The layout of the Azure Pill Market was much like the other large market towns Luo Chen had seen.
Without lingering at the shops opened by the various clans, Luo Chen took the token Tao Yisheng had given him and walked straight into a tall, classically styled pavilion.
Gaoyang Tower!
This was a relatively high-end trading venue in the market town. Those attending had to be at least early Foundation Establishment cultivators.
When Luo Chen arrived, many Foundation Establishment cultivators were already inside, exchanging remarks or trading items.
Having kept his doors shut during this period, Luo Chen did not know many people. Naturally, he could not join in the mingling among cultivators, so he turned his attention straight to the trading.
"It's this straightforward?"
There were no auctions with convoluted procedures; trading in Gaoyang Tower depended purely on individual needs.
Some took the stage to shout their wares; others left messages on the jade wall in the tower specifying items they desired. There were also cultivators who bartered directly during their conversations.
Luo Chen watched for a moment, deep in thought.
Perhaps because the True Disciple Sword Tournament was drawing near, the goods traded at this gathering in Gaoyang Tower involved weapons and talismans more than anything else.
In just a short time, he saw several fine superior-grade magic tools change hands.
From time to time, magic treasures were even brought out for sale.
However, magic treasures—normally in high demand among Foundation Establishment cultivators—met with a surprisingly cool reception here.
At first, Luo Chen found it surprising. But seeing how unenthusiastic everyone else seemed, he soon understood why.
"Cultivators qualified to take part in the True Disciple Sword Tournament are mostly late Foundation Establishment grand cultivators. With what they have amassed over the years, obtaining one or two magic treasures is hardly a difficult feat.
"Just as Tao Wan said, magic tools and magic treasures are flooding the Jade Cauldron Domain right now. Even a small place like Dahe Market had magic treasures being traded back then, which shows just how widespread it's become.
"Besides, ordinary magic treasures cannot usually be used right out of hand; they often require a prolonged period of attunement before their full effect can be brought out.
"Offering them for sale in such haste now—aside from a few early Foundation Establishment cultivators looking to join the fray—hardly catches anyone's interest."
Looking at the neglected magic treasures, Luo Chen felt a faint stir of interest. But after learning a bit about their attributes and functions, he gave up on them. They were not suitable for him.
The Luotian Association currently possessed several magic treasures as well. Last year, Duan Feng had even finished forging one of the two magic treasure embryos left behind by the Duan family. Buying these would serve no great purpose.
Had there been a water-attribute magic treasure or a defensive one, he might have bought it without hesitation. Sima Huiniang, as director-general of the Luotian Association, was still lacking a handy magic treasure of her own.
"Perhaps I could trade the Nine-Ringed Khakkhara left by Wei Tuo for a water-attribute magic treasure?"
Just as Luo Chen was pondering this, an early Foundation Establishment cultivator suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs:
"One heirloom Life-Returning Pill! Anyone interested?"
As soon as the words "Life-Returning Pill" rang out, many people turned their eyes toward him in unison.
Upon seeing the man's face, someone laughed. "Liao Liang, out selling off family property again?"
"Indeed! Last time you sold off the magic treasure your ancestors left behind, and now you're even hawking this Tier 3 healing elixir capable of raising the dead. Truly selling the family fields without a shred of heartache!"
Faced with such mockery, Liao Liang looked awful, his face shifting from green to pale. But turning his head away, he ignored the jeering onlookers and continued to shout on his own:
"Is anyone buying? A Tier 3 Life-Returning Pill! As long as a single breath remains, it can bring you back from the brink of death and drag you out of mortal peril! If you suffer heavy wounds or your dantian qi sea is damaged, this pill can also restore and rebuild your dantian qi sea, repairing the meridians throughout your whole body!
"I want only spirit stones! Whoever offers the highest price gets it!"
