The rain continued to pour outside.
As the two entered the room, Hu Sanyuan had already freed his bound ankles.
Gu Wen drew out a short knife, tore off a piece of hanging curtain to wrap around his hand, preventing blood from splattering, and swiftly silenced the fearful cries of the other party by sending the knife towards his neck.
Human life was just that fragile.
Gu Wen wiped the knife with the cloth, then tossed it aside.
Hu Huan remained unfazed beside him.
He was no ordinary person; killing someone was just a trivial matter.
He pondered: Should I leave behind some questions to see if I've hidden anything?
The answer was no.
The money Hu Sanyuan used to purchase the pills came from the Wang Family, and most of the Wang Family's money came from the Water House.
As the actual controller of the Water House, Gu Wen could estimate the specific amount of goods through the account books.
All commodities had their equivalent value.
The number of Dragon Tiger Pills he bought equaled the amount Hu Sanyuan was worth.
Even if the pills were different, there was always a comparison.
Gu Wen opened the wooden box on the table, inside lay the pills quietly, totaling ten in number.
Recently, Hu Sanyuan had taken out one hundred and twenty thousand taels from the Wang Family, and the Water House had provided thirty thousand taels.
These amounts were spent intermittently, approximately ten thousand taels a day.
These pills probably cost around that price.
Gu Wen did consider consuming them all, but he had to think about the success rate and whether the other party had gone directly to the Wang Family to purchase the pills, and how many people escorted them.
Today might not necessarily be the most valuable, but it was definitely the most likely to succeed, hence encountering a fellow practitioner.
Valued at ten thousand taels, how could one pill not be worth ten lower-grade Dragon Tiger Pills? It's just that the scent was so similar to Dragon Tiger Pills.
"Friend, you've had a fruitful day. Congratulations." Hu Huan, shameless as ever, presented the pills, "These pills are high-quality Dragon Tiger Pills. Only one pill is produced from a furnace of over ten pills. Although the medicinal effects are the same, the advantage lies in the absence of pill toxicity, causing minimal damage to the meridians."
The same medicinal effects?
Gu Wen suddenly felt uneasy.
He picked up a pill and swallowed it.
In an instant, his fate core trembled, adding about one-fifth of Tian Essence.
The previous pill he took was one-tenth, so these high-quality pills had double the potency.
With ten pills, he would only gain two years' worth of Tian Essence.
For the price of ten thousand taels, he could buy hundreds of Dragon Tiger Pills, which equated to ten years' worth of Tian Essence!
He calmly said, "Rare as these pills are, I still think it's better to have more. Pill toxicity can be eliminated through cultivation techniques and mental strength, but pills cannot appear out of thin air."
"Friend's words make sense to some extent. After all, who had a True Immortal as a background when they first started cultivating? But this is the place to become an Immortal." Hu Huan shook his head, denying, and continued, "The Nianchuan Fruit placed outside is a ten-year spiritual fruit. Although not precious, it's not as common as cabbage here."
"Since we've finally entered this top treasure land, where countless spiritual items are as common as weeds, and various spiritual treasures are ripe for the picking, we naturally need to choose the best among the best."
Is it because only low-grade Dragon Tiger Pills can be sold as aphrodisiacs?
Gu Wen's doubts cleared up a bit.
Whether it was the fruit or the Dragon Tiger Pills, the ones that could be bought with silver were all inferior products that the worldly people looked down upon.
"Friend, do you want these high-quality Dragon Tiger Pills?" Hu Huan was taken aback for a moment, then, being a smart person, he smiled, "Friend, what do you want? Spiritual herbs, pills, or perhaps silver and gold?"
Gu Wen shook his head and deliberately said, "I'm not interested in gold and silver. Give me spiritual herbs and pills."
"While they may be gold and silver outside, they are the currency here in Dagian. We can't bring in large amounts of gold. That broken boundary formation requires spirit stones. How can we get mortals to work for us without money? We can't do it ourselves, so we have to wait for a long time."
Hu Huan unintentionally revealed some information.
He wasn't stupid; he just thought it was casual conversation, assuming everyone knew these things and there was no need to be cautious.
Dagian, broken boundary formation.
Because Dagian was abundant in spiritual herbs, the worldly people looked down on inferior products, leading to the outflow of spiritual herbs to mortals.
As gold and silver couldn't be brought in, they also had to abide by a certain social order, resulting in precious metals being exchanged for spiritual herbs.
When the transcendent beings were suppressed to the extreme, even these immortals had to adhere to the objective reality as perceived by Gu Wen.
Even the Zhao Family, with a True Immortal, had to perish.
Everything made sense!
Gu Wen suddenly felt enlightened and said, "I want pills. How many low-grade Dragon Tiger Pills do you think these ten high-quality Dragon Tiger Pills are worth?"
