Longevity starts with choosing Hextech enhancement

Chapter 214: Xiao Chen is the heir of the hidden Taoist tradition (Happy New Year!)

To be honest, the food and wine at this spiritual medicine banquet were really good.

The workmanship is exquisite, and it can be said that it is full of gold and jade, delicacies from land and sea, and everything in between.

Not only that, the materials used also highlight luxury. All you can see are various third-level spiritual beasts and third-level spiritual materials.

In particular, the top-quality spiritual beasts that are rarely seen in the Eastern Region on a normal day, such as the wild elephant with wild patterns, the golden-crowned squab, the star-shaped sole, etc., have all become dishes.

Just smelling it can make your mouth water.

Take a bite and the fragrance will linger on your lips and teeth.

Compared with the Chen family’s previous New Year’s Eve dinner, it was more than a hundred times more luxurious.

Of course, considering that this was a banquet arranged by Yuanying Zhenjun, everything was easy to understand.

However, there is one bad thing, that is, all the monks present are too polite.

When a dish is served, I only take one bite with my chopsticks at most, never a second time.

Xiao Chen felt sorry when he saw this. Aren’t you guys deliberately wasting food?

Even if we put aside the issue of waste, the monks have a big appetite.

Each person only eats a tiny bit, why are you feeding it to the cat?

It was purely for the sake of saving face, and in the end, no one had enough to eat. This kind of red tape was obviously a bit too much.

The main reason was that no one else was eating, and it was not convenient for Xiao Chen to eat it by himself, otherwise it would attract too much attention.

Another reason why these people don't eat properly is that they are busy chatting with each other.

Some of the more outgoing monks took the lead in introducing themselves, and then went on to inquire about the identities of the other people at the table.

You know what, everyone seems to have some background.

Many people can basically find common acquaintances when they chat with each other.

There were eight people at the table where Xiao Chen was sitting, four of whom were from local families in Nanlaohai and could even be considered distant relatives.

This is not surprising, after all, large families with thousands of people are already deeply intertwined due to intermarriage.

The other two were from Wu Lei Temple, both of whom were foreign affairs elders leading the team.

There was another special person sitting on Xiao Chen’s right. His name was Lu Jingfu and he was from Yuandu Chamber of Commerce.

The Yuandu Chamber of Commerce is a small chamber of commerce, and its main business is to transport different materials between the inner and outer seas.

In the Eastern Region, there are several such small forces.

However, the Yuandu Chamber of Commerce is also quite famous in Nanlaohai. It has dealings with many islands and can basically be regarded as a half-landlord.

"This fellow Taoist really looks unfamiliar."

The one who started the conversation was Lu Lihui, one of the locals. He looked at Xiao Chen and asked, "May I know your name, sir? Where are you from? What sect are you from?"

Ok?
Is this how you greet people here?

His question almost made Xiao Chen think that he was from the Jin family.

Fortunately, he had been prepared before coming, and immediately answered skillfully: "I am Jin Guang San Ren, from the extreme south, without any sect or school, just a first-level casual cultivator."

As soon as these words were spoken, the table fell silent.

When the two foreign affairs elders of Wu Lei Temple heard that he had no sect or affiliation, although they did not show it on their faces, they immediately regarded him as a stranger in their hearts.

If Xiao Chen is telling the truth.

Then the wandering ghosts without any sect have never been the same kind as the famous and upright people like them.

If Xiao Chen is lying and deliberately hiding his background.

That's unfortunate. The master of Wulei Temple practices thunder magic and has always been upright. He hates such secretive people the most.

They are no more the same kind as lying hypocrites.

Lu Lihui and other family monks all smiled without saying a word.

Can a casual cultivator come here?
Who believes it?
At the same time, he became more and more curious, wondering whether Xiao Chen was a hidden master or a rogue who paid a lot of money to get in.

If it's the former, you have to try to win him over; if it's the latter, just recognize him for who he is.

Only Lu Jingfu's focus is different from others.

What he cared about most were the four words "the southernmost land".

The Nanlao Sea is originally located in the south of the Eastern Region. Going further south is the Intermediate Sea where the calamity cultivation is active. After about a million miles, there is the boundless Boundary Sea.

Generally speaking, monks would say that they came from the far west or the far east, and rarely use the term "far south".

