Facing Lu Yang's skilled accusations, Meng Jingzhou scoffed and replied, "What do you mean I scared someone away? Didn’t you hear what they said? You might end up having some kind of fate entanglement with a celestial being."
"It’s possible that you did something that angered the celestial beings, and now they’re teaming up to suppress you!"
Lu Yang waved his hand dismissively. "That's impossible! I always know what I'm doing. I wouldn't do anything that outrageous. It must be some nonsense made up by Luo Bo."
The two kept blaming each other, refusing to admit it was their own fault.
Man Gu opened his mouth, wanting to suggest that maybe it was both of their issues, but in the end, he kept quiet.
After a few days of getting to know each other, Lan Ting gradually became familiar with Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou's way of speaking. When they argued, she just let it go in one ear and out the other.
"Look, up ahead is the Falling Money Merchant Association. Let’s go take a look!"
At the entrance of the Falling Money Merchant Association, there was a little fat pig holding coins, which was the association's classic mascot.
Lu Yang had heard a lot about the Falling Money Merchant Association and wanted to explore it.
Inside, the decor was understated yet tasteful, very different from the flashy style of other places that show off their wealth.
The Falling Money Merchant Association didn’t need to show off; its name spoke for itself.
In the Central Continent, everyone knew about the number one merchant association in the world.
The goods displayed inside dazzled Man Gu's eyes. There were pills carefully crafted by masters, spirit treasures forged by skilled artisans, rare treasures dug up from dangerous places, and various talismans and formations ranging from simple to complex...
Looking at the prices, Man Gu felt like a poor person who couldn’t afford anything.
He noticed that Meng Jingzhou and Lan Ting were casually browsing through the merchant association, strolling around without a care about the prices, which he could understand.
But he was surprised to see that even Lu Yang, who was about the same financial status as him, seemed unconcerned about the prices.
Man Gu quietly asked, "Lu Yang, everything here is so expensive, I can’t afford anything."
Of course, he wasn’t saying he couldn’t buy anything at all; he meant he couldn’t afford the impressive-looking items suitable for foundation-building.
Lu Yang looked at Man Gu in surprise. "Buy? Why would you want to buy anything here? Look at these pills and treasures; they look fancy and expensive, but they’re just for show. They can’t compare to what the sect produces in terms of practicality."
Man Gu nodded; that was true. The cheap and sturdy fried dough sticks from the sect were much better, and even after more than a month, the fried dough stick Lu Yang had given to Meng Jingzhou was still half uneaten.
"Besides, if you don’t have money, you won’t make any, right? With our status, we can easily sell something and make money. Watch me, I’ll show you."
With that, Lu Yang approached a servant standing quietly nearby. "Do you guys buy spells?"
The servant politely replied, "Hello, we do buy them, but we only buy things that aren’t available in the association. We already have common techniques here. Are you looking to sell a technique?"
Lu Yang nodded. "I have a transformation technique that can also attack while transforming. It’s a family secret."
The servant was quite surprised; he had worked here for ten years and had never heard of such a transformation technique.
"Please follow me. There’s an auction today, and Master Yang Xuanling is here. We can have him evaluate the value of your transformation technique."
The four of them were led to a room where an old man wearing glasses was reading a book, looking quite aged and knowledgeable. This must be Yang Xuanling.
The servant whispered a few words in Yang Xuanling's ear.
"Oh? There’s such a technique? I see, you can leave now."
"Yes." The servant respectfully exited the room.
"You four, I heard you have a transformation technique that can attack while transforming?"
"That’s right." Lu Yang took out his "Lu Family Shape-Transforming Fist."
Yang Xuanling paused for a moment. "If I’m not mistaken, the book says it’s a Shape-Transforming Fist?"
Lu Yang stepped forward, crossed out the words "Shape-Transforming Fist" on the cover, and wrote "Transformation Technique" instead.
"Now it’s a Transformation Technique."
