A Priceless Treasure Beyond Gold

Chu Er took a small knife from the drawer, made a cut in his palm, and circled the tip of the knife inside the wound several times. Li Banfeng was very surprised. "Isn't it just to draw blood? Did you have to be so ruthless?"

Chu Er smiled and said, "This is called 'pain is felt in the heart.' How could I contact my father if I didn't feel pain?"

She took out a pen, dipped it in her own blood, and wrote a letter on a piece of paper. The letter was very simple: Chu Er wanted to meet Chu Shaoqiang at 10 p. m. the next night, at the stone house by the lake.

Chu Er folded the letter, held it in his palm, rubbed it for a moment, then put it back in the drawer. He said to Li Banfeng, "The message has been sent out." Li Banfeng was taken aback. "Sent out already? Will your father receive it?"

Chu Er was very confident: "Those who truly care about me will receive it; my dad always receives it." "Why haven't I ever seen you write me a letter?"

Upon hearing this, Chu Er opened the drawer on his right.

Inside were over a hundred letters, each stained with blood. "These were all written to you." Li Banfeng blinked. "That's why I was worried your method wouldn't work."

Chu Er snorted coldly, "You heartless wretch, have you never cared about me?"

The following evening, Chu Er took Li Banfeng to the stone house by the lake. Inside, candlelight flickered, and Chu Shaoqiang indeed arrived.

"You guys chat first, I'll take a walk around." Chu Er left silently, and judging from her gait alone, her cultivation had improved considerably. Li Banfeng entered the stone house and pulled up a chair to sit opposite the stone table.

Chu Shaoqiang, dressed in a greyish-white overcoat with the collar pulled up high, lit a cigarette and asked Li Banfeng, "What do you want?"

Li Banfeng spoke frankly, "I want to do business with you. There's a Local Earth God in Xindi who's a friend of mine. She has half of the contract in Inner State, and I want to buy that half of the contract back." Chu Shaoqiang choked on the smoke and coughed for a long time. He took out a Tin Frog from his pocket, wound it up, and put it outside the stone house.

The Tin Frog hopped around the lake at an extremely fast speed, then jumped back into the lake and swam back and forth several times. Only when it hopped back to Chu Shaoqiang's side did Chu Shaoqiang realize that no one was eavesdropping nearby.

"Can you just tell me this directly?" Chu Shaoqiang was somewhat annoyed.

Li Banfeng also felt it was too direct. "Let me put it a little more subtly: I want to buy it, are you going to sell it to me?"

Chu Shaoqiang shook his head repeatedly. "Don't even think about such a thing. The contracts from Inner State have never been leaked." When he said "leaked," Chu Shaoqiang couldn't help but spit out a string of soap bubbles.

Li Banfeng laughed, "Ah Qiang, we're genuinely doing business, so show some sincerity." "Even if there's occasional leakage, it's not the kind of business you're talking about!"

He exhaled a bit too much air when he said "life," and blew a huge soap bubble. Li Banfeng laughed and said, "Then tell me, what kind of business is this?"

"I don't know anything about this; I've never done this kind of business before!" Chu Shaoqiang turned his face away from Li Banfeng, a large sheet of soap bubbles slowly rising in front of him. The Peddler's soap was too good; even after so long, it was still effective.

Li Banfeng had found the right person. He thought Chu Shaoqiang could at most offer some connections, but he hadn't expected Chu Shaoqiang to have experience in the business of contracts. "Qiang, let's not beat around the bush, let's just talk about the price."

Chu Shaoqiang turned his face, wiped the soap suds from the corner of his mouth, and asked Li Banfeng, "Why do you want to buy the deed?" "Didn't I just say it was for a friend?"

"Is it Meng Yuchun?" "How did you know?"

Chu Shaoqiang took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to Li Banfeng: "This is from Rong Sijiao."

When Li Banfeng opened the letter, he saw that Rong Sijiao had complained to Inner State, saying that Meng Yuchun and Li Banfeng were colluding to turn Xindi into Proper Land and break away from Inner State's control.

"This is an outrageous act, it is utterly despicable..." Li Banfeng read a few sentences from the letter and couldn't help but sigh. Liang Wucai's judgment of Rong Sijiao was very accurate. This kid really turns his back on you very quickly.