At the same time, Lu Jingfu felt that Xiao Chen seemed unusual through his words and actions.

Although he couldn't tell what was wrong at the moment, his instinct, acquired from years of doing business and knowing people, told him that this person might not be simple.

It just so happened that the two of them were sitting close to each other.

Lu Jingfu secretly made up his mind to observe Xiao Chen carefully.

After a brief introduction to each other, Lu Lihui once again took the lead in telling some anecdotes.

It's easy to make everyone smile.

In the middle of the conversation, he even suggested, "Next summer, the Immortal Drunken Wine that my family has been brewing for fifty years will be ready for opening."

"The clan is already preparing to hold a poetry and wine conference to celebrate."

"If you fellow Taoists are free, please take the time to come."

Hou Xingyao of the Hou family beside him heard this and congratulated: "So soon, then I would like to congratulate Brother Lu in advance."

"But speaking of next year, August is the time when the Sword Burial Secret Realm opens."

"Last time, our clan just got four new sword diagrams, and we are planning to go and check them out. If you fellow Taoists or other relatives are interested, you may want to go with us."

The Sword Burial Secret Realm is rich in sword embryos and Yin spirits, and only Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators are allowed to enter.

Sword blanks are excellent materials for forging spiritual swords. It is said that one can occasionally find spiritual swords buried by predecessors.

The Yin Spirit itself contains a large amount of Yin energy, and after killing it, you can obtain the Yin Spirit's Heart.

Since yin gives birth to yang, the heart of a yin spirit is the most yang thing, which is very helpful for practicing thunder magic.

Every time it opens, a large number of sword cultivators and thunder cultivators will go there, making it a small event.

Hou Xingyao's words were mainly directed at the two elders of Wulei Temple.

Because the Sword Burial Secret Realm is located in the Intermediate Sea, it is actually closer to the Black Rock Sea, so there will always be cultivators from the Five Thunder Temple going there to participate.

If we can get in touch in advance, it will be a win-win cooperation.

The two foreign affairs elders were obviously quite interested in this, and their conversation became more enthusiastic.

Everyone comes to such a banquet to expand their network, exchange confidential information, and preferably to directly reach new cooperation.

Not long after, Lu Jingfu also revealed: "We are small businesses, and we can't compare to you fellow Taoists. We don't have those big moves."

"But next month, our Yuandu Chamber of Commerce will launch a new spirit ship."

"I just happened to be planning to hold a tea party on the ship, which would be a way to help the new ship become more popular."

"I'm not planning on having a big celebration. For now, I've only invited a few like-minded people to get together."

"Drinking tea and discussing the Dao, exchanging some experiences in cultivation."

Lu Jingfu spoke very modestly, but in fact he had made it very clear that this was a high-end tea party only for Jindan cultivators to attend.
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The core is in the last sentence, which is to exchange experiences in cultivation.

Generally speaking, famous Jindan Dayuan monks will be invited to discuss the Dao together.

As the saying goes, "A stone from another mountain can polish a jade." Various different ideas of practice are very beneficial to one's own practice.

Everyone will speak as freely as possible, even the storyteller will hold back and hide his or her most core insights.

But sometimes, what seems like basic common sense to one monk may serve as a revelation to another monk.

In addition, the spiritual tea provided in the tea party is most likely top-notch tea that is helpful for enlightenment.

Lu Jingfu's words were rather vague and he deliberately did not introduce these benefits.

For those who know the business, there is no need to explain more.

As for those who don’t understand, it means there is no destiny.

After he finished speaking, he took out a stack of invitations and distributed them one by one, using earnest words and a sincere invitation.

Except for one of the foreign affairs elders who needed to return in time, the others all agreed happily.

"If you don't have any urgent matters, please come and help me bring some popularity to my new ship."

After handing out the invitations one by one, Lu Jingfu took the last one and handed it over with both hands.

"Okay, if I'm free that day, I'll definitely go over and try Daoist Brother Lu's tea."

Xiao Chen did not refuse directly, but accepted the invitation with a smile.

However, when his words fell into the ears of the people around him, they immediately took on several different meanings.

Hou Xingyao's eyes flashed, and there was a hint of teasing in his eyes.

No one really thinks that we are just going there for tea, right?

