Chapter 327: Qinzhou Alley
Translator: Sissy That Walk
More than a month later, in the Country of Da Xuan, a massive canyon winding and entrenching at the junction with Yun Chuan Continent, it was bustling like any other peaceful area.
At the moment, an ordinary young man dressed in a gray robe was pacing in a stone street in the canyon, peering the shops on both sides of the street as he walked.
It was Liu Ming who had left the Banki Sect.
Liu Ming headed straight for Qinzhou Alley after knowing it from Gui Ruquan.
As a matter of fact, Qinzhou Alley, one of the three trade squares jointly set up by the sects of Da Xuan, was an alley of great reputation in Yun Chuan Continent compared with Weizhou Alley from old days.
This was because Qinzhou, where the Xuan Chuan Mountains were located, was closely adjacent to Yun Chuan Continent. In recent years, due to the battles and the pressure from the powerful Sea Race, the sects in Yun Chuan Continent had formed a union and jointly established Yun Chuan League, thus the relations among the sects were not as hostile as ever before.
Therefore, cultivators from Continent often came to Qinzhou Alley to trade, who brought many special items that the the Country of Da Xuan didn’t have thus it attracted many rouge cultivators and families, making the place bustle and alive.
The whole city was east-to-west in the canyon, whose buildings were either high or low in forms of storied houses and cabins. And all systems of facilities went great.
By the way, whereas the the Country of Da Xuan was jointly set up by five sects, a smaller part of the city was under the personal supervision of the disciples of Jiu Qiao Sect as it was the nearest one to the Sect, while the other part was leased to families and rouge cultivators doing business here.
Liu Ming did not get into the canyon a few days ago when coming down nearby but he changed into a gray robe, putting all the items that could be recognized as one of Banki Sect away, making himself look like an ordinary rouge cultivator.
At this time, Liu Ming had sold the skin of the Fiendish Python and its several tusks obtained at the Suppressing Demon Tower in Yuan Mo Sect to several shops, in exchange for about 50,000 to 60,000 spiritual stones.
Although the skin belonged to a beast of Liquid Advanced Stage, it was quite a fitful refining material for Soft Armor. However, it was not a quarter as good as Liu Ming's Red Dragon Leather Armor. By the way, the Python’s tusks were not much in number, thus he sold it all after considering for a while as he already had several good spiritual weapons additionally.
Even so, the fiery eyes of these shopkeepers had expressed how precious the items were.
After all, there were not many beast of Liquid Stage across Yun Chuan Continent, not to mention the one between Liquid Advanced Stage to Advanced-crystal Stage.
As for the fist-sized Fiendish Python’s eye, Liu Ming had handed it over to an alchemist of Liquid Stage, who was well-known in the trade market, to refine the alchemist’s pills "Wu Hua Pill".
He had studied alchemy-refining from Fan Baizi in capital of the Country of Da Xuan. Fan signified that python’s eyes was a main material of middle-staged pills, which could be used to improve one’s eyesight, to an extent of seeing through fog within several tens of meters and was rather effective in cracking some matrix and dreamland.
The eye was from a Fiendish Python in Liquid Advanced Stage. Although the eye itself could improve eyesight, it was not as effective as a refined one. By the way, Liu Ming had enough experience in alchemy, with a success rate of 70% to 80%. However, he was at a complete loss as to what to do with Wu Hua Pill as it was an alchemist’s pill. It was better to leave it to an experienced alchemist.
A little while later, Liu Ming came to a small attic in the northeast corner of the city. He narrowed his eyes and stepped in at once.
"Senior Qian, elder Liu has been waiting for a long time. Please come with me." As soon as Liu Ming entered, a scholar-dressed man at middle age greeted him with a smile ear to ear and made an obeisance by cupping one hand in the other before chest to Liu Ming.
With a slight nod, Liu Ming followed the man through the attic, along a gravel path behind the building, and came to the front of a cave about six-to-seven meters high built along the mountain.
The man took out a wand and swept it toward a depression near the door, which opened slowly and immediately there was a faint smell of pills came from inside.
"Senior Qian, elder Liu left a word to me that you can come in directly, he’s waiting in the pill hall. Please."
"Thank you."
Liu Ming kept his countenance and nodded, then he got into the hole alone, in which was a three-meter-wide lobby in front of him after crossing a corridor, and there were several other channels that seemed to be an altogether different world.
At a round stone table centered the hall, an old man dressed in linen with a gray beard was holding a reddish pill. He was looking at it intently while his satisfaction and joy were beyond description. There was an oblong jade box placed in the table.
"You’re indeed a punctual person. This is the Wu Hua Pill you requested me to refine."
