No hope for eternal life

"This study is not only the largest, best and most reputable study in Nansha City, but also a chain of several branches. There is a Wanling Study in every city above the county level south of the Huanglong River." Hou Jun introduced diligently.

Mu Changsheng was delighted when he heard this. This way, he would definitely be able to buy Yu Daoling's version of the practice essay. He immediately stepped into the study and said, "Let's go."

As soon as Mu Changsheng entered the door of the study, he saw a red light on beside him. Seeing that Mu Changsheng was a little puzzled, Hou Jun beside him quickly explained: "The door of this study can detect the cultivation level of the cultivators entering. The number of lights on represents the cultivation level of the cultivators."

Hou Jun, like Mu Changsheng, was still at the initial stage of Qi Refining, so only one lamp was lit.

After the red light came on, a beautiful woman came to greet him and said, "I am Xiaolian, the receptionist of the study. The books in this study are divided into four categories: cultivation, secret arts, historical records, and miscellaneous. What kind of books do you need?"

"Practice type." Mu Changsheng answered, thinking that it was indeed a chain of large bookstores that even sold secret techniques. However, the slightly better secret techniques were very expensive, and even if he had nearly a hundred mid-grade spirit stones in his hand, it was not enough.

"Sir, please follow me to the third floor." Xiaolian said with a smile. The design of the study is that the first floor is for miscellaneous books, the second floor is for historical records, the third floor is for spiritual practice, and the fourth floor is for esoteric arts. The higher the book is, the more precious it is.

After arriving at the third floor, the receptionist Xiaolian took the initiative to ask: "Sir, do you have a book title in mind? I can help you find it."

"I want Yu Daoling's version of Cultivation Essays." Mu Changsheng reported the title of the book.

"Sir, you have a good eye. This book is the most popular among all the books on cultivation nowadays." Xiaolian praised him first, and then said, "Sir, wait a moment. I will get it for you right away."

A moment ago, the receptionist Xiaolian returned with two books, one thin and one thick, and explained: "Here are the simplified version and the original version. According to the rules of the study, with your cultivation level, you can browse the original version in half an hour. I wonder which one you want to read."

"The original." Mu Changsheng replied. The quality of the simplified version was really hard to describe. If you could read the original, you should naturally read the original. At this time, the disadvantage of low cultivation level turned into an advantage. If you were a cultivator of a higher level, you would definitely have less time to read it.

The receptionist Xiaolian immediately handed the original to Mu Changsheng and said, "Please pay attention to the time, young master."

Mu Changsheng began to read the book immediately. The book did not involve any secret techniques. It was mainly about the experience of practicing in various realms, as well as precautions and so on.

Half a quarter of an hour later, Xiaolian reminded: "Sir, the time is up."

Upon hearing this, Mu Changsheng returned the book to the other party, but his brows were slightly furrowed. Many of the viewpoints in the book were recognized by the Nine Realms and were not new. Perhaps the greater the expectations, the greater the disappointment. He did not see any amazing content in the book, but instead felt it was a bit mediocre.

Following the principle of asking questions when you don't understand, Mu Changsheng asked the receptionist Xiaolian: "Why is Yu Daoling's version of the practice essay so popular?"

"My lord, you don't know this." Xiaolian smiled and said, "The value of this book is not in its content, but in its author. This Senior Yu Daoling is a genuine ninth-level cultivator in the Tianshui Realm."

"Ninth Realm cultivator!" Mu Changsheng was shocked. That was the pinnacle of the Nine Realms. In the Tianshuang Realm where he was, only the legendary Sect Master Xiao of the Lingshan Sect in the north and Emperor Tianku had reached that realm.

At this moment, Mu Changsheng finally understood why this practice essay was so popular, and sighed: "It's no wonder that a practice essay written by a cultivator in the ninth realm is so popular."

However, Mu Changsheng frowned again. He could understand others following the trend to collect essays of Nine Realm cultivators, but in his eyes, Yang Wuque should not be such a person. Then why did Yang Wuque specifically ask him to buy this book?