"Ah Qiang, why didn't you send the contract to Inner State?"

If Chu Shaoqiang were to say that he was thinking of the stability of Pro State, he would probably have to keep talking nonsense. So he simply told the truth, "I originally planned to be sent to Inner State, but now I can't go back to Inner State because Boundless City and Borderless City are both plagued by plague."

Li Banfeng had never heard of either of these place names, but Li Banfeng was more interested in the plague. "What kind of plague?"

"Herpes, black with red spots, isn't immediately fatal, but it's difficult to eradicate after several treatments. This lesion originated from Green Flower's disciple Cui Tike, who used it to destroy Virtue Praise Cliff. You should know about that, right?"

Li Banfeng seemed a little dazed, as if he was thinking about something else.

Chu Shaoqiang frowned slightly. "What are you thinking? Don't tell me you think Inner State is weak and want to start a war against Inner State?" Li Banfeng put his hands together and smiled honestly, "Why would I do such a thing?"

Chu Shaoqiang shook his head repeatedly. "You absolutely mustn't do it, don't even think about it. This epidemic won't break Inner State. Inner State's territory is different from what you think, and the people of Inner State are physically different. An epidemic is nothing to them, especially those important figures, they are completely unaffected. If you attack them, this will be a huge problem..."

He spoke very quickly, each word spoken with great tension, but the fact that he didn't blow soap bubbles proved that he was telling the truth.

"Li Qi, I've already made it clear to you, this epidemic isn't fatal to the people of Inner State, but it's difficult to cure. If you really want to fight, don't come to me with this." Li Banfeng laughed, "Who's asking you to fight? I want to do business with you. Didn't I make that clear just now? I want the contract!"

Chu Shaoqiang pondered for a moment and said, "The people of Inner State paid special attention to Meng Yuchun's contract." "Why did they pay special attention to her?"

"Because Meng Yuchun harbors deep resentment towards Inner State, after she left Inner State, she refused to respond to any of the tasks Inner State gave her. Inner State could punish her at any time, making it extremely difficult to obtain her contract."

"So you're saying you can't get it?"

"It's not that we can't get it, it's just that the price is extremely high," Chu Shaoqiang held up two fingers, "It costs twenty Profound Essence Pill." "Profound Essence Pill?" Li Banfeng was taken aback, "Trading pills for the contract?"

Chu Shaoqiang nodded. "The Profound Essence Pill is the most precious pill in the world. If Meng Yuchun hadn't been given special attention by the Inner State, thirteen Profound Essence Pill would have been enough to obtain her contract. The three Inner State guarding the contract would each receive four pills, and I'll keep the last one for myself as a small token of my hard work."

But Meng Yuchun was given special treatment; each person from Inner State had to give them six pills. I also took a great risk, having to pay for at least two pills as a favor. In total, that's twenty pills.

Under normal circumstances, Local Earth God only needs thirteen Profound Essence Pill to redeem his contract, which Li Banfeng doesn't think is much. There must be quite a few people who want to do business with Chu Shaoqiang.

Li Banfeng said, "If I had known there was such a way, I should have used the Profound Essence Pill to redeem the contract between Qiu Luoye and Shui Yongquan back then, and there wouldn't have been so many twists and turns."

Chu Shaoqiang shook his head. "Qiu Luoye and Shui Yongquan have always been restless. They have always been under special care in the Inner State, to a much higher degree than Meng Yuchun. No amount of pills can buy back their contracts."

Moreover, as far as I know, Shui Yongquan once spent a fortune to buy two Profound Essence Pills, which almost bankrupted him. With his and Qiu Luoye's meager resources, what do you expect them to offer in exchange for a dozen or twenty Profound Essence Pill?"

Li Banfeng knew that Shui Yongquan had spent a lot of money to buy the Profound Essence Pill, but he didn't say that Chu Shaoqiang Shui Yongquan n't lied about going bankrupt.

"Is the Profound Essence Pill really that expensive?"

Chu Shaoqiang looked at Li Banfeng with a disdainful expression. "You don't even know the price of the Profound Essence Pill, what business are you trying to do with me?"

