After leaving Jiang Qiushui's cave abode, Liu Yu found clear skies outside.
But for the moment, he had no idea how to obtain a Bottleneck-Breaking Elixir.
Before the Immortal Mansion opened, he had been nothing more than an ordinary outer disciple, with mediocre aptitude and little skill at socializing.
Nor did he have any elders close to him in the sect who could offer guidance.
If I were a scion of a cultivation lineage, or a disciple with a master, my elders would naturally bestow an elixir once my cultivation reached the required level.
Their Dao Path is smoother than an ordinary cultivator's by who knows how much.
Standing among the trees, Liu Yu sighed inwardly.
The breeze was gentle and the sun bright, yet a veil of gloom seemed to hang over his heart.
Then he decided to visit the Market Ward.
Bottleneck-Breaking Elixirs should be available there, but they were often used as bait to draw in customers, with prices far above their actual value.
Buying one openly would inevitably expose his wealth and attract people with ill intentions.
After lengthy consideration, Liu Yu made his decision. He took out the Giant Wood Sword and flew toward Jiatai Market on his magical artifact.
After his previous encounter with the Pockmarked Cultivator, he was even more cautious and dared not let his magical power run too low.
Whenever he had used up just under half his magical power, he stopped to recover, only resuming his sword flight once it was replenished.
At dusk, in Jiatai Market.
The sunlight stones in the bronze lamps gave off a soft glow, illuminating the market as brightly as day.
A cultivator wearing a bamboo hat and a black veil over his face slipped unobtrusively into the market amid the bustling crowd.
It was none other than Liu Yu.
He strolled leisurely along the broad street, showing no sign of anxiety over his inability to obtain a Bottleneck-Breaking Elixir.
As he silently watched the passing cultivators and the joy or sorrow on their faces, Liu Yu's heart somehow grew much calmer.
Yes, no cultivator has an easy time climbing the path to immortality.
After a long while, once his mind had settled completely, Liu Yu walked briskly toward the Azure Pill Hall.
Over the past three years, besides receiving payment for refining Pure Spirit Pills, he had occasionally sold some pills as well.
After deducting his various expenses, he still had roughly eight hundred spirit stones.
Still, I should prepare some extra spirit stones, just in case.
With that thought, Liu Yu entered the Azure Pill Hall and casually looked around.
Three years had passed, but the shop had changed little. Business was neither brisk nor slow, much as before.
Several customers stood at the counter, haggling with an assistant.
They argued heatedly, spittle flying as they went back and forth.
The shopkeeper was still Zhang Chunming. He was leafing through an ancient book, his face looking older and his back seemingly a little more bent.
Beside him was a sturdy-looking child of about ten, pestering Zhang Chunming with endless questions and occasionally tugging on his arm to wheedle him.
Their features bore a faint resemblance, suggesting they were grandfather and grandchild.
Zhang Chunming glanced over but did not immediately recognize Liu Yu. He paid him little attention and continued amusing the child.
"Shopkeeper Zhang, it's been years, yet you're still hale and hearty in your old age. Do you remember an old acquaintance?"
Once he drew near, Liu Yu spoke calmly.
Cultivators had remarkable memories. Once they had seen someone, they generally found it difficult to forget them.
But Liu Yu had changed considerably. Not only had his cultivation risen by two levels, his build had also grown much sturdier, which was why Zhang Chunming had not recognized him.
As soon as Liu Yu spoke, Zhang Chunming remembered:
"Ah, Fellow Daoist Hong!"
"It's been so long since you last visited our shop. Three years, by my count-you certainly kept this old man waiting!"
Zhang Chunming greeted him with a broad smile, then coaxed the child away and led Liu Yu into a private room to talk.
He invited Liu Yu to sit and poured him a cup of spirit tea, after which the two began chatting.
Seeing that the tea brimmed with spiritual energy and seemed rather extraordinary, Liu Yu lifted his cup and took a small sip.
As the tea reached his stomach, several wisps of cool, refreshing energy immediately rose toward his niwan palace.
His spirits lifted, and even his divine sense seemed to show signs of growing.
It can actually strengthen divine sense!
A flash of delighted surprise passed through Liu Yu's eyes, but he quickly concealed it and offered a few words of praise.
Seeing Liu Yu's surprise, Zhang Chunming could not help looking rather pleased with himself as he explained:
"This tea is called clear lotus. It can nourish divine sense to a degree, refresh the spirit, and clear the mind."
