[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-treasure-immortal-basin":3,"chapter-the-treasure-immortal-basin-the-treasure-immortal-basin-chapter-36":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Treasure Immortal Basin",{"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},2355219,4608,"Chapter 36","the-treasure-immortal-basin-chapter-36",36,"\u003Cp>The cold wind pierced the bones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, He Pingsheng was a cultivator; with a turn of his internal fire-element spiritual power, a warm current spread through his entire body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how heavy the snow or how fierce the wind, he felt no chill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An hour later, the paper crane landed directly at the entrance of the Mount Matou marketplace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Pingsheng paid no mind to this one or two uses of the paper crane, and simply tucked it away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He kept walking without pause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the weather was bitterly cold and snow still fell from the void, not a single cultivator had left his stall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Pingsheng arrived at the familiar middle-aged man’s stall, glanced at his elixirs, and asked: “How much for a Pill of Gathering Qi?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The middle-aged vendor glanced at He Pingsheng and failed to recognize him, saying: “Two spirit stones per pill. If you want a whole batch, I can give you a discount—twenty spirit stones!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Pingsheng silently extended his spiritual sense—and was stunned to discover he could now perceive the cultivator’s cultivation base.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qi Refining Stage Eight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Correct!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Pingsheng was stunned for a long moment: How was this possible?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the cultivation world, cultivators could only perceive others’ cultivation bases from higher to lower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Normally, one could at most see through the exact base of someone at the same level, never that of someone above oneself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet now, he saw it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was only Qi Refining Stage Four—how could he see through an eighth-stage cultivator’s base?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh…” He Pingsheng took a deep breath. He was certain this was due to the spiritual sense technique he had cultivated; there could be no other explanation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright… please hold two batches for me. I’ll go get something inside and be right back!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pointed toward the guild hall, then walked over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon he reached the [Fenghe Zhuang].\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this time, he did not enter!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, this was where True Person Kumu frequently traded; if the shopkeeper Liu recognized him, it would be a major problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beyond Fenghe Zhuang, shops lined the street in dense rows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He picked one at random and stepped inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shopkeeper was a bent, withered old man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Pingsheng dared not scan the old man with his spiritual sense; instead, he bowed respectfully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, using spiritual sense to scan others without permission was extremely impolite.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hello,” the old man smiled. “Young man, what are you looking to buy?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I have nearly everything you might need!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Pingsheng said: “I’m not here to buy. I’m asking, Master Shopkeeper—do you buy [Sunfire Flower] pollen?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh?” The shopkeeper raised an eyebrow. “In the dead of winter, you have Sunfire Flower pollen?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You must have cultivated it near an exposed geothermal vent, right?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Pingsheng’s heart skipped: Almost gave myself away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, the shopkeeper had already provided his own excuse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Pingsheng went along with it: “I’m not sure. My master cultivated it and sent me to sell it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man said: “Alright… show me. How much do you have?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Pingsheng replied: “Only two vials… here you go!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pulled out two jade vials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Too little!” The shopkeeper took the vials, opened the lids—and gasped in shock. “This… this… is mid-grade?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sssss…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Remarkable, remarkable! To cultivate mid-grade Sunfire Flower pollen in winter—truly impressive!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your master is a remarkable person!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, I’ll take these two vials of Sunfire Flower pollen.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man capped the vials and said: “Young man, did your master say how much he wants for them?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes were small but sharp, radiating shrewdness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Pingsheng put on a simple, innocent expression: “I don’t know. My master didn’t say.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man asked: “What sect are you from?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Pingsheng replied: “I come from the north.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He did not name his sect—he didn’t want to, to avoid trouble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, he couldn’t just make up a sect—that would invite exposure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saying “I come from the north” means I won’t tell you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You’d better understand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, alright,” the old man said. “By standard rates, one vial of low-grade Sunfire Flower pollen is worth about a hundred spirit stones.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yours are both mid-grade, excellent quality—we’ll give you three hundred.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Two vials, six hundred spirit stones total.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is that acceptable?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Pingsheng nodded: “Fine… just the normal price.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good!” The old man waved his hand toward the back. “Our shop has everything. Would you like to browse and buy something?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Pingsheng smiled: “No thanks. The spirit stones belong to my master—I wouldn’t dare spend them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Joking!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could he buy anything here?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Later, he’d buy elixirs, spirit herbs—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyone would know he was a lone cultivator, a rogue without a master.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wouldn’t that expose his lie?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright!” The old man brought a cloth sack and dropped it on the counter. “Six hundred spirit stones inside. Count them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t need to say that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Pingsheng had spiritual sense—he scanned it once, and the number was clear in his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each spirit stone was small, about the size of a jujube.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But six hundred of them were still a lot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Pingsheng had no choice but to sling the sack over his shoulder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he slowly walked out of the shop and strolled along the street.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no help for it—he had to walk around with the sack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He couldn’t just stand here in front of everyone and transfer the spirit stones into his Treasure Basin, then into his body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Pingsheng’s actions immediately drew many onlookers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But no one dared try to rob him—this was the Mount Matou marketplace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Pingsheng visited several more shops and bought many items.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seven-leaf spirit grass, spirit apricots, immortal bamboo shoots, red fruit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These were ingredients for [Pill of Gathering Qi]—he had to buy them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had a cauldron now; he’d try refining them when he returned. Maybe he’d succeed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He bought twenty portions of each ingredient.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, he couldn’t buy only spirit herbs—he needed elixirs too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He bought two batches of Pill of Gathering Qi from the shop, and another two from the middle-aged cultivator’s stall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, he had enough for the short term.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young brother!” the middle-aged vendor said. “You might also want to buy some [Pure Spirit Pills]. You’ll probably need them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Pingsheng asked: “What are Pure Spirit Pills?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The middle-aged vendor chuckled: “Young brother, you don’t know? Swallowing pills to cultivate is a shortcut—it lets you rapidly absorb spiritual power to fill your dantian. But every advantage has a downside. If you rely on pills too long, the pill toxins will accumulate in your body.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Over time, it harms your cultivation.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So cultivators take [Pure Spirit Pills] alongside pill consumption to purge those toxins.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh?” He Pingsheng rubbed his head. “Pill toxins?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They exist?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course they do!\" the vendor said. \"When refining pills, you can't completely remove all the impurities from the herbs. If there were zero impurities, wouldn't that be a supreme-grade elixir?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Pingsheng's brow twitched: \"So... supreme-grade elixirs contain no toxins?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Obviously!\" the vendor said. \"Naturally. But supreme-grade elixirs exist only in legend—who could possibly refine them?\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1185,"2026-06-21T04:08:57.694Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","bcf6eaac19d3b48e4d9926b80634a7ed6b89b7b91cdb97b234b16c2f71de72b1","the-treasure-immortal-basin-chapter-37","the-treasure-immortal-basin-chapter-35",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-treasure-immortal-basin-cover.jpg"]