The Divine Nine-Dragon Cauldron

Even after spending some time in attentive observation, Su Yu still could not identify the unique features of the golden sand. Apart from the strange color and hard texture, it seemed rather ordinary.

Every method that he had used, including instilling Vital Energy, soaking it with water, scorching it, and others, had failed to alter the golden sand in any way.

Could this be only ordinary sand? Was I overthinking it? Su Yu could not help but doubt himself. But, since these sand grains were hidden in such deep spots, it did seem unusual.

After observing the sand for a long time, while Su Yu continued to stare at all of the fine and delicate grains of sand, he suddenly noticed something odd. It appeared that each grain of sand was different, and none of them were exactly the same! This discovery made Su Yu’s eyes shine, and he immediately focused all of his attention on observing the unique shapes of each grain of the golden sand.

The sand grains were extremely microscopic, which explained how they had thus far been able to avoid being seen by anyone. Even with Su Yu’s perfect eyesight, it took him a great deal of effort to distinguish the unique shapes of the golden sand grains.

He spent a solid half hour before finally being able to distinguish between the concrete shapes of the sand grains. To be more precise, they weren’t exactly shapes, but instead… They appeared to be some kinds of words! These golden sand grains were carved words that were as delicate as dust!

Looking at them more carefully, Su Yu believed that these words seemed to belong to the race of Mu, which Su Yu was somewhat familiar with. The strangest thing was that all two hundred of the words were very uncommon, so Su Yu only managed to recognize a little less than one-tenth of them.

Initially, he thought that his basic knowledge about the Mu vocabulary would be satisfactory, as it was even favored by the Deputy General Manager, who had assigned him great responsibility because of his prowess in this department. But, unexpectedly, Su Yu could only recognize less than one-tenth of the two hundred Mu’s words that were now before him!

This embarrassed Su Yu, as he realized that his fundamental knowledge of the language and vocabulary was inadequate. Thus, it seemed like it was necessary for him to continue to study the Mu vocabulary more carefully in the future, especially if he intended to unveil the secrets about the golden sand. The only way to do so was for him to be able to decipher all of these words!

Right when he was about to delve into studying the words, Yingluan ran toward him in a state of agitation and excitement, while yelling at the door, “Shopkeeper, someone has come to pay you a visit!”

“Who is it?” Su Yu asked.

Yingluan replied, “It’s the elixirs vendor from Tianya City.”

Knowing that it was someone selling elixirs, Su Yu lost interest immediately and replied indifferently, “Haven’t I told you before? If any vendors come to deliver the elixirs, just accept them on my behalf. I don’t have time to bother with them now.”

When Su Yu had gone to Shizhen Bookyard, three to four of these same vendors had come to deliver elixirs, and Yingluan had thus far complied with Su Yu’s instructions and accepted them all without bothering him. But, he had assumed that this more important vendor should be the exception to this rule…

Due to his agitation, Yingluan stuttered as he said, “No… It’s n-n-n-ot what you think… The one who just came was selling for the fifth-ranked Huang’s Elixirs!”

Su Yu still replied indifferently, “Regardless of the ranking, ask him to leave his elixirs and his name. I’m preoccupied, so it’s inconvenient for me to meet with any guests.”

Upon hearing this, Yingluan dropped his jaw! It was fine that Su Yu did not meet with any of the previous insignificant vendors, but Huang’s Elixirs was a famous existence in Tianya City. As such, Yungluan couldn’t imagine how could Su Yu could take them lightly!

Previously, the Tonglin Elixir Store was so restricted by Shopkeeper Fei that the vendors dared not to sell the store any elixirs. Now that someone had finally come to trade, Su Yu was acting so nonchalantly about the matter! This really confused Yingluan.

“But, Shopkeeper Su, the visitor is from the fifth-ranked Huang’s Elixirs, and they’re known for the superior quality of their elixirs. They have a great reputation, one that is even better than the Bright Moon Householder’s! The former shopkeepers all wanted to make contact, but were rejected. So… Why don’t you seize this opportunity?” Yingluan was anxious as he asked Su Yu about his reasonings.

