Painting of the Nine Immortals

Chapter 155: Vast Fortune

Translator: Sophie Wang Editor: Rundi

The Artifact Trade Convention was the largest business convention within the Zhou Dynasty. Similar to the Qi Zhen Pavilion, this convention gathered treasures and artifacts from all across the Dynasty. Everything was up for sale for the right number of spiritual stones.

Sunset City is home to one of the Trade Convention’s flagship stores.

Zhao Zong Hua was the manager of this store. He was also the only Eighth-Realm alchemist in the city. Aside from his management duties to the store, he was also accountable for identifying and validating Dan formulas.

A trade convention provided a platform for the collection and sale of artifacts. Before Dans were traded here, he was responsible for assessing its trade value.

Of course, he did not concern himself with the average Dan. Only in cases of large quantities or where Dans of the Eighth-Realm and above were involved would he assess the products himself.

Right now, he was on his way to the VIP room. He was notified that a youth was seeking to sell a large number of Dans, most of which were of incredible value.

He arrived soon after. After knocking three times and receiving the invitation to enter, Zhao Zong Hua entered the room.

His expression changed drastically as he saw a handsome youth dressed in white who was seated at a table and sipping on a cup of tea. Showing a genuine smile, he bowed and said, “I am Zhao Zong Hua, the manager of the flagship store here in Sunset City. I have only just been notified of your arrival. Please forgive my tardiness.”

“No matter.”

Ling Xian took another sip of the tea. He observed the grey haired elder in front of him. He knew the elder had correctly detected the level of power and was thus being genuinely respectful towards him.

“I could’ve never imagined seeing such a young foundational level cultivator in the little city of Sunset. May I ask which establishment you hail from?” Zhao Zong Hua inquired cautiously as his mind spun with speculation.

He was of the early-stage foundational level. Naturally, he could sense Ling Xian’s mighty presence. But he was more shocked by Ling Xian’s tender age.

The intermediary phase? No, perhaps even later phases of the foundational level.

Zhao Zong Hua continued to speculate.

“You needn’t know where I come from.”

Ling Xian ignored his request and continued, “I came to sell Dans, will you take them?”

“Of course, such accomplishments at such a young age, your Dans must be of exceptional quality,” Zhao Zong Hua continued to flatter.

“Well then, give me an offer.” Ling Xian couldn’t bother to chat. With a gentle swing of his sleeve, hundreds of ceramic vases appeared on the table. A sweet aroma filled the room.

These Dans had taken him 10 days to brew. There were 100 Dans in total, 50 Luxury Dans, and 50 Healing Dans.

These numbers in themselves weren’t exceptionally impressive. But all 100 Dans brewed in 10 days was a feat unimaginable by perhaps even Seventh-Realm alchemists.

These Dans were not particularly high in grade, but their brewing process was brutal. Without incredible resilience and self-sustaining Qi, it was quite impossible for the average cultivator to produce this many in 10 days.

But Ling Xian succeeded, supported by the incredible powers of his flesh and soul.

“An enormous proposal fit for a foundational level cultivator.”

Zhao Zong Hua was taken aback by the hundreds of ceramic vases that appeared out of thin air. He walked up to them and said with a smile, “Please allow me to examine them in closer detail. I’ll give you a fair price.”

“Please.”

Ling Xian nodded and signaled him to begin the process.

Zhao Zong Hua took out a Luxury Dan and examined the streaks on its surface. He exclaimed immediately, “A seventh-ranked Dan!”

He frowned in embarrassment. Despite searching every corner of his memory for a name to associate with this Dan, he simply couldn’t identify it. He may be lacking in knowledge when it came to the art of alchemy. But he had hardly been stumped like this. He couldn’t even take an educated guess on the name of this particular Dan. He let out an apologetic smile and said, “My apologies, young friend, I can’t seem to identify the name or origins of this particular Dan. Could you give me a hint?”

“Luxury Dan, have you ever heard of it?” Ling Xian responded with a smile.

“What? The long lost Luxury Dan?”

Zhao Zong Hua was now truly stunned. But he immediately recounted, “No, I recall that the Luxury Dan is a Sixth-Realm Dan. But this one exudes only Ninth-Realm Qi. Please don’t play this kind of joke on me.”

“You are correct. This Dan is only of the Ninth-Realm. But I promise its effects are comparable to the Sixth-Realm Dan you speak of,” Ling Xian replied confidently. The power of the Luxury Dan had been widely tested back in the City of Qing.

