Chapter 66 Peak Chapter
Chapter 66 Return
Chen Yuan walked along the stone steps for about half a minute and arrived at a hall.
Two Qi Refining Level 10 cultivators were guarding the entrance of the hall, blocking Chen Yuan.
Chen Yuan showed the Golden Toad Order again, and the two men made way.
There were forty armchairs in the hall, arranged in a semicircle, facing a wooden platform.
The wooden platform was about three inches above the ground, with a square table on it.
At this time, more than twenty monks had already taken their seats in the hall. Chen Yuan put away the golden armor talisman and chose a chair where no one was around and sat down.
Like Chen Yuan, the monks in the hall all covered their faces, either wearing masks, covering their faces with scarves, or letting down their black shirts.
However, their cultivation is generally in the late stage of Qi Refining, and there are very few cultivators in the middle stage of Qi Refining. Including Chen Yuan, there are only three of them.
After Chen Yuan sat down, more monks came into the hall one after another.
After half an hour, only six of the forty armchairs were left vacant.
At this time, a masked monk at the tenth level of Qi Refining walked into the hall, came to the wooden platform, and said in a deep voice:
"Welcome all Daoists to participate in this trade fair. I remind you all not to spy on others' identities or disrupt the order of the trade fair. Violators will lose the qualification to participate in the trade fair. In addition, the value of the traded items must not be less than 300 Spiritual Stones. I wish all Daoists can gain something."
After saying that, he walked down from the wooden platform, stood aside, and put his hands behind his back.
Several monks stood up at the same time, and a masked monk was one step faster and came to the wooden platform.
The others returned angrily and sat down again.
"I'm sorry, I got there first..."
The masked monk bowed to the few people, his voice was hoarse and unpleasant.
He touched his storage bag, and a flying sword appeared out of thin air in front of him:
"Golden Cloud Sword, a top-grade magical weapon, extremely sharp, able to cut through magical weapons of the same rank, suitable for cultivators who practice the Gold Element Technique, 800 spirit stones."
"Golden Cloud Sword? Isn't this Ma Shiyuan's magic weapon?"
"How dare you, fellow Taoist, provoke the Ma family of Liangzhou!"
Several monks in the audience were amazed, but the masked monk just smiled and said nothing.
Chen Yuan carefully looked at the three-inch flying sword on the stage. This was the first time he saw a top-grade magic weapon, and it was also a stolen item.
Judging from what everyone said, the original owner of this Golden Cloud Sword should be from a family of cultivators. The masked monk dared to kill people and steal treasures, so his strength must be very strong.
A short and fat monk with his face covered suddenly said:
"I want this Golden Cloud Sword, but Ma Shiyuan is the only son of the elder of the Ma family. I have to take a big risk, so I can only offer 750 spirit stones!"
The masked monk looked around and no one else made a bid.
He pondered for a moment and nodded:
"make a deal!"
The short and fat monk immediately walked onto the wooden platform, carefully examined the Golden Cloud Sword, and then handed the masked monk a small pile of spirit stones.
As soon as the two of them stepped off the wooden platform, the second monk immediately came up and took out a jade bottle from his storage bag:
"One Burning Spirit Pill. After a cultivator in the Qi Refining Stage takes it, his cultivation level can be temporarily raised by one level, which lasts for one hour. However, his cultivation level will regress by one level afterwards, and it will take a year to recover. Four hundred Spiritual Stones!"
"Burning Spirit Pill? Great stuff, I'll give you 440 Spirit Stones!"
"Five hundred spirit stones!"
"Five hundred and twenty spirit stones..."
After several rounds of bidding, the Burning Spirit Pill fell into the hands of an eighth-level Qi Refining cultivator for 630 spirit stones.
The third monk came on stage and took out a jade slip:
"The secret magic method 'Lustful Female Sutra' can confuse the minds of female cultivators, absorb Yin to replenish Yang, and quickly improve cultivation. However, the cultivator must absorb one female cultivator every month, otherwise the yin and yang will be unbalanced, the magic power will backfire, and the life will be in danger. Three hundred spirit stones!"
