A Big Spender

Feng Zhuo tapped his scarlet jade bracelet lightly with his fingertip. "Spirit-Purifying Mystic Water?"

He repeated the name unhurriedly. "Eighth on the Divergent Water rankings, and supposedly capable of purifying every impurity in the world?"

Feng Zhuo was not particularly interested.

As a pill cultivator, he could hardly muster much interest in a water-attribute treasure like that. Unlike a Divergent Flame, it could not serve as food for his Life-Bound Spirit Fire.

"Do you think the Spirit-Purifying Mystic Water couldn't possibly contract with me, and that I'm most likely beyond saving?"

Nangong Tang was delighted to find her head still attached to her neck. Hearing that, she hurried to explain, "Of course not! Fellow Daoist Feng, your talent is exceptional. The Spirit-Purifying Mystic Water will surely acknowledge you as its master!"

Feng Zhuo gave a derisive chuckle.

The Spirit-Purifying Mystic Water was extremely demanding in its choice of master. It would contract with none but those whose Dao hearts were clear.

Even a genius like Feng Zhuo could not claim that his Dao heart was clear at his current stage.

No wonder Nangong Tang had lied and said there was a Spirit-Purifying Pool in the cave abode that could purify the Blood Resentment Qi.

Was she afraid that if he learned the truth, he would realize that even if he entered the cave abode left by the ancient cultivator, he would have no way to deal with the Blood Resentment Qi in his meridians, and so would be unwilling to accompany her?

Still, that indirectly confirmed that only someone who had contracted the Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Vine could find the cave abode.

"So..."

Feng Zhuo suddenly stepped closer. "That secret contract technique of the Spirit Taming Sect you mentioned before-did you make that up too?"

Yanba's Heart-Scorching Flame could deal with the Soul-Devouring Vine's Blood Resentment Qi. Feng Zhuo's true objective was the "Symbiotic Contract," which was more profound than a Life-Bound Contract.

"Uh... that was only a guess too."

Nangong Tang spoke at breakneck speed, waving her hands as she talked. "You know how the Beast Taming Sect voluntarily offered the Green Wood Illusion Forest to the Supreme One Divine Sect and the Purple Yang Pill Sect a thousand years ago in exchange for protection, right? And the Beast Taming Sect is the only sect to have carried on the Spirit Taming Sect's inheritance, so I guessed..."

Her voice grew quieter and quieter. "So I guessed... that what the ancient cultivator left behind in that cave abode was the Spirit Taming Sect's inheritance."

Ten thousand years ago, the Spirit Taming Sect, like the Supreme One Divine Sect, had been one of the seven great top-tier sects of the Central Continent, famous for its methods of controlling Demon Beasts and Spirit Plants.

A calamity had struck ten thousand years ago, and all its inheritances related to controlling Spirit Plants had been lost. Its beast-taming methods had also suffered losses. In the end, it had changed its name to the Beast Taming Sect, and its ranking among the sects had fallen accordingly.

By now, not only had it failed to retain its status as a top-tier sect, it needed the help of the Supreme One Divine Sect and the Purple Yang Pill Sect just to maintain its foothold among the first-rate sects.

Feng Zhuo nodded. This was indeed the first time he had heard the Green Wood Illusion Forest's history. "If it's the Spirit Taming Sect's inheritance, why is a cultivator from a pill sect who even refines poison pills so determined to find that cave abode?"

"Just for this Green-Eyed Golden Toad of yours?"

Feng Zhuo gave her a casual glance that sent a chill down Nangong Tang's neck, but she still wanted to stand up for her froggy. "Fellow Daoist Feng! What do you mean, 'just for'? My Green-Eyed Golden Toad is a very rare Demon Beast! Out there... it's priceless... all right?"

"All right, all right, it's definitely not as rare as this Demon Beast of yours that I've never even seen before."

Nangong Tang cursed her bad luck inwardly. Of the nearly ten thousand people in her sect, not one except her master recognized the Green-Eyed Golden Toad. Even if they knew of it, they knew nothing but its name.

Feng Zhuo, whom she had met today, was another matter entirely. He actually knew that the Green-Eyed Golden Toad was an earth-attribute Demon Beast, most skilled in escape techniques!

Wouldn't ordinary people who saw it all assume it was a poison-attribute Demon Beast?

Nangong Tang explained, "My Green-Eyed Golden Toad accidentally swallowed the Miasma-Glass Poison Flame. Not only did it not explode, but the Miasma-Glass Poison Flame formed a contract with me indirectly through the Green-Eyed Golden Toad."

"The Green-Eyed Golden Toad also underwent a mutation with unpredictable consequences. It can briefly merge with the poison flame and raise its own rank."

Feng Zhuo had already seen the Green-Eyed Golden Toad's rank soar after it swallowed the Miasma-Glass Poison Flame, so Nangong Tang made no deliberate attempt to hide it.

