Everything Was Ready

Liang Ningwan had never imagined that Chen Zhuo wasn't dealing in pills.

He was selling physical Spirit Stones.

What was there to fear about physical Spirit Stones?

He could say they were family heirlooms, that he had picked them up on the road, or that a friend had given them to him. Who would care?

Unless he owned a Spirit Stone mine.

Though Liang Ningwan wanted to make a few sharp remarks, physical Spirit Stones were undeniably useful. A cultivator could draw Spiritual Qi straight from them to raise their cultivation.

In a sense, Spirit Stones were a rather crude kind of pill.

"How many are you selling?"

Liang Ningwan took a deep breath and regained her cool composure. "If the price is under thirteen Spirit Coins each, and you only have one or two, I'll take them all."

Chen Zhuo considered it for a moment. "I have four. More than half the energy has been drawn from one of them, so I can sell it to you at a discount. Forty Spirit Coins for all four."

Liang Ningwan nodded slightly. "All right. I'll take them."

Three and a half physical Spirit Stones were fairly rare among Qi Refinement cultivators, but not enough to cause a sensation.

Chen Zhuo nodded. "Pleasure doing business with you. If you need more in the future, you can come to me."

Surprise flashed plainly through Liang Ningwan's eyes.

Come to you again?

What does that mean? You have more?

Liang Ningwan's interest stirred.

She did not ask, though. Everyone had secrets of their own.

She had hers too.

"All right, it's a deal."

Liang Ningwan took out her Spirit Message Jade Slip. "I'll transfer the money now."

A moment later, Chen Zhuo's Spirit Message Jade Slip vibrated.

[You received a transfer of 40 Spirit Coins from "Liang Ningwan." Current balance: 49.83 Spirit Coins.]

Chen Zhuo's heart leaped.

His Immortal Dao Potential had increased!

Not by much, but it was a good start.

Chen Zhuo handed the three and a half Spirit Stones to Liang Ningwan. After chatting a little longer, they went their separate ways.

Back at his Cave Abode, Chen Zhuo looked at the balance on his Spirit Message Jade Slip, his spirits soaring.

"Forty Spirit Coins, plus the eight-odd I had before. That puts me at over forty-nine. I'm still a long way from paying off my debt, but at least I have a reliable way to turn resources into cash!"

Chen Zhuo ran through his plans. "Once things calm down in the Spirit Pearl World, I'll go back and gather more resources. I should keep some physical Spirit Stones for myself. They might be more useful there. As for other herbs and ores, I can sell them off gradually."

"The most urgent thing is getting stronger!"

"Only then can I safely explore the Spirit Pearl World and find more resources."

Chen Zhuo put away his Spirit Message Jade Slip and sat down cross-legged, ready to cultivate.

Of course he was not going to use that money to pay his debts.

Chen Zhuo was no fool. Unless a Foundation Establishment Cultivator stood outside his door with a blade, no one was getting a repayment out of him.

He still had twenty years, after all.

No one was making him pay a cent before he graduated from vocational college!

In fact, Chen Zhuo wanted to take out a few more small loans and keep raising his Immortal Dao Potential.

For now, though, he had nearly exhausted the legitimate loans available to him.

If he paid off the three hundred Spirit Coins he owed on his "Cultivation Loan," they would probably raise his limit to four hundred next time.

But that clearly was not realistic right now.

"I need to find some way to raise my Immortal Dao Potential..."

Chen Zhuo sighed. The Ancient Immortal Realm still seemed his best bet.

Besides that, he had another major problem on his hands.

The Qi Condensation Pill.

At that thought, Chen Zhuo took out the Qi Condensation Pill his instructor had judged substandard in class.

Its Pill Toxin content had not been tested, but it was most likely over fifty percent.

It might even be over sixty, or eighty.

What good could a beginner possibly produce?

A beginner whose pill did not kill anyone would already be an outstanding graduate.

Was he really going to eat this thing?

Chen Zhuo hesitated.

To be honest, this was exactly why he had fought so hard to enroll in Pill Appraisal: to use Waste Pills to grow stronger.

Back then, Chen Zhuo had held little hope of reaching Foundation Establishment. He had just wanted to earn enough Spirit Coins to cultivate to the Qi Refinement Peak, then find work in the Immortal Estate. Perhaps some lucky opportunity would come along, and he might reach Foundation Establishment after all.

But now that he had the Ancient Immortal Realm and a whole path to riches as a cross-world trader, Chen Zhuo had grown cautious. He no longer wanted to swallow Waste Pills.

"Well, pill toxins can be cleared with a detoxifying agent..."

As he thought this, Chen Zhuo brought up his Spirit Message Jade Slip and searched for the price of a detoxifying agent.