"Haha, this technique is quite interesting. Three hundred spirit stones, I want it."
"Can the method of confusing the female cultivator's mind be practiced alone?"
"Yes, this method is similar to the charm technique and is particularly effective against female cultivators, but it is only limited to Qi Refining cultivators."
"I'll offer three hundred and forty spirit stones!"
"Don't compete with me, I'll give you 380 Spiritual Stones!"
This magic secret technique was enthusiastically sought after and eventually sold for four hundred and ninety spirit stones.
Afterwards, another thirteen monks came on stage to auction the items in their hands. Most of them were things that could not be seen in public, and there was even a standard magic weapon of the Zi Yang Sect, the "Zi Yang Sword."
After the thirteenth monk stepped down, the atmosphere became quiet.
The masked monk who had been standing nearby said:
"The auction is over. Now, please ask the fellow Taoists who want to buy the items to come on stage."
As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Yuan stood up and walked towards the stage.
No one competed with him. Chen Yuan came to the stage, looked around, and said in a rough voice:
"I want to buy elixirs and secret techniques that can help break through the bottleneck of the late stage of Qi Refining. The spirit stones will definitely satisfy you."
"I have a Snow Soul Pill here, what do you think?"
As soon as Chen Yuan finished speaking, someone responded.
He shook his head:
"The Snow Soul Pill is useless to me."
As soon as these words were spoken, the hall suddenly became quiet.
There is not even the Xuepo Pill, and the other pills and secret techniques are even less effective, so it would be a waste of effort to use them.
Chen Yuan waited quietly for a while, but still no one answered.
He could only walk down the wooden platform, return to his seat and sit down again.
After Chen Yuan, several other people came on stage to ask to buy items, all of which were extremely rare on the market, and only a few succeeded.
Finally, no one came on stage, and the masked monk announced the end of the trade fair.
The monks in the hall left in batches through the passage, and Chen Yuan was among them.
After he left Lanyuexuan, he deliberately took several detours to make sure that no one was following him. Then he removed his disguise, bought a few furnaces of spiritual herbs, and returned to the cave.
Chen Yuan didn't have many spirit stones, only 170 pieces. Even if elixirs or secret techniques that could help break through the bottleneck of the late stage of Qi Refining appeared at the Golden Toad Conference, he couldn't buy them.
He was looking to buy the secret technique of elixir today, just to try it out, and he needed to continue to accumulate spirit stones. A month later, Chen Yuan refined five furnaces of elixir, and the spirit stones in his hand reached 220 pieces.
He attended the Golden Toad Society for the second time, but returned empty-handed.
Three months later, he attended the Golden Toad Meeting for the fourth time and spent four hundred and twenty spirit stones to buy a "Zhi Ling Dan".
This is an elixir as famous as the Xuepo Pill, it comes from the Ziyang Sect and can increase the chances of breaking through the bottleneck of the late stage of Qi Refining.
But after Chen Yuan took it, the bottleneck remained unchanged.
However, he was not discouraged. In addition to continuing to refine pills, accumulating spirit stones, and attending the Golden Toad Meeting on time, he also asked Cao You to help him keep an eye out for such secret pill techniques in the market.
But as time passed, Chen Yuan still gained nothing.
The bottleneck in the late stage of Qi Refining was like a thousand-foot-high mountain blocking his way.
……
"I want to buy elixirs and secret techniques that can help break through the bottleneck of the late stage of Qi Refining. The spirit stones will definitely satisfy you..."
It was another Golden Toad Meeting. Chen Yuan stood on the wooden platform and calmly said these words which he had repeated more than ten times.
As usual, the audience was still silent.
Chen Yuan waited quietly for a while, sighed softly, and walked off the stage.