"That Divergent Flame ranked sixty-eighth? It should only be a fire seed."

Feng Zhuo had seen that what Nangong Tang had been playing with earlier was a wisp of Divergent Flame, but he had not considered that it might be on the rankings.

Now that he heard it was the Miasma-Glass Poison Flame, and that the Green-Eyed Golden Toad had swallowed the poison flame and come through unharmed-and that Nangong Tang had even indirectly contracted the Miasma-Glass Poison Flame through it-he was genuinely surprised.

"Then your golden toad really could fetch an astronomical price out there."

Feng Zhuo made a small joke. "So you want to visit the cave abode left by that ancient cultivator of the Spirit Taming Sect to see if there are any relevant records? You and your servant really do have a close bond."

He then signaled Yanba to withdraw his pressure and held out four bottles of pills. "Thank you for your help earlier, Fellow Daoist Nangong. Two bottles of Spirit-Restoring Pills, one bottle of Spirit-Feeding Pills, and one bottle of Foundation Establishment Pills. Here's to our cooperation."

"Here's to our cooperation!"

Nangong Tang climbed to her feet irritably and accepted the pills with indignation, thinking, Feng Zhuo of the Supreme One Divine Sect's Carefree Peak, right? Once I get back to my sect, I'll make you pay!

But when she opened the bottles and looked closely, she saw that every pill was actually a supreme-grade pill!

Her expression changed at once, and she hurriedly tucked the pills into her storage ring. "Don't mention it, don't mention it, Fellow Daoist Feng! Look at you! Given the relationship between our two sects, there's no need for a thank-you gift!"

These were all supreme-grade pills!

And they were all second-tier pills!

She had struck it rich! Struck it rich!

She had traded just a few first-tier poison pills for fighting poison with poison for four bottles of second-tier supreme-grade pills.

Nangong Tang thought cheerfully that the bottle of Spirit-Feeding Pills contained a full twelve pills, enough to feed the Green-Eyed Golden Toad for more than two months.

I'll keep one of the two bottles of Spirit-Restoring Pills for when I reach the Foundation Establishment Realm. If I sell the other bottle along with the Foundation Establishment Pills, I should be able to buy quite a few poison herbs!

This was a golden thigh to cling to!

Nangong Tang shamelessly asked, "Well, Fellow Daoist Feng, besides the thank-you gift, do you think you could perhaps give me something as an apology too?"

Feng Zhuo said, "...Have the people of your Purple Yang Pill Sect fallen so low?"

Nangong Tang kept smiling. How could she argue with a big spender now? "Fellow Daoist Feng, you don't know how expensive firewood, rice, oil, and salt are until you run a household!"

In truth, Nangong Tang had a special Spirit Root and could not refine ordinary pills. She could only refine poison pills.

Poison pills sold far less well than spirit pills, so she usually had almost no income.

Yet she could not stop cultivating!

Things had been fine when she was little; the old man had paid all her expenses for her.

But once her cultivation rose, the old man had actually said, "A poison cultivator who can't make money isn't a good poison cultivator!"

Nangong Tang: ??? Excuse me? Where did that twisted logic come from?

And was he really my own grandfather?!!

Spending more than she earned for so long had left Nangong Tang relying on swindles and trickery to squeeze a few Spirit Stones out of her senior brothers and sisters on the various peaks.

Did anyone know how I usually got by?!!

She even had to break a single Grain Avoidance Pill into pieces to eat it. What a bitter life she led!

Now that she had suddenly obtained four bottles of priceless supreme-grade pills, how could she not be happy?

Feng Zhuo thought it over. That made sense: since there was a thank-you gift, an apology gift was justified too. So he tossed Nangong Tang another bottle of Rejuvenation Pills.

That settled the matter of his repaying kindness with hostility earlier, when instead of thanking Nangong Tang, he had pinned her to the ground and interrogated her.

Nangong Tang was not disappointed to see they were only first-tier pills.

Supreme-grade pills were priceless; even first-tier ones could sell for a considerable sum!

Of course, Feng Zhuo was not the only person in the world capable of refining supreme-grade pills.

Only those with truly exceptional talent could produce supreme-grade pills when refining pills of their own tier. In most cases, high-tier Alchemists refined lower-tier pills, and even then, there was only a chance of producing supreme-grade pills.

Thus, supreme-grade pills were extremely rare. When Alchemists refined them, they reserved them for themselves and their friends and family first, so few ever reached the market.

For some reason, Feng Zhuo could produce quite a few supreme-grade pills when refining, and had therefore accumulated many pills.

A bottle containing twelve supreme-grade Rejuvenation Pills would not be out of place as the finale at a small auction!

Nangong Tang's eyes shone, and she became even more determined to follow Feng Zhuo.

He was rich, but more importantly, he was generous!