Chapter 771 – Heavencraft Trading Company
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When Demonshine saw the mass of blood, his shifty little eyes immediately brightened. "I want that blood!"
Lin Ming swept his mind over the blood. The blood was similar to the blood from the first level of the Cosmic Melting Furnace; both of them exuded an ancient energy. Thus, the should be blood of the Ancient Giant Demons. In terms of quality, it was far from being comparable to Ancient Phoenix Blood, but it was still extremely precious.
"Alright."
Lin Ming wasn't stingy. To Demonshine, who only had his soul form left, the power of this blood essence was the only way for him to recover. During the past years, Demonshine had helped him a great deal, and had even saved his life several times.
Demonshine hurriedly leapt out from Lin Ming's spiritual sea, turned into a small red curly-haired dog, and plunged towards the mass of Ancient Giant Demon blood. He immediately swallowed it whole.
With a contented sigh, Demonshine's dog-like face revealed an extremely satisfied expression.
After swallowing the blood, Demonshine's entire body flushed red. Afterwards, his originally vague and distorted body became much more solid.
This continued for half an incense sticks worth of time. After it stopped, Demonshine used his paws to pat his belly, and burped loudly. "Awesome, so awesome! 10 more jin of this stuff would be great!"
Lin Ming faintly smiled, shaking his head. It was already quite good to have two taels of this blood, but this damned dog actually wanted 10 jin.
He pointed at the black demon armor floating in the air and asked, "Demonshine, can you tell me what this demon armor is?"
Lin Ming's inherited memories from the Demon Emperor were mostly incomplete; he had no memories about this demon armor.
Demonshine licked his lips and replied, "That's the demon armor that Master personally forged when he was still on the Sky Spill Continent. Tens of thousands of years ago, there was an epoch were countless rivals and heroes rose up in unison, with new legends being created daily. Master's strength was unparalleled in that world, however, there were still opponents that could threaten him. For instance…the deep sea races!"
Lin Ming nodded in understanding. On this world, the boundless sea's size was far greater than the land mass. There were an immeasurable amount of things that lived inside of the deep sea, including many diverse and interesting races. There were even races from the ancient desolate era, who had bloodline legacies far surpassing that of humanity.
In this situation, the number of deep sea race powerhouses that existed far surpassed that of humanity. If it weren't for the fact that the deep sea races were more suited for living deep underwater, and couldn't survive long on land, then they probably would've probably engaged in a never-ending war with humanity.
Demonshine continued, "Master fought with his deep sea race opponents for a long time, before eventually even this demon armor was pierced through, with Master barely managing to defeat his enemy in the face of countless dangers. Because the demon armor had been pierced, Master decided to keep the demon armor inside of the Cosmic Melting Furnace and repair it. However, the time required to repair the demon armor was extremely long. By the time that Master left this world, the demon armor still hadn't been fully repaired. However, tens of thousands of years have passed now, and this demon armor has finally repaired itself inside of the Cosmic Melting Furnace. Not only has it been fixed, its grade is now even higher than it was in the past. That Giant Demon blood I just absorbed should've been left behind by master in order to help repair the demon armor; it's simply that the demon armor didn't use all of it up."
"So that's how it is…"
Lin Ming reached out his hand and grasped hold of the demon armor. Then, he discovered that there was a circular gap missing in the left chest region of the demon ar armor. Then, he discovered that there was a circular gap missing in the left chest region of the demon armor.
Such a uniform gap was clearly not caused by a weapon piercing through it. This area should've been where the heartguard mirror was placed.
"The heartguard mirror is missing?"
"Looks like it." Demonshine shook his head, a bit regretful. "If it were the complete demon armor, then it's value would be no less than the Cosmic Melting Furnace. After all, there aren't many defensive treasures on its level out there."
Lin Ming bluntly put on the armor. For a time, he felt a demonic energy wrap around his body, fusing with his bodily protective true essence, causing it to be even firmer and more tenacious than it was before.
"Oh? It had this sort of effect?"
"Of course. Good armor isn't just tough, it also has a top class ability to reduce injuries. If one's armor isn't able to weaken an enemy's attacks, then it's useless no matter how solid it is!"
Many martial artists' attacks had penetrative properties. Simply defending against the physical strike of their weapons wasn't enough; one also needed to defend against the hidden energy behind it.
"What do you plan on doing with the Five Color Fruit and the Void Tempered Root?" Demonshine asked.
