Day and night tour

Chapter 492 There are Eyes in the Temple
Zhou Xuan was thinking of raising the price of the pills, but this time "Heaven and Earth" remained silent, and the "pill collector" had not shown up for a long time.

The White Deer Alchemist asked Zhou Xuan, "Master, is it because 'Heaven and Earth' learned that you were going to raise the price that they stopped coming?"

“Things of value are always in short supply. I can raise the price on the spot, and he can also bargain down on the spot. He will never be intimidated by my price.”

Zhou Xuan was already very skilled at "doing business and negotiating prices," and he knew the ins and outs of it perfectly.

"Old White Deer, don't be anxious. This pill is far too precious. 'Heaven and Earth' will surely examine it carefully, and it's likely reconsidering its price."

At this time, "Heaven and Earth" had not yet come to collect the elixir.
The Taoist priests, who were offering incense, asked Zhou Xuan for a "Source Power Pill" so they could get a closer look.

Zhou Xuan jokingly said, "Then who knows if you're a true devotee or a fake one?"

"Wouldn't it be better if I were a fake? I'll steal your elixir, and you and the butcher will kill me together."

The Taoist priest reached out to take it, but Zhou Xuan pretended to refuse, pissed off the old priest's interest before letting go.

The moment the "Source Power Pill" entered the hands of the incense-burning Taoist priest, the five fingers on the pill, like worms, wrapped around the old incense-burning priest's fingers.

Then, a warm current flowed into the body of the Taoist priest.

He shook his head slightly and calmly uttered two words: "High-class!"

"Such a high evaluation?" the butcher asked.

"You'll know once you try it."

After obtaining Zhou Xuan's consent through a glance, the Taoist priest handed the severed hand pill to the butcher.

The butcher held Dan in both hands and also felt that warm current.

"Such a rich power, but it's a pity that this power cannot be used on the disciples of the hall, nor on us celestial or divine level beings."

That mountain-like alchemy furnace, using the collective will of the people of Mingjiang Prefecture, the Five Styles of Buddhism, and the extreme emotions and desires of the Supreme Master of Escape Techniques, produced elixirs that, from a supernatural perspective, were indeed far too mystical.

However, its uses are very narrow, as it is intended for use by those who are even higher than the level of gods.

At this moment, the butcher first marveled at the preciousness of the elixir, but then sighed with slight disappointment.

The reason he sighed was simply because the Taoist priest had told him that Zhou Xuan was trying to use the power of elixirs to replace the "incense offerings of the Jing Kingdom" and make them the new source of power for the Jing Kingdom, so that the people of the Jing Kingdom could get rid of the constraints and control of the Heavenly Fire Clan.

But this current pill gives him no hope.
The power contained in the elixir was too pure and concentrated. Even a being of the celestial god level could tolerate touching such power, but if it were an ordinary mortal disciple, such power entering their body would probably burst their secret realm.

"Alas, the disciples of the Human Realm still can't utilize the power of elixirs?"

After a silent sigh, the butcher said to the eager Mingjiang wandering gods around him, "I know you want to touch this pill, but your secret realm's capacity is insufficient to withstand it."

The elixir exuded a fragrance, a scent similar to that of meat. Humans are driven by two fundamental instincts: sex and food. The alluring aroma made everyone's mouths water and their stomachs rumble.

Their most primal appetite compelled them all to hold the "elixir" in their hands, even if they couldn't take a bite, just to smell it. But after hearing the butcher's words, no matter what they wanted, they dared not take the elixir.

Li Changxun stepped forward and asked the butcher for some pills, saying, "I am a celestial deity; I wonder if I can withstand this?"

"Then try it."

The butcher handed over the pill, and Li Changxun took it. When the five fingers of the "severed hand" interlocked with his right hand, an extremely strong warm current flowed into his body and permeated his secret realm.

Li Changxun smiled smugly and immediately said, "It's nothing special."

Before these boastful words had even faded, the sound of clothes being pounded suddenly came from Li Changxun's secret realm.

"Da da da!"

The sound of pounding clothes grew louder and louder, and Li Changxun felt as if several hard washing mallets were relentlessly pounding down on his secret place, causing his internal organs to shift and his blood to flow backward.

His face immediately turned the color of a pig's liver, and he hurriedly returned the pill to Zhou Xuan: "I'm sorry, Master, I was a bit presumptuous just now. Please stop using your supernatural powers."

Seeing Li Changxun's distress, Zhou Xuan feared something might happen, so he didn't dare to joke and quickly took the pill.
"I feel much better." After emptying his hands, Li Changxun said, "It seems that if this pill is of the highest quality in the mortal realm, ordinary people are not fortunate enough to enjoy it. However, Master's level of incense offerings is not very high, so why is he unharmed while holding the pill?"

