Chapter 85: Premium-grade Beast Spirit Pill
Tianxuan City.
“Heard that back at the Sea Abyss of Beasts, Master Lu and his spirit beast, the Blackwater Turtle, slew two third-rank demon beasts.”
“Goodness! A third-rank beast is equivalent to a Golden Core realm beast!”
“No wonder he's Master Lu.”
“Hehe, it’s said that this upcoming auction in Tianxuan City will feature third-rank demon beast cores.”
“I heard that Master Lu is hosting this auction to prepare for his disciple's Golden Core.”
On the streets and alleys, cultivators everywhere were discussing the auction to be held in six months.
It was already lively now. Not only within the borders of Yue Kingdom, but even business associations from neighboring nations were flocking here.
Watching the increasingly bustling atmosphere within the Immortal City, Lin Changan, walking along the trading street of the marketplace, secretly nodded to himself.
“As expected of the top rogue cultivator in Yue Kingdom, such presence is truly remarkable.”
Merely announcing an auction had stirred all of Yue Kingdom and even influenced its neighboring countries.
Witnessing this scene, Lin Changan couldn’t help but feel envious. Golden Core cultivators not only enjoyed a lifespan of five hundred years, but more importantly, possessed divine powers that could shake heaven and earth.
Every word and deed could alter the structure of a nation.
“Being a rogue cultivator is inherently difficult, but those who’ve reached this stage are all formidable figures who command respect in their own right.”
One had to admit: as long as a rogue cultivator could make a name for themselves, their combat experience and methods generally surpassed disciples from sects or clans by at least thirty percent among cultivators of the same realm.
“A late-stage third-rank Blackwater Turtle—spirit beasts indeed bring a significant boost to a cultivator’s own strength.”
This top rogue cultivator of Yue Kingdom, Master Lu, earned more than half of his fame thanks to the Blackwater Turtle. Thus, Lin Changan’s heart burned with longing.
Though he had not chosen to raise a Blackwater Turtle back then, he did have an Azure-Horned Bull.
“The Azure-Horned Bull has been well-raised over the years. It's only one step away from advancing to second-rank. Once I have a second-rank spirit beast for protection, my own safety will greatly increase.”
Nodding to himself, Lin Changan thought that demon beasts of the same rank were generally stronger than cultivators. If the Azure-Horned Bull advanced successfully, it would be of significant help to him.
A second-rank spirit beast—this was a luxury that even ordinary sect disciples couldn’t enjoy.
“Though the auction is still half a year away, second-rank Beast Spirit Pills aren’t as rare as Foundation Establishment Pills. My journey is still long. There’s no need for the Azure-Horned Bull to use a low-grade Beast Spirit Pill to break through.”
With that thought, Lin Changan headed toward the Zhou Clan.
Many people knew he was raising an Azure-Horned Bull, so there was no need to keep it a secret—especially now that the Azure-Horned Bull was at a critical stage of its breakthrough.
There was no need to look far when he had resources nearby. Moreover, establishing ties with the Beast-Taming Zhou Clan was also beneficial to a rogue cultivator like him.
It was a mutually beneficial arrangement.
...
“Brother Lin.”
After arriving at the Zhou Clan's main hall, Zhou Bingyun had tucked away her mischievous demeanor and personally poured him tea with elegance and grace.
Beside her, the Zhou Clan's patriarch, Zhou Renmao, smiled warmly at him, raising his teacup in greeting:
“Fellow Daoist Lin, this is freshly harvested spirit tea.”
“Then I’m truly basking in Fellow Daoist Zhou’s favor.”
Lin Changan also smiled and nodded. Ever since their previous transaction involving a Foundation Establishment Pill, the relationship between both parties had been harmonious.
After all, he was a rogue cultivator, and the Zhou Clan also wished to befriend a second-rank Talisman Master like him. With no conflicting interests, they naturally treated each other as friends.
Savoring the top-quality spirit tea, Lin Changan couldn't help but sigh—only after becoming a Foundation Establishment cultivator could one truly enjoy the privileges of status.
“Fellow Daoist Zhou, to be frank, I came this time to purchase a Beast Spirit Pill.”
Setting down his teacup, Lin Changan smiled and stated his purpose. After all, business was business, and the Beast-Taming Zhou Clan often exchanged such items for resources.
