The Long Journey to Immortality

Naturally, when Han Lu and her two companions were looking for such rare, exotic, and popular items, they prioritized visiting the two "chain stores" located on Xuan Turtle Island.

The two shops, one named Dongweng Shop and the other Xiange, are both business guilds established by independent cultivators from the East China Sea who love commerce countless years ago.

Because it opened early and has a great reputation, Xiange ranks first in the business circle of Donghai.

Dongweng Shop has seen a surge in growth in recent years, thanks to its current leader being a powerful Nascent Soul cultivator who frequently brings high-end goods into the shop for sale. As a result, it has stood out from the smaller merchant guilds and is showing signs of becoming the second largest.

Since the three were newcomers, they naturally followed the reputation and visited the Immortal Pavilion first.

With their cultivation levels already established, the three of them entered the Immortal Pavilion and were immediately treated as honored guests, with special arrangements made for their hospitality.

After the servant responsible for receiving Han Lu and the other two learned that they were all Golden Core cultivators, the small shop of the Immortal Pavilion on Xuan Turtle Island gave them certain preferential treatment. A higher-level manager was invited out to handle this big deal, which was likely worth thousands or tens of thousands of spirit stones.

The three explained their purpose, and soon received a clear response.

Upon hearing that they were in the business of selling beast cores, the person in charge of the Immortal Pavilion couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed.

"Three seniors."

"Our shop is small and business is so-so, we don't have such good stuff."

"High-grade beast cores are hard to find. Even the main store might only have one available for sale every five or six years. Sometimes, the beast core is even taken away by someone at a high price before it is even put on the shelf."

"In half a month, there may be an auction of such top-grade cultivation materials on the Dragon Head Islands."

"If the three seniors have enough spirit stones in their pockets, they might as well go and take a look there."

"Perhaps we can bid for one by spending 170,000 or 180,000 spirit stones."

The price of this top-grade beast core was higher than Han Lu had imagined.

[Author's Note] It's quite difficult to find a woman to settle down with.

Chapter 813 Taking a Different Approach

Upon hearing the high price, Han Lu and the other two all changed their expressions.

Yi Qiyan, the person who wanted to buy the high-grade beast core, had a drastic change in expression.

Wen Erya, the wealthy advisor, had a slightly changed expression.

Han Lu, the particularly wealthy advisor, had the calmest reaction. Apart from a slight change in expression, she was more shocked by the high price than by the fact that she couldn't afford it.

"How can it be so expensive?" Han Lu asked, puzzled by the significant difference between the price and her estimate. "I once attended an auction where a mid-grade beast core only sold for 20,000 spirit stones. This high-grade beast core is almost ten times the price of a mid-grade golden core?"

Upon hearing Han Lu describe the enormous fortune of "20,000 spirit stones" with the words "only," the manager of the Immortal Pavilion knew that he had encountered a "rich woman" this time.

Based on the attitude that "wealthy customers are all Nascent Soul cultivators," the manager explained the pricing logic to Han Lu.

"Judging from your accents, you must be seniors from the Central Plains," the steward reasonably guessed. "No wonder you don't know the price of the East Sea Beast Pill."

"Let me explain this to you three seniors. I hope you will patronize our business later."

These words were merely polite and purely business-like. The manager was not naive enough to think that he could secure business worth thousands or tens of thousands of spirit stones by explaining one or two questions.

To explain such an outrageous transaction price, we naturally need to first discuss the difference between mid-grade and high-grade beast cores.

Beast cores have a market among cultivators, partly because they can be used in medicine to make numerous pills that help accelerate the cultivation speed of Golden Core cultivators.

The main reason is that Foundation Establishment cultivators can advance to the Golden Core realm by refining beast cores, even if their talent is insufficient to form a false core.

If you're lucky, you might even be able to comprehend one or two magical abilities of a demon beast through the beast core you "snatched".

Although this method of advancing to the Golden Core realm lacks both strength and potential, it is still enough to cultivate a Golden Core cultivator with substantial investment.

There is only a 30% chance of successfully refining a low-grade beast core to advance to the Golden Core realm. Moreover, after advancing to the Golden Core realm, the cultivator's supernatural abilities are not much higher than those of a pseudo-Golden Core cultivator.

Mid-grade beast pills are slightly better; with the right method, there's a 60% chance of success.

Not only is the success rate high, but cultivators who advance to the Golden Core realm with mid-grade beast cores are almost as powerful as ordinary Golden Core cultivators.

If the quality of the beast core used for core formation is slightly higher, it can leave a glimmer of hope for cultivators who form their core in this way to advance to the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm.

Using a high-grade beast core to perform a secret technique for core formation not only guarantees a 100% success rate, but cultivators who form their cores in this way may even have a slight chance of advancing to the late Golden Core stage or even stabilizing their Nascent Soul stage.

Moreover, using a high-grade beast core to form a core has a 90% chance of allowing the core-forming cultivator to comprehend the true spirit, demonic beast, or spiritual beast's supernatural abilities, thereby enhancing their combat power.

By this calculation, a "mediocre" cultivator who can form a high-grade beast core is even more capable and promising than many cultivators who can form a false core on their own.

After the steward explained the reasons in detail, Han Lu and the other two naturally understood why top-grade beast cores were so expensive.

These superior effects compared to the other two types of "low-grade beast pills," along with their extreme rarity, have driven up the price of "high-grade beast pills," to the point that it takes about eight or nine mid-grade beast pills to equal one high-grade beast pill.

With no money in her pocket, Yi Qiyan completely gave up the idea of ​​"finding a top-grade golden pill as a protective charm".

Although she was the former Holy Maiden of the Five Poisons Sect, the Five Poisons Sect was not wealthy to begin with.

