CHAPTER 133: CHAPTER 133: PREMIUM QI REPLENISHING PILL (THIRD UPDATE)

"This is what you call ’Breaking my iron shoes in a fruitless search, only to find it effortlessly!’ Jiang Yuan was very pleased; the Alchemy Room was finally settled!"

Although three hundred Spirit Stones were a bit pricey, he had left paper figures mining in Lushan, which could offset some losses, so spending the money wasn’t too painful.

He topped up with some Gold Coins and bought every sellable item in the inventory in one go. He mounted the golden eagle, fully prepared, and let Bai Yunqi head out first.

Bai Yunqi: ???

The whole snake practically turned into question marks, pulling him aside to whisper, "Venerable Family, what Realm are you exactly in? Are you really going to challenge her? Don’t forget, earlier we were so close, yet none of us noticed her presence! Look at her actions more closely, this is not a normal Cultivator at all, are you sure you want to challenge her?"

Bai Yunqi couldn’t bring himself to say the last part; he was truly afraid the Venerable Family would be smashed to pieces with a single slap.

"Don’t worry, I have a bit of experience in challenges, and besides, she’s guarding this ice wall so she won’t chase us outside, meaning if I can’t win, I can just run outside and be safe. If all else fails, I can use the Teleportation Talisman to go straight home," Jiang Yuan reassured while preparing.

Leaving aside other matters, this scene was no different from a game Boss battle; without trying, there’s no way of knowing each other’s health bar and how big the gap is.

Behind the ice wall should be a dungeon, but this time it’s added difficulty, requiring taking down an NPC for a Magical Treasure reward to gain a buff.

Bai Yunqi was worried but couldn’t argue with Jiang Yuan, so he reluctantly left, looking back every three steps.

Jiang Yuan even changed to the Mountain God title, adding more defense and attack to be more assured.

Everything was set to ensure the Teleportation Talisman could be clicked at any time, and once the escape route was clear, he tapped on the dialogue box’s second option—Challenge.

"Oh? You wish to contribute to this world? Such audacity, it’s commendable and worthy of celebration; then come." Kundai waved her right hand, and out of nowhere, she pulled out a duster, and a massive health bar appeared above her head.

Oh dear! An elite monster!

Seeing the health bar, Jiang Yuan felt a chill down his spine, and he rode the golden eagle to escape hastily.

Many paper figures swarmed forward, only to be turned into shredded paper by one sweep of Kundai’s duster, scattering like a heavy snowfall.

"Boom!"

The Heaven-Burning Flame took the opportunity to strike, and in the instant Jiang Yuan had already run three meters away, a massive Flame surged between him and Kundai. Seeing the opponent’s health bar go down a notch, the opponent merely smiled faintly, using a hand gesture with her left hand while sweeping the duster with her right. As the Flame extinguished, strands of golden Energy spread vastly, from a distance, it looked as if a duster made of golden light appeared mid-air.

Fortunately, Jiang Yuan was cautious enough, already having flown out of range, noneheless a vast golden light flew toward the blooming floral meadow, transforming into a gentle breeze that lightly swayed the tender flowers.

"Young one’s courage is commendable, but your strength is somewhat lacking." Kundai stopped her attack, resting the duster on her arm, smiling and shaking her head, "Go cultivate for a few years. Seeing that you have some potential, have an Elixir as a token of Good Karma."

A shiny special item—a premium Qi Replenishing Pill—appeared in his Storage Bag.

[This premium Qi Replenishing Pill, personally concocted by Daoist Master Xuanmiao, grants a permanent increase of 50 Mana upon use.]

Jiang Yuan’s eyes lit up as he clicked to use it immediately, and his Mana Bar jumped up a notch.

Unable to win but earning a freebie isn’t bad; he wondered if he could exploit this in the Wilderness World. He assessed his paper figures and felt he could try again, so he clicked Challenge once more.

Unexpectedly, Kundai sat down and waved her hand with a smile, "You’ve already challenged today; victory and defeat are common in the martial world, no need to dwell on it. Want to challenge again? Come back another day."