As a result, he also directly classified Xiao Chen as a scoundrel in his mind, but that was all, and he did not reveal it.

Lu Lihui was confused.

Something is not right. This fellow Daoist Jin Guang is being secretive about his origins.

Did he not attend the tea party, or was he pretending?

Lu Lihui felt a little confused.

However, Lu Jingfu's heart skipped a beat, and he felt that he might have a great opportunity today.

He was close enough and had been paying close attention before, so he could feel that Xiao Chen seemed to have never attended a similar tea party before, so he misunderstood what he meant.

If he wasn't in the City Lord's Mansion today, he would probably have the same idea as Hou Xingyao.

However, the judgment criteria need to be adjusted accordingly depending on the location.

If Xiao Chen was really an ordinary casual cultivator, could he obtain a fourth-level elixir and qualify for admission?

Even if he was lucky, how could he explain taking twenty-two demon pills in one go?

As a businessman, Lu Jingfu saw it very clearly.

When purchasing the demon pill, Xiao Chen's expression was calm, and he did not show much emotion due to the high price of 680,000 spirit stones.

Such concentration is not easy to come by.

If you want to do business well, you have to see what ordinary people can't see, and peel away the layers to find the rough diamonds worth investing in.

Lu Jingfu travels between the inland sea and the open sea all year round and is very knowledgeable.

At this moment, a light bulb went off in his head, and he began to suspect that Jin Guang San Ren was just a fake name.

Xiao Chen’s true identity is most likely the descendant of a hidden Taoist sect in the extreme south, who came here to enter the world.

Of course he is not very sure now, he just has this feeling.

But it doesn’t matter. As long as there is such a possibility, you might as well treat it as true and take the initiative to make friends with the other party.

Once you get familiar with each other, you can always find clues.

If he really is the successor of the hidden Taoist tradition, then that would be a new trade route.

Soon we had three rounds of wine and five dishes.

Everyone had almost finished eating, and the servants removed the dishes and replaced them with fragrant tea.

The spiritual medicine banquet officially began.

The rules were actually quite simple. Everyone took their fourth-tier elixirs out in order of seating, from left to right, and exchanged them with the other cultivators. The first item to appear was a Baixiang Baicao pill.

It is said that after a monk takes it, he can be protected by hundreds of flowers and herbs, and will be immune to all poisons within a hundred years.

If you take the medicine first, even if it is a fourth-level poison, it will be useless.

If you have been poisoned by a fourth-level strange poison, taking it in time before the poison takes effect can save your life.

The many monks around immediately became interested.

Most of them are elites among the Jindan cultivators. Because of this, they value their lives even more and are even more jealous of such life-saving elixirs.

Someone immediately offered a high price of a fourth-level spiritual herb plus 100,000 spiritual stones.

Afterwards, several people started scrambling for it, quickly pushing up the price by more than 100,000 spirit stones.

It’s a pity that Xiao Chen didn’t need it much, so he didn’t participate in the competition.

Most of the pills he found were relatively common, and he wasn't very interested in them.

When it was Gao Changgeng's turn halfway through, he stretched out his hand and raised a Zhenyuan Juying Pill.

This is a spiritual medicine that can help a cultivator break through his level and increase his chances of forming a fetus by 20%.

Logically speaking, it should never appear here.

Even City Lord Huo in the pavilion was a little surprised by this.

Then everyone heard Gao Changgeng loudly state his conditions: "The True Essence Gathering Infant Pill will help you break through the Nascent Soul stage. I don't need to explain anything else."

"Exchange for secret techniques or precious medicine that can help me cultivate my spiritual body."

"I have dual spiritual roots of water and wood, so I can take any path."

As soon as the words fell, all the monks present suddenly understood.

What follows is genuine envy and jealousy.

The Zhaixing Sword Pavilion was truly generous, willing to offer the possibility of advancement to the Nascent Soul stage just to help their chief disciple in exchange for a suitable spiritual medicine.

This is too luxurious!

Someone immediately asked, "Fellow Daoist Gao, if you don't have the secret technique of the spiritual body, can you exchange it with something else?"

Gao Changgeng shook his head: "I don't lack anything else."

Another person immediately shouted, "Fellow Daoist Gao, I'm willing to give you a Green Lotus Transformation Pill and two million spirit stones!"

When such a high offer was made, the whole audience fell silent.