“You are certain?” Zhao Zong Hua was not convinced. But if he was speaking the truth, the value of this Dan will prove enormous.

“You can find someone to try it on.” Ling Xian smiled encouragingly.

“I will.”

Zhao Zong Hua nodded and exited the VIP room. Half an hour later, he returned with a beaming smile and asked hastily, “Friend, I will take all the Luxury Dans you have. I will pay you 30,000 each. What do you think?”

“30,000…”

Ling Xian frowned faintly. But just as he was about to agree to the proposal, Zhao Zong Hua added, “If you are not happy with this offer, I can raise it to 35,000. But that is my best and final offer.” He had seen the frown and assumed Ling Xian was unhappy with what he heard. Therefore, he hastily upped the price over the fear of losing this business.

“Then we do what you say. I have 50, all seventh-ranked, all yours.” Ling Xian laughed as he shook his head. A subconscious frown raised the price by 5,000 each!

One Dan for 35,000, 50 Dans for a total of 1,750,000. This was a vast fortune!

“50 Luxury Dans of the seventh-rank? Amazing!” Zhao Zong Hua was ecstatic. He was confident this purchase was well worth the price.

Luxury Dans of such quality would be cleared out in no time even at a price of 40,000 each. Not mention, if he managed to successfully reverse engineer its recipe, he would bring enormous wealth to the establishment. Perhaps he’d be promoted to work at the headquarters.

As he thought about the possibilities, Zhao Zong Hua couldn’t control his joy.

“En, look at the other one. Perhaps you’ve never seen it either. Let me introduce it to you.” Ling Xian smiled and summoned a vase containing the Healing Dan. The floating Dan stirred in midair. Qi of the Eighth-Realm escaped the vase.

“You have my full attention.”

The purple colored Dan had seven iron streaks on its surface. This alone made Zhao Zong Hua lose himself. He was more convinced than ever that Ling Xian was a true disciple of a prominent establishment. He wouldn’t be carrying this many Dans otherwise.

He never even considered the possibility that Ling Xian had brewed all these Dans himself.

That’s impossible. He was only a youth of 15 or 16 at most. He was not an Eighth-Realm alchemist.

“This is called Healing Dan. It targets injuries from over-abusing one’s power. It helps revive lost skills,” Ling Xian explained.

“What? A healing Dan that specializes in reviving wasted skills?”

Zhao Zong Hua was speechless. He was familiar with the power of the Luxury Dan. He had read about it before. But he had never heard of a Dan that could revive skills and power previously lost by a cultivator. If such a thing existed, it would be known as the Dan of all Dans.

Why?

But this was a type of injury many had suffered from. It was natural to want to challenge your limits and accidentally breach your threshold and lose what you’ve accumulated.

“Friend, this Dan… you are sure this Dan can reverse such irreversible injuries?” Zhao Zong Hua asked suspiciously.

Ling Xian smiled. “If you don’t believe me, test it.”

He extended his right hand, held it in the shape of a dragon’s claw and struck.

“What’s the meaning of this?”

Zhao Zong Hua was both excited and scared. He didn’t understand the purpose of this strike. Yet instinctively, he summoned his Qi, and a black shield materialized directly in front of his chest, blocking the path of the incoming claw.

Hommm!!!!

This shield was a weapon of the Ninth-Realm. It was made stronger by the foundational powers of its owner.

But Ling Xian had already anticipated this counter. His body was now as mature as any weapon of the Ninth-Realm. Under his terrifying forces, the shield shattered into pieces.

“Strength of the Pure Flesh!”

Zhao Zong Hua’s pupils contracted in awe. He couldn’t believe in this day and age, someone would pursue the practice of the body. Not to mention he had already reached maturity with powers equivalent to a weapon of the Ninth-Realm.

The elderly man had no time to react to anything else Ling Xian was throwing at him. In an act of desperation, he summoned the last layer of defense, a thin veil meant to protect moderate attacks.

The thin layer of defense was, of course, no match for Ling Xian’s strength. The claw landed square in the middle of the old man’s chest.

“Ahhhh!”

Zhao Zong Hua felt himself falling backward, smashing into the wall behind him. Blood splattered everywhere. His eyed filled with terror and shock.

Ling Xian’s power exceeded his wildest expectations.

Without releasing an ounce of spiritual energy and relying purely on the strength of the flesh, Ling Xian destroyed his shield with one simple strike and sent him flying haplessly across the room.