"You followed me?"
At Xu Ruolan's words, anger immediately appeared on Chen Lin's face, and his voice grew considerably colder.
Xu Ruolan waved her hands hastily. "Please calm down, Fellow Daoist. How would I dare spy on you? I merely overheard your conversation with that Zhang Mazi in the Zhang Clan Trading Firm just now."
Chen Lin thought that was probably the case as well. He had merely been bluffing.
Since she had guessed that he had used pills, Zhang Mazi and the others in the shop at the time had probably guessed it too.
But that was no matter. Once he returned this time, he would shut himself indoors. Anyone who wanted to target him would first have to get past Yu Yuehai.
"You want to buy pills? Unfortunately, I have none to spare. You should try asking someone from the Five Major Families."
He did not even have enough pills for himself. Perhaps because the core members of the Five Major Families were preparing to flee, all sorts of materials had been in short supply lately. He had barely managed to buy any just now, though materials for the Enlightenment Pill were plentiful.
That was hardly surprising. His Enlightenment Pill was Yu Yuehai's modified version, made entirely from low-end materials and vastly different from the normal Enlightenment Pill.
If not for the outrageously severe headaches it caused afterward, this modified pill formula could have been called a masterpiece.
At Chen Lin's words, Xu Ruolan gave a faint, bitter smile.
"You jest, Fellow Daoist. How could a mere rogue cultivator at the third layer of Qi Refining like me gain access to the Five Major Families? Besides, even members of those families must be core disciples to have the right to obtain pills."
Chen Lin shrugged. "Then there's nothing I can do. I can't help you."
With that, Chen Lin turned and walked away.
After taking two steps, he hesitated, wanting to warn her that this place had become extremely dangerous. But when he remembered that escaping required severing the red line first, he could only sigh helplessly.
Xu Ruolan watched Chen Lin's retreating back, her expression shifting uncertainly.
Finally, a gleam of resolve flashed in her eyes, and she hurried after him.
Seeing this, Chen Lin stopped and frowned.
"Fellow Daoist Xu, I've already made myself perfectly clear. I have no pills. If you keep pestering me, don't blame me for being rude!"
Although they had met once before, and he felt some pity that her beauty would soon wither and her life fade away, her relentless pestering still irritated him.
Xu Ruolan offered no explanation. Instead, she took out an ancient-looking scroll.
"Fellow Daoist Chen, this is my family heirloom, a method for forging a spiritual tool. If you can provide pills that will let me break through to the mid Qi Refinement realm, I'm willing to trade it!"
A spiritual tool?
Hearing that term, Chen Lin could not help being startled.
Magical tools in the Immortal Cultivation World were divided into low grade, mid grade, high grade, and peak grade.
Generally, cultivators in the Qi Condensation realm used low-grade and mid-grade magical tools. A few descendants of major lineages might possess high-grade magical tools.
As for peak-grade magical tools, only those in the Foundation Establishment realm could afford to use them.
Upon reaching the Golden Core stage, cultivators used dharmic treasures rather than magical tools.
Spiritual tools were a special type of magical tool, often possessing unique effects. They could not be forged through ordinary methods and were exceedingly rare.
Most importantly, spiritual tools could change size to a certain extent, making them convenient to carry and use. This was their most striking distinction from ordinary magical tools.
The fact that she possessed a method for forging a spiritual tool was enough to prove she was no ordinary rogue cultivator. At the very least, her ancestors must once have enjoyed glory.
Of course, she might also have obtained it by chance rather than inherited it.
Chen Lin did not care where it had come from. Surprised and doubtful, he took the scroll and unrolled it to examine its contents.
Xu Ruolan watched his expression nervously, clutching a talisman bearing blue runic inscriptions in one hand, ready at any moment to guard against Chen Lin killing her for the treasure.
Her little movements did not escape Chen Lin's perception, but he paid them no mind. After all, they barely knew each other, and this was the lawless Shanty Town. It would have been strange if she had taken no precautions.
Unrolled, the scroll was roughly two feet long. Apart from some ancient cultivator text, it contained numerous lifelike illustrations.
A quick look revealed that it described a spiritual tool called the Azure Flood Dragon Halberd. Everything from material selection and forging procedures to the engraving of array patterns was recorded in great detail.
Beside each step were also precautions and insights on forging, written in the script commonly used by present-day cultivators, and contributed by more than one person.
From this, he could tell that it truly was an inheritance item.
"Are you certain you want to trade this?"
Chen Lin rolled the scroll back up and looked at her.
To be honest, this was the first time he had seen a scroll used as a vessel for such valuable information.
Most high-level information of this kind was stored in jade slips, which were both secure and convenient to consult and comprehend.
Regardless, there was no denying its value.
Instructions for forging a spiritual tool would be extremely valuable even in the eyes of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
For a small artifact-refining lineage, they would be worthy of serving as a clan-protecting treasure.
Xu Ruolan pressed her lips together, her lovely eyes filled with deep reluctance, yet she spoke with extraordinary firmness. "Yes. As long as you can provide pills that will let me break through to the mid Qi Refinement realm, this will be yours!"
"Good!"
Chen Lin readily agreed.
Although he had never heard of any of the materials required to forge the Azure Flood Dragon Halberd, and they were undoubtedly rare, he might not necessarily be able to gather ten sets.
But artifact refiners, unlike alchemists, were relatively common. Once he gathered the raw materials, he could ask another artifact refiner to forge it for him.
Even if he did not use it himself, its resale value would far exceed that of Chuyuan Pills.
Only in an isolated place like Kaiyuan City, where the Five Major Families controlled the pills, were their prices so severely inflated. Otherwise, an equal exchange would have been nothing but a dream.
Having agreed, he did not drag things out. He immediately took a small bottle from a pocket inside his robe and poured out two Chuyuan Pills.
"Fellow Daoist Zhang, I must make this clear beforehand. Although these pills increase cultivation, they aren't specifically intended for breaking through realms. I can't guarantee that they'll let you reach the mid Qi Refinement realm."
Then he shifted his tone. "However, with my aptitude, I only needed two of these pills to break through to the mid Qi Refinement realm. I believe your aptitude is better than mine, so your chances should be quite good."
Looking at the pills, which gave off a rich medicinal fragrance, Xu Ruolan involuntarily swallowed.
Still, she restrained her impulse and said gravely, "If they're merely ordinary pills for increasing cultivation, they can't compare with what I'm offering. Even two would fall far short."
Her reasoning was sound, and Chen Lin acknowledged that there was a substantial difference in their value.
Yet he still shook his head. "You must understand, Fellow Daoist Xu, that the value of an item isn't always fixed. Here and now, these two pills of mine are worth that price. If you pass up this chance, I'm afraid it will be very difficult for you to obtain similar pills elsewhere."
Seeing how firm Chen Lin was, Xu Ruolan gritted her teeth and nodded. "Fine. Two it is. Could you leave me an address, Fellow Daoist? If I need pills again in the future, I may have to trouble you once more."
"Heh, there's no need for that. After today, it seems unlikely that we'll meet again."
Chen Lin smiled faintly and rejected her suggestion.
After handing her the pills and putting away the scroll, he walked off without looking back.
Xu Ruolan remained where she was for a while, then glanced warily around. Once she saw that no one had noticed her, she put away the pills and prepared to leave.
Suddenly, her aura changed. She cast a sidelong glance and sneered, just about to say something, but the jade pendant hanging before her chest glimmered faintly, and she returned to normal.
She looked at the jade pendant, then up at the sky, before hurrying away with worry on her face.
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