An Old Acquaintance in Trouble, Plans Concerning a True Person

Sun Gui is the guardian cultivator of Fortune Star Market. He is Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator with excellent water magic skills and is both brave and resourceful.

It was through his constant mediation during the struggle for the Emerald Screen Mountain stronghold that Ye Qin of the Ye Household was unable to seize the second-tier Spirit Vein of Emerald Screen Mountain. Otherwise, Bai Feihao of the Bai Household would have been killed long ago.

If Ye Qin saw him in this miserable state, she would definitely burst out laughing.

Unfortunately, with Zhou Ning Ye Qin successfully passed the entrance exam for Yan University, but he didn't like to communicate with others.

Sun Gui looked frustrated, his eyes swollen shut, and exclaimed indignantly, "Alchemist Zhou, I hate you!"

Zhou Ning invited him into the pavilion. "Don't be angry yet, let Pharmacist Lan heal Fellow Daoist Sun!"

Pharmacist Lan immediately took out a bunch of bottles and jars.

Although Sun Gui's face was swollen from the beating, he still maintained his basic cultivation. He suddenly noticed the change in Pharmacist Lan's aura and exclaimed in surprise, "You've Foundation Establishment?"

The Pharmacist Lan smiled reservedly, "It was merely a lucky Foundation Establishment."

Sun Gui forced his swollen eyelids open, his face full of shock. Back when the Sun Household and the Su Household cooperated, and Pharmacist Lan and Alchemist Tang settled in Fortune Star Market, they were just Qi Refining cultivators.

Later, this woman went to Little Willow Marsh for help. Many craftsmen in the market said that Pharmacist Lan was really crazy, throwing himself into her arms and indulging in wishful thinking.

Sun Gui had heard about this and shared the same opinion, after all, Zhou Ning was only able to successfully Foundation Establishment by relying on Gu Xiangning of the Azure Mystic Sect.

After Zhou Ning achieved Foundation Establishment, he killed three Foundation Establishment from the Su Household, especially Su Household Su Baoqing, who guarded the Laiqiu Herb Garden. He gained a great deal of wealth and was able to repay Gu Xiangning's kindness.

Now I've actually obtained another Foundation Establishment Pill?

Sun Gui thought of Saintess Hua Ran. A few months ago, Zhou Ning took in the homeless Hua Ran.

And Hua Ran carries the legacy of the Sacred Fire Sect —that must be it!

Sun Gui thought about how he had fought his way up through countless battles and made great contributions to obtain this fortuitous opportunity, while Zhou Ning could easily obtain it simply by attaching himself to a female cultivator.

Sun Gui was extremely jealous and gritted his teeth, only to wince in pain.

He forced a smile, "Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Lan, on becoming one of us Foundation Establishment cultivators! May you live to be two hundred and forty years!"

Pharmacist Lan smiled slightly, feeling extremely pleased. From then on, those Foundation Establishment cultivators who had been so arrogant in front of her would treat her as equals and would no longer put on airs!

"Let's treat Fellow Daoist Sun's injuries first." She made a gesture as if to open the medicine bottle.

Sun Gui said, "Very well, very well, I only wish to be cured as quickly as possible. I am too ashamed to show my face in my current state!"

Zhou Ning glanced at Pharmacist Lan, his expression meaningful.

The Pharmacist Lan hummed in agreement and said, "Then bring me the best medicine."

Sun Gui subconsciously agreed, but then suddenly remembered that Zhou Ning's prices were always high. For example, the Essence Explosion Pill could sell for seven Spirit Stone, and later, when treating the injury to the meridians, he charged even more for three Spirit Stone!

Even now, when he thinks back on it, he still feels immense heartache.

I only regret that I was blinded by the second-tier Spirit Vein of Emerald Screen Mountain at that time!

Sun Gui forced a strained smile, "How much does this medicine cost?"

The Pharmacist Lan smiled warmly and kindly, "Only eighty-eight catties of spirit rice are needed."

Sun Gui was quite surprised; he had thought it would be very expensive, but it was unexpectedly cheap.

He started to worry again. "What if it doesn't work?"

Even Zhou Ning was speechless. Was this guy just plain despicable?

Pharmacist Lan said, "Medicines have no inherent value; what matters is finding the right one for you."

Sun Gui was filled with respect and said, "Doctors have benevolent hearts and boundless love!"

So, Pharmacist Lan took out a bowl of red ointment and used a brush to apply it to Sun Gui's face.

This is the blood of the Fuluo Eel, which is boiled down with many medicinal ingredients to make a medicinal paste.

