Chapter 113 - Pearl Dew Pill
Chapter 113 - Pearl Dew Pill
Li Qingshan entered his room and ingested and absorbed his remaining Qi Gathering pills. However, the Innate Method of Practising Qi also grew more difficult with progress. After ingesting the two pills, he could feel that the amount of growth was not particularly obvious. Of course, it had to be mentioned that this was after the daemon core had gobbled up most of it, and the energy had undergone the sumeru ring’s refinement. However, unbeknownst to him, Qian Rongzhi also arrived in the hall after he left. She lowered her head as soon as she saw Diao Fei, hiding the resentment in her eyes before recording her name as well. She thought Diao Fei had killed Qian Rongming. The people that could kill Qi Practitioners were obviously even stronger Qi Practitioners, but she did not probe into the matter.
Diao Fei felt aggrieved, but he made no attempt to explain himself. If he did, he would only seem to be afraid of her.
At noon, Li Qingshan arrived at the back hall. It was basically filled up with people already. The rosewood tables were so smooth that they were reflective; the faint smell of flowers permeated the place from a certain location. The windows were all open, depicting the picturesque scenery of the garden outside. It was an extremely beautiful and refined sight.
Delicious dishes were served up one by one, filling the long tables, allowing them to serve themselves. It was similar to the buffets of Li Qingshan’s previous life, but the quality of the dishes were fantastic, similar to the legendary emperor’s feast. After leaving Qingyang city, Li Qingshan had eaten quite a number of dishes made by so-called skilled chefs. However, they basically seemed like they were made by apprentices compared to the dishes of the chefs of the Hawkwolf Guard. The dishes made from various precious materials were all placed on the long table.
Li Qingshan gained an even better understanding as to why many Qi Practitioners wanted to join the Hawkwolf Guard. Let alone the other aspects, just the food was enough for people to eat like an emperor. He was utterly satisfied by the food, but he also attracted many eye rolls. Many Qi Practitioners came from sects and clans, so they obviously would not be as inexperienced as him. Even when Li Qingshan controlled his appetite to eat like a human, a bunch of people still secretly sneered to themselves, calling him a starving ghost.
Just as Li Qingshan ate a dish made from some sort of fish, there was a flash in front of him, and Diao Fei sat down opposite of him. He thought through what he was going to say. “Your qi concealment technique is very impressive. I couldn’t tell in the beginning.” Perhaps he believed that no one would be bold enough to ignore the rules of the Hawkwolf Guard, as he seemed much more relaxed now, without much caution or vigilance.
Li Qingshan smiled. “It’s probably just because I’m too weak!”
The corner of Diao Fei’s lips twitched. Are you really weak after silently killing a second layer Qi Practitioner and even reducing him to a terrifying state of just bones? He suspected Li Qingshan practised a cultivation method of the demonic path, which was why he liked to remain hidden. Unfortunately, Qian Rongming had really treated him as an easy target, which ended up costing his life.
Li Qingshan said, “By the looks of things, this shouldn’t be your first time!”
Diao Fei said, “Impressive. This is my second time.”
Then there was silence.
Li Qingshan said, “By the way, do you have Qi Gathering pills?”
Diao Fei said, “Of course I do. What do you need them for?” Qi Gathering pills were the most common pills for Qi Practitioners. They were obviously very precious, but they were very common as well.
Li Qingshan wiped his mouth and pushed his utensils to the side. “Can you sell some to me?”
Diao Fei said, “If you’re offering silver, you better forget it.”
It was just as Li Qingshan had been expecting. To Qi Practitioners, the gold and silver that ordinary people treasured held no great significance.
Li Qingshan said, “Of course it’s not silver. It’s talismans.”
“What!” Diao Fei was shocked. There was not a single Qi Practitioner who did not carry at least a few talismans with them. In order to take part in the competition this time, he had made ample preparations. They were the trump cards of Qi Practitioners, or even a second life to them. Selling talismans before the battle was like selling away your weapons right before charging onto the battlefield. It was basically unimaginable.
Li Qingshan immediately removed all of his talismans from his hundred treasures pouch and laid them out on the table. He was very confident in the security of the Hawkwolf Guard as well. He asked, “How’s that?”
Immediately, everyone’s gazes were drawn over, not just Diao Fei’s.
Diao Fei’s breathing halted slightly. Aside from two inferior talismans, the others were all low grade at the very least. Even rarer, there was actually a mid grade talisman, the Lightning Strike talisman. That was a treasure that could turn the tables in a battle at a crucial moment! Even third layer Qi Practitioners could be heavily injured or directly killed off if they were careless.
“One Qi Gathering pill for one.” Diao Fei immediately extended his hand towards the talismans. As long as he had them, he was guaranteed to win.
Li Qingshan scooped up all of the talismans. He smiled. “That seems a little low.”
“I’ll offer you fifteen Qi Gathering pills for the whole lot.” a Qi Practitioner in black to the side said suddenly. He was young, but he was dressed in nice clothes. He was clearly from an aristocratic clan.
Li Qingshan extended his hand towards Diao Fei. “Look, someone has raised the price.” The reason why he did this in the eye of the public was because he did not know the proper price.
However, before the Qi Practitioner had even finished what he was saying, someone else added, “I’ll give you fifteen Qi Gathering pills for just this one talisman.”
Li Qingshan was rather surprised as he looked at the talisman. Although it had the densest spiritual qi, he had never thought it would be worth so many Qi Gathering pills.
