Traveling through time to cultivate immortality: a life and death test

Leaving the Sutra Library, Liu Xing was quite satisfied with his fruitful trip. The Dingyan Pill unexpectedly required a thousand-year-old spiritual herb as its main ingredient. Fortunately, there were no specific requirements for the type of spiritual herb; as long as it was a thousand years old, it would suffice. However, a thousand-year-old spiritual herb was sought after and used by even Nascent Soul cultivators, so it was unlikely to circulate among junior cultivators. Every appearance of a thousand-year-old spiritual herb sparked a bloody scramble. In Fang City, where he had previously traveled, and in Haibin City, where he was now, the pharmacies he had inquired about, there was no trace of the thousand-year-old spiritual herb. Even spiritual herbs older than five hundred years were extremely rare, and when they did appear, they were immediately sold at a high price, typically falling into the hands of the major sects. The Dingyan Pill offered no benefit in terms of cultivation, so wasting a thousand-year-old herb was uneconomical. No wonder the Dingyan Pill recipe was so openly displayed in the Sutra Library, available for anyone to purchase. A single thousand-year-old spiritual herb could fetch a staggering price of ten thousand spirit stones at an auction. A single thousand-year-old spiritual herb could be expected to yield a furnace of six Dingyan Pills, assuming a 100% success rate, as luck plays a significant role. Each finished Dingyan Pill would fetch at least twenty thousand yuan. While Dingyan Pills might seem like a mere trifle to male cultivators or ordinary cultivators, they would likely be highly sought after by wealthy ladies and second-generation rich women. Liu Xing anticipated that Dingyan Pills, given their scarcity, would fetch a high price, so he purchased the recipe, hoping to profit from the difference. He also had a plant of Phantom Night Grass nestled in his storage bracelet, a genuine thousand-year-old spiritual herb. A tenfold return on investment was a truly excellent investment, and there was no reason to pass it up. As for wasting a thousand-year-old spiritual herb, there was no way around it. It was currently useless to him, so it would be better to convert it into cash, which could then be exchanged for the resources he needed to rapidly improve his current cultivation. As long as he continued to improve his cultivation, he would have the opportunity to obtain other thousand-year-old elixirs in the future. So when he bought the elixir formula, he had already thought of the investment idea of ​​refining the elixir and selling it for money.

The recipe for the Soul-Enriching Pill was quite strange, using the demon core of a fourth-level demon beast as the primary ingredient, along with other spiritual herbs and medicinal herbs. The recipes he had seen before were mostly based on spiritual herbs and medicinal herbs, so this was the first time he had seen one using demon core. Perhaps due to this location's proximity to the Demon Sea and the Demon Continent, cultivators often obtain rare demon cores while hunting demons at sea, leading to the development of elixirs based on demon cores by powerful individuals. Fourth-level demon beasts roamed the deeper waters, possessing immense combat power. Ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators were no match for them, often failing to capture them and instead becoming supplements for the beasts. Only veterans in the Core Formation stage could occasionally obtain a fourth-level demon core, but these were often gifted to sect disciples or friends and family, leaving the majority of Foundation Establishment cultivators unaware of their existence. This, in turn, resulted in its extreme rarity. Therefore, the Soul-Enriching Pill was openly displayed for sale in the Sutra Library. Many Foundation Establishment cultivators, upon first seeing the recipe, were as overjoyed as Liu Xing, immediately paying a high price for it. However, they would later strive to obtain a Level 4 demon pill, and the Soul-Enriching Pill was a fleeting glimpse, a distant dream, entirely beyond their reach. The Soul-Enriching Pill's potent properties significantly boosted the spiritual power of Foundation Establishment cultivators. Liu Xing's primary goal was to obtain elixirs that would enhance his cultivation, so upon seeing the recipe, he naturally bought it without hesitation. As for obtaining the inner core of a Level 4 demon beast, he would find another opportunity later. By teaming up with Jiao Jiao, and utilizing restrictions and powerful magical tools, he believed he had a chance to hunt down a demon beast of this caliber.

The chance discovery of two elixir formulas in the Sutra Library had given him a glimpse into the feasibility of purchasing them. Satisfied, he kept a close eye out for information on the formulas for the rest of his trip. After leaving the Sutra Library, he headed straight for the largest herbal medicine shop in the West District. He had already found an opportunity to exchange his finished talismans for nearly thirty thousand spirit stones, leaving only five hundred horn python talismans as backup. He was now actively raising funds for the upcoming auction.

Liu Xing dressed up as a white-bearded old man and walked slowly towards the Hengfeng Medicine Store in Xicheng. The shopkeeper who had the foundation-building cultivation level actually ran downstairs to receive him in person.

"Welcome to Hengfeng Group. My name is Liu Tong, and I'm happy to serve you." The shopkeeper's tone was extremely enthusiastic, neither humble nor arrogant, and his service attitude was excellent.

"My surname is Mei, thank you very much, Manager Liu." Seeing that he was a fellow cultivator in the Foundation Establishment Stage, Liu Xing responded very politely and bowed.

"Friend Mei, it's noisy downstairs. Please follow me upstairs to the private room for a detailed discussion." Shopkeeper Liu extended his hand to guide Liu Xing upstairs.

"Please." Liu Xing also politely asked Manager Liu to go first.

So the two of them went to the private room on the second floor, and a beautiful waitress immediately served them spiritual tea.

"Friend Mei, please have a sip of tea to moisten your throat first. If you have any needs, please feel free to tell me. My Hengfeng Group guarantees that you will be satisfied with the prices of medicinal materials." Liu Tong boasted confidently.

"Tea's in no hurry. Here's the list of herbs I need to buy, along with the quantities I need. Manager Liu, please help me get them as soon as possible." Without further delay, Liu Xing pulled out the jade slip he had prepared and handed it to the other party. The slip contained the ingredients for the Qiling Pill, Dingyan Pill, and Yunling Pill recipes, along with some other commonly used herbs.

Shopkeeper Liu took the jade slip and carefully examined it, immediately identifying it as the auxiliary ingredients for the Dingyan Pill and Yunling Pill. He sneered inwardly, "Another victim of the Sutra Repository!" Every year, numerous Foundation Establishment cultivators came to purchase these herbs, but almost no one had ever successfully refined them, simply because the main ingredients were so scarce. Therefore, he kept a large supply of these herbs year-round to meet this customer demand. Furthermore, the list contained numerous other herbs, the purpose of which he had no idea; perhaps they were simply to confuse the audience. Regardless, this was a big deal, well worth his warm hospitality.

"Friend Mei, please wait a moment. I'll make the arrangements." Shopkeeper Liu, after reading the jade slip, remained calm and said to Liu Xing with a smile. At this moment, the waiter who had been summoned came in and took the jade slip away to prepare the herbs. The two of them chatted casually while they waited.

"Shopkeeper Liu, do you have any elixir recipes for sale that are suitable for cultivators in the Foundation Establishment Stage to improve their cultivation?" Liu Xing asked without giving up.

"Really not. The recipes are all treasured and kept as treasures. Not only here, but other businesses also don't have them." Shopkeeper Liu answered without hiding anything.

Liu Xing had no choice but to give up. He could only think of other ways later, or try his luck at the auction. First, he needed to refine the Soul-Enriching Pill as quickly as possible to alleviate the immediate crisis. While he was pondering, the waiter brought the herbs, costing Liu Xing nearly 20,000 spirit stones. Without lingering for long, Liu Xing took his leave.