Chapter 31: Transaction
"All these books on formations, I want them all. What treasures do you plan to trade for them? I don't have much here. How about a few hundred little Little Strong Gu?" Knowing that she was afraid of cockroaches, Long Xuan made a joke.
Di Xin gave him a annoyance look and said slowly, "As a rogue cultivator compared to those large Gu cultivation clans, my cultivation speed is much slower. I want to quickly become a Marrow cleansing stage Gu cultivator. Do you have any treasures that can accelerate my cultivation speed?"
Hearing her request, Long Xuan threw a Hundred Flowers Pill at her and said, "Would this Pill work?"
He was quite confident in the effect of the Hundred Flowers Pill on increasing spiritual power. To date, he had never seen a spirit-gathering stage pill with a more potent effect than the Hundred Flowers Pill.
Di Xin carefully examined the Hundred Flowers Pill up close and soon showed a look of surprise. She had never seen such an pill with such immense spiritual power before. It was much more potent than any other pill she had encountered, which made her extremely happy.
This type of pill was over three times more effective than similar pill. With continuous use, her cultivation speed would increase significantly.
With this pills aiding her cultivation, she was confident she could break through to the Marrow cleansing stage within a few years.
She didn't hide her joy, looking up at Long Xuan and said, "I consider myself well-informed, but this is the first time I've seen such an pills. I'll take it. How many elixirs do you want to exchange for my formation books?"
Long Xuan was completely confident in his pills, so he wasn't surprised at her agreement.
Considering that the laws of this world are not easily passed on and knowledge is the most expensive thing in this world, he was not stingy at all and simply raised five fingers, ready to offer five thousand Hundred Flowers Pills to buy all the formation books.
Don't be startled by the large number of pills. Long Xuan had a nearly 100% success rate in pill-making, and the yield rate was also close to 100%.
While others might struggle to produce such a large quantity of pills, for someone with his exaggerated pill-making efficiency, five thousand pills were not difficult.
He was even preparing to create a larger pill cauldron to attempt mass-production methods for elixirs.
This meant throwing in dozens of times the materials into the cauldron at once, expecting to produce dozens of times the pills in one batch—thousands at a time.
This method would save him a lot of time in pill-making, allowing him to focus more on researching new formulas.
This idea was his own invention. No other alchemist dared to do this or even thought about it.
Given the low success rate of alchemy, who would dare to throw in dozens of portions of materials at once? If it failed, the loss would be enormous.
Moreover, alchemy strictly controlled the proportions and quantities of materials. A tiny deviation could ruin the batch.
Long Xuan's approach was equivalent to altering the formula, increasing the complexity and reducing the success rate further. Only a bold person like him would dare to try it.
Of course, there wasn't such a large pill furnace in this world, so he had to learn crafting techniques to create one himself, which put this scary plan on hold temporarily.
Unexpectedly, when Di Xin saw him raise five fingers, she thought he meant five hundred pills. She was overjoyed, not expecting such high-quality pills to be available in such quantity, exceeding her expectations.
She would never think of the scary number of five thousand, even if she was beaten to death. Who could produce such a large amount of pills? It was absolutely impossible.
Feeling she got a great deal, Di Xin immediately shouted, "Deal! Five hundred pills!"
Afraid he might regret it, Long Xuan was dumbfounded.
They both misunderstood each other's wealth. Long Xuan didn't explain, letting her misunderstand.
Since she misinterpreted, he let it be. He pretended to be afraid she might regret it and started taking out bottles of Hundred Flowers Pills.
Five hundred pills were a lot, and it took a while to take them all out.
Soon, the bottles filled the entire table. Di Xin checked and stored the pills in her storage bag, smiling broadly.
If she knew Long Xuan meant five thousand pills, she might not smile anymore and would regret it deeply.
The formation books were few and easy to carry. Long Xuan put them in his storage bag and quickly left, fearing she might change her mind.
"Wait!"
Di Xin suddenly called out, looking at his back. "I forgot to tell you, all the knowledge I have and the books you took are from a formation master and are not to be seen in public."
"The formations in those books are exclusive and easily recognized. If seen, it might cause great trouble."
Long Xuan turned back, glaring at her and said through gritted teeth, "Why didn't you say so earlier? No wonder you sold them so cheaply."
He now understood why she didn't mind sharing this knowledge. These formation books weren't hers but stolen, so she didn't mind passing them on.
Seeing she had put all the Hundred Flowers Pills in her storage bag and was smiling playfully, he knew there was no way to get them back.
Never mind, he thought. He planned to refine the formations to a micro-level and might even create his own.
Whatever formations he used, the final result would be unrecognizable to others.
Di Xin's smile faltered, realizing the pills value. Did he not understand their worth?
Di Xin felt she had missed a huge opportunity.
"I forgot to tell you, my pills are also stolen. Don't use them in front of others or trade them, or you'll get into big trouble."
Long Xuan thought if Elder Long saw the Hundred Flowers Pills and recognized them from his partial formula, it would cause unnecessary trouble. So, he reminded Di Xin and left satisfied.
Di Xin glared at him before introducing her third treasure.
Time passed slowly. Long Xuan watched the table full of treasures, hoping for a good deal.
Di Xin left, and another rogue cultivator came. One after another, many came with countless treasures.
However, all treasures were exchanged at their true value, and Long Xuan never found a great deal.
Don't take everyone for fools. No one would sell something without knowing its value. Getting a great deal here wasn't easy.
Chapter 32: Meeting an Old Acquaintance
Just when Long Xuan and others were about to lose patience, a very familiar person finally appeared.
A bald young man walked up to the table, and Long Xuan immediately recognized him. Wasn't this the same little medicine boy who sold him the alchemy furnace?
In recent years, this little medicine boy had gained a great reputation. His cultivation speed was astonishingly fast, reaching the late stage of spirit gathering in just a few short years.
It's worth noting that he was still under eighteen years old. A late-stage spirit gatherer under eighteen was rare even in large clans, making this little medicine boy a prominent figure in the marketplace, known by everyone.
However, this little medicine boy had a peculiar habit of selling junk. Last time, he sold worthless discarded pills, and it was anyone's guess what kind of rubbish he would sell this time.
Long Xuan was very curious.
Sure enough, the bald little medicine boy did not disappoint him. Under everyone's astonished gaze, he took out a tattered treasure map.
The treasure map had been partially burnt, with about one-tenth of it missing. Although its area was small, it was a riddle-based treasure map, and the missing portion was the most crucial part.
Without the missing part, there was no hope of locating the treasure. Naturally, an incomplete treasure map was worthless.
Everyone looked puzzled. Before the little medicine boy could speak, someone from below shouted, "What are you up to? Why are you showing us a piece of waste paper? Don't tell me you plan to sell this here. Do you really think someone will buy this junk?"
Many people snickered, having already seen that this was a useless treasure map. If it were truly useful, he would have gone treasure hunting himself instead of bringing it here.
Unfazed by the crowd's skepticism, the little medicine boy continued confidently, "Who says it's useless? This treasure map is only missing a tenth of its area. What if someone smart enough can guess the treasure's location from the remaining nine-tenths?"
"What if someone has the ability to repair anything? Fixing an incomplete treasure map would be a piece of cake."
"What if someone has divination abilities? They could determine the exact treasure location from just a bit of information."
"All these are possibilities. Just because you think it's useless doesn't mean it's useless to others." The little medicine boy scoffed.
"Are you dreaming? Have you read too many novels? Repairing everything—if only I could fix your brain right now!"
