Selling Pills

"Senior truly has a discerning eye."

Zhang Yuan flattered him. "But this is, after all, a Golden Immortal-grade Sunflame Mystic Stone, a rare and priceless treasure. It is priced at fifty thousand Flame Yang Stones, or equivalent items in exchange."

Red Cloud pondered for a moment, then asked, "Do you purchase pills here?"

"Senior has pills to sell?"

Hearing Red Cloud's words, Zhang Yuan froze briefly before hurriedly saying, "We do purchase pills here."

Red Cloud nodded and took out a jade bottle, placing it on the counter. "Take a look at this."

Zhang Yuan accepted the jade bottle and removed the stopper. A rich pill fragrance immediately wafted out.

"This is... a Seven-Turn Golden Pill?!"

Zhang Yuan cried out, his hands trembling. A Seven-Turn Golden Pill—the legendary Seven-Turn Golden Pill.

"That's right. It is a Seven-Turn Golden Pill."

Red Cloud said calmly, "This pill can allow a Heavenly Immortal to achieve Golden Immortal status, and it also has some effect on Golden Immortals."

Zhang Yuan took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. "Please wait a moment, Senior. This is beyond my authority. I must invite the Pavilion Master to appraise it personally."

"Go on. Don't keep me waiting too long."

Zhang Yuan hurried away and soon returned with an elderly man. The old man had white hair and beard, a kindly face, and restrained sharpness in his eyes. His cultivation was at the Early-Stage Golden Immortal realm.

The old man cupped his hands. "I am Daoist Ziyuan, the nominal Pavilion Master of Heavenly Treasure Pavilion. May I examine your Seven-Turn Golden Pill, Fellow Daoist?"

Red Cloud nodded. "You may."

Daoist Ziyuan took the jade bottle and poured out a Seven-Turn Golden Pill. He examined it closely. The pill was golden, with seven pill patterns flowing across its surface, radiating dense spiritual energy.

After studying it for a while, Daoist Ziyuan grew more shocked the longer he looked. Red Cloud's Seven-Turn Golden Pill was of extremely high quality, far purer than any pill he had ever seen.

Daoist Ziyuan asked tentatively, "Fellow Daoist, did you refine this Seven-Turn Golden Pill?"

"What if I did? What if I didn't?"

Red Cloud looked at Daoist Ziyuan with a chuckle.

Daoist Ziyuan laughed heartily. "I was presumptuous. What price does Fellow Daoist have in mind?"

"I want three things."

As he spoke, Red Cloud raised three fingers.

"First, this Golden Immortal-grade Sunflame Mystic Stone."

"Second, a map of Sunfire Lake, with the precise locations of the Sunlight Divine Water production sites marked on it."

"Third, I want detailed information about the Great Luo Golden Immortal-level Water Beast in Sunfire Lake."

Daoist Ziyuan frowned. He glanced at the Seven-Turn Golden Pill in his hand, considered for a moment, and said, "The first two are easy enough, but the third... Fellow Daoist, that Water Beast is not something to be trifled with. I advise you to abandon that idea."

"Heh, I'm merely curious."

Red Cloud smiled. "Pavilion Master, just tell me."

Daoist Ziyuan pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Very well. That Water Beast is called the Sunfire Beast. Legend says it was born when a piece of Sunfire Essence Gold from the Sun Star fell into Sunfire Lake and absorbed the Sunlight Divine Water and Blazing Sun Power of the lake for countless years, eventually gaining sentience."

"The Sunfire Beast is enormous, over a hundred thousand zhang long. Its scales are indestructible, and it has mastery over the Sun Law. Within Sunfire Lake, it is comparable to a Peak-Stage Great Luo Golden Immortal."

"The Sunfire Beast usually sleeps in the deepest part of the lake's center. So long as no one provokes it, it will not awaken."

"But if someone covets its territory and enters it, it will awaken and devour the intruder."

Red Cloud fell into thought, then asked, "What about the Sunlight Divine Water? Has it all been claimed by it?"

"Heh, not entirely."

Daoist Ziyuan shook his head. "Sunfire Lake spans hundreds of millions of kilometers, and there is more than one Sunlight Divine Water production site. The sites in the central region have the highest output and finest quality, but they are occupied by the Sunfire Beast, so no one dares go there."

"There are also some smaller production sites in the outer regions that yield Sunlight Divine Water. Their output is low, but they are safe."