Just like he couldn't understand why Yang Wuque wanted to cooperate with Shatongmo to mine gold and silver stone concentrate, Mu Changsheng thought about it for a long time but couldn't figure out the connection. Also out of trust in Yang Wuque, Mu Changsheng decided to buy the book.

So Mu Changsheng asked: "How much does this book cost?"

"One thousand low-grade spirit stones. Sorry, we do not accept bargaining." Xiaolian replied with a smile.

Mu Changsheng's mouth twitched. Even though he had guessed that the book was worth a lot of money, he still felt a little distressed by the price. This book was comparable to a special-grade foundation-building pill. Fortunately, Yang Wuque gave him more than enough spirit stones.

Mu Changsheng directly took out all the remaining 92 middle-grade spirit stones on him and said, "Please help me exchange all these middle-grade spirit stones for low-grade spirit stones, and then deduct the 1,000 low-grade spirit stones."

On the way here, Mu Changsheng had already asked Hou Jun. Any larger shop could exchange high-grade spirit stones for low-grade spirit stones, and there would be a certain premium when exchanging high-grade spirit stones for low-grade spirit stones.

Mu Changsheng felt that he had been using mid-grade spirit stones as low-grade spirit stones, which was a bit of a waste, so he took this opportunity to replace them all with low-grade spirit stones.

The receptionist Xiaolian did not expect that Mu Changsheng, a cultivator in the Qi Refining Realm, would take out so many mid-grade spirit stones at once. She was slightly surprised and said, "The ratio of mid-grade spirit stones to low-grade spirit stones in this hall is one to one hundred and one. I hope you have no objection, young master."

"No problem." Mu Changsheng said readily. This way, he would have an extra ninety-two low-grade spirit stones.

"Please wait a moment, sir. I don't have so many low-grade spirit stones on me at the moment. I will go and get them for you right away." Xiaolian bowed and said.

"Well, go quickly and come back soon." Mu Changsheng nodded. The other party had such a big shop, so he naturally wouldn't worry that the other party would embezzle his little spiritual stones.

In a short while, Xiaolian turned back again. After deducting one thousand low-grade spirit stones, there were still eight thousand two hundred and ninety-two low-grade spirit stones left. This was all Mu Changsheng's wealth now. The spiritual grains he had brought with him had been used up.

Having obtained the book, Mu Changsheng immediately went downstairs and walked out of the study, and once again instructed Hou Jun beside him: "Please take me to the best medicine shop in Nansha City."

Hou Jun said respectfully: "Don't worry, sir. The best medicine shop in this city is right next to Wanling Study."

Before he knew it, Mu Changsheng arrived at the best medicine shop in Nansha City, which was called Zidan Pavilion.

Mu Changsheng walked into the Zidan Pavilion, but this time there was no red light to test the cultivation level. After all, this place only sold elixirs, and did not care about the buyer's cultivation level.

"Welcome to Zidan Pavilion." A waiter saw someone coming and hurried over to bow and say.

Looking at the servant, Mu Changsheng said in surprise: "Why are you here?"

He didn't expect that he would meet an acquaintance here.

The waiter suddenly looked up when he heard this, and it was none other than Mu Xun, who lived next door to Mu Changsheng's house. Mu Xun felt very upset at this moment, he did not expect that after running so far and reaching Nansha City, he would actually meet Mu Changsheng. Mu Changsheng was definitely the person he least wanted to meet at the moment.

"I'm working, don't chat with me." Mu Xun said in a low voice.

Mu Changsheng was very smart and quickly understood the current situation. For some unknown reason, Mu Xun came to Nansha City and found a job in Zidan Pavilion. There must be a rule here that employees are not allowed to chat with acquaintances.

After thinking this through, Mu Changsheng temporarily became businesslike: "I want to buy a special-grade foundation-building pill."

"Please follow me." Mu Xun walked with quick steps, leading the way for Mu Changsheng, but other thoughts arose in his mind. He knew the income of Mu Changsheng's family very well. It was almost impossible for them to be so extravagant as to buy special-grade foundation-building pills for foundation-building. In this case, the spirit stones that Mu Changsheng used to buy the special-grade foundation-building pills probably came from Mr. Yang.