The Long Journey to Immortality

Chapter 436 Half-Sold, Half-Giveaway

The current wilderness is the place where the defeated true spirits of the ancient cultivation era and some true spirits who were allied with the human race lived.

There, there are many monsters, spirits, and true spirits that do not currently live in the Central Plains, the Southern Frontier, or the East Sea.

Only in the Western Regions can one occasionally spot these monsters.

However, due to the overall weakness of the cultivators in the Western Regions, there are not many opportunities to keep these monsters that occasionally offend the territory of the Western Regions.

Therefore, in the Western Regions, the monster materials that Han Lu possessed, which were not rare in the Great Yu Dynasty, were actually extremely rare.

Taking all these factors into account, Han Lu concluded that Long Qian, having traveled extensively throughout China and the country in her business dealings, should be well-informed and able to recognize the materials she provided, understand their value, and know that these materials were the best products to take advantage of a "newbie" seller like Han Lu.

Han Lu believed that as long as she was willing to be ripped off and give gifts, Long Qian, a thorough businessman, would definitely not be able to resist taking advantage of this "good opportunity to appraise and purchase materials" to rip off customers.

If both parties are willing, then Han Lu can smoothly send out the compensation money.

Sure enough, when Han Lu took out several pieces of monster materials that she had bought cheaply from the Great Yu Dynasty, Long Qian was initially confused, but then her eyes lit up when she saw one of the materials, as if she had seen a top-grade spirit stone.

“This…” Long Qian picked through the pile of miscellaneous materials that Han Lu had brought out and picked up a white, withered bone. “I am not very talented. Among the treasures in Fairy Han’s hands, I only recognize three items. This bone is the one I am most familiar with.”

"If Fairy Han doesn't mind, why don't you let me explain it to you in detail?"

Upon seeing the bone in Long Qian's hand, Han Lu recalled the amount of spirit stones she had spent when purchasing the bone in the Great Yu Dynasty, as well as the bone's specific origin.

She couldn't help but wonder if Long Qian truly knew or was just pretending to know in order to scam money.

"Fellow Daoist Long, please speak. Don't be stingy with your words. Let me broaden my horizons as well."

Long Qian nodded slightly and said, "This bone comes from a type of demonic beast called the Azure Bone Wolf. This bone should be the middle one of the three vertebrae of this demonic beast."

"I've seen this thing in the Western Regions, so I know its origin."

“Judging from the hardness of the bone, we can tell what level of cultivation the Canggu Wolf that once had this bone was…” Long Qian gently pinched the white bone with her hand, and then made a rough judgment, “The former owner of this bone should have had the strength of the early Foundation Establishment stage.”

The price wasn't mentioned, but Long Qian's conclusion regarding the bone was consistent with the information Han Lu obtained from the Da Yu court.

Long Qian certainly didn't put in any hard work to earn a fortune in just three years.

"So what's the use of this bone? I suppose it's some kind of rare material," Han Lu said, reciting the lines she had prepared beforehand.

She tried to make herself look more like a seller who knew nothing about the rare items she had.

Long Qian said calmly, "It can be used to refine pills that concentrate and strengthen the body, and is quite popular among cultivators who practice external martial arts."

"Therefore, this product has a greater market in the Western Regions."

"And the price?" Han Lu asked quickly, showing her anticipation for what was likely a high figure.

Long Qian pondered for a moment, looked at Han Lu, and then at the courtyard that had temporarily fallen into Han Lu's hands because of the Five Poisons Sect. He then made a decision.

His expression was sincere, and his speech was steady and powerful.

"The item is good and quite rare, but the quality of Han Xianzi's bone is not particularly high."

"Furthermore, this thing has no other use besides making medicine."

"In the Western Regions, this Azure Bone Wolf Bone would sell for ten spirit stones, while in the Central Plains and Southern Frontier, it would probably be worth eleven or twelve spirit stones."

Hearing this, Han Lu was slightly surprised.

To be honest, she didn't know what price these good things she brought back from the Great Yu Dynasty could fetch in the Central Plains.

She could only speculate and price based on the prices set by the Daewoo Dynasty.

In the Great Yu Dynasty, Han Lu spent two spirit stones to obtain the white bone.

Meanwhile, in the Central Plains, hundreds of thousands of miles away, the price of this bone had increased sixfold.

Not only that, this is just the acquisition price.

Han Lu was certain that this relatively rare skeleton of the Azure Bone Wolf could be manipulated by Long Qian and eventually sold for a high price of fourteen or even fifteen spirit stones.

There's no way around it; things are valued for their scarcity.

However, while the price was high, Han Lu had no way of knowing whether it actually sold for that price in the Central Plains.

In fact, she had done some small investigations, but Long Qian was the only cultivator who recognized the origin of the bone.

Looking at the white bones in Long Qian's hand, Han Lu thought to herself, "Never mind, Long Qian is bound to make a profit at this price. As long as I sell the item to him, how much I earn is his business."

The thought, similar to sending compensation to Bai Chi, popped into Han Lu's mind, instantly dispelling her many concerns.

"This thing is so valuable?" Han Lu feigned surprise. "I thought it was just ordinary animal bones, something sold by weight."

"By the way, Fellow Daoist Long, would you like to take this?" Han Lu asked.

Long Qian blurted out, "Stop!"

"But the price..." Long Qian muttered to herself, conflicted.

Clearly, his businessman nature and Han Lu's background made him unsure whether to strike Han Lu's neck with the butcher's knife or cut her in half.

Han Lu was quite straightforward. Seeing Long Qian's reaction, she went along with it and said, "Fellow Daoist Long, if it weren't for you, this thing would definitely still be lying in my storage bag."

"How about I sell it to you for ten spirit stones?"