The crowd wasn't convinced at all, laughing off his words. Only a fool would believe such nonsense.
Only Long Xuan seemed thoughtful. He had to admit, the little medicine boy's words made some sense.
The world was full of wonders. Any bizarre ability could exist. Who could definitively say that there wasn't a golden finger capable of repairing anything in this world?
His ability to magnify everything hadn't existed before, but he had created it. Anything was possible.
Moreover, divination-like abilities likely existed in this world. It's just that such extraordinary abilities were too far removed from the average loose cultivator, making it hard for anyone to believe they would encounter such a thing.
So, theoretically, what the little medicine boy said was feasible. However, the likelihood of it appearing in this region was zero. No matter how eloquently he spoke, it was of no use.
Long Xuan glanced again at the treasure map, which showed a progress of [90.98%]. A thought struck him—could he complete this incomplete map by guessing?
If he could deduce Gu recipes by guessing, perhaps he could also complete the treasure map the same way. The process would be different, guessing lines instead of words.
If he placed a piece of paper under the incomplete map and drew over the gaps, erasing and redrawing whenever the progress didn't increase, theoretically, he could eventually complete a full treasure map.
Long Xuan took a deep breath. The little medicine boy might actually be right—someone capable of repairing the map did exist, and that person was right here.
Finally, he had a golden opportunity.
Long Xuan became instantly excited, showing a thrilled smile.
Who knew what treasures this map might lead to? The possibility of treasures worth billions wasn't far-fetched. This time, he might truly hit the jackpot.
Unable to contain himself any longer, Long Xuan immediately stepped forward and said, "I want this incomplete map. What do you want in exchange?"
The little medicine boy was startled by the familiar voice and exclaimed, "It's you again! Are you addicted to buying junk?"
Long Xuan's face stiffened, but he remained composed and said, "I am that exceptionally intelligent person you mentioned. I can deduce the treasure's location from just nine-tenths of the map."
The little medicine boy smirked, clearly disbelieving. If someone could deduce the treasure's location based on intelligence alone, he wouldn't be selling it. Wasn't this implying he was less intelligent?
"You don't really have the ability to repair everything, do you?" The little medicine boy's eyes widened in shock.
"Repair your big head! Do you want to sell it or not? If not, I'm leaving now!"
Long Xuan was genuinely angered by this brat. His loud claims could make people believe he really had the ability to repair everything. That would be disastrous.
Right now, he felt like tearing the little medicine boy's mouth apart.
"Sell! Of course, I'll sell! Only an idiot wouldn't sell!"
Seeing a genuine fool willing to trade for his broken map, the little medicine boy was overjoyed and quickly seized the opportunity.
"I want those pills you took out. just a hundred of them will do." The little medicine boy said quickly.
"Only ten! Take it or leave it!"
Long Xuan slammed a pill bottle onto the table. If he offered such a high price, others would really start suspecting he had the ability to repair everything.
Chapter 33: Eating, Drinking, and Having Fun
"Deal!"
Since this broken map couldn't be traded for even a single spiritual stone, now that someone wants it, I'll trade it no matter how little is offered. Any amount is a gain.
The little medicine boy put down the broken map, picked up the medicine bottle on the table, and left.
Long Xuan was stunned for a moment. He dared to sell just one thing, and it was a broken map at that. Isn't he ashamed of selling such a shabby item?
The little medicine boy left, and now that Long Xuan was closest to the table, he didn't hesitate. He stepped forward and began placing his items on the table one by one.
The materials listed on the Divine ice Flame formula were too precious and rare. Most of them could only be obtained through exchanging and not bought with spiritual stones.
Since there was a treasure exchange, he decided to collect the materials for the Divine ice Flame formula.
But to trade for so many expensive materials, he had to offer many valuable treasures. Otherwise, who would trade with him?
However, showing off wealth could also attract attention, which is unavoidable. You can't stop collecting materials or give up refining the Divine ice Flame for fear of danger.
It's impossible to collect expensive materials without taking any risks.
This treasure exchange event was already the safest way to obtain resources. He couldn't give up on it.
After so many years of accumulation, he couldn't offer treasures worth a fortune, but he still had many valuable items.
For example, he often visited Qian's commerce stone gambling shop to fleece them, collecting a bunch of high-grade spiritual insects. Most of these high-grade spiritual insects were of no use to him, so he took this opportunity to deal with them.
And the various spiritual pills he refined years ago, which were about to expire, he sold all of them this time to make new ones.
These spiritual pills were all common types, not unique formulas, so he could sell them boldly.
He also took out various treasures he found at street stalls but didn't use. For a moment, all sorts of treasures filled the table, forming a sharp contrast with the little medicine boy who just left. Without comparison, there is no harm.
The people below craned their necks, showing interest in the items he took out, all inclined to trade.
"I only want Millennium Ice Essence, Cold Stones, Fire Stones..."
Long Xuan listed some of the hardest materials to collect for the Ice Flame Divine formula.
As soon as he finished speaking, Di Xin quickly walked over, fearing someone else would trade for what she wanted before her.
"I don't have the most precious Millennium Ice Essence, but I have twenty percent of the other materials. I want to trade for all your high-grade and middle-grade spiritual insects."
Long Xuan looked at her in surprise. He didn't expect to find twenty percent of the materials for the Divine ice Flame formula in one person. She was truly wealthy. As a formation master, her material collection was indeed abundant.
She could have twenty percent of the materials for the Divine ice Flame formula, not by coincidence, but because she was so wealthy that she had all kinds of materials. Long Xuan confirmed she was a little rich woman and looked at her deeply.
And wanting to trade for all his high and middle-grade spiritual insects surprised Long Xuan even more. High-grade spiritual insects were precious, but only if you had the formulas for them. Otherwise, they were useless and only consumed your resources.
Therefore, trading high-grade spiritual insects wasn't easy. Displaying these items at street stalls could invite trouble, so he saved up so many.
Could it be that Di Xin had a vast collection of formulas covering all his spiritual insects?
Long Xuan couldn't believe it. How many formulas did she steal without getting killed by others?
"The values are roughly equivalent, deal."
Long Xuan couldn't distinguish who gained or lost slightly, but as long as it was roughly equivalent, he didn't care to calculate too much. After all, such detailed calculations would take forever, so he made the trade swiftly.
Long Xuan's items were popular and were traded clean in no time.
By now, he had collected half of the materials for the Divine ice Flame formula. Though still needing more, the remaining materials were common ones.
Except for the Millennium Ice Essence, all remaining materials could be bought with spiritual stones at Qian's business.
Unfortunately, due to the saturated Gu market lacking spiritual stones, he came to this treasure exchange to try his luck. Now he could only hope the treasure marked on the map would surprise him.
Now all that was missing were the spiritual stones. He prayed the treasure on the map would sell for a high price.
After Long Xuan left, an acquaintance, Li Laodao, took over. After greeting him, Li Laodao began placing various harmful internal Gu on the table.
All were used to harm others, making many below turn pale and their hearts race, looking at him with fear and caution.
Long Xuan was naturally uninterested. He considered these tricks that might harm one person but had limited practical use in actual combat because they killed too slowly, giving opponents a chance to fight back.
If Li Laodao focused on the righteous path, he wouldn't have been so miserable in the ancient tomb last time.
But while he wasn't interested, many others were. Such Gu insects didn't count against their Gu quotas and could be prepared in large numbers.
Many loose cultivators stepped forward to trade, including the female cultivator who previously traded the soundproof formations with Di Xin, taking all of Li Laodao stone Gu.
