Harvest

He carried the Tiger Corpse to the back entrance of the Tavern where he had sold the Wild Boar last time.

After he knocked, a middle-aged man who looked like a steward came out.

"What is it?" The steward sized up the masked Lu Chuan, then caught sight of the enormous Tiger Corpse behind him. His eyes immediately lit up.

"Here to sell. The Old Mountain Lord from Mount Erlong—I just killed it," Lu Chuan said succinctly.

"The Mountain Lord?" The steward was startled. He hurried forward to inspect it closely, paying particular attention to the Tiger Claws, fur, and Bones. The more he looked, the more alarmed he became. "It really is that scourge... What skill, sir! Please, come in!"

In the Backyard, the Shopkeeper was summoned as well, and he circled the Tiger Corpse, clicking his tongue in wonder.

"The hide is fine, though it is a pity it is damaged in so many places—its value has dropped by more than half. As for the Tiger Bone and Flesh and Blood..." The Shopkeeper looked at Lu Chuan.

"I'm not selling the Tiger Bone. I only want payment for the Flesh and Blood. And while you're at it, help me remove the Tiger Bone," Lu Chuan cut him off.

Damage to the Tiger Skin was unavoidable. After all, this thing had fought him slash for slash.

As for the tiger meat...

Thinking of how many people this Mountain Lord had devoured, he felt sickened. He did not want even a single bite of its flesh.

The Shopkeeper found it somewhat regrettable, but did not ask further. He evaluated it carefully once more.

"It has plenty of years on it, and its Qi and Blood are abundant. For the tiger meat and Tiger Skin... we'll offer Thirty taels of silver. That is an honest price."

Thirty taels was a little lower than he had expected, but considering he was only selling the hide and meat, it was reasonable enough.

Lu Chuan did not haggle further and nodded. "Fine. I want cash."

"Straightforward!" The Shopkeeper immediately had someone bring over three Silver ingots of ten taels each.

Lu Chuan checked their quality and put them away.

The Tavern workers then got to work on the Tiger Corpse with bustling enthusiasm.

Half a day passed. Piece by piece, the Tiger Bone was picked clean from the carcass, while Lu Chuan remained on the scene and watched the entire process closely.

Once he confirmed that not a single piece of Tiger Bone had been missed, Lu Chuan carefully wrapped the Old Mountain Lord's Tiger Bone in Thick Cloth and strode toward the Mountain Splitting Saber Hall.

He had finally obtained the Tiger Bone Senior Disciple Brother Zhou needed.

Lu Chuan weighed the heavy bundle in his hand. By his rough estimate, it had to weigh at least two hundred jin.

"This is a hefty amount of Tiger Bone. I just wonder exactly how much Senior Disciple Brother Zhou needs for his medicine. After taking out his share, how much will remain?"

Now that he had broken through the Blood Pass himself and become a First Qi and Blood Martial Artist, he would surely need this sort of Precious Medicine to assist him when he broke through to Second Qi and Blood in the future.

Besides, with the silver he had just acquired and the proceeds from selling the tiger, he was much more flush with money. It was the perfect time to make a large purchase of Cultivation resources.

No matter what, he had to reserve a portion of this Old Mountain Lord's Tiger Bone for himself.

Upon returning to the Mountain Splitting Saber Hall, Lu Chuan found Zhou Ming Chuan practicing his saber techniques.

He walked over and called out to Zhou Ming Chuan, "Senior Brother, a word in private."

Zhou Ming Chuan sheathed his saber. Seeing that it was Lu Chuan, he smiled. "Junior Brother Lu, long time no see. You..."

Halfway through his words, his gaze fell upon the bulging bundle in Lu Chuan's hand, and his eyes slowly widened.

"This... this couldn't be..."

Lu Chuan handed him the bundle.

Zhou Ming Chuan took it, and his hand suddenly sank under the weight. He hurriedly exerted force to steady it.

When he untied the knot and looked inside, he saw dozens of bones, lustrous white with a jade-like sheen.

"Tiger Bone!" Zhou Ming Chuan's face was filled with delight.

"This bone quality... crystalline as jade. It is absolutely no ordinary Tiger Bone! Junior Brother Lu, you... where did you get this?"

Lu Chuan waved a hand. "Just a fortunate coincidence. By the way, Senior Brother, if you are refining pills to assist a breakthrough, roughly how much Tiger Bone will you need?"