"The Five Color Fruit and Void Tempered Root are both high level heavenly materials. I plan to use them for the base of a pill I'll make soon. I'll also add a 200,000 year wood spirit jade, dragonspine grass, and finally skyflower stones to act as the catalyst, to concoct a Fivefade Void Pill. That should be enough for me to open the third of the Eight Inner Hidden Gates."
"Hehe, if you reach the large success realm of your alchemy technique, then not only will it enhance your soul, but your body's transformation progress rise will at an astronomical rate. Who wouldn't be jealous of this? However, the Fivefade Void Pill is a pretty high ranking recipe; do you have the confidence to successfully refine it?"
"Not at the moment, but I can slowly practice until I can. I'm not in too much of a hurry. Practicing alchemy is also a way to temper the soul."
Lin Ming's inherited memories from the Realm of the Gods alchemist were relatively complete, including even the precious experiences and skills that he'd studied. However, just this alone wasn't enough. While Lin Ming's knowledge was sufficient, he still lacked coordination between his body, soul, energy, and mind.
This was akin to a zither master that had never played a zither song before. Even if they knew the music by heart, and knew perfectly well how to play the music, they still wouldn't be able to perfectly interpret the song on their first try. This was simply because their fingers wouldn't be able to keep up with their mind.
What Lin Ming had to do right now was constantly practice, so that his body could memorize the use of alchemical skills. Every time he touched the energy, his control of the flame… all of it had to become a conditioned reflex. He had to be able to put on a perfect performance without thinking. This was the only way for him to achieve the highest chance of successfully refining a pill.
"Where do you plan on finding dragonspine grass or skyflower stones?" Demonshine asked.
"I'll look for Li Yifeng." Lin Ming had already thought of this.
Li Yifeng was a Prince of the Seven Star Divine Kingdom who usually loved to make new friends; he should know all sorts of people. In addition, he had connections to many of the four Divine Kingdom's domestic intelligence networks, so asking him for information would be both the fastest and most efficient way.
And Li Yifeng did not disappoint him. Just ten days later, he returned with news.
Ho-!
The flames of a sound transmitting talisman flashed in front of Lin Ming, causing him to immediately stop working on the pill he was currently refining. The only thing inside of the pill furnace was a pile of black ash.
He ruefully smiled. The Cosmic Melting Furnace's heat was just too intense. Trying to practice with low level medicinal herbs that couldn't stand up to these sort of burning hot temperatures was truly a great challenge.
During the past few days, he'd spent a third of the spirit essence stones he'd gained from the White Dragon Jade Row, all to buy wood spirit jade.
The medicinal herbs he'd been using for practice came from the medicine gardens of the South Sea Demon Region, and the Yin Yang Profound Palace. At this point, he'd used up 20% of the medicinal herbs, but the amount of successfully refined products were a pitifully low number. Usually, all he did was create pile after pile of black ash.
"If the Xing couple from the Yin Yang Profound Palace learned that their carefully grown medicinal herbs were all being used by me, just for practicing alchemy, I wonder just what sort of faces they'd make." Lin Ming shook his head, laughing at himself. He'd been rapidly burning through his money these past days. Although he called these medicinal herbs low leveled, the truth was, they were enough to make a martial artist go crazy with greed if they were placed in a third-grade sect.
"Lin Ming, what does the sound transmitting talisman say?" Demonshine asked.
"It's from Li Yifeng. He told me the whereabouts of skyflower stones. Apparently, they can be bought at the Nine Furnace Divine Kingdom's Heavencraft Trading Company. As for dragonspine grass, he still hasn't found any information."
"Alright. Then, what do you plan on doing now?"
"We're going to the Heavencraft Trading Company first!"
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The Heavencraft Trading Company was located in Witch Creek City, which was within the Nine Furnace Divine Kingdom. It had a 6,000 year old history, an inheritance that surpassed most fourth and fifth-grade sects, and was able to stand on the same level as some Holy Lands.
The Heavencraft Trading Company was one of the Nine Furnace Divine Kingdom's three great trading companies, and had a very deep background.
For the Heavencraft Trading Company to have developed to this level, and in the Nine Furnace Divine Kingdom at that, inevitably meant that they were inextricably linked with the Nine Furnace Divine Kingdom's royal family.
