Afterward, Ning Fa made a vow to his inner demon as per custom.
He promised not to proactively teach these pill recipes to others without the family's permission.
Wei Chengzong nodded, then took out three blank jade slips, inscribed the three pill recipes onto them, and handed them to Ning Fa.
He said with a beaming smile, "If you have any questions about refining these pills in the future, feel free to come find me. Although my talent is far inferior to yours, I am quite familiar with these pills."
Ning Fa's eyes flickered, and a smile touched his lips.
He suddenly stood up and began looking around the tens of square meters of the side hall, even reaching out to touch things here and there.
Wei Chengzong couldn't help but feel confused and asked, "Little Fa, what are you looking for?"
Ning Fa didn't stop his actions, looking around as he curiously said, "Nothing, I'm just checking if the restrictions in this room 'happen' to have problems too."
Ning Fa emphasized the word 'happen.'
Wei Chengzong, who was raising his teacup to drink, almost spat it out, choking and coughing repeatedly.
He looked at Ning Fa with a stiff expression, feeling immense regret in his heart.
At this moment, he finally understood that Ning Fa was settling old scores.
Earlier, when Ning Fa and Ning Ruiming were competing in alchemy, he had planned to make a significant concession to compensate for his past actions of helping Ning Ruiming against Ning Fa.
However, seeing how good the atmosphere was just now, he had become reluctant to concede, thinking Ning Fa wouldn't hold him accountable.
But now that Ning Fa had made it so obvious, he had no choice but to concede, no matter how reluctant he was.
Although Wei Chengzong was the deputy head of the family's Pill Hall and the most experienced alchemist in the Ning family currently.
His potential had reached its limit, and his success rate in refining some important pills was just passable.
Given the alchemy talent Ning Fa had displayed today, Wei Chengzong estimated that Ning Fa's status in the eyes of the family's higher-ups had already far surpassed his own.
Wei Chengzong put down his teacup, smacked his forehead hard, and said with a dry laugh, "Look at my memory, Little Fa. I forgot to congratulate you on your promotion to family Pill Master, such a joyous occasion."
Ning Fa stopped pretending and looked at Wei Chengzong with a half-smile.
Ning Fa had already noted down Wei Chengzong's repeated complicity with Ning Jingguang in dealing with him in his little black book.
However, while this person was detestable, he wasn't so bad as to warrant immediate execution.
Ning Fa decided to give him an opportunity to make amends.
Whether this person could be crossed off his list depended on how sincere he was.
Wei Chengzong then took out a blue jade slip from his storage bag.
He looked at the jade slip with some pain but still gently pushed it towards Ning Fa.
He said reluctantly, "This jade slip contains a complete second-tier low-grade Pill Master inheritance. I bought it at an auction for a large sum. It includes six pill recipes, two of which are second-tier recipes. The [Essence Refining Pill] can even improve the cultivation of Foundation Establishment stage cultivators."
Ning Fa was slightly moved.
Inheritance items for the various arts of cultivation were generally very precious, and inheritance for Pill Masters, the foremost among the arts, was even more crucial.
Even a first-tier Pill Master inheritance could easily fetch a high price of several hundred Spirit Stones.
Once a Pill Master inheritance reached the second tier, its value increased dramatically.
Wei Chengzong's second-tier low-grade Pill Master inheritance alone was worth at least several thousand Spirit Stones.
This price was enough to buy a top-grade magical artifact.
Ning Fa took the jade slip and scanned it briefly with his divine sense, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes.
He put the jade slip into his storage bag and then silently looked at Wei Chengzong, a faint smile on his lips.
Although he was very satisfied with this Pill Master inheritance, did Wei Chengzong think this was enough to dismiss him?
After all, Wei Chengzong had suffered no real loss; he had certainly memorized the contents of the inheritance long ago.
Seeing Ning Fa's posture, Wei Chengzong's eyes widened.
"You're not satisfied even with this precious second-tier Pill Master inheritance! Aren't you being a bit too greedy, kid!"
Wei Chengzong cursed inwardly, a trace of anger even rising within him.
But then he thought of Ning Fa's astonishing alchemy performance today, the terrifying talent he displayed shocked even him.
The anger in Wei Chengzong's heart was immediately suppressed.
He was old now, with no hope of reaching Foundation Establishment.
His days in the Ning family were comfortable, and he didn't want to leave, so he could only back down.
He forced out a smile, "Oh, right, I have another item. I believe you'll like it too, Little Fa."
Ning Fa looked at him noncommittally, his eyes clearly conveying:
"No matter how eloquently you speak, if what you offer doesn't meet my expectations, don't expect me to easily let go of past grievances."
Wei Chengzong slowly took out another item from his storage bag.
A small, silver-glowing alchemy furnace floated in the air.
It had three legs and two ears, was entirely silver-white, and its design was exquisite and elegant.
The alchemy furnace was adorned with exquisite spirit patterns that pulsed with flowing light as if breathing, giving it a rather mystical appearance.
Upon seeing the furnace, Ning Fa's eyes lit up.
This was a good treasure.
Its grade was definitely at least High-tier Rank 1, perhaps even higher.
Wei Chengzong looked at the furnace with a pained expression and said regretfully, "This alchemy furnace is named the [Cloud Silk Furnace]. Its grade has reached the level of a top-grade magical artifact, but its price is slightly higher than that of ordinary top-grade magical artifacts. I bought it at Tianshui Market for nearly three thousand Spirit Stones. Now, I'll give it to you."
"The furnace body is made from the precious Rank 2 ores, [Cloud Patterned Crystal Stone] and [Azure Wave Sand]. It can reduce mana consumption and improve stability during alchemy. Using this furnace to refine pills can increase the success rate of Rank 1 pills by nearly five percent."
As Wei Chengzong introduced the furnace, his heart bled.
Although he had another alchemy furnace of comparable value, this Cloud Silk Furnace was deeply favored by him and was very useful when refining certain specific pills.
However, judging by the situation today, if he couldn't satisfy this detestable brat, it would be difficult to put the previous matter behind them.
Thus, he had to reluctantly bring out this alchemy furnace.
Ning Fa directly summoned the furnace to him. He examined it with great joy, liking it more and more the longer he looked.
This alchemy furnace was far more advanced than his current one.
As the saying goes, a good horse deserves a good saddle. This furnace would only reach its full potential with him.
Seeing Ning Fa doting over the Cloud Silk Furnace, Wei Chengzong turned his head away in pain, unable to bear watching any longer.
After a while, Ning Fa put away the Cloud Silk Furnace, a satisfied smile on his lips. "Since it's Pill Master Wei's kind gesture, I won't refuse it."
Wei Chengzong breathed a sigh of relief. The brat was finally satisfied.
However, this significant expenditure was much more than he had initially anticipated.
But being able to smoothly resolve his grievances with Ning Fa put his mind at ease, and a smile returned to his face.
Just then, Ning Fa seemed to remember something and added, "Oh right, please trouble Pill Master Wei to inform Brother Rui Ming to vacate his residence as soon as possible so I can move in. If he takes too long, I might misunderstand that he intends to renege on the bet. In that case, I'll have no choice but to ask the Third Elder to mediate."
The smile on Wei Chengzong's face froze. He chuckled dryly, "Don't worry, I'll definitely deliver the message."
Ning Fa's vindictiveness made him break out in a cold sweat again.
At this moment, he felt even more fortunate for his wise decision to use external possessions to achieve reconciliation with Ning Fa.