Han Lu took the initiative to speak, which saved Long Qian the trouble of having to shamelessly haggle over the price.

The price was reasonable, so Long Qian readily agreed.

"You're too kind, Fairy Han. I only did a small favor." As Long Qian spoke, he stuffed the white bone into his storage bag and took out ten spirit stones, placing them on the table.

He may say one thing but do another; a businessman is a businessman after all.

"Fellow Daoist Long is so straightforward," Han Lu said, showing no sign of being upset about being ripped off. Instead, she continued to ask, "Fellow Daoist Long, are those two other items familiar to you?"

Long Qian continued to speak the truth, without deceiving Han Lu in the slightest.

After a brief introduction and the price was given, Han Lu made a slight concession and two more transactions were happily completed.

As for other materials that Long Qian didn't recognize, Han Lu was quite generous; as long as the price seemed right, she would sell them directly to Long Qian.

They accepted everything without hesitation, and in the blink of an eye, the two completed a transaction worth a whopping 550 spirit stones.

Han Lu exchanged some of the materials she bought from the Great Yu Dynasty for a hundred or so spirit stones for a total of 550 spirit stones, which was a great success.

In addition, with the mental barrier removed, future breakthroughs will definitely be much easier.

Long Qian also obtained many rare and valuable items. With careful manipulation, it is quite possible that the materials obtained from exchanging 550 spirit stones could be turned into 800 or even 1,000 spirit stones.

This transaction can be described as a win-win situation.

Chapter 437 Help

The business was a huge success, and in the blink of an eye, it turned into a big deal. Long Qian was secretly delighted, and even the tea, which originally had little flavor, tasted better to him.

Han Lu noticed the expression on Long Qian's face and felt equally delighted, realizing that she had chosen the right path.

Only when the compensation Han Lu provides truly achieves the desired effect can her mental block be cleared more thoroughly.

The collaboration was pleasant, and at Long Qian's suggestion, the two toasted each other with tea instead of wine.

Perhaps because he felt he had taken a great advantage of Han Lu, Long Qian became increasingly polite in his speech.

Long Qian made various promises to Han Lu in his words, hoping to get closer to this female cultivator with a remarkable background.

"Fairy Han, come to my shop tomorrow. If you see anything you like, I'll give you a 20% discount without hesitation."

Han Lu naturally didn't like the things in Long Qian's shop.

However, after hearing what Long Qian said, Han Lu realized that she still had a use for Long Qian.

"Fellow Daoist Long, you've been traveling around these past few years. I've heard you've left your mark in the East Sea, the Central Plains, the Southern Frontier, and the Western Regions?" Han Lu changed the subject. "It's said that quite a few cultivators in those four places have done business with you and know your name?"

Long Qian smiled modestly and said, "It's not that exaggerated. I've just been to all of them and left some small traces. I've gained a little fame thanks to the praise of my peers."

"Then I suppose Fellow Daoist Long has participated in quite a few auctions of this caliber, hasn't he?" Han Lu asked.

Long Qian paused for a moment, then maintained her natural smile and replied, "I've participated a few times occasionally."

Long Qian realized that Han Lu probably had some good job to give him, so he exaggerated a little and answered Han Lu's question.

In fact, Long Qian's fame has only been around for the last few months.

Moreover, his business dealings are mostly small-scale, one-to-one transactions.

This was his first time attending a top-level public auction held in this valley of southern Xinjiang.

Han Lu had investigated Long Qian for a long time before coming to Southern Xinjiang, so she naturally knew that Long Qian was lying to her face, but she could understand why Long Qian was dishonest on this issue.

Han Lu pushed the cup, causing the bright moon in the cup to become blurred by the ripples, before continuing, "Since Fellow Daoist Long is not only knowledgeable but also frequently visits such high-class trading venues, I have a small task I would like to ask of Fellow Daoist Long. I wonder if Fellow Daoist Long would be willing to listen and do another business with me?"

Just as Long Qian had expected, another business opportunity came knocking on his door.

He replied without hesitation, "I'm all ears."

Long Qian had already made up her mind to cling to Han Lu, this "rich woman" with considerable influence.

Han Lu smiled and said, "Good, Fellow Daoist Long is indeed straightforward."

Han Lu then changed her approach to finding the true phoenix blood essence, using a different excuse to tell Long Qian.

She only said that she had obtained a cultivation technique, and that after reaching the Golden Core realm, she could master the divine powers of the True Spirit by fusing the essence and blood of the True Spirit.

However, because this technique has a flaw, it can only integrate the bloodlines of a few true phoenixes besides the Illusionary Phoenix, Fire Phoenix, Fiery Phoenix, and Ice Phoenix.

The conditions were harsh, but Han Lu was thinking that she could cultivate this divine ability as soon as possible after advancing to the Golden Core Realm.

That's why I thought of entrusting Long Qian with this matter, hoping that this capable merchant could keep an eye on the business world and provide Han Lu with any information about the Nascent Soul level Phoenix True Spirit Blood being auctioned or in the hands of any cultivator.

"The information is accurate. I can give you a reward of thirty spirit stones."

"If I succeed, I will receive an additional 300 spirit stones as a bonus."

With her deep pockets, Han Lu was willing to spend money on this matter.

"Since Fairy Han is so generous, I naturally can't be stingy either," Long Qian readily agreed. "I will help Fairy Han keep an eye out, but..."

"Just what?"

"After receiving the news, where should I go to search for the fairy?"

Long Qian was certain that Han Lu had not been cultivating in the Han family for many years, but had a separate immortal abode.

"This..." Han Lu hesitated for only a moment before saying, "Just send the message to the East Mountain Courtyard of the Zhengyi Gate."