Swish—!
Accompanied by the sound of breaking air, what appeared before Du Zhan's eyes was a talisman enveloped in flames. Suddenly, amidst the bright light swirling around, it condensed into a dark arrow, carrying a sharp momentum, and in an instant, under the guidance of Du Zhan's divine sense, it whistled and buzzed as it shot through the air.
That dark arrow was clearly a phantom formed by the spiritual light of the talisman, yet to anyone who glanced at it, the condensed essence seemed to have truly emerged from the void, possessing a certain ethereal charm that was both illusory and real.
In the blink of an eye, the five-colored arrow pierced diagonally into the ground at a corner of the courtyard. In an instant, the heavy blue stone slab, originally carved with faint cloud patterns, was directly penetrated by the dark arrow before it could even reveal its spiritual light.
With a sound of shattering, a burst of powder erupted, and upon closer inspection, along the hollow that had been pierced, the entire thick blue stone slab was covered in mottled cracks.
The pit created by the piercing was bottomless, and just as the scattered powder had not completely dissipated, wisps of white smoke began to waft out from the pit. Following that, a subtle sound of burning and corrosion arose, and upon looking again, the shattered blue stone slab seemed to tremble violently. Soon, the remaining powder at the pit appeared to be scorched by an invisible flame, rapidly turning black under everyone's gaze, while the curling smoke gradually transformed into a grayish-black color.
Seeing the power of the talisman, Du Zhan was first taken aback, and then he became ecstatic.
There was nothing more reassuring for Du Zhan than such a talisman. Not only did it seem quite powerful in the realm of Qi Refinement, but he had also witnessed firsthand, during his time at sea, how Chu Weiyang had used such a talisman to effortlessly slay three people, saving his own life.
The more one was a cultivator, the more one valued the various fateful connections between life and death.
Moreover, this talisman, aside from its water attribute and killing qi, also contained elements of poison within its killing techniques. For Du Zhan, who relied on the Dao of Alchemy for his livelihood, the poison path was also part of pharmacology.
Thus, this talisman, which had a deep connection with him, was a top-tier killing technique talisman within the same realm.
In a flash, Du Zhan's eyes suddenly brightened.
Without further ado, he turned around and gathered the five stacks of talismans that Chu Weiyang had placed on the stone table into his wide sleeves.
As he collected them, Du Zhan spoke with a sense of emotion.
"Senior Brother Chu, this time the outer sea has encountered calamity, which has made me believe a bit more in the cause and effect of fate. Perhaps due to this thought, as I see disaster approaching again, I realize that this talisman is truly the most suitable for my protection. Since that is the case, I plan to buy them all directly. Rest assured, I will definitely offer you a fair price."
As he spoke, Du Zhan had already gathered all the talismans. On the spot, Chu Weiyang did not react much, merely watching Du Zhan quietly.
For Chu Weiyang, it did not matter to whom he sold them. Deep down, he preferred to trade with Du Zhan, as all the karmic connections and good fortunes he had with the Alchemy Sect were tied to Du Zhan's lineage.
After a moment of contemplation, Du Zhan continued.
"Within the same realm, treasures, talismans, formations, and artifacts generally do not differ much in price unless there are special circumstances. To be precise, the most valuable are the life-saving treasures, followed by the protective talismans, formations, and artifacts. After that come the medicinal pills used for cultivation and the various treasures used for killing techniques.
Of course, life-saving treasures are always sold one by one, but talismans are typically counted in sets of ten. Senior Brother Chu, for this set of talismans, I will calculate based on the price of the Longhu Returning Yuan Pill, which is twenty taels of refined gold or twenty spirit stones. Thus, five hundred sets of talismans would amount to ten thousand taels of refined gold or ten thousand spirit stones."
Du Zhan spoke these words quite casually.
Yet, at that moment, Chu Weiyang's heart suddenly trembled.
He recalled that when he had killed someone on the street, he had gritted his teeth and only bought one Longhu Returning Yuan Pill from the Huichun Pavilion.
This was the first time he had heard of a transaction worth ten thousand taels of refined gold. Although the wealth he had obtained from Lingfu Island was far greater, that had come from robbery, which felt different from the transaction he was making with Chu Weiyang.
Chu Weiyang was momentarily dazed for two breaths before he calmed his mind again.
The complex feelings flashed by, and he was indeed someone who had seen the world. After a brief contemplation, Chu Weiyang spoke.
"Of that, I wish to purchase some blood and flesh of Qi Refinement realm demon beasts from the Alchemy Sect. Among the various sects in the various cities, only the Alchemy Sect has the keenest insight, and almost ninety percent of the demon beast carcasses with abundant spiritual light have been bought by your sect. I need the essence of those.
Then, I wish to exchange for medicinal pills. I do not need any other life-saving pills, just the Biyun Huanshen Pill. Next, I wish to exchange for Jade Fat Condensing Cream. This item is hard to find elsewhere, but I know that the cultivators of the Alchemy Sect must have it!
Then, if possible, I want to exchange for a piece of South Mountain Red Iron. I know this is the top material for refining alchemy furnaces; just some scraps will do. Lastly, the remaining fifth should be directly exchanged for spirit stones."
Chu Weiyang spoke carefully, and Du Zhan listened attentively.
