Chapter 480: Fishing in Lu Country

Several days later.

Spring Wind Island, Shen Xuan’s Cave Mansion.

At dawn, when the morning sun first appeared.

The reception hall.

The Sea Dragon King, carrying the heavy Water Moon Sword, sat at the Jade Table, drinking Spirit Tea like a whale.

"Great tea!"

After drinking, he took out a Jade Scroll and placed it in front of Shen Xuan.

"True Master Lu’s Jade Scroll for you."

The Sea Dragon King chuckled, "He’s actually in a difficult position too. Mr. Shen, I hope you won’t take it to heart."

Shen Xuan scanned the Jade Scroll with his Divine Sense, a trace of surprise flickering in his eyes.

The Jade Scroll was a letter of recommendation addressed to Elder Alchemist Li Ying’an of the Hundred Flowers Sect in Lu Country.

This person is an experienced Tier Three Pill Master from the Hundred Herbs Sect, not only capable of refining Golden Transformation Pills but also having a high Pill Success Rate.

Generally, without special reasons, he would not refine Golden Transformation Pills for outsiders.

"A recommendation letter from True Master Lu to old Li of the Hundred Herbs Sect is worth half a Golden Transformation Pill."

True Master Lu had originally planned to seek out Alchemist Li to refine Golden Transformation Pills.

This time in magical combat, True Master Lu lost convincingly.

He even resorted to Divine Power but couldn’t do anything against Shen Xuan.

If they were to fight to the death.

His chances of winning were far less than Shen Xuan’s.

True Master Lu is old, with limited potential for gaining more power.

Shen Xuan is still young, with an unlimited future path.

True Master Lu was seeking reconciliation.

Using the recommendation letter from Alchemist Li of Lu Country to repair their relationship.

"Please thank True Master Lu on my behalf, Brother Hai."

Shen Xuan accepted the Jade Scroll.

This also signifies that the previous grievances between the two are written off.

Shen Xuan originally had no intention of becoming an archenemy with True Master Lu.

Ultimately, it was just underestimating his strength, attempting to control and keep him, using him for the Lu Family’s alchemy.

Such matters are commonplace for Cultivation Artisans in the cultivation world, especially for Pill Masters.

But Shen Xuan always prioritized his own combat strength.

The majority of Pill Masters eventually pledge allegiance to a cultivation influence for safety assurance.

"These are for you from him."

The Sea Dragon King took out another Jade Box.

Inside were various auxiliary materials for Golden Transformation Pills.

With sufficient age and good quality.

Shen Xuan naturally was not pretentious and stored them in his Storage Pouch.

"These herbs, True Master Lu asked me to bring and trade with you, saying it was previously agreed."

"Of course, True Master Lu instructed Brother Hai that this transaction is entirely at Mr. Shen’s discretion, without any pressure."

The Sea Dragon King took out a White Jade Box, opened it to reveal the main materials for Cold Jade Pills within.

"Seventy-two portions of Cold Jade Pill Spirit Medicine main materials, in exchange for ten Foundation Establishment Pills and five Life Extension Pills."

Shen Xuan accepted the White Jade Box, lightly chuckling, "Thank you, Brother Hai."

He took out two Medicine Bottles, separately containing Foundation Establishment Pills and Life Extension Pills, handing them to the Sea Dragon King.

"There’s one more thing True Master Lu asked me to tell you."

"Please speak."

"True Master Lu said, you’re welcome to settle in the Starry Sea, Mr. Shen and Mr. Zhuang. If you have any requests, feel free to directly ask him."

The Sea Dragon King chuckled, "Of course, you can also ask me to convey the message!"

Shen Xuan nodded, "I understand his intentions. Please convey to True Master Lu that everything will continue as usual."

"I am not an unreasonable person. True Master Lu’s goodwill is appreciated. When I return from Lu Country, I shall invite him for a visit."

"Sounds good!"

The two shared a smile.

...

Three days later.

The Flying Ship pierced through the morning fog.

Shen Xuan stands at the bow, gazing ahead.

Behind him is Zhuang Xueqin, maneuvering the Flying Ship.

Shen Xuan pondered for a long time, ultimately deciding to go to Lu Country for alchemy.

Since it’s a favor, why not make it substantial.

Zhuang Xueqin is at the stage of breaking through to Core Formation.

With Shen Xuan’s insight ability, Zhuang Xueqin has a great chance of forming a Fake Pill.

And like Shen Xuan, Zhuang Xueqin is from a loose cultivator background, without connections.

Both are renegade cultivators from the Cyan Cloud Sect.

