Immortality and Cultivation: Starting with Improving Spiritual Root Aptitude

"A spiritual liquid to aid in Foundation Establishment? Distinguished guest, that's a top-tier item for Qi Refining cultivators, incredibly valuable..."

Before the attendant could finish speaking, Wu Fan interrupted him calmly:

"What? You said you had everything, but it turned out to be a lie?"

The attendant looked at Wu Fan, his expression immediately becoming serious, and he dared not be negligent:

"Please forgive me, sir, I would never dare to lie! Please wait a moment, and I will go and fetch the manager."

Having said that, he dared not delay and quickly led Wu Fan through the corridor into a quiet and elegant private room, served him spiritual tea, and then bowed and withdrew.

Before long, a middle-aged cultivator dressed in a white robe of higher standard pushed open the door and entered. He had a calm demeanor and was obviously in charge.

"My name is Jia Dui, and I am the manager of this establishment."

After the middle-aged cultivator entered, he bowed respectfully to Wu Fan, who was sitting and drinking tea. His manners were impeccable, but he also subtly sized him up.

"May I ask your name, Yugao?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Fan remained seated and calmly replied:

"No need for formalities, my time is limited. Since your Wanshanglou has the confidence to claim you have everything, then just bring out the spiritual liquid to aid in Foundation Establishment. Price is no object, as long as the effect and quality are good enough."

A glimmer of light first appeared in Jia Dui's eyes.

To speak with such confidence, one must either have powerful backing or be extremely wealthy; this person must be a big fish, or rather, a major client.

But the bright color dimmed in an instant, and a troubled look appeared on his face. He said bluntly:

"Fellow Daoist is indeed straightforward. I won't beat around the bush either. To be honest, let alone the most effective Foundation Establishment Elixir, even the second-best Meridian Protection Elixir is currently out of stock in our shop."

Wu Fan frowned slightly.

Seeing this, Jia Dui quickly added:

"However, if you are willing to wait, our shop can use its back channels to collect the spiritual liquid that suits your taste."

"Oh? That's strange. How come your Wanshanglou doesn't have such a treasure in stock? Yet you have the channels to collect it?"

Wu Fan looked up and asked, his tone tinged with doubt.

Upon hearing this, Jia Dui gave a wry smile, sat down, poured himself a cup of spirit tea, and slowly explained:

"Fellow Daoist, you are unaware of the fact that each of these spiritual liquids used to aid in Foundation Establishment is extremely valuable. Ordinary rogue cultivators simply cannot afford them, and those cultivators supported by sects or families have their own supplies and would not come to us to buy them. As a result, these kinds of spiritual items have become 'white elephants,' and are really difficult to sell."

He paused, then said:

"Our shop only goes to the trouble of collecting these spiritual liquids when customers place orders in advance, because they are not easy to store and can easily cause spirit stones to accumulate. However, the collection process naturally takes some time and effort."

Wu Fan understood immediately and pressed for details:

"If that's the case, what about the other shops?"

"It's the same for other shops. There are only a few ways to obtain these kinds of spiritual items, and even my Wanshanglou doesn't dare to stock up on them easily, let alone other small shops."

Wu Fan frowned slightly and asked again:

"How long will it take?"

"At least six months."

Jia Dui spoke with certainty, without the slightest ambiguity.

"The distribution channels have to go through those big sects, and we have to avoid a lot of dangers along the way. It will take at least half a year to deliver the goods to the store."

"Six months?"

Wu Fan suddenly looked up, his calm expression shattered.

The sect only has six months before the alchemy assessment, and they simply cannot afford to wait that long.

He suppressed his disappointment and leaned forward slightly:

"Steward Jia, six months is too long. Do you know of any other channels that can obtain Foundation Establishment Elixir in a shorter time?"

"That's natural."

Upon hearing this, Jia Dui suddenly smiled meaningfully. He paused halfway through his sentence, picked up his teacup, took a slow sip, and glanced at Wu Fan with a seemingly casual look, appearing to be smiling without saying a word.