Yun Ziliang flicked his sleeves, wiping the cold sweat from Li Changxun's forehead, and said, "Xuanzi's secret realm can support gods and celestial beings, unlike our secret realm, which cannot withstand any great storms."

“Yes, yes,” Li Changxun agreed softly.

The painter then asked Zhou Xuan, "Master, if the person who is to obtain this precious elixir does not come tonight, how should we guard it? I fear that bandits may come and steal it."

Now that he fully understands the value of this pill, his first concern is its safety.

Zhou Xuan, however, gazed at the towering alchemy furnace in the distance and said, "Don't worry, it's already here."

……

Inside the alchemy furnace, after removing the corpse of the alchemy demon, what remained was the lifeless alchemical soil.

The cinnabar soil was like the ashes after incense had burned out; apart from a little residual heat, there was nothing left.

Just as all was quiet, a green vine broke through the soil from the red and white earth.

The vines grew extremely fast, and in no time they had stretched out to over ten zhang (approximately 33 meters), wrapping around the pill demon several times.

Then, dozens of flower buds sprouted on the vine. A gust of wind blew by, and the flower buds half-opened and half-closed. Then, they tried to breathe, as if trying to discern whether the Dan Demon, which had turned into blue stone, was truly dead.

"hu~hu~hu~"

The fragrance of the flowers, like the scent of orchids, hit the stone body of the demon and bounced back.

The stone demon remained motionless, and Zhou Xuan's heart clenched.

He knew the truth about the pill demon and feared that the demon's feigned death wouldn't escape the eyes of the pill extractors.

However, although he was inwardly furious, his face remained almost expressionless, and when he occasionally raised his eyebrows, it was only to show his disdain.

They despised the person who obtained the elixir, saying he was blind and only bought the casket, not the pearl.

After examining the vines and flower buds for several minutes, finding no signs of vitality on the demon, they retreated into the soil.

The next moment, a faint singing voice reached the ears of everyone in Mingjiang Prefecture.

"Beautiful spring scenery~ Like the spring river~ Beautiful spring scenery~ Reluctant to leave~"

The familiar singing voice was there again, and the air around them crackled with the sound of falling snow.
This time, the people of Mingjiang Prefecture had the experience of "retrieving the pill" last time, so they all lowered their heads, closed their eyes, and dared not look at the true face of the "pill retriever".

but,

The incense-burning Taoist priest and the butcher were not afraid of the elixir-collecting man. The two of them just stared straight at the vines sprouting from the ground.

Even vines have their manners; when they see incense-burning Taoist priests or butchers, one end of the vine bends slightly as a gesture of "bowing."

The Taoist priest snorted coldly, too lazy to pay attention to the pill collector, while the butcher smiled, which was considered a greeting.

At this moment, the vines continued to grow, and when they reached Zhou Xuan's face, a vibrant green bud drooped listlessly, and a charming voice came from the flower.

"Master of Mingjiang Prefecture, 'Heaven and Earth' are very satisfied with your pills. This time, you have once again lived up to expectations. I have never seen such a gigantic Origin Power Pill."

"You saw him this time?" Zhou Xuan could tell from the voice that this time the person who retrieved the pill was not the same person as "Index Finger" last time.

This time, the person who retrieved the elixir had a voice so alluring it could drip water, but no matter how alluring it was, he remained unmoved—after all, he knew that what was inside the flower bud must be some strange and bizarre thing.

"Master's alchemy skills are truly astonishing... As we agreed beforehand, this pill in your hand will be used to exchange for your friend Hu Muhua."

The flower buds discussed the price.
Zhou Xuan, however, gazed at the severed hand in his grasp as if admiring a work of art, and said, "To the one who will retrieve the elixir, I did not know beforehand what kind of elixir I could refine, so I only said that I would exchange the elixir for Mu Hua's life."

But now that the elixir is refined to such a high standard, the price will have to be increased.

"The eldest gentleman has quite the mercenary air of a merchant."

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Zhou Xuan said. “Besides Mu Hua, I need one more thing. If you agree, we’ll make a deal. If you don’t, I’ll take this pill and find someone else.”

"In the Kingdom of Jing, there are not many ways to bring someone who has been dead for many days back to life."

“Then you can try—I can go to Shepherd City, or I can find Bai Yujing to take over… There’s always a way, I won’t let you be the only one to help me.”

"You flatter me," said Hua Bao. "I wonder what it is that you want, sir? You can tell us. If we can do it, we will get it for you. If we can't, then please be lenient and don't make the price so exorbitant."

Zhou Xuan went straight to the point and asked, "Have you ever heard of 'Meeting in Mountains and Rivers'?"

The vine nodded, and the flower bud replied, "I've heard of it. It's a pill demon deduced by the heavens. Legend has it that this kind of pill demon can hide itself in the mountains and rivers of our Jing Kingdom, and no one can find it."