After smearing the medicine on Sun Gui's face until it looked like a monkey's bottom, Pharmacist Lan said, "Fellow Daoist Sun, the effects are strong, please bear with it."

Sun Gui was unimpressed. He had fought countless battles and suffered numerous hidden injuries over the years; a minor injury was nothing to him.

Zhou Ning watched Sun Gui with great interest. He recalled the pain he had endured when using eel blood to temper his pulse points, but this ointment was far more concentrated than eel blood and specifically targeted swollen areas.

The Pharmacist Lan cast Method Formula to enhance the medicinal effects.

Sun Gui felt as if scalding water had been poured over his face, burning intensely. Then it felt like electric ants were gnawing at his skin, a searing, bone-chilling pain. He trembled uncontrollably, tears streaming down his face in an instant. "Pharmacist Lan, why does it hurt so much?"

Pharmacist Lan said, "Fellow Daoist Sun, don't cry. If you wet the ointment, it won't be as effective."

Half an hour later, Pharmacist Lan scraped off the ointment from Sun Gui's face and poured him a basin of water.

When Sun Gui looked, the swelling had almost disappeared, but the pain still made him shudder.

The Pharmacist Lan said, "The ointment I just applied penetrated your skin and flesh, clearing away all the blockages. Combined with my Law Power and the robust physique of Foundation Establishment cultivator, it forced out the stagnant blood and turbid fluids, nourishing your skin and flesh, and the swelling naturally subsided."

Sun Gui felt much better now. He smirked and said, "No wonder I felt like my face was being scrubbed with an iron brush—have any other patients experienced this before?"

Pharmacist Lan: "They're all Qi Refining cultivators; I'm afraid they won't be able to withstand it. Luckily, we've encountered Fellow Daoist Sun today—"

Sun Gui's eyes reddened with emotion again. "Damn it, they're using me as a test subject just because I'm Foundation Establishment cultivator!"

Zhou Ning chuckled, "No need to worry. I, Zhou Ning, have also endured the hardships of tempering in the past. Fellow Daoist Sun truly deserves to be called a great general guarding this region. Such willpower is truly admirable!"

Sun Gui felt much better after that.

Zhou Ning asked, "Could Fellow Daoist Sun tell us the reason?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Gui said with a hint of resentment, "I was practicing my marksmanship in the courtyard when suddenly a frame fell from above, trapping me completely, and then Black Husband appeared."

"Black Husband?" Zhou Ning exclaimed in surprise.

The last time he refined pills for this woman was four years ago. He remembered that when they parted, she seemed to want to say that she would come to see him again in two years. However, before she could finish speaking, Sun Gui and Zhao Ruoxue appeared.

"That Black Husband has already become Foundation Establishment cultivator, but she didn't kill me. Instead, she slapped my face, a full eighteen times!" Sun Gui revealed his sore spot, feeling extremely humiliated.

Zhou Ning clicked his tongue in surprise. Was this woman really that vengeful?

"Fellow Daoist Sun, you are Foundation Establishment Middle Stage. Even if she has just broken through, how could she possess such strength?" Zhou Ning asked.

Even for him, though he could kill a late-stage cultivator, it would be extremely difficult to subdue a mid-stage cultivator and slap him.

"I was careless, and this woman is strange. She seems to have mastered a technique for constructing array symbols, and it must be at least at the second level!" Sun Gui said with certainty.

He truly felt insecure; if Black Husband had wanted to kill him, he probably would have already perished at home.

Sun Gui came here to inquire about Black Husband's whereabouts and to get his injuries treated.

However, Zhou Ning knew less than he did.

Sun Gui was disappointed and was about to take his leave when a small-eyed cultivator suddenly flew over from afar. It was the treacherous Chen Old Ninth.

This creature was also draped in a woman's flowing veil, just to increase its speed, which was quite incongruous.

Zhou Ning seriously doubted whether there was anyone in the world that Chen Old Ninth cared about.

After glancing at Sun Gui, Chen Old Ninth nodded, then loudly demanded, "Zhou Ning, are you aware that Ye Qin of the Ye Household has been missing for two months? The Ye Household has searched everywhere but can't find him. Is it you who's behind this?"

Zhou Ning said coldly, "What's it to you?"

Chen Old Ninth: "I'm here on orders from the Ye Household to question you!"

Zhou Ning wasn't intimidated. "That bastard Ye Qin dared to chase after the Holy Maiden, and he staked out Little Willow Marsh for over a month before leaving. Who knows where he went?"

"Zhou is only at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage; how could I possibly kill him?"

