Chapter 178 – Master Koi
Task Hall.
"Huh? What happened to the commission for the Supreme-grade Vein Expansion Pills?" Some Shennong Valley disciples browsing for tasks suddenly noticed something missing and quickly began searching for it.
"Probably withdrawn by the client," one of them guessed. "That task's been up for a long time. It'd be normal if they pulled it."
"But didn't Senior Brother An Yu's disciple still not reach Foundation Establishment? Would he really cancel it now?" A cultivator at the Core Formation stage frowned. Clearly, he knew who had issued the task.
"So someone actually completed it?" another Core Formation cultivator chimed in.
That commission for supreme-grade Vein Expansion Pills had been up for ages without a single taker—proof enough of its difficulty. If it were easy, these Core Formation cultivators would've taken it themselves already.
Supreme-grade Vein Expansion Pills were useless to Core Formation cultivators, but they all had disciples and juniors who could benefit greatly from them.
"No way. We haven't heard anything about a powerful new alchemist in the valley. It couldn't have been Elder Liu, right?"
"That's not impossible. Senior Brother An Yu really treasures that disciple of his. He might've pulled some strings and gotten his master to ask Elder Liu for help."
…
As the group murmured amongst themselves, a late-stage Core Formation cultivator strode into the Task Hall, leading a young man. All eyes immediately turned toward them.
"It's Senior Brother An Yu!"
Recognizing the newcomer, the crowd's eyes lit up, and they quickly rushed over to him, eager to hear what had happened with the commission.
"What are you all crowding around for?" An Yu scowled at the gathering disciples.
"Heh, just curious is all. Senior Brother An Yu, was your commission really fulfilled?" someone asked with a grin, unfazed by the cold response.
"That's right."
An Yu answered directly—there was no use hiding it now.
"What?!"
The hall instantly erupted. Someone had really completed that commission for nine supreme-grade Vein Expansion Pills? Who could it have been—what kind of master-level alchemist had pulled this off?
"I just got word myself."
Seeing the crowd's burning curiosity, An Yu raised his hands. He was just as curious. He could rule out Elder Liu—someone of her rank as a 4th-tier alchemist wouldn't be remotely tempted by the offered reward.
"Then what are we waiting for? Go complete the task handover and find out who did it!" the crowd urged.
Everyone wanted to know the identity of this alchemy master. They were eager to send their own commissions for supreme-grade Vein Expansion Pills.
"Enough with the pushing already!"
An Yu was visibly annoyed. He too wanted to meet this alchemist—after all, there was no such thing as too many supreme-grade Vein Expansion Pills. He had several promising disciples besides that girl. If he could get more of these pills, those other disciples might close the gap between them and the more naturally gifted ones.
After all, future cultivation success wasn't just about talent—proper nurturing was just as important. And nothing was better for early cultivation than these pills. The more solid the foundation, the greater the chance of future breakthroughs.
Unfortunately, there was no way to keep this a secret now. But at least he already had nine pills in hand. From here on out, it would just be a matter of competing with others for more.
And as a late-stage Core Formation cultivator, An Yu was confident he had far deeper pockets than most of the juniors and disciples around him.
The task handover went smoothly, and soon An Yu was holding a jade bottle.
"Senior Brother An Yu, open it up! Let's see!" the crowd urged again, eyes glued to the bottle.
This time, An Yu didn't object. He also wanted to see for himself.
Taking a deep breath, he carefully uncorked the jade bottle—and instantly, an intense medicinal aroma wafted out. As soon as he smelled it, An Yu relaxed.
The surrounding cultivators were visibly stunned. As disciples of a top sect like Shennong Valley, they knew quality when they saw—or smelled—it.
Just from the fragrance alone, they could tell that these were genuine supreme-grade Vein Expansion Pills. And when An Yu poured one out, revealing clear pill patterns, all doubts were put to rest.
"Senior Brother An Yu, quick—who completed the task?" someone called out, unable to hold back any longer.
"Master… Koi?"
An Yu stared at the name on the task record in surprise. The handover slip had a signature—but this name was completely unfamiliar to him. And it wasn't just him; everyone else wore the same puzzled expression.
Clearly, this wasn't a real name but a dao title. In fact, many well-known cultivators were known not by their birth names, but by their chosen dao titles.
But none of them had ever heard of a "Master Koi" before.