Zhou Xuan asked, "Can't you find it either?"

The flower bud represents "heaven and earth," and since it is this very world, then "mountains and rivers" are also within this world, so how can they escape the discerning eye of "heaven and earth"?

"Cannot be found."

"Beneath the white clouds, above the yellow earth, lies nothing but heaven and earth. The mountains and waters where 'Mountains and Waters' hide also belong to heaven and earth. How could you not find them?"

Zhou Xuan questioned.

The flower bud smiled brightly and asked Zhou Xuan, "If you were to contract a serious illness, and the disease were on your skin, would you be able to detect it?"

“Of course,” Zhou Xuan said.

Skin diseases are nothing more than sores, rashes, ulcers, and the like; you can tell at a glance.

"If the illness is in the stomach or intestines, the master might be able to sense the approximate location of the ailment."
But if the disease is in the bone marrow, it may lie dormant and painless, how could the master possibly know where the lesion is located?

"That's not possible." "The 'Mountain and Water Encounter' is like that," the flower bud said. "The 'Mountain and Water Encounter's' physique is extremely similar to the origin of the world in the Well Kingdom. If it were to hide within the world, even if the disease penetrated to the bone marrow, remaining dormant without causing any pain or discomfort, the world would naturally be unable to detect its existence."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xuan understood the secret of "Mountain and Water Encounters" and said, "What I want is precisely this method of concealment used by 'Mountain and Water Encounters'."

"You want this?"

The flower buds were somewhat unexpected.

It thought Zhou Xuan wanted incense offerings and cultivation, and it also thought Zhou Xuan wanted the most powerful and durable magic weapon, but it never expected that Zhou Xuan actually wanted a way to hide.

"The master is too generous." Flower bud didn't think that the method of hiding was anything particularly mysterious.

She further advised, "If you desire incense offerings, with the elixir you possess, 'Heaven and Earth' can condense a stick of incense for you."
If you desire a magical artifact for hiding, "Heaven and Earth" will provide you with a divine weapon, indestructible and several times more powerful than the bone fangs you possess.
"Sir, we still need to reconsider."

The flower bud fears that Zhou Xuan will suffer too much loss—to the point of regret.

Bai Yujing wanted to win over such a powerful alchemist, and so did "Heaven and Earth".

To ensure frequent business dealings in the future, every transaction must be completed to the satisfaction of both parties.

Zhou Xuan shook his head decisively.

With one stick of incense burning, Zhou Xuan would have eight sticks of incense burning. In the Jing Kingdom, his combat power was so great that he could practically do whatever he wanted. However, his potential opponents might not necessarily be in the mortal realm.

The Jade Palace in the sky, the Heavenly Fire Clan

A god-level being, similar to a dream-like deity.

The Lord of the Thirty-Three Heavens of the Buddhist Kingdom

Even "heaven and earth",
If he were to fall out with these people one day, eight sticks of incense would be enough to save his life.

As for divine weapons?

If you can't even save your own life, then even the most powerful weapons are nothing more than a wedding dress for someone else.

Seeing Zhou Xuan's insistence,
The flower bud then said, "Since the master's mind is made up, then I will not try to persuade him any further."
The method of hiding you're looking for, "Heaven and Earth" happens to have just one.
Once, a "mountain and water vision" truly appeared in the Kingdom of Jing. Unfortunately, this intelligent demon, created through alchemy, seemed to have inherent deficiencies and passed away peacefully in Mount Tianwei, though its remains were somewhat preserved.

"So, what you're giving me is its remains?"

“Exactly,” said the flower bud. “I’ve said it before: the reason why ‘Mountain and Water Seen’ can hide in the world without its knowledge is because of its unique physique. Its remains, obtained by ‘Heaven and Earth,’ have never seen the light of day. Now, giving them to the Great Master is putting them to good use.”

Having said that,

The flower buds emitted a whistling sound, and hundreds of vines sprouted from the land of Xiejia'ao.
Then these vines kept exerting their strength, and the vines buried in the soil stretched for who knows how far, and then, with a series of thuds, they pulled a stone temple out of the ground.

This stone temple is more of an ordinary stone dwelling than a temple; it could probably only accommodate about ten people at a time.

"Master, the true form of that 'Mountains and Waters Appear' is this stone temple. You can verify its ability to conceal itself."

"Of course it needs to be tested."

Zhou Xuan swaggered into the stone temple, and with a thought, the temple sank.
After an unknown period of time, Zhou Xuan unleashed his perception to its fullest extent.

His perception, which was even stronger than that of a god, hit a wall and quickly turned back, unable to penetrate the stone temple even a fraction.

"Good baby, good baby."

Zhou Xuan was overjoyed.