Five hundred Spirit Coins per dose.

And one dose could only remove five hundred units of Pill Toxin.

The price was astronomical.

Chen Zhuo let out a breath. After a long hesitation, he opened his contact list on the Spirit Message Jade Slip and found "Tell Someone to Make Talismans and Heaven Will Strike You Down." He sent a message: "Hey, are you there? I need another two Golden Armor Talismans and Sword Qi Talismans. Do you have any left?"

The Golden Armor Talismans and Sword Qi Talismans were genuinely powerful.

With those talismans, Chen Zhuo could hold his own against a mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator. He really did need potent, single-use talismans like these to protect himself in the Ancient Immortal Realm.

He did not have nearly enough Spirit Coins to buy a Magical Artifact of comparable power. Even the cheapest would cost several hundred!

Not long after Chen Zhuo sent his message, the other party replied.

[Tell Someone to Make Talismans and Heaven Will Strike You Down]: I do, I do! You need more talismans, fellow Daoist? Same price as before—eight Spirit Coins each!

[Tell Someone to Make Talismans and Heaven Will Strike You Down]: But you're a returning customer, and I've still got a few in stock. If you take them all, I'll sell you four Golden Armor Talismans for twenty Spirit Coins and three Sword Qi Talismans for fifteen. Thirty-five Spirit Coins for the lot!

Chen Zhuo paused at the speedy reply, then felt a surge of delight.

So cheap. Is he desperate to sell?

But the price also made him nervous. He immediately typed, "Be honest with me, man. You're not selling me a few sheets of scrap paper, are you? At that price, I'm almost afraid to buy them..."

[Tell Someone to Make Talismans and Heaven Will Strike You Down]: I can't help it! My next exam's coming up, and I'm still short on money for materials! I haven't got enough Talisman Paper, Cinnabar, or beast hair. Sigh. I've got no choice but to sell my stock cheap.

Talisman-making was another trade that burned through money.

Until a maker could produce talismans that passed inspection, there was no profit in it.

Seeing that, Chen Zhuo bought the lot.

At eight Spirit Coins apiece, four talismans would have cost thirty-two.

Now he was getting seven for only three Spirit Coins more. It was well worth it.

His life could depend on them!

After agreeing to the deal, Chen Zhuo closed his Spirit Message Jade Slip and breathed out softly.

With these talismans, he would be considerably safer in the Ancient Immortal Realm.

He had been lucky enough to kill a Qi Refining Fourth Layer cultivator with talismans last time, but the tension of that life-or-death fight still haunted him.

Before long, the bamboo crane arrived again, bringing the Talismans.

Chen Zhuo then ordered two sets of cheap period clothing online, spending half a Spirit Coin.

They were not Magical Artifacts, just clothes.

Made by ordinary people, they were not worth much.

With that done, Chen Zhuo looked at the Qi Condensation Pill on the table. After thinking for a while, he put it into his Storage Bag.

"I'm not eating it!"

Letting Pill Toxin build up isn't worth it. Better to play it safe and rely on my own Cultivation.

With that decision made, Chen Zhuo sat cross-legged and began circulating the Everlasting Spring Art, drawing in Spiritual Qi.

The Spiritual Qi in the Immortal Estate was thin, but at least he was safe there.

And so the days passed. Chen Zhuo attended classes and cultivated during the day, then studied military boxing at night. Now and then, he exchanged Cultivation insights with Meng Yan and Liang Ningwan.

They were all Spiritual Root implant recipients. Acquired roots helping acquired roots—they understood one another without saying more.

In the blink of an eye, four or five days passed.

During those four or five days, Chen Zhuo turned into a ravenous beast and devoured every scrap of the Leopard's meat. Only its skeleton remained, still holding a little Spiritual Qi.

One day, Chen Zhuo opened his eyes. The Spiritual Qi within him had grown fuller and fuller; he was just one step away from Qi Refining Third Layer.

"The time is about right."

With that thought, Chen Zhuo changed into those traditional clothes and gripped a Golden Armor Talisman and a Sword Qi Talisman, ready to activate them at any moment.

Then he took the Black Net Magical Artifact from his Storage Bag and fed it a wisp of Spiritual Qi, using the control method he had learned online over the past few days.

Buzz!

The Black Net Magical Artifact trembled as the Spiritual Qi entered it. Then it became a tangle of black threads and wrapped itself around Chen Zhuo's left wrist.

Chen Zhuo nodded in satisfaction.

With those three layers of protection, plus the World-Breaking Pearl to escape at any moment, he should be able to handle most emergencies.

Chen Zhuo willed it to activate.

Black light flashed.

The next moment, Chen Zhuo vanished from his Cave Abode and appeared once more amid green mountains and clear waters.