Dongting Immortal Clan

"That woman is not someone to be trifled with."

As Chen Changhe stepped out of Lingwen Pavilion, a sense of unease settled in his heart.

Guan Chengfu had once told him about the various taboos in the Immortal Market, and that there were three types of people in the cultivation world who were not to be trifled with.

One is a child, the second is an old man, and the third is a woman.

The older generation, having cultivated themselves for a long time, are deep in thought, unpredictable in their methods, and often as cunning as a fox.

Those who are young, if not the direct descendants carefully nurtured by a great clan, may be old monsters with profound skills who can reverse aging.

Encountering a young person in the world of cultivation is more troublesome than encountering an old person.

Women who can travel alone either possess strong personal skills or have someone to rely on.

If not, then they have most likely practiced unorthodox and evil practices such as Yin-Yang cultivation and use others as their sexual partners.

Chen Changhe didn't consider himself handsome; he wouldn't stand out in a crowd.

This unexpected kindness must be a trap.

He secretly made a mental note of the woman, knowing he would need to keep some distance from the "Lingwen Pavilion" in the future.

"but……"

"Having obtained this 'Qi-Nourishing and Longevity Secret' has finally put my mind at ease."

Chen Changhe was still happy deep down.

Although it's just a simplified version, at least it can be used to refine Qi.

As for what happens after Qi Refining, we'll talk about that when we reach that stage of cultivation.

……

It was still early when we left Lingwen Pavilion.

Chen Changhe stood by the roadside for a while, then walked into several impressive shops, casually browsing and broadening his horizons.

After being repeatedly struck by poverty, he turned around and went back to the stall area.

He then returned to the area with the scattered stalls.

After finishing his business, he still had two things to do.

The first is the Ascension Powder, and the second is the Spirit Plant Seeds.

Ascension Powder is not a proper elixir, and most shops do not sell it. The few that do sell it are not cheap.

The same is true for seeds of spiritual plants.

Good seeds are mostly controlled by large families. Occasionally, some may be found at small stalls, but it's hard to tell if they're genuine or fake; you have to rely entirely on your eyesight.

Chen Changhe walked around the stall area, looking at each stall, and suddenly stopped in a corner.

The stall owner was a dark-skinned man in his thirties with calloused hands.

A few jade slips, several bottles of pills, and some miscellaneous spiritual materials were scattered in front of him.

Chen Changhe squatted down, picked up a porcelain bottle, uncorked it, and smelled it.

It has a pungent smell and a fishy odor.

"What is this?"

"Ascension Powder"

The dark-faced man lowered his voice and looked around.

"This is good stuff."

"A single pill can ignite a fire within a mortal's heart, leading them to the path of immortality!"

Chen Changhe frowned slightly.

He had just seen the genuine Shengxian Powder in the shop on the middle floor; it had a bitter and slightly cool smell, not this one.

This is not right.

"real?"

"Of course it's true."

The dark-faced man patted his chest.

"Everything I sell is honest and reliable, young and old alike. One bottle costs thirty spirit pearls, enough for one person for half a year!"

Chen Changhe put down the porcelain bottle, got up and left.

It’s too cheap.

It’s too cheap.

The Ascension Powder is sold in those shops, costing about one spirit stone per serving, enough for one person to last a year.

A whole bottle can be bought for twenty spirit orbs here.

It's either fake or adulterated.

He didn't say much, stood up, and continued walking forward.

……

Not long after, they stopped in front of another stall.

The stall owner was an old man wearing a tattered gray Taoist robe, squatting on the ground with several items in front of him.

There were seeds of spiritual herbs, seedlings of spiritual plants, and several old wooden boxes the size of a palm.

Chen Changhe squatted down, picked up a wooden box, and opened it.

At the bottom of the box crawled a dozen or so bees, each the size of a fingernail, with lapis lazuli-colored veins, along with several dark gray bee pupae mixed in.

"What is this?"

"Mysterious Gold Bee"

The old man raised his eyelids slightly.

"A type of spirit bee that can collect spirit flowers and make spirit honey. If properly cultivated, it can also be used to kill enemies."

Chen Changhe brought the box closer.

The bee is small, even smaller than a regular bee, but the natural patterns on its carapace shimmer with a faint glow, making it truly extraordinary.

What does it want to eat?

"Spiritual flowers, spiritual honey, spiritual grains... anything that contains spiritual energy can be eaten."

The old man sighed.

"I simply can't afford to feed them anymore, so I don't want to raise them anymore and plan to exchange them for spirit stones."

"How many spirit stones?"

"Ten spirit stones, the box and the bees are all yours."

Chen Changhe shook his head and chuckled:

"Fellow Daoist is joking."

"There are only a few dead bees and pupae here, but no queen bee. How can they reproduce and thrive?"

The old man immediately said urgently:

"Fellow Daoist, look carefully. This pupa is not dead. There is a queen bee inside, but my spiritual energy is insufficient to hatch it!"

"How can you prove it?" Chen Changhe asked again.

The old man took out a small jade bottle from his robes and said through gritted teeth:

"Very well, I'll prove it to you. I have a bottle of 'royal honey' here. Fellow Daoist, take a drop and apply it to your brow. You will naturally feel something."

"If you truly desire it, I can offer you both the extraction method and the breeding method... for only eight spirit stones!"

Chen Changhe didn't reply, but took a drop of royal jelly and applied it to his forehead.

In an instant, a gentle warmth seeped into my forehead, and my spiritual sense became even more active. Looking at the bee pupa, I could see that they were indeed full of life and were not dead pupa.

Five spirit stones.

Chen Changhe withdrew his spiritual consciousness.

"I only have this much on me. I don't need those extraction and breeding methods. My family has its own secret breeding techniques."

Chen Changhe spoke with a rather arrogant tone, as if he looked down on him.

The old man's expression shifted, and after struggling for a moment, he finally sighed and pushed the wooden box away.

"Very well... I'll make a good connection with you, fellow Daoist."

Chen Changhe took the wooden box, glanced at the ordinary-looking spirit plant seeds on the stall, casually asked the price, picked out some common ones, and spent several dozen spirit pearls.

In this way, his wealth was quickly depleted.

The old man couldn't afford to raise these Xuanjin Bees, but his family had a Shangyuan Pond, so he wasn't lacking in spiritual energy.

Even without a queen bee, the Xuanjin Bees that you raise would fetch more than five spirit stones if sold in the Immortal Market.

Subsequently, he used a single Azure Water Golden Pearl to purchase several spiritual plants, including white jade ginseng seeds and golden and silver fruit roots, from another street vendor.

They also found some fry of the spirit fish.

However, the fish fry were quite valuable, even more expensive than the Xuanjin bees, so Chen Changhe had no choice but to give up.

This reminded him that the lake was originally inhabited by blue water mussels and many kinds of magical fish.

If you can bring spiritual energy into your home pond and raise spiritual fish and clams, that can also be a way to make money.

Thinking of this, Chen Changhe was in a great mood.

Now, the only thing left that I haven't been able to buy is the Ascension Powder.

There were a few stalls selling it, but he didn't dare to buy it.

This thing controls people; if you buy a fake one or it's mixed with other things, you'll be in big trouble.

Seeing that it was getting late, he went to Guan's shop.

He showed the Guan family's keepsake, and a servant diligently led it to the backyard for him to stay for the night.

Suddenly, he noticed many bottles and jars displayed on the counter in the shop and asked:

Do you have any Ascension Powder for sale?

The waiter paused for a moment, looked him up and down, and said:

"Our shop doesn't sell this stuff, but we can get it from somewhere else for you. It will be a while before we receive it."

"Can."

Chen Changhe said in a low voice:

"Go buy it for me, and you'll get a good reward."

As he spoke, he took out a handful of spirit beads and handed them over. Upon seeing this, the shopkeeper beamed and ran off in a flash.

He returned shortly afterward, holding two small celadon bottles in his arms, and respectfully presented them.

"It cost a total of thirty spirit orbs, and each bottle can last a person for a year."

"There are twelve spirit orbs left."

"Keep it, it's your hard-earned money."

Chen Changhe waved his hand and put the porcelain bottle into his storage bag. He scanned it with his spiritual sense and found that the pills inside were of pure quality, no less than those sold in the shops.

Sure enough, to buy these shady items, you still have to rely on these local bullies.

Guan Chengfu wasn't there, and the shop hadn't prepared any food for him. After finishing his business, Chen Changhe left the shop and went to a restaurant on the street to eat.

……

The restaurant is small, with two floors; the first floor has open seating, and the second floor has private rooms.

Chen Changhe found a corner on the first floor, sat down, and ordered a bowl of porridge, two steamed buns, and a plate of pickled vegetables.

He ate quickly, but not in a hurry, finishing every last drop of the porridge.

Halfway through the meal, a group of people came to the table next to us.

They were all dressed as rogue cultivators, and their cultivation levels were not high; the highest among them was only at the second level of the Spiritual Treasury Realm.

After they sat down, they ordered a pot of wine and a few dishes, and began to talk in hushed tones.

The sound wasn't loud, but Chen Changhe had good hearing and could hear it clearly.