"However, I can point you in the right direction. The Holy Maiden might know something. She was just taken away today by Yan Pingjie, the envoy of the Azure Mystic Sect. If you run fast, you can catch up with her now and ask her."

Upon hearing Yan Pingjie's name, Chen Old Ninth's expression changed drastically.

Observing his reaction, Zhou Ning wondered to himself, "Is Yan Pingjie really that famous? That he can make even Aristocratic Clan turn pale at the mere mention of his name?"

Chen Old Ninth was just going through the motions for the Ye Household. Ye Qin slept with his elder brother's concubine and, after breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, became arrogant and domineering, attracting the disgust of countless people in the Ye Household.

Many people wish he were dead!

Chen Old Ninth had exceptional eyesight and had already discerned that Pharmacist Lan had broken through to the Foundation Establishment.

In this small corner of Little Willow Marsh, there are actually two Foundation Establishment cultivators!

This place is not far from the Chen Household's Mount Xiangtu. He will not let Little Willow Marsh develop unchecked, otherwise the Chen Household will always be at risk if Zhou Ning has any intention of expanding.

Having spent years scheming and plotting against the Aristocratic Clan, he quickly came up with a plan.

Chen Old Ninth said, "The Lei Household has once again sent cultivators to attack Zhang Family Fort on the Jingshui River. Master True Person Zhang Wan has called on all the aristocratic Aristocratic Clan in Leping Commandery to come to their aid. Alchemist Zhou, since you have two Foundation Establishment cultivators on your island, please send one of them!"

Zhou Ning chuckled, "I have my own arrangements for this matter, so there's no need for Fellow Daoist Chen to trouble himself."

Chen Old Ninth's expression remained calm. "Whether you go or not, I will submit the list; this is the rule of Leping Commandery!"

Zhou Ning, too lazy to indulge him, scoffed, "Rules? Rules my ass! Where did you put the spiritual materials sent from Emerald Screen Mountain to Zhang Family Fort? Why did the entire Zhang Family Fort only receive talismans from me?"

Chen Old Ninth's face twitched as he was being insulted, and he said, "Alchemist Zhou, you'd better watch yourself!"

He then left Little Willow Marsh.

Sun Gui paused for a moment before saying, "Alchemist Zhou, please be careful with your words and actions, especially regarding disaster relief."

This was a tacitly accepted rule in the entire Leping Commandery: everyone would take a cut of everything. If Zhou Ning revealed the truth, he would be infringing on the interests of the powerful Aristocratic Clan, ultimately leading to an attack.

Zhou Ning knew this, and he said, "I don't know what's wrong with Chen Old Ninth, he actually dared to come and shout today."

Sun Gui said, "Chen Kexing is gone."

Zhou Ning exclaimed in surprise, "What? His leg is healed?"

He remembered that Chen Kexing led his men to attack the Holy Maiden Hua Ran, but she killed three of them with a powerful weapon and also severed Chen Kexing's legs.

"Could it be that the Chen Household possesses a third-tier spirit medicine?" Zhou Ning wondered, envious of the Aristocratic Clan's wealth and influence.

Sun Gui was silent for a moment, then said, "He's gone, he's dead—"

Zhou Ning coughed, "I see!"

Sun Gui is gone.

The Pharmacist Lan glanced at him, blinked, and asked in a slightly seductive tone, "Lord Zhou, would you like me to go and garrison Zhang Family Fort?"

Zhang Family Fort is on the front lines, frequently clashing with the Lei Household. Even Core Formation Cultivator can perish there, let alone a newly promoted Foundation Establishment cultivator like her.

base.

Without powerful backers, they would definitely be sent to the front lines to serve as cannon fodder.

Zhou Ning pondered for a moment, then said, "I must go, but only to deliver a letter for me, and then return."

He would never allow his painstakingly trained Foundation Establishment female subordinates to become mere tools of the Aristocratic Clan.

True Person Zhang Wan once praised Zhou Ning before the Azure Mystic Sect, so it seemed that he could befriend him. Zhou Ning planned to have Pharmacist Lan bring some spiritual materials to donate in his name to support Zhang Family Fort.

By the way, could you also ask if True Person Zhang has any spiritual materials he needs for a transaction?

True Person Zhang is quite powerful. If we can build a good relationship with him, even if Su Changshuo breaks through to the Core Formation in the future, Zhou Ning will have another powerful backer, making Su Changshuo wary of him.

"But it's not necessary to reveal the Jade-Casting True Gold Talisman of the third-tier spirit jade," otherwise it would seem too overpowered.

