Wealth and Connections

"Immortal Master, please taste the fragrant tea!"

Inside Master Hu's Four Tigers Magic Artifact Shop, Chen Dengming was welcomed into the VIP parlor for the first time. A bright-eyed, white-toothed young Xiantian maid walked over with a tray, serving Chen Dengming fragrant tea with shy deference.

Chen Dengming took the teacup with a smile. Beside him, Master Hu laughed heartily, "Brother Chen, you are truly a capable man now, but you still lack a few attendants by your side. How about I send this girl to your residence to serve you, old brother?"

Chen Dengming glanced at the delicate and refined young maid, shook his head with a smile, and said, "Tea is enough. Little brother here in the Gathering Place doesn't even have a residence, so where would I find a mansion to settle these girls?"

Master Hu gave a hearty laugh, waved his hand to dismiss the slightly dimmed-toned maid, and puffed away on his pipe, saying, "With your ability, old brother, Xu Fangzhu will undoubtedly arrange a mere mansion for you immediately. I also heard that old brother is a man who cherishes beauty, going so far as to disregard Xu Ning's face just to demand a person from Zanhua Tower and take her to the Luo Family?"

Chen Dengming's heart stirred, knowing that Master Hu was probing him. He took a sip of tea and smiled, "Where did you hear this news, Master Hu? How could little brother dare to offend Xu Fangzhu? However, that Xu Wei is indeed someone I asked to take away. The ransom has yet to be paid, but I will go pay it shortly. For now, Xu Wei has already remained with the Luo Family."

Master Hu was startled, the smile on his face growing even broader as he said, "Old brother Chen, you are truly hiding your capabilities. To be able to plant someone into the Luo Family—this skill is extraordinary. That Xu girl following you is also accumulating blessings from her ancestors. How would that Xu Fangzhu ever dare to accept this ransom?"

"Master Hu, you are trying to praise me to death. Little brother lacks that ability; it was all thanks to Xu Wei striving for herself, coupled with Eldest Miss Lüo speaking the esteemed word."

Chen Dengming hurriedly flatly denied it.

Yet this perfectly measured phrasing naturally meant Master Hu had already probed out the desired information, concluding that Chen Dengming must truly be a favored figure before Eldest Miss Lüo and that his future prospects would be boundless.

He immediately burst into laughter, changed the subject, and began discussing the Gu poison that had recently been running hot in the Gathering Place, as well as the magic artifact saber and defensive magic artifact that Chen Dengming wished to custom-order.

Chen Dengming also took the opportunity to inquire about the recent situation in the Gathering Place, such as why the men from Iron Forest Hall were making such a great fuss about killing cultivators outside the Gathering Place.

Half an incense stick later.

Over the clothes sewn by Xu Wei, Chen Dengming donned a thin-as-cicada-wings, grayish-black magic robe, which could be considered able to protect this garment.

With a smile on his face and steady strides, he left the magic artifact shop.

This trip of returning in glory and custom-ordering magic artifacts at Master Hu's shop left him very satisfied.

He had originally thought Master Hu would at most give him a ninety-percent discount.

As a result, not only was the custom-making fee for the magic artifact saber waived for him, but the finished product and materials were also discounted to seventy percent.

Additionally, the defensive magic robe was treated as a free gift from Master Hu.

Even though it was only a low-grade defensive magic robe, the Xuanwu Garment, it was worth at least ten Low-grade Spirit Stones on the market.

Even if Master Hu ran his own magic artifact shop and had lower costs, this was still no small gesture.

No matter how repeatedly Chen Dengming declined, he had no choice but to accept it, letting the pretty maid dress him in it.

As for Master Hu's intentions, he was naturally quite clear: the first was the Gu poison, Gu creatures, and Gu-refinement techniques he held in his hands, and the second was the desire to befriend someone who could speak a word of weight before Eldest Miss Lüo.

The former represented money.

The latter represented connections.

In fact, the latter was far more important and served as Master Hu's primary goal.

After all, for a businessman, money could be earned at any time.

Yet certain connections were ones that a lifetime of effort might not be enough to climb up to.

Of course, Chen Dengming naturally would not admit that he could speak with weight before Eldest Miss Lüo, flatly denying it instead and claiming to be merely an insignificant little person.

Alas, people simply did not believe it.

This was reality, and reality was that people only believed what they saw and heard, assuming that was the true side of things.

From Master Hu's perspective, Chen Dengming was just a stinky fishmonger on the western old shed street half a year ago, and even his fishing tools were rented right from him.

Yet half a year later, Chen Dengming had transformed into a Qi Cultivation Second Level cultivator, had stayed in the Luo Family for over three months, had completed Eldest Miss Lüo's bounty, and had even settled a dust-stained woman in the Luo Family.

Could this possibly be some insignificant person with no connections? Who would believe that if it were spoken aloud?

When a person was weak, no amount of hoarse shouting could make anyone hear their voice, but when a person proved their strength, even without uttering a single word, others would already brainwash themselves into believing it.

Chen Dengming ultimately did not agree to anything for Master Hu.

He was no greenhorn; just because someone gave him a few things and said nice words didn't mean he had to promise anything, nor was Master Hu that simple.

If they were truly to cooperate, they would still need to interact a few more times.

Yet from Master Hu's words, he had roughly figured out the situation of Iron Forest Hall.

Iron Forest Hall's frequent recent movements seemed to represent certain attitudes of the Zhu Family, and the future might not necessarily be peaceful.

Once the Zhu Family and the Luo Family—these two Cultivation Families—had friction or even went to war, all the rogue cultivators in the Gathering Place would inevitably get dragged in.

