Cultivating Immortality Begins with Rejuvenation.

Chapter 323 Blood Pool Cleansing

After accepting the funds that Master Yuxiao had forcibly stuffed into his hand, Li Ji'an took his leave with a slightly strange expression.

Offering him 10,000 spirit stones as a reward to make contact with him was indeed too generous.

Watching Li Ji'an's figure disappear from the main hall, Guo Wanzhi looked at Master Yuxiao with slight disappointment: "President, since it has been confirmed that he is Master's disciple, why..."

Master Yuxiao smiled gently: "Wanzhi, do you think I'm being too formal and haven't considered him one of my own?"

Guo Wanzhi nodded. If she truly considered Huang Jie one of her own, why would she reward him so handsomely?
“Wanzhi, I have already told you that my ancestors had a secret art of face reading. When I first saw this person, I could tell that he was a villain. Such a villain is selfish and heartless. Only continuous benefits can keep him from turning against you. If it weren’t for repaying the kindness of the teacher, I would never have kept him in the Chamber of Commerce.”

Therefore, for the past three years, we have let it be.

"That's why I don't recommend you have much contact with him," Master Yuxiao explained.

Guo Wanzhi frowned slightly: "Since she is Master's disciple, she should not be so incompetent. Master is always cautious and would not easily accept a disciple. Moreover, if Senior Brother had offered to help when we escaped from Tiancang Domain, Wanzhi would have had no chance to see the Guild Master."

"Alas, the world is full of all kinds of people, and the human heart is unpredictable. Without my ability to read faces, how could one fully understand a person's heart? Moreover, the human heart is fickle. Perhaps when you took him as your disciple, his true nature had not yet been fully revealed."

As for why he helped you and Yao Rui, I've already heard from Old Yuan that it was nothing more than lust blinding him. You'd better avoid contact with him in the future, otherwise your Senior Brother Xu will be heartbroken." Master Yuxiao was very confident in his ancestral art of face reading.

Upon hearing this, Guo Wanzhi's thoughts instantly shifted from Huang Jie to Xu Xiaochun.

For the past three years, Master Yuxiao has promised Guo Wanzhi that he would help her find out about Xu Xiaochun, and not long ago he actually got results.

The person in Huang Tianyu who is now known as the Poison King is very likely Xu Xiaochun, who escaped from the Biyun Sect 60 years ago.

……

After leaving the Chamber of Commerce's main hall, Li Ji'an returned to his secluded cave dwelling on the island.

He could sense Yao Rui waiting outside from afar.

"Anything else?"

"What? Can't I even contact you if there's nothing wrong?" Yao Rui pouted.

Then, he threw something out of the storage bag.

"This was obtained last month when I was escorting goods to Fuyun Prefecture and killed a thief. The elder of the Chamber of Commerce said it was a soul bead that could calm the mind and focus the spirit. It's not worth much spirit stone, but it might be useful for someone like you with an unstable mind. Consider it a thank you for taking me away from Tiancang Domain back then. Well, let's just call it interest."

Li Ji'an took the crystal-clear Concentration Pearl and smiled, "Tsk tsk, this is very useful to me. If you are not willing to repay me with your body, then we are even."

"Pah, dream on! Give up on that idea as soon as possible." Yao Rui spat lightly.

"When I shine brightly in this discourse on Taoism, and receive the reward, you may choose any item as a token of your gratitude."

"Then I, Huang, will await good news."

"I'll teach you to look down on people like that." After saying that, Yao Rui turned around and flew away.

Li Ji'an smiled, shook his head, and entered the temple.

The next morning, he left alone, carrying a mission from Master Yuxiao.

However, instead of immediately returning to Golden Radiance Immortal City, he went straight to the Fierce Tiger Merchant Guild in White Deer Prefecture.

The appointed time for Guagua to take the Jade Blood Pill and condense his demon core is fast approaching.

He did not choose the escort agency for this trip, not only because of the time constraints, but also because he wanted to give Guagua some experience along the way.