Many people secretly gasped. Two million spirit stones was not a small amount. Even for everyone present, it was a huge sum of money.

However, Gao Changgeng glanced at him coldly: "Have you drunk too much?"

"Do you think I'd be short of something like the Qinglian Huasheng Pill?"

"If I want to use the Qinglian Huasheng Pill, do I need to look for you?"

Three consecutive questions made the monk opposite him blush, but he gritted his teeth and sat back in embarrassment.

Gao Changgeng was someone he couldn't afford to offend, so there was no point in saying harsh words at this time, so he could only keep it in his heart.

The other monks also began to whisper, some secretly mocking, while others were amazed and envious.

After all, for many people, a Dharma body is a coveted good thing, but I didn’t expect that others would look down on it.

But in the end, no one could come up with anything corresponding.

Cultivating a spiritual body is an extremely difficult task, otherwise the Star-Picking Sword Pavilion would have helped solve it long ago.

Gao Changgeng came here today to try his luck, but it was obvious that his luck was not good enough.
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There were still a few ordinary pills in the middle.

Soon it was Wen Ruoxi's turn at the next table. She gently held up a fourth-level resurrection pill with her delicate hands.

This is an advanced version of the Jiuyao Xuandan, which can greatly enhance the strength of the cultivator's true essence.

Especially for Jindan cultivators, one pill can be ten times more effective than Jiuyao Xuandan.

Not only that, for some cultivators who have already taken thirty-six Nine-Light Mysterious Pills and will see almost no improvement if they take more, the Fourth-Turn Huanyang Pill is even more valuable.

Then Wen Ruoxi said softly, "I hope to use this elixir in exchange for a treasure that can protect me. The more powerful the better."

"If the value is not enough, you can still make up for it with other spiritual objects. I will definitely not let you suffer any loss."

Her request was quite normal, and it caught the attention of many monks.

It’s just a life-saving magic item, everyone here has one or two.

Someone immediately shouted, "I am willing to offer a third-class defensive talisman and two hundred thousand spirit stones."

Talisman?

What is this?
Xiao Chen also perked up. It didn't matter if he encountered something unfamiliar. One of the purposes of his coming here tonight was to broaden his horizons.

He glanced around.

The Taoist friend from the Five Thunders Temple on the left seems to be difficult to talk to.

So he turned his head to the right and asked, "Fellow Daoist Lu, I wonder what this talisman is?"

Although Xiao Chen's voice was not loud, the people around him still heard it.

Hou Xingyao laughed inwardly.

Lu Lihui frowned slightly. He had never even heard of Fu Bao?

Instead, Lu Jingfu smiled and explained in a low voice: "Above the magic weapon is the spiritual weapon, and above the spiritual weapon is the magic weapon."

"The so-called talisman treasure is a special treasure imitated by the master of talismans with reference to magic weapons."

"Depending on the materials and technology, it possesses some of the power of a magic weapon."

"Every rank before its name represents 10% of the power of the original magic weapon."

"Also, since they originate from the Dao of Talismans, they are ultimately consumables. Talismans have a limited number of uses, and they are often very powerful the first few times, but only a fraction as powerful the next few times."

"Most talismans are always better than ordinary spiritual weapons."

"Those top-level spiritual weapons that consume three or four hundred true essences to activate are only about as powerful as fifth-grade talismans."

Lu Jingfu's explanation was extremely detailed, as if Xiao Chen was a newcomer who had been practicing in seclusion for many years and had just arrived in the Eastern Region.

"I see. Thank you, Fellow Daoist Lu, for clarifying my doubts."

"Fellow Daoist Xiao, there's no need to be polite with me. I've always loved being a teacher, and I'm always eager for someone to ask me questions."

It was during the time when Lu Jingfu was explaining it.

On the other side, someone had already offered a higher price: "I can provide a straw man to take my place, but you have to pay me 400,000 spirit stones."

Ok?
He actually dared to ask Wen Ruoxi to pay back the money. What kind of person is this?

Xiao Chen turned around and asked, "Fellow Daoist Lu, may I ask what this straw man is?"

Hearing him ask the question again, the Wu Lei Temple's external affairs elder on the left did not say anything, but moved a little further away.

Lu Lihui finally confirmed that Xiao Chen in front of him was a guy who had sneaked in by luck.

