Chapter 27: Poverty-Stricken to the Point of Eating Dirt

"A mere Taiyuan Sect, yet so arrogant, ptooey!"

Once Xu Chen and the other two went up to the second floor and disappeared from sight, the youth in fine clothing could not help but spit toward the flower pond.

But in the world of cultivation, strength is respected; he was only at the entry level of the Kaiyuan Realm, and even Xu Chen was significantly stronger than him, not to mention Jiu Shixiong, who was already in the late stage of the Kaiyuan Realm. Therefore, although he felt disdain, he could only grumble behind their backs.

Of course, as the premier Immortal Sect of the Song Kingdom, Yuqing Hall would not fear the Taiyuan Sect, but the Immortal World has its own rules and decorum; unless necessary, one would not provoke a conflict.

If they were to fight over a mere few words, leading to conflict and friction between the Immortal Sects, he, a mere outer disciple at the entry level of Qi refining, would likely be beaten into a pulp by his elders in a heartbeat.

Furthermore, cultivators value peace of mind; they usually mind their own business in their cultivation, and even exchange and verify many cultivation techniques, spirit pills, and magic treasures with one another, so they are even less likely to act on impulse.

Generally, disputes between cultivators occur mostly among low-level disciples of the Kaiyuan Realm, while true cultivators at the Zhenyuan Realm and above, who have undergone Foundation Establishment, focus their energy on cultivation. As for those powerhouses of the Danyuan Realm and Spirit Realm Great Cultivators, they have already begun to detach themselves from the mortal world, ignoring worldly affairs and focusing solely on the Dao, constantly climbing the path to longevity, and are even less likely to participate in meaningless disputes.

Xu Chen and the two others ascended to the second floor and scanned the area with their Divine Sense, discovering that there was nothing of value inside; even the few items with fluctuations of Spirit Qi were merely ordinary spirit medicines and spirit materials.

The items on the second floor were likely the spirit medicines the shopkeeper of the pill shop had mentioned earlier.

It was just a pity that these items held almost no attraction for cultivators like Xu Chen who came from a true Immortal Sect.

Thus, the three of them went straight to the third floor without stopping.

Greeting them on the third floor was an elderly man with graying hair, though his cultivation was already at the late stage of the Kaiyuan Realm, and his body was surging with Yuan Qi.

"So it is the three Daoist Friends from the Taiyuan Sect. Please forgive me for the late welcome!"

The old man was quite courteous, welcoming the three into a tea room with a face full of smiles. After introducing themselves and taking their seats, a young disciple in Daoist robes soon served fragrant tea.

Jiu Shixiong was not reserved either; he picked up the teacup, sniffed it a few times, took a small sip, and said, "Good tea, it is actually Yufu Fragrance. Many thanks."

The old man laughed heartily and said, "Daoist Friend Lu, you flatter me. It is but a cup of humble tea, not worth mentioning."

Zhao Xuan had not said much the entire way, holding her cup with both hands and drinking the tea quietly.

Xu Chen knew even better that he had only come down the mountain to learn and observe, so he was even less inclined to talk. Smelling the curling tea fragrance, he felt his soul tremble slightly. He could not help but take a sip; as the hot tea entered his mouth, he immediately felt a sweet, refreshing fragrance. As the tea entered his stomach, it actually dispersed a trace of Yuan Qi into his internal organs, which then slowly flowed into his Eight Extraordinary Meridians. He could not help but gulp the tea down in a few swallows, then silently circulated his profound technique to guide the Yuan Qi into his dantian.

Seeing the way Xu Chen drank the tea, Jiu Shixiong smiled and said, "Little Junior Brother, sip it slowly. To drink like a cow is a waste."

Xu Chen set down his teacup, still wanting more, and said, "I didn't expect the tea to be this delicious; it's almost as good as a Small Yuan Pill. Yuqing Hall truly lives up to its name as the number one Immortal Sect in the Song Kingdom."