Let me tell you, there are countless new plots of land in Pro State, but the number of people who can afford to buy their deeds back can be counted on one hand.

"The Profound Essence Pill is the most precious elixir in the world. All other precious elixirs in the world are used to replace cultivation methods, but the Profound Essence Pill enhances a cultivator's strength by consolidating their foundation." Li Banfeng couldn't figure out the difference between the two.

Chu Shaoqiang gave a simple explanation. "Cultivators on the ground cultivate according to the time it takes to reach one level, and they can replace the time by consuming pills."

Once you reach the clouds, cultivation can no longer be measured in time. All the time-replacing pills—Snake Spot, Profound Blaze, Purple Radiance, Golden Essence—become useless; only the Profound Essence Pill remains useful.

Because the Profound Essence Pill is not a substitute for time, but a strengthening of one's own foundation. Only by solidifying one's foundation can one continue on the path of cultivation. It is a priceless treasure.

Li Banfeng didn't understand the concept of foundation. "How many Profound Essence Pill does a person need to consume to completely solidify their foundation?"

"It varies from person to person. I don't know the exact amount I need to eat. With my physique, I'd probably have to eat like this for the rest of my life, until I have the physique of a member of the Inner State royal family, before I can go all the way down the path of engineering!"

Royal family? Three-headed?

"Are the royal family members of the Inner State physically very strong?"

"The royal family's physique is so strong it's flawless. The Inner State don't understand Daoism, and the medicinal powder from the Pro State can't help them enter the Tao. If they had Daoism, the royal family would have unified the Inner State long ago, and the Pro State would have been wiped out by the Inner State long ago!"

Chu Shaoqiang felt he had said too much, and no matter how much Li Banfeng asked, he didn't want to mention Inner State anymore.

After smoking two cigarettes, Chu Shaoqiang stood up and said, "I've already told you about the business. You should think about it carefully. I advise you to inquire about the price of Profound Essence Pill and be prepared. We'll discuss it again in three days, at the same place and time."

Chu Shaoqiang left, Li Banfeng sat silently in the stone house.

Li Banfeng currently has seventeen Profound Essence Pill, but because of the large quantity, Li Banfeng hasn't really cherished them.

But now that I think about it carefully, the way my Wife counted out each Profound Essence Pill one by one each time should have shown me just how rare this thing was.

My Wife is a thrifty woman; she usually can't bear to take these pills. If I were to take out all seventeen Profound Essence Pill, it would be like tearing Wife heart out. No, we can't do business like that.

Ask Red Lotus if she can think of a solution.

Li Banfeng returned to his Portable Abode and went to the Eighth House, gently stroking Red Lotus: "Ah Lian, what exactly is the difference between the Profound Essence Pill and ordinary pills?"

"There's not much difference," Red Lotus replied casually. "Better materials result in better pills, but the Pill Refining steps are the same." "It's different, isn't it? My Wife told me that the Profound Essence Pill is more precious than other pills."

Red Lotus stretched out a lotus leaf and hooked Li Banfeng's chin. "Then go ask your Wife. What do you want from me?" Li Banfeng smiled innocently, "My Wife isn't home, so I came to find you."

The record player wasn't home; he was busy conducting experiments in the lab.

Red Lotus stretched out two lotus leaves and touched Li Banfeng's cheek, saying, "Then hurry up and ask whatever you want to ask."

Li Banfeng went straight to the heart of the matter: "All the other pills you've refined directly increase cultivation level, why isn't the Profound Essence Pill?" "Who said all my other pills directly increase cultivation level?"

"Is there even a question? Snake Spot Pill are exchanged for one day of cultivation, Mystic Scarlet Pill for ten days, Purple Radiance Pill for thirty days, and Golden Essence Pill for one hundred days. Isn't that obvious?"

Red Lotus pinched Li Banfeng's cheek. "Who told you that? Did I say that?" Li Banfeng pushed aside the lotus leaves. "That's what everyone in Pro State says."

Red Lotus laughed, "So, do you believe them or me? I'm telling you all pills are the same, why don't you believe me?" "The other pills you refine are all similar, but the Profound Essence Pill is so special, I definitely feel it's different."

