Chapter 536 - 527: The Deal
Five days later, North Pole Mountain in Luandu County.
Amidst the continuous mountains, a huge cave space was nestled inconspicuously under a low-lying hill.
The water in the cave flowed with a constant murmur, and the sharp stalactites on the ceiling scattered few but warm and luminous glow of bioluminescent algae, dispelling the darkness within.
At the center of the cave, there was a platform as large as two living rooms, where more than a dozen people with their faces covered by masks were gathered.
“I have ten Void Cloak Talismans, which allow one to walk on air at the speed of two horses, with each one able to cover at least a hundred miles. I’ll trade them for six pieces of White Jade, or four bottles of Fasting Pills,” a tall figure wearing a red ghost mask spoke up.
“Give them to me; I’ll give you two bottles of Fasting Pills and two hundred jin of Yellow Bud Rice, how about it?” A skinny old man with a monkey mask was the first to respond.
“Deal!” the person in the ghost mask immediately nodded.
“If you have more, I could trade them for some White Jade Coins,” the monkey-faced old man continued.
After hesitating for a moment, the person in the ghost mask ultimately shook his head, “Never mind, I need them too.”
“Old Sun, did you hear some rumors?” A person with a pig mask asked the old man with the monkey mask.
Old Sun nodded slightly, “Pingfu Square in Jiangyang County next door was taken down by the Black Skin Dogs, I plan to leave Luandu County.”
Upon hearing this, everyone’s breathing lightened, and the atmosphere instantly grew tense.
“Damn those Black Skin Dogs!” the person in the ghost mask couldn’t help but curse aloud.
This statement immediately resonated with everyone, and they voiced their discontent indignantly.
“We, as noble Qi Cultivators, are actually being forced to flee everywhere by a bunch of mortals… those despicable people… are utterly rebellious!”
“If it weren’t for the dispersal of Earth Spirit Vital Energy and the difficulty in restoring mana, I would surely massacre eighteen cities to teach those lowlifes a lesson!”
“Why hasn’t anyone taken the head of that mortal Emperor?”
“Rest assured, most of the Da Qian Imperial Family’s bloodline has been cursed to death by the secret techniques of Qi Cultivators; he won’t live much longer!”
“…”
After cursing for a while, everyone soon fell silent, shaking their heads and sighing continually.
Although it was a bit humiliating, the reality was that the once-contemptible mortals could now threaten their lives, and all they could do was run.
The person with the pig mask cautiously spoke to Old Sun, trying to probe, “Do you have a safe place to go? Can you reveal something to us?”
The old man with the monkey mask shook his head slightly, “Those Black Skin Dogs are like hounds by nose; if you stay in one place for too long, you’re bound to be found. There isn’t a safe place anywhere under this mundane Da Qian rule.”
“Then you?”
“I plan to go to the outskirts of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains. It is said that there are people organizing ships to travel along the Tongtian River to Hai Province for refuge.” Old Sun did not hide.
“Could it be a trap?”
“Possibly, but I also believe the news that many fellow Daoists are preparing to cross the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.” Old Sun shook his head slightly.
“The Da Qian Imperial Court is capturing Qi Cultivators everywhere; we cannot just sit and wait for death. Rather than hiding here and there, it’s better to risk crossing the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.”
“If I can think of this, those fellow Daoists stronger than us will probably think the same. If we all gather together, we might indeed be able to cross the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.”
“That makes sense!” Everyone nodded in agreement.
“Alright, let’s first exchange the resources we have at hand. As for where to go from here, each of you should make your own judgment,” the old man with the monkey mask said, gesturing with his hands to cut the conversation short.
Everyone immediately stopped speaking and started taking out their Talisman Fulu Dan Pills and Exotic Beast Jerky.
A few steps behind them, Chen Mu quietly watched their exchange; this was already his second time observing their resource swapping.
Thinking about what they had just said, he couldn’t help but sigh.
“I hadn’t expected the Qi Cultivators of Da Qian to be in such dire straits.”
“Black Skin Dogs are the ones specially capturing Qi Cultivators? Can the mortal Martial Dao actually contend with Qi Cultivators?” Enjoy more content from My Virtual Library Empire
“It seems I really need to stay in the Divine Statue Cave Heaven longer.” Although the Divine Statue Cave Heaven was like a prison, it was truly safe!
