Chapter 86

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The central hub of Canglan City is Fulong Mountain in the northern part of the city. Outside of Fulong Mountain, there are several smaller mountains within the city, each occupied by various noble families and larger sects.

Xuwuwei Manor occupies Xiang Mountain in the northern part of the city. Although it is only three to four hundred meters high, its shape resembles a lying wild elephant. After centuries of development, the mountain is carved with countless mystic symbols and magical arrays, gathering spiritual energy, making it no less impressive than the residences of the other eight manors.

The disciples' academy, guest scholars' academy, and Xuwuwei Manor's cavalry camp, among other affiliated buildings, are distributed along the slopes of Xiang Mountain.

Most guest scholars are either busy with important tasks or are deeply engrossed in cultivation in their residences. In the guest scholars' courtyard on the southern slope of Xiang Mountain, apart from the duty officers, only a few servants wander around the vast courtyard, making it quite desolate.

Apart from the guest scholars who graduated from the Imperial Academy, Xuwuwei Manor has recruited about forty to fifty guest scholars through other channels. These forty to fifty individuals are either from noble families or powerful wandering cultivators who have drifted from Yunzhou to Canglan and taken refuge under the Su family. Many of them are even in the Rebirth Realm, and the vast majority have reached the peak of the True Yang Ninth Level.

Occasionally, there are those with lower cultivation levels, but they must possess unique skills that can be of use to the Su family and Xuwuwei Manor.

Chen Xun, with only the Qingyang Seventh Level cultivation and at such a young age, was directly admitted to the guest scholars' courtyard. A thorough examination of Xuwuwei Manor's history reveals that this is unprecedented.

However, the grand ceremony for new disciples had already caused a stir in Canglan City, and no one in Xuwuwei Manor was unfamiliar with Chen Xun.

Ge Yi led Chen Xun in, saying it was the thirteenth master's instruction. The duty officer handling the matter calmly processed all the procedures for Chen Xun.

The two sets of guest scholar robes were black, embroidered with the emblem of Xuwuwei Manor, and had one to three golden silk bands on the sleeves, indicating the ranks of junior, intermediate, and senior guest scholars.

The guest scholar seal was similar to the trial iron plate. After a blood ritual, Chen Xun sensed that besides his own soul aura, there was a faint trace of another aura within the seal's light cocoon. He thought this might be a secret technique used by the Su family to control guest scholars.

"Everyone usually focuses on cultivation and rarely appears. Many don't even know each other, so in the guest scholars' courtyard, we recognize the seals, not the people," the duty officer, surnamed Jin, who was responsible for registration, earnestly reminded Chen Xun. "If you lose your guest scholar seal or it is stolen, you must return to Xuwuwei Manor to re-verify your identity. Otherwise, if someone uses your seal to withdraw elixirs or magical tools from the warehouse, it will be counted against you. Moreover, the name of a guest scholar of Xuwuwei Manor is well-known. In the city's market, you can easily borrow elixirs worth a thousand spirit coins with this seal..."

"Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Jin," Chen Xun thanked him.

Wandering cultivators have very limited resources for cultivation. As a guest scholar, he would receive a monthly stipend of five Yuan Gathering Pills. To obtain more, he could undertake tasks assigned by the guest scholars' courtyard to earn rewards.

Some tasks are arduous and dangerous, and even if wandering cultivators gather a group, they find it extremely difficult to complete them. However, they can borrow elixirs, mystic weapons, armor, and magical tools from the warehouse, to be returned upon completion of the task.

This is one of the benefits of being a guest scholar of the manor.

Chen Xun deeply understood this. The low-grade talisman weapons, the Vajra Mystic Armor, and the Frost Sword, had more than doubled his strength.

However, Chen Xun was more concerned about what cultivation resources were available for exchange in the guest scholars' courtyard.

"This catalog lists the resources that can be exchanged after completing assigned tasks," the duty officer surnamed Jin brought out a thick book and placed it on the long table made of golden-threaded nanmu, allowing Chen Xun to browse it. "Of course, if you have any excess magical tools or elixirs, you can also exchange them..."

Chen Xun listened to the duty officer's introduction and flipped through the book. The resources available for exchange as a guest scholar were truly diverse, including mystic weapons, armor, various magical tools, elixirs, elixir formulas, and mystic cultivation techniques...

Apart from taking a 20% cut, Xuwuwei Manor had no other disadvantages.

In comparison, elixirs for replenishing qi and blood were the cheapest.

One Yuan Gathering Pill was worth one spirit coin.

