Volume 5 Chapter 28

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Volume 5 Chapter 28: Preparation (Part 3)

Hearing Xu Qingfan’s words, Gu Fulu was slightly taken aback.

"Could it be that I was mistaken?"

Looking at the various magical pills on the table, Gu Fulu couldn’t help but secretly speculate.

On this day, the "Treasure Pavilion" wasn’t doing business. Earlier, he had allowed Xu Qingfan to enter, thinking that Xu Qingfan was a scout for some important guests. However, when Gu Fulu mentioned potential trouble, Xu Qingfan quickly insisted on doing business, clearly not wanting to linger. He swiftly presented the items for trade, giving the impression that he was genuinely there just for business.

Gu Fulu’s surprised expression flickered for a moment and then returned to normal. He began to carefully sort and examine the pills on the table. He observed their colors, opened jade bottles to sniff their scents, or took out a pill to touch with a finger and taste, identifying their effects before setting them aside.

By the time Gu Fulu finished identifying all the pills, an hour had passed. He appeared calm, showing no signs of concern about the arrival of important guests. In contrast, Xu Qingfan, though composed outwardly, felt a growing sense of urgency as time went on.

Finally, after reviewing all the pills Xu Qingfan brought, Gu Fulu looked up and smiled at Xu Qingfan, saying, "Taoist friend, the pills you brought, although many of them are crafted by strange and cruel methods, are highly effective and rare in the cultivation world. Their value even exceeds the artifacts you brought last time."

Xu Qingfan nodded slightly, understanding the nature of these pills from the sinister methods of the purple-robed individuals, and said, "Please, Steward Gu, explain each to me."

Gu Fulu nodded with a smile and pointed to two black jade bottles, saying, "These are called ‘Soul Eating Silk.’ They are not pills but resemble magical tools. They require the miasma of the Southern Wasteland, the poison sands of the Western Desert, and the spirits of a thousand wronged souls to forge just one. Once Spirit Qi is infused into these black pellets, they transform into countless invisible black threads that drift within a radius of ten miles. Anyone who inhales them within that area will have their life force continuously drained by the ‘Soul Eating Silk.’ An ordinary person would die in three days from energy depletion. With these two bottles, containing a total of forty ‘Soul Eating Silks,’ one could easily destroy a small country. The only drawback is that they have no effect on cultivators above the Inedia Stage."

Then, Gu Fulu pointed to the green jade bottle beside the black ones and continued, "Inside this bottle is the antidote for the ‘Soul Eating Silk,’ which is even harder to make, requiring spiritual beads from the Eastern Sea and the fresh blood of a thousand people."

After a pause, Gu Fulu added with a smile, "Despite its drawbacks, the ‘Soul Eating Silk’ remains the most valuable of these items and can be greatly useful in certain situations. The two bottles of ‘Soul Eating Silk,’ together with the antidote, are worth about two thousand five hundred spirit stones."

Listening to Gu Fulu’s explanation, Xu Qingfan was secretly shocked, realizing he unexpectedly possessed such a sinister item. He had thought the pills in his hand were merely poisonous, yet he didn’t anticipate they could be so malevolent, capable of easily destroying a kingdom once used.

After pondering for a moment, Xu Qingfan recognized that the "Soul Eating Silk," despite its great power, was of no use to him. So, he nodded and said, "I’ll sell the ‘Soul Eating Silk’ to Manager Gu."

Gu Fulu smiled and nodded. Even though the "Soul Eating Silk" was very powerful, he seemed unconcerned, placing the two bottles of "Soul Eating Silk" and its antidote aside. Then he pointed to a green bottle and said, "This one doesn’t contain pills either, but ‘Six-winged Golden Beetle’ eggs. Apart from the ‘Soul Eating Silk’, these are the most precious, valued at about one thousand one hundred spirit stones."

This time, Gu Fulu did not explain the characteristics of the "Six-winged Golden Beetle," since unlike the "Soul Eating Silk," it was well-known in the cultivation world. Once hatched, these demonic insects are bloodthirsty and ruthless, with powers comparable to low-tier mid-level demon beasts, and they love to burrow into human brains to absorb brain matter. They are also extremely fast, making them difficult to guard against.

However, the "Six-winged Golden Beetle" was still not what Xu Qingfan needed, so he merely nodded slightly to indicate this could also be sold to Gu Fulu.

Subsequently, Gu Fulu placed the "Six-winged Golden Beetle" eggs aside.

Besides the "Six-winged Golden Beetle" eggs and "Soul Eating Silk," what remained in the jade bottles were genuine pills. Some were for healing, like the "Jade Ointment," although not as effective as the "Blood Spirit Pill" Xu Qingfan possessed. Others, like the "Bone-Eating Liquid," were harmful but useless to Xu Qingfan. There were various other pills meant for stabilizing cultivation or calming the mind against internal demons. Yet most of them were either surpassed by the pills Xu Qingfan had or unsuitable for him.

Only the two white jade bottles obtained earlier from "Zhang Si" contained "Heavenly Sense Pills," which were extremely helpful to cultivators like Zhang Ningmei in refining Divine Sense.