Lotus Heart emitted a halo of light, and a Lotus Seed flew into Li Banfeng's hand. "Don't you think this pill is special?"

Snap! The Lotus Seed burst open, and two Rust Pill popped out.

Li Banfeng was terrified. He quickly put away the Rust Pill and turned around to wash his hands with water.

"After washing it several times, it still wouldn't get clean. Li Banfeng used his Carefree Sleep's technique to turn the remaining rust into clean water, letting it flow out of his palm." "We won't compare this kind of obscure elixir," Li Banfeng rubbed his palm. "We're talking about elixirs related to cultivation."

"Red Lotus sighed, "It's all the same, really all the same, why don't you believe me?" "Ah Lian, I believe you, I've always considered you one of my own."Li Banfeng sat beside Red Lotus, gently stroking her Lotus Heart. "But you must say that the Rust Pill and the Profound Essence Pill are the same..."

"I really don't understand." "You consider me one of your own? When your woman comes back, will I be treated like a slut again?"

Li Banfeng pursed his lips and said, "That's not what I really think. I still love you very much!" "Since you love me so much, take me out for a walk! Your woman is always running around outside, why won't I go out?"

"It's not that I don't want you to go out, but we need to discuss this further."

"All the good things go to that Wicked Woman. When it comes to me, everything has to be discussed slowly. Come find me after you've discussed it. Go find that Wicked Woman next time you have problems!"

Whoosh! He returned to the Eighth House after walking for a short while.

"All the lotus leaves were put away, and the Red Lotus became a mere ornament, motionless." "I'm not asking you anymore!" Li Banfeng said angrily, getting up to leave.

Red Lotus was secretly delighted, but then she saw Li Banfeng pick Red Lotus up and carry her back to the Ninth Room. Red Lotus sprayed a spray of dew onto Li Banfeng. Hong Ying turned her face and said, "Why are you taking pills?" "Don't you take pills?"

"Ninth Room chuckled, "Good Junior Brother, you've brought A-Lian back! Sister A-Lian, I've been so bored without you these past few days! Come, let's have a good chat!"Li Banfeng returned to the main room, sat down by the dressing table, and asked Hong Ying, " Yingying, what do you think is the biggest difference between the Profound Essence Pill and other pills?"

"I won't eat that stuff. Isn't cultivation all about relying on yourself?" What do you mean by that?

Li Banfeng was stunned for a long time before replying, "You're amazing." After leaving Portable Abode, Li Banfeng went to the laboratory in Seven Autumn City to find his Wife.

"My Wife is currently using Zhao Xiaowan's body to conduct an experiment. She's covered in sweat, so Li Banfeng quickly goes over to wipe her off." "My Wife, I have something I want to ask you, Xuan Yun..."

"What happened to the Profound Essence Pill?" The Wife was startled and quickly returned to the record player. She retrieved the pill box from the front cabinet. After carefully counting each pill, she found seventeen pills in total. Wife let out a long breath and put the pills away.

"My lord, what was it you wanted to ask me?" Li Banfeng mentally rehearsed.

My Wife, give me all the Profound Essence Pill!

Husband, what do you need it for?

I'm going to take it and exchange it for a woman's marriage contract... If I say that, my Wife will definitely be heartbroken, and I'll definitely hurt myself.

Is there a more appropriate way to put it?

"Husband, what are you thinking about?"

"No, my Wife, I wasn't thinking about anything!"

"My lord," Li Banfeng said, "this Little Slave has loaded some of the Dark Star Bureau's best equipment onto the Dark Bridge Cannon. Now the Dark Bridge Cannon can carry many more people." He perked up, "How many more?"

The record player hugged Li Banfeng and said, "Husband, guess!" "Is it two hundred?"

The record player paused, "Husband, there were only three or five people before, but now you're saying two hundred all at once. Isn't that too much?" "Then how much is it?"

"Barely... one hundred people." The record player originally wanted to say eighty, but fearing that Li Banfeng would be too disappointed, it gritted its teeth and said one hundred. One hundred is not a small number; perhaps it can still make a big deal.

