Cultivating Immortality Begins with Rejuvenation.

Chapter 316 Trading Beast Cores
The Jinhua Chamber of Commerce and the Surabaya Chamber of Commerce are at odds, stemming from market competition within the same prefecture. This conflict involves the core interests of both chambers in the region, and is irreconcilable.

Therefore, when the two sides meet, they will inevitably clash.

Even if the dogs of two different chambers of commerce met, they would still bark at each other a few times.

Moreover, at this moment, the fifth young master of the Jinhua Chamber of Commerce and the eldest young lady of the Sishui Chamber of Commerce are present.

Yuan Jingzhu is a descendant of the Jade Flute Immortal clan. Her parents were killed by bandits hired by the Jinhua Chamber of Commerce when she was just born. Later, due to her outstanding talent and innate Heavenly Grade Spiritual Root, she was chosen by the Chamber of Commerce and recognized the Jade Flute Immortal as her mother. She is expected to inherit the position of the Chamber of Commerce president in the future.

"It was my fault, I didn't check the almanac before I went out and ran into Young Master Wu." Yuan Jingzhu was as quiet and indifferent as her name suggested, which was very different from the capable and efficient Jade Flute Master.

She wore an elegant green dress and walked lightly on the stone steps, her steps light and slow, even her walk exuding a refined air.

However, when speaking to Wu Yehua, although his voice was calm and gentle, his words were full of hostility.

"Hehe, Miss Yuan is still as pitiful as ever, but it's a pity...beautiful women have always had short lives, so be careful when you go out, as the evil cultivators who prey on women are extremely rampant these days." Wu Yehua didn't take it to heart and continued to laugh and retort.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Jingzhu raised her delicate chin slightly, revealing her swan-like white neck, and her face showed a mixture of surprise and concern: "So Young Master Wu was not ambushed and killed in revenge the other day, but was actually poisoned by the evil cultivator who picks flowers?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Yehua's expression changed slightly. The news of his ambush on the road had already spread like wildfire.

Various rumors have emerged.

Despite his calm and relaxed demeanor in public, seemingly unconcerned about being ambushed, he was actually growing increasingly anxious. His father had severely reprimanded him, and the entire Chamber of Commerce believed that his moral failings had led the thief to attack him at the escort agency under the Nine Cauldrons Chamber of Commerce, determined to die.

This seriously damaged the prestige of the Jiuding Chamber of Commerce Escort Agency, and someone always had to take the blame.

Fortunately, before returning to the Jinhua Chamber of Commerce, he still has two opportunities to regain his position within the chamber.

Firstly, amidst fierce competition, they secured the Azure Blood Pill from the Fierce Tiger Merchant Guild.

He was originally very confident about this, because his mother had left him something before she passed away. It might not be valuable to others, but it was particularly attractive to the Fierce Tiger Merchant Guild, whose main business was spirit pets.

Secondly, they unexpectedly discovered Liu Qingyun, a prodigy.

If we can persuade them to join the Jinhua Chamber of Commerce and participate in the Feihong Forum on behalf of the Jinhua Chamber of Commerce, they might become a dark horse.

"Haha, I always thought Miss Yuan wasn't the kind of fool who would fall for hearsay, but it seems... tsk tsk..."

"That's a matter of opinion! I imagine your wise and brave second brother might not share your view," Yuan Jingzhu said with a faint smile.

When Yuan Jingzhu mentioned Wu Yehua's second brother, the latter's face immediately darkened.

No matter how shrewd he was, he could not remain calm when faced with his second brother who had hired someone to kill him.

Moreover, that was his strongest competitor.

"Hmph! Miss Yuan, you should think about how to get through this door!" Wu Yehua snorted coldly, no longer pretending.

He then addressed the guards on the side, saying, "My allies, have you looked closely? This is a Foundation Establishment junior from the Sishui Chamber of Commerce, nameless and without any status. I'm afraid he's not qualified to enter through this door, is he?"

……

Li Ji'an had no interest in their dispute and focused his divine sense on Guo Wanzhi, who was standing next to Yuan Jingzhu.

