Chapter 86

Song Li thought to himself, "I've been waiting for you to say this. I didn't ask you for it; you offered it on your own. But I still have to put on a show, so I frowned and said, 'What use do I have for those scraps?'"

"Sir, you're not paying for them, right? Just have a little pity on me. I've been exposed to the wind and sun, and you know, in our line of work, it's not easy to find a buyer even after waiting for ten to fifteen days. At least let me make a little money to support my family. I have an eighty-year-old mother and a three-year-old child. The whole family is waiting for rice to cook..." The vendor was almost begging, almost hugging Song Li's leg.

"Alright, since you've been so pitiful, I'll give you 180,000. I just can't resist my soft heart." Song Li smiled faintly, pointed to the two piles of wood and the pile of black thousand-year-old agarwood, and instructed, "Wrap up all this wood for me." He took out a stack of gold bills worth 10,000 gold coins each from his pocket, pulled out eighteen and handed them to the vendor, then took the three bags of wood from the vendor.

The vendor took the gold bills, counted them, and carefully examined them. Finding that they were indeed issued by the most authoritative bank in the Holy Lion Empire and were valid nationwide, he sighed in relief. He thought to himself, "Who is this young master? He's really hard to deal with. I almost lost everything. After all that talk, I only made a few thousand gold coins. This business is really hard to do. It's just bad luck to meet an expert."

If he knew that the pile of ugly wood he had thrown in as a bonus was actually the priceless thousand-year-old agarwood, he might have spat out three pints of blood and died of regret! The key point is that Song Li didn't even ask for it; the vendor offered it on his own. This made it even more frustrating.

"Sir, have a good walk, and come again next time." The transaction was successful, and the vendor smiled broadly, but in his heart, he thought, "I hope you don't come back next time. With a few more like you, I'll be drinking the northwest wind."

The old man had been watching Song Li and the vendor's battle of wits with a cold eye. He saw that this young man not only had extraordinary talent, with his body capable of generating flames, but also had a sharp mind. He clearly recognized the thousand-year-old agarwood but remained calm, playing a brilliant game of feinting and capturing. Even the shrewd vendor was deceived, offering the thousand-year-old agarwood as a bonus without a word from Song Li. The old man admitted that even if he had done it, he couldn't have done it better.

Though the old man looked unremarkable, his background was so impressive that it could scare a large number of people. As a peak Golden Core cultivator, he could dominate any corner of the continent. He had hidden himself in the market, not to play with life, but with a purpose.

He had been stuck at the peak of the Golden Core stage for nearly a century, unable to break through. He had about ten years left before his lifespan would end. If he couldn't break through to the Nascent Soul stage in these ten years, his life would be over. All his grand plans and dreams of ascending to immortality would turn to ashes. This was the cruelest ending for a great cultivator who had trained for hundreds of years.

Of course, he was not willing to sit and wait for death. He had spent countless resources and paid a heavy price to obtain many miraculous elixirs, including Holy-grade elixirs, but none of them helped him break through. A friend who was an alchemist told him about a pill called the Seven-Star Holy Essence Pill. If it could be successfully refined, it would allow a peak Golden Core cultivator to advance to the Nascent Soul stage with a 70% success rate. This was a high probability. However, the Seven-Star Holy Essence Pill was not easy to refine. Although it was only a lower-grade Holy-grade elixir, only a Holy Alchemist could refine it. How many Holy Alchemists were there on the entire continent? Moreover, the Seven-Star Holy Essence Pill was different from ordinary lower-grade Holy-grade elixirs. It had immense power but a very low success rate. The requirement for the alchemist's control of fire was extremely high, almost to the point of being insane. Even a Holy Alchemist would find it difficult to meet this requirement. Only a Heavenly Alchemist, who could master the infinite variations of fire, had the ability to do so. The infinite variations of fire were the most mysterious secrets of the universe. Without great wisdom, luck, and talent, who could claim to master this supreme rule? On the entire continent, the number of Holy Alchemists was already few, let alone Heavenly Alchemists. For alchemists, the Seven-Star Holy Essence Pill was a divine pill that could only be dreamed of, not touched. Knowing its great power, but lacking the ability to refine it, was futile.