This was the first time Yang Xuanling had met someone so casual with naming. After doing this for so long, he realized you could meet all kinds of people.
Yang Xuanling slowly flipped through the pages, reading carefully, and then angrily said, "This is just the Shape-Transforming Fist!"
"How could that be?" Lu Yang was quite surprised. "This is definitely a Transformation Technique! Let me show you!"
Right there, Lu Yang demonstrated a set of Shape-Transforming Fist moves, transforming from Man Gu to Meng Jingzhou, then into a tiger demon, showcasing a powerful aura that looked impressive.
Yang Xuanling stared for a long time, completely unable to understand how Lu Yang transformed.
He was indeed performing the Shape-Transforming Fist, and the process matched perfectly with what was written in the book. There was no secret technique being used.
What price should he set for this?
Yang Xuanling stroked his beard, looking as if he fully understood. "This Transformation Technique is quite interesting. It would be a waste to sell it as a regular item. How about we take this Transformation Technique to the auction? There’s an auction happening soon."
"Sure."
At the auction site, Lu Yang saw an old acquaintance.
It was Chi Xulong, who had mastered the Spitting Stone Technique.
Chi Xulong didn’t disguise himself; just as he introduced himself before, he was bold and didn’t like to hide.
With his level of cultivation, he didn’t need to disguise himself in the entire Yanjiang County.
Next to Chi Xulong sat a man in a black robe, and Lu Yang guessed he was the assassin Shen Jinyi.
Lu Yang took the initiative to sit next to Chi Xulong, who scoffed dismissively when he saw Lu Yang wearing a childish tofu mask.
For some reason, he felt very angry just looking at him.
The well-dressed auctioneer stepped onto the stage, looking like someone who had received professional training. He didn’t use his cultivation but spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear.
"Good afternoon, everyone! Thank you for coming. Without further ado, let’s get started."
"The first item up for auction today is three Foundation-Establishing Pills."
As soon as this was announced, the entire venue buzzed with excitement. They didn’t expect the auction to start with something so valuable.
Most of the attendees were in the mid to late stages of Qi training, while those in the early stages knew their financial limits and wouldn’t participate.
Even Foundation-Establishing cultivators were tempted; who didn’t have a junior in the Qi training stage at home?
But Lu Yang didn’t.
He thought about it and realized that among the people he knew, he was the one with the lowest cultivation level.
In ancient times, when the ancestors opened up the path of cultivation, they naturally didn’t rely on external items to establish their foundations. However, doing so was very risky, and many people died in the process.
Later, someone developed Foundation-Establishing Pills that could improve the success rate and ensure that failures wouldn’t leave hidden dangers or cause regression.
Even Lan Ting, a disciple of the Celestial Palace, took Foundation-Establishing Pills when she established her foundation.
She sent a message, asking, "Did you use Foundation-Establishing Pills when you established your foundation?"
Lu Yang shook his head. "Our philosophy on using pills is quite advanced. When we established our foundation, we directly consumed the raw materials for the Foundation-Establishing Pills, using our bodies as the furnace to refine the materials, allowing the effects to fully dissolve in our meridians."
"Research has shown that this method has the highest absorption efficiency."
"Back when Elder Qi from Dan Ding Peak was young, he repeated the foundation establishment process a hundred times to reach this conclusion. The data is absolutely reliable."
"At that time, Elder Qi even earned the title of 'Strongest Foundation-Establishing Stage,' but later, because his foundation was too solid, the process of forming his core was extremely painful, like having gallstones."
Lan Ting: "..."
While they were talking, the three Foundation-Establishing Pills had already been auctioned off.
"Next up for auction is a Transformation Technique." The auctioneer took out the book Lu Yang had just submitted for auction.
Lu Yang let out a soft sound, just loud enough for Chi Xulong to hear, "Could this book be the legendary one that is hidden..."
Chi Xulong, who had initially shown no interest in the book, suddenly perked up.
(End of Chapter)