Upon hearing this, the Zhou Clan patriarch, Zhou Renmao, showed a face full of guilt and cupped his hands in apology:
“This matter arose due to our Zhou Clan’s poor oversight. We allowed word of this transaction to leak, causing Fellow Daoist Lin such great trouble.”
Though Lin Changan had not brought up the previous incident, as the head of the clan, Zhou Renmao understood clearly that this was their responsibility.
If the information hadn’t leaked, Lin Changan’s Beast Spirit Pill wouldn’t have been forcefully seized.
Hearing this, Lin Changan secretly thought to himself: as expected, there was a problem within the Zhou Clan. Otherwise, how could Huang Shaohai have known?
In fact, the Zhou Clan had suffered even greater losses. If they still hadn’t conducted an internal investigation over the last spirit beast incident, the Beast-Taming Zhou Clan wouldn’t have reached its current standing.
“Patriarch Zhou is being too courteous.”
“No, this is indeed the fault of our Zhou Clan. Not long ago, my daughter mentioned this matter. Coincidentally, our clan recently refined a premium-grade Beast Spirit Pill. Please accept this as compensation.”
It had to be said, in the current chaotic climate, both sides were eager to forge stronger ties, which made this transaction all the more agreeable.
In the end, Lin Changan traded a low-grade Beast Spirit Pill along with several quasi-second-rank talismans in exchange for this premium-grade Beast Spirit Pill.
And Zhou Clan’s patriarch, Zhou Renmao, wore a broad smile on his face—this deal was well worth it.
Lin Changan was not only a Foundation Establishment cultivator and a second-rank Talisman Master, but he was also on close terms with the Ice Fairy Yun Yao of the Palace of Blazing Fire and served as a guest elder of Tianxuan City.
He was certainly worth the Zhou Clan’s efforts to befriend.
More importantly, they had come to understand Lin Changan quite well—be it from his interactions at the Bamboo Mountain Marketplace or with the Zhou Clan’s Second Bull—he was someone who valued gratitude and repaid kindness, not one who forgot loyalty for profit.
The fact that he had not abandoned his former Qi Refining companions even after achieving Foundation Establishment was proof enough.
...
After leaving the Zhou Clan, Lin Changan headed toward the marketplace’s trading district.
“Premium-grade first-rank healing pills, fair trade for all.”
“Freshly butchered meat from a late-stage first-rank demon beast…”
The bustling marketplace stirred a sigh from Lin Changan. Items that were rare and hard to find back at the Bamboo Mountain Marketplace could now be seen everywhere in Tianxuan City.
“No wonder the Zhou Clan has stood firm for centuries without decline.”
Walking through the streets, Lin Changan nodded to himself. Forming ties with the Zhou Clan suited his interests—after all, it didn’t matter who he sold his quasi-second-rank talismans to.
Now that he had a premium-grade Beast Spirit Pill in hand, he needed to look for one or two auxiliary spiritual materials to prepare the Azure-Horned Bull’s breakthrough upon returning.
“According to what Bingyun said, spirit beasts differ in type and attribute, so the auxiliary spiritual materials required for breakthroughs also vary. I already traded two spirit herbs from the Zhou Clan earlier, but just to be safe, I’d better look for one or two more.”
As Lin Changan calculated inwardly, he realized that the current chaos meant his cultivation wouldn’t improve significantly anytime soon. To enhance his strength, aside from increasing his cultivation, he could also rely on external items.
And those external items included spirit pets and magical artifacts.
Top-grade magical artifacts, due to the addition of numerous treasure-grade materials, were also referred to as spirit artifacts.
Each spirit artifact was valued at no less than 500 mid-grade spirit stones, with the flying needle-type spirit artifacts, recognized as the most difficult to refine, often fetching nearly 1,000 mid-grade spirit stones at auction.
At present, he wanted to buy a flying needle-type spirit artifact, but he didn’t have that many mid-grade spirit stones in his storage pouch.
“There’s still half a year until the auction. I must save enough spirit stones for a spirit artifact before then. But the most urgent matter now is the Azure-Horned Bull’s breakthrough.”
After pondering for a moment, Lin Changan began planning how to improve his strength to better face the looming crisis.
In this, he had to thank Huang Shaohai—because of him, Lin Changan had begun preparations half a year in advance.
And he had always remembered this matter deep in his heart.