I Don't Believe It Either

"Whatever technique this junior cultivates need not concern you, Senior. Please return to the main topic. Do you agree to this junior's terms?"

Before coming here, Luo Hong had known that he could not hide his cultivation of the Ice Skin Jade Bone Method from Yu Ruoxi. He had merely misjudged her personality.

Not wanting to get entangled with Yu Ruoxi over this matter, Luo Hong asked in a somewhat stiff tone.

"Of course I don't agree!" With a wave of Yu Ruoxi's delicate hand, nearly twenty Jade Boxes appeared on the table beside her.

"These are all the various herbs and spiritual materials needed to refine the Pure Lotus Pill. I spent a full sixty years gathering them. You brat provided only a single Righteous Qi Lotus, yet you delude yourself into claiming half the refined pills. I will never agree to that."

"Senior makes sense. Such a trade would indeed cause Senior to suffer a loss, but this junior insists. Otherwise, Senior will likely have no fate with this Righteous Qi Lotus."

Luo Hong put the Jade Box containing the Righteous Qi Lotus back into his Storage Bag and spoke with a firm gaze.

"Hmph, you brat truly don't know what's good for you. At most, I'll give you one Pure Lotus Pill!"

Yu Ruoxi turned her back to him, putting on an attitude of take it or leave it.

"Five. Not one less!"

Luo Hong refused to yield even a step.

"Brat, do you think this is your Yellow Maple Valley? Who do you think you're speaking to?!"

Yu Ruoxi abruptly turned around, and the powerful Mana aura of a Foundation Establishment Late-stage cultivator bore down on Luo Hong!

Sure enough, when negotiations failed, she wanted to force a deal. This was a common tactic high-level cultivators used against Low-level Cultivators.

Someone like Yu Ruoxi could already be considered rather amicable. At least she had taken the initiative to back down a step. If Luo Hong had haggled with her, it would not have been impossible to raise the offer to three Pure Lotus Pills.

More often, they would simply strike and kill.

Unfortunately, five Pure Lotus Pills were Luo Hong's bottom line. Any fewer, and he could not guarantee a breakthrough to the sixth layer of the Ice Skin Jade Bone Method.

Struggling to withstand the pressure, Luo Hong tapped the talisman stuck to his left shoulder with a finger and sent a thread of Magic Power into it to activate it.

At once, a powerful spiritual sense that sent chills down one's spine descended. The dense aura of a Core Formation stage cultivator enveloped the entire courtyard.

"You brat, how do you possess a Spiritual Sense Talisman from a Core Formation stage cultivator?!"

Yu Ruoxi immediately withdrew her aura and asked in shock.

Once a Spiritual Sense Talisman was activated, its owner would learn of everything that happened nearby afterward. Even destroying the talisman was useless, because doing so was equivalent to sending word back in advance.

"This junior is unworthy, but Master Li Huayuan accepted me as a Registered Disciple the other day. In order to trade with Senior, this junior specifically requested this talisman. Master also instructed this junior to convey his greetings to Fairy Crimson Cloud."

Luo Hong spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly. With this talisman as his backing, Yu Ruoxi would definitely not dare act recklessly again.

Why did Core Formation stage cultivators accept disciples?

One reason was to nurture Foundation Establishment disciples who had a chance at Core Formation for their sect.

The other was to have disciples under them handle matters on their behalf.

If a disciple not only failed to share their master's burdens but also needlessly provoked another cultivator of the same stage, they would certainly be severely punished.

"The Pure Lotus Pill is only useful when cultivating the sixth layer of the Ice Skin Jade Bone Method. With Senior's current cultivation, two pills at most should be enough to break through the sixth layer. Then Senior's chances of successfully forming a Core Formation will increase considerably. There is truly no need to quarrel with this junior over a few unnecessary Pure Lotus Pills."

Luo Hong threw out his final means of persuasion, taking a risk by exposing this woman's secret.