Long Xuan felt gleeful and thought that woman was indeed planning to harm someone. He silently wondered who the unlucky person would be and offered them his condolences.
After Li Laodao, several others took their turns, and the treasure fair ended.
Many casual cultivators didn't step up because they were too poor to show off. They weren't as shameless as the little medicine boy, who dared to present a broken map, which was embarrassing.
If all these casual cultivators showed their treasures, the fair could last all day.
After the treasure fair, everyone gradually left, many with satisfied smiles, having gained much.
Long Xuan mingled in the crowd, heading out. He had also gained a lot from this trip. Besides the materials, the treasure map alone was a huge gain. The treasure it marked could be worth billions, and he was very hopeful.
However, he didn't know that three people were secretly following him, led by the female casual cultivator who traded the soundproof array, accompanied by two fierce-looking men.
"Are you sure it's him? He looks young," one bald man said via soul communication.
The female cultivator glanced at Long Xuan's back and replied via soul communication, "He may not be the richest, but he's definitely the weakest. Who else would we target?"
"The road to Great Stone Village is his only path, though it's too close to the market, within the no-kill zone. I specifically traded for an formation that isolates fight sounds, ensuring success."
The other fierce man nodded, "The road is perfect. I've already planted stone Gu on it, and with us three against him, success is guaranteed..."
Long Xuan, unaware he was being followed, saw it was still early and wandered around the market, enjoying a good meal at the best restaurant.
Longevity should be about enjoying life, farming, and not getting involved in the scheming Gu world. Cultivation could be left to his clone, allowing him leisure.
Life should be enjoyed, not suffered.
If it weren't for the fact that all the beautiful Gu cultivators in this world liked to refine Love Gu, he would have wanted to go to entertainment places.
After eating and drinking, he wandered through the night market until late, then headed to Great Stone Village, humming a tune and looking pleased.
Little did he know, his actions made the ambushers suffer, hiding in the grass and feeding mosquitoes all day, thinking he wouldn't come.
Just as they were about to give up, they saw him, making their eyes gleam with hatred.
Long Xuan wasn't a god and didn't know about the ambush. Ironically, he became the unlucky one he spoke of, with disaster falling from the sky.
However, despite not anticipating this, he remained cautious.
Living next to the scheming Li Laodao had filled him with dread. He always felt danger and feared being harmed by some schemer.
Thus, Normally, he would keep the Eye of Heavenly secret open when passing through, magnifying everything in front of him and being overly cautious.
It was this cowardly caution that saved his life today.
Chapter 34: The Might of the Ten Absolute Bodies
As Long Xuan stepped onto the gravel path, the Eye of Heavenly secret swiftly scanned the ground and detected several Gu insects resembling pebbles lying in wait.
Upon magnification through the Eye of Heavenly secret, progress indicators appeared above these Gu insects' heads. Long Xuan confirmed that these were not ordinary pebbles but stone-like Gu insects. His heart sank as he realized the situation was dire.
He was basically the only Gu cultivator heading to Great Stone Village. He had no illusions that these were set up for someone else; he knew he was likely being targeted.
He cursed inwardly, wondering how he could be ambushed when he had never made enemies. Could it be that he had sold too many items?
However, the things he sold were all within a controllable range. High-grade spirit insects were merely materials that could be exchanged for with spirit stones and were not difficult to collect. After all, who didn't have a few high-grade spirit insects?
Why didn't anyone go after Di Xin, whose items were far more expensive than his?
Long Xuan sighed inwardly. To collect resources, he had to sell resources; otherwise, how could he expect others to give him resources for free? It was impossible to keep wealth completely hidden. Even if he only bought and never sold, spending too many spirit stones could still make him a target.
He knew he could not stop trading resources with others in the future. If he did, the self-created Gu formulas will become increasingly expensive to produce, and he wouldn't be able to gather the necessary resources. If he resorted to robbery, what would be the difference from his current situation?
Since there was no solution, he could only adopt a defensive approach, ready to counter whatever came his way.
Long Xuan took a deep breath, cursing Li Laodao for causing harm with his items. Those harmful things had now been used against him.
Despite his unsettled mind, his face showed no sign of change. He continued to hum a tune, appearing in good spirits.
He pretended to inadvertently deviate from his path, narrowly avoiding the ambush set by the stone Gu insects.
Once he had taken a detour, he rushed towards Great Stone Village at the fastest possible speed, where Elder Long resided, ensuring his safety.
However, his actions did not fool the ambushers. A female rogue cultivator shouted, "Not good! We've been discovered!"
Three people immediately jumped out from the bushes, blocking Long Xuan's path.
Seeing the familiar face of the female rogue cultivator, Long Xuan exclaimed, "So it's you!"
His face alternated between green and white. He had pondered for a long time at the treasure exchange about who the unlucky person targeted by her might be. Never did he imagine that the unlucky person would be himself. The soundproof formation disk she bought was prepared for him, a twist of fate indeed.
Long Xuan cursed inwardly, realizing that Di Xin also had a hand in this. The soundproof formation disk she traded away was now being used against him. This was troublesome; with the soundproof formation, he couldn't expect help from the market guards and had to rely on himself.
"It's me! Since you know we have a soundproof formation disk, hand over all your valuables and all the Gu insects under your blood contract, and we promise to only rob you, not kill you."
Considering Long Xuan's notoriously difficult-to-kill Little Stong Gu, the three of them knew it wouldn't be easy to kill him quickly, so the female rogue cultivator refrained from attacking immediately.
If she could trick him into surrendering the Little Stong Gu, it would be easy to deal with him without any effort.
Of course, Long Xuan didn't believe her. He glanced at the two people behind her, both of whom were late-stage Spirit Gathering Gu cultivators. With three against one, he wondered if his Ten Absolute Bodies could handle them.
"To fight a mere mid-stage Spirit Gathering Gu cultivator, you need three late-stage Spirit Gathering experts? Are you so insecure about your own abilities? It's bad enough to bully the weak, but to outnumber them too? Isn't that a bit excessive?"
Long Xuan tried to provoke them, hoping they would accept his challenge one by one. If they did, his chances of winning with the formidable combat power of the Ten Absolute Bodies would be high.
However, his opponents were clearly not brainless villains; his words did not provoke them.
"Hehe! Laugh all you want. We love to bully the weak with numbers. Better safe than sorry. Your Little Strong Gu is infamous, so we dare not be careless," the female rogue cultivator chuckled.
"Do you like to bully the weak with numbers? How coincidental, I do too," Long Xuan laughed, clapping his hands. His body immediately split into five clones, surrounding the three opponents.
Including his main body, there were now six Long Xuans, forming a two-on-one situation, instantly turning the numerical advantage in his favor.
His clones could be freely deployed. When retracted into the main body, his strength was most concentrated. When fully deployed, his strength was naturally divided into six parts.
However, due to the immense spiritual power of the Ten Absolute Bodies, even when divided into six, each clone's spiritual power was still far superior to that of the same level.
Because of this special physique, he had an abundance of spiritual power that he couldn't fully utilize. It was more effective for six bodies to use it simultaneously, making his full deployment the strongest combat form.
Nervous about the first battle, he immediately used his strongest combat form.
The female rogue cultivator looked around, showing a disdainful expression, sneering, "A simple clone technique can't make up for the numbers disadvantage. Naive. As long as we find your main body, the other clones will naturally collapse."
At this moment, the bald man behind her pushed her shoulder with a grim expression, swallowing hard. "These aren't ordinary clones; they're the legendary External Clones. We're in big trouble!"