When Lin Ming entered Witch Creek City, where the Heavencraft Trading Company Headquarters were located, he didn't even need to ask around to see the location of the Headquarters building. This was simply because it the building stood out so much.
High in the sky there was a garret that rose hundreds of feet into in the air, and was over a thousand feet wide. It was actually floating there, suspended in midair. Around the garret were traces of faint purple smoke that shone underneath the bright sunlight; it was obvious that all of this was due to an array formation.
Keeping such a massive garret suspended in the air likely took a massive amount of spirit essence stones every year. From this alone, one could see just how deep the Heavencraft Trading Company's wealth was.
Lin Ming quietly waved his sleeves and flew upwards. But when he did, he discovered that there were invisible fluctuations that covered the sky. These fluctuations formed a kind of resistance, hindering Lin Ming's movements as he approached the Heavencraft Trading Company. Lin Ming was slightly miffed. If he could feel this resista resistance, than others certainly could as well. How did this place even do business? Did they meet with their customers outside?
The higher Lin Ming flew, the more obvious the resistance became. By the time that Lin Ming had finally reached the entrance to the Heavencraft Trading Company, he'd come to an understanding that there were stipulations to enter this trading company. A martial artist with an extreme Xiantian cultivation, or perhaps someone that had just entered the early Revolving Core, or possibly even an early Revolving Core martial artist with an unstable foundation; none of these people would be able to enter the Heavencraft Trading Company.
And, even if they could, they'd have to exhaust all of their strength to do so, thus shaming themselves. There was no way that they'd have any face to enter the trading company afterwards. What kind of store was this, where one had to fight just to enter? If just entering once was like this, it was doubtful that many people would return.
This meant that the Heavencraft Trading Company slammed their doors in front of all martial artists below the Revolving Core realm. This should also be the reason why their trading company's headquarters was suspended in midair.
To stay suspended in the sky already gave off a lofty and grandiose feeling. Coupled with the fact that they denied to serve all martial artists below the Revolving Core realm… this was enough to establish just how high quality a business the Heavencraft Trading Company was.
As Lin Ming walked up the steps of the Heavencraft Trading Company, he saw a large black sign hung proudly above the 50 feet tall gates. There had been two highly-stylized words written on it with a large, thick brush—'Heavencraft Pavilion'.
These two words held faint traces of Concepts and Laws imbued within them. And on both sides of the high gates, there were also more accompanying words.
These words were simple:
'Only treasures sold, no common things.'
'Only powerhouses accepted, no entry for the mediocre. '
"How audacious!" Lin Ming was speechless. This Heavencraft Trading Company was really crazy. Did this mean that every single person who couldn't enter the Heavencraft Pavilion was a mediocre person?
As he walked towards the Heavencraft Pavilion, the gatekeepers had already opened the doors, gesturing invitingly towards Lin Ming.
In the spacious lobby, there weren't many visitors; it seemed somewhat deserted and lonely. This was also within his expectations. After all, the Heavencraft Trading Company didn't rely on the volume of its transactions to succeed.
"This Young Hero, may I ask what requests you have?" Every visitor to the Heavencraft Trading Company would be approached by a beautiful young maid, who would then give them one-on-one service. The young girl responsible for assisting Lin Ming seemed to be around 18 or 19 years old. Her slender figure was very tall; she was only a bit shorter than Lin Ming.
"I would like to purchase skyflower stones." Lin Ming directly stated.
Chapter 772 – Skyflower Stones
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"Skyflower stones?" The young maid asked, stunned. These were extremely rare objects. Heavencraft Pavilion had just managed to obtain several skyflower stones recently. Because they were high level alchemy materials, they were very popular in the Nine Furnace Divine Kingdom, and their price was also correspondingly sky high.
She never thought that Lin Ming, who seemed so young, who immediately ask for skyflower stones.
The young maid hesitated for a moment, suspecting that Lin Ming was simply messing around and just wanted to see the beautiful skyflower stones. Then, he would just make an excuse and decide not to buy them.
Although she had her doubts she still reported this information over. A moment later, a black-clothed old woman walked down from upstairs.
The black-clothed old woman narrowed her eyes as she sized up Lin Ming. With her experience she could naturally see that Lin Ming's foundation was exceedingly stable. In addition to his age and cultivation, he should definitely be some extraordinary junior of his generation.
This sort of person truly might be able to afford skyflower stones.
"This little brother, please come along with me."