“Unfortunately, I still have to make an appearance to earn White Jade Money.” Chen Mu sighed; he only had a little over two hundred White Jade Coins, not enough to support his long-term cultivation.
With that thought, he looked again at the people haggling and couldn’t help but smile.
“I hadn’t expected the Fasting Pills to become such hot commodities.”
Among the resources being exchanged, Fasting Pills and White Jade Coins were the most popular.
White Jade Coins can provide Earth Spirit Vital Energy to restore mana. And Fasting Pills, they can prevent a Qi Cultivator from feeling hungry.
Although the constitution of a Qi Cultivator changes, and they do not have the enormous appetite of those from the Heavenly Demon Path, they still eat far more than ordinary people. To satisfy their hunger, a Qi Cultivator would have to consume the food of seven or eight normal people, and even then, it would quickly be digested.
The Fasting Pill, crafted from the essence of the five grains and convenient to carry with contained Vital Energy, just one can last for three days. This has become the first choice for Qi Cultivators on the run.
“If I’d known, I should have held onto more earlier,” Chen Mu lamented with regret.
Back on Jilong Road, he earned Daoist Cultivation and White Jade Coins by making Fasting Pills for Pill Treasure Pavilion.
With the feedback from the gray wall, Chen Mu’s alchemy skills were exquisite, and his success rate was far higher than his peers, allowing him to hold onto quite a few Fasting Pills.
Even though he sold most of them for White Jade Coins, he still had over seven or eight hundred bottles of Fasting Pills in hand.
“Previously, each bottle of Fasting Pills was sold for a single White Jade Coin, but now it has turned into three White Jade Coins for two bottles of Fasting Pills, what a good deal!”
As long as he could sell off this batch of Fasting Pills, he would almost have a thousand White Jade Coins, enough to support his cultivation for half a year!
“The problem now is how to sell this batch of Fasting Pills,” he pondered.
Expecting the seven or eight Wild Cultivators present to fully digest them was utterly impractical. He had to cast a wide net and sell them on a large scale.
Chen Mu looked at the old man with the monkey-face mask and narrowed his eyes.
It was impossible for him to sell them directly. He was accustomed to putting someone in between. That way, if anything went awry, they couldn’t find him. This was the experience he’d accumulated over more than a decade of cultivation.
After watching for so long, he had already figured out that this old man was the organizer of this gathering.
“Clever, with experience, it’s you!” Chen Mu suddenly revealed a smiling face.
…
At the north of North Pole Mountain, on a certain Low Mountain.
The old man with the monkey face mask stood quietly in the middle of the mountain forest, observing and listening to his surroundings from time to time.
He only relaxed after a good while and took off the mask, revealing a wrinkled, dark brown, dried-up old face.
The next moment, he took a deep breath, his skin tightened and turned Whiter, his white hair slowly became black, and his height even increased by two inches.
In the blink of an eye, he transformed from a thin and short old man into a fair-skinned young man.
Changing into a new set of clothes and burning the old ones, the surnamed Sun young man covered his face with a hooded cloak, took out a Horse Talisman, and prepared to leave the small mountain.
However, just as he turned around, he saw a tall and robust young man standing not far behind him.
When did he get there?!
Sun Ke’s pupils shrank suddenly, frozen in shock.
“Old Sun?” Chen Mu said with a smile that was not quite a smile, “You really are very experienced.”
The ability of the young man opposite to change his height and facial features, altering his own aura, reminded him of himself over ten years ago. Each time he went out, he was extremely cautious. It was precisely because of this caution that he had managed to cultivate safely up to this day.
He’d chosen the right person, Chen Mu’s mouth curved up into a smile.
Qi Forbidden Hundred Miles!
Bang!
A muffled sound, dirt flew.
Sun Ke, who was trying to activate a Secret Technique to escape while feigning a sycophantic smile, was instantly slapped to the ground, unable to move.
“Don’t be afraid, I’m not going to kill you. I just want you to help me sell something,” Chen Mu said while activating the United Heart Curse.
A fine black thread, like a steel needle, shot out from the United Heart Rope binding his topknot and pierced into the spine on Sun Ke’s back.
Feeling the shared sensations from the United Heart Gu, Chen Mu’s face was all smiles, “Of course, you can refuse. I absolutely won’t make things difficult for you.”
Sun Ke: “…”
Not make things difficult for me?
Then what’s this thing drilling around in my spine right now?
You shameless villain!