Ordinary Clones and External Clones were vastly different. The biggest difference was that clones, which many people could use, were energy forms without physical bodies and couldn't harm enemies. Finding the main body would cause the clones to collapse.
However, External Clones were different. They had physical bodies and could effectively attack opponents, with combat power not much weaker than the main body.
Very few people possessed External Clones, and those who did were renowned powerhouses. Refining an External Clone was a lifelong dream for all Gu cultivators.
The bald man couldn't believe that their first robbery, after careful selection, targeted what seemed the weakest but turned out to be a strongest opponent. This person, disguised as weak, had managed to cultivate External Clones at such a low level, and not just one, but five. Even Gu Kings didn't have this many clones.
They had kicked an iron plate this time. External Clones could attack, and they couldn't ignore them. Without at least six people to handle them, they stood no chance.
"What? External Clones?" The female rogue cultivator's face changed dramatically. Just as she was about to examine them closely, the five External Clones attacked.
"Flame Jade!"
The flame clone's right hand conjured a red energy ball from flame power, striking towards the female rogue cultivator.
"Thunder Palm!"
The bald man reacted first, rushing to shield the female rogue cultivator, his right hand generating a spherical thunderbolt to counter the flame jade.
"Boom!"
The collision of their palms resulted in a deafening explosion.
The bald man felt an overwhelming force from his palm, pushing him back ten steps, his face turning pale. He couldn't help but spit blood, staggering.
"How is this possible?"
The bald man was shocked.
He was in the late-stage Spirit Gathering stage, while the External Clone was mid-stage. In a direct clash, he should have had the advantage, but he was overpowered, leaving him bewildered.
He didn't know that Long Xuan possessed the Ten Absolute Bodies, known for being invincible at the same level. With wide meridians, his attack power far exceeded that of the same level.
Facing super geniuses, he could still be invincible at the same level. Against rogue cultivators with poor combat skills, he could even fight above his level and win.
Without the ability to fight above his level, how could he claim the title of the world's most extraordinary body? Long Xuan realized he had underestimated the combat power of the Ten Absolute Bodies.
His External Clone had only one attribute. Even a single flame jade could make the bald man spit blood. Then, wouldn't the five elements jade cast by his original body kill him in one move?
The female rogue cultivator's cautious approach was correct, To be on the safe side, she even brought two people to fight three against one. But she still wasn't cautious enough.
Chapter 35: Supplementary Diagram
The skirmish quickly turned into a one-sided situation. Long Xuan's five external clones had incredible explosive power. After suffering losses, his opponents no longer dared to confront directly and could only fight while hiding. However, with fewer numbers on their side, could they evade the attacks of two people while dodging the attack of one?
They had external Gu insects to assist them, each having refined a snake Gu insect, which they had already released.
However, Long Xuan possessed the undying ability of the Little Strong Gu. All his powers, apart from the golden finger, could be duplicated by his external clones. This included the power of the Eye of Heaven's Secrets, though the eye on the clones' foreheads, its magnification ability is far less than that of the original body.
The five clones, relying on their undying ability, endured the snake Gu's bites and attacked their opponents recklessly, exchanging injuries for injuries. As long as they could kill the Gu cultivators, the blood-bonded Gu insects would die instantly. Therefore, the five clones ignored the snake Gu's attacks, focusing all their efforts on attacking without any defense.
This strategy caused great suffering for the three opponents. Flame Jade, Metal Jade, Wood Jade, Water Jade, and Earth jade were relentlessly attacked. Most of their attacks were dodged, leaving the ground with numerous round pits. However, many attacks still hit them, causing severe injuries.
Long Xuan planned for a quick victory. Although there was a soundproofing formation, he was still concerned that too much commotion might attract the market guards. Even though he was the victim, the current situation looked like he was the aggressor. If the three opponents twisted the story and accused him of robbery, with him unscathed and them covered in injuries, it would be hard for him to explain.
After a long time, his Origin realm was ready. Without hesitation, he activated it. The consciousness of the three opponents was instantly drawn into an illusion. One must understand that only their consciousness entered the illusion, not their bodies. Once their consciousness was in the illusion, their bodies outside could not move and were torn apart by external attacks.
When the three were turned into dust by various jades, Long Xuan quickly collected their storage bags and fled the scene.
These three were unlucky. In their first attempt to kill and rob, they chose what they thought was the weakest target, taking extreme precautions, even arranging stone Gu insects and soundproofing formation. But despite their caution, they failed in the end.
Shortly after Long Xuan left, a group of people arrived at the scene. The seven leaders were all at the peak of the marrow cleansing stage. They were the market guards.
The Far Western Land had seven major Gu-cultivating families: the Long family, Feng family, Mu family, Miao family, Lei family, Shi family, and Gu family.
Each family sent a master to guard the Far Western Market and it's surrounding.
The current guards were Long Lie, Miao Zhuang, Mu Tie, Feng Lan, Lei Li, Shi Jian, and the one known as Master Gu, Gu Da Long.
Each family had significant businesses in the market, crucial to their economic lifeline. Therefore, the seven guarding Gu cultivators were all strong.
Long Lie inspected the round pits on the ground with a serious expression, saying, "Such domineering mutated spiritual power. These five types are extremely powerful, rarely surpassed in the Far Western Land."
"Hmm!" Miao Zhuang hummed, "I have never heard of these five mutated spiritual powers before, but each is extremely domineering and destructive. It seems these five perpetrators are foreign Gu cultivators."
Mu Tie approached, kneading the soil in the pits, and said, "I have never seen the spiritual techniques they used before. Which family do they belong to? Feng Lan, you are well-informed, can you identify the origin of these techniques?" He turned to a voluptuous middle-aged woman beside him.
"It's my first time seeing them too. They might be newly created techniques, or the perpetrators might be from far away. It's normal that I can't identify them."
"Whoever they are, daring to kill and rob here, breaking the rules, must be captured and publicly beheaded in the market as a warning," Feng Lan said sternly.
Lei Li, with a fiery temper, angrily said, "Indeed, they dared to commit crimes in our territory, clearly not respecting us. We must investigate. If they can do it once, they might do it again. We can't let this go, or the market's authority will be compromised, and others might become bolder."
"I believe this is the road to Great stone Village. The five might be hiding there. We should search the village, and we might capture them immediately."
Gu Dalong laughed, "No need to search there. Long Ao is in seclusion there. If they dare to cause trouble, they're courting death."
"If they are indeed there, we won't need to act. They will get themselves killed."
Shi Jian laughed, "True. Ten years ago, you tricked him with a piece of ancient incomplete recipe, making him repair it. He's been in seclusion for ten years. You really got him. Repairing the incomplete recipe is not easy. Just these three materials may trap him here for the rest of his life."
Gu Dalong retorted, ""What do you mean I cheated him? The incomplete prescription I gave him was genuine and it was real. It was his own lack of understanding that caused him to waste ten years here. Can you blame me?"
"I didn't force him to make up for it. He can give up at any time. He is stubborn on his own. How can he blame me?"
...
Long Xuan returned home and casually checked the three rogue cultivators' storage bags, finding nothing valuable. Disappointed, he tossed the bags aside.
Rogue cultivators were generally poor, investing most of their resources in Gu insects. When the host died, the Gu insects died instantly. With the Gu insects dead, Long Xuan gained little.
From this incident, Long Xuan understood that killing and robbing for resources was not a viable method. The gains might not match the risks.
Taking such a big risk, only to gain a pile of junk, one should not assume constant success. No one is invincible. Killing and robbing many times will eventually lead to failure, and a single failure means losing one's life.