A month and a half later, Li Ji'an arrived safely at Tiger Roar Immortal City.

They did not disappoint Li Ji'an's expectations on the journey, encountering quite a few robbers.

Especially at the border between the two states, a group of cultivators led by a fake Dan cultivator gave Guagua a great deal of training.

Having previously encountered the Yellow Springs Hell's Earth-level assassins and subsequently fought against opponents of the same level at the Jinhua Chamber of Commerce, Li Ji'an had a clearer understanding of the combat strength of the Myriad Merchants Domain.

Even without relying on his many third-tier trump cards, he was not without the ability to fight back against ordinary fake Core Formation cultivators, so his courage grew a bit.

Because of the Fierce Tiger Merchant Guild's spirit pet business, most of the resident cultivators in Tiger Roar Immortal City are beast tamers, and even those who are not beast tamers are mostly cultivators who raise their own spirit pets.

Therefore, there are many supporting facilities in the Immortal City that are specifically beneficial to spirit pets.

There are many special caves for refining blood pools, taming spirit beasts, breeding spirit beasts, and secluded cultivation of spirit beasts.

When he came with Wu Yehua last time, he was very interested in some of them. This time, he came a month early so that Guagua could get some last-minute practice.

"Please come in, sir. What can I do for you?" Li Ji'an's first stop was the largest blood pool bathhouse in Tiger Roar Immortal City.

This place offers a blood pool purification service specifically for spirit pets. The blood pool, made with the essence of many high-level demon beasts and medicinal potions, is beneficial for purifying the bloodline of spirit pets.

"My spirit pet needs your shop's blood pool to be cleansed." Li Ji'an came to Tiger Roar Immortal City this time, and in a month he will take Guagua to the Fierce Tiger Merchant Guild to take the Azure Blood Pill to break through to the Demon Formation Pill, so he appeared in the form of Liu Qingyun.

"Alright, alright. May I ask what kind of beast your esteemed guest possesses? Perhaps we can take a look first and then recommend a suitable blood pool, lest the blood pool's medicinal power be insufficient and the effect poor, or the blood pool be too abundant and harm the spirit pet." The servant smiled and led Li Ji'an to a blood pool garden in the backyard.

"How are your blood pools divided, and what are their corresponding effects?" Li Ji'an didn't answer the question, but instead asked it back.

At the same time, Li Ji'an swept his divine sense across the entire Blood Pool Workshop, which contained hundreds of blood pools, but most of them were ordinary blood pools. Li Ji'an could sense that the medicinal effects within them were very weak, and they were basically for refining first-order demonic beasts or even newly born demonic beasts.

Less than 30% of the blood pools are of the second tier, and most of them are used by early to mid-tier second-tier monsters.

As for the Tier 2 Advanced Blood Pool, there is only one.

While he was probing with his divine sense, the shopkeeper had already given a concise explanation.

Each blood pool has its own emphasis, but the core is the same: refining the bloodline.

This refining process only involves purification and is far removed from the bloodline transformation of the Sacred Beast Pill. However, the more refined the bloodline, the more beneficial it is for the spirit pet to break through the bottleneck of its cultivation realm.

Its magical power is similar to that of human cultivators.

Its description is similar to what Li Ji'an sensed with his divine sense. If you ignore the modifiers, it is simply classified according to the concentration of the medicinal power of the blood pool.

The reason why higher-level blood pools are fewer is that the blood essence of high-level demonic beasts and medicinal materials are more expensive, making the cost too high.

The second-tier advanced blood pool requires the essence blood of third-tier demon beasts, as well as many third-tier medicinal herbs, so you must gather ten spirit pets each time you open the pool.

“Liu’s spirit pet needs a Tier 2 advanced blood pool!” Li Ji’an said immediately.

"Oh?" The shopkeeper looked slightly surprised.

The medicinal power of the second-tier advanced blood pool is very strong, and it cannot be withstood by any spirit pet other than the peak of the second tier. Even some third-tier spirit pets can benefit from using it for purification.