Zhou Ming Chuan calculated carefully.

"If it were the bones of an ordinary fierce tiger, I'm afraid it would take over a hundred jin to refine enough of the needed essence. But this Tiger Bone of yours, Junior Brother... its quality is simply too good! I think fifty jin will be enough! Its Medicinal Power will definitely be more than sufficient!"

Lu Chuan nodded and said readily, "Then take however much you need, Senior Brother. As for the rest, I plan to take it to Renhetang Pharmacy and sell it off."

"Ah, don't!" Zhou Ming Chuan hurriedly interrupted him, lowering his voice. "Why sell something this good to outsiders? You aren't the only one in our Martial Arts Hall who needs this sort of Precious Medicine. Master Zheng has also been gathering aged Precious Medicine everywhere lately..."

"Sell it to Master?" Lu Chuan hesitated somewhat.

"Exactly!" Zhou Ming Chuan said with certainty. "Master Zheng is loaded. He definitely will not shortchange you on the price. Besides, I heard that he intends to focus on nurturing that kid Jiang Hao, which is why he is sparing no expense to gather resources."

"Jiang Hao? Is he about to break through to Second Qi and Blood?" Lu Chuan was startled inwardly.

"How could it be that fast?" Zhou Ming Chuan curled his lip, his tone carrying a hint of sourness, "But this kid's progress really is frightening. This month, he's already steadily entered First Qi and Blood Major Success."

"At this rate, with Master Zheng supporting him with everything he has, in three months at most, he'll dare to attempt the threshold of Second Qi and Blood."

Lu Chuan looked toward the tall, upright figure on the Training Ground, a trace of complicated emotion rising in his heart.

Naturally, he was envious—but not of the man's talent. He envied the way his master spared no expense in pouring resources into him.

Unlike himself, who had to fight and claw for every single step.

"Does the status of a Formal Disciple... really come with such vastly different treatment?" he murmured.

Hearing this, Zhou Ming Chuan sighed.

"Not entirely. At least Master Zheng has never paid this much attention to me. I heard Master mention it once—he said he'd taken a liking to Jiang Hao's Bone Root and wanted to raise him into the future pillar of Mountain Splitting Saber Hall."

So that was it... Lu Chuan understood.

After a brief moment of thought, he made his decision. "Fine. If the price is right, I'll sell these Tiger Bones to Master."

Who he sold them to did not really matter. What mattered was whether the price was right.

Not long afterward, Lu Chuan carried the remaining Tiger Bones on his back and arrived at the Backyard where Old Zheng lived alone.

"Master." Lu Chuan respectfully bowed.

Old Zheng was tending to Flowers and Plants. At the sound, he glanced at Lu Chuan. "Lu Chuan. What is it?"

"This disciple heard that Master has recently been seeking Precious Medicine. By chance, this disciple obtained some medicinal ingredients and has come to ask Master to take a look."

At first, Old Zheng paid it no mind and merely gave a casual acknowledgment.

But when his gaze swept over that pile of lustrous, jade-white Tiger Bones, the movement of his hands stopped.

"These Tiger Bones..." A sharp gleam flashed through Old Zheng's eyes.

"The texture is dense as jade, the Bone Marrow congealed without dispersing... This bears the signs of an Old Mountain Lord that lived for at least thirty years! Where did you get them?"

Lu Chuan answered truthfully, "Reporting to Master, these are the bones of the Mountain Lord that brought calamity upon the depths of Mount Erlong, which this disciple hunted."

"That Mountain Lord of Mount Erlong?" Old Zheng raised an eyebrow, clearly aware of its vicious reputation.

Thinking of that tiger's eerie nature, then of how it had been killed by Lu Chuan, he studied Lu Chuan seriously for the first time.

After a long while, a hint of astonishment appeared on Old Zheng's face. "Lu Chuan, you... broke through the Blood Pass?"

Lu Chuan smiled bitterly inwardly. Before an expert like Old Zheng, his little cultivation truly could not be concealed.

He admitted it frankly. "This disciple was fortunate enough to break through not long ago."

"Oh?" Old Zheng was even more surprised.

"If I remember correctly, your Bone Root was only middling to lower-tier. To break through the barrier on your own in such a short time... it seems you encountered another opportunity."