At this time, a year and a half had passed since he first attended the Golden Toad Society.
The spirit stones he accumulated in his hands were increasing, but the bottleneck remained unchanged.
Monks who attended the Golden Toad Society came and went, but no one could produce the secret technique of making elixirs that satisfied him.
As he couldn't get what he wanted, Chen Yuan's mentality slowly changed.
We can't waste time like this any longer.
He was going to leave Huanyue Market and travel around Qi State in search of opportunities.
The feeling of not making any progress in his cultivation was really unbearable for him.
Instead of staying in Huanyue Market and waiting for an opportunity to come, it is better to step out of your comfort zone and fight for a chance of survival.
After Chen Yuan made the decision, he suddenly felt relieved.
No matter what the future holds, it is better than staying in Huanyue Market, refining pills day after day, and returning empty-handed at the Golden Toad Conference.
The masked monk came on stage and announced the end of the trade fair.
Chen Yuan stood up and walked towards the passage.
Suddenly, he paused and stopped where he was.
After a moment, he started walking again towards the passage, but at a much faster pace.
After walking out of Lanyuexuan, Chen Yuan did not return to the cave, but came to a secluded place.
A moment later, a monk who was also wearing a mask followed.
Chen Yuan turned around and stared at the masked monk:
"It was you who sent me a message just now? Do you have a secret technique that can break through the bottleneck of the late stage of Qi Refining?"
The masked monk was tall and thin, wearing a yellow robe that left only his eyes exposed. He had reached the tenth level of Qi Refining.
He chuckled, took out a jade slip from his storage bag, flicked his finger, and the jade slip flew towards Chen Yuan.
Chen Yuan raised his hand to stop it, and the jade slip stopped in the air, floating motionlessly.
"It is useless to say more. You will know once you see it."
Chen Yuan spread out his spiritual sense and probed into the jade slip, his pupils suddenly dilated.
A quarter of an hour later, he withdrew his consciousness and looked up at the masked monk:
"This is only half of the secret technique, what about the other half?"
The masked monk said calmly:
"Don't worry, fellow Daoist. Let's talk about the price first."
"Four hundred spirit stones."
"not enough."
"Four hundred and fifty."
"It's still not enough."
"Five hundred. One Snow Soul Pill costs only four hundred spirit stones. This technique is overbearing and crazy, and the price is extremely high. If I hadn't been stuck at the bottleneck of the late stage for too long, I wouldn't even consider it. Five hundred spirit stones is the limit, and no one else can afford this price."
"Seven hundred. Although this technique is very costly, it will definitely help you break through the bottleneck of the late stage. It is far more than the Snow Soul Pill."
"Five hundred and fifty. Even if I break through the bottleneck, my path forward will be cut off and I will not be able to make any further progress. I cannot use up all my savings just to improve my cultivation by one level."
"Six hundred. As long as you break through the bottleneck, you will be a cultivator in the late stage of Qi Refining. Even if the road ahead is cut off, you will be ten times stronger than the middle stage of Qi Refining. Six hundred spirit stones is the reserve price. If you refuse, I can only find another buyer."
Chen Yuan lowered his head and thought for a moment, then said:
"Okay, six hundred is six hundred, how do you make the deal?"
The masked monk took out another jade slip, flicked it with his finger, and flew it towards Chen Yuan, saying calmly:
"Fellow Daoist, please look at the secret method first. Once it is correct, give me the spirit stone."
As he spoke, he took two steps forward, blocking Chen Yuan's way.
Chen Yuan's heart trembled. He took the jade slip and probed into his spiritual consciousness.
A quarter of an hour later, he withdrew his spiritual sense, touched his storage bag, and six hundred spirit stones appeared out of thin air in front of him, slowly flying towards the masked monk.
The masked monk took the spirit stone, glanced at it, put it into his storage bag, and turned away.
Chen Yuan put away the two jade slips and left in another direction.
(End of this chapter)