Got it, one challenge per day; I’ll come back tomorrow!

He gathered his paper figure army and returned the same way he came, spotting Bai Yunqi pacing anxiously. Seeing Jiang Yuan emerge, Bai Yunqi quickly asked, "How did it go?"

"Of course, I couldn’t beat her, Kundai is way stronger than you." Jiang Yuan was in high spirits, calling out, "Let’s hurry back home. You’ve been up half the night, go rest; I need to restock too."

Facing the elite boss was alright; it was just wasting paper figures.

Back at the small courtyard, to his surprise, Wan Mingchuan hadn’t gone to bed yet; Yun Mo was crouched by the well, looking like a stone sculpture, unmoving with sagging wings.

"Master!" Upon seeing them return, Wan Mingchuan got up quickly and quietly explained, "He plucked all the feathers of that traitor, fought for a long time, crying while he fought, and finally slit his throat. I didn’t want our courtyard to be dirtied, so I cleaned up and threw the body into the woods outside. Then he just went silent and didn’t move, I was worried he might do something rash, so I kept watch here."

Bai Yunqi flew over lazily, saying, "Don’t worry, he wouldn’t want to die. Young one, hurry and sleep; not sleeping enough might stunt your growth."

With that, he paid no further attention to anything else, transforming into a three-meter-long, bowl-thick white snake, climbing up the cherry tree.

Wan Mingchuan listened and obediently washed up before heading to the thatched hut for sleep.

Jiang Yuan took out a roasted chicken, dividing it in half, having a couple of bites to replenish his red and blue bars, then offered a piece and asked, "Want to eat something?"

"The lives of my nineteen brothers!" The large, cold-faced eagle recalled his former comrades, who didn’t die on the battlefield, but were betrayed by the new master they chose to trust, and tears of sorrow streamed down his face.

For a moment, Jiang Yuan didn’t know how to comfort him and could only heave a sigh.

Meanwhile, in stark contrast, the Cyan Fish Mountain Market Auction House was filled with a jolly atmosphere.

"The Shopkeeper’s calculation is impressive. A flawed old book bought for a meager two thousand Spirit Stones was cleverly hyped up by putting on a show, and sold at a scandalous price of sixteen thousand Spirit Stones. Although receiving only a thousand Spirit Stones in cash, that Ice-winged Eagle is quite the fool!" A tall, thin man with white spots on his face laughed, his voice shrill like an eunuch’s.

His bony fingers pointed at the wall hung with bloody hearts, boasting, "Look at my handiwork now, taking down clean and tidy hearts, sold to the noble kitchen, who doesn’t buy them for twenty to thirty thousand Spirit Stones? And this..."

He chuckled as he gestured to the opposite side, approaching to stroke the feathers of the Ice-winged Eagle’s thoroughly gutted carcass, "this is the real money-maker, look at these robust muscles, strong Sharp Claws. Although its fur and claws are slightly damaged, it’s nothing major; with a little fix-up, they’ll be beautiful, and turning them into puppets that fear no pain nor fire, each can fetch at least eighty to one hundred thousand Spirit Stones?"

The Auction House Shopkeeper was a slightly chubby old man with disheveled gray hair, exuding a rakish air; hearing this had him overjoyed, but he only clicked his tongue and said, "What good are Spirit Stones? Top-tier Cultivators, those noble ones, they use Immortal Jade; one piece of Immortal Jade is worth ten thousand Spirit Stones. If we could break into the circle of nobles and start dealing in Immortal Jade trades, now that would truly be something."

The white-spotted man cackled as he flattered, "The Shopkeeper is indeed wise! If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t even know what Immortal Jade is!"

"Enough with the bootlicking. Quickly deliver what needs delivering, sell whatever can be exchanged, and meanwhile, seek out sources for Foundation Establishment Pills.

Elixirs are the most popular and easy to sell at high prices; the barrier to entry at Cyan Fish Mountain Market is low. Many Cultivators who come here have some unestablished Foundation Establishment friends or relatives. With a few more Foundation Establishment Pills on hand, it’s effortless to speculate and make a fortune, right?"