Since Guo Wanzhi was taken away and arranged by Master Yuxiao three years ago, she has never taken the initiative to contact Li Ji'an again.

Li Ji'an understood this very well, and even approved of it. After all, Huang Jie's appearance was not good, and he had acted frivolously on the spirit ship. Guo Wanzhi's mind was entirely on her senior brother Xu Xiaochun. Faced with the dilemma of not being able to reconcile love and gratitude, she made her own choice.

Of course, although he did not visit again, he did manage to secure some rights for Li Ji'an. This included when Jade Flute Master decided how to deal with Huang Jie, a treacherous villain who repaid kindness with enmity and was destined to die young, he used his own life to advocate for Li Ji'an.

Upon seeing her again, Guo Wanzhi's magical power was even more solidified.
Their behavior is steady and cautious.

She simply followed quietly behind Yuan Jingzhu. If Yuan Jingzhu hadn't been so respectful to her, one would have thought she was just an ordinary maid.

"Please wait in line at the main gate!" Just then, the guard at the side gate made a decision regarding Yuan Jingzhu and her group.

"We are all members of the business alliance, why do we have to queue?" Yuan Jingzhu's nanny stepped forward to argue.

The guard from the Fierce Tiger Merchant Guild remained unfazed: "If your guild leader or someone of that rank comes here, of course, but..."

"This is our Chamber of Commerce's eldest daughter."

"Young Miss? May I ask what position you hold in the Chamber of Commerce?" the guard asked indifferently.

"This..." The old nanny was speechless.

"Hehe, Miss Yuan, why don't you let Master Yuxiao pass on the position of General to you as soon as possible?" Wu Yehua couldn't help but gloat when he saw this, finally regaining the upper hand.

Upon hearing this, the old nanny immediately pointed at Wu Yehua and asked, "Why was he allowed in?"

"Him?" The guard turned to look at Wu Yehua. "Because he is the fifth young master of the Jinhua Chamber of Commerce and a loyal ally of our Liehu Chamber of Commerce!"

"But he..."

The old woman wanted to argue further, but Yuan Jingzhu smiled faintly and stopped her: "No need to say more, we'll just take our place in line."

After saying this, he led Guo Wanzhi toward the main entrance.

Watching Guo Wanzhi's figure disappear into the distance, Li Ji'an shook his head secretly.

Over the past three years, he has gained a thorough understanding of the situation within the business alliance. Although the business alliance is a large group, any large group must have factions. Since the Sishui Business Association is not a member of the Liehu Business Association's faction, it will naturally be excluded.

Without thinking further, he followed Wu Yehua and entered the Spirit Beast Garden of the Fierce Tiger Chamber of Commerce first.
-
The Fierce Tiger Chamber of Commerce mainly deals in the buying, selling, and leasing of spirit beasts, as well as related beast core resources. However, unlike the Liu family of the Beast Taming Sect in the Heavenly Azure Domain, which only cultivates their own spirit beasts, the Fierce Tiger Chamber of Commerce cultivates less than 50% of its spirit beasts, and purchases and mortgages are the majority.

The reason is that the cost and risk of raising a high-level spirit beast are too great compared to their connections and market share. It is better to buy it directly from the beast-taming families and forces with whom they have long-term cooperation.

That's why they thought of selling this precious Jade Blood Pill.

"Brother Liu, the spirit beasts of the Fierce Tiger Merchant Guild are renowned far and wide. Not only are they diverse in species, but their quality is also excellent. This spirit pet appreciation event features many top-quality beasts with Earth-level bloodlines. If you are interested in spirit pets, you should take a good look. You might just find one that suits your taste." After entering the spirit beast garden, Wu Yehua strolled around as if it were his own backyard, knowing the layout and the various spirit beasts inside like the back of his hand.

Li Ji'an decisively waved his hand.

Raising a spirit beast is not easy. He already has a frog and has sacrificed too much for it. In addition, he has been with it for three lifetimes and has developed feelings for it. It is impossible for him to give up easily.