Although she possessed all the magical treasures and elixirs she needed in her early stages, she was still quite simple.

However, in terms of spirit stones alone, she only had a little over five thousand in her storage bag.

While this number is not small, it is still far from the price of a top-grade Golden Elixir.

And what about Han Lu and Wen Erya?

Although the two were wealthy, they did not have the habit of hoarding spirit stones.

If I gather all the spirit stones in my storage bag, I should be able to buy one or two mid-grade beast cores.

After all, no one possesses the secret technique of "throwing the world away," and cannot win a battle by smashing spirit stones into someone. There is absolutely no need to carry too many of these things on one's person.

For the three of them, acquiring a high-grade beast core through an auction via legitimate means was virtually impossible.

Yi Qiyan fell into deep thought, pondering what she should do.

Wen Erya then spoke up, making some requests and asking the manager of the Immortal Pavilion if they were available for sale, mentioning the names of some spiritual plants and materials.

Some things are available, some are not.

Although the business with Wen Erya is not as huge as that of "superior beast pills", it is still profitable.

He summoned servants to serve tea to Han Lu and the other two, while he himself went to the storeroom to retrieve all the materials that Wen Erya wanted.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the steward, who was only at the eighth level of Qi Refining, returned with a storage bag.

The Immortal Pavilion has good stuff, and Wen Erya is indeed looking for some resources that are not common in the Central Plains.

After a little selection, the deal was completed for a mere 1,800 spirit stones.

Just as the manager was about to strike up a conversation and ask Han Lu and Yi Qiyan if they were looking for any resources, Yi Qiyan suddenly remembered the "superior-grade beast core" and asked another question.

"Manager, the monsters and spirit beasts in that area of ​​the East Sea are more powerful, and it's easier to find high-grade beast cores there."

Upon hearing this question, the manager of the Immortal Pavilion hesitated for a moment before kindly advising, "Three seniors, although I do not know how powerful your supernatural abilities are or how prestigious you are in the Central Plains."

"However, I must remind you that there are many powerful demonic beasts and spirit beasts in the East Sea, and even many true spirits are active here."

"In particular, most of the demonic beasts and spirit beasts that have reached the Golden Core Realm can transform into human form, and many of them even live on the three major islands."

"Not to mention those demonic beasts and spirit beasts that formed high-grade golden cores during their core formation, most of which are able to defeat cultivators even if they are in different realms."

"Even if the three seniors join forces, they may not be able to defeat the opponent, and they may even get injured or lose their lives."

"Not to mention that if the monster or spirit beast you kill is someone with a powerful background, you'll get into a lot of trouble."

"So... please don't think I'm being nosy, seniors."

The manager of the Immortal Pavilion clearly explained his advice, but when he gave his final suggestion, he only said half of it to avoid offending Han Lu and the other two.

With such awareness even in a manager, it's no wonder that the Immortal Pavilion's business has grown so large and powerful.

Han Lu and the other two naturally understood the hidden meaning in the Immortal Pavilion manager's words.

"I understand what you mean, shopkeeper, but could you please point out where in the East Sea I can find top-grade Golden Elixir?" Han Lu spoke frankly, showing no fear of danger.

This time, the manager did not hesitate. He took out a nautical chart, pointed out the general route to Han Lu and the other two.

Chapter 814 The Instigator

Just like the situation in the wilderness.

In the East Sea, true spirits, demon beasts, and spirit beasts also have their own designated areas of activity.

Apart from a small number of alien races at the Transformation Realm level who actively integrate into the human race, the vast majority of True Spirits and magical beasts still only operate within their own territories.

Since the goal is to obtain high-grade beast cores, the natural approach is to look for ways to obtain true spirits and high-level magical beasts with outstanding talents.

The manager of the Immortal Pavilion pointed out these dangerous places to Han Lu and the other two.

The manager of the Immortal Pavilion was, after all, a local of the East Sea, and was much more familiar with the situation in the East Sea than Daoist Xuanfeng.

The sea chart in his hand, drawn by the Immortal Pavilion, was not only more detailed and complete than the East China Sea charts collected by Xuanfeng Daoist or the three of them, but it also pointed out many places that Xuanfeng Daoist had not provided and that were missing.

Even though Han Lu and her two companions didn't follow the manager's instructions to actively cause trouble for the East Sea monsters, they still managed to gain something in just a few moments.

Hearing Han Lu's question, Yi Qiyan looked ashamed.

She was unwilling to put her friend in danger for her own sake.

After hesitating for a moment, she did not immediately use telepathy to stop Han Lu. Instead, she waited until Han Lu had found out the situation and the three of them left together before she spoke up to express her thoughts.

"Han Lu, there's no need for you to take such a big risk for me."

Yi Qiyan looked worried, fearing that Han Lu might actually decide to go to those dangerous areas on the nautical chart for her sake.

Han Lu knew what was going on, but simply smiled and said, "It's just an idea for now. I'll consider your feelings."

Without explicitly stating her decision, Yi Qiyan, who knew Han Lu well, could naturally guess what Han Lu was thinking.

Although it was her business, she had no right to interfere with Han Lu's wishes. She could only secretly blame herself for coming up with such a "bad idea".

Wen Erya's thoughts were similar to Han Lu's.

Both of them were ambitious cultivators.

In the context of spiritual practice, this translates to being courageous, enterprising, and diligent in one's practice.

When traveling, it means being fearless of danger and having an adventurous spirit.

Although she was willing to go through this with Han Lu in her heart, Wen Er Ya still had to act as a peacemaker in her words.

Since directly stating that it did not suit her wishes, Wen Erya chose another method.

"Yi Qiyan, how about we change the gift?"