Mortals: Take Mo Juren at the start

"You know him?" Mo Juren whispered.

"I suppose so, but we only met a few times in the past and never really talked..." Xiao Yunhuang nodded slightly and revealed the girl's identity.

After listening, Mo Juren's face immediately showed surprise.

Ye Ying! It's actually this woman! The one from the top-tier True Spirit Family, the Ye family, who had crossed paths with Han Li in the original timeline.

Mo Juren had a deep impression of this woman.

Don't be fooled by her innocent and naive appearance; that's just a facade. In reality, she's quite shrewd and not so easy to deal with.

This woman possesses exceptional talent and has been designated as the young master of the Ye family.

In contrast, Xiao Yunhuang, who also comes from a top family, is just as talented and insightful, but her personality is far inferior; she is too naive.

However, if Mo Juren had to choose, he would still prefer to be close to Xiao Yunhuang. As for Ye Ying, he could deal with her, but he couldn't become too close to her.

Just as the two were exchanging glances in secret, Ye Ying, who was sitting in front of them, seemed to sense something and suddenly turned her head to look back, her eyes meeting the two of them instantly.

Mo Juren was a complete stranger to Xiao Yunhuang, but when he saw her, she seemed to remember something and nodded with a smile.

Xiao Yunhuang did not hesitate and nodded slightly in response, but that was all. Ye Ying had already withdrawn her gaze and continued to communicate with the shop assistant in front of her.

It was just a minor incident, and Mo Juren and Xiao Yunhuang didn't take it to heart. They then slowly walked to an empty spot and sat down.

At that moment, a middle-aged woman dressed in a black dress slowly walked over.

This surprised Mo Juren somewhat. He had observed her earlier and concluded that she was most likely the manager of the seventh floor. Presumably, the other staff members were too busy to attend to her, so she came to greet him personally.

Furthermore, the opponent's cultivation level is also quite high; he is a genuine early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

Just as he had guessed, the beautiful woman gracefully approached, sat down, and then smiled charmingly:

"These two fellow Daoists look unfamiliar. Is this your first time visiting the Gathering Star Pavilion?"

"I came here twice with my elders, but that was over a hundred years ago, and I didn't meet you then," Xiao Yunhuang explained before Mo Juren could speak.

"I see. Your elders must be very powerful, which is why they haven't been to the seventh level. Otherwise, I would have a strong impression of them," the beautiful woman said with a smile, her words carrying a hint of probing.

"I suppose so." Xiao Yunhuang didn't deny it, but she didn't want to reveal too much either, so she directly changed the subject and got down to business.
"We have come here to purchase some materials, in considerable quantities, and they are also quite rare."

After speaking, he looked directly at Mo Juren, who did not hesitate and immediately took out a list and handed it over.

The woman in the black dress also felt a bit curious. After taking the list and glancing at it briefly, her previously confident and composed expression suddenly froze.

The list of materials was not only diverse, but also far rarer than she had expected; some of them were even ones she had never heard of before.

After some thought, she smiled helplessly and said:

"Fellow Daoists, please forgive us. The items required here are extremely rare. Given our shop's resources, we can only manage to procure three of them. We are unable to provide the rest. However, Fengcheng is surrounded by the sea on three sides and has abundant resources. Perhaps we can visit other shops to inquire and we should be able to find something."

"Three kinds?" Mo Juren nodded calmly.

He was not disappointed by the quantity; on the contrary, he was quite pleasantly surprised.

In addition, as the other party said, this city is rich in resources, and there are more than ten large shops similar to 'Juxing Pavilion', so we can continue to search for more.

"Then I'll trouble you to bring the items over, shopkeeper."

"Because it is so rare, the item is in the storeroom. Please wait a moment, I will be right back!" After saying this, the beautiful woman got up and left.

Just as the two were waiting, two more unfamiliar figures suddenly walked into the hall.

One was an elderly man with white hair dressed in a bright red brocade robe, and the other was a handsome young man with a bright red mole near his mouth.

The appearance of the two attracted the attention of many people, especially the white-haired old man, who had the cultivation of the early stage of Void Refinement. However, he followed behind the blood mole youth who only had the cultivation of the Nascent Soul stage, as if he were a subordinate.

As soon as he stood still, the young man with the blood mole scanned the hall. When he saw a certain figure, his pupils suddenly contracted, but he quickly returned to normal.