The old man waved his hand, smiling as he had the female disciple pour another cup for Xu Chen, while saying, "Daoist Friend Xu, you praise it too highly. A mere humble tea, how could it be compared to a spirit pill? In truth, we usually have no time to prepare such things, but this time, for the Emperor's hundredth birthday, the outer sect brought a pound or two over. I didn't stand on ceremony and secretly kept a few ounces to entertain the Daoist Friends from Immortal Sects who came to show their support. If the three of you had come a few days later, I fear I would only have been able to serve you ordinary tea."

Seeing the old man being so courteous, the displeasure the three felt earlier vanished. They chatted about this and that while drinking tea. Once the pot of tea was finished, the three rose and followed the old man to the adjacent display room to view the spirit materials and spirit medicines on display.

The display room was large, occupying a full half of the floor. The items placed inside were not many, but they were all common and useful items in the cultivation world.

Seven or eight types of spirit pills were all stored in jade bottles, with labels reading Small Yuan Pill, Great Origin Pill, Gathering Qi Pill, True Fire Pill, Jade Wind Pill, Clear Spirit Pill, and there was even a bottle of Guiyuan Pill. Although they were all first or second-grade spirit pills, they still made Xu Chen's heart pound.

Aside from the Small Yuan Pill and Great Origin Pill, he had never seen the others, and there were even two types he had never heard of at all.

The three looked through them carefully, finally stopping in front of the Guiyuan Pill.

Jiu Shixiong said with an envious face, "Yuqing Hall is indeed wealthy; even such good items are brought out for sale."

The old man smiled slightly and said, "The Guiyuan Pill is indeed quite precious; there are only two pills here. The sect elders say that as the leader of the Immortal Sects in the Song Kingdom, Yuqing Hall should provide some help within its power to Daoist Friends from all sides. We ourselves lack the better spirit pills, but these are still relatively common, so we can put some out for trade."

Jiu Shixiong pointed at the Guiyuan Pill and asked, "Then how much for this Guiyuan Pill?"

The old man said, "Fifty Spirit Stones per pill, or an exchange of spirit materials or spirit medicines of equal value will also do."

Jiu Shixiong nodded and said, "The price is not expensive, but do you have any Heqi Pills?"

The old man immediately gave a bitter smile and shook his head, saying, "The effect of the Heqi Pill is heaven-defying; it is exactly what Daoist Friend Xu needs. However, the main ingredient for refining the Heqi Pill, the Seven-Star Golden Toad Slough, is hard to find in this world, rarer than many second-tier or third-tier spirit medicines. I don't fear being laughed at by you three, but our Yuqing Hall has not refined any Heqi Pills for several years now."

Zhao Xuan could not help but say, "I heard that Yuqing Hall has a Seven-Star Golden Toad, so why would you be lacking?"

The old man waved his hand and sighed, "Don't mention it. After several generations of breeding, the quality of that golden toad has degraded year by year. The toad slough from recent years has been useless. Such a heaven-and-earth spirit creature is not something you can raise well just by having it. We at Yuqing Hall have spent quite a lot to cultivate and breed the Seven-Star Golden Toad, but we still haven't succeeded. I myself once had the possibility of breaking through to the Zhenyuan Realm, but unfortunately, without a Heqi Pill, I could only use a Guiyuan Pill as a substitute. After taking the pill twice and failing both times, I had to give up. Feeling that there was no hope staying on the mountain, I requested to come to Jingshi to look after the Treasure Pavilion, and thus waste the rest of my life."

Jiu Shixiong nodded with sympathy, "We who cultivate and seek the Dao, if our spirit pills and spirit medicines cannot keep up, we can only regretfully stop. Sigh, enough, let's not talk about this. We don't lack ordinary spirit pills for now; let's look at something else!"

Xu Chen curled his lip slightly, thinking to himself that the Taiyuan Sect's Medicine Garden was gone, yet they claimed not to be lacking. It was just a pity that they lacked Spirit Stones even more. Based on the three's current assets, they couldn't afford a single pill here, so they could only put on a brave face and talk big.