The old woman turned around and walked upstairs with Lin Ming following close behind her. As Lin Ming stepped onto the staircase, he discovered that between the floors of Heavencraft Pavilion, there were actually invisible layers of resistance similar to when he was flying up. Except, the resistance from this level to the next was twice as much. Perhaps even a normal early Revolving Core martial artist wouldn't be able to walk up.
When he turned around to look at the young maid behind him, he saw that she had a shining token on her waist. It was clear that this token let this Houtian level maid freely traverse the Heavencraft Pavilion.
There were even less people on the Heavencraft Pavilion's second floor. After Lin Ming sat down, two maids set a plate of snacks down in front of him. Not too far away from Lin Ming, there was a red-clothed old man sitting down at another table. This red-clothed old man had a second stage Life Destruction cultivation.
The old man was holding a teacup in one hand while slowly fiddling with a cover in the other. He glanced up at Lin Ming, all smiles.
Lin Ming nodded politely in return. This red-clothed old man should also be a guest of the Heavencraft Pavilion.
At this time, from a side hall of the second floor, a purple-veiled slender woman walked out. "Two guests, you've waited for a long time."
Her melodious voice that was like tinkling bells immediately attracted both Lin Ming and the old man's attention.
The woman looked to be just over 20 years old, and although she had veil over her face, one could clearly make out that the woman underneath was a simple yet exquisite beauty. Her stature was elegant, and her skin glittered like a translucent crystal. She was a stunning specimen of femininity that was easy for others to be lost in.
The woman opened her mouth and said, "I've heard that both honored guests are here to purchase skyflower stones. The truth is, these skyflower stones only arrived at the Heavencraft Pavilion's Headquarters five days ago, yet 20-30 people have already come to see them. However, no one has been able to purchase them. This is mainly because…."
As the purple-clothed woman spoke up to here, she smiled and continued, "This is mainly because these skyflower stones don't belong to our Heavencraft Pavilion, but instead have been placed here on commission by another esteemed guest. This guest wishes to use the skyflower stones to trade for some equally rare materials. If you two honored guests are unable to bring out an item that can satisfy that guest, then no amount of spirit essence stones will be enough."
"Oh, so it's like that. I was wondering why such valuable alchemical materials had remained within the Heavencraft Pavilion for so long. May I inquire as to which martial cultivator it was? Perhaps this old man might know him!" The red-clothed old man asked as he stroked his beard, smiling. He obviously had the intention of trading for the skyflower stones by directly establishing his relationship with the owner.
The purple-clothed spoke with no intentions of hiding the truth, "It's Grandmaster Zhuan Bixian."
"Zhuan Bixian!" The red-clothed old man revealed a look of shock, "So it's Grandmaster Zhuan Bixian, who's ranked in the Destiny Decree's top 150! Then, this is truly out of this old man's league."
The red-clothed old man shook his head over and over again.
From the Houtian realm to the Life Destruction realm, the difference was only equal to a single boundary within the Life Destruction realm. This was also the reason that there was such a huge disparity in strength between martial artists of different stages in the Life Destruction realm. The red-clothed old man was at the second stage of Life Destruction; that was an entire four boundaries away from the sixth stage Life Destruction Zhuan Bixian. Not just that, but every boundary within the Life Destruction stage carried with it an enormous risk of death.
This caused the red-clothed old man's status difference with Zhuan Bixian to be even greater than a Xiantian realm martial artist and Revolving Core martial artist in the South Horizon Region. Especially since this Zhuan Bixian was a master listed on the Destiny Decree.
As the red-clothed old man spoke, a handsome 17 to 18 year old youth stepped down from the stairs. He faintly looked over Lin Ming and the red-clothed old man, then said, "I am Grandmaster Zhuan's disciple. Grandmaster's time is precious, so if you have any precious treasures that you'd like to trade with, please bring them out for me too look at."
This handsome youth was young, but his tone of voice was quite arrogant. His words carried a hint of superiority and impatience. In truth, this was also understandable. During the past days, dozens of guests had come to the Heavencraft Pavilion to personally request the skyflower stones. Every time this happened, this youth would have to come downstairs to meet them. He'd run down he
here over and over again, yet no one had been able to bring out anything that could attract his attention. How could anyone else not be impatient at this point?
The red-clothed man laughed, thinking little of it. He sent a true essence sound transmission towards the handsome youth. If he dared to come here to buy skyflower stones, then he naturally had to have some valuable possessions to trade with, and was currently listing them out to the youth.