The cautious female rogue cultivator still died despite her precautions. Farming is the true path. Cultivation is not all about fighting and killing.
After summarizing his experience, Long Xuan took out his greatest gain from the Treasure Exchange Event—a incomplete treasure map.
According to his plan, he placed the remnant map on a similarly sized piece of white paper and began drawing on the missing parts of the map.
The map originally had a 90.98% completion rate. After his random drawing, the completion rate instantly disappeared.
Instead of being alarmed, Long Xuan was pleased. He realized his method was feasible. He wasn't worried about the disappearance of the progress but feared no change. As long as the progress changed, whether it increased or disappeared, it meant his method of supplementing the map with white paper was viable. As long as he works persistently, he believed he could eventually complete the map.
Chapter 36: Treasure Hunt
Due to his long lifespan, Long Xuan is not afraid of wasting time. As a dedicated enthusiast, spending extensive time on a broken map is his greatest joy. He doesn't mind investing a large amount of time on it.
For the next period, he dedicated all his time to completing the fragmented map. After countless sheets of white paper and three months, he finally completed the map and successfully guessed the treasure's location based on the information.
Long Xuan, ecstatic, held the now complete treasure map and paced excitedly in his room. No one could understand the joy of finally succeeding after countless hours of effort.
He kissed the map, rolled it up, and stored it in his storage bag. He began to pack his bags, preparing for a journey to find the treasure.
Up until now, Long Xuan had never traveled far, not even to nearby places.
On one hand, his strength was too weak, making it unsafe to travel far.
On the other hand, he had to take care of Elder Long's medicine garden, making it inconvenient to leave for long.
But now, he didn't have to worry about that. He had five external clones; he could easily assign one to take care of the garden.
After leaving one of his Wood clone, he went to the market to buy supplies for the wilderness and stocked up on a large amount of food before heading north.
Interestingly, this world did not have Fasting Pills. To prepare enough food, he had to get an extra storage bag just for food, which was quite inconvenient.
He was determined to develop the Fasting Pill formula in the future, as it was essential for outdoor adventures.
Half a month later, Long Xuan arrived at a towering and continuous mountain range, with several peaks reaching the clouds.
From a distance, it looked like a giant beast entrenched here, majestic and imposing.
This place was deserted, with no vegetation or animals, and was eerily silent.
However, Long Xuan did not underestimate this place. The more unique and remote a place, the more likely it was to contain treasure.
Ownerless treasures always appeared in places rarely visited by humans; otherwise, they would have been found already.
Long Xuan looked at the map and found that the treasure location should be near this mountain range, so he grinned.
He put away the map and began a carpet search of the area.
Despite its vast size, Long Xuan's eyes could see deep underground.
If there was treasure here, no matter how deeply buried, it wouldn't escape his eyes.
Soon, Long Xuan stopped at a cave entrance buried under rubble.
This cave was well-hidden; blocked by rocks, it blended into the mountain wall. Ordinary people wouldn't notice it even if they passed by.
Long Xuan immediately ordered four clones to move the rocks blocking the entrance while he rested nearby.
With the combined effort, a gap soon appeared at the entrance.
As long as one person could enter and exit, it was enough; there was no need to clear it completely.
Long Xuan then sent his fire clone in to explore the cave for any dangers. After confirming it was safe, he would enter himself.
Although external clone could be killed accidentally, Long Xuan could always create another one.
The only downside was that the new clone needed to be retrained, and only one clone of the same attribute could exist simultaneously.
In the early stages, Long Xuan's spiritual power was thin, and clone could be quickly restored, so he didn't mind using them for exploration.
But later, as his realm advanced, losing clone would become costly.
Creating external clone required a high price, and they couldn't be easily lost. Long Xuan already had the least expensive process.
After the fire clone encountered no danger for half a day, Long Xuan, to be safe, sent the other avatars in one by one, entering last himself.
Suddenly feeling unsure, he called back the water clone at the end and ordered it to guard the rear while he positioned himself in the middle of the group.
Upon reconsideration, he felt that the middle position was the safest.
The cave was deep, and Long Xuan and each clone carried a torch, cautiously advancing.
Soon, they encountered three predecessors who had turned into skeletons, with nine well-filled storage bags on the ground.
Afraid of poison or traps, Long Xuan had his metal clone pick up the bags and check their contents.
He eagerly anticipated what might be inside.
The nine storage bags contained only ordinary items and a conspicuous diary, with the rest filled with fossils of various sizes and shapes.
To Long Xuan's eyes, most fossils showed no progress, indicating they were dead bugs.
But some fossils showed varying progress, with the longest having four decimal point, representing top-grade spirit bugs that matured over a millennium. There were quite a few, enough for a small fortune.
Seeing the fossils, Long Xuan realized this cave was a fossil mine.
Before entering, he noticed dense numbers in the mountain's center.
He couldn't see through things in the true sense but could see the progress, though not what it represented.
Now, he could confirm that the progress indicated numerous bugs.
The marked treasure location turned out to be a rare fossil mine.
Seeing the heavily scarred skeletons, Long Xuan deduced through some amateur forensics that they died from internal conflict.
Reading the diary in one storage bag, he roughly understood what had happened.
Long ago, four rogue cultivators accidentally entered this desolate place and, while looking for a resting cave, discovered a valuable fossil mine.
They were overjoyed and, after preparing food and storage bags, began mining fossils.
But mining required immense labor and resources, needing thousands of miners.
Even if they kept mining until old, how much could they excavate?
They quickly realized that mining was physically taxing, wasting time they could use for cultivation. No matter how much money they made, it wouldn't be worth the lost cultivation time.
Getting ordinary people to do such labor was the best choice, as a cultivator's time was precious and shouldn't be wasted on it.
The world's rule was that ordinary people were the primary workforce, doing all the dirty and tiring work, while cultivators only focused on cultivation.
But all mortal villages were controlled by large families, and as rogue cultivators, they had no power to mobilize ordinary people.
Chapter 37: Long Xuans Decision
One of the rogue cultivators immediately suggested selling the mineral vein to make some quick money.
This fossil mine would take them a hundred lifetimes to fully excavate, and it wasn't originally theirs. Instead of wasting cultivation time here, it would be better to sell it off.
However, his suggestion was met with immediate opposition from the other rogue cultivators.
They were all terrified of poverty. This place was a gold mine they could never exhaust. How could they bear to sell it?
If the total value of this fossil mine was a billion spirit stones, selling it for ten million would already be good. No force could come up with that many spirit stones all at once.
From a long-term perspective, it would definitely be a huge loss.
But the cultivator who proposed selling the mine wasn't wrong. After all, what use were the fossils if they couldn't be extracted?
Making quick money would allow them to grow rapidly. Once they were powerful, what wealth couldn't they obtain?
Clinging to wealth they couldn't use was irrational.
Their opinions diverged greatly, and they quickly began to argue, which eventually turned into a violent brawl.
In the end, only one of the four survived the internal conflict, dragging his heavily injured body out.
Perhaps some accident occurred, or maybe he succumbed to his injuries. He left behind a map of the area before passing away.
As for why a large part of the map was burned, it might be because the person who obtained it was being robbed and, before dying, tried to destroy the treasure map to keep it from falling into enemy hands.
The fire burned slowly, and only a tenth of the map was destroyed before the enemy extinguished it.
This partially burned map changed hands several times before ending up in the hands of a young medicine boy.
At this moment, Long Xuan was also contemplating the same dilemma as the rogue cultivators: Should he keep this gold mine or sell it for quick cash? He found himself in a bind.