A sense of urgency arose in Chen Dengming's heart; he needed to hurry and seize some money while it was temporarily peaceful, hoarding cultivation resources so that he could hide away when the chaos began without worrying about lacking resources to rapidly improve his strength.

Although he possessed strength now, he did not forget his original intention.

After leaving the magic artifact shop, he first strolled over to the shantytown to check on his former residence.

Seeing that even the door of the dwelling he used to live in had been replaced, though the door gods he had absentmindedly hand-drawn on the doorpost were still there, he sighed with emotion for a moment, then greeted several fish-buying regular customers who recognized him, and turned to leave. He left behind several flattered regular customers who hurriedly bowed to send him off, followed by a wave of sighs and praises.

"Immortal Master Chen is a good person. Back when he sold fish, he never shorted weight, and even extra fish bubbles and offal were given away for free. Now that he's become an Immortal Master, he doesn't have an ounce of airs."

"This is a true Immortal Master—not overbearing or aggressive. Even when one person achieves the Dao, the chickens and dogs ascend to heaven. Look at that Miss Xu; I reckon she's following along to enjoy blessings now, too. For us to have such a neighbor is also a blessing."

"Shh! Hush! Don't let other passing Immortal Masters hear you. Are you tired of living?"

Chen Dengming channeled his movement technique, his figure leaping high back and forth among the ridges of various roofs, and quickly arrived at the location of the market.

After observing for a while, he actually saw many stalls displaying signs such as 'Seeking to Buy Gu Poison and Gu Creatures', and a plan gradually formed in his heart.

It seems the market really is quite good. Once truly set up, it will be a huge cake with profits large enough...

Chen Dengming both relaxed his brow and furrowed it, his expression shifting as he pondered the pros, cons, and business opportunities within.

He was not Lüo Bing; he lacked worry-free cultivation resources, and everything required him to strive for it himself.

A hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones were not enough for him to use for very long when used to drive the Spirit Seizing Formation.

If the market for Gu poison and Gu creatures was managed well, it would become his greatest channel for generating revenue in the future, allowing him to steadily go a long time without worrying about cultivation resources.

Yet the greater the profit, the greater the risk it represented.

Sometimes, if a person possessed wealth mismatched with their own intelligence and strength, they would lose that wealth at an even faster speed, distributing it into the hands of those matched individuals who possessed high intelligence and strength.

Earning the money one was capable of earning and eating the meals one was capable of eating was a code of conduct Chen Dengming had accumulated over many years of wandering the martial world in the Nanxun Kingdom.

He walked around the market, observing, and enduring a pang of heartache, he spent 13 Low-grade Spirit Stones to purchase a copy of Divine Speed Technique and a copy of Vajra Shield Technique before turning to leave.

Arriving at a deserted alleyway near the Golden Character Workshop in the city, he touched the smooth fabric of the magic robe, then pinched incantations and cast a spell.

A surge of spiritual qi poured into the magic robe, and the wood-light shield formation engraved within it instantly activated.

Right away, the fibers inside the magic robe grew extremely tough under the effect of the spiritual qi, and furthermore, a layer of spiritual light shield also manifested on the exterior of his body.

The Wood-Light Shield was a tier-one, grade-two spell, with equivalents of the same level being the Spiritual Light Shield, Golden Light Shield, and so forth, featuring relatively poor defensive effects.

Yet once engraved into a magic robe, even without learning the corresponding spell, one only needed to channel spiritual qi to trigger it instantaneously.

However, this was after all a low-grade magic robe, capable of driving the internal formation only twice a day.

Chen Dengming, who had not tried it inside Master Hu's shop earlier, tapped his right ear.

Whoosh—

The Blood Centipede Gu flew out of his ear canal, and obeying Chen Dengming's instructions, abruptly opened its pincer-like mouthparts and fiercely bit down on the Wood-Light Shield.

The Wood-Light Shield trembled, sending out ripples of light. The spiritual qi structure within it seemed disrupted, and the very next instant, it directly shattered.

"Half a breath."

Chen Dengming nodded slightly, casting a gaze at the magic robe that still maintained its tough, protective state like intertwining bundles of steel wire, and formed a clear judgment of this magic robe's defensive power.

This magic robe possessed two layers of defense.

One layer was the Wood-Light Shield, and the other layer was the magic robe itself.

The defensive power of the Wood-Light Shield was stronger than his state when executing the Indestructible Vajra Zen Skill, while the defense of the magic robe itself was roughly comparable to when he used the Indestructible Vajra Zen Skill.

Such a defensive effect was quite sufficient for dealing with cultivators of the same realm or even the Qi Cultivation Third Level.

Yet if he were to face cultivators above the Qi Cultivation Fourth Level who had mastered tier-one, grade-four or higher spells, it would be as fragile as paper.

Considering the potential future conflicts between the Zhu Family and the Luo Family...

It seems I need to pay attention to the starting time of that Dark Market and purchase a mid-grade defensive magic artifact that others don't know about. Low-grade magic artifacts are too weak.

In addition, once my strength breaks through, I must quickly learn the tier-one, grade-three Vajra Shield Technique.

Currently I possess the Golden Silkworm Gu and the Blood Centipede Gu, yet I lack defensive methods. It's an obvious case of high offense and low defense—good enough to be an assassin, but playing the role of a merchant monopolizing the Gu poison market...

Chen Dengming calculated inwardly, his gaze flickering.

Relying entirely on purchasing his own magic artifacts and defensive trump cards inside Master Hu's shop was not ideal, as it was prone to being betrayed by others.

Trading within the Dark Market, however, meant no one knew his identity, making the purchase of a defensive magic artifact for self-protection there the safest course.

Having calculated thusly, he straightened his lapels, stepped out of the alleyway, and headed straight for the Golden Character Workshop to see Xu Ning.