After the handsome youth finished listening to the red-clothed old man, his face changed and he icily said, "I apologize, but my Master already has many of these things, and has no interest in obtaining any more of them. In fact, his are even more precious."
The red-clothed old man's smile froze on his face. The handsome youths haughty and indifferent tone obviously brooked no room for negotiation.
Lin Ming watched all of this happen while thinking about it. He'd expected this. After all, a Revolving Core martial artist wouldn't have any interest in the possessions of a Xiantian martial artist.
"And you?"
The handsome youth glanced over at Lin Ming. When he saw that Lin Ming only had a Revolving Core level of cultivation, he didn't hold out much hope that Lin Ming would have anything interesting.
Lin Ming was silent for a moment. He'd been thinking about what items he could bring out that would interest Zhuan Bixian. In fact, he did have a great number of incomparably valuable treasures that could interest him. For instance, the heaven-step Demon God's Bone, the Concept of Fire jade slips from Timeworn Phoenix City, the remaining six drops of Ancient Phoenix Blood, the Void Tempered Root, the Five Color Fruit, and so on.
However, it was naturally impossible for Lin Ming to take these items out. And even if he did, it wasn't something that just some skyflower stones could possibly trade for.
After deducting these items, Lin Ming's leftover possessions weren't very valuable.
Seeing that Lin Ming hadn't spoken, the handsome youth appeared a bit annoyed. "Do you have anything or not? If you don't, then please don't waste my time; I'm very busy."
As Zhuan Bixian's direct disciple, the handsome youth had a bit of a sense of superiority. Lin Ming didn't seem much older than him, and no matter what angle he looked at it from, it was impossible that someone so young could be a true customer of the skyflower stones. This sort of top alchemical material could normally only be purchased by an older, more powerful alchemist.
Lin Ming faintly smiled, finally remembering something. He replied, "I do have something, but I fear that you won't be able to recognize it, and thus won't be able to complete the transaction."
The handsome youth deeply frowned. He glumly said, "I might be young, but I've followed Master ever since I was a child. I've had to remember a massive number of materials every day. I've read countless ancient books detailing heavenly materials from the four Divine Kingdoms. Underneath the heavens and earth, I dare to say that there's nothing I won't be able to recognize. If I can't recognize something, then that item would be something that even a Divine Sea Supreme Elder wouldn't want to have, and you naturally wouldn't either. If you have anything then take it out. I fear that whatever you think might be precious and rare, as you're saying, will just be an ordinary good in my eyes!"
The handsome youth had a good deal of experience and insight, otherwise Zhuan Bixian would never have sent him here to supervise the transaction.
"Alright." Lin Ming nodded, and calmly took out a jade box from his spatial ring. When he opened the jade box, one could see a red plant with a meat-like consistency. On top of its roots was a distorted face; it looked like a ghost that was being tortured.
Underneath the face was a fist-sized crown of meat that was pulsating like a rapidly beating heart. The entire plant looked like a mouse that had just been born; it's flesh was a light yellowish-pink, and there were also some light hairs decorating it. It was an atrocious thing that was quite difficult to look at.
Zi zi zi!
When the handsome youth saw this plant he paused, completely stunned. Was this a plant or an animal? How could something grow into such a disgusting, nauseating appearance? And what was this even called? It was simply to bizarre to the extreme.
"This item, would Grandmaster Zhuan need it? I'd like to ask you to appraise it for me."
Lin Ming pushed the jade box forwards the handsome youth. This plant was the 10,000 Year Old Corpse Grass that Lin Ming had found in the Eternal Demon Abyss.
10,000 Year Old Corpse Grass was similar to caterpillar fungus from the mortal world. It was a parasitic plant that would attach itself to the corpse of an Emperor level powerhouse, and would then use the skeleton as nourishment. As it grew, it would have to constantly devour the vitality of martial artists in order to mature.
When Lin Ming had adventured into the Eternal Demon Abyss, he'd seen Highlord Sandlight and Higbnhlord Sky Eye trick and kill their companions, turning them into flesh and blood sacrifices for the 10,000 Year Corpse Grass. They did so in order to feed the plant until it was satiated, and to let it then enter a deep hibernative state where it would be easier to capture.