Still, someone calling themselves "Master" typically meant they were at least at the Core Formation level. In a smaller sect, it would be easy to figure out who they were—but in a place like Shennong Valley, where Core Formation cultivators were plentiful, it was nearly impossible to narrow it down.
With no way to identify the master, everyone's best bet was to issue designated commissions—commissions that could only be accepted by one specific person.
Soon, several new commissions for supreme-grade Vein Expansion Pills went up—each one specifically addressed to Master Koi.
There were only a handful for now, since the news hadn't spread too widely yet.
And because these pills commanded a price even higher than 3rd-tier elixirs, only wealthy Core Formation cultivators could afford the commissions. For anyone below Core Formation, the cost was simply out of reach.
—
The Next Day
News of the fulfilled commission spread quickly, and Master Koi's name began to circulate widely among Shennong Valley disciples. But no one knew who this mysterious alchemist truly was.
"No wonder they call it a secret-level spirit farming technique—it really is far more profound than the ordinary ones." Gu Mo stepped out of his small hut and saw Little Carp in the courtyard watering Master Xiaohua with spiritual rain.
Even Master Xiaohua was drawn to the rain summoned by the divine spell Cloudwalking Rain Summoning.
"Xiao Mo!"
The moment she saw Gu Mo, Xiaohua waved excitedly. Between Little Carp's spiritual rain and Gu Mo's accelerated growth technique, these had become essential parts of her daily life.
Gu Mo smiled and walked over, giving Master Xiaohua another round of accelerated growth before leaving the courtyard and heading to the Task Hall.
After completing the commission for supreme-grade Vein Expansion Pills, he had earned a significant amount of sect contribution points. He'd used them to exchange for an advanced spirit farming technique.
Gu Mo hadn't forgotten—his main profession was still that of a Spirit Plant Master. Alchemy was just a side job. Now that his contribution points had been spent on improving his core expertise, it was time to take on more tasks to replenish them.
"Why are there so many new commissions for supreme-grade Vein Expansion Pills?"
The moment he entered the Task Hall, Gu Mo noticed over a dozen new commissions—all specifically designated for "Master Koi."
Of course, Master Koi was the dao title Gu Mo had chosen for himself.
The cultivation world was full of mysterious techniques and dangers. Using a dao title to mask one's real name was a form of self-protection—especially when traveling. It was a common practice.
Since these new commissions were specifically addressed to him, Gu Mo didn't hesitate and accepted all of them.
With his current abilities, crafting supreme-grade Vein Expansion Pills took very little time. And each commission offered a reward on par with—or even higher than—a 3rd-tier pill.
Normally, crafting over a dozen 3rd-tier pills would take an alchemist more than ten years. Each one took several months, factoring in the risk of failure. So taking ten or more years was not an exaggeration.
But for Gu Mo, fulfilling these commissions would take just over ten days.
Earning in ten days what an average 3rd-tier alchemist might make in ten years—that was enough to make anyone envious.
"Do you think Master Koi will take on more commissions for Vein Expansion Pills?" some disciples were already gathered, eyeing the commission board.
"A master's thoughts aren't for us common folk to guess," others sighed. In their minds, someone capable of producing supreme-grade Vein Expansion Pills was already a master alchemist.
"Hey! Look—the commissions are gone!" a sudden shout sent the entire hall into an uproar.
Immediately, the crowd surged forward. When they saw that the dozen or so commissions for Supreme-grade Meridians Expansion Pills had been taken, they couldn't help but glance around in excitement, trying to spot the mysterious "Koi Daoist".
Just as Gu Mo was about to leave, he was pushed back by the swelling tide of people. Naturally, countless eyes swept across him—but they quickly moved on.
At that moment, Gu Mo had already used a Concealment Technique to mask his cultivation level. In everyone's eyes, he appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary Foundation Establishment disciple.
Everyone knew that the Koi Daoist was a Golden Core cultivator, so Gu Mo's apparent Foundation Establishment stage clearly didn't match.
Unable to find the mysterious figure, the crowd expressed their disappointment. Still, some disciples made their way straight to the Mission Hall, certain that they would find information about the Koi Daoist there.
However, all inquiries were firmly declined by the Mission Hall. Unless the person in question gave their consent, the Mission Hall was not allowed to disclose any personal information.