There was nothing else amiss, so he invited the old man to sit down at an empty spot.

At this moment, everyone present also turned their attention away and stopped paying attention.

Only Mo Juren, upon seeing the young man with the blood mole, instinctively recalled a memory and began to ponder it silently.

With such obvious facial features, could it really be that one?

But if that's really the case, then it's just too much of a coincidence!

Was the other party also here to attend this alchemy gathering? Or did they have another purpose? Thinking back to the events that occurred in the original work, he couldn't help but think of many things.

Turning to look at Xiao Yunhuang, the other party's expression didn't change much, clearly indicating that she didn't recognize him either.

Mo Juren couldn't help but chuckle. It seemed that although Xiao Yunhuang came from an extraordinary background, not everyone knew her. Of course, it could also be because the young man with the blood mole was relatively low-key.

Soon, the beautiful woman in the black dress returned and immediately noticed the new guest. She became extremely respectful the moment she saw the white-haired old man.

Fortunately, she did not abandon Mo Juren simply because of his Void Refinement Realm cultivation level. Instead, she called over a girl who had come with her to greet him.

"I've troubled you two fellow Daoists to wait. The items are all here; please take a look." The beautiful woman sat down again, then with a gentle wave of her jade arm, three jade boxes of different sizes appeared.

Mo Juren did not hesitate and immediately began to check each item one by one. After confirming that there were no problems, he nodded.
"Everything is correct, but what is the price?"

"Please forgive me, fellow Daoists. These three items are indeed quite rare, hence the slightly higher price. Five million spirit stones will suffice for the total."

"Alright!" Mo Juren didn't haggle at all. He immediately took one of the storage bags he had prepared from his waist, took out some spirit stones from it and transferred them into another bag, then handed the rest to the other party.
"There are exactly five million here. Fellow Daoist, you can count them."

"I am confident that I have not misjudged you, so there is no need for the inventory. Is there anything else you need?" "No, for the time being. We are going to visit other shops, so we will not disturb you any longer."

"Take care, fellow Taoists!"

The beautiful woman smiled, and after the two finally left the hall, she turned around unhurriedly and slowly walked towards the white-haired old man's location...

……

"Given your background, you should know quite a bit about the True Spirit Clan, right?" Mo Juren suddenly asked Xiao Yunhuang on the street.

"I do know some things. The True Spirit Family, like the other seven ancient families, is a secret family that has been passed down from ancient times. However, compared to them, they are even more special."

The so-called True Spirit Family, as the name suggests, is a family that contains the bloodline of True Spirit, making their aptitude far superior to that of ordinary humans.

For example, the Ye family's ancestor was a half-demon with the bloodline of the Heavenly Phoenix, and the even more powerful Long family has the bloodline of the True Dragon flowing through their members.

The profound foundations of these True Spirit Families are beyond imagination, comparable to the Seven Ancient Clans. For example, the Long Family controls auction houses that are almost ubiquitous throughout the Three Realms, and the Ye Family, the Gu Family, and others control vast amounts of top-grade spirit stone mines…”

As expected of someone from an ancient clan, Xiao Yunhuang's understanding of the True Spirit Clan is exceptionally deep, even including some unknown secrets.

However, the other party also mentioned that this understanding was mostly based on records in the materials, and in reality, she had almost no dealings with the disciples of the True Spirit Family.

"So, you don't know that young man with the bloodstain just now?" Mo Juren chuckled. Upon hearing this, Xiao Yunhuang was momentarily stunned, then reacted and said...
"Brother Mo, do you mean that the person just now was also a member of a True Spirit family? But how did you know?"

"It was a coincidence, but we didn't actually know each other," Mo Juren said, shaking his head ambiguously.
"The other party is from the Long family, and they have probably come here for the Pill Gathering."

"It's actually the Long family!" Xiao Yunhuang exclaimed in surprise, then suddenly added,
"The Ye family members are here most likely for the Qi Refining Pill. Ye Ying needs it too, so it seems there shouldn't be any problem with the Phoenix Blood Grass."

"As for the Long family, they couldn't possibly possess Phoenix Blood Grass. Could it be that they have 'Mysterious Spirit Jade Marrow'? Wouldn't that make them competitors with you, Brother Mo?"