Laughter continued to ripple through the crowd. More than a few people were explaining Liao Liang's background to friends who did not know the truth. It was the typical story: a fallen family, poor innate talent, requiring massive amounts of resources to aid his cultivation, so he frequently sold off family property for spirit stones to purchase cultivation supplies.
Amid the laughter, Luo Chen's eyes were fixed intently on that pill.
Just as Liao Liang had said, the medicinal potency of a Life-Returning Pill was utterly miraculous. It was renowned among Tier 3 pills and was one of the few wondrous elixirs in the cultivation world that could repair a cultivator's dantian qi sea.
Yet that was not the focus of Luo Chen's attention.
What caught his attention was the phrase "bring you back from the brink of death and drag you out of mortal peril"!
The Tier 2 spell he cultivated, Turtle Spirit Armor, possessed a miraculous effect upon reaching grand mastery: averting death and prolonging life. But that life-prolonging art carried a fatal drawback. Once used, if a method to revive the dying was not found within three days, the practitioner would still perish.
If he had this pill in hand, Luo Chen would possess an extra trump card for inescapable death traps!
"Still, buying it is likely to cost a fortune!"
Luo Chen muttered as he looked around. Although those people were mocking Liao Liang, when it came to bidding, they did not hold back in the slightest!
The price was quickly driven up past fifteen thousand spirit stones.
Such a sum genuinely rattled quite a few Foundation Establishment True Cultivators. Tier 3 pills were indeed expensive, but normally at the Spirit Herb Pavilion, a bottle cost only five to six thousand spirit stones. Divided per pill, that amounted to merely a few hundred. For a single Tier 3 Life-Returning Pill, someone had actually bid fifteen thousand. This far exceeded the expectations of many!
However, considering the miraculous effects of the pill, numerous Foundation Establishment True Cultivators still scrambled for it! Who wouldn't want such a pill when their life was hanging by a thread?
The price continued to surge!
Soon, it climbed past twenty thousand!
Whether because his purse fell short or because he intended to ruin Liao Liang's sale, a cultivator whose bid was just overtaken cursed loudly: "Fine then, fight over it all you want! Everything from the Liao family was scavenged by their ancestor from a thousand-year-old ruin. The magic treasures are decayed beyond recognition, and the pills have barely any potency left. I refuse to believe this Life-Returning Pill has any meaningful power remaining!"
With that, under Liao Liang's furious, spitting glare, he spread his hands and backed behind the crowd.
"Sha Yan, you!"
Before Liao Liang could curse back, he was cut off by the voices of other bidders.
"Is that true?"
"Could your Life-Returning Pill really be a thousand-year-old relic?"
"How much potency is actually left? Don't try swindling people with degraded pills!"
"Liao Liang, you're an inner disciple of Azure Pill Valley after all. Pulling a stunt like this would drag the sect's name through the mud!"
Faced with question after question and doubts from every side, Liao Liang's face flushed crimson. He forced himself to say, "Don't listen to his nonsense! Though this pill has been passed down for a thousand years, at least half its potency remains! It might not work on a Golden Core Master, but for Foundation Establishment True Cultivators like us, it will definitely take effect!
"You won't get burned, and you won't be cheated! I would never do anything to disgrace the reputation of Azure Pill Valley!
"If you don't believe me, go ask the Sect Master, the Perfected Person himself—he personally tested the potency of these Life-Returning Pills once!"
Once these words were spoken, the crowd's doubts subsided somewhat. However, the momentum of the bidding slowed noticeably.
Evidently, people still harbored doubts about the pill's efficacy, yet such an elixir could hardly be tested on the spot.
Seeing the bids taper off, despair seized Liao Liang's heart. He wished he could slaughter his bitter rival, Sha Yan, on the spot!
Once the price stalled at twenty-eight thousand, bids ground to a halt.
That price left Liao Liang deeply dissatisfied. He looked out at the others in Gaoyang Tower.
"Is anyone else bidding?
"Believe me, this pill still works! A Master from our sect's Grand Alchemy Court even bought several from me back then and managed to reverse-engineer a rough pill recipe from them!