After all, the transaction was already halfway through, but the other party never opened his mouth to participate in the transaction. Instead, he only asked questions here and there about things that seemed almost common sense.

In other words, Lu Jingfu is a businessman and has the time to bother with the other party.

What a pity, a valuable seat was wasted.

If we replace him with a valuable cultivator, perhaps we can invite another distinguished guest to the Lu family's poetry and wine conference next year.

But if a guy like this who knows nothing really goes there, he can just be sent away with a jar of wine.

However, Lu Jingfu's eyes were bright and he couldn't help cheering in his heart.

He is now 70% sure that Xiao Chen is the hidden successor.

The reason for his inference was precisely because Xiao Chen did not know a lot of information.

If he was a Jindan cultivator who grew up in the Eastern Region, how could he be so lacking in information?
Xiao Chen seems to know nothing, but he is financially wealthy. What does this mean?
This means that he is most likely not from the Eastern Region, but grew up in some remote place.

Thinking of this, Lu Jingfu's smile became three times more genuine: "It is said that the straw man is a secret treasure, refined by the ancient hidden Taoist Yuchen Sect."

"The straw man itself is only seven inches in size. It requires the cultivator to divide his blood and essence to cultivate it. At the same time, it must be carried on the person and cannot be placed in a storage device."

"It can be activated proactively, and it will also take effect automatically when the monk suffers a fatal attack."

"Rumor has it that not only can it block a fatal blow on behalf of a monk, but any injuries, poisons, and curses the monk has previously suffered will also be replaced by the straw man."

"It's equivalent to blocking a life-or-death catastrophe."

"But I won't hide it from you, fellow Daoist. These are just rumors among friends, and I don't really know the specifics."

Lu Jingfu made a special explanation at the end to prevent misunderstanding.

At the same time, he was still very detailed and patient in his explanations, and it could be said that he told us almost everything he knew.

"Thank you again, Fellow Daoist Lu, for clearing up my doubts. I never thought there would be such a rare thing in the world."

Xiao Chen looked up at the straw man not far away. The cultivator had already reached a deal with Wen Ruoxi and was exchanging items.

The straw man really looked only seven inches long, and its surface was rough, making it look inconspicuous.

It would be hard for uninformed cultivators to imagine that such a villain could actually have the ability to save lives. He is indeed a hidden Taoist tradition passed down from ancient times.

Good stuff, he wants it too.

Although Xiao Chen already has the Night's Edge Blade, who would complain about having too many life-saving items?

But it doesn’t matter. Now that I know there are similar things, I’ll just pay more attention to them in the future.

What is meant to come will come, and you can’t escape it.

Besides, he had already remembered that this thing came from the Yuchen Sect.

The transaction continues.

When it was Xiao Chen's turn, his request was simple: "I hope to use this Immortal Soul-Soothing Pill to exchange for a Mutant Demon Pill."

Still want demon pills?

Now it was Lu Jingfu's turn to be surprised.

Xiao Chen had already obtained twenty-two demon pills before, so why does it sound like he still needs a lot?

Is this reasonable?

But soon, he figured out the mystery.

Ordinary cultivators will not need a large number of demon pills in a short period of time. Even if they want to refine them, they often need to take one pill every few dozen days.

Only the descendants of the hidden Taoist tradition have different needs from normal cultivators.

That’s right!
Lu Jingfu speculated that Xiao Chen could either use the demon pill to create an important inherited spiritual object.

Or there is some secret method that can quickly absorb the demon pill, and very, very quickly, perhaps one pill will be consumed in two or three days.

Or you could simply be tasked with collecting demon pills, and need to help the Taoist sect collect enough demon pills to bring back.

Only in this way would he be in such great demand.

Lu Jingfu could even guess from this that Xiao Chen's combat power was probably so terrifying that the elders in his sect sent him out without any worries.

He is now 90% sure that Xiao Chen is the successor of the hidden Taoist tradition.

I’ve come to the right place to attend the Spiritual Medicine Banquet today.

Next, he must win over Xiao Chen to his side.

A brand new trade route is right before our eyes, and this opportunity must not be missed.

　Tonight is New Year’s Eve. I wish you all to get rid of the old and welcome the new, and be happy and healthy in the coming year!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)