I long to return home!

Chu Jiang sneered and said in the tone of an elder reprimanding a junior, "Tao Xin, who do you think you are, daring to reprimand me? Gu Changgeng is just lucky, otherwise how could he compete with the senior brother who entered the academy in his early years for the position of dean?"

Listening to their conversation, Huai Zhen understood that this group of people were disciples of the same generation as Gu Changgeng from the Star Watching Academy, and the senior brother they mentioned was the one who had entered the academy earlier and was the most senior among the current disciples, with a cultivation level of late Nascent Soul stage.

Huai Zhen had already accepted such sarcastic remarks. He had things to do and would no longer get involved in the dispute between the two sides, so he left directly.

Jiangcheng, the most distinctive city in the Jiangzhou region, is neither quite a city nor quite a city; it's more like a port. Nestled between a mountain and a river, Jiangcheng is one of the most prosperous trading centers in the entire Yinyue Empire. Its advantageous geographical location, surrounded by mountains on three sides and facing the sea on the other, attracts a constant stream of busy merchant ships, bringing endless wealth and opportunities to the city.

In this bustling port city, merchants gather and goods are displayed in abundance. Due to its geographical location, spiritual energy is not plentiful, and most mortals have lived here for generations. The place is divided into two areas: a residential area and a trading area, the widest part of which faces the sea. Although there are not many cultivators, it does not mean that there are not many cultivators who come here to buy treasures.

It took Huai Zhen about four or five days to arrive at this port city by flying sword. After spending a day learning about the local customs, he spent another day completing the commission and receiving the corresponding spirit stone reward before officially starting the procurement.

Huai Zhen arrived at the seaside business district and, according to the rules, had to pay fifty spirit stones to enter and search for treasures. In contrast, ordinary people living in the area did not need to pay.

Upon entering the city, one can see disciples from all sorts of states and sects coming to hunt for treasures, creating a lively and bustling scene. The merchants here make money from both gold, silver, and spirit stones. Most shops display all kinds of ordinary items outside, while inside they sell various cultivation techniques and magical treasures.

The largest sect here is the Jianghe Sect, which has a good relationship with the governor of Jiangzhou. Therefore, the spirit stones earned here can be used for cultivation, while the gold and silver can be used to seek pleasure in another city, which is quite enjoyable.

Huai Zhen looked around. The merchants here didn't hawk their wares much; cultivators had to make their own judgments. Before long, Huai Zhen stopped at a grand shop. This shop originally only sold items that cultivators needed, saving most cultivators the trouble of searching. At the same time, the shop was quite crowded.

Watching the cultivators coming and going, laden with their loot, Huai Zhen was certain that they must contain what he needed. His hand unconsciously reached for his storage bag, thinking to himself that in the past four years, apart from the monthly salary of the second-star star supervisor in the Star Surveillance Institute and the spirit stones from mission commissions, he should have accumulated nearly several hundred thousand spirit stones. He had to get the miraculous medicine that could help him form a core, no matter what.

However, all of Huai Zhen's actions from the moment he stopped were observed by the two cultivators in the shop. Judging from the fact that Huai Zhen failed to notice them, these two cultivators must have been at the Golden Core stage.

Judging from Huai Zhen's action of reaching for the storage bag, he was undoubtedly a novice, and a very rich and fat lamb at that.

"Get ready, we've got a fat sheep." A cultivator with a pointed mouth and monkey-like face revealed a cunning smile and hurriedly transmitted his thoughts to everyone in the shop.

As expected, as Huai Zhen entered the shop, several cultivators in the shop cast their gazes at him, and several female cultivators dressed in extremely alluring clothes came to Huai Zhen with smiles and introduced the various rare treasures in the shop.

Huai Zhen looked around and saw that there were too many kinds of things. Most of the magical artifacts were unfamiliar to him and seemed to be imitations of high-level magical treasures. In addition, he also saw some uncommon cultivation techniques, and even the basic cultivation techniques of the Jianghe Sect were for sale, as well as some incomplete cultivation techniques.