They have been through life and death tests without betraying him.

If he can form a Fake Pill, he’d be a valuable assistant.

Many tasks could be entrusted to Zhuang Xueqin.

Sparing Shen Xuan a lot of time and energy.

Moreover, Shen Xuan originally planned to visit the Hundred Flowers Sect in Lu Country.

To see if he could purchase Life-Extending Pill ingredients.

Even if the price is somewhat high.

After all, his agreement with the Bai Family ancestor is nearing its deadline.

Without any special reasons.

Shen Xuan is still willing to keep his word and fulfill the promise.

If possible, Shen Xuan also wishes to try and obtain the Golden Transformation Pill inheritance.

Of course, this endeavor is quite difficult.

Shen Xuan isn’t holding out great hope.

A batch of Golden Transformation Pill materials, if the Pill Master performs well, more than one pill might be refined.

Premium ones might even appear.

If only one pill is refined.

Shen Xuan might reluctantly bargain for it with Zhuang Xueqin.

If two pills are refined, that would be ideal.

Shen Xuan took out three Storage Pouches, belonging to the Foundation Establishment Disciples of True Intention Sect.

With a slight movement of his Divine Thought.

A thread of Spiritual Power struck the Storage Pouch.

"Crack!"

The seal on the pouch broke instantaneously.

Shen Xuan sat down, pouring out the contents of the three Storage Pouches.

Various Magical Treasures, Spirit Elixirs and Talismans, Cultivation Materials clattered in front of him.

Shen Xuan gathered the over ten thousand Spirit Stones.

Erasing the tracking imprints on the other Spiritual Objects one by one.

"These things, along with their three Magical Treasures, should fetch forty to fifty thousand Spirit Stones."

The cost for refining Golden Transformation Pills will definitely be astronomical.

True Master Lu’s letter can only request Elder Alchemist Li Ying’an.

The payment needs to be complete, without lacking even a single Spirit Stone.

"Let’s head to Tianze Immortal City first and deal with these trifles."

"Alright!"

Zhuang Xueqin checked the Geography Jade Scroll, maneuvering the Flying Ship towards Tianze Immortal City.

...

An hour later.

The two approached near Tianze Immortal City.

In a remote forest a hundred miles away.

"Wait for me here. I’ll be back shortly."

Right in front of Zhuang Xueqin.

Shen Xuan employed the Illusion Technique, transforming into a burly man with a full beard.

The Spirit Stones were slightly insufficient.

Shen Xuan attempted to see if he could fish for something.

Tianze Immortal City was governed by the Wanxiang Sect, one of the nine sects of Lu Country.

The Wanxiang Sect’s inheritance was quite diverse, covering alchemy, artifact refining, beast taming, planting, and puppetry technique, among others.

However, it was extensive but not refined.

Among the nine sects of Lu Country, it was considered the lowest.

Shen Xuan came to Tianze Immortal City to fence stolen goods.

He particularly chose Wanxiang Sect’s disorderly management, a mix of good and bad elements.

It would make it easier for him to fish.

Shen Xuan referred to himself as the Loose Cultivator "Shen Dahai" and entered Tianze Immortal City after registering.

He walked along the main street of the Immortal City.

Finally, he stopped in front of a gorgeously decorated building.

A golden plaque, with exquisite calligraphy, displayed the words "Hundred Treasures Pavilion."

"Hundred Treasures, means everything but nothing fine."

He took another look at the main entrance of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, repeatedly examining it to confirm the absence of the Wanxiang Sect emblem.

This meant it was not a sect store.

"That’s good!"

Generally speaking, spiritual objects sold in cultivation shops are bought at a discount.

The Hundred Treasures Pavilion fit his requirements for fencing stolen goods.

He needed to quickly get rid of these stolen items.

If someone tracked him, and he managed to fish them, that would be even better.

Relatively speaking, larger stores have better credibility.

But if the wealth is substantial enough, the credibility of the business becomes less important.

This time, the stolen goods Shen Xuan carried were worth four to five hundred thousand Spirit Stones.

If the shopkeeper developed evil intentions, they might still take action, even if it meant damaging their reputation.

The premise being, Shen Xuan’s strength couldn’t be too strong.

At this time, Shen Xuan displayed the strength of the middle stage of Foundation Establishment.

As soon as he entered the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, someone came forward to greet him, "Fellow cultivator, looking to purchase anything? I can introduce a few things."

"Do you buy magical treasures and spiritual elixirs and talismans here?"

Shen Xuan asked back, his voice loud and hearty.

"Of course, we do. Please follow me."