Su Yu pondered this… I’m not the one who should seize the opportunity. It’s the vendors of the elixirs who are all trying to build goodwill with the Alliance of Elixirs by creating a connection with me, thus replacing the Bright Moon Householder’s position!

“Just do as I have ordered you! No matter who comes here, have them leave their elixirs and their names with you. I’m not free to entertain anyone at present,” Su Yu said in a stern voice.

Yingluan noticed Su Yu’s displeasure, so he stuck out his tongue and worriedly turned around to obey his orders.

Surprisingly, a generous laughter resonated in the backyard as a voice asked, “Don’t you even want to meet with me?”

Su Yu lifted his brows, while carefully recalling the familiar voice. Suddenly, he guessed who the voice belonged to and wondered to himself… Is it really him?

Su Yu immediately stood up to open the door and stepped out of the elixir store, where he immediately spotted a middle-aged man clad in a blue shirt among the crowd. He was a guard from the Red Blood Palace headquarters in Tianya City, a middle-aged man with the surname of Jue, who possessed the cultivation of a first-grade Almighty.

He had always given Su Yu the impression that he was an overly enthusiastic man. So, Su Yu immediately raised his guard in the face of his sudden, unannounced visit.

“Ah… It’s Senior Jue.” Su Yu greeted the man with cupped hands and a smile, and no trace of his suspicion could be seen on his face.

Jue sized up the Tonglin Elixir Store with a careful gaze. Then, while looking closely at the other nearby vendors of elixirs, he chuckled and said, “I knew that you weren’t an ordinary man from the minute I first saw you. Isn’t that right? You became famous in the city in just a few days, and now, everyone knows that you saved the three granddaughters of Master Zhou from the Elixir Alliance. Now, you have ties quite an important person!”

Su Yu smiled humbly, then replied, “I did it with great luck, as Master Zhou is out of my league.”

“Haha! Wel… Don’t you want to invite me inside?” Jue smiled and asked.

Su Yu frowned slightly, as he was rather reluctant to get too close with this man. But, since it was inappropriate to refuse him in public, he replied, “Come inside…”

Then, Su Yu said to Yingluan and Qingliu, “Don’t interrupt me if it isn’t very important…”

Yingluan nodded obediently. After the two men went inside, she turned and said to a white-shirted senior with a reddened face, “I’m sorry Elder Huang, I couldn’t get our shopkeeper to meet you…”

The elderly man named Huang was the founder of Huang’s Elixirs and the current man at the helm of the enterprise. He appeared to feel very awkward about this situation.

After all, he was a famous figure in the inner city, and many Almighty Divine Masters would request the secret elixirs within the Alliance of Elixirs from him. However, he was refused entry by a small elixir store!

Su Yu had even ordered his subordinates to keep any unimportant people and matters from disturbing right in front of this poor man! Apparently, people like him did not matter in Su Yu’s eyes!

Thus, it was only natural that Elder Huang would feel awkward! Anyway, with his background as a businessman, he had experienced worse humiliation in the past, was well as a great amount of contempt that was not worth mentioning!

So, he shook it off and replied to her good naturedly, “Haha, young lady, it’s not your fault. Since Shopkeeper Su gave you this order, you must do as he wishes. Here are 5,000 various kinds of low-grade spiritual elixirs, 500 middle-grade spiritual elixirs, and 50 top-grade spiritual elixirs! I heard that Shopkeeper Su encountered some troubles, but I couldn’t offer any help at the time, so I’d like to present these to him as a gift now.”

Yingluan and Qingliu each drew in a cold breath upon hearing this, and the surrounding onlookers were extremely stunned too.

