Does This Senior Intend to Hide a Beauty in a Golden House?

"Esteemed guest, the rooms at our House of Ten Thousand Beauties are divided into Heaven, Earth, and Human grades. The room prepared for you is an Earth-grade room, one hundred Mixed Spirit Stones per night. Any additional services will be charged separately."

Madam Chun, the madam herself, personally led Lu Chen upstairs.

Lu Chen was stunned when he heard that.

It had to be said, the House of Ten Thousand Beauties was truly expensive.

A single night here cost a hundred Mixed Spirit Stones.

That was ten months of his wages, and Manager Pang would even skim two stones off the top.

In other words, the Mixed Spirit Stones he earned from toiling in the Joyful Union Sect Alchemy Pavilion for ten months were not even enough to pay for one night at the House of Ten Thousand Beauties.

As Lu Chen followed Madam Chun upstairs, the main hall of the House of Ten Thousand Beauties erupted.

Everyone thought he was about to make one dragon play with three phoenixes.

Everyone thought he had grown tired of living, daring to dual cultivate with three female Half-Demons—and female Half-Demons with Spiritual Roots, at that.

Even powerful cultivators did not dare touch that sort of female Half-Demon.

After all, the demonic energy within female Half-Demons with Spiritual Roots was far stronger than that of ordinary female Half-Demons.

If demonic energy entered the body, the mild outcome was severe damage to one's vital energy; the serious outcome was cultivation deviation and death.

That mysterious fellow in the bronze mask was taking on three at once. Wasn't that courting death?

"Heh heh, something big will happen at the House of Ten Thousand Beauties tomorrow..."

"What big thing?"

"That masked fellow might die on the bellies of those three female Half-Demons. Wouldn't you call that something big?"

"True, true... But to die beneath peony blossoms, even as a ghost one remains romantic. Even if that fellow dies, it'll have been worth it!"

"Haha..."

The crowd burst into laughter.

Lu Chen followed Madam Chun up to the sixth floor of the House of Ten Thousand Beauties.

The House of Ten Thousand Beauties had nine floors in total.

The very top floor contained its finest Heaven-grade guest rooms.

"This is Earth-grade Room Number Eight!"

Madam Chun opened the door.

The method for opening it was rather special as well. The room token was a piece of Spirit Jade; once the Spirit Jade was placed into the indentation on the door, the door opened automatically.

Once the room token was removed, the door shut automatically.

The moment Lu Chen stepped into the room, he could not help but freeze.

The spiritual energy in the room was several times denser than the spiritual energy outside.

"A Gathering Spirit Formation?"

A small Gathering Spirit Formation had actually been set up here.

So there was a reason it was expensive.

Cultivators who stayed here would achieve twice the result with half the effort in their cultivation.

"Very good. Open another room next door for me."

Lu Chen spoke calmly.

"Another room?"

Madam Chun was both startled and delighted. The fellow before her was definitely a fat fish.

She had to slaughter him properly.

Mm, she needed to recommend the special services they offered here.

"No?"

Lu Chen looked at Madam Chun.

"No, no, no. Senior, you intend to... Hee hee... I understand..."

Madam Chun wore an expression that said she understood perfectly.

This senior had come to the House of Ten Thousand Beauties in a bronze mask, unwilling to reveal his identity. He probably had a fierce wife at home, and clearly, this senior intended to hide a beauty in a golden house.

Madam Chun's imagination ran wild.

She had actually guessed correctly. Lu Chen really did intend to hide beauties in a golden house.

"Two Earth-grade rooms cost two hundred Mixed Spirit Stones per day. For one month, I'll charge you six thousand Mixed Spirit Stones. The deposit is fifty Low-Grade Spirit Stones. If you check out early, the deposit will not be refunded."

Madam Chun explained the rules of the House of Ten Thousand Beauties.

Lu Chen thought, good grief—whether he stayed for a full month or not, Madam Chun would still make a steady hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

This was practically robbery. No, it was robbing Spirit Stones.

Six thousand Mixed Spirit Stones amounted to sixty Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

Lu Chen did not have that many Low-Grade Spirit Stones on him.

"Can I pay with something else?"

Lu Chen pondered.

"Of course you can!"

Madam Chun hurriedly replied.

With a flip of Lu Chen's right hand, a Beauty-Preserving Pill appeared in his palm.

"This..."

Madam Chun was shocked. It seemed this senior had quite a background—he actually carried a storage artifact.

Madam Chun had long noticed the utterly ordinary storage pouch at Lu Chen's waist.

She had even worried that this senior wearing a bronze mask and refusing to show his true face might be some poor Rogue Cultivator.

Who would have thought the storage pouch at his waist was merely decoration?

He did not even wear a storage ring on his hand.

This senior possessed a storage artifact more advanced than a storage ring.

This senior was far too cautious!

Only beautiful inner disciples of the Joyful Union Sect were qualified to own storage rings.

That meant the identity and cultivation of the senior before her absolutely surpassed those inner disciples of the Joyful Union Sect.

At that thought, Madam Chun no longer dared be negligent, and the smile on her face grew warmer.

When Madam Chun saw the pill Lu Chen handed over, her eyes immediately lit up.

"A Beauty-Preserving Pill?"

Madam Chun accepted the pill with trembling hands.

This senior casually produced a Beauty-Preserving Pill. Could he be an alchemy cultivator?

Madam Chun became even more wary of offending him.