Seeing Liu Ming come in, the old man changed his complexion and made a simple greeting. It was seen that the jade box on the table flew to Liu Ming after his pushing toward the void.
Liu Ming reached out and caught it. As opening the lid, he caught sight of three reddish pills that were the same as the one he had seen from the old man while smelling a strong and refreshing fragrance.
"Yeah, I’m wholeheartedly grateful this time."
Seemingly the Wu Hua Pill had come through, Liu Ming was carried away by a burst of joy. He glanced at the pill on the old man's hands and then paid respect to him.
"The eye of a Fiendish Python in Liquid Advanced Stage is truly rare, and the Wu Hua Pill, though a middle-stage pill, is far better than an ordinary one. As for its specific utility... You’ll know after taking one or two. According to our promise, I would take one of them as a reward no matter how many I refined. "
The old man nodded and explained, then looked back at the pills in his hand.
Liu Ming casually put the jade lid into his storage talisman and took his leave.
Later on, Liu Ming went directly back to the temporarily rented inn, then took out several colorful matrix flags and inserted them into all corners of the room. After forming a sign, he took out the jade box from the storage talisman.
Opening the jade box, there were three reddish pills lying in, with its refreshing fragrance rushed into his nose.
Liu Ming muttered to himself, then took out one and put it in mouth.
As soon as the pill was taken, it melted into a sweet warm flow, hereupon a warm feeling leaped from his belly and rushed straight into his eyes.
Liu Ming was rather comfortable as his eyes were embraced coolly and refreshingly.
He opened his eyes a few hours later, feeling refreshed, then looked to the sky out of the window, feeling like he could see through clouds.
"The Wu Hua Pill of an ordinary refined python’s eye in the Liquid Primary Stage can enable one to see through the fog within meters, while the Liquid Advanced Stage 100 meters."
Liu Ming savored its sweet fragrance and was greatly satisfied with its effectiveness.
Liu Ming took out a storage talisman and shook it toward the jade box, which was closed up after a white flash. Then Liu Ming took out another storage talisman and shook it toward the ground where several meters-sized big bags appeared then.
He opened one of the bags, for which the temperature inside the room plummeted instantly as a cold current flowed out, and it was seen that it was filled with dark-red fine sand inside.
"It surely lives up to its reputation as a great trade square connecting to the Continent, from which I acquire these Yin-attributed ‘red sand’. It’s sustainable for half a year together with the materials I recently got."
Liu Ming was overjoyed at the dark-red fine sand in the bag that packed up by him after a short look. And finally he sat cross-legged.
A few days later, Liu Ming gained two brown balls made of Iron Ape Puppets when he came out of the "Jiu Qiao Pavilion" set up by Jiu Qiao Sect.
Referring to the puppets, which were accidentally found by Liu Ming in the first day he came to the canyon. He passed by the "Jiu Qiao Pavilion" and learned that the city was adjacent to Jiu Qiao Sect, then he found a shop here which provided customized business for all sorts of puppets.
It cost him a lot of course, after all, the puppet refining of Jiu Qiao Sect in the Yun Chuan Continent had developed a school of its own.
It was quite beckoning to Liu Ming, who then put in thousands of spiritual stones to customize two Iron Ape Puppets and promised to take them in half a month.
He had learned and mastered some basic puppet control methods in the capital of the Country of Da Xuan, though it cannot be compared with methods of Jiu Qiao Sect, it was more than enough to meet his needs of the two custom puppets.
Then Liu Ming came to the gateway of the canyon and left in a flash.
Half a month later, above a mountain range stretched far away, a blue swift boat was flying at a height of more than 300 meters in an isolated place south of the Country of Da Xuan.
On the front end of the swift stood a young man in a gray robe with his hands clapsed at back. It was no other than Liu Ming.
After a green flash, the swift boat stopped at the foot of a mountain, and Liu Ming, who stood there, looked around and narrowed his eyes slightly.
It was far away from major sects inland, at which the spirit environment of course was certainly not comparable. But fortunately, everyone could stay away disturbance in such a sparsely populated place.
Besides, the Dragon and Tiger Hell Method that Liu Ming was practicing now was less demanding in terms of vitality,, mainly relied on long-term external forces but not spirit.
Watching the boat for a while, Liu Ming nodded with satisfaction, and then he plunged into the mountain as soon as one glimmer of light flashed.
Liu Ming opened a hole in an obscure rock wall in a small misty canyon in the mountains easily, and then he released a Golden Spirit Sword. With a flash of golden light, a long and narrow channel appeared, leading straight to the mountainside.