Li Banfeng hugged his Wife affectionately twice, and then took the record player and puppet home together.

Hong Ying asked Zhao Xiaowan, "Does he prefer this wooden record player, or that flesh and blood body?" Zhao Xiaowan sobbed, "He seems unable to tell the difference."

Upon hearing this, Hong Ying became alert: "What can't he tell?" "He can't tell anything!"

Xiao Wan wiped away her tears, something lingering in her mind. "My husband isn't in a hurry to use the Dark Bridge Cannon, is he? If it's really a hundred men, I'm not really confident." Li Banfeng was indeed planning to go find the Peddler.

The difference between one hundred and two hundred people is not significant. If we can rescue a group of people from Three Heads Junction, we might as well give it a try. They have suffered too much. If they escape from Three Heads Junction a day earlier, it will be a bonus for them!

He was about to call Luo ZhengNan to inquire about the Peddler's whereabouts when Feng Daiku called first. "Young Master Li, Luo Lijun has gone mad and says she wants to see you."

Why did she go crazy?

"I didn't ask her in detail. She had a disease, so I didn't dare to get close to her. She said that if she didn't see me tomorrow, she would risk her life to force her way into Pro State."

Li Banfeng went to the Soda Kiln overnight. He glanced into the factory through the window and saw that Luo Lijun and Luo Yanjun had both emerged from the pool, accompanied by a slightly smaller snail. The three snails were waving their antennae together, looking quite agitated.

Feng Daiku to shout across the factory building when Li Banfeng shook his head and said, "No need to shout, I'll go in and take a look."

"They have a disease." Feng Daiku expression, trying to stop Li Banfeng, but Li Banfeng had already passed through the wall and entered the factory.

Li Banfeng is not afraid of the epidemic. He still has antibodies in his body. Even if the antibodies become ineffective, he can still resolve the lesions when he returns to his Portable Abode.

"Miss Luo, your current situation is..." Li Banfeng couldn't distinguish between Luo Yanjun and Luo Lijun, so he deliberately kept his address vague.

"I can't take it anymore, the itching is unbearable, it's driving me crazy! This plague came from Virtue Praise Cliff, it was spread by that foreigner, you must know that foreigner, you must have a solution!"

The three snails trembled together, revealing black blisters with red spots inside. Li Banfeng said, "Tell me slowly."

"We can't afford to be slow! If this disease isn't resolved today, I'll lead my men out and let the whole of Pro State get infected!" Judging from this unreasonable attitude, this person is Luo Lijun.

A snail standing nearby said, "Young Master Li, we sisters have really suffered. If this continues, who knows what might happen? You might not care if something happens to us, but there are others who haven't been harmed yet. Those who haven't been harmed are not good people. If this continues, I'm afraid your lives won't be easy either."

Speaking in a roundabout way, that's Luo Yanjun.

Li Banfeng asked, "Can you be more explicit? You're in trouble, so why are we having such a hard time?" Luo Yanjun wanted to explain, but she couldn't bring herself to do it; she was also suffering greatly from the epidemic.

The smallest snail spoke up, "Because we don't like fighting, but we can't withstand this epidemic, and now we're all going to collapse. Although we won't die, we can't do anything. Those who can do anything are the ones who love fighting. There will be a war soon. Do you understand now?"

The smallest snail spoke very bluntly, but Li Banfeng still needed to verify some details. "The one who loves to fight, wasn't it brought down by the epidemic?" Luo Yanjun tapped the little snail with her antennae, signaling her not to talk nonsense.

But Little Snail couldn't help but continue, "The ones who love to fight are the Royal Roots. They're not afraid of the plague. Hurry up and get us some antidote, we really can't hold on any longer!" Royal Roots.

Three-Headed People.

They weren't even afraid of epidemics. What kind of physique did they have?

"Really can't hold on any longer?" Li Banfeng shrugged. Little Snail nodded vigorously, "Really, I'm not kidding!"

Luo Yanjun looked at Luo Lijun, Luo Lijun flicked her antennae and shouted sharply, "What price? Just say it!" After spending time together, these two sisters have become quite sensible.

"The price isn't cheap, and there's no guarantee the deal will even go through."

