Chapter 66 – The Value of Divine Efficacy

Cheng Yang immediately found a small wooden stool and sat down in a corner of the shop, with Ma Tao standing behind him.

Ma Tao was filled with confusion, completely unable to understand why Cheng Yang was doing this. However, out of trust in Cheng Yang, he chose to follow without question.

After waiting for less than ten minutes, someone finally entered the shop. Judging by his attire, he seemed to be from the military.

This person was indeed from the military, and he was a close confidant of the military district commander, Yuan Jianze. His name was Situ Fa. At this stage, only those with some influence could enter the shop to purchase items.

The moment Situ Fa stepped into the alchemy room, he was struck with astonishment.

In the past few days, he had entered the shop no less than a hundred times, but each time, he only saw the shopkeeper. Moreover, the shopkeeper had a bad temper. On his first visit, Situ Fa had been thrown out.

But now, there were two additional people in the shop, and judging by their attire, they seemed to be combat professionals. Whether they were from this world or from an unknown place, Situ Fa couldn’t tell. However, based on his estimation, given the shopkeeper’s temperament, it was unlikely that he would allow anyone to sit in his shop like this.

Just as Situ Fa was still puzzled, Cheng Yang spoke up, “Sir, I have a piece of equipment here. I wonder if you’re interested?”

“Equipment?” Situ Fa was somewhat dismissive. He had already seen the equipment sold in the shop. Apart from the attack-boosting equipment that caught his eye, he wasn’t particularly interested in the defensive gear, as they only increased partial defense. Moreover, the prices of these items were quite high. The spiritual energy they obtained daily was barely enough for cultivation and purchasing necessities like food, leaving little to no surplus for buying equipment.

Cheng Yang smiled faintly, “Indeed, it’s equipment, and very good equipment at that.” With that, Cheng Yang took out a necklace from his pocket and handed it over.

Situ Fa glanced at Cheng Yang and then took the necklace.

Upon seeing it, Situ Fa was shocked, “A Black Iron-grade necklace? Increases physical attack by 2 points? This…”

This put Situ Fa in a dilemma. Clearly, the jewelry he had seen in the carving shop before was all of ordinary grade, but this necklace was obviously not ordinary. If he could get his hands on this, it would undoubtedly greatly enhance someone’s strength. However, such a precious item couldn’t be bought at a low price. Although he had some spiritual energy in his account, it was reserved for purchasing potions. He didn’t dare to make such a decision on his own.

After hesitating for a moment, Situ Fa asked, “Are you planning to sell this equipment?”

Cheng Yang shook his head, “This item is not for sale. However, if you can do me a favor, I can give it to you.”

“A quest NPC?” Situ Fa immediately thought of this term. In his eyes, Cheng Yang’s actions were too similar to a quest NPC. Firstly, he appeared very mysteriously, and secondly, the items he offered weren’t for sale but required completing a quest.

If Cheng Yang knew what Situ Fa was thinking at this moment, he would have laughed out loud.

“What favor do you need me to do?” Situ Fa suppressed his excitement and asked immediately.

Cheng Yang said, “Help me find a few people in your city. This task might be difficult for you, but if you inform your superior, it should be quite easy for him. Of course, if you can complete it on your own, I can give you this necklace. If you inform your superior and have him complete it, I can offer you an additional piece of ordinary equipment.”

Situ Fa’s eyes flickered, and he asked, “Who do you need to find?”

Cheng Yang, well aware of his thoughts, knew that Situ Fa was considering taking on the task himself if the people were easy to find, or informing his commander if they were not.

Cheng Yang smiled faintly and said, “I need to find Ma Xiangnan and his wife, their daughter-in-law, Liu Xiyue, Wang Lu, and Zhou Jie…” Finally, Cheng Yang also described the general appearance of the people he needed to find.

Upon hearing these names, Situ Fa knew he wouldn’t be able to get the Black Iron-grade necklace. He immediately said, “Alright, I’ll inform my commander. I believe we’ll have news soon. But should we come here to find you after we locate them?”

Cheng Yang nodded, “Yes, bring them here, and I’ll hand over the items to you.”

After hearing this, Situ Fa turned and left.

After Situ Fa had gone far, Ma Tao finally asked, “Lord, are Wang Lu and Zhou Jie your friends?”

“No, they are people who are very useful to our territory,” Cheng Yang didn’t hide it and directly replied.

What followed was a long wait. Taking advantage of this time, Cheng Yang took out his alchemy tools and began brewing potions in the alchemy room.