"I see. Thank you for the lesson."

Red Cloud nodded and continued, "Fellow Daoist, then I'll take the first two items, plus fifty thousand Flame Yang Stones."

Daoist Ziyuan calculated for a moment.

"Fifty thousand Flame Yang Stones will take us some time to deliver, and transporting them back and forth would be troublesome. How about I offer you an additional generous gift instead?"

Red Cloud asked curiously, "What generous gift?"

Daoist Ziyuan lowered his voice. "Fellow Daoist, I know of a hidden Sunlight Divine Water production site. Its output is not low, and it is not guarded by any powerful Water Beasts."

"That information should be enough to make up the difference in price, shouldn't it?"

Red Cloud's eyes lit up. "Deal!"

After the transaction was complete, Red Cloud left Heavenly Treasure Pavilion with the map of Sunfire Lake, the Sunflame Mystic Stone, and the information on that hidden production site. The fifty thousand Flame Yang Stones were the price of the intelligence.

Selling Red Cloud information about a Sunlight Divine Water production site for fifty thousand Flame Yang Stones meant Heavenly Treasure Pavilion had certainly made a huge profit.

After all, that information had definitely not been sold to Red Cloud alone. Fifty thousand from one person meant five hundred thousand from ten.

Daoist Ziyuan personally escorted him to the entrance, his attitude extremely courteous. Smiling, he said, "If Fellow Daoist has any more Seven-Turn Golden Pills, you may come find me anytime. The price is negotiable."

Red Cloud nodded and drifted away.

Heavenly Treasure City had cultivation chambers for rent, intended for independent cultivators. One Flame Yang Stone could pay for a year of cultivation.

After renting a cultivation chamber, Red Cloud shut the stone door, laid down restrictions, and took out the Golden Immortal-grade Sunflame Mystic Stone.

The Sunflame Mystic Stone radiated warm energy. Red Cloud circulated the Red Cloud Dao Scripture and began refining it.

The Blazing Sun Power within the mystic stone slowly flowed into his body, like a fire dragon swimming through the meridians throughout his body. Red Cloud's physical body strengthened at a snail's pace.

Besides the Blazing Sun Power, fragments of the Sun Law within the Sunflame Mystic Stone also merged into Red Cloud's Primordial Spirit, unfolding the mysteries of the Sun Law before his eyes.

But just as Red Cloud had said, this Sunflame Mystic Stone contained too many impurities, making it very slow to refine.

After some thought, Red Cloud contacted his main body and summoned the shadow of the Illustrated Record of Literary Fortune, placing the Sunflame Mystic Stone inside it.

The Illustrated Record of Literary Fortune flashed with light and began analyzing the structure of the Sunflame Mystic Stone. A moment later, lines of Primordial Dao Script appeared on it, detailing the stone's composition, impurity distribution, and the optimal method of refinement.

Following the guidance of the Illustrated Record of Literary Fortune, Red Cloud used his divine sense as a blade, carefully stripping away the impurities one by one, leaving behind only the purest energy.

A Sunflame Mystic Stone that would originally have taken hundreds or even thousands of years to refine was completely refined by Red Cloud in just ten years.

Fortunately, before entering seclusion, Red Cloud had purchased an annual pass—and had bought ten years at once.

"The Illustrated Record of Literary Fortune is truly useful."

Red Cloud nodded in satisfaction. His physical body had strengthened by another measure, bringing him one step closer to becoming a Taiyi Golden Immortal.

Next, Red Cloud began studying the map of Sunfire Lake. The map Daoist Ziyuan had given him was extremely detailed, marking the terrain of Sunfire Lake, the distribution of Water Beasts, the locations of major cities, and information about Sunlight Divine Water production sites.

Red Cloud entered all the information from the map into the Illustrated Record of Literary Fortune. It automatically generated a three-dimensional map that could be freely enlarged and examined.

"Here... here... and here."

Red Cloud marked three locations on the map.

One was the hidden Sunlight Divine Water production site Daoist Ziyuan had told him about. Another was a medium-sized production site in the outer northwestern region of Sunfire Lake. The third was a small production site near the edge of the lake's central region.

Red Cloud planned to visit all three production sites. As for the depths of the lake's center, he had no intention of going there for now.

The Sunfire Beast was a Peak-Stage Great Luo Golden Immortal. With his current strength, going there would be suicide.