I Became the Alchemy Master by Picking Up Trash-Chapter 50 - 49: Exchange

Li Xing waved the Wind Crystal Stone in front of the absent-minded Ye Qingting until his eyes focused, then asked, "High-tier Crystal Stone, do you want to exchange it?"

The higher the tier of the Crystal Stone, the more Elemental Power it extracts, making it more valuable. In emergencies, high-tier Crystal Stones can substitute for Energy Stones to urgently replenish Elemental Power. So, high-tier Elemental Spirits are willing to exchange for high-tier Crystal Stones. But Li Xing went the opposite way; the lower the tier of Crystal Stone, the more Chaotic Power it contains, which is more useful to her.

"Exchange!" Ye Qingting quickly expressed his stance.

"I want low-tier Crystal Stones."

Ye Qingting nodded, "Okay, the size and quality of this Crystal Stone are better than the usual high-tier ones. I’ll exchange it for you at a rate of one to a thousand, but you’ll have to wait until I get back."

To a Heavenly Armor level Elemental Spirit like him, low-tier Crystal Stones are practically garbage. Not only would they not carry them around, but even when fighting in the wild, they’d be too lazy to scrap Crystal Stones off low-tier Star Beasts.

Only those with weak Elemental Spirits favor low-tier Crystal Stones, as they offer the best exchange rate for primary Energy Stones.

And primary Energy Stones are the most commonly used and suitable energy supplement for these weak Elemental Spirits. So when Li Xing requested low-tier Crystal Stones as payment, Ye Qingting automatically categorized her among the weak. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Alright, I’ll leave you an address. Once you exchange it, just mail it to me." With that, Li Xing tossed the Crystal Stone to Ye Qingting.

Ye Qingting stared at the stone in his hand, a bit stunned.

All along, Li Xing’s thriftiness showed in all aspects—reluctance to use the Flying Device, collecting corpses of Star Beasts they ignored, piggybacking on Cui Tianxiao’s Star Network signal... even splitting costs down to the last cent for communal meals.

Ye Qingting had long labeled her as a penny-pincher, yet regarding this high-tier Crystal Stone, Li Xing was surprisingly indifferent, not even mentioning a deposit, leaving Ye Qingting completely puzzled by her.

Cui Tianxiao returned, limping slightly after scraping Crystal Stones from other dead Mad Goblins, just in time to hear Li Xing requesting an exchange for low-tier Crystal Stones, so he asked:

"Hey, Li Xing, you’re an A-rank Elemental Spirit. You do know high-tier Crystal Stones are more useful to you, right? Why are you exchanging for so many low-tier ones?"

"My Battle Pet Spirit Plant likes to eat them."

In truth, the Big-mouth Flower hated the taste of low-tier Crystal Stones, but to cover up and justify Li Xing’s massive long-term Crystal Stone exchanges, the Big-mouth Flower took one for the team.

"What! You have a Battle Pet Spirit Plant? Bring it out and let me see it!"

Cui Tianxiao had kept a Battle Pet Spirit Plant before, but found that aside from showing it off, it was utterly useless—expensive, time-consuming, and prone to friendly fire in battles. Thus, he decisively ended that master-pet misery.

Even so, he’s still curious about others’ Battle Pet Spirit Plants, always asking to see them whenever he learns someone else has a pet.

Don’t get him wrong; it’s not out of love but purely to see if others’ Battle Pet Spirit Plants are well-kept and obedient. Very few people, outside Wood Attribute Elemental Spirits, successfully keep them well.

Thus, every time he sees others’ Battle Pet Spirit Plants, he gets a relaxed feeling of someone who’s been there, and persuading others to give them up gives him immense satisfaction.

"Hui Hui is very shy and doesn’t like to meet strangers."

"Your pet’s called Hui Hui? With a name like that, it must look pretty! Don’t be so stingy, bring it out and show your bro!"

"Alright then." Li Xing shook her wrist, and a flowerpot appeared before Cui Tianxiao.

After ten years of Spirit Stone nourishment, the Big-mouth Flower had changed from a pale purple to a deep purple, with white spots more prominent, and had grown two to three times larger. The medium-sized pot had been replaced with a large one, and now the Big-mouth Flower could swallow Li Xing whole in one bite.

"What the heck is this thing?"

Cui Tianxiao was shocked. How does Li Xing always surprise him? Such a pretty little girl, keeping such an ugly monster pet...? What’s the deal?

"What abilities does it have?" A mouth that big should be fierce and powerful, right?

"It’s smart."

"Uh—, so what does it do for you in battles?" Wait, do Spirit Plants have intelligence?

Li Xing shrugged, "My Hui Hui is a girl, very timid, the battlefield doesn’t suit her."

"Then why does it have such a big mouth?"

