On my server at least, living element xmute is FAR better.

My alchemest is a herbalist as well, so I don't pay for the life. However, it's not a fair comparison without putting some opportunity cost, so they go for 8g each pretty regularly, 15 x 8 = 120g.

volatile airs sell for 40-45g, very fast. 15 x 40 = 600g

480g profit (really it's more than that because you'd be hard pressed to even sell 15 volatile life, btw w/e) blows away anything I've been able to put together for truegold. Also, when you consider how easy it is to do...