Wu Fan was incredibly perceptive and instantly understood his thoughts.

There's no such thing as a free lunch. Jia Dui certainly wouldn't reveal such important information for nothing.

After a moment's thought, he spoke:

"Manager Jia, to be honest, besides the Foundation Establishment Elixir, I also wish to purchase a batch of top-quality spiritual materials containing the power of the five elements. Does your shop have any in stock?"

"Haha, fellow Daoist, you are indeed straightforward!"

Jia Dui immediately put down his teacup, clapped his hands, and laughed.

"Speaking of the Five Elements spiritual materials, our Wanshanglou's inventory is among the best in the entire Zhongtianxu City! Green Wood Root, Fire Spirit Crystal, Water Cloud Pearl, Earth Element Stone, Gold Essence Powder, etc., are all of excellent quality, each containing pure Five Elements spiritual power, which is perfect for Qi cultivation and pill refining."

Wu Fan felt a sense of relief, but his expression remained calm:

"Since you have the goods, let me take a look first. If the price is fair and the quality of the spiritual materials is up to standard, the price is not a problem. However, please tell me frankly, Steward Jia, about the channel for obtaining the Foundation Establishment Elixir in a short period of time."

Jia Dui's smile deepened, and he leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice:

"Rest assured, fellow Daoist, as long as the business of spiritual materials is successful, I will naturally not hold back on the matter of distribution channels."

......

Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye.

Wu Fan accepted the four brocade boxes and a gold-embossed invitation from Jia Dui. After scanning them with his spiritual sense and confirming that the spiritual materials inside were correct, he raised his hand and waved, and a storage bag full of spirit stones landed in Jia Dui's hand.

Jia Dui quickly caught the storage bag, and after a brief scan with his spiritual sense, his face lit up with joy, and his smile became even more genuine:

"Thank you for your patronage, fellow Daoist! The amount of spirit stones is just right! If you have any further needs, please feel free to visit Wanshang Tower anytime, and I will do my best to assist you."

Wu Fan nodded, put the brocade boxes into his storage bag, and got up to take his leave:

"Thank you for your trouble, Steward Jia. Goodbye."

"Fellow Daoist, please take care!"

Jia Dui hurriedly bowed to see him off, and the smile on his face vanished instantly only after Wu Fan's figure disappeared through the gate of Wanshanglou.

......

Stepping out of Wanshanglou, the midday sun scorched the roads of Zhongtianxu City.

Wu Fan raised his hand to shield his eyes from the sunlight, his brows furrowed slightly, and he quickly began to make calculations in his mind.

I just purchased four spiritual materials, which cost three thousand low-grade spirit stones. Although I was able to find the spiritual material containing the fire element, I also found one spiritual material containing the wood element and two spiritual materials containing the earth element.

However, although those two earth-elemental spiritual materials could trigger the Five Elements Beads' reaction, their price was indeed a bit too high for Wu Fan.

Fortunately, during this trip, he also learned crucial information about the Foundation Establishment Elixir.

In a little over a month, Zhongtianxu City will hold a fairly large auction.

Although it cannot compare to the annual top-tier auction held in the name of the city, it is still jointly organized by several powerful merchant guilds in the city, and Wanbaolou is one of them.

Wu Fan has confirmed that Foundation Establishment Elixir will be among the items up for auction at this event.

Although he had obtained the information, he was already running out of spirit stones.

Thinking of this, Wu Fan's expression became more serious.

He had already inquired about the market price of Foundation Establishment Elixir before he arrived. He originally had more than enough spirit stones, but after this gamble, and considering that the Foundation Establishment Elixir would definitely fetch a much higher price at the auction, his current spirit stone reserves were probably not enough.

"It seems I must sell off the pills I've stockpiled in batches as soon as possible and convert them into spirit stones. Then I can refine another batch to replenish them, which would be the safest course of action."

Having made up his mind, Wu Fan determined the direction and headed towards the "Gathering Pill Pavilion" not far away.