"I wonder what kind of pills, magic treasures, or sect techniques this senior is looking for? Our Hundred Treasures Pavilion has them all in stock." The female cultivator smiled at Huai Zhen, but inwardly she was very displeased. She had been looking for an hour, and Huai Zhen was only dissatisfied, wasting her time. She even began to wonder if the information was wrong.

Huai Zhen lowered his head and pondered for a while. He was still not familiar enough with the rules and jargon of this business. After a long time, he decided to ask directly: "May I ask if there are any cultivation techniques here that can help Foundation Establishment cultivators break through to the Golden Core stage?"

Upon hearing this, the female cultivator's smile widened. The path of cultivation was too arduous. Although the Hundred Treasures Pavilion had some, they were mostly low-level techniques or incomplete ones. However, they had a large stock of various elixirs and medicines.

The nature of a remedy that directly leads to a breakthrough in Foundation Establishment, rather than one that aids in such a breakthrough, is entirely different. Only then did the female cultivator realize that the person before her was indeed a fat sheep.

"Senior, our Hundred Treasures Pavilion naturally has pills that can help one's cultivation advance from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core. There are too many people and too many eyes around here, so please follow me." With a smile, the female cultivator led them to a room behind a hidden door.

The female cultivator chuckled softly and clapped her hands lightly. Instantly, one after another, alluring women appeared from nowhere, each carrying a jade plate in their hands.

On the plate were various cultivation techniques and shiny pills, the lowest grade of which was third grade and the highest grade was fifth grade!

Under Huai Zhen's mesmerizing gaze, the female cultivator smiled obsequiously and swayed her body as she began to introduce the various cultivation techniques one by one.

"Senior, this is the Vajra Technique, a secret Buddhist cultivation method; this is the Peerless Power of Wushuang Mountain; this is the Evergreen Green Wood Technique; this is the Mad Dragon Force..." He introduced seven or eight power cultivation methods in one go, most of which were secret techniques from various sects and schools. Then he went to the section on pills and began to introduce them one by one.

"Senior, this is a Grade 3 High-Quality Yang-Replenishing Pill..." The female cultivator glanced at Huai Zhen's white hair and sickly appearance and couldn't help but smile. She continued, "This is a Grade 3 Mid-Quality Wrath Pill, this is a Grade 4 Low-Quality Following Heaven Pill... Senior, this is a Grade 5 Mid-Quality Spirit Profound Pill. Even those with poor spiritual roots can break through to the Foundation Establishment stage after taking this pill, but it's quite expensive." The female cultivator looked at the Spirit Profound Pill that emitted spiritual energy, and then at Huai Zhen's unpredictable expression.

After listening to these introductions, Huai Zhen looked thoughtful. This was far too expensive. Cultivation techniques were somewhat better, since the Yin Yue Empire had a relatively large number of cultivation techniques, but the price of pills was beyond words; it was practically robbery! Although the Yin Yue Empire had far fewer alchemy sects than the Wuji Empire, the price of pills of the same grade differed by two or even three times!

Huai Zhen looked at the female cultivator with a surprised expression. He put his right hand behind his back and did a quick calculation. Just as the divination indicated, this was pure ripping off customers, and ripping them off to death! In addition, Huai Zhen did another divination himself, which predicted that he would suddenly experience a strange phenomenon, a divination about his fortune.

He took a deep breath and used almost all of his spirit stones to buy this fifth-grade mid-level Spirit Profound Pill, as well as a Spirit Rhinoceros Finger cultivation manual. He originally wanted to buy the Vajra Technique, but since it was a secret technique, learning it would inevitably cause unnecessary trouble in the future.

Besides, Huaizhen was even more surprised that all sorts of martial arts techniques and supernatural abilities from different schools had entered the market.