Chapter 147 - 142: Qingyuan Small Building, Obtaining Essence Blood Again
Chapter 147: Chapter 142: Qingyuan Small Building, Obtaining Essence Blood Again
However, almost no one dared to forcibly break into a residence within the Immortal City.
According to Fang Daming, there was once a Foundation Establishment Cultivator who, confident in his powerful Cultivation, broke into someone’s home in the middle of the night. He directly triggered the residence’s built-in Defense Array alarm, which summoned the Immortal City’s Law Enforcement Team.
Without any justification, they killed him on the spot.
This was because such an act struck at the very foundation of the Immortal City.
From that day forward, no one dared to even consider it, to touch that fatal red line.
That was the rumor, but Lin Changheng trusted in his own precautions more. For extra insurance, he added another Array.
He also set up the Luoqu Array, a Middle Grade Illusion Array, in the backyard to conceal two plots of Spirit Field that he had tilled and enriched with Spirit Soil.
He planned to transplant two precious Treasure Plants here, so he had to be cautious.
Lin Changheng even planned to acquire an Upper Grade Illusion Array to add on top of it, which would guarantee his peace of mind.
He planned to use the eastern and western rooms as an Alchemy Room and a Quiet Chamber, respectively.
On the left side of the front yard were two more plots of Spirit Field. Lin Changheng planned to casually plant some common Spirit Plants there as a diversion.
On the right, he dug a mud pit for the Black Armored Earth Turtle to rest and play in.
Once the arrangements were complete, he cast a Cleaning Skill to tidy up the entire residence, and with that, Lin Changheng officially moved in.
...
「Five days later.」
Inside his house, Lin Changheng set down his brush and stretched.
Three freshly written letters lay on the desk.
Over the past few days, he had brought his plans for the courtyard to fruition, and the residence now looked almost exactly as he had envisioned.
’Now that I’m mostly settled in, I can finally write to Feiyue, Zhao Li, and Fugui.’
It was a letter to let them know he was safe, but more importantly, to tell them his location so they could stay in touch.
Lin Changheng had thought it over carefully. ’These are relationships I don’t need to sever; I should maintain them.’
He grabbed the letters and rose to his feet, but then he paused. After a moment’s thought, he added one more.
...
After stepping outside, he turned to close the gate, activating the Restriction as he did so. His gaze swept over the plaque above the entrance.
It now bore the words: Qingyuan Small Building.
"Qing" was taken from a phrase meaning "eternal."
"Yuan" came from his Primordial Cauldron.
His first two ideas for a name had been "Eternal Green Villa" and "Primordial Beginning Small Building." But he later decided they were too conspicuous, likely to attract trouble, and didn’t align with his cautious approach.
So he simply took an element from each idea and combined them, which turned out much better.
Lin Changheng found a secluded corner to disguise his appearance before heading directly to the Immortal Post to mail his letters.
The Immortal Post wasn’t owned by Floating Immortal City, nor did it belong to the Purple Extreme Sect or Cyan Mist Temple. It was established and run by the most powerful force in the Song Country, the Extreme South Palace, with branches throughout the Song Territory connecting all corners of the land.
It provided a convenience for Cultivators, but it also allowed the Extreme South Palace to strengthen its control and surveillance over all other powers. In a way, the post stations were like pegs the Extreme South Palace had driven into the entirety of the Song Territory.
After mailing the four letters, Lin Changheng made his way to the Immortal City’s Marketplace district for a look around.
He was there for another key purpose: to scout the shops that sold Demon Beast Materials and procure some Demon Beast Essence Blood.
Instead, the first thing he found was a place to offload illicit Magical Artifacts.
"Shopkeeper, I have a few old Magical Artifacts I’ve swapped out. I was wondering if your shop buys them?"
Lin Changheng had done this before in the Cyan Spirit District, so he knew the ropes.
The Shopkeeper, busy behind the counter, didn’t even look up, apparently used to such inquiries. "We do, but the price won’t be high."
"How much?" Lin Changheng asked.
The Shopkeeper quoted him a standard secondhand rate.
Lin Changheng fell silent. It was about ninety percent of what he had estimated.
It wasn’t high at all; in fact, it was rather low.
’So that’s the going rate for fencing goods in the Immortal City,’ he thought. He didn’t sell anything and turned to leave.
’I just killed those people and took their treasures. It’s not a good time to sell; the risk of exposure is too high. It would be safer to wait at least a few years.’
...
「A short while later.」
A shop selling Demon Beast Materials came into view, its distinct, bloody scent having drawn him over.
His appearance still disguised, Lin Changheng got straight to the point and asked about Essence Blood.
"Profound Spirit Essence Blood? And you need a large quantity?"
The shop’s attendant responded by scratching his head in surprise, almost thinking Lin Changheng was pulling his leg.
Lin Changheng sensed this and sincerely pressed for an explanation, which the attendant then provided.
It wasn’t just their shop; the Demon Beast Materials sold in all such stores in the Immortal City came from two sources.
The first was their fixed inventory.
These Demon Beast Materials came from Tamed Beasts. The supply was stable, long-term, and available in large quantities.
The second was their random stock.
