Chapter 181: Chapter 178: Escorting Again
It had to be said,
the Earth Vein Spiritual Milk had been of immense benefit to Shen Changchuan!
Although at first,
Shen Changchuan had been filled with envy, jealousy, and resentment toward the scions of the great Immortal Cultivation Clans who relied on their wealth and endless elixirs,
in this past year,
he had, for all intents and purposes,
become one of those very elixir-guzzlers himself.
In fact,
over the course of the year,
he had consumed more elixirs, and more expensive ones at that, than many of the direct heirs of the great clans!
After all, an elixir like the Cyan Essence Purifying Spirit Pill, which improved one’s foundation and strengthened the Divine Soul, was something that couldn’t be bought even with Spirit Stones.
But precisely because of this,
a significant amount of residual Medicinal Power, Elixir Poison, and hidden injuries had accumulated deep within his body—remnants from the violent scouring of his Dantian and meridians.
The human body has a natural ability to recover and automatically expel impurities like Elixir Poison.
However, the rate at which Shen Changchuan consumed elixirs had clearly exceeded his body’s self-healing threshold.
Although these traces of residual Medicinal Power, Elixir Poison, and hidden injuries were small, they would have eventually built up, becoming a major obstacle when the time came to break through to the Soul Emergence Realm.
But the appearance of a natural treasure like the Earth Vein Spiritual Milk solved everything!
’Compared to the Earth Vein Spiritual Milk’s ability to transform one’s body and improve physical aptitude, its power to cleanse the body, Dantian, and meridians, solidify my Magical Power foundation, and refine my physical form is undoubtedly far more important to me!’
Recalling the moments he spent soaking in the Earth Vein Spiritual Milk,
Shen Changchuan mused.
Now, having been tempered and cleansed by the Earth Vein Spiritual Milk, his entire body felt light and refreshed.
He wouldn’t go so far as to say he had achieved a Purity Body,
but he was definitely in much better shape than before he had started using elixirs for his Cultivation!
This also meant
that for a good long while, he could once again rely on elixirs to rapidly increase his power.
’Now that I’ve advanced to the Eighth Layer Middle Stage and the Earth Vein Spiritual Milk has solved the problem of my unstable foundation, my next step is to quickly find a way to advance to the Ninth Layer Realm, and even the Soul Emergence Realm...’
If he wanted to advance quickly, elixirs were the obvious choice.
It was almost time for the major merchant associations to transport their goods. The rainy season would be here soon.
With the generally Low-Tier Cultivator guards in the caravans, they likely had no way to deal with the mountain leech plague that came with the rains...
It was time for him to head to Qing City as well.
He could see what elixirs the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion had that could accelerate his Cultivation in the Eighth Layer Realm.
As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Shen Changchuan quickly formed a rough plan for the future.
"Well... in that case, it would be rude of me to refuse!"
Nangong Cheng was visibly conflicted for a long moment. In the end, unable to resist the temptation of flight that came with controlling a Flying Demon Beast via the Beast Taming Secret Technique, he gritted his teeth, made his decision, and accepted the Jade Slip.
At the same time, however,
he etched this debt of gratitude deep into his heart.
...
Dawan Village was growing more prosperous by the day.
Since the Wu Family Collection was still sealed off, this season’s summer harvest of Spirit Grain could not be sent there for sale.
Meanwhile, the various Minor Immortal Cultivation Clans scattered across the region lacked the means to transport their Spirit Grain all the way to Qing City.
As a result, Dawan Village, which hosted several merchant associations, became the go-to destination for many of the surrounding small cultivation forces.
A massive influx of goods, such as Spirit Grain and spirit medicines, began to converge on Dawan Village.
Loose Cultivators from all over entered the village to set up stalls and sell their various gains,
causing Dawan Village to gradually transform into a veritable Immortal Cultivation Marketplace.
In the process,
the major merchant associations made a fortune,
and Dawan Village’s own profits were just as substantial.
Even after paying all its members and covering expenses—especially the compensation for the few Qi Introduction Late Stage Cultivators who, bearing a grudge against the Blood Slaughter Three Demons, had volunteered to help repay a debt of gratitude—the remaining income was still extremely high.
It was only natural to compensate them; even though they had volunteered out of gratitude, you couldn’t just let people work for free.
After deducting all these expenses,
his grandfather, Han Qinhu, still presented Shen Changchuan with a net profit of 3,600 Spirit Stones!
This was a sum of Spirit Stones that not even Shen Changchuan could easily ignore.
Of course,
it wasn’t all benefits with no downsides.
Aside from security issues arising from the surge in traffic,
the most pressing issue was that after such a prosperous period, the Immortal Cultivation-related goods transported to the temporary trading posts by the major merchant associations were almost completely sold out.
Therefore,
when Shen Changchuan made his appearance,
the Shopkeepers of the major merchant associations, including Si Houqing, all had faces beaming with joy.
His presence meant
that through Shen Changchuan, they could contact the renowned prodigy Zhang Qingyuan—a man capable of challenging those above his own realm—
and have him escort their caravans from their main base in Qing City to Dawan Village!
To this end,
the merchant associations privately gave Shen Changchuan another five hundred Spirit Stones as a facilitation fee.
Their only hope was that Shen Changchuan would notify the man as soon as possible.
This left Shen Changchuan a bit speechless.
However, after seeing the bustling scene in the eastern part of Dawan Village, with a constant stream of Cultivators coming and going from the temporary trading posts, he could understand their eagerness.
He didn’t delay for long.
After bidding farewell to Nangong Cheng,
he publicly announced to his subordinates that he was entering secluded cultivation once more.
In secret, however, he used the Transformation Technique to assume his Zhang Qingyuan persona, then mounted Xiaofeng and flew to Qing City, arriving within a day.
Upon arriving in Qing City, Shen Changchuan first sent a message to the general manager of the United Trade Team.
After that, he headed toward the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion.
"Does your esteemed pavilion have any cultivation elixirs that can be used by a Cultivator at the Qi Introduction Eighth Layer Realm?"
"Of course. For an Eighth Layer Realm Cultivator, we have the Qi Tempering Pill, the Qi Condensing Pill, the Purple Gold Pill... Which one might you be looking for, sir?"
"Please tell me the price and function of each."
"The Qi Tempering Pill is refined from numerous precious Spirit Medicines, including Centennial Spirit Ginseng and Terrain Dragon... It costs seven hundred Spirit Stones per pill and is the most common Cultivation Elixir used by Cultivators of the Qi Introduction Eighth Layer Realm. As for the Qi Condensing Pill..."
After the manager from the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion had finished introducing all the various elixirs that could be used by an Eighth Layer Realm Cultivator,
Shen Changchuan couldn’t help but gasp internally.
’So expensive!’
The cheapest elixir for the Eighth Layer Realm cost over seven hundred Spirit Stones for a single pill!
And the most expensive, the Purple Gold Pill, was more than twelve hundred Spirit Stones apiece!
That figure
was enough to make even Shen Changchuan wince in pain!
’The journey from the Eighth Layer Early Stage to the Eighth Layer Peak requires an even greater increase in Magical Power, which means I’ll need more elixirs, and the cost will be even higher... As I thought, this path of guzzling elixirs really isn’t meant for ordinary people...’