Looking at the tasks assigned by the guest scholars' courtyard, participating in the protection of a regular caravan could earn about ten to twenty Yuan Gathering Pills in a month, which was roughly enough to cover the daily consumption of a True Yang Ninth Level cultivator.

Chen Xun, with the soul sea anomaly formed from the blood of a six-armed giant demon, had increasing consumption as he progressed. At this stage, he needed two to three Yuan Gathering Pills per day for continuous body refinement, which was about three to four times more than other cultivators at the same level.

As he advanced to the True Yang Eighth and Ninth Levels, Chen Xun estimated that his consumption of qi and blood would become a bottomless pit.

Apart from elixirs, ordinary weapons and armor were also relatively cheap.

Scale armor, black sheath knives, heavy spear, and iron composite bows were worth ten to twenty spirit coins each.

The Nine Yuan Nourishing Aperture Pill and some low-grade talisman weapons were much more expensive.

The Nine Yuan Nourishing Aperture Pill was in high demand but rarely available.

A common mystic weapon like the Frost Knife cost about two hundred spirit coins.

A mystic armor with two layers of Vajra Mystic Symbols was slightly more expensive.

However, the most expensive were the elixir formulas and mystic cultivation techniques.

Basic techniques like the Great Peng Secret Fist and the Fierce Frost Knife Technique required hundreds of spirit coins, while fundamental True Yang cultivation techniques like the "Finger Mystic Chapter" required one to two thousand spirit coins in rewards.

The formula for the Nine Yuan Nourishing Aperture Pill was a closely guarded secret, and even basic formulas like the Yuan Gathering Pill were priced at one to two thousand spirit coins, which made Chen Xun's jaw drop.

However, he also understood that wandering cultivators were unwilling to spend such a large amount on elixir formulas, mainly because their daily cultivation consumption was high, making it difficult to save enough resources.

For large tribes, clans, and sects, the daily consumption of their many disciples was an astronomical number. It was more cost-effective to exchange for a formula and refine low-grade elixirs themselves than to have the Su family refine them.

"There are many sects and clans in the city. Larger tribes have trading posts and warehouses in the city. If you want to obtain basic cultivation techniques or elixir formulas, you can visit Huayang Market. It will be much more cost-effective there," Ge Yi, seeing Chen Xun's eyes light up with the silk book, kindly reminded him.

Chen Xun thought it made sense. Basic elixir formulas and cultivation techniques would not be lacking among large tribes, and many would be willing to exchange their unique formulas for resources from other forces.

With a larger supply of low-grade elixir formulas and cultivation techniques, the prices would naturally be cheaper than in the guest scholars' courtyard.

However, mystic weapons, armor, talisman tools, high-grade elixir formulas, and mystic cultivation techniques, which could only be crafted by Rebirth Realm cultivators and above, were only available from the Su family in Canglan City.

This was the most lethal attraction of the Su family and the Canglan Imperial Academy to the various tribes.

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Leaving the guest scholars' courtyard, it was still early.

Chen Xun, planning to establish his own sect, no longer involved himself in the affairs of the nine tribes' alliance.

He entrusted one of Ge Yi's attendants to return his two sets of guest scholar robes and asked for directions to Huayang Market to see if there were any items he needed.

Chen Xun thought Huayang Market was just a place for wandering cultivators to trade cultivation resources. However, upon entering the market, he saw the bustling streets lined with multi-story buildings, carriages, and a throng of people, making it a lively scene.

The neatly arranged shops, numbering over a hundred, sold everything from elixirs, herbs, magical tools, and weapons to the daily necessities of cultivators, such as spirit tea, spirit wine, and clothing, all in a dazzling array.

In addition, many wandering cultivators set up stalls along the streets to sell their goods.

Chen Xun, like Liu Laolao entering the Grand View Garden, walked along the street, looking through the shop windows, feeling entranced by the goods.

However, a jar of Yuyang Wine, brewed from low-grade spirit herbs, cost ten to twenty spirit coins. Chen Xun, besides the four Nine Yuan Nourishing Aperture Pills, only had the fifty Black Python Pills given by his grandfather Zongtu, which made him feel quite embarrassed.

He mainly came to look for low-grade magical technique books suitable for his cultivation.

His soul sea anomaly was formed from the blood of a six-armed giant demon, and he did not know when he would advance to the eighth level of bone washing. In the short term, it would be difficult to further purify his qi and blood.

Chen Xun, after cultivating the Fierce Frost Knife Technique and fully integrating the mystic cold energy into his sword techniques, had reached a