"Unfortunately, the yield of Clear Lotus Spirit Tea is far too low. The tea tree only sprouts and produces leaves once every ten years, and each harvest amounts to barely a jin."
"So I can only use it to entertain honored guests."
Zhang Chunming shook his head slightly, seemingly regretful, then launched into a lengthy discourse.
After they had chatted for roughly half a quarter of an hour, Liu Yu noticed that Zhang Chunming kept making small talk without getting down to business.
So he took the initiative to end the pleasantries and said:
"Shopkeeper Zhang, we can chat later. Let's settle our business first."
With that, he touched his Storage Bag, and ten jade bottles appeared on the table.
They were ten bottles of Pure Spirit Pills!
Although his Storage Bag contained another twenty bottles, Liu Yu's cautious nature meant he would never sell them all at once, so he only took out ten.
Zhang Chunming was not offended at being interrupted. Smiling, he gathered back his sleeves and began examining the pills.
He poured two pills from each bottle and inspected them one by one. Having dealt with pills for decades, he could judge their quality at a glance without further scrutiny.
Before long, he had confirmed the quality of all the pills.
"At the same price as last time, each bottle of Pure Spirit Pills is worth twenty-seven spirit stones, for a total of two hundred and seventy."
"Please wait a moment, Fellow Daoist Hong. This old man will fetch the spirit stones."
With that, Zhang Chunming opened the door and went out to collect the spirit stones.
Less than half a quarter of an hour later, he opened the door again, holding a Storage Bag. With a wave of his hand, a pile of spirit stones appeared on the table.
Liu Yu swept them with his divine sense to verify the number, put them into his Storage Bag, and asked with an air of casual interest:
"I'm rather interested in this Clear Lotus Spirit Tea."
"Would you be willing to sell me some seeds, Shopkeeper Zhang? I'm happy to pay in spirit stones."
Without thinking much of it, Zhang Chunming immediately took a wooden box from his Storage Bag and explained:
"A clear lotus tea tree takes a hundred and eighty years to grow from a seed to the point where its leaves can be harvested."
"But we cultivators in the qi refining period have a maximum lifespan of only a hundred and twenty years."
"With only one jin of tea leaves every ten years, even if one person drank it all, it wouldn't strengthen their divine sense by much."
"And it only has some effect on qi refining period cultivators. In truth, it's rather like chicken ribs-little meat to enjoy, yet a pity to discard."
"If you're interested, Fellow Daoist Hong, you can take it for twenty spirit stones."
Liu Yu did not rush to put away the wooden box. His thoughts turned, and he replied with an unruffled smile:
"Even if I can't use it myself, I can pass it down to my descendants. It would be excellent for entertaining guests then."
Zhang Chunming rather agreed with that reasoning. He asked no further questions, but launched into another lengthy discourse.
"Does your shop sell Bottleneck-Breaking Elixirs for the qi refining period?"
Liu Yu took a sip of spirit tea and asked, not forgetting the purpose of his visit.
Although he felt the chances of such a small shop carrying elixirs of that kind were extremely low, he still clung to a sliver of hope.
At his question, Zhang Chunming set down his teacup and shook his head with a wry smile.
"Our shop mainly sells pills that advance cultivation during the qi refining period. As for Bottleneck-Breaking Elixirs, the owner only supplies two every ten years to attract customers."
"The ones supplied last time were sold two years ago."
"However..."
At that point, he glanced at the door before continuing:
"This old man does know of an Underground Auction being held three days from now."
"I hear a Yellow Dragon Pill will be auctioned. If you wish to go, Fellow Daoist Hong, you can head to..."
Without keeping him in suspense, Zhang Chunming gave him the Underground Auction's address and password.
Ordinarily, attending the Underground Auction required a certain level of wealth as well as a referral.
But in Zhang Chunming's view, an Alchemist would certainly have no trouble meeting the wealth requirement.
Moreover, he wished to draw Liu Yu closer, so he told him the Azure Pill Hall's referral password on the spot.
The Yellow Dragon Pill was precisely a Bottleneck-Breaking Elixir for the qi refining period.
Its medicinal power was potent and fierce, making it one of the best Bottleneck-Breaking Elixirs available for the qi refining period.
Taking a Yellow Dragon Pill during a breakthrough could increase the chance of success by a full forty percent.
As the information about the Yellow Dragon Pill flashed through his mind, Liu Yu felt a surge of delighted surprise.
He had already made up his mind to attend the Underground Auction.
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