The clan had estimated that the value of the Foundation Building Elixir recipe would be roughly 7,000 Spirit Stones.
Without a doubt, that was a large sum of money.
She might not be able to return home with the money even if she managed to sell the recipe if she foolishly and openly looked for buyers in Anling City.
Lu Ranting did not carry the recipe with her. She only came to facilitate communication and act as a bridge between the buyer and the clan.
According to what the clan leader, Lu Chaoxi, and the other elders had told her two days ago, she was to go to the city and search for a buyer and investigate the situation in Anling. The clan would only send someone with the recipe after she had ascertained that there were no problems and complete the transaction then.
It had been hard for the clan to obtain a treasure like a recipe for the Foundation Building Elixir. So it would be a huge loss for them if they traded it directly for 7,000 Spirit Stones.
Typically, the precious items cannot be bought with money. It was easier to obtain items like these if they traded something of equal value or something that the other party needed.
Lu Ranting's so-called mission of finding a suitable buyer meant that she had to scout and see which party needed the recipe of the Foundation Building Elixir. Also, what could the Lu Clan obtain by trading the recipe?
Lu Ranting stayed in Anling City for the next few months. She did not act recklessly. She gathered a few pieces of information and then contacted several people that she knew well.
After all, the Lu Clan had its brief period of glory in Anling. They would definitely have left a few connections behind. Those people might not be as obedient to the Lu Clan as they were before, but they were at least people the Lu Clan knew and could talk to.
Lu Ranting learned about the situation of the city from these people.
She first eliminated the two largest factions in Anling City, the Qingfeng Sect and Zhao Clan, as potential candidates.
The Qingfeng Sect definitely had the recipe for the Foundation Building Elixir. They might be willing to fork out a few Spirit Stones to purchase the Lu Clan's recipe and make them sign a Soul Contract that forbade them from selling the recipe to a second buyer. Under normal circumstances, they would have to sign the relevant contracts when they were transacting with recipes for elixirs.
The Qingfeng Sect was their last choice. However, they would probably only be willing to pay a maximum of 4,500 Spirit Stones. The advantage of that option was that there was a guarantee when dealing with the Qingfeng Sect. After all, the sect was a large faction. They would have to pay attention to their reputation.
She was not going to sell the recipe to the Zhao Clan as they were enemies. The Zhao Clan had always wanted to obtain a recipe for the Foundation Building Elixir, but the Lu Clan would never sell it to them. They would not sell the recipe to them under any circumstance.
However, it would be troublesome if she chose another clan.
Firstly, which other clan had such a demand? Which clan could produce that the Lu Clan wanted? There was also the issue of trust. Would the other party reveal information about the seller? Would they sabotage the Lu Clan?
She had to be clear about all of those questions.
This was not a short-term mission. Lu Ranting knew that she might have to stay at Anling City for a long time.
******
Yuyan Mountain was also bustling with activity.
The members of the clan all looked depressed five years ago, but all of them were more motivated now.
This was especially since the economic situation of the clan had improved over these past five years. Everyone had become more optimistic and happier.
After the Stonemother at the Energy Stone Mine was defeated and operations resumed, they noticed that the number of Energy Stone Ores they excavated had significantly increased. The yield of the Energy Stones had also surged. The income they got from the Energy Stone Mine had nearly doubled.
The bug queen had been saved and was being nurtured by the Lu Clan's Beast Tamer, Lu Xueting. Lu Xueting was looking after the herd of Water-Spirit Horses and the bug queen at the same time. She even had to get the bug queen to reproduce and nurture a horde of insects. She did not have enough time on her hands. However, there was good news. The experience that she obtained by nurturing the Water-Spirit Horses for five years allowed her to advance and become a Level Two Beast Tamer successfully. She also took in a disciple recently. Her disciple learned beast taming techniques from her and acted as her assistant.
At the same time, the rest of the cultivators of the clan had gathered and underwent coordination training.
This was in preparation for attacking the two hordes of demonic beasts not far from Yuyan Mountain.
One of the hordes, a horde of Demon Monkeys, was not hard to deal with. However, there was a Tiger King that occupied the peak of a mountain, which was more troublesome to deal with. The Tiger King was rumored to have Level Two high-grade abilities and had devoured an entire village that was situated around its territory.
The combination array that the cultivators of the Lu Clan were rehearsing was for dealing with that creature. When that time came, the three Foundation Building cultivators from the clan would take action together to guarantee the kill on the Tiger King.
Their rehearsals lasted nearly a year.
During spring the next year, Lu Chaoxi and his siblings brought along 20 of the clan's cultivators and left Yuyan Mountain secretly at night.
They moved carefully and tried their best to ensure that information did not spread out.
It paid to be cautious. If someone knew that Yuyan Mountain was empty and their main forces were not present, no one could guarantee that an accident would not happen.
Four days later, they launched a surprise attack on the horde of Demon Monkeys.
There were more than 20 Demon Monkeys in the horde, but there was no Monkey King that was of a higher level. Even though their battle capabilities were stronger than the Cave Foxes, they stood no chance against the surprise attack launched by three Foundation Building cultivators and 20 Qi Refining cultivators. Their nest was easily annihilated.
After they exterminated the Demon Monkeys, the cultivators rested at their position for a day. The next day, they set off toward the nameless mountain nearby.
Killing the Demon Monkeys was merely a warm-up exercise. Their true target was the Tiger King.
It just so happened that the territories of the monkey horde and the Tiger King were not far apart. Thus, the cultivators of Yuyan Mountain decided to take action and eradicate the two groups of demonic beasts at the same time.
It was not difficult for the cultivators to find a tiger in the forest. Before Lu Chaoxi brought the team over to the mountain, he had asked the clan's Beast Tamer, Lu Xueting, for a portion of Beast Tracking Powder. The powder could intensify the scent of a ferocious beast and be useful for finding their target.
However, they did not need to use the Beast Tracking Powder.
After they entered the nameless mountain, the Tiger King appeared in front of them before they started to search for it.
Tigers were creatures that were adept at ambushes. The demonic beast was no exception.
The large tiger was six to seven meters long, or nearly ten meters if they counted the tail. Its body was pure muscle, and it looked to be about as heavy as 15 men. It could use demonic powers and was the overlord of the area.
However, the massive creature could still move like a mysterious phantom within the forest. It was undetectable. Even the three Foundation Building cultivators of the Lu Clan had not managed to detect it before they entered the area.
In fact, their formation was plunged into chaos when out of nowhere, the massive creature pounced fiercely toward the cultivators. It aimed straight for a sixth-tier Qi Refining cultivator.
The cultivators reacted quickly. The people who were closest to the tiger released their magic equipment and cleaved toward the creature. Even though they managed to leave a few minor wounds on the body of the Tiger King, they did not manage to stop its advancement. Instead, they infuriated the other party.
The Tiger King roared fiercely and released its vast demonic power. The people around it were terrified by the tiger's roar.
The furious roar that was laced with demonic power had the influence to shake their souls.
The sixth-tier Qi Refining cultivator was about to fall prey to the tiger. However, while the Tiger King was pouncing over, a round granite plate with a diameter of three meters blocked the area in front of the Tiger King.
The Tiger King crashed fiercely onto the plate. The round granite plate remained unmoved. Instead, it was as though the Tiger King had crashed onto a solid mountain. It became dizzy from the impact!
Lu Chaohe wiped off the cold sweat on his forehead and said, "Fortunately, Fourth Brother had managed to complete this 'Thousand-Ton Jade Suppression Plate' two years ago. Otherwise, we would be in danger today."