The attendant led him into the back of the shop.

A chubby shopkeeper greeted him.

"I am the shopkeeper of this Hundred Treasures Pavilion, named Hu Qibao."

"I wonder what items this fellow cultivator wishes to sell?"

Shen Xuan didn’t say much more.

He poured all the spiritual objects belonging to the three Foundation Establishment disciples of the True Intention Sect onto the table.

Especially the late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator and Golden Core inheritor, Zhao Mingcheng.

The flying sword magical treasures he used were of excellent quality, Tier Two Upper Grade.

His storage pouch contained numerous Tier Two spirit pills and talismans.

If these spiritual objects were priced at their original value, they’d be worth nearly a million Spirit Stones.

However, since they were stolen goods, they certainly wouldn’t sell for that price.

Shopkeeper Hu’s eyes lit up when he saw the spiritual objects before him.

Immediately, he picked up his abacus, pen, and paper, and started calculating.

"A shopkeeper in the late stage of Foundation Establishment. This Hundred Treasures Pavilion does have some background."

Shen Xuan watched shopkeeper Hu calculate with nothing better to do.

All the spiritual objects had been discounted by sixty percent.

Before long, shopkeeper Hu finished his calculations and handed them to Shen Xuan to see.

"Fellow cultivator, please take a look. I’ve already calculated the purchase price for these spiritual objects."

"There’s nothing wrong with the items."

Shen Xuan frowned and said, "But this price..."

"This price is quite fair!"

Shopkeeper Hu said with a smile, "According to the rules of the trade, old goods shouldn’t exceed forty percent of their original price."

"I’m giving you thirty percent; it’s a fair price."

After speaking, he stared intently at Shen Xuan, with the divine sense of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"This..."

Shen Xuan seemed to be intimidated.

After a long pause, he stammered, "Shopkeeper Hu, these three flying sword magical treasures are all of premium quality. And these pills, talismans are far from their expiration dates."

"These spirit medicines and refining materials are all good things."

One must admit, the disciples of the True Intention Sect were far more generous than ordinary cultivators.

Shen Xuan didn’t want the hassle, too lazy to find an artifact refiner for refurbishment.

Otherwise, these three flying sword magical treasures alone could sell for five to six hundred thousand Spirit Stones.

Shopkeeper Hu nodded.

He picked up the pen and made a few more adjustments on the spiritual paper.

Then, he handed it to Shen Xuan.

"You are an honest person. How about this, the swords at forty percent, the others at thirty-five percent. This is the highest price."

Shen Xuan glanced at it.

Totaling three hundred sixty-seven thousand Spirit Stones.

Although the price was somewhat low.

It was still acceptable.

"Alright."

Shen Xuan pondered for a while.

He finally accepted shopkeeper Hu’s offer.

He put the spirit stones into his storage pouch and cupped his fists toward shopkeeper Hu.

"Thank you, shopkeeper Hu, for your help. I shall take my leave."

Shen Xuan bid farewell and left.

At this moment, shopkeeper Hu’s voice called out, "Fellow cultivator, please wait!"

"What is it? Does shopkeeper Hu need something?"

Shen Xuan had a puzzled expression.

"It’s nothing. Would you like to have a look around? All the spiritual items here come from the Wanxiang Sect, and we have everything you might need."

"If you wish to purchase, I can make the call to offer a ten percent discount."

"Ten percent discount!"

Shen Xuan seemed obviously tempted.

"I wonder if there are any alchemy spirit medicines available?"

"Of course, there are."

Not long after, the attendant brought over the Hundred Treasures Pavilion’s list of spirit medicines.

The prices were quite steep.

Shen Xuan glanced at it and regretfully said, "Unfortunately, there’s none of the spirit medicine I need."

"What kind of spirit medicine does the fellow cultivator need?"

Shen Xuan shook his head.

"Forget it, it’s getting late, I should return!"

"Alright, let me see you off, fellow cultivator."

Just a moment ago.

When Shen Xuan was checking the spirit medicine list.

The attendant, when he got close, placed two different kinds of tracking marks on him.

A late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, just a store attendant, who would believe it?

Shen Xuan waited for his tricks to be done.

Then he took his leave.

After leaving the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, Shen Xuan didn’t delay for a moment.

He made his way toward the Tianze Immortal City’s main gate.

After exiting the city gates, he deliberately slowed his pace.

As he walked seven or eighty miles out of the Tianze Immortal City’s range.

The two figures tracking him revealed their magical treasures and flew on artifacts, increasing speed to catch up.

"Fellow cultivator, please wait."