If he were to raise another one, he wouldn't have the energy, and there would be financial pressure. The main issue is that he no longer has the patience to slowly cultivate a bond with the first frog he raised.

If the feelings are not deep enough, the process of rejuvenating can easily backfire.

"What? Brother Liu disdains the help of demonic beasts?" Wu Yehua was taken aback by Li Ji'an's decisive refusal.

"Oh, I've misremembered. The geniuses of the upper sects in the Heavenly Cang Domain do not pay attention to external forces."

Wu Yehua then suddenly realized what was going on.

Li Ji'an was perfectly aware of her little scheme; she was subconsciously testing his identity.

After all, his appearance was rather abrupt.

Based on their recent interactions, Li Ji'an could roughly guess Wu Yehua's intention to win him over.

Therefore, this test was quite reasonable. Half a day later, all participants entered the Spirit Beast Garden, and the conference officially began.

Li Ji'an sat in the first row with Wu Yehua, while Yuan Jingzhu and Guo Wanzhi were only assigned to the fifth row.

This further provoked Yuan Jingzhu.

However, Yuan Jingzhu remained calm and composed, ignoring the commotion and not being provoked.

Soon, the Grand Steward of the Fierce Tiger Chamber of Commerce took the stage to preside over the Spirit Pet Appreciation Conference.

A total of twenty unique spirit pets were brought to the front desk.

"On behalf of the Fierce Tiger Merchant Guild, I thank you all for your support. To demonstrate our sincerity, all the carefully selected spirit pets will be sold at 80% of their market price. Please, those interested in spirit pets, do not hesitate to..."

After the opening remarks, he began to introduce everything one by one.

"Although this sable's bloodline is only of the middle grade, it has unexpectedly awakened the divine power of the savage ancestor, the Lightning Sable. Its speed of escape is unmatched among those of the same grade. In addition, the spirit-devouring poison it carries makes it extremely unpredictable. If you can raise it to the late stage of the second grade, it may be able to threaten the strength of a pseudo-core cultivator."

"This is a Howling Moon Wolf with a superior bloodline. Not only is its bloodline excellent, but it also inherited the bloodline supernatural powers of the ancient ancestor of the barbarians. It has great potential. However, it was not raised from a young age but was captured halfway through its life. It is too wild and difficult to tame. If there are fellow Daoists with high-level beast taming skills, they may give it a try. If successful, the reward will be at least ten times."

……

"This is a near-heavenly-grade bloodline beast egg that the Sacred Beast Mountain reluctantly parted with. Its bloodline is suspected to be that of the fourth-order five-colored peacock king that once dominated the ten central regions of the Sacred Beast Mountain. However... the Sacred Beast Mountain's master judged that it may be inherently deficient, and the chance of successfully hatching is no more than 30%. Of course, the price is also 30% of the same quality. Once the gamble is won, even if it is resold, the profit will definitely be a hundredfold."

……

All twenty spirit pets possess extraordinary abilities, but they also have their flaws.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be selling it using such an appreciation gimmick.

Li Ji'an was interested in several of them, but considering his own resources, he gave them up without hesitation.

However, the other cultivators present were all aroused by the old steward of the Fierce Tiger Merchant Guild, and within just one hour, all twenty special spirit beasts were sold.

Of course, the participation of various chambers of commerce was also a factor.

The purpose was clearly to pave the way for the final, grand finale, the third-tier Azure Blood Pill.

The remaining seventeen chambers of commerce all aspired to produce the Bixue Dan (a traditional Chinese medicine formula), with the aim of researching and developing its recipe.

Although they all knew that the Fierce Tiger Merchant Guild would definitely want to analyze the formula of the Jade Blood Pill as soon as possible, because that would bring them immense wealth.

However, they all harbored a sense of wishful thinking, speculating whether there was a special contract with Sacred Beast Mountain, or whether the alchemists of the Fierce Tiger Merchant Guild lacked comprehension.

Finally, after all twenty unique spirit pets were sold out, the old butler happily brought out the grand finale of the day—the Azure Blood Pill!
However, only a portion of the people had the opportunity to see it up close.