He only needed the potency within them, which was the Tian Essence for transforming fate cores, with no pill toxicity.
Instead of consuming them himself, he preferred to exchange them.
His mental expectation was a five-to-one exchange, considering them second-hand goods.
Hu Huan pondered, "How about twenty pills?"
What! A twenty-to-one exchange?
Gu Wen couldn't help but draw in a cold breath.
This was a direct twentyfold increase, meaning two hundred Dragon Tiger Pills! Ten pills equaled one year of Tian Essence, so two hundred equaled twenty years of Tian Essence.
As strong-willed as Gu Wen was, he couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed.
Even at his wealthiest, he only had ten years of Tian Essence.
With twenty years, he could elevate all his cultivation techniques to a higher level.
Seeing Gu Wen's silence, Hu Huan thought he had set the price too low and quickly changed his offer, "High-quality Dragon Tiger Pills are rare. It's normal for friends to want a higher premium. How about twenty-five pills?"
A twenty-fivefold increase, twenty-five years of Tian Essence.
Gu Wen suddenly felt like he was back in his past stock trading days, where prices would skyrocket in an instant.
The more chaotic the situation, the calmer he became, a hint of vigilance rising in his eyes.
In their eyes, high-quality Dragon Tiger Pills were so precious, yet they were so easily let go without any resentment or negotiation with me.
This person's character was extraordinary; either truly carefree or extremely cunning.
He nodded, "Agreed."
"I wonder if my friend is in urgent need of these pills?"
"What's the difference?"
"Um... I currently don't have that much on hand." Hu Huan scratched his head, "If you're in a hurry, I can exchange them for spiritual treasures."
Gu Wen's eyes lit up as he asked, "What about that silver spear of yours?"
"Of course not." Hu Huan covered his wrist, showing caution, "I have an old relationship with the second in command of the Qianlong Mountain Villa. I can commission a suitable weapon for my friend. I see that you don't have a weapon."
"Can it transform like yours?"
"Of course."
"We'll exchange goods and payment at the same time."
At this moment, he needed a weapon more than Tian Essence.
They agreed to meet under the Dragon Bridge a month later, at midnight, to exchange nine Dragon Tiger Pills for a spiritual treasure.
Afterward, they returned to their initial topic, the Condensing Dao Pill.
"If you're interested, friend, we can cooperate. We'll intercept the Zhao Family's nine sons' pills when they're refined. Generally, there are two to three pills produced, and I only need one." Hu Huan proposed a tempting offer.
Gu Wen didn't know where the pills were specifically or how to obtain them.
He could accept the cooperation but wanted to get something out of it.
He asked, "If we can't get them today, how will we surpass tens of thousands of Imperial Guards if the Zhao Family becomes vigilant in the future?"
Although Gu Wen possessed powers beyond mortals, he didn't believe he was currently capable of matching an army.
"It's not the Zhao Family, it's the Zhao Family's nine sons." Hu Huan chuckled, "Friend, you may not know, but Zhao Feng carries the token of the Heavenly Lady of the Daoist Sect, which should have been a great opportunity. But for some reason, the Heavenly Lady of the Daoist Sect and the Daoist Emperor had a falling out some time ago."
They fought?
Gu Wen's mind raced.
He hadn't expected the Zhao Family and Yuhua to have a conflict; weren't they in a cooperative relationship? But upon further thought, the other party also had a certain attitude towards his investments.
"Friend, who do you think will win?" Hu Huan asked.
Without hesitation, Gu Wen replied, "The outcome is unknown, but if everything remains calm, the Daoist Sect's Heavenly Lady most likely has the upper hand."
"We share the same view. It's truly a heavenly appointment. After only a few months of entering the mortal realm, she's already overpowering the Daoist Emperor." Hu Huan praised, then changed the subject, "If the Condensing Dao Pill damages the Dao Foundation, the Daoist Emperor won't allow him to take it. If he does allow it, there's no need to go to the Qianfeng Tower; his father's self-refined pills are definitely better than those."
"What is he aiming for?"
Gu Wen asked in confusion, and Hu Huan chuckled, "I don't know, but he seems to have been frightened by that Heavenly Lady of the Daoist Sect. He hasn't even built his Dao Foundation yet, so who knows when she might kick him out."
"But that's none of our concern. What do you think, friend?"
"I'm willing to give it a try."
A sinister glint shone in Gu Wen's eyes hidden behind his mask.
Even if he didn't want anything, he had to disgust Zhao Feng a bit.
Moreover, he had tasted the sweetness today; the wealth he had accumulated over several years was nothing compared to today's gains.
As the saying goes, without unexpected gains, one cannot become rich, and how could he miss this great opportunity?