The old man did not mind, smiling and nodding as he led the three to the next display room to look at the spirit medicines, spirit materials, and magic treasures.

These items were likewise common varieties. Of course, there were many that Xu Chen did not recognize, and even Jiu Shixiong and Zhao Xuan had never seen them. Thus, the old man briefly introduced their names and uses. When they reached the magic treasure area, the three immediately became much more interested.

Although the types of magic treasures were diverse and their materials were a hodgepodge, they could generally be divided into four categories.

One category was offensive magic treasures, such as Flying Swords, and of course, there were also knives, spears, hammers, halberds, axes, hooks, forks, bows, and arrows, and even messy varieties like gourds, flying ribbons, and handkerchiefs.

Another type was defensive magic treasures, most of which were Array Disks, but there was no lack of strange shapes like clothing and ornaments.

The third category was auxiliary magic treasures; the varieties were very mixed, but they were basically dominated by talismans.

The fourth category, while also considered auxiliary, was very unique: storage magic treasures. This did not just refer to Storage Bags, but also more advanced equipment like Spirit Beast Bags, rings, or bracelets.

As for other magic treasures with unique functions, they could also be roughly classified into these four categories.

However, since they were magic treasures, there were no cheap ones.

Even a first-grade magic treasure cost at least thirty Spirit Stones, and anything slightly decent was over a hundred Spirit Stones.

The best magic treasure in the Treasure Pavilion was a second-grade Flying Sword, which contained over ten powerful arrays and came with wind and thunder attacks, but the price was also jaw-dropping, requiring a full three hundred Spirit Stones.

Three hundred Spirit Stones—if the three of them, junior and senior siblings, were sold, they probably wouldn't be worth that much money.

Thus, the three could only swallow their saliva and state that they had only just arrived in Jingshi and had come specifically to pay a visit, and that they would naturally come back to purchase and trade when they had a need.

The old man naturally expressed that they were welcome at any time. Before they left, he actually gifted each of them a bottle of Small Yuan Pill and personally escorted the three outside the main gate of the Treasure Pavilion on the first floor, at which point they bid each other farewell.

"Junior Uncle, the Taiyuan Sect is so poor they're eating dirt; it's obvious they can't afford anything, so why did you give them so many spirit pills?"

Watching Xu Chen and the other two walk away, the youth in fine clothing stood behind the old man and muttered in complaint.

The old man waved his hand gently and said, "There is an inside story to this. I was merely following the instructions of the sect elders; it's just to build a bit of goodwill in advance."

The youth in fine clothing was stunned and said, "The Taiyuan Sect only has a single Elder at the Danyuan Realm who can be considered to have some strength, but in our Yuqing Hall, he's nothing. What kind of goodwill is there to build?"

The old man glared and said coldly, "You have a lot of nerve, calling it 'a mere' Danyuan Realm Elder. The number of Danyuan Realm cultivators in the entire Great Song can be counted on two hands. Moreover, Danchenzi is on the verge of advancing; perhaps before long, he will be a Great Cultivator of the Spirit Transformation Realm. With a Spirit Realm powerhouse presiding over a dojo, do you really expect him to fawn over a small cultivator like you at the Kaiyuan Realm?"

The youth in fine clothing was shocked, his eyes wide, and he exclaimed, "Danchenzi is about to reach Spirit Transformation?"

The old man waved his hand and turned, saying, "This is news passed down by the Seventh Elder; I imagine it cannot be false. Half a month ago, Danchenzi went to Yuqing Hall to pay a visit to the Supreme Elder, Baiyun Zhenjun, requesting help to refine a furnace of Ziyun Pill."

"Ziyun Pill?" The youth in fine clothing kicked the steps and nearly fell flat on his face.

"You are still a cultivator; what kind of decorum is it to be shouting and screaming?"