However, his dilemma didn't last long. He was here to find treasure because he needed spirit stones to buy materials for the divine ice flame. He urgently needed a large sum of spirit stones.
Moreover, he couldn't mine the vein by himself. What use was it to him if he couldn't utilize it? He had no means to mobilize ordinary people as laborers.
Since guarding the vein would be futile, he had no reason to hesitate.
He decided to sell the vein to the big clans, let them excavate it first, and then buy the fossils they extracted at a low price.
This way, the big clans would essentially be mining for him, and he could take advantage of their labor for free.
Not only would the big clans have to pay a hefty sum of spirit stones to buy the vein, but any good insects they found would also belong to him.
His cunning plan made him smile slyly.
After making his decision, Long Xuan didn't leave immediately. Instead, he and his clones ventured deeper into the cave.
Unlike the rogue cultivators, his eyes could pinpoint the exact locations of the fossils.
The rogue cultivators might dig all day and find nothing but waste rock, while Long Xuan could accurately locate fossil positions, ensuring he would find insects.
Since he couldn't mine the deep veins alone, he decided to gather all the surface fossils before leaving.
The deeper he went, the more branches he saw. Some paths had nine branches, some tunnels extended upward, and others plunged downward like bottomless pits.
Some tunnels were mined by the rogue cultivators, while others formed naturally.
In short, the place was a labyrinth. Once inside, it was hard to get out.
Long Xuan planned only to collect surface fossils, avoiding deeper areas due to the risk of getting lost and the inherent dangers.
The dangers didn't just come from the strange insects that could emerge from the soil. In this spirit-rich world, mysterious and dangerous occurrences often happened in the mines.
In Great stone Village, many villagers died from various accidents while mining for the big clans, whether in metal veins or spirit stone veins.
Having witnessed these incidents in Great stone Village, Long Xuan was cautious.
Therefore, he didn't venture deep into the labyrinth. Instead, he ordered his clones to excavate the surface fossils while he supervised, enjoying fine wine.
Until he accidentally spotted a fossil deep inside with a progress percentage of [38.17903%]. He couldn't sit still any longer and rushed over, wielding a pickaxe, his eyes like searchlights.
A progress percentage to five decimal places indicated a high probability of a peak-grade spirit insect over ten thousand years old.
peak-grade spirit insects were incredibly precious. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that not even ten thousand high-quality spirit insects could match one peak-grade spirit insect.
The base price for a peak-grade spirit insect was ten million spirit stones, but in reality, they were priceless and mostly acquired through bartering.
Long Xuan had encountered countless treasures in the market but had only seen one peak-grade spirit insect—the Stone Eye he found in the Stone King.
After refining it into a peak-grade Gu insect, its power was unparalleled. Not to mention its overpowered abilities, its Origin realm was already ridiculously strong, making it an invincible force.
peak-grade Gu insects versus high-quality Gu insects was a complete mismatch—a higher-dimensional attack with no comparison.
Seeing the essential material for refining a peak-grade Gu insect, how could Long Xuan not be excited?
He always started by collecting the rarest materials before creating his unique Gu recipes.
Now, with a peak-grade spirit insect in his sight, he could attempt to create another peak-grade Gu recipe. His second peak-grade Gu insect was within reach.
Since this peak-grade spirit insect was buried deep, Long Xuan and his four external clones spent two whole days excavating it.
This was just a surface fossil. Digging deeper would take who knows how long. The deeper fossils were beyond his capability, with no oxygen and increased danger.
Now, Long Xuan clutched the enormous fossil, elated. This treasure made his arduous journey worthwhile...
(End of Chapter)
Chapter 38: Long Xuans Strategy
With the Peak-grade spiritual insect in hand, Long Xuan could hardly wait to return and create his own Peak-grade Gu formula, losing all interest in mining.
Mining was endless and a waste of valuable cultivation time, so he decided not to spend his precious time on it.
As for any missing spiritual insect materials, he could simply buy them. There was no need to do manual labor.
With this thought in mind, Long Xuan felt an urgent desire to return home. Without any intention to stay, he immediately led his four clones out of the cave.
After exiting the cave and seeing the long-missed sunlight, Long Xuan took a deep breath of fresh oxygen. He then ordered his four clones to seal the cave entrance again, making it look as if no cave existed, before leaving for home.
Half a month later, he returned to Far western Market in a travel-worn state. Having decided to sell the fossil vein, he didn't want to delay to avoid unforeseen complications.
Considering the significant amount involved in this transaction, Long Xuan took multiple precautions for his safety.
Firstly, he disguised himself and wore a mask, which was necessary to avoid most troubles.
Secondly, he needed an identity that others wouldn't dare to provoke. He decided to disguise himself as a alchemist.
He was already a alchemist, so no disguise was needed, but he had to subtly reveal that he had a powerful alchemy master Otherwise, who would respect a mere first-grade alchemist?
But that wasn't enough. Long Xuan, being extremely cautious, decided to let his clones handle everything.
If anything went wrong, it would only be an insignificant clone that perished, and his true self could easily escape.
It was best to let others know inadvertently that it was just an clone, so even capturing it would be pointless.
This way, he could ensure everything went smoothly.
Having made all these preparations, the cautious Long Xuan arrived at the entrance of the Qian Auction House.
Like most rogue cultivators, he believed that the Qian Auction House, bound by the Gu of Integrity, would never bully its customers. So, he always preferred shops with the name "Qian" for both buying and selling resources.
He had developed this habit, feeling a sense of security whenever he thought of the Qian merchants being bound by the Gu of Integrity.
Since the fossil vein's price had no upper limit, if its total value were assessed, even one percent of its value would far exceed what major families could afford.
Therefore, auctioning the fossil vein was undoubtedly the most appropriate method, even though there would still be losses. It was unavoidable.
As soon as Long Xuan entered the auction house, he saw a familiar chubby man attending to customers. His appearance was too distinctive, so Long Xuan immediately recognized him as Qian Duoduo, whom he had met at the Qian Stone Gambling Shop years ago.
Long Xuan saw him, and naturally, Qian Duoduo saw Long Xuan.
Seeing a person covered from head to toe wearing a ghost mask, Qian Duoduo's eyes lit up.
Having been in business for many years, he had developed sharp eyes that could instantly tell who had good stuff and who was just pretending.
In his experience, the more valuable items a person had, the more they covered themselves up to avoid being recognized and attracting trouble.
This person was covered so thoroughly that only his eyes were visible. Qian Duoduo had never seen such a cautious person before, so he concluded that this person must have something valuable. Otherwise, why be so cautious?
Qian Duoduo's round face immediately broke into a smile as he approached.
"Sir, I'm the manager here. Do you have something valuable to auction at our Qian Auction House?" Qian Duoduo asked directly.
Long Xuan nodded and handed over a pill bottle, speaking arrogantly, "This is a Spirit Gathering Pill. Is it qualified for auction?"
He wasn't there to sell pills. He just wanted to inadvertently reveal that he was a alchemist to increase his sense of security.
Years ago, he had bought a pile of waste pills from a little medicine boy, and the Spirit Gathering Pill was the most valuable among them.
Using his Heavenly Eye, he easily deciphered most of the ingredients. For the few unclear parts, he just continued to work on the incomplete formula until he figured it out.
Since his Eye of Heavenly secret had already deciphered most of the ingredients, the formula was nearly complete. It didn't take Long Xuan long to perfect it.
The Spirit Gathering Pill was the most valuable in that pile of waste pills because of its breakthrough-enhancing effect, increasing the breakthrough success rate during the Marrow cleansing stage by ten percent.