Having received no answers, the crowd could only give up. Yet discussions soon shifted to another topic—how long it would take the Koi Daoist to complete all those commissions.
As for the subject of all this speculation, Gu Mo had already returned leisurely to his leaf-shaped hut. He first visited his spirit field to harvest that day's portion of Sun Essence.
Then he went back to his hut and began refining the Supreme-grade Meridians Expansion Pills.
A little over ten days later, an explosive piece of news spread through the sect—the Koi Daoist had completed all the commissions for the Supreme-grade Meridians Expansion Pills.
Such efficiency, such a high success rate—everyone was astounded.
"Koi Daoist… could it be Junior Brother Gu Mo?" In the Alchemy Branch, Qian Tao, who was preparing to set out to explore a secret realm, instantly thought of Gu Mo the moment he heard the news.
Almost everyone in Shennong Valley who could refine pills belonged to their branch. The only exception was probably Gu Mo. Qian Tao had personally witnessed Gu Mo's alchemical skills. Not only that, the man had recently acquired a supreme-grade pill furnace and even a type of Heavenly Flame. It was entirely possible he could refine Supreme-grade Meridians Expansion Pills.
Still, since Gu Mo had used a Daoist title rather than his real name, it was clear he didn't want to be identified. Naturally, Qian Tao had no intention of exposing him.
He hadn't even told anyone about Gu Mo's Torch Stump Tree, and for good reason. At present, only he and his master knew that Gu Mo possessed such a rare spiritual plant. Qian Tao was planning to use this window of secrecy to quickly gather enough treasures to trade with Gu Mo.
If he missed this chance and more people found out about the Torch Stump Tree, he might not even get a turn.
Although Gu Mo had never mentioned how difficult the plant was to cultivate, judging from the extraordinary effects it had already displayed, it was obviously no ordinary species.
With that in mind, Qian Tao didn't hesitate any longer. He immediately departed to look for reliable allies to help him explore the secret realm.
After submitting the Meridians Expansion Pills and earning a large sum of sect contribution points, Gu Mo exchanged them for advanced spirit farmer techniques—he needed to make up for his shortcomings as quickly as possible.
As long as he could demonstrate a sufficiently high level of skill as a spiritual plant cultivator, all the strange plants he produced would have a reasonable explanation.
While Gu Mo was diligently studying the advanced version of the Spirit Farmer's secret arts, the matter of the Supreme-grade Meridians Expansion Pills continued to stir up attention. Word even spread to disciples from outside sects—Shennong Valley had produced an alchemist capable of refining Supreme-grade Meridians Expansion Pills.
Soon after, many alchemical commissions from outside sects started pouring into the Mission Hall. At this point, even the upper ranks of Shennong Valley were alerted.
"Junior Sister Liu—are you the Koi Daoist?"
In the grand hall at the top of the ancient tree, all branch elders who weren't out or in seclusion had gathered. This time, they hadn't assembled to discuss the conflict between righteous and demonic factions, but rather to address the Koi Daoist, whose fame was now peaking.
Many elders turned to look at Liu Shulan. As the only fourth-rank alchemist in the sect, she was the only one with the ability to refine Supreme-grade Meridians Expansion Pills.
"It wasn't me. If you want answers, ask Senior Brother Hou," Liu Shulan replied, glancing toward Hou Chunyu.
"Ah?"
Suddenly being named, Hou Chunyu looked dumbfounded. What did he have to do with pill refining? He didn't know the first thing about it.
Seeing his confused expression, Liu Shulan's eyes glimmered. "Senior Brother Hou, didn't you recently take on a disciple named Gu Mo? I think he has a lot of potential—why not let him come train under me?"
"What are you planning!?"
As a Nascent Soul late-stage cultivator, Hou Chunyu was extremely sensitive. He instantly sensed a trap in Liu Shulan's words. But he still didn't understand—what exactly had caught her attention about Gu Mo?
The kid didn't know alchemy... right?
"Don't tell me…"
Suddenly, a shocking possibility occurred to Hou Chunyu—but it was so incredible, he could barely bring himself to believe it.
Gu Mo already had the talent of a core disciple, and even someone like Qi Chunde had praised his aptitude in spiritual plant cultivation—that alone was extraordinary enough.
Could it be that he also had alchemical talent so remarkable that even someone like Liu Shulan, a fourth-rank alchemist, would personally try to poach him?
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