The Sishui Chamber of Commerce was originally excluded, but considering that Yuan Jingzhu bought the five-colored peacock egg, which actually had only a 50% chance of successfully hatching and was bound to be damaged from the start, the old steward disregarded the hints from several closely related chambers of commerce and agreed to its eligibility.

Soon, those who were not qualified were asked to leave the spirit beast garden and could only stand outside and watch from afar.

Those who were qualified stepped forward to examine the Jade Blood Pill up close.

As someone strongly recommended by Wu Yehua, Li Ji'an naturally obtained this qualification.

"The aura of bloodlust is extremely strong!" Other attendees from the merchant guilds, besides themselves being senior alchemists or experts in beast alchemy, all brought their own alchemists with them.

The Fierce Tiger Chamber of Commerce was fully aware of the situation, but did not stop it.

"It is quite different from the ordinary method of refining beast cores."

"It's more in line with the pill-refining techniques used by human cultivators..."

After careful sensing, many experienced alchemists and beast tamers were still clueless and had no choice but to offer their suggestions in the hopes of getting some inspiration.

Guo Wanzhi also stepped forward to study it carefully, but she also made no progress.

"Gentlemen, the importance of this pill to Sacred Beast Mountain is self-evident. Therefore, Sacred Beast Mountain has many restrictions on the trading of this pill, and I cannot deceive you."

Seeing that the other chambers of commerce, especially the Jiuding Chamber of Commerce, had brought in third-level alchemists who had all failed to achieve any results, the old steward sighed and then added a sentence.

"Besides the known restrictions, what else?" The head of the Nine Cauldrons Chamber of Commerce frowned, staring at the old steward of the Fierce Tiger Chamber of Commerce with considerable hostility.

"If Master Tong has any objections, he may withdraw on his own. This old man will not have any objections," the old steward retorted with a forced smile.

"Hmph! State all the restrictions clearly at once!" The head of the Nine Cauldrons Chamber of Commerce's face darkened, and he shouted loudly, showing little regard for the old steward who was rumored to be able to make decisions in place of the president of the Fierce Tiger Chamber of Commerce.

The old steward wasn't annoyed and said calmly, "The most crucial point is that if any fellow Daoist offers spiritual resources that satisfy my merchant guild and we are willing to trade, then you must immediately have your spirit pet consume them under my watchful eye, and you must not take them out of my sight."

"What? Take it on the spot? And you can't take it with you!"

"What kind of domineering contract is this? Even the Azure Blood Pill cannot guarantee that a spirit pet will advance to the third tier; it can only increase the probability of advancement. How can it be taken so lightly?"

……

The onlookers immediately became emotional, and their anger was further fueled by the Tong family patriarch's instigation.

"Hehe, everyone, please be patient. This was the condition that Sacred Beast Mountain agreed to in exchange for this Azure Blood Pill."

However, I only said that it must be taken in my presence, not that it must be taken immediately after the transaction.

"As long as you don't take them away after the transaction is completed, but leave them in my guild, you can consume them in front of me when your pets are fully developed and ready to break through to the third tier."

"..."

"Old fool, your abacus is clattering away."

"Wouldn't this provide a reasonable excuse to keep the Crimson Blood Pill at the Fierce Tiger Merchant Guild for even longer?"

“The Sacred Beast Mountain must have restrictions on the trading time for it, perhaps a three-month limit, during which it must be traded.”

"No wonder they are so eager to trade it away."

Amidst the lively discussion, the truth was almost revealed.

Because Sacred Beast Mountain does indeed have requirements regarding the timing of transactions by the Fierce Tiger Merchant Guild.

As a result, many people simply give up.

After all, their initial goal was simply to trade it back and study it carefully.

Only a few cultivators remained who genuinely hoped their spirit pets could advance to the third rank.

Li Ji'an glanced at the remaining people, his expression unmoved.

Not to mention that the remaining people are not among the top forces in the Wanshang Domain.

Even if the Nine Cauldrons Chamber of Commerce competes with him, he is confident that he will gain the wrath of the Fierce Tiger Chamber of Commerce.

(End of this chapter)