Yu Ruoxi's heart tightened. This brat actually knew the secret of the Ice Skin Jade Bone Method as well. No wonder he was so persistent about a technique cultivated only by Female Cultivators.

But how had he seen through my progress in cultivating the Ice Skin Jade Bone Method? Could it have been from the few glances he stole at my neck just now?

If that was truly the case, this brat probably understood this secret art even better than I did. This Point alone was enough reason for me to cooperate with him.

Though Luo Hong had exposed her true purpose in refining the Pure Lotus Pill, Yu Ruoxi did not care much. She herself had discovered the secret of the Ice Skin Jade Bone Method in an Ancient Cultivator text she had acquired by chance. Naturally, others could discover it through similar means.

"At most, I'll give you four." Yu Ruoxi no longer put on airs. After stating her final quoted price, she raised a hand to stop Luo Hong, who was about to object, and added, "Listen to me first. At the place where the pills are refined, a spiritual liquid called [Orchid Fragrance Liquid] is produced. If you soak in this spiritual liquid while refining the Medicinal Power of the Pure Lotus Pill, its effects will be enhanced. Four pills will fully equal the original effect of five."

"How did Senior learn of this?"

Luo Hong knew that she was unlikely to deceive him, but he still had to ask clearly to be safe. After all, he did not have a second chance.

"Where do you think I got my Ancient Pill Recipe? That Alchemist Clan Leader's ancestor once refined a batch of Pure Lotus Pills. The method I just described was precisely the successful experience of those before us.

Actually, you need not worry at all, brat, because you must make the trip with me.

When the time comes, you can ask the alchemist yourself. Once you have confirmed it, you can take out the Spiritual Herb."

Having yielded so much, Yu Ruoxi felt that This Matter was already settled. She put away the pile of Jade Boxes on the table and waited quietly for Luo Hong to agree.

"From Senior's words, that alchemist is not from the Moon Concealing Sect?"

It seemed they would be traveling far, and Luo Hong hesitated somewhat.

"She is an old friend of mine, the Clan Leader of a Cultivation Family. She has lived in Mist Mountain for many years."

Yu Ruoxi explained casually.

"So it is Mist Mountain. This junior has Heard of this mountain, but does not know much about it. Does Senior know what is special about that place, or whether it has any legends?"

Zhao Yushu, who had sold Luo Hong the Five Elements Fruit, lived in Mist Mountain. Thus, Luo Hong had looked through some texts regarding Mist Mountain, though his knowledge was limited to its geography.

The mountain was not far from the Moon Concealing Sect. Flying by sword would take more than ten days, and it was still within the Yue Kingdom.

Compared to Xiang Mountain, Mist Mountain was not large. Its only noteworthy feature was its Six Peaks.

The Main Peak of Mist Mountain stood a full thousand zhang high. If Not For the pervasive Miasma and thin Spiritual Qi, it would certainly have been claimed by a cultivation sect.

The five peaks surrounding the Main Peak were only a hundred zhang high, but each possessed a Small Spirit Vein. Therefore, a Cultivation Family occupied every peak. The Alchemist Clan Leader Yu Ruoxi had mentioned presumably belonged to one of them.

"There are indeed some legends. I Heard that Mist Mountain was once an Ancient Cultivator's Demon Sealing Ground. It is said that a massive Prohibition Magic Array once covered the entirety of Mist Mountain, and Ancient Cultivators sealed within it those great demons that were difficult to kill, so they could not bring disaster upon the world.

But that is only a legend. No one would truly believe it, since the Spiritual Qi of Mist Mountain is simply too sparse."

Yu Ruoxi's red lips curved faintly beneath her veil, as if she were amused by the exaggeration of Mist Mountain's legend.

"Haha, Senior is right. This junior has an unreasonable request."

Luo Hong looked slightly embarrassed as he bowed in salute.

"You brat, why are you so long-winded? What else is there? Say it all at once!"

Yu Ruoxi was becoming impatient.

"Can I not go?"

Luo Hong asked with complete seriousness.