Chapter 43: Bandit Cultivators Blocking the Road!
Zhao Qingmu pondered for a moment before finally gritting his teeth and saying, “The Qi Accumulation Pill is priceless and rarely available on the market. The ones you have are all of superior quality. I’ll offer two hundred spirit stones for each. What do you think, fellow cultivator?”
Shen Yan nodded with satisfaction. Qi Accumulation Pills and other elixirs were utterly useless to him; with the spiritual essence within the Heavenly Emperor Seal, he had no need to consume pills to elevate his cultivation or heal his wounds. As for magical artifacts and robes, he possessed the Profound Element Heavy Water as a shield and the Primordial Ice for offense—he needed nothing more. It was better to sell these things outright and exchange them for what he truly needed.
“Eleven hundred spirit stones. Would you like to purchase anything else, Fellow Yan?” Zhao Qingmu calculated the sum, summoned someone to collect the items, and his gaze toward Shen Yan became somewhat respectful. Though few could produce a mid-grade flying sword, to present four Qi Accumulation Pills at once was unprecedented. Furthermore, all these pills were of superior quality, clearly crafted by the same master alchemist. Could this man be an alchemist himself? But his cultivation was only at the mid-stage of Qi Refinement—perhaps he had an alchemist behind him?
He pondered silently, but regardless of whether Yan Sheng was an alchemist or had someone else backing him, Zhao Qingmu resolved to befriend him. If the man had more elixirs in the future, he might return.
“Indeed, I also need superior earth-element materials. Fellow cultivator, would you kindly introduce a few?” Shen Yan clasped his hands and smiled.
“You’re too courteous. There are indeed many earth-type materials in the Treasure Pavilion. Please, take a look.” He produced a yellow jade slip and handed it to Shen Yan.
Shen Yan took it and immediately began to examine its contents:
“Centennial Lin Turtle Shell, a thousand pounds of Threefold Earth, a hundred pounds of Red Dragon Sand, fifty-year Sandalwood Ash, a Heart of the Spirit Eye…”
A string of cultivation materials dazzled Shen Yan. He contemplated for a long while before saying, “Ten pounds of Threefold Earth, ten pounds of Red Dragon Sand.” He paused briefly, then continued, “How much for the Heart of the Spirit Eye?”
Both the Heart of the Spirit Eye and the Eye of the Spirit Spring were first-grade materials. He already possessed an Eye of the Spirit Spring, which was ten times more precious than the Heart of the Spirit Eye. But now, wanting to cultivate earth techniques without an earth domain, he naturally needed earth materials for his practice.
Purchasing a Heart of the Spirit Eye was to avoid wasting the Eye of the Spirit Spring on his first attempt. As for Threefold Earth and Red Dragon Sand, they were inexpensive—one spirit stone per pound.
Zhao Qingmu smiled. “Though the Heart of the Spirit Eye is a remnant from a discarded spirit eye, its price is considerable. One thousand spirit stones for a single piece.”
“If you wish to buy, I can gift you the Threefold Earth and Red Dragon Sand, hoping you’ll patronize the shop in the future.”
Shen Yan considered for a moment and then smiled, “You are indeed straightforward. No wonder you’ve made the Treasure Pavilion so successful. I’ll take the Heart of the Spirit Eye, as you suggest.”
“Please wait a moment.” This time, Zhao Qingmu did not send anyone but went himself. After a short while, he returned with a jade box, handed it to Shen Yan, and gave back his storage pouch.
“Here is the Heart of the Spirit Eye. Please inspect it. Also, ten pounds each of Red Dragon Sand and Threefold Earth, along with one hundred spirit stones, are inside the pouch. You may check.”
Shen Yan found everything to be in order. After exchanging a few polite words with Zhao Qingmu, he stowed away the materials and left the Treasure Pavilion.
He wandered once more through the Little Lan Mountain marketplace. There were indeed items he wished to purchase, but after asking about the prices, he could only abandon the idea. He lacked enough spirit stones, and even if he had them, he wouldn’t rush into such conspicuous purchases on his first visit—it would only invite trouble.
Having acquired what he needed, he saw no reason to linger in the market. He was uncertain how far the conflict between Yang Yun and Yu Qing on Quiet Cloud Island had escalated—three days had already passed. Now, with his dual cultivation in earth techniques, it was time to return.
Leaving the market’s formation, Shen Yan deliberated for a while and decided to return to Jade Immortal Sect to cultivate earth techniques. Just as he exited the marketplace and was about to summon his immortal crane, a wave of malice swept toward him from nearby.
“There really are cultivators lying in wait to rob,” Shen Yan mused, but he was not the least bit alarmed. With his unmatched strength in the Qi Refinement realm, unless hundreds came at once and exhausted the spiritual essence in the Heavenly Emperor Seal, no one could kill him.
“Is this an ambush laid by robbers, or is it someone behind Wu Qi?” He pondered silently, abandoning the idea of using the immortal crane and proceeded on foot.
Meanwhile, in a patch of woods ahead, Wu Qi knelt before a burly cultivator.
“Wu Qi, does that man really carry over a thousand spirit stones?”
“Master, I’m on good terms with the Treasure Pavilion’s gatekeeper—he told me. This man purchased a Heart of the Spirit Eye.”
“A Heart of the Spirit Eye? So he’s cultivating earth techniques, and to trust you so easily—he must be a newcomer.”
“You’re absolutely right, master.”
“Big brother, I found out earlier that he came from the other side of Pillar Mountain. This is the only route he can take. Should we set up an array first?”
“Second brother, shut your mouth. I told you to use your head, but you never listen. How can we set up a hidden formation in such haste? Are you a second-tier array master?”
The burly man scolded, then ordered, “He’s only mid-stage Qi Refinement. The three of us are late-stage Qi Refinement. He’ll be easy to handle.”
“But big brother, didn’t you always say a lion must use its full strength even to catch a rabbit?”
“That’s for late-stage or peak Qi Refinement opponents. If we scare him off and someone else gets him, we’ll lose out.”
“Big brother, second brother, stop arguing. He’s coming. Let’s act quickly before complications arise.”
…
The closer Shen Yan came, the more palpable the malice became. He quietly gathered his strength, ready to deploy the Profound Element Heavy Water as a shield at any moment.
“Whoosh!”
Suddenly, a massive boulder appeared out of nowhere, hurtling toward Shen Yan.
Primordial Ice!
Water Bullet Technique!
With a flick of his finger, Shen Yan released a blast of Primordial Ice, shattering the boulder completely.
The burly man who followed the boulder witnessed this and hesitated, his expression mixed with surprise and uncertainty. “Didn’t expect such a tough customer.”
But a sweep of his spiritual sense confirmed Shen Yan was only mid-stage Qi Refinement, so he called out, “Brothers, attack!”
The world of cultivation was indeed a place where the strong prey on the weak, fighting against fate. These robbers lacked the skills for cultivation arts and could only hunt spirit beasts for resources. Countless cultivators perished each year on Kunwu Mountain—spirit beasts were far from easy prey. Compared to that, being a robber was easier: set up a spy in the Little Lan Mountain marketplace, follow the trail, ambush travelers, and reap rich rewards.