Cheng Yang’s herb-gathering skill had already reached level 2, and his potion-making skill had also reached level 2. His current energy points had reached 40, enough for him to brew potions forty times. Moreover, due to the increase in his potion-making skill level, his success rate in brewing small mana potions had also improved, succeeding about seven or eight times out of ten attempts.

After exhausting his 40 energy points, Cheng Yang obtained thirty small mana potions, and his potion-making skill increased by five percent. This meant that Cheng Yang needed to successfully brew six hundred small mana potions to level up his potion-making skill again, which would take at least twenty days.

Brewing potions took Cheng Yang over half an hour, but for Ma Tao, it was quite a tedious wait.

When Cheng Yang opened his eyes, he found someone eagerly looking at him—the owner of the alchemy shop. From the expression on his face, it was clear that he had made some astonishing discovery.

“You must have already become a potion master, right? Do you possess the Divine Efficacy talent for potion-making?” the shop owner asked with a look of shock.

Cheng Yang was slightly taken aback. Why was this person so surprised upon learning about the Divine Efficacy talent? The owner of the alchemy shop in Luofeng Village hadn’t shown such an expression when he had helped him with the job change.

“I do possess the Divine Efficacy talent. Is there something strange about that?” Cheng Yang feigned ignorance.

The shop owner looked as if he had been defeated and said, “This is the Divine Efficacy talent! Do you know what the Divine Efficacy talent represents?”

Cheng Yang nodded, “Of course, it means the potions and pills I brew have double the efficacy, right?”

“You…” The shop owner was left speechless for a moment before saying, “Forget it, pretend I said nothing. However, I’d like to make a deal with you. Are you willing?”

Cheng Yang immediately asked, “What kind of deal?”

“I’ll buy the potions you brew at three times the price of ordinary small mana potions. How about that?” the shop owner quickly proposed.

Cheng Yang’s heart stirred, and he was about to agree when he suddenly remembered a saying: ‘No profit, no early rise.’ This guy was so eager to buy his potions; there must be a reason. Moreover, their true value was likely much higher than three times that of ordinary potions.

“That won’t do. I can’t take advantage of you like that. It would weigh on my conscience,” Cheng Yang said with an innocent expression.

The shop owner spoke righteously, “It’s fine. I admire your talent and am willing to pay more to support your growth. If you have no objections, shall we sign a supply agreement?”

Cheng Yang firmly shook his head, “No, when I changed jobs, the master who helped me didn’t show much excitement about the Divine Efficacy talent. I think its value shouldn’t be that high. If you buy my potions at three times the price, you’ll be at a loss. Unless you can tell me what’s so special about it, I won’t make a deal with you.”

The shop owner hesitated for a moment and then said, “Can you guarantee that if I tell you the benefits of Divine Efficacy in potion-making, you’ll agree to trade with me?”

“Of course,” Cheng Yang said very sincerely.

If Liu Hao and the others were here, they might have noticed something amiss, but this shop owner clearly didn’t see through Cheng Yang’s act. Looking at Cheng Yang, he thought he didn’t seem like a deceitful person and immediately said, “Alright, I’ll tell you. The value of Divine Efficacy, I don’t need to say, you must know how powerful it is. But for potions brewed by a potion master with the Divine Efficacy talent, their intrinsic value isn’t much different from ordinary potions. However, there are some special dungeons in this world where the use of potions is restricted. For example, some dungeons only allow the use of small mana potions, while medium mana potions are ineffective. Now, do you understand the value of your potions?”

A hint of a triumphant smile appeared on Cheng Yang’s lips as he said, “So it seems these potions do have some value. In that case, isn’t your offer of three times the price a bit too low?”

Seeing Cheng Yang’s expression, the shop owner inwardly cursed and said, “How can you go back on your word? Just now…”

Cheng Yang chuckled, “I only agreed to trade with you, not at the price you offered. I think in those dungeons, my potions could sell for ten times the price, don’t you think?”

The shop owner was left speechless. After a while, he said, “Ten times is too high. Although I could sell them at ten times the price, the profit would be very slim. I’m a businessman; I can’t operate without profit, can I?”

Cheng Yang smiled, “Your profit margin is none of my concern. All I know is that my profit must be satisfied. If you don’t agree to the trade, then I can’t help it.”

The shop owner looked conflicted. After a long while, he said, “If you promise not to sell your potions in this main city in the future, I can agree to give you ten times the profit. Moreover, eighty percent of the potions you brew daily must be supplied to my shop. We must include these terms in the supply agreement.”

PS: Seeking recommendations and collections. After falling off the new book rankings, the rate of collection growth has slowed significantly. Feeling a bit disheartened…