Pharmacist Lan readily agreed, leaving it entirely to Zhou Ning's use.

After discussing it, she looked at Zhou Ning with that affectionate gaze, calling him "Zhou-jun" in a sickeningly sweet voice.

Zhou Ning coughed and said, "Pharmacist Lan, I still admire your previous independent self. I hope you can recover."

The beautiful face of the Pharmacist Lan paused for a moment, then, with that seemingly serene yet actually aloof air, she parted her lips slightly and said, "Understood."

Zhou Ning nodded. "Not bad, not bad!"

The Pharmacist Lan snorted inwardly. So he actually liked this kind of thing!

Seven days later, inside the villa.

Zhou Ning handed Pharmacist Lan a Storage Bag containing ten Spirit Stone, fifty bottles of Spirit Essence Pill, forty bottles of Essence-Nourishing Pill, and eighty Essence Explosion Pill, as resources to support Zhang Family Fort, with a total apparent value of forty-two Spirit Stone.

Such abundant resources would require even Foundation Establishment cultivator to save for several years without eating or drinking to earn them.

Of course, with Zhou Ning's alchemy skills, the cost wouldn't even be twenty Spirit Stone.

Zhang Family Fort was indeed at the forefront of the resistance; otherwise, the Lei Household would have advanced directly, Su Changshuo wouldn't have needed to break through, and Zhou Ning would have had to abandon the Spring of the Spirit Eye and Ceramic Crystal Sand and run away.

Providing some resources is not unreasonable, and besides, it's not free.

He also prepared a Storage Bag containing a hundred Spirit Stone and ten bottles of True Essence Pill, for trading spiritual materials with True Person Zhang.

Inside the bag were also a disguised Straw Puppet and a piece of Jade-Casting True Gold Talisman hidden within a talisman.

Zhou Ning's immortal foundation can hold a maximum of seven pieces, but there is no room for the last third-tier spirit jade talisman. He needs to discard a second-tier spirit jade talisman first.

Let's just leave it to Pharmacist Lan. After all, he has a stronger trump card. This Secret Method will weaken over time after it leaves Zhou Ning's Immortal Foundation.

He unlocked the lock on the golden talisman; it could be activated instantly by simply infusing it with Law Power.

Of course, if Pharmacist Lan were to use this talisman to attack him, Zhou Ning could immediately make it dissipate, avoiding such a ridiculous situation.

"If the puppet proves useless in dangerous situations, throw this talisman out!" Zhou Ning instructed.

If even this talisman cannot defeat the enemy, then it is the Pharmacist Lan's fate.

Pharmacist Lan knelt on one knee. "As you command, young master!"

Not only were her trump cards, but all her protective measures, such as offensive and defensive Law Artifact, were also prepared for her by Zhou Ning.

Suddenly, the Pharmacist Lan presented a dark jade-colored belt and boldly said, "Young Master, please wear this!"

After speaking, she lowered her eyes, avoiding Zhou Ning's gaze.

Zhou Ning took the belt and examined it. It was jet black with lightning-like patterns on the surface and a matte finish.

"Huh?"

It's actually a spatial Law Artifact. Unlike the Space Crystal Embryo used in the belt and Storage Bag, it uses higher-grade Space Crystal Silk, which have a more stable internal space and a better weight-reducing effect from the built-in array.

The belt contained about ten zhang of space. Zhou Ning took out the Storage Bag, tied it around his waist, and his demeanor instantly became even more imposing.

This item is extremely valuable, even more so than some special magical Law Artifact among top-grade magical Law Artifact; even Ye Qin of the Ye Household cannot afford it.

She seems quite willing to part with it, so it appears she has no intention of betraying me.

Zhou Ning nodded. "Although I never care about physical appearance, you've shown your thoughtfulness."

When Pharmacist Lan saw that his figure looked even more upright and handsome after he put on the dark jade belt, her eyes shone even brighter.

After examining it for a while, Pharmacist Lan felt a little smug. It was worth it for her to have treasured this treasure for so long after obtaining it. Today, she finally met someone for whom she was willing to give it away.

"I'm glad you're satisfied, young master!"

Pharmacist Lan was in a good mood, and her steps were much lighter.

After she left, Zhou Ning quickly conjured a water mirror and activated the [Flowing Light Concealing Shadow Technique], gazing at the strange man in the mirror.

He took out a wine cup, stood beside the Snow Cherry tree, and sighed, "Raising my cup, I cast a disdainful glance at the blue sky; as radiant as a jade tree standing before the wind!"