Don't underestimate this ten percent. In this region of thin spiritual energy, having a ten percent breakthrough rate with the Spirit Gathering Pill was much better than having an almost zero percent chance without it.
In the distant past, when spiritual energy was abundant, cultivators could achieve breakthroughs without relying on spiritual pills.
But in today's era of scarce spiritual energy, even geniuses had to rely on pills to complete breakthroughs.
For this reason, the Breaking Realm Pills were extremely expensive, making it highly sought after by Gu cultivators of the same level, who would do anything to obtain it.
Moreover, the pill's efficacy varied from person to person. The ten percent success rate of the Spirit Gathering Pill was an average value calculated from a large group.
Gu cultivators with higher aptitude absorbed better, resulting in a higher breakthrough rate, while those with lower aptitude had a lower than ten percent success rate.
For someone like Long Xuan, whose meridians and spiritual sea were as strong as rock, the Spirit Gathering Pill, with such low efficacy, was almost useless. He might even need to create a stronger Breaking Realm Pill formula himself.
Therefore, for talented individuals with purchasing power, the success rate of the Spirit Gathering Pill far exceeded ten percent, making it worth spending their entire fortune on.
Because of these considerations, Long Xuan decided to sell the Spirit Gathering Pill for the first time.
This pill was not just any first-grade spiritual pill. Its high cost and difficulty in refining meant that even a second-grade alchemist would have only about a three percent success rate in making it, while a first-grade alchemist would find it almost impossible.
Given its difficulty, the Spirit Gathering Pill couldn't be mass-produced and was too rare to be found in the market. Once available, it would be highly sought after, with a selling price that could surpass that of second-grade spiritual pills.
Long Xuan's purpose in bringing out the Spirit Gathering Pill was not to make money.
Instead, he wanted to use the pill's refining difficulty to show others that the pill couldn't possibly be made by him, a Spirit Gathering stage Gu cultivator, and must have come from his master's hand, warning others to think twice before making a move.
Chapter 39: Selling the Map
Qian Duoduo opened the pill bottle and poured out a golden, smooth pill into his hand. He gently sniffed it, the fresh pill fragrance making him look intoxicated. He thought to himself that, as expected, a person who wraps things so securely must have good goods on hand.
Qian Duoduo showed an excited expression. He was not far from breaking through the marrow cleansing Stage and needed to collect resources for the breakthrough as soon as possible. The Spirit Gathering Pill came just in time.
He poured out all the pills and carefully counted them, finding ten in total. He couldn't help but be slightly moved.
The Spirit Gathering Pill was not an ordinary pill. Even if there were a hundred other types of pills, they wouldn't surprise him as much.
But the Spirit Gathering Pill was different. It was the most difficult pill to refine among its kind, with an exaggerated difficulty in refining, making mass production impossible.
Usually, seeing one pill would be considered good luck. Now, seeing ten at once, this was definitely not the work of an ordinary alchemist.
Qian Duoduo's expression turned somewhat serious as he asked, "How many Spirit Gathering Pills do you intend to auction?"
Long Xuan had no intention of being low-key and directly said, "Not many, just four bottles, ten pills per bottle!"
Qian Duoduo was taken aback, showing a shocked expression. Forty Spirit Gathering Pills and he still called it "not many"? Then what would be considered many? This revealed an astonishing fact: an alchemist who could produce so many Spirit Gathering Pills must have a very high success rate in pill refinement.
If he could achieve such a high success rate in refining Spirit Gathering Pills, then his grade must be quite high.
A conservative estimate would be a third-grade alchemist, possibly even a fourth-grade alchemist.
Qian Duoduo's pupils contracted, his heart filled with extreme shock. A fourth-grade alchemist was so prestigious that there wasn't even a third-grade alchemist in the entire Far West. It was unimaginable how noble a fourth-grade alchemist's status was, definitely not someone he could afford to offend.
At this moment, he had already imagined that there must be a high-grade alchemy master behind this person, making him handle the situation cautiously.
"So, you're a high disciple of a fourth-grade alchemist. I apologize for my disrespect. Rest assured, I will sell your master's Spirit Gathering Pills for the highest price," Qian Duoduo said with a hint of respect in his tone, but still probing.
He couldn't figure out who the master behind this person was, nor did he know whether he was a third-grade or fourth-grade alchemist, so he tried to test him.
If he said something wrong, the other party might refute or show some change in expression.
However, when Qian Duoduo looked at his face, he found it covered tightly, with no expression visible.
Long Xuan certainly wouldn't refute. He was happy for Qian Duoduo to misunderstand, the more, the better.
"The price should be whatever it should be. No need to force it. My master doesn't care about such small amounts of money," Long Xuan said tactfully. Considering the astonishing price of the Spirit Gathering Pills, if this was considered small money, it further emphasized that his master was not ordinary.
"In fact, my purpose today is not to sell Spirit Gathering Pills. I have a map marking an unowned fossil mine vein. I'm here to auction this map. My map is surely enough to be the highlight of today's auction, right?" Long Xuan said arrogantly, raising his voice unintentionally so that everyone in the hall could hear.
He wished for as many people as possible to hear, the more publicity, the better he could sell.
Moreover, the more people knew, the less likely the auction house would withhold the map in front of everyone.
Even though he trusted the constraint of the Integrity Gu, he believed in handling everything cautiously.
Sure enough, as soon as he said this, everyone in the hall turned to look in this direction. The hall instantly fell silent, so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.
Everyone couldn't stay calm upon hearing this news. They all perked up their ears, focusing their attention here.
An unowned fossil mine vein could create wealth worth billions of spirit stones, possibly taking hundreds of years to exhaust.
And you could acquire it at a cost far below a billion spirit stones. No matter how many spirit stones you spent, it would be a guaranteed profit in the long run, and a massive one at that.
If a family could control a fossil mine vein, the wealth generated could make the family prosper for a thousand years, even elevating them from a weak family to a powerful one.
In the face of such temptation, who wouldn't be envious and excited?
The eyes of everyone in the hall lit up with greed, and they began to notify their families as quickly as possible.
After a brief silence, the hall soon became chaotic again, with people occasionally running outside frantically.
Qian Duoduo's breathing also became rapid, his round face flushed. Seeing forty Spirit Gathering Pills was enough to shock him, but what came next was even more astonishing.
Someone was actually auctioning a map marking the location of a fossil mine vein. He had never seen anyone sell such coordinates at an auction before; it was simply crazy, and he was stunned by such a big business deal.
This was more than just a highlight; even if the value of all the auction items combined, they wouldn't compare to a fraction of the fossil mine vein.
The value of an unowned fossil mine vein was staggering. As someone who sold such things, he knew all too well the enormous profit it could generate. It was something to acquire at all costs.
If it weren't for the Integrity Gu and his last name being Qian, he would have snatched the map without hesitation.
At this moment, the excited voice of Miss Qian Jinjin rang in his mind.
Qian Jinjin used soul transmission to say, "Don't get any bad ideas. Arrange the auction as quickly as possible. We can't give those big families time to sell their properties!"
Qian Duoduo immediately understood her meaning.
Seizing the auction items for themselves was against the rules and violated the Integrity Gu.
But openly bidding for them at the auction was perfectly legitimate.
After all, no one had ever said that auction houses could only sell and not participate in bidding.
The most important thing now was to act fast, not giving those big families time to prepare funds. The allure of a fossil mine vein could indeed make those families sell their properties.