The purpose of purchasing demon beast blood and flesh goes without saying. Chu Weiyang had calculated that with just one tael of refined gold, he could buy ordinary demon fish meat by weight. In this regard, the efficiency of Chu Weiyang's talisman writing was almost on par with personally hunting.
Of course, this was a bargain only available with Du Zhan and was not destined to last long.
As for the Biyun Huanshen Pill, it could be used by both Chu Weiyang and the White Jade Poison Snake.
The request for South Mountain Red Iron was inspired by a moment of clarity from Chunyu Zhi. This precious material came from the depths of a volcanic region in the southern border and was regarded by Alchemy Sect cultivators as the best choice for refining alchemy furnaces.
At least in Chunyu Zhi's evaluation, these two materials, one from the south and one from the north, one water and one fire, were almost the finest materials of yin and yang, the Xuan Copper from the North Sea and the South Mountain Red Iron.
In the past, after comprehending the principles of the Xuanming Dan Ding, Chu Weiyang had refined the Shanhua Gui, initially using only the Xuan Copper from the North Sea. However, to embody the essence of Xuanming, it required the balance of water and fire, and it was best to use South Mountain Red Iron to complement it.
As for the Jade Fat Condensing Cream, this was a spiritual liquid used by alchemists to harmonize the monarch and minister in medicinal formulas. It was said to be made from spiritual jade, with an unknown number of precious herbs and the alchemist's secret methods added in, allowing it to be refined. Chu Weiyang intended to use this item to enhance the formations in his possession.
When he finished speaking, Du Zhan nodded decisively without much thought.
"Senior Brother Chu, these five matters are all agreeable. However, for the demon beast blood and the Jade Fat Condensing Cream, I will need some time to procure them. It may take a day or two before they can be delivered. The Biyun Huanshen Pill and South Mountain Red Iron can be sent later, but ultimately, for just two thousand taels of refined gold, the South Mountain Red Iron can only be purchased in fingertip-sized pieces."
Hearing Du Zhan agree so readily, Chu Weiyang couldn't help but smile happily.
As for the amount of South Mountain Red Iron, it was indeed a reasonable matter.
With this thought, Chu Weiyang nodded repeatedly.
"That’s fine, that’s fine. It’s no problem to send it later. I naturally trust you, Du Daozi."
Then, Du Zhan continued.
"As for the spirit stones, I can hand them directly to Senior Brother now."
After saying this, Du Zhan flicked his sleeve, and a box of spirit stones poured out from his Qiankun pouch.
They almost covered the stone table in front of Chu Weiyang, piling up like a small hill.
Du Zhan then smiled and said, "Senior Brother, wait for my news. Before the calamity descends, I will definitely deliver all these materials to you."
As his words fell, seeing Chu Weiyang nod again, Du Zhan had already turned around and was about to walk out of the courtyard.
After a while, once Du Zhan's figure was no longer visible, Qing He, who had opened the door to the room, swayed her waist and slowly walked up to Chu Weiyang.
She had heard everything clearly, but being from the Hundred Flowers Tower, she was adept at reading people's expressions. At this moment, she did not ask about the South Mountain Red Iron and Jade Fat Condensing Cream, but instead looked with great interest at the jade boxes piled on the stone table.
"Master, since you began cultivating, you have never relied on these ordinary spirit stones. Why do you want to keep these today?"
Hearing this, Chu Weiyang did not answer but instead raised his head, his gaze drifting before finally landing on Qing He’s slender neck, which resembled white jade.
Having refined a portion of the divine soul talismans, with just one glance, Qing He understood what Chu Weiyang was thinking.
On the spot, she opened a jade box and pinched a spirit stone.
Just as she brought it close to her mouth, Qing He smiled and said, "This servant does not wish to be the kind of demon that hinders the master's cultivation. The beauty of the female cultivators from the Hundred Flowers Tower is something the master should only admire for now. Perhaps this will inspire you, and when you advance to the Foundation Establishment realm in the future, I will have a share of the credit. Wouldn't that be a wonderful story?"
As her words fell, Qing He opened her mouth and tilted her head. With a "gulp," she swallowed the spirit stone whole.
At first, it seemed as if she had swallowed a piece of ice, causing her to tremble for over ten breaths. Then, as the ice melted, it seemed to transform into a flow of molten lava, and soon, her face flushed red, with sweat visibly appearing on her slender neck.
Almost simultaneously, an indescribable elegant floral fragrance suddenly filled the entire pavilion.
Raising her hand to cover her collar, Qing He let out a long, satisfying breath.
Facing Chu Weiyang's still vacant and calm gaze, for some reason, the previously flirtatious Qing He felt a sudden panic in her heart.
At this moment, she no longer dared to be so unrestrained. The blush on her face had not yet faded, and now she lowered her head, appearing almost shy.
When she spoke again, her voice had also lowered.
"This servant is going to bathe."
As her words fell, Qing He turned around and hurriedly walked back, her steps increasingly flustered.
—
On the spot, until the door of the room was tightly closed, Chu Weiyang let out a sigh.
Recently, Qing He’s prolonged flirtation had made Chu Weiyang somewhat accustomed to it.
At this moment, he was not sighing for that reason.
The reason for his sigh was merely reflecting on the journey of fleeing thousands of miles eastward, from the Demon Suppression Cave to the River Source Land, and from the River Source Land to the Demon Suppression Sea City.
Perhaps it was only at this moment that Chu Weiyang truly realized—his current circumstances were gradually becoming completely different from those of the past.