"Of course, it’s for eating!"

Cui Tianxiao was stifled; just how much does that big mouth eat?

Li Xing sighed, saying woefully, "A lot actually, five million Star Coins worth of Crystal Stones is probably only enough for a few meals."

It’s not just about the Big-mouth Flower; she’s clearly talking about herself. Having trained the Eternal Green Technique to mid-Great Perfection in the Body Tempering stage, Li Xing could exhaust five million Star Coins worth of Crystal Stones in just two or three days of full cycle operation.

Lacking money, Li Xing spends most of her time arduously extracting Chaos Qi from the air, struggling to advance. Only after earning enough Crystal Stones through odd jobs can she indulge in a few days of hearty training, before continuing the hard days lacking Chaos Qi, over and over.

Cui Tianxiao’s eyes bulged to the size of saucers as he exclaimed, "Don’t tell me all the money you make from jobs go to feeding this guy!"

Li Xing nodded, "What else? Since I’m its owner, I must take care of it for a lifetime. I promised Hui Hui I wouldn’t let it go hungry, and I mean what I say."

The Big-mouth Flower’s thin neck twisted and turned, with the accolades in Divine Sense almost making Li Xing burst with pride.

Cui Tianxiao closed his eyes, weakly waving his hand, "Quick, put it away. My eyes are allergic to your Hui Hui; it’s blinding me—one more look and I’ll go blind."

This Battle Pet Spirit Plant is frankly ugly and useless, cost-consuming, and burdensome to look at. He wouldn’t keep it even if begged on knees, but Li Xing treats it like a treasure. That’s clearly true love; how could he dissuade her? Forget it, let her keep it if she likes it, it might even uglify her opponents to death.

After clearing the battlefield and burning the Mad Goblins’ corpses, the three prepared to camp here.

Ye Qingting and Cui Tianxiao took out Energy Stones to replenish Elemental Power. After the fierce battle just now, both of their Elemental Spirits were exhausted and needed to recover quickly, or they’d be defenseless against another wave of powerful Star Beasts.

As Ye Qingting and Cui Tianxiao restored their Elemental Spirits, Li Xing stood watch with the Heavenly Wolf Saber, and Cui Tianxiao eyed the majestic saber, itching.

"Hey, Li Xing, that saber of yours is impressive, let me see it?"

Ye Qingting pulled him back, sharply saying, "Ah Xiao, you shouldn’t pry into other people’s weapons!"

On the Qianyuan Continent, martial ethics were strong. A weapon’s place for a martial artist was akin to a spouse. Inquiring about someone else’s weapon usually resulted in two possible outcomes: a fight, or an argument followed by a fight.

"What does it matter? We’re so familiar with each other. It’s not for nothing; I’ll show her my Thunderbolt Bow!" Saying so, Cui Tianxiao took out the Longbow and without hesitation pushed it into Li Xing’s hand.

Frankly, Li Xing didn’t have a clear concept of the weapon privacy rule, and she was also curious about Cui Tianxiao’s shape-shifting bow, so she handed her Heavenly Wolf Saber to Cui Tianxiao and examined the Longbow and its talisman carvings closely.

"Whoa!"

Cui Tianxiao didn’t expect the Heavenly Wolf Saber to be so heavy. As soon as he grabbed it, he almost couldn’t hold on, deepening his understanding of Li Xing’s strength.

Though Ye Qingting disapproved of Cui Tianxiao’s actions, since both parties didn’t mind, he silently joined Cui Tianxiao in examining the Heavenly Wolf Saber.

Yet, to them, the saber, aside from being heavy and sharp, had no peculiar attributes, not even talismans carved. Both felt it a pity for such exquisite craftsmanship and materials.

When Li Xing finished studying the Longbow, they swapped back their weapons, and Cui Tianxiao couldn’t resist advising Li Xing, "Hey, Li Xing, your saber’s material and craftsmanship are superb. It would be perfect if you could have a talisman master carve talismans on it."

"Indeed. I know a very good talisman master. He rarely carves talismans for others’ weapons, but if you desire, I can use my personal connections to ask him a favor, and he will agree."

Ye Qingting thought at least a Fire Element Pattern should be added to the Heavenly Wolf Saber, so when Li Xing used an Elemental Attack, it would save Elemental Spirits and enhance the attack’s effect.

"Hmm, I’ll consider it once I’ve saved enough money."

Having a talisman master carve talismans not only consumes Elemental Power but also vast amounts of spiritual power, and any carelessness will induce Spirit Sea turbulence. Precisely because of the immense risk and pressure, talisman masters’ fees are notoriously high.

Ye Qingting said he would ask a talisman master as a personal favor, even if Li Xing gave no payment. Yet, Li Xing chose not to do so, enhancing Ye Qingting’s impression of her a bit further.