Luo Lijun shouted, "Let's not worry about whether it works out or not, let's talk about the price first." Li Banfeng said, "I want a contract."

"Whose contract?" "More than one person's." "How many do you want?"

"That depends on how many people you need the medicine for."

The little snail exclaimed excitedly, "Is it a medicine that can cure the epidemic? We need ten thousand doses!"

Luo Lijun shoved the little snail aside and angrily rebuked, "Ten thousand copies? Can you even provide ten thousand contracts?"

"Li Qi, we need enough for three people. I'll trade three deeds for it. Get back to me by this time tomorrow!" Li Banfeng nodded and asked Little Snail, "What's your name?"

The little snail said, "My name is Luo Shaojun."

"Was it the royal family's idea for you to come to Pro State to find medicine, or was it your own?" "We can't even endure it ourselves, how could we have the mind to care about the royal family?"

"You said you couldn't stand it anymore, just because it itched?" "It's an unbearable itch, try it and see!"

"Your Inner State doesn't produce any medicine."

"I tried it, taking the bitterest powdered medicine, but it stopped working after two hours." "Is itching the symptom for everyone over there?"

"No, some of them..." slap!

Luo Lijun flicked her antennae and struck Luo Shaojun's snail shell. The little snail Luo Shaojun took off from the spot and fell into the pool.

Li Banfeng really liked Shaojun, and answered all her questions.

"We'll talk about it tomorrow." Luo Lijun left with Luo Yanjun.

Inside the pool, Luo Yanjun asked, "Sister, if the three of us cure the plague, how will we explain it when we go back?"

Luo Lijun said, "What's the rush? As long as we get one dose of the medicine, we'll have ten thousand doses. Do you think those doctors and pharmacists are useless? My shell is so itchy, can you scratch it for me?"

"Sis, don't scratch, it'll only make it itchier." "Just scratch it, stop talking!"

At Virtue Praise Cliff, in Virtue Source Village, Cui Tike was cultivating blood, a tin can beside him containing the wildflower. It was the seed Li Banfeng had given him, which he hadn't yet planted.

Li Banfeng asked, "Why haven't you planted the seeds yet?"

"Because we need to cultivate blood that has antibodies against the disease before we can hope to cultivate humanoid plants that can survive on Virtue Praise Cliff," Cui Tike put down the test tube and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "My technique is called 'No Grass Grows.' Humanoid plants without antibodies cannot survive here. The blood of the DaoLao Ghost has enough antibodies, but the Peddler does not allow them to survive here."

"Don't you have enough antibodies in your own blood?"

Cui Tike shook his head and said, "That won't do. My blood contains more than just antibodies. If you mix my blood with seeds, I don't even know what will grow."

Li Banfeng looked at the desolate Virtue Praise Cliff: "You need to hurry. If there are less than a hundred people in this area within a hundred miles, it will turn into Old Land. I feel that this place will turn into Old Land at any time."

"There are still a hundred people left. I've calculated that they can hold on for another ten days or so." Cui Tike held up Song Demei's head and placed it in front of Li Banfeng. Apart from the skull, most of Song Demei's brain had turned into dirt, but she was still alive.

"Since we have plenty of time, let's do something else. You've spread a plague in the Inner State; do you have any medicine that can cure it within a certain area?" Cui Tike was taken aback. "You want to cure the plague in the Inner State?"

"I'm talking about a certain range. For example, if ten thousand people are infected with the disease, is it possible to select three of them and cure them?" Cui Tike thought for a long time, "It's a bit difficult, Non-Self do it myself."

Li Banfeng smiled and said, "Then I'll trouble you to do it yourself."

After considering it for a moment, Cui Tike asked, "Is this considered payment for helping me get the seeds?" "No," Li Banfeng shook his head.

"Then why would I do such a thing?"

"Because there is an extra reward," Li Banfeng looked at Virtue Praise Cliff again, "Although this is the Proper Land, it can no longer accumulate popularity for you. I can give you a new piece of land, a new piece of land with a complete deed. Although it is still far from the Proper Land, at least there is hope."

P. S.: What would happen if the Three-Headed People got his hands on the Entry Medicine Powder?