Cultivation: Being Immortal

Shenmu City in Zhongzhou

Lin Jiang looked at the large barrel in front of him. He thought it was big enough for him to take a bath, but now the barrel was filled with green liquid. This liquid was refined according to the formula published by Yang Luo.

"Before Yang Luo revealed the recipe, gathering all these materials only required around thirty thousand spirit stones, which wasn’t expensive. But now, it needs almost five hundred thousand, skyrocketing by more than ten times."

Lin Jiang said that the prices of these spirit liquid materials didn’t all surge at the same time. Some increased by a few percentages, others by two or three times, and only a few materials surged by tens of times. However, overall, it surged by more than ten times.

"Brother, quickly put the magic treasure in!"

"Alright, let’s give it a try."

Lin Jiang nodded and summoned his trusted magic treasure, then placed it into the wooden barrel.

"How is it? Any feelings?"

"Yes."

"My trusted magic treasure tells me that this spirit liquid is missing something, like sacrificing a bird to bless the flag. Maybe the effect will be even better."

"Ah, brother, please don’t play jokes with me."

"It’s you who played a joke on me. It hasn’t been long since I put it in, and I don’t feel anything. Yang Luo clearly said that the Internal and External Refining Method requires perseverance."

Lin Jiang rolled his eyes. Yang Luo clearly explained it in the jade slip. This liquid made from such materials can be absorbed by a magic treasure for about a month. After a month, it needs to be refined using the Internal Refining Method. Each external refining needs to be done with an interval of at least three months, which means that under extreme circumstances, it can be done three times a year.

One time costs 500,000 spirit stones, three times a year, which means a total of 1.5 million spirit stones. It may not seem like a lot, but both golden cores and Nascent Soul can be afforded by many people.

But if the timeline is extended, this investment will require decades, hundreds of years, even thousands of years of dedication. It becomes something that only major powers or people with strong backgrounds can afford. Invisibly, it screens out the majority of people.

The reason why various materials are now skyrocketing in price is because most people still feel excited and lucky, thinking that by refining the best-quality magic treasure ten or eight times, they might be able to create an Item Spirit and become a spiritual treasure.

Once they have all tried and failed, most people’s interest will fade away, and naturally, the prices will fall.

"Brother, do you want to give your personal magic treasure a name? It will sound more domineering."

"Yes, it needs a name. Otherwise, how about calling it Big Badass?"

"Oh no, when you hold the sword like this, it feels like you’re holding my sister. Not good, not good."

"Hahaha."

"How about calling it the ‘Overlord Heaven’? When you hold the sword like that, it’s like you’re holding your father."

"Come closer, I’ll tell you a secret."

Lin Jiang’s expression first stiffened, then he said to Small Shadiao, who wasn’t dumb at all. No way, I’m not getting any closer!

"What should I call it?"

Lin Jiang stopped joking with Small Shadiao and started seriously thinking.

In that moment, names like Gan Jiang Mo Ye, Chun Jun Cheng Ying, and Qi Xing Long Yuan came to Lin Jiang’s mind. After all, these names were too familiar and had a powerful aura, clearly the names of legendary swords.

"How about getting some attention by piggybacking on the hype?"

Lin Jiang was a bit hesitant and decided to take a shortcut to save energy when thinking of a name. After all, he wasn’t good at coming up with names.

······

Outside Shenmu City, in the black market, two naked women were fighting on a stage. Their abilities were sealed, and they had no weapons, just their bare hands.

Due to the intense movements, both of them were sweating profusely. The intense sensory stimulation made the people around them feel overwhelmed with hormones. In some private rooms, people couldn’t wait to take advantage of the maids beside them.

Bai Yu watched the fighting performance in front of him, feeling a bit speechless. It wasn’t that it wasn’t exciting enough, but he had seen too much and it didn’t have the same impact anymore. After all, even the most delicious food can become ordinary if you have it too often.

"Brother Bai, is it not intense enough?"

The person next to Bai Yu said, with a flattering smile.

"If it’s only this level of novelty, don’t bother looking for me in the future. My money isn’t that easy to earn."

Bai Yu said, which made the people around him apologize repeatedly and promise to arrange better entertainment.

"Forget it, bring those two people to my room tonight."

Bai Yu finally waved his hand, and the people around him quickly indicated that there was no problem.

After the people left, Bai Yu showed a hint of disdain towards them. In fact, there were quite a few people surrounding him, as everyone knew he was rich. Being a fourth-tier modern Talisman Maker, his income was high, not to mention his status as a personal disciple of the Holy Heavenly Sect.