The Wanshang Domain is a bustling commercial hub, with many travelers passing through. As a result, there are naturally many more high-level spirit pets, unlike the Tiancang Domain where only a few famous beast-taming families and forces might possess peak second-tier spirit beasts.

However, a peak second-tier spirit beast is extraordinary no matter where it is. In the Tiger Roar Immortal City at this moment, excluding the goods of the Fierce Tiger Merchant Guild, there would definitely not be more than a hundred of them.

"Alright, alright, please come in, esteemed guest." The shopkeeper snapped out of his daze and hurriedly bowed, inviting Li Ji'an towards the innermost high-grade blood pool. "You are truly fortunate, esteemed guest. We have already reserved eight high-grade blood pools. With your spirit pet, we only need one more to open the pool, which should be within three to five days."

The shopkeeper led the way while explaining.

"If I were to book this entire blood pool, how many spirit stones would it cost?" Li Ji'an asked tentatively.

Once the blood pool is prepared, the medicinal effects will be lost if a spirit pet enters to refine it, regardless of whether it can absorb the nutrients.

"Honorable guest, you flatter me. It is not easy for the master to prepare this pool of medicinal liquid. The essence blood of a third-order demon beast is even more rare, costing no less than fifty or sixty thousand spirit stones."

Moreover, such a large pool of medicinal liquid could not be fully utilized by a single spirit pet, which would be a huge waste.

Furthermore, this has been our rule since the beginning of our business, and it has never been changed.

Moreover, eight fellow Daoists have already signed contracts with us for their spirit pets, and we really cannot change them. We hope our esteemed guest will understand. The shopkeeper replied with a smile.

"It was Liu who misspoke." Li Ji'an nodded slightly. He already knew about this beforehand, and this was just a test, so he didn't mind.

"No problem, please, esteemed guest."

Before long, Li Ji'an was led to the innermost high-level blood pool.

The pool is shrouded in a three-tiered array, which prevents the medicinal properties within from dissipating while simultaneously weakening the oppressive power of the three-tiered demonic beast's essence blood within.

Even through the array, the imposing aura of a third-tier demonic beast was still incredibly strong. With Li Ji'an's peak Foundation Establishment level magical power, he could still feel a slight tremor.

"This is our shop's high-grade blood pool, the highest grade blood pool in the entire Tiger Roar Immortal City. If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask, and I will answer them one by one," the shopkeeper said, bowing.

"Can its effectiveness be guaranteed?" Li Ji'an asked.

"Distinguished guest should know that the bloodline refinement of spirit pets is also related to the bloodline of your spirit pet. If the bloodline is too low, it will not only have no refining effect, but it will also be unable to withstand the internal medicinal power, resulting in injury."

As for how much it can be refined, it mainly depends on the spirit beast's tolerance.

If it can withstand a day of soaking, it can be refined by at least 20%.

If it takes two days, it can reach 40%.

This is also the limit for ordinary spirit pets.

Our store's highest record is that the bloodline of that distinguished guest's spirit pet was refined by 50% in three days.

As for anything higher, theoretically it becomes increasingly difficult the higher you go. Each additional day should allow for the refinement of half a grade, but our shop has yet to see that achieved.

Li Ji'an nodded: "That's good. How many spirit stones?"

"Cheng Hui, one advanced blood pool cleansing session costs eight thousand spirit stones!" the shopkeeper said with a smile.

Li Ji'an shook his head inwardly. A single refinement of a spirit pet could enable even a low-level cultivator in the Tiancang Domain to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

However, a peak second-tier spirit pet is not comparable to an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator.

"Alright!" After saying that, Li Ji'an took out a spirit stone from his storage bag and handed it to him.

"Please wait a moment, esteemed guest. It would be best if I could examine your spirit pet to make an assessment and avoid any potential conflicts later. Please rest assured, all our staff have signed spirit contracts and will never disclose any of your information to anyone." The shopkeeper waved his hand.

Li Ji'an smiled faintly and said with great confidence, "Rest assured, my spirit pet will definitely be able to withstand it."