"It wouldn't be that bad. Since the Medicine God Sect has announced that anyone carrying 'Mysterious Spirit Jade Marrow' or 'Phoenix Blood Grass' can exchange it for a pill, that's tantamount to making a promise. If they break their promise because they brought too much jade marrow, it would greatly damage the sect's reputation." Mo Juren shook his head slightly, but then a thought suddenly struck him, and he asked again.
"Didn't you also need to purchase some resources for cultivation when you came along? Why didn't you speak up earlier?"

“Well… I don’t actually lack the resources needed for cultivation. Even if I really needed them, I could buy them in Tianyuan City. There’s no need to come all the way here. I only came here to buy some pills. I’ll skip the rest.” Xiao Yunhuang’s bright eyes flickered before she replied.

"If it's just pills, given your current cultivation level, what you need right now are pills that can improve your Nascent Soul stage cultivation. They should be available at the Pill Gathering. However, most shops in Fengcheng should also have them. Wouldn't it be better to buy them here in advance? After all, there are always exceptions. What if you can't find the right ones later?"

“Brother Mo’s findings are correct. I will ask him about it later.” Xiao Yunhuang nodded very seriously, but as she spoke, a hint of cunning flashed in the depths of her eyes, disappearing in an instant.

……

Over the next three days, the two visited almost all of the top ten shops in Fengcheng.

Unfortunately, he didn't get as much as he had expected. For example, he could only purchase about ten kinds of the materials he needed.

The biggest gain was that I managed to buy three kinds at once in the first place at Juxingge.

As for elixirs, both Mo Juren and Xiao Yunhuang need them.

Unfortunately, pills that can enhance the cultivation of cultivators in the Divine Realm are quite rare, usually only appearing at auctions and not easy to buy on the market.

It's not that they're absolutely nonexistent, it's just that the quantity is relatively small, and whether you can buy one depends on your luck.

The two were clearly not very lucky. After visiting more than ten shops, they only managed to buy two 'Tongyuan Pills'. Although they were very good high-grade pills, they were only effective for cultivators in the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

Xiao Yunhuang had only recently broken through to the mid-stage, so she could still use it, but for Mo Juren, who had already reached the peak of the mid-stage, this thing was completely meaningless.

After going around in circles, we still have to place our hopes on the Danhui.

The Qi Refining Pill is just one option. If I were to come across any pills that could help late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators improve their cultivation, I could also purchase some of those as well.

On the morning of the third day, outside the North Gate.

Mo Juren and Xiao Yunhuang walked out leisurely and immediately saw Wu Chang and the others who had been waiting for them.

"How have things been going these past few days?"

"It's not bad, especially the resources that come from the sea, which don't exist inland. And since we need to buy in large quantities, the price is much more favorable."

"That's good. Next, we'll head to the Medicine God Sect. We can buy pills there, and the prices will definitely be more favorable compared to Fengcheng."

"The original poster is absolutely right!"

After exchanging words, the group didn't linger any longer and immediately soared into the sky towards the due north.

……

The Medicine God Sect is located in a continuous mountain range about tens of thousands of miles north of Fengcheng.

This mountain is called the 'Wanling Mountain Range'. It is not very large in area, stretching only about 300,000 li from east to west, but the spiritual environment within it is quite good.

The entire 'Ten Thousand Spirits Mountain Range' is exclusively owned by the Medicine God Sect, which has also made meticulous plans and management, resulting in more than a hundred medicinal gardens in the mountain range, with countless kinds of spiritual herbs.

However, unlike those families that mainly cultivate and sell spiritual herbs, the various spiritual herbs produced in the Wanling Mountains are basically supplied to the disciples of the sect for their own use. They are only sold after being refined into pills.

This can be considered a unique management philosophy of the Medicine God Sect, and it is precisely because of this that the sect's disciples have greatly improved their alchemy skills.

Although the Medicine God Sect is relatively weak overall and far from being comparable to the top ten sects, it is definitely among the best in terms of alchemy skills.

This is the main reason why the Medicine God Sect's alchemy conference always attracts the attention of countless forces.

Although there is still a considerable amount of time before the Pill Gathering officially begins, the Wanling Mountain Range is already bustling with activity. Within the designated areas of the Medicine God Sect, temporary markets have sprung up one after another.

Compared to other markets, this one is more special. Due to the influx of a large number of alchemists, the stalls in the market mainly sell various kinds of pills.

These alchemists not only sell various finished pills, but also accept private commissions and refine them on the spot, completing the transaction immediately, making it extremely lively. (End of Chapter)