The old man himself was not an alchemist, so he could only rely on others. He spent three years searching the continent but found no suitable candidates. However, anyone who could reach the peak of the Golden Core stage was a person of great perseverance and resilience, and would never give up easily. A few days ago, he was browsing the market and discovered that a vendor had a thousand-year-old agarwood. Although he was not an alchemist, he had lived for hundreds of years and had broad knowledge, recognizing the black and ugly wood as thousand-year-old agarwood.

He originally intended to buy it, but after some thought, he changed his mind. Every day, alchemists came to the market. If he encountered a hidden alchemy master who recognized the thousand-year-old agarwood, his long-held wish might be fulfilled. So the old man got some wood and rented a stall next to the vendor, pretending to be a vendor. His real intention was to use the thousand-year-old agarwood to fish for a true alchemy master. Although he knew the chances of meeting a great alchemy master in such a place were slim, as the Holy Lion City was not that big and he knew all the alchemy masters, he still wanted to try. As long as there was a glimmer of hope, he would not give up easily.

This was originally a desperate and helpless move, but unexpectedly, he did wait for such a person.

When Song Li displayed his ability to generate flames from his body, the old man's heart began to race. The hardest part of refining the Seven-Star Holy Essence Pill was the precise and complex control of fire, which was why it was one of the ten hardest pills to refine in the alchemy world and why many alchemists were afraid of it. But for someone whose body could generate flames, fire was already a part of him. How difficult could it be to control it? The old man, who was about to drown, saw a straw and would grab it tightly. Song Li's displayed ability was far more than just a straw.

The old man deduced that, given the young man's familiarity with the wood, there was a 90% chance he was an alchemist, and not just any alchemist. After all, the thousand-year-old agarwood was a very rare material that most people couldn't recognize. So the old man used his peak Golden Core senses to investigate the herbs Song Li had bought. With his knowledge, he could tell that these herbs were all materials needed to refine mid-grade Earth-grade elixirs, including a Foundation Establishment Pill and another elixir he had never heard of.

"Good grief, this kid looks only fifteen or sixteen, but he can refine mid-grade Earth-grade elixirs? That means he's a high-level alchemist. A high-level alchemist at this age is a once-in-two-hundred-years rarity! But thinking about his ability to generate flames from his body, it all makes sense."

The hardest part for an alchemist was controlling fire, but for this young man, it was the easiest part. With someone to guide him carefully, his growth would be much faster than most alchemists!

There's hope, real hope!

Although Song Li's current level was still low and he couldn't refine the Seven-Star Holy Essence Pill, the old man had ten years to wait for him to grow. With his talent for controlling fire, it was not impossible for him to become a Holy Alchemist in ten years. Then, the old man could fulfill his long-held wish!

The old man knew that in the cultivation world, it was very common for high-level cultivators to kill low-level cultivators for their benefits, and even to kill over a single word. The path of cultivation was long and arduous, and many people fell in the early stages. Some had limited talent and couldn't break through, while others were killed by high-level cultivators. The survivors were few, and the remaining ones were the kings.

This young man, with his unique abilities, might be fine with ordinary people, but if he met a Golden Core cultivator like himself, his energy fluctuations would be easily detected. If he met a high-level cultivator with bad intentions, he might be killed on the spot. For the old man, the young man's life was directly related to his own. So during these ten years, he must protect the young man and ensure his safety. Anyone who tried to harm the young man would be trying to take his life, and he would fight to the death for it!

If Song Li knew that he had unintentionally found a peak Golden Core cultivator as a bodyguard, he would be overjoyed. A peak Golden Core cultivator, though not at the top of the pyramid on the continent, was still a formidable existence. At least in Holy Lion City, he could dominate.

Song Li quietly put the three bags of wood into his backpack, his heart blooming with joy. "Damn, I got the thousand-year-old agarwood without spending a penny. How good is my luck, you say?"

Just as he was about to leave, he noticed the old man who had been sleeping on a banana leaf was now awake, his eyes clearly focused on him.

When the old man was awake, he looked much more pleasant than when he was sleeping. Sitting there, he naturally exuded an aura of authority, though he was a bit unkempt, his dignified and upright demeanor was hard to hide. Song Li immediately felt a liking for this strange old man.

He smiled and nodded at the old man, a friendly greeting.

---

(End of the page)