-tier rare medicinal herbs, how could I be called the Medicine Saint?"
Upon hearing Ye Renxin's response, a flicker of joy appeared in Dai Chengfeng's eyes.
"It truly is 'after searching everywhere in vain, success comes effortlessly!'"
However, the next moment—
"But to buy it with money?"
Ye Renxin gazed at Dai Chengfeng and shook his head. "That won't work. I'm not short on money either."
"However…"
"If you can help me with something, I might consider it…"
"And!"
"This matter, if successful, could bring you immense benefits as well!"
Dai Chengfeng clasped his hands again. "May I ask what this matter is, Elder?"
Ye Renxin didn't answer immediately. Instead, he stood up and walked toward the main hall door, cautiously checking left and right.
After confirming no outsiders were eavesdropping, he carefully closed the main hall door tightly.
The room immediately dimmed.
Seeing Ye Renxin's mysterious behavior, Dai Chengfeng and Zhu Fan exchanged a glance, both their eyes flashing with confusion.
"What could this Medicine Saint elder possibly want to say that requires such caution?"
At this moment,
Ye Renxin finally returned. His first words were nothing short of earth-shattering. "Boy, judging by your appearance, you don't seem like an ordinary person. Have you ever heard of… external soul bones?"
"External soul bones?!"
A flicker of surprise appeared in Dai Chengfeng's eyes.
How could he not know about these "treasures" that evolved alongside the user's strength and didn't occupy a normal soul bone slot?
But what Dai Chengfeng didn't understand was—
What did Ye Renxin need his help with that involved external soul bones?
And judging by what he said, did it mean he also had a chance to obtain one?
Beside him, Zhu Fan was equally puzzled. After all, who would willingly share such a valuable item?
Seeing Dai Chengfeng and Zhu Fan's expressions of surprise and confusion, Ye Renxin softly said, "It seems you both know what external soul bones are."
"That's good."
"It saves me the trouble of explaining from scratch."
As he spoke—
Ye Renxin took out two books and handed them to Dai Chengfeng and Zhu Fan respectively.
At the same time, he continued, "The books record that the probability of a soul beast producing a soul bone upon death is extremely low. The chance of producing an external soul bone is even rarer—only one ten-thousandth or less compared to a regular soul bone."
"Many soul masters go their entire lives without ever seeing an external soul bone."
Dai Chengfeng and Zhu Fan instinctively nodded.
"However!"
Ye Renxin's face turned serious. "After years of research, I've discovered that while theoretically all soul beasts have a small chance of producing external soul bones, in reality, certain powerful soul beasts with unique abilities or constitutions have a relatively higher chance!"
"For example, our target this time—the Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear!"
"Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear?"
A flicker of surprise appeared in Dai Chengfeng's eyes. He suddenly felt that Ye Renxin's words might not be baseless.
After all, in the original story, external soul bones were always scarce across all timelines.
But—
Precisely the Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear contributed two incredibly powerful external soul bones, both for the right hand.
Was this really just a coincidence?
While Dai Chengfeng was pondering, Ye Renxin continued, "The Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear is an exceptionally powerful and rare soul beast, possessing the unique ability of Dark Golden Terror Claws."
"This special ability makes its chance of producing external soul bones related to its own capabilities hundreds or even thousands of times higher than that of ordinary soul beasts!"
"Historically, recorded external soul bones are extremely few."
"But among them, records of external soul bones from the Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear are the most numerous."
"Therefore, over the years, I've used the connections I've built through treating patients to locate roughly five Dark Golden Terror Claw Bears around a thousand years old."
Ye Renxin looked at Dai Chengfeng. "I want you and my granddaughter to kill a Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear, but the first external soul bone goes to Lingling. How does that sound?"
Dai Chengfeng frowned slightly, not agreeing immediately.
After all, external soul bones were exceedingly rare. How could they appear so easily?
Ye Renxin seemed to sense Dai Chengfeng's doubts. "I know what you're probably thinking…"
"In fact, I can't guarantee how many external soul bones will appear. It's possible we'll get five, but it's more likely none will appear at all."
"However, you don't need to worry."
"Even if none appear, I'll still compile and give you the information you want about divine flowers and rare herbs."
"And!"
"I swear on my reputation as the Medicine Saint and my lifelong medical ethics—I'll grant you an additional condition!"
Looking at the earnest Ye Renxin, Dai Chengfeng had to admit that he was tempted.
After all, no matter how he looked at it, the terms seemed favorable to him.
First, he didn't know the coordinates of the Dark Golden Terror Claw Bear. Without Ye Renxin, he wouldn't even have a chance to gamble for an external soul bone.
Second, even if the gamble failed—
Whether only one external soul bone appeared or none at all—
He would still gain the information he wanted about immortal herbs, and a Medicine Saint joining the Star Luo Empire would be a double blessing!
"However…"
Dai Chengfeng raised his head and looked at Ye Renxin. "Elder Ye Renxin!"
"I still have one final question in my mind. If your answer doesn't satisfy me…"
"Then I still can't agree to your request!"
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