"If you don't trust me, can you not even trust a Tier 3 alchemist of Azure Pill Valley?"
Yet the more he said, the less the onlookers believed him. His sales pitch had the opposite effect, dissuading potential buyers.
Even the Foundation Establishment True Cultivator who had bid twenty-eight thousand was beginning to feel regret.
Spending so many spirit stones on a pill with likely little potency left—wasn't that a terrible loss?
He even felt the gazes from behind him stinging like people staring at a fool.
It was precisely at this moment that a bid came from the crowd:
"Thirty thousand."
The calm, plain voice sounded like a lifesaver.
Liao Liang's eyes lit up instantly.
This price had reached his bare minimum. Outwardly, however, he still wore an unsatisfied expression—and indeed, he truly was not satisfied. After cajoling the room a few more times and seeing no other bidders step forward, he somewhat ruefully handed the pill over to the young man clad in a red fire-cloud Daoist robe.
"Fellow Daoist, you really picked up a bargain of a lifetime!"
Luo Chen smiled without saying anything.
Whether it was a bargain or a loss was something everyone weighed for themselves.
Over these past days, he had discovered that although sect true disciples did not lack resources, they actually held very little liquid cash on hand. Tens of thousands of spirit stones remained a massive fortune to them; they could produce it, but it would sting deeply.
By comparison, this sum was a mere drop in the ocean to Luo Chen. Spending a modest amount of coin for a potential life-saving measure was by no means a bad deal.
After receiving the pill, he gave it a brief inspection. The pill fragrance still lingered faintly around him, though its precise potency was hard to verify right now. At the very least, it proved residual medicinal power remained.
He would examine it thoroughly once he returned!
Luo Chen put away the pill and, paying no heed to the stares of others, squeezed his way over to a jade wall.
The wall was densely inscribed with transaction listings, mostly left behind by Foundation Establishment cultivators who could not remain here for long periods. This practice had originated from the way missions were dispatched within sects.
After browsing for a while, Luo Chen spotted quite a few good things—items rarely seen in Dahe Market or Tianlan Immortal City.
For example, Tier 2 Meridian Protection Pills that assisted in Foundation Establishment, Fiend-Flushing Pills that cleansed baleful qi from the body, and so on. Most were sold individually!
Major sects claimed that valuable items were not allowed to leak outside, but in reality, they simply barred large-scale outflows. When it came to their disciples' petty dealings that skated along the rules, the elders turned a blind eye.
These items were of little use to Luo Chen himself, but he could purchase them to take back for the Qi Refinement cultivators of the Luotian Association.
"In recent years, the cultivators in the Luotian Association have failed Foundation Establishment time and again. With the help of these items, perhaps a few more Foundation Establishment cultivators can emerge.
"Come to think of it, Caiyi is also approaching Foundation Establishment. Preparing a set of Foundation Establishment elixirs for her will always be beneficial."
Luo Chen did not pinch pennies and promptly conveyed his intent to purchase to the Gaoyang Tower cultivators attending the wall.
After all, it cost merely a trifling sum of spirit stones.
Yet his extravagant spree of repeated purchases drew stares from the Azure Pill Valley cultivators on duty in Gaoyang Tower. They were astounded by his wealth, yet also privately sneered at him as an unworldly bumpkin who wanted to buy everything in sight.
Luo Chen paid no heed to those looks.
Not only did he reserve numerous resources he intended to buy, but he also listed the earth-attribute Nine-Ringed Khakkhara left by Wei Tuo on the jade wall.
He specifically requested a water-attribute magic treasure in exchange. Any price difference could be negotiated in person.
By the time he finished all this, a long time had passed.
Luo Chen glanced at the sky outside and, having no intention of staying longer, prepared to depart Gaoyang Tower.
"Well, look at that—it really is you!"
A familiar voice reached his ears.