He needed a magical artifact for hiding, not just to save his life—more importantly, he also had a demon pill.

The Golden Cicada Pill, which was regarded as a "cicada shell," was already a pill that Bai Yujing and the heavens and earth were very satisfied with. Therefore, this "Golden Cicada" pill demon was something that could not be seen by humans.

Its value was unknown, and Zhou Xuan was always somewhat uneasy without a safe haven to "hide" it.

However, for him, releasing his perception was only the first step in inspecting the goods.

He lowered his head and said to the secret realm, "Jingzi, come out and help me inspect the goods."

Extremely valuable items naturally require the expertise of a specialist to verify them.

Blood Well is, after all, a better expert than Zhou Xuan.

A blood-red vortex appeared in the stone house, and then the blood began to spread, covering the entire stone temple and pouring into every crevice and hole.

After a while, the red tide receded.

Zhou Xuan immediately focused his mind and entered the secret realm.

The City God Temple in the secret realm had its doors wide open, and Zhou Xuan entered the temple.

Snow began to fall in the City God Temple, and the snow outlined five characters on the ground.

"Great product!"

"It has eyes."

"Good stuff" is Xuejing's recognition of this "mountain and water meet" stone temple.

The fact that "it has eyes" is how the Blood Well points out the flaws of the "Stone Temple".

Zhou Xuan naturally knew what "eyes" meant—it was equivalent to someone installing surveillance cameras in the new house that was about to be sold.

“The stone house has eyes. If it weren’t for Jingzi helping me find out, I would still be foolishly hiding in the stone house, not knowing that my whereabouts had already been tracked.”

Zhou Xuan then asked, "Can those eyes be removed?"

The snow fell again, outlining two words—Blackwater.

Zhou Xuan struck with both palms, and it was done.

The black water in the secret realm can remove the eyes in the stone temple, making the stone temple the most powerful hiding place in the world of Jing Kingdom.

He immediately left the secret realm, while simultaneously connecting his mind with the stone house and returning to the ground.

He emerged from the stone house, looking "extremely displeased."

Flowerbud asked eagerly, "How is it, sir? Isn't this top-quality item the best in the world?"

Zhou Xuan immediately summoned the tortoise shell.

His tortoise shell came from the brow bone of the tortoise elder, and his wooden clapper, folding fan, and bone teeth were usually hidden behind the tortoise shell.

He pointed forward, and the gavel and folding fan hung in the air, while the bone teeth, like venomous snakes spitting their tongues, were aimed at the flower buds. This was an omen of "a major conflict."

"Sir, what are you doing? We were having a perfectly good business discussion, weren't we?"

"You who seek the pills, I, Zhou Xuan, am a master of deception, and therefore I despise swindlers the most—you've cheated me, our business is canceled, and from now on, I will not give a single pill to 'Heaven and Earth,' good or bad. Get out!"

"What you say, sir, is quite perplexing to me."

"Are you still pretending to be innocent? Your stone house has eyes, and you're selling me a stone temple with eyes? What are you up to?"

Zhou Xuan angrily pointed out the problems with the stone house.

The flower bud paused for a moment, then said with a fawning smile, "Please calm down, sir. As I've mentioned before, this 'Mountain and Water Meeting' stone temple has never been used. Perhaps the eyes were set up long ago and have nothing to do with us."

Zhou Xuan sneered inwardly. This flower bud was quite good at shifting blame; she could spout lies so easily.

But he didn't point it out, nor did he speak. Instead, he waited for the flower bud to continue. As for what continued... well, it was compensation, of course!
As Zhou Xuan had predicted, the flower bud said, "However, although it has nothing to do with us, since it has eyes, it is our dereliction of duty that we failed to investigate beforehand... Alas... In order to appease the Great Master's anger, on behalf of 'Heaven and Earth,' I am willing to offer another treasure to compensate the Great Master."

"Hmph, could it be that he secretly installed another pair of eyes again?"

"No, no."

Hua Bao immediately said, "The Master took that stone house to hide himself, to prevent anyone from seeing his whereabouts, not even 'Heaven and Earth' can find him."

"and then?"

“If it’s a concealment, I have another concealment artifact that perfectly matches your personality, sir.”

"What kind of magical artifact?" Zhou Xuan asked.

The flower bud did not answer immediately, but said, "Master, when that dream god impersonated the incense god, did you immediately discover his falsehood?"

No, not at all.

Zhou Xuan judged that the incense god was a fake not by his perception, but by his understanding of the incense god's character.

"That's right. The Dream God can transform into anyone in the human world without revealing any flaws in appearance."

The flower bud said, "How was he able to do it? It was because of—the myriad aspects of human life."

"so?"

"Therefore, to compensate Mr. Da, we are willing to offer 'all aspects of human life'."

The flower bud said...

(End of this chapter)