Finally, Highlord Sandlight and Highlord Sky Eye had tried to kill Lin Ming, and were in turn turned into nourishment for the 10,000 Year Corpse Grass. Thus, the 10,000 Year Corpse Grass had fallen into Lin Ming's hands.
This was something that could only grow in the strange environment of the Eternal Demon Abyss. It was the same as extinct within the entire Sky Spill Continent.
Mainly looking at its wonderfully ugly appearance, coupled with the screeching and harsh sounds it emitted, this created an absolutely shocking effect that left the handsome youth speechless.
In fact, not only was the handsome youth dumbfounded, even the purple-veiled woman and the black-clothed old woman were bewildered. They were both high level figures within the Heavencraft Pavilion. They were both well read, and had experiencd with a great number of treasures before.
Still, they'd never seen something like this.
Lin Ming asked, "What does Young Hero think of this?"
The handsome youth didn't reply for the longest time. He didn't even know what this thing was called, much less how valuable it was, so how could he possibly reply to Lin Ming.However, what he could determine from this thing, was that he sure was an animal or plant, it had an extraordinary powerful blood vitality! If it were used to refine a medicinal supplement towards one's life force, it would certainly have miraculous effects.
In the face of Lin Ming's question, the handsome youth was left embarrassed. He had just spoken so proudly of his skills and with such gusto too, and yet in the blink of an eye he encountered something he couldn't identify. The loss of his face here had been immense.
The handsome youth grit his teeth and said, "I'll look for my Master."
Chapter 773 – Malice
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After the handsome youth spoke these words he swiveled on the balls of his feet and left the Heavencraft Pavilion Headquarters. In truth, if he'd been looking for Zhuan Bixian, then all he would've needed to do was send a sound transmitting talisman. However, the reason that the handsome youth had left was simply because he didn't have the face to stay any longer.
After the handsome youth had left, the face of red-clothed old man, who'd also wanted to buy skyflower stones, flashed with a strange expression. He looked at the 10,000 Year Corpse Grass and then at Lin Ming, unknown thoughts going through his mind.
As for the old woman of from the Heavencraft Pavilion, she couldn't help but send Lin Ming a true essence sound transmission, "The item that this young hero has taken out is truly quite strange. This old woman has never heard nor seen something like it before. I wonder… if Young Hero has any other strange or peculiar treasures that you don't need, my Heavencraft Pavilion would be more than willing to sell them on commission for you."
Lin Ming replied, "If there's a chance, then I'd like to cooperate. Recently, I've been needing to purchase a great number of things."
The different materials that an alchemist needed were extremely scattered and varied in a cumbersome manner to gather. There were some valuable and precious treasures that simply couldn't be bought. At this time, it was necessary to form good relations with a trading company.
After just a quarter hour, a white-clothed middle aged man was welcomed in by the purple-clothed young girl. As he stepped into the Heavencraft Pavilion's second floor, his great build and piercingly bright eyes swept through the hall before locking onto Lin Ming.
"Is this the young hero who wishes to trade for my skyflower stones?"
This middle-aged martial artist was undoubtedly Zhuan Bixian. When a martial artist reached the Life Destruction realm it became difficult to judge just how old they were from their appearance. For instance, Xuan Yuqie had been over a thousand years old but she appeared to be a graceful and beautiful young women in her thirties, at the very height of her sexuality.
Lin Ming couldn't decide just how old Zhuan Bixian was, but he could feel a raging fire of life coming from his body. It was obvious that this Zhuan Bixian still had a long life left in front of him and even a faint hope of stepping into the Divine Sea and becoming a Peerless Emperor.
"Senior Zhuan." Lin Ming stood up and bowed in respect.
"Mm." Zhuan Bixian nodded and then glanced at the 10,000 Year Corpse Grass that Lin Ming had set down. After a quarter hour of time staring at it, he finally revealed a thoughtful expression and said, "Little Brother, what is your name?"
"I am surnamed Lin, named Lanjian, Lin Lanjian." Lin Ming thoughtlessly borrowed a name. He had already decided to step onto the road of an alchemist. In the future he would have to make a number of transactions that involved large amounts of spirit essence stones; it would be better if he kept his true name hidden. Moreover, in the four Divine Kingdoms, it was likely he would come into conflict with certain people or parties. His family and friends were still at Divine Phoenix Island and he didn't want others to go seeking them for nefarious means.