However, they still released Guagua.

"Hmm? The Heaven-Devouring Vermilion Toad!"

Seeing Li Ji'an's confidence, the shopkeeper secretly thought that his spirit pet was probably a high-grade bloodline spirit beast, such as the Flame Tiger, White Ape, Earth-Splitting Bear, Howling Moon Wolf, Lion Roar Beast, etc., which are the most likely to produce high-grade bloodlines.

As a result, the shopkeeper was taken aback the moment the millstone-sized turquoise frog appeared.

Although there are many types of demonic beasts tamed and bred by human cultivators in the Great Swamp cultivation world, they are still relatively few. Merchants who specialize in dealing in demonic beasts naturally recognize the common types of demonic beasts.

The Devouring Vermilion Toad can be considered a kind of spirit beast that was artificially domesticated and bred in the early post-ancient era, after all, it poses much less of a threat to human cultivators.

However, although its bloodline contains the bloodline of the Ancient Devouring Vermilion Toad, it is very weak, and most of its bloodlines are not very good. For more than 6,000 years since then, it has been regarded as a low-grade spirit beast, and very few people have raised this kind of spirit beast as a spirit pet. Most of them have been tamed and used as laborers.

Throughout its six-thousand-year history, the second-order vermilion toad has been rarely heard of.

"Hiss~ A second-tier peak Devouring Vermilion Toad!" The shopkeeper was startled again after sensing it.

"Your esteemed guest is truly extraordinary!" He struggled to look away from Guagua, and then looked at Li Ji'an with a mixture of admiration and bewilderment.

"No problem!" Li Ji'an smiled faintly.

"Honorable guest, could you allow me to examine your bloodline to determine if you can withstand the pressure of the blood pool?" The shopkeeper asked again after holding his breath for a moment.

Li Ji'an nodded.

Then, the shopkeeper took out a small piece of jade that resembled a spirit-testing stone and slowly approached Guagua.

"Buzz~" As the precious jade approached, it began to radiate light.

"Huh!" The shopkeeper exclaimed in surprise again as the light faded.

"Your esteemed guest's spirit pet... it actually has a low-grade bloodline?" The shopkeeper was quite shocked to find only a faint red bloodline on the jade used to test the bloodline.

The jade stone used to test bloodlines is a man-made magical artifact that can detect the bloodline grade of demonic beasts. However, it can only detect the grade of a demonic beast's innate bloodline. The bloodline that Li Ji'an transformed using the Sacred Beast Pill is not his innate bloodline, but rather a bloodline that was altered later, so it will not be displayed on the test.

The shopkeeper had just confirmed that the giant frog in front of him had actually reached the peak of the second tier. He had thought that Li Ji'an was lucky to have encountered a Devouring Vermilion Toad with a mutated bloodline, which was at least at the Earth-level bloodline.

It turned out to be an ordinary frog with a low-grade bloodline.

To be able to cultivate it to the peak of the second tier is nothing short of a miracle!
Of course, as a shopkeeper of a beast-taming force, he naturally knew some methods to enhance one's acquired bloodline, but all of them came at a high price.

With the same spiritual resources and energy, it is naturally more worthwhile to cultivate a spirit pet with a high bloodline quality. In fact, with the same spiritual resources, if placed on another spirit beast with a superior or earth-grade or heaven-grade bloodline, it might break through to the third rank.

His gaze toward Li Ji'an was filled with awe and bewilderment once again.

"How is it?" Li Ji'an ignored his surprised expression.

"Well, let me let you know, my shop's high-level blood pool is incredibly powerful and has very strong medicinal properties. Given your pet's demonic power level, it should be sufficient."

However, considering the bloodline, it might be a bit difficult; you should think it through carefully.

"Our store's policy is that once you enter the blood pool, regardless of the outcome, there is no refund." The store manager carefully and truthfully informed them.

"Hmph! It's true what they say, you never know where you'll meet again, Mr. Liu." The shopkeeper had barely finished speaking when a haughty, disdainful voice came from outside.

(End of this chapter)