This stock was brought back by Cultivators returning from Demon Hunting in the Wilderness. They would sell their hauls to the shop, which would then resell them, earning a small fee for acting as a middleman.
What they had for sale depended entirely on what was hunted, making the inventory highly unpredictable.
The attendant was also upfront that Profound Spirit Essence Blood was extremely rare.
The Demon Hunters they worked with were mostly at the Middle to Late Stage of Qi Cultivation. While they might get lucky in the Wilderness, they lacked the power to hunt such beasts in large quantities.
Only Foundation Establishment Cultivators had that kind of strength.
But besides keeping it for their own use, they would sell it to the Pill Masters and Talisman Masters they collaborated with, or supply it through more high-end channels.
They rarely worked with shops like this, which catered to lower-level Cultivators.
Lin Changheng understood the situation after hearing the explanation. He thanked the attendant and prepared to leave.
As he reached the door, he couldn’t resist asking one more question. "Do you have any Essence Blood from a Fire-tailed Golden Rat?"
This was a lower-grade Muddy Evil Bloodline.
After receiving a negative answer from the attendant, Lin Changheng went on to inquire at several other Demon Beast Material shops.
Three shops in a row gave him more or less the same answer regarding Profound Spirit Essence Blood, and Lin Changheng couldn’t help but frown.
As before, he asked about the Fire-tailed Golden Rat’s Essence Blood and was about to head out.
"We have some."
The voice came so unexpectedly that Lin Changheng didn’t react at first, his mind still elsewhere. The attendant grew anxious and called out urgently, "Sir?!"
Only then did Lin Changheng realize this was a different answer. "You have Muddy Evil Level Essence Blood from a Fire-tailed Golden Rat?"
"That’s right. How much do you need, sir?" the attendant asked with an accommodating smile.
But Lin Changheng countered with a question of his own. "How much do you have?"
The attendant’s first thought was that this man might be a Tribulation Cultivator casing the joint—tricking him into revealing their inventory to plan a robbery of the shop or an ambush on their supply convoy.
But then he remembered that he was in Floating Immortal City, not some small Marketplace where he’d been posted for a dozen years. He breathed a sigh of relief and put on his best professional smile. "We currently have three hundred vials in the shop. If you need more, sir, we can restock within half a month."
"Excellent!"
Lin Changheng was overjoyed. ’This must be what they mean by "just when you think you’ve hit a dead end, a new path opens up,"’ he thought.
He’d been asking about Profound Spirit Essence Blood all day to no avail, only to stumble upon a supply of Fire-tailed Golden Rat Essence Blood!
"What’s the price?"
"Three Lower Grade Spirit Stones per vial. If you buy in bulk, our shop can offer a discount. Ten percent off for fifty vials, and our best discount, twenty percent off for a hundred vials."
"I’ll take all of it."
Lin Changheng had used his Illusionary Transformation Technique - Assimilation. He wasn’t showing his true face, and no one below Middle Stage Foundation Establishment could see through his disguise with a casual inspection, so he wasn’t the least bit worried.
"What?" the attendant gasped.
"What’s wrong? Are you not selling?" Lin Changheng frowned, feigning displeasure.
"No, no, not at all! Please wait a moment, valued customer."
The attendant showed Lin Changheng to a seat in the back room, served him a cup of fragrant Spirit Tea, and then hurried off to report to the Steward.
A short while later, a round-faced Steward approached with a smile, the attendant trailing behind him and holding a large box.
"Valued customer, my apologies for the wait. Everything is here."
"I’ll inspect the goods."
Lin Changheng put down his teacup, not bothering with pleasantries.
"Of course, of course."
The box opened, revealing it was filled to the brim with vials of pale gold Essence Blood.
A strange light flickered in Lin Changheng’s eyes as he scanned each vial of Essence Blood.
The round-faced Steward showed no signs of impatience. He sent the attendant off to tend to other duties while he stood by with a pleasant smile, patiently waiting for his customer to finish the inspection.
After a long while, Lin Changheng stood up.
"It’s good. The Essence Blood is authentic."
The round-faced Steward then said:
"My attendant mentioned that you might need more of this beast’s Essence Blood?"
"Correct. I’ll need this amount again. Can your shop provide it?"
"Of course we can." The round-faced Steward smiled proudly. "To be frank, this beast is one of the Tamed Beasts raised by my clan. Forget this amount; even if you wanted three times as much, my clan could provide it all within six months."
Lin Changheng immediately offered a word of praise.
"This twenty-percent discount is the lowest our shop can go. I can’t offer a deeper one, but I can use my authority as Steward to waive the odd amount from the total. Consider it a show of our sincerity. What do you say, Fellow Daoist?"
Lin Changheng hadn’t expected the round-faced Steward to offer an even better deal. ’It seems he wants to secure me as a long-term client.’
"Many thanks." Lin Changheng took out seven hundred Lower Grade Spirit Stones, feeling the pinch.
’Thankfully, the three Tribulation Cultivators from the other day helped replenish my funds, but I still need to find new sources of income as soon as possible.’
"The price will be the same next time. As long as you come to our shop, we’ll be sure to give you our most favorable price."
The round-faced Steward saw Lin Changheng to the door, thumping his chest in a gesture of assurance.