This was the first time that Zhuan Bixian had seen 10,000 Year Corpse Grass. After a period of time, he speculated that it was Yin Corpse Grass. Although it had a different name from Lin Ming's 10,000 Year Corpse Grass, the Sky Spill Continent and Holy Demon Continent were so far apart that it was normal for materials to have different names.
From a list of descriptions that Zhuan Bixian checked through, this Yin Corpse Grass was truly the exact same plant as 10,000 Year Corpse Grass.
Lin Ming didn't think that Zhuan Bixian's experiences would be so broad that he was able to recognize even this 10,000 Year Corpse Grass. He sincerely said, "
Grandmaster Zhuan's knowledge is endless, it leaves me in true admiration."
"Haha, When I was still at the Asura Divine Kingdom I accidently came across a record of this plant in the ancient texts of that kingdom. This is something that no longer exists in the Sky Spill Continent. Perhaps it could be found in certain desolate deep sea islands."
Zhuan Bixian's words surprised Lin Ming. If this didn't exist on the Sky Spill Continent, then how would the ancient texts of the Asura Divine Kingdom have records of Yin Corpse Grass?
It was said that the Asura Divine Kingdom was a land of demonic path martial cultivators. Was it possible that the Asura Divine Kingdom had some sort of relationship with the Demon Emperor or Netherworld Great Emperor who had come from the Holy Demon Continent?
All of these thoughts raced through Lin Ming's mind. But he didn't think too much of it. He asked Zhuan Bixian, "Grandmaster Zhuan, do you have any interest in this Yin Corpse Grass?"
Zhuan Bixian said, "Although Young Hero Lin's Yin Corpse Grass still isn't fully matured, it is still a top ingredient for refining blood type miracle medicines. It is indeed truly useful to me. Though I must say that in all fairness, this Yin Corpse Grass is more precious than all three of my skyflower stones combined. I won't take advantage of a little junior. If you have anything else you might need, then speak it."
Lin Ming was overjoyed as he heard this. He feared that Zhuan Bixian might not show any interest in the 10,000 Year Corpse Grass. "Senior Zhuan, I also happen to need several dragonspine grasses. I wonder if Senior Zhuan has any news about that?"
As Lin Ming finished speaking, Zhuan Bixian laughed out loud, "Dragonspine grass is even more valuable than skyflower stones; perhaps even more valuable than the Yin Corpse Grass you brought out. If I had any news of dragonspine grass I would certainly rush over myself. Dragonspine grass isn't something that is publically sold; I too want to buy it."
Lin Ming was dazed, and then a bit disappointed. The materials he needed were just too rare. To begin with, they were already difficult to look for, and even if someone were to find it, they would likely use it themselves.
"How about this. I'll give you another 5000 spirit essence stones. How about it?" Zhuan Bixian asked.
"Mm, thank you very much Senior Zhuan." Lin Ming readily agreed. Although 10,000 Year Corpse Grass was indeed rare and precious, it simply didn't have any use to him. Zhuan Bixian's offer was very fair.
The two finished the transaction on the spot. Lin Ming obtained the three crystalline skyflower stones. This sort of stone appeared like absolute white jade, except that there were some small flowery textures on the surface, thus it had gained this name.
Zhuan Bixian paid Heavencraft Pavilion their part of the commission and bid his farewells in a satisfied mood.
Ming also bid Heavencraft Pavilion goodbye. After obtaining a jade card with Heavencraft Pavilion's sound transmission mark he left without speaking to anyone.
Lin Ming flew out at full speed, opening his divine sense to the limit. After he left Witch Creek City he changed direction several times before finally arriving in a jungle.
At this time, a voice suddenly sounded out from behind Lin Ming. "Young Hero Lin, I didn't think I would run into you here. Do you plan on heading to the Hail Province? What a coincidence, this old man just happens to be going that way too. Maybe we can travel together?"
Lin Ming turned around to see that the person speaking was that red-clothed old man he had bumped into at Heavencraft Pavilion who also wanted to purchase skyflower tones. At this time, the old man had a friendly smile on his face as if he were surprised to meet Lin Ming here by chance.
"Coincidence? I think not." Lin Ming faintly smiled at the red-clothed old man. "After I left Witch Creek City I changed directions several times but you still chased after me all this time. What? Is there something you want from me?"