Just as Luo Chen was about to head downstairs, he turned his head and saw an old acquaintance.
"What are you doing here?"
Chu Kui chuckled. "If you can come, why can't I?"
From those brief words, Luo Chen faintly grasped the reason for his presence.
His gaze naturally drifted toward the dignified, imposing man beside Chu Kui.
The other man was sizing him up as well.
"Brother Chu, aren't you going to introduce us?"
Chu Kui looked at Luo Chen, and seeing no objection, enthusiastically introduced both sides:
"This is He Yuanqing, true disciple from the Yuxuan He clan!
"And this is Luo Chen, the Fire Spirit Lord of Danxia's Luotian Association!"
He Yuanqing had never heard of any Danxia Luotian Association; he assumed it was just some minor faction over in Tianlan Immortal City. Still, the fact that the man held a Daoist title meant he surely had some substance.
He Yuanqing could not see through Luo Chen's true cultivation realm, but he gave him a friendly nod nonetheless.
"Greetings, Fire Spirit Lord. If you ever have free time, feel free to visit Mount Yuxuan for a chat."
Luo Chen returned the courtesy. "True Disciple He is too kind."
Seeing that the two had become acquainted, Chu Kui said to He Yuanqing, "Go on with your business; I'll take a walk outside with him. The goods here are too expensive—old Chu can't afford any of it."
He Yuanqing smiled, shook his head, and did not press them to stay.
He watched Chu Kui and Luo Chen head down the stairs together.
Then, he summoned an attendant.
"Find out for me what background this Fire Spirit Lord Luo Chen has, and who invited him to Azure Pill Valley."
...
Along the long street of the Azure Pill Market, two figures strolled side by side, the moonlight stretching their shadows long.
"You're a consecrated elder of the He clan now?"
"Only temporarily. You know how it is—I've got seven or eight consecrated elder titles from various cultivation families hanging over me. Once this True Disciple Sword Tournament ends, that identity is gone."
"Tsk, tsk. To move someone like you, He Yuanqing must have paid quite a hefty sum of spirit stones!"
"Heheh, just turning a small profit, a small profit!" Chu Kui smiled smugly, then looked at Luo Chen. "What about you? Who invited you here?"
Luo Chen retrieved a medallion from his storage pouch and waved it before him.
"The Nanshan Tao clan?"
Chu Kui froze for a second. "That woman Tao Wan invited you?"
Luo Chen asked with curiosity, "You know her?"
Chu Kui stared at Luo Chen as if looking at an idiot.
That expression made Luo Chen unconsciously knit his brows. Had he overlooked something?
Suddenly, he recalled the time when he had first arrived at Tianlan Immortal City.
Xu Xiaoliu, who had served as his guide, had introduced the customs and local affairs of Tianlan Immortal City, specifically mentioning the rankings on the Prodigy Roll atop the Dao Discussion Platform.
It was also back then that he had first heard Chu Kui's reputation as the number-one Foundation Establishment rogue cultivator in Tianlan.
Thinking carefully, when Xu Xiaoliu introduced the top ranks of the Prodigy Roll, he had indeed mentioned Tao Wan's name.
Ranked third, behind only Lin Qingxuan of the Sword Sect, who had swept through the ten great immortal cities, and the Ice Soul Fairy, Dao Seed of the Ice Fort.
Tao Wan could not have swept through all ten immortal cities herself, of course. The main place where she tempered her combat prowess was presumably Tianlan Immortal City.
During that process, she would naturally have encountered someone like Chu Kui.
Having figured this out, Luo Chen was no longer surprised by why Chu Kui looked at him like that.
He said helplessly, "Since you know her, how would you evaluate her combat prowess? Does she stand a chance of securing the position of Azure Pill Valley's Dao Seed this time?"
Evaluating combat prowess?
Chu Kui's interest was piqued at once!
Clasping his hands behind his back and assuming the grand airs of a sect patriarch, he began holding forth with great swagger.
Chapter 332