The most important thing was that Bai Yu loved to play. If he were a cultivator solely focused on cultivation, he wouldn’t have so many people around him. Such people lacked interest, and it was difficult to make money from them, which had high costs.

This is called "flies don’t bite seamless eggs." Bai Yu exposed some flaws in his personality, which attracted many people to follow him.

As for Bai Yu, he enjoyed being pursued by these people. He came from a poor background and had never really indulged himself. These people could bring him a strong sense of excitement, which he happily enjoyed. As for money, he didn’t care much because he had ways to earn it.

After two hours, the fights on the arena would end, and there would be new programs. Sometimes it would be fights between men and women, other times it would be fights between women and monsters, and occasionally there would be more explicit content.

These programs are not allowed within Shenmu City, so they are all arranged in the black market. As for the other content in the black market, it’s available in abundance. They can do anything you can imagine.

While Bai Yu was enjoying himself in a room in the black market, several men in black robes met on the other side of the black market.

"Is everything arranged?"

"It’s all arranged, two women, enough for that fat guy to enjoy."

"How is the investigation going inside the city?"

"It has been investigated and cleared. The person surnamed Yun, who was previously heavily purchasing spiritual liquid materials in the Shenmu Sect territory, conspired with the fat guy. They stockpiled materials in advance, and for the past six months, they have been selling them gradually. It’s estimated that they have made at least a few billion spirit stones."

"So many?"

"Only more, not less."

One of them said that the person surnamed Yun is resourceful, and they haven’t been able to fully investigate him. They can only estimate that several billion spirit stones is a conservative number.

"Indeed, it’s only more, not less. In these six months, the fat guy has spread over billions of spirit stones in the black market. We initially wanted to use the casino to exploit him, but the fat guy isn’t interested in that. He only cares about good food and women."

"Such a fat lamb. Can that person surnamed Yun handle him?"

"Difficult, those two brothers are experienced individuals. We’ve tried several times but they refuse to fight back. Our spies have suffered losses, and his brother has connections with the underground intelligence. It’s not easy to take action against them."

"Can we wait until he leaves the city and then attack forcefully?"

"Opportunities are scarce. He rarely leaves the city and lives a simple life. Besides practicing, drawing symbols, and attending Talisman Maker gatherings, he only spends time at Little Red Pavilion with his chubby friend."

"It would be such a waste not to have a share of this big prize."

The man said that facing such a disciplined person, they had no way to deal with him either.

"Let’s put that aside for now. If Chubby can handle it, it’s already good enough. He’s grown tired of our tricks, so I suggest taking direct action."

"Do they agree with that?"

"Yes, they do. Holy Heavenly Sect has been acting too arrogantly this time, wanting to claim all the benefits. Can’t we touch Yang Luo or even Chubby?"

"Alright, how should we arrange things from above?"

"We take action, but the people above won’t show up. After the matter is done, the ones who took action will leave Shenmu City and not come back. They have other arrangements somewhere else. The people above will be responsible for investigating the Holy Heavenly Sect and making sure all traces are wiped clean."

"Alright, one hour later, I will send two women to the fat man Bai. I will add some special ingredients. You arrange for people to wait outside the black market and take action when he leaves."

"Alright, let’s arrange it that way."

A few people nodded and quickly left.

······

In the middle of the night, Bai Yu took a break, and someone delivered a large amount of spiritual food outside the door. Eating was an important practice method for Bai Yu, so every day, he had to eat five or six times or more. Either eating or on the way to eat.

"Wait a moment, leave them behind too."

Looking at the maid who brought a large amount of spiritual food, Bai Yu suddenly said to someone beside him, pointing to two maids at random.

These two maids were twin sisters, almost identical in appearance, and they had a kind of pitiable charm. Bai Yu liked this kind the most. Tonight, he couldn’t spare them and would ravage them thoroughly.

Upon hearing this, the two women instantly showed a terrified expression. After all, Bai Yu was really fat, like a wall of flesh. They were afraid of being crushed to death.

The more frightened the two women became, the more excited Bai Yu was. Someone beside him mentioned a number, and Bai Yu agreed without hesitation. It was just the price of two level-four New Style Talismans. Money was not a problem for him.

The maid was forced to stay, while Bai Yu quickly devoured the spiritual meal. Then, a hungry eagle swooped down on a little chicken.

"Boom!"

However, one hour later, a loud noise resounded through the room, followed by Bai Yu’s furious shouting.