The old man scolded in a low voice, then stroked his beard and said slowly:

"Ziyun Pill is a top-grade fourth-rank Spirit Pill. If used to assist Spirit Transformation, it will surely lead to success, and it will also bring unexpected, immense benefits. I fear that after forming the Nascent Soul, one's strength will leap forward by a great margin, perhaps even stepping into the Spirit Transformation Mid-Stage in one go."

"Currently, Great Song only has four Spirit Realm cultivators. Three are in my Yuqing Hall, but aside from True Monarch Chixia who has reached the True Spirit Realm, the other two Supreme Elders only have cultivation at the early stage of Spirit Transformation. If Danchenzi breaks through to the Spirit Transformation Mid-Stage, even my Yuqing Hall would not dare to easily offend him!"

The youth in magnificent robes flushed red and said, "Then we can just have the Supreme Elder refuse to help refine the pill; I fear my Yuqing Hall is the only place in all of Great Song capable of refining fourth-rank pills. Besides, even if it were refined, wouldn't it be better to just tell him it failed? We could then keep a fourth-rank Spirit Pill for ourselves and help our own sect gain another Spirit Realm Great Cultivator."

The old man's face twitched with anger, and he scolded, "What utter nonsense! Do not speak such words again. If this were to spread, how could my Yuqing Hall maintain its standing in the Immortal World? Furthermore, at the level of the Supreme Elders, do they care about such petty gains? All things have karma; once the Dao heart cannot suppress greed, one's future path of the Dao will inevitably be severed. Besides, the Spirit Medicine and immortal herbs for refining Ziyun Pill are hard to find in this world. Every time one appears, there is inevitably a phenomenon of heaven and earth. My Yuqing Hall has not been able to gather the ingredients for Ziyun Pill in hundreds of years. If we dared to embezzle them for our own use, how could the world not know?"

The youth in magnificent robes was stunned for a long time and said, "Since the ingredients for Ziyun Pill are so hard to find, why is Taiyuan Sect able to gather them?"

The old man thought for a moment and said, "I have heard that Taiyuan Sect possesses a Four-Tier Soul-Returning Wood; it must have blossomed and borne fruit. The main ingredient of Ziyun Pill is the Soul Returning Fruit. Even if they cannot refine the Ziyun Pill, refining a slightly inferior third-rank pill would still be able to assist in Spirit Transformation. It is just that Danchenzi has greater ambition, which also shows he is full of confidence in his own strength. Although successfully achieving Spirit Transformation brings a violent increase in strength—a leap of a thousand miles that cannot be compared to the Danyuan Realm—it also hides immense danger. For an ordinary Danyuan Realm cultivator, successfully forming the Nascent Soul is a success, but he certainly wants to go even further."

The youth in magnificent robes curled his lips in defiance and said, "Taiyuan Sect is so high-profile; aren't they afraid that someone will covet the Soul Returning Fruit and snatch it away?"

The old man was so angry he nearly vomited blood, and furious at his lack of wisdom, he said, "If True Monarch Baiyun did not know, that would be one thing, but since he knows, surely no one will dare to make a move. If this Ziyun Pill is successfully refined, I fear it will also be a rare opportunity for advancement for him; he might even enter the Spirit Transformation Mid-Stage because of it. Who would dare to snatch it? You? Hmph, in the future, when you see Daoist Friends from Taiyuan Sect, you must be respectful, or I will beat you to death."

The youth in magnificent robes immediately fell silent, not daring to make a sound.

Even if he dared to snatch it, and even if he snatched it back, what would greet him would likely not be a reward, but being slapped into a pulp of meat by True Monarch Baiyun.

For those who cultivate the Dao and seek immortality, the higher their cultivation, the more indifferent their temperament becomes. It is not that they do not understand worldly affairs, but that they do not wish to stain their Dao heart with greed and mundane matters. Only by maintaining a clear and non-action-oriented mind can their cultivation continue to progress. If the disciples of the younger generation become stumbling blocks on their path to longevity, they are likewise their enemies, and slapping them to death is the most refreshing solution.