[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals":3,"chapter-cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-chapter-38":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Cluster Artillery: Shattering the Immortals",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2342049,4578,"Chapter 38: Transaction","cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-chapter-38",38,"\u003Cp>The back courtyard gate swung wide open; Jiang Ding led Huang Deyou, followed by Han Lin and three other clerks, and for a moment, an air of solemnity emerged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lord Long has graced us with his presence—Jiang Ding failed to greet you in time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even from afar, Jiang Ding bowed and smiled: “I was away for two days, so I couldn’t meet you sooner—please forgive my lapse.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Master Jiang is too kind.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Long San was taken aback; he knew this young master came from an illustrious family, proud and aloof—men like Long Shi didn’t even merit a step from him—yet today he received such solemn welcome.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The herb collectors streaming through the shop froze when they saw Long San of the Four Seas Trading Company, suddenly raising their estimation of this humble general store.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two walked together into the back courtyard; Huang Deyou hurried to serve tea and stood several paces away with Long San’s attendants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He felt a flicker of shame—this tea was terrible, merely the coarse brew used for herb collectors; even ordinary households wouldn’t serve it to guests.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One attendant hurried over and whispered a few words beside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This novel is originally published; please go to the website to read it!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Normally, one doesn’t open gifts in front of the giver—but since he deliberately left the box half-open, it must have been intentional.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Long San leapt to his feet, eyes blazing with fervor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I have a business proposition—can you take it on, Lord?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What happened the other day was entirely the fault of the Four Seas Trading Company!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding took the token but said nothing about accepting the hundred-year ginseng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Long San drew a deep breath, seized the jade vial, and hurried away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside was none other than the hundred-year ginseng!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>！。\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the authenticity of the breakthrough elixir…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding smiled, took the square box, and casually opened it—his hand paused slightly at what he saw.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Long San’s heart leapt—he was indeed a man of great lineage, meticulous in manners.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Deal!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Currently, it only works if you deliberately channel internal energy; any vigorous movement or attack will nullify it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Blue Glow Butterflies…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding smiled, tucked away the hundred-year ginseng, and handed over a pale green jade vial of elixir: “This is the advance payment. The Four Seas Trading Company has thrived for centuries—surely you won’t disappoint me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding rose carefully and stepped out of the small courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After some polite exchange, Long San stood and bowed deeply: “The servant girl named Xiao Cui has already been dealt with by our company—her head won’t be brought to sully your eyes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t ask why he needed so many Blue Glow Butterflies—most noble ladies of the capital needed only a thousand pairs for their “Moon Palace Silk Robe.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There are no lingering side effects—just time needed to purge the elixir’s toxins, and it cannot be taken repeatedly within the same major realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m willing to offer six Small Void Breakthrough Elixirs to reach Inner Qi Great Completion, or two Void Breakthrough Elixirs to reach Inner Qi Perfect Completion.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Breakthrough elixirs! These weren’t mere aids like the hundred-year ginseng—most people lacked sufficient foundation; even that slight boost was useless, like in my case.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I need five hundred fifty thousand pairs of Blue Glow Butterflies—alive—and I must have them within three months.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you didn’t look closely, you’d instinctively overlook that a person was there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He believed that even if he misjudged, the company’s upper echelons wouldn’t blame him too harshly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding gripped the hilt of his waist sword; his aura flickered between bright and dim, at times prominent, at times like a withered tree—gradually weakening until it vanished entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for difficulty? Let it be difficult. “Good.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Long San murmured, not daring to give an immediate answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, he had agonized long before sending such a lavish gift. “Young Master, please speak.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had been stuck at Inner Qi Minor Completion for over a decade—no progress at all. If this deal went through, surely he’d get at least one pill for himself?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My humble abode is crude—forgive me, Lord Long.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Long San offered a half-opened gilded silver-inlaid square box with both hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not to mention his family background—just from what he knew, this man carried at least several thousand taels of silver; he didn’t have to endure such conditions—he simply didn’t care.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Long San trembled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even in the Immortal Sects, this was a qualitative transformation—belonging to the realm of spiritual herbs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding fell silent for a moment, closed the box, and placed it on the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Long San then presented a golden token, solemnly saying: “This is our company’s Golden Token—any holder may purchase any goods at an 80% discount at any branch across the Yue Kingdom!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This deal is too large for the Dongling Prefecture branch to handle—it requires the headquarters to send a large force, both to capture the butterflies and to deter rival factions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the fledgling eagle’s Inner Qi, the requirement is too high—while it could break through, it would destroy extremely delicate meridians, severing any possibility of forming a “Dao Body Prototype,” resetting cultivation to zero.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Four Seas Trading Company thrives in Yue because it has earned the trust of many powerful figures—and Jiang Ding, though young, is immensely powerful and suspected of having a grand background—he is precisely the kind of person worth great effort to cultivate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I am to be promoted to the headquarters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Long San’s mind held only one thought: he had bet correctly—the ancient trading principles passed down by his ancestors were truly priceless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Master, rest assured!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding said slowly: “I have no money. What I can trade are luminous pearls and breakthrough elixirs to reach Inner Qi Great Completion or Inner Qi Perfect Completion.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Little Concealment Art\" has been mastered! \"Not easy... after all these days, I've finally activated it without relying on reconnaissance camouflage.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding said calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ordinary martial heroes, even those least fond of wealth, would turn red-eyed at the sight of a hundred-year ginseng offering even slight aid to Inner Qi breakthrough—refusing to snatch it would be generous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Five hundred fifty thousand pairs… that’s too many,” Long San frowned. “Even if the purchase price of five or six thousand taels is secondary, Blue Glow Butterflies exist only in the Dongling Mountains—there’s no guarantee we could find them all even if we scoured the entire range.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the resource-poor mortal world, they were even more precious—a strategic commodity traded only among great powers, capable of slight realm breakthroughs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Too valuable—I cannot accept.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This matter is of great importance—I, Long San, as a member of the Four Seas Trading Company, must throw myself into it and test the elixir! The courtyard fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Immortal Sects, such elixirs weren’t expensive—five to ten thousand mortal coins could buy one, equivalent to three or five months’ wages for an ordinary person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding sighed, feeling his internal energy flow through his entire body, transforming along an intricate pathway, compressing his life aura to its absolute limit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A mere hundred-year spiritual ginseng—what is that compared to our Four Seas Trading Company’s centuries-long reputation?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Moreover, this is our company’s compensation to you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lord need not blame yourself—such petty individuals driven by greed are inevitable…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Long San smiled, deeply impressed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mountains need not be high to be famed—if immortals dwell there. With Young Master here, my humble abode is no longer humble.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And these were specialized breakthrough elixirs! He had only ever seen them at the company’s headquarters—only a handful of great powers like the Imperial Family, the Wolf God Cult, and the Green Ox Palace could produce them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At just past eleven, the shop was bustling—herb collectors, trained farmers, half-grown children, and women all lined up at the counter to exchange collected specimens.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After nearly a month of collecting, common weeds and insects could no longer fetch money; one had to go farther out, so prices had risen—each specimen now sold for three or four cash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Ding walked through the shop—no one glanced his way, not even the ever-sycophantic Huang Deyou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t that they couldn’t see a living person—it was as if he were a stone; unless he did something to draw attention, they would automatically ignore him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1387,"2026-06-20T23:34:14.007Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","57be7d001c5199f784b74ff7890c413d812daaebebe12ec79baaa2355dff181e","cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-chapter-39","cluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-chapter-37",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fcluster-artillery-shattering-the-immortals-cover.jpg"]