The auction price would skyrocket, so they had to act swiftly and get the map before those families could react.
Thinking this, Qian Duoduo dared not delay any longer and immediately said, "What a coincidence, there's an auction happening soon, and we're in need of a highlight. This auction item can definitely be the highlight, solving my urgent need."
"However, it's the first time we're auctioning the location of an unowned mine vein, and we have no precedent to refer to, making it hard to verify its authenticity."
"Although going directly to the mine vein site would easily verify its authenticity, the value of the information lies in its exclusivity. Once we know the location, we can take over the mine vein directly, making the map worthless. I believe this is your concern, and you wouldn't hand over the complete map."
"How about this: you don't need to give us the map. When there's a buyer, you can hand the map directly to them."
"But to gain the buyer's trust, we'll use the Integrity Gu's ability in front of everyone. What do you think?" Qian Duoduo said with a smile.
In any other auction house, this kind of transaction couldn't be carried out. The seller wouldn't reveal the mine vein's location, and without it, they couldn't verify the authenticity, creating an unsolvable loop.
But at the Qian Clan commerce Association, it was easily solved. The Integrity Gu had the ability to detect lies.
There was no need to travel far to verify the location, and they didn't have the time for that. Speed was essential; any delay of ten days or half a month would cause great trouble.
Chapter 40: The Auction of the Spirit Gathering Pill Begins
Long Xuan naturally agreed to Qian Duoduo's request. He had already prepared the partial map, leaving the most crucial part, but now it seemed his preparation was redundant.
Led by a young maid, Long Xuan entered the venue and sat in the VIP seat marked number ten, waiting for the auction to start.
The auction venue was large enough to accommodate a thousand people. There were rows of seats in the front, and a large standing area in the back where many rogue cultivators watched the excitement, creating a noisy atmosphere.
Even though most of the people in the front seats had already entered, judging by their attire, those sitting there were undoubtedly wealthy. Compared to the back, it was much quieter here.
Seeing so many people had already entered, Long Xuan knew he was just in time for an auction that was about to begin.
However, because it was so soon, his map had no promotion. The real big spenders probably didn't have time to come.
But this was what Long Xuan was happy to see. If Qian Duoduo wanted to promote it for two months before auctioning it, he would have refused.
There were benefits to speed. Long Xuan was always cautious. Even if he made less money, he didn't want to add any more danger.
He was well aware of how tempting a fossil vein could be to a family.
For the sake of a few mortal villages, the Gu cultivating families could start wars, let alone for a fossil vein.
A fossil vein could definitely incite a war.
Now, the highest cultivation level in the market was only at the peak of the Marrow Cleansing stage.
If the Qian commerce Association really promoted it for a few months, it's certain that many Gu Kings from the far west and even super forces from distant places would come.
He might earn more money then, but who would guarantee his safety? He wasn't foolish enough to think those Gu Kings would be deterred by the market's no-kill rule and leave him alone.
At that time, it wouldn't just be him. A big brawl among Gu Kings in the Far West market would be possible.
The no-kill rule in the Far West market meant nothing to them.
So, he was eager for the auction to be as quick as possible. There were no Gu cultivators in the Spirit Sea stage in the market now, so his safety was absolutely guaranteed.
Long Xuan didn't have to wait long. The VIP seats were not even full when the Qian commerce association couldn't wait to start the auction.
With the sound of a bell, the auction venue fell silent instantly. Qian Jinjin, dressed in a white dress, walked to the auction table and smiled slightly at the people below. Her stunning beauty left many people in a daze.
Long Xuan, glancing at that face, couldn't help but think of her as a fairy. In this world washed by spiritual power, it must be said that the beauties of this world far surpassed the stars of his previous life.
Not to mention her strong professional skills and eloquence, just standing there, today's auction wouldn't lack for revenue.
Many people showed surprise, not expecting her to be the auctioneer. Unless this auction had very special items, the eldest Miss Qian would never personally come on stage.
Many who were not well-informed didn't know what had happened, but outside, the place was already in an uproar. Small parts of the market were in turmoil, with messages flying out.
Even without any promotion, explosive news couldn't be controlled, and many strong individuals were already rushing over.
Therefore, Qian Jinjin didn't dare to delay. She skipped the lengthy introduction and went straight to introducing the first auction item.
"Everyone, this is the last auction item we just received. I'm sure you're all very interested."
Qian Jinjin waved to the back, and a maid with equally impressive looks brought a jade plate covered with a red cloth, making it impossible to see what it was.
Often, the unknown is most eye-catching. Covering it with a red cloth was enough to pique the interest of the people below.
"Alright, time is limited, so I won't keep you in suspense."
"This is a bottle of Spirit Gathering Pills refined by a mysterious alchemist. There are ten pills in total. Every Gu cultivator knows what Spirit Gathering Pills do, so I won't waste time explaining."
"The starting bid for this bottle of ten Spirit Gathering Pills is one hundred thousand spirit stones. All spirit stones must meet the average standard. The bidding starts now."
Qian Jinjin lifted the red cloth, and most people in the venue immediately started breathing heavily, their eyes turning red.
Most people present were Gu cultivators at the Spirit Gathering stage. Due to the thin spiritual power of this era, cultivators could only use the power of pills to break through, leading to an abundance of Gu cultivators at the peak of the Spirit Gathering stage.
Given this, the allure of the Spirit Gathering Pill was self-evident. This first auction item was enough to drive all the Gu cultivators present crazy.
Many Gu cultivators stuck at the peak of the Spirit Gathering stage for decades went completely mad. As soon as the bidding started, someone shouted, "I'll bid three hundred thousand spirit stones. Don't anyone try to outbid me!"
Long Xuan's heart trembled. The starting bid was one hundred thousand spirit stones, and it tripled instantly?
Was selling Spirit Gathering Pills really so profitable? Had he been too cautious before? If he had boldly sold Spirit Gathering Pills earlier, he might have already gathered the materials to refine the Divine Ice Flame.
What did his extreme caution get him? He had been overly cautious and was still at risk of being killed for his treasures.
While Long Xuan was lamenting in his heart, the price of the bottle of Spirit Gathering Pills quickly soared to one million spirit stones.
Each Spirit Gathering Pill was worth a hundred thousand spirit stones, an astronomical price. With this money, who knew how many ordinary Gu insects could be refined.
By this time, the bidding had slowed down. Many people showed extremely conflicted expressions, with sweat beading on their foreheads.
The fact that the Gu cultivators at the Spirit Gathering stage were the poorest group, all of them broke, led to a group of rogue cultivators pooling their money to raise the bid to one million spirit stones. Otherwise, the price might have gone up several more times.
The price a product could fetch was not determined by its intrinsic value but by how much money the buyers had.
For example, the fossil vein to be auctioned later could have a total value in the billions, but no force had that much liquid capital, so the price would naturally drop by hundreds of times. There was no way around it.
Therefore, a bottle of ten Spirit Gathering Pills at about one million spirit stones was already the limit.
Just as Qian Jinjin was about to strike the final blow with a small golden hammer, a rough voice came from outside.
"My Long family is offering one million one hundred thousand!"
The noise in the hall died down as a group of people filed in under everyone's gaze.
Seeing these people enter, Qian Jinjin's pupils contracted.
The seven major clans of the Far West had all arrived. How fast! Did they fly here?
Seeing the heads of several other trading companies entering with a large number of people, she was even more shocked.
The Qian commerce association had only moved in here in recent years and was far less established than the trading companies that had been here for a long time. The funds these companies could mobilize were considerable. It seemed today's auction would require a significant amount of capital.