Additionally, there was a red jade bottle containing the "Giant Spirit Pill," which aided cultivators below the Condensed Core Stage in absorbing and refining the world’s Spirit Qi. Its effectiveness surpassed that of other pills Xu Qingfan had previously acquired from a "Medicine King Valley" cultivator in the market. It was beneficial both to Zhang Ningmei and Bai Yu.

After putting the three bottles of elixir back into his sleeve, Xu Qingfan smiled and said, "These remaining elixirs and artifacts aren’t useful to me, but I can sell them to your esteemed pavilion. Kindly have Manager Gu calculate a price for them."

Gu Fulu nodded with a smile, first glancing at the bottles and jars before closing his eyes in thought. After a moment, he opened his eyes and smiled, "The price for these artifacts and elixirs is roughly around five thousand five hundred spirit stones."

Xu Qingfan nodded slightly, not expecting to get so many spirit stones, considering he initially thought two thousand would be a good amount.

Despite this, Xu Qingfan’s face remained calm as he said, "This time, besides selling these elixirs, I also wish to find a top-quality Earth-level defensive artifact. Could Manager Gu recommend one or two pieces from your esteemed pavilion’s collection?"

This Earth-level artifact was something Xu Qingfan sought for Ting’er. After her Core Formation, the "Azure Scale Bracers" and "Nimbus Cloud" he previously gave her, both Human-level artifacts, were no longer suitable. Compared to the "Magic Fire Technique" she practiced, which was powerful and required little in terms of offensive artifacts, she lacked defense measures. So, upon discovering he gained more spirit stones than expected, Xu Qingfan hoped to help Ting’er find an excellent defensive artifact.

Hearing Xu Qingfan’s request, Gu Fulu was slightly surprised, knowing Xu Qingfan had a strong bell-shaped defensive artifact, wondering why he needed another. Still, he didn’t ask further, just smiled and inquired, "Does the Taoist friend want a purely defensive artifact, or a multifunctional one with a focus on defense? Is it to be an advanced Earth-level artifact?"

Xu Qingfan nodded and said, "An advanced Earth-level artifact, pure defense."

Generally, at the same level, purely defensive artifacts offer higher protection.

Gu Fulu nodded slightly and said nothing more. He gently clapped his hands, and without any spoken words, three puppet maidens approached, each carrying a jade tray. On each tray was an artifact.

"These three magical items are the ‘Iron Wall Shield,’ ‘Phantom Spirit City,’ and ‘Night Charm Pearl,’ all are high-level Earth-grade pure defensive items. The ‘Iron Wall Shield’ consumes the least Spirit Qi when used, yet it also has the lowest defense power. The ‘Phantom Spirit City’ creates an illusion of a city when cast, offering the largest and strongest defense, but it consumes a great amount of Spirit Qi. The remaining one is the ‘Night Charm Pearl,’ consisting of seven pearls that surround the user. Although it has the smallest defense area, it is the most flexible and offers the strongest defense against single-target and Spirit Qi-condensing attacks, consuming a moderate amount of Spirit Qi."

Gu Fulu stood beside and explained each of the three magical items to Xu Qingfan.

But in reality, Xu Qingfan wasn’t paying close attention to Gu Fulu’s explanations. As soon as the three items appeared, his eyes kept focusing on the string of ‘Night Charm Pearl.’

The ‘Night Charm Pearl’ was deep purple like the night, with small flashes of light flickering inside, quickly fading away, resembling stars, giving an overall mysterious and enchanting feeling.

Xu Qingfan suddenly thought about how the ‘Night Charm Pearl’ matched Ting’er perfectly. Both were mysterious and captivating, mesmerizing to gaze upon yet daunting to approach, and the tiny glimmers in the darkness mirrored Ting’er’s solitary gaze.

Almost instantly, Xu Qingfan decided to gift this ‘Night Charm Pearl’ to celebrate Ting’er’s successful Core Formation.

Besides, as per Gu Fulu’s explanation, the attributes of the ‘Night Charm Pearl’ indeed suited Ting’er’s use.

"What is the price of this ‘Night Charm Pearl’?" Xu Qingfan asked.

"Three thousand five hundred spirit stones," Gu Fulu replied with a smile, looking very amicable.

Eventually, Xu Qingfan sold all his unused elixirs to Gu Fulu, receiving two thousand spirit stones and a "Night Charm Pearl" in return.

Seeing that he had achieved his goal for coming down the mountain and was fully prepared for his retreat, Xu Qingfan decided not to linger and prepared to say goodbye.

Despite Gu Fulu’s persistent attempts to persuade him to stay, Xu Qingfan and Gu Fulu reached the door of the "Treasure Pavilion." Just as Xu Qingfan was about to push the door open, he noticed Gu Fulu’s smile briefly freeze, then grow even broader.

Gu Fulu softly said, "The esteemed guests have arrived, it seems."

Then, he turned to Xu Qingfan and asked, "Taoist Friend Xu, are you interested in meeting these esteemed guests with me?"

His tone was full of intrigue and mystery.