“Low-grade spiritual elixirs are normally worth about 10 crystals each, while middle-grade spiritual elixirs are worth at least 100, and top-grades are worth about 1,000! Altogether, these would add up to be worth over 150,000 crystals! That’s almost a half-year’s worth of sales for the Tonglin Elixir Store!” an onlooker exclaimed in awe.

Another onlooker gasped, then commented, “How generous! It seems like Elder Huang has paid a huge price to offer such a gift! I heard that his elixir brand is having a hard time and is being severely oppressed.”

“Indeed, although Huang’s Elixirs is quite popular, the company doesn’t have good relations with the Elixir Alliance, unlike the first four. The elixir-manufacturing masters that he knows are turning to the first four vendors, and if this carries on, Huang’s Elixirs will be reduced to a small vendor in less than a decade,” yet another onlooker said.

This was a market in which only the strong survived. The strong get stronger and the weak get weaker, and in the end, one could end up dominating the rest entirely.

This was why Huang’s Elixirs was willing to pay a huge price in order to gain Su Yu’s favor. After all, even a price of 150,000 crystals would be worthwhile if Su Yu would sing their praises in front of Master Zhou!

“I’d like to excuse myself now,” Elder Huang said as he set down the elixirs and turned to leave with his family’s help.

The Huang family did not look pleased. They were clearly angered by the treatment that they had just received, and many of them commented on this…

“Su Yu looks down on people! He refused to let us in, even when we came to visit with such a lovely gift!” A middle-aged woman was annoyed.

“Right! Grandfather, he’s too mean! He gave an order to not be disturbed by unimportant people right in front of us! This is too much! As the Huangs are prestigious people, how do we carry on living in the city after such a shameless rebuke?” a youthful lady asked with gritted teeth, obviously furious.

Lastly, a middle-aged woman asked in a low voice, “Father, are you really confident of your ability to gain Shopkeeper Su’s favor? Our family’s having a hard time, as we are burdened with Shopkeeper Fei’s oppression. We went against him to sell Shopkeeper Su these elixirs, and I’m afraid we’ll lose business from the Heavenly Fragrance Elixir Store and fail to build relations with Master Zhou. At that time, we’ll face even a worse situation than this!”

After hearing his family members air their grudges, Elder Huang smiled calmly as he replied, “Just take it easy. All we can do is try our best. Maybe things will turn for the better.”

“But grandfather, isn’t such a gift as you have just offered Su Yu way too much? I think, for elixir stores of his level, a gift of elixirs worth 10,000 to 20,000 would suffice!” The youthful lady was still unconvinced.

Elder Huang laughed. “Enough! Since the choice has already been made, there’s no use in having regrets. Let’s see if he can help us turn the tide.”

In direct contrast to his calm demeanor, the rest of the members of the Huang family looked unnatural and were frowning. They were clearly not displeased with the whole matter.

Even if Su Yu favored them or ended up praising them before Master Zhou, they weren’t sure that it could really improve their family’s plight. In fact, they were all wondering… Will Master Zhou hand over Bright Moon Householder’s channels to our family, just because of some good words Su Yu speaks on our behalf?

At most, they figured that Su Yu would only remind the Elixir Alliance to take care of their family. In light of this, they did not find it worthwhile to pay such a high price.

Meanwhile, Su Yu was having a conversation with Jue, who was the man who had just come to visit out of the blue…

“Haha, even elixir brands like the Huangs are asking you for favors now! It seems that you’re really highly regarded!” Jue remarked.

Su Yu shrugged, then replied, “I prefer to keep a low profile, as it’s not a good thing to be in the spotlight too much.”

A shrewd look flickered in Jue’s eyes, but he maintained his pleasant smile as he said, “It’s best that you understand… The Huang family is struggling now, and many influences in the Elixir Alliance are prepared to remove them and replace their position with their own kin. So… You’d better keep your distance from them to avoid being despised by the Alliance, which would directly affect your livelihood.”

Is that so? Su Yu thought as he nodded quietly.

He then said, “Understood. But, I am guessing that you didn’t come all this way just to remind me of these things?”