"Mm. One pill pattern, the pattern is blurry, and the pill fragrance is impure. It is a Lower Ninth-Rank Beauty-Preserving Pill."

Madam Chun stared at the Beauty-Preserving Pill in her hand, examining it carefully as she muttered.

"How many Spirit Stones is this pill worth?"

Lu Chen asked calmly.

"At the Joyful Union Sect Alchemy Pavilion in town, the listed price is three hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones per pill."

Madam Chun did not dare conceal anything.

"Then count it as three hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Keep the remainder on deposit at your House of Ten Thousand Beauties for now."

As Lu Chen spoke, he turned and walked out of the room.

"Good, good, good..."

Madam Chun hurriedly put away the Beauty-Preserving Pill.

"Would Senior like any other services? The girls here are proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, song and verse, wind instruments, strings, singing, dancing—everything."

Madam Chun hastily added.

"Wind instruments, strings, singing, and dancing?"

At once, an image of a jade-like beauty playing a flute surfaced in Lu Chen's mind.

But he needed to visit the market first.

He needed far too many cultivation resources.

He wanted to see whether there were any resources he needed, then return to dual cultivate with those three female Half-Demons.

"Forget it. I'm going out first. Have someone send those three female Half-Demons to Room Eight, and keep a close eye on them for me."

Lu Chen instructed her.

"Rest assured, Senior. They cannot run, and they would not dare run. If they did, other forces would capture them, and their fate would be even worse."

Madam Chun smiled.

"Mm."

Lu Chen nodded.

Madam Chun personally escorted Lu Chen downstairs.

By then, most of the people in the main hall had already dispersed.

When some people saw the masked Lu Chen coming back down from upstairs, they could not help but be surprised.

Wasn't this fellow going to make one dragon play with three phoenixes?

Why had he come downstairs?

Lu Chen could not be bothered with them and headed straight for the market.

He had gone down the mountain a few times before and had also visited the market in Hehuan Town.

The market in Hehuan Town was not far from the House of Ten Thousand Beauties, only a few streets away.

He arrived at the market very quickly.

At the market entrance, he paid five Mixed Spirit Stones.

That was the entrance fee.

Whether one set up a stall in the market or purchased goods there, one had to pay the entrance fee.

After paying it, one received the protection of the market's managers.

It was said that the person behind this market was a relative of some important figure within the Joyful Union Sect.

This was the Joyful Union Sect's territory.

No one dared cause trouble here.

Lu Chen then began strolling through the market.

"Don't miss it as you pass by! Spirit artifacts on clearance..."

"Cultivation techniques on clearance! Tonight only! Miss it, and you'll miss your chance to become a cultivator..."

"Pills for sale! Cheap prices! Come take a look..."

The market was bustling.

Shouts and sales cries rose and fell one after another.

Lu Chen came before a stall that sold spirit artifacts.

The stall owner was an old man in green robes.

Lu Chen looked over the stall and saw more than a dozen items carelessly laid out on the ground: sabers, spears, swords, halberds, bells, drums, seals, cauldrons, towers, as well as several storage pouches and three storage rings.

"Sir, how many Spirit Stones for a storage pouch?"

Lu Chen happened to need a better storage pouch.

"Ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones each!"

The old man did not even raise his eyes.

Lu Chen picked up the storage pouches and inspected them.

The inner spaces of these storage pouches were somewhat larger than his, and their quality was also slightly better.

"How about five?"

Lu Chen asked.

The old man shook his head.

Lu Chen's gaze was suddenly drawn to a palm-sized piece of armor.

He subconsciously picked up the armor.

"Not bad eyes, boy. This is Black Tortoise Armor. As long as you drip blood to acknowledge it as your master, you can control it freely. Though it is covered in cracks, it can withstand the full-force attack of a cultivator at the Tenth Layer of Qi Refining."

The old man spoke calmly.

"How many Spirit Stones?"

Lu Chen asked subconsciously.

"Five hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones!"

The old man stated the price directly.

"Five hundred?"

Lu Chen froze when he heard it. That was far too expensive.

"You old swindler, scamming people again? What Black Tortoise Armor? Isn't it just a Black Tortoise Shell? It's nearly shattered, yet you're asking five hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones for it. You're downright wicked."

A voice sounded behind Lu Chen.

Lu Chen turned and saw that the newcomer was the Yun Household's young master, Yun Ao.

Having been exposed, the old man's face reddened as he said, "Young Master Yun, even if this spirit artifact is not genuine Black Tortoise Armor, it can still withstand the full-force strike of a cultivator at the Tenth Layer of Qi Refining. I wasn't lying, was I?"

"You weren't lying, but you failed to mention that this armor can only be used once!"

Yun Ao stepped forward, waving his folding fan.

"Young Master Yun, if it were intact spirit armor, it would not cost only five hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

The old man did not care.

"That's true. If it were an intact Black Tortoise Shell, it would be a low-grade spirit artifact capable of blocking the full-force attack of a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator. The problem is, this is junk!"

Yun Ao said coldly.

"Turns out it's junk!"

Lu Chen set down the armor in his hand.

Yet though he appeared calm, his heart was surging with excitement.

His Yin-Yang Creation Cauldron could reforge Damaged Artifacts.

After reforging it, wouldn't he obtain an intact low-grade Spirit Artifact?

This was a Spirit Artifact!

How could he get his hands on this Damaged Artifact?