Many Qi Practitioners gathered over. All of their eyes shone. Li Qingshan believed that if he had not been in the Hawkwolf Guard, he would have been surrounded and attacked already, but now, no one was even bold enough to speak ill of him. Even two of the Qi Practitioners who mocked Li Qingshan earlier gathered over shamelessly.
The Qi Practitioner who had directly fallen out with Li Qingshan instead cursed under his breath with an ugly expression. “Idiot.” However, he became even more vicious inside, Without those talismans, I’d like to see how you die.
He had no idea about Li Qingshan’s plans. Li Qingshan did not plan to take part in the competition in the first place. With Wang Pushi’s guarantee, he would be out of his mind if he did not use it. And, Li Qingshan had enough trump cards on him. The talismans were nothing compared to them at all. Exchanging them for pills and rapidly converting it into his own strength was what mattered the most.
Li Qingshan stood up and said loudly, “Everyone please quieten down. I’ll be selling all of these talismans, but only to the highest bidder. We’ll exchange the goods at the same time, so it’s fair for everyone. First up, this Swift Breeze talisman…” He assigned a grade to his talismans according to the strength of their spiritual qi, and he actually began an auction on the spot.
The envoys in black within the hall all looked at one another, but no one interfered. However, they really had never seen anyone sell talismans here.
“I’ll pay one Qi Gathering pill,” someone responded immediately.
“Two.”
Li Qingshan said, “Are there any higher offers?” Only after asking for a while did someone offer three. Afterwards, no one contended anymore. As it seemed, inferior talismans did not interest Qi Practitioners much at all. He accepted the three Qi Gathering pills and handed the talisman to the Qi Practitioner.
In reality, the talisman had been sold for much more than usual. Normally, it would be very difficult for him to even get a single Qi Gathering pill for it, as everyone knew that pills for increasing personal strength mattered much more than external objects that offered temporary boosts.
But at a time like this, the situation had been reversed instead. No matter how many Qi Gathering pills they had, they could not increase their strength immediately, while with each talisman, even if they were inferior, they could immediately boost their strength slightly, giving them some more confidence in the upcoming competition. If they did not buy it, it was very likely for their contenders to receive it instead, becoming a tool for defeating or even killing themselves. Even inferior talismans of the lowest grades could become the blade of grass that broke the camel’s back.
On one hand, there was the wonderful future that came with joining the Hawkwolf Guard, while on the other hand, there was the miserable fate of defeat or death. They had no choice but to spare no effort.
When Li Qingshan reached the low grade talismans, the atmosphere gradually heated up. The number of Qi Gathering pills began to break five for each one now. When Li Qingshan sold everything apart from the mid grade Lightning Strike talisman, he had already gathered almost fifty Qi Gathering pills. He discovered that the size of the pills varied. Many of them were only the size of peanuts, so a single bottle could hold over a dozen of them.
As it turned out, the pills that alchemists refined were not originally pills, but pastes. The alchemists would then follow a standard and make them into pills. Alchemists of poorer abilities would produce pastes of lower efficacy, so in order to guarantee the same effects, the pills they made would be slightly larger according to the standard of Qi Gathering pills.
Many Qi Practitioners never participated in the prior bidding. Only when Li Qingshan took out the final mid grade talisman did their eyes suddenly light up.
“Ten Qi Gathering pills.”
“Twenty.”
“Twenty-five.”
The price immediately broke the record from before. This talisman was the actual talisman that could turn a battle around. It was also when Qian Rongming relied on when he confronted third layer Qi Practitioners. Whoever obtained it in the end would increase their chances by thirty percent at the very least. Many Qi Practitioners were determined to get their hands on it.
Li Qingshan smiled from ear to ear. With these Qi Gathering pills, it would be extremely easy for him to break through to the third layer of the Innate Method of Practising Qi. He suddenly turned around and saw Qian Rongzhi standing at the door, gazing at him in resentment. She obviously knew what talismans Qian Rongming possessed.
Li Qingshan sneered slightly. Tha fellow failed when he tried to harass him, so he tried to kill him. Qian Rongming completely deserved death. If this woman was not sensible, he could send her off to see Qian Rongming as well so that he would have a companion on the path to the afterlife.
“I’ll offer you one!” Diao Fei said suddenly after remaining silent for so long. He was currently filled with regret. If he had made a deal with Li Qingshan back on the boat, there would be no need for him to come to this point.
The surroundings fell quiet. Everyone looked at Diao Fei. The highest bidding Qi Practitioner said coldly, “Are you joking with me!?” He was also a third layer Qi Practitioner, so he viewed Diao Fei as a powerful contender.
Diao Fei took out a bottle with great reluctance. “I’ll offer you a Pearl Dew pill!”
“What, a Pearl Dew pill!” The Qi Practitioners descended into an uproar. As it seemed, the Pearl Dew pill had quite a name about it. Li Qingshan was curious. He had no idea that a Pearl Dew pill was worth far more than a mid grade Lighting Strike pill.
Qi Gathering pills definitely were not a particularly good type of pill. The only reason why it had become widespread was because its materials were easier to gather, it was easier to refine, and its effects were more stable, becoming a necessity to the cultivation of most Qi Practitioners, who demanded cheap but good products.
Actually, there were even better pills. Perhaps due to a material that was very difficult to gather or a higher level of skill required to refine them, they were relatively rarer. However, just a single one of them would be worth several dozen Qi Gathering pills.