The red-clothed old man's smile stiffened and he barked out a laugh, "Young Hero Lin is too funny. How could this old man possibly follow you? This truly is a meeting of chance. However, I must say that Young Hero Lin bought up three skyflower stones at once; perhaps you could consider selling one to me? I can offer you 3000 spirit essence stones to buy one of your skyflower stones. How about it?"
"3000 spirit essence stones?" Lin Ming smiled, "If you offered me 30,000 spirit essence stones then I might have considered giving you one."
"Really…" The red-clothed old man grimaced, "This old man is sincerely trying to make a deal with you and yet you ask for such a ridiculous price. Being too greedy in life may get you in trouble!"
The red-clothed old man said, an obvious threat in his words.
Lin Ming slowly traced his spatial ring. He sneered, "Why do you still waver over these scruples? Are you not attacking me because you're scared someone is protecting me from behind?"
"Hehe, brat, there's no need to lie to me. I don't know which great power you originate from, but what I do know is that if there truly was someone protecting you in secret then you wouldn't have run out of the city and changed your direction several times in fear that someone might be following you. Those three skyflower stones are far too useful for this old man. If you're smart then be a good little boy and…"
The red-clothed man suddenly attacked midway in his speech. Although he was a second stage Life Destruction martial artist, he still attacked a late Revolving Core junior with a sneak attack. The red-clothed old man didn't have a sect or great family backing him. The reason that he could reach this point had all been because of his discretion, cunning, and ruthless decisiveness.
He took out a slender soft sword from his spatial ring. The red sword was like the strike of a viper as it stabbed towards Lin Ming's throat.
The red-clothed old man's sword was extremely fast. With his own incomparably thick true essence fused into it, it was like a beam of light!
Lin Ming's lips curved up in a murderous grin. He traced his spatial ring and in the next moment a spear light flashed out like a bolt of lightning. In the next moment, there was an explosive sound as if space itself was being torn apart. The red-clothed old man's sword light was crushed to nothing by the spear light, and the spear light continued unabated as it cut towards the red-clothed old man's waist like a deathly guillotine.
"What!?"
The red-clothed old man was beyond shocked. He shouted out in panic and was about to take something about from his spatial ring, but at that moment, he felt his movements suddenly become extremely slow. All he could do was look on helplessly as Lin Ming's spear swept towards his waist.
Peng!
His protective true essence was ripped apart like paper. The red-clothed old man gave a miserable scream as his spine was directly snapped in half and all his organs came flying out. His body was torn in half by Lin Ming's spear.
The red-clothed old man's eyes were wide as he watched all the blood leave his body. He died with nothing but unsatisfied regret to keep him company.
Lin Ming grabbed the red-clothed old man's spatial ring and inventoried the contents. There were 8000-9000 spirit essence stones as well as some wood spirit jade and various pills and medicines and even a furnace.
It was obvious that this old man had been an alchemist.
The four Divine Kingdoms were rich in resources and the martial artists here normally came from well off families. This red-clothed old man was only at the second stage of Life Destruction but he was actually able to catch up to 60-70% of Xuan Wuji's wealth. Of course, this was because he was an alchemist.
Lin Ming put away all these things and then turned towards the empty space in the jungle. He raised his spear and indifferently said, "You've been watching for so long, how about you come out so I can meet you?"
When Lin Ming left Witch Creek City he had felt some people following him. It wasn't one person but two people.
Lin Ming had thought that the two people had been together, but now it seems that wasn't the case.
There was no response from the jungle. Lin Ming sneered and then pointed his spear somewhere in the void. "You think I'm lying to you? I'll say it once more, come out! Otherwise I'll stab you!"
"Wait! Young Hero Lin, stay your hand!" An old voice sounded out. Then, space distorted and a black-clothed old woman rushed out in a panic. She was the old woman Lin Ming had seen at Heavencraft Pavilion.
"Oh? Is this how your Heavencraft Pavilion does business?" A thick killing intent flashed in Lin Ming's eyes.
"Young Hero Lin, please don't misunderstand me, the situation isn't what you think it is. My Heavencraft Trading Company is one of the three great trading companies of the Nine Furnace Divine Kingdom. How could I think of destroying our reputation for a mere three skyflower stones?" The old woman rapidly explained. Her words were also fairly reasonable. The Heavencraft Trading Company had existed for 6000 years. If they really did send out assassins to kill and rob their wealthy guests then it would have been impossible for them to last until now.
"Then what do you want from me?" Lin Ming indifferently asked.