A Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Starting as a Rogue Cultivator

They blatantly robbed you, and you still have to say thank you.

The old man seemed to understand what Wang Li was thinking, and immediately added another explanation:

“Young friend, to ensure that our customers’ property is not lost, our Star-Picking Pavilion usually asks a Foundation Establishment stage senior to handle the shipping. Do you think thirty spirit stones is too much for a Foundation Establishment stage senior?”

Foundation building stage?

They can arrive leisurely within three days, and might even be out doing some tasks to casually earn half a percent of the auctioned items' profit. In this way, they can ensure the safety of the goods, satisfy customers, and also win over fellow disciples, consolidating their own network of connections.

The person behind the Zhaixingge Auction House is quite something.

"Elder Xu, aren't you afraid that the person who takes the job will run off with the spirit stones? How will you compensate the customers for their losses?"

"It's hard to say about the Giant Sword Sect and Spirit Beast Mountain, but we can still guarantee the items sent by the seniors from Yellow Maple Valley, Heavenly Palace Fortress, Pure Void Sect, and Blade Transformation Valley. This is because every month, our sect sends a team to the Yuanwu Kingdom, Jiang Kingdom, and Cheqi Kingdom to make purchases..."

This is not a secret among Foundation Establishment cultivators, and it is even more openly discussed among Core Formation cultivators.

Who could blame them when, among the seven sects of Yue Kingdom, only the strongest, the Hidden Moon Sect, possessed such a large, top-tier magical artifact spaceship?

That's where their confidence comes from; others can't envy it.

"Your esteemed establishment is indeed incredibly powerful; I have truly learned a great deal!"

Wang Li's flattery was heartfelt.

There's a reason why the Hidden Moon Sect has been able to maintain its position as the number one sect among the seven sects.

"So, young friend, by entrusting your items to my Star-Picking Pavilion, are you preparing to continue participating in the auction, or are you planning to take care of other trivial matters?"

The old man stroked his beard and asked with a smile.

"There's no need to participate in the auction. I'm just a lowly Qi Refining stage errand boy, and I'm short on money! It would be too cruel to just watch the items on the auction stage and drool."

Wang Li's words made the old man chuckle.

"Elder Xu, welcome to Huangfeng Valley. Besides this half-percent of the profits, there will definitely be other gifts to thank you for your visit!"

Wang Li solemnly made this promise.

"You're very kind, young friend, but this old man hasn't been able to run around much these past few years."

Do you really think you can get him to make this trip for just thirty or forty spirit stones? Do you really think Old Man Xu is a servant?

However, what the person did next almost made the old man's hand tremble and he pluck out several of his own white beards.

“Elder Xu, I have seen and felt the sincerity of Zhaixing Pavilion. With that in mind, I can confidently hand over all the items that Uncle Chen entrusted to me to deliver to your auction house!”

As he spoke, he waved his hand and took out three identical jade boxes from his storage bag.

"This is?"

"A Youth-Preserving Pill!"

Old Xu: "..."

He had rarely seen such a person, such a person, such a person… indescribable.

"Elder Xu, I will go attend to other matters now. Please make sure to deliver the spirit stones obtained from the auction to Uncle Chen of Huangfeng Valley. He is a core member of the Chen family, named Chen Tianya. The Chen in Chen family is the Tian in Tiandi, and the Ya in Tianya is the Ya. Don't get it wrong."

After giving his instructions, he slipped away without a trace.

It was like having a man-eating tiger chasing you from behind.

After Wang Li disappeared from sight, the old man finally realized what had happened:

"Interesting, very interesting. Courage, intellect, and magical power are all excellent; while his aptitude isn't the best, it's certainly not bad either, and he knows how to leverage, follow, and create momentum. With such an outstanding junior, I wonder if Huangfeng Valley should..."

He narrowed his eyes, a fleeting hint of danger flashing within them.

"Old Xu, do you value that Qi Refining stage junior so much?"

A figure slowly emerged from the shadows that were inches away.

"Value him? No, it's just that he felt a little threatened. Haven't you noticed that our Hidden Moon Sect has been protected too well for generations, and we can't find many disciples as outstanding as him anymore?"

"Isn't that a bit much?"

The disciples of the Hidden Moon Sect, regardless of gender, are always among the top of the seven sects, and this has been the case year after year.

"Passed? Ha! Senior Cangqiong's concerns are not without reason!"

Old Xu sighed:

"Take that kid from earlier, for example. Although he disguised himself quite a bit, wearing three masks—one made of iron, one of wood, and one of human skin—how could he fool my discerning eyes at such close range? I estimate that the brat is under twenty years old, yet his cultivation has already reached the thirteenth level of Qi Refining. But his spiritual root is clearly neither a Heavenly Spiritual Root nor an Extraordinary Spiritual Root. You know, which of our seven sects doesn't cherish every little genius with a Heavenly Spiritual Root or an Extraordinary Spiritual Root?"

Besides, his surname isn't Chen!

Therefore, he must be a rogue cultivator!

He doesn't have the surname Chen, but uses the Chen family name and works for the Chen family. What else could he be but a rogue cultivator?

Other families' scions don't need to do this.

"And then what? I didn't see anything particularly outstanding about it."

The figure emerging from the shadows frowned, puzzled.

"Old Xia, if you had the Chen family as your backer and four Youth Preservation Pills in your possession, what would be the first thing you would do to maximize your benefits?"

"Of course, it should be auctioned off at an auction house like he did."

you still need to ask?

"So, are you going to start by taking just one to test the waters, or are you going to take them all out at once?"

Is there a difference between them?

Yes, and the differences are huge.

The man next to Old Xu had already thought of this, and thus fell silent.

"Furthermore, as the holder of the Youth Preservation Pill, would you not care about the auction price? Would you be so busy that you don't even want to participate in an auction? Would you be so generous as to give me hundreds of spirit stones as running expenses for the auction house?"

This isn't about being busy; it's about recognizing the danger lurking behind it.

This means knowing your own limitations and knowing when to advance and when to retreat.

"He hasn't gone far. Why don't I chase after him and stop him?"

"It's too late! It was too late the moment he stepped out of the auction house!"

Openly making a move in the marketplace is not allowed; this is a rule set by their Hidden Moon Sect, and it's a matter of face. Elder Xu and the old man next to him, Xia, don't have the face to slap themselves for a Qi Refining stage disciple with an uncertain future, and Wang Li is far from worthy of it either.

"How fast can a Qi Refining stage cultivator run?"

"It's not a matter of speed..."

Such a person would never set foot in their Star-Picking Pavilion auction house and offer four Youth-Preserving Pills as a tempting offer without having planned an escape route in advance and made thorough preparations.

Moreover, if they really deal with the other party and offend the Chen family, although the Yan Yue Sect is powerful and fearless, the sect may not appreciate their good deeds. Instead, they will think that the two of them are making a fool of themselves by deliberately damaging the relationship between the two sects. In the end, they will not only gain nothing but also cause a lot of trouble.

Let's skip this thankless task.

Besides, the little guy has already won him over, hasn't he?

Inviting him to Yellow Maple Valley as a guest and having him run errands is practically giving him half the profits from those four Youth-Preserving Pills at the auction...isn't that a way of giving him away?!

Even a 50% profit would be at least a hundred spirit stones.

The truth is, it's more than three hundred yuan!

The four Youth Preservation Pills ultimately sold for a total of 7300 low-grade spirit stones! This far exceeded the old man's initial estimate of over 2,000 spirit stones! It was undoubtedly one of the most eye-catching parts of the auction! It received rave reviews!

But the old man wasn't happy about it.

Of course, this is something.

"Hmm? Old Xia, why do you look so pale?"

"nothing……"

These three words were pronounced by biting.

This was because the divine imprint he had secretly left on Wang Li's jade ring had disappeared.

"Hahaha……"

"Old Xu, what's so funny?"

"Because even if you wanted to catch up, you probably couldn't now."

"What do you mean?"

"At our speeds, if we had chased after that brat earlier, we should only have left the no-fly zone by now, right?"

Upon hearing this, Elder Xia nodded.

"But he was already two or three miles away from the no-fly zone!"

"How did you know? Wait, did you also leave a divine imprint on him?"

"It seems you stayed too."

The two exchanged a glance.

"My divine imprint remains on that jade thumb ring."

Old Xia raised an eyebrow.

"I chose a human skin mask and a wig."

Old Xu spoke the truth without batting an eye, making Old Xia's face twitch.

"Why are you staring at me like that? Can't you just let your professional instincts kick in?"

Old Xu glared at him, clearly annoyed.

"Cough cough, okay, okay."

You're the eldest brother, so you make the decisions.

"Sigh, a divine imprint cast without physical contact can only remain on an object, which is still not safe."

Because there was no physical contact, even with their late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, they could only barely leave a divine imprint on objects, and they couldn't forcibly tamper with the physical body.

Moreover, even a Core Formation stage cultivator cannot silently leave a divine imprint on the other's body by tampering with things from a distance; it is easy for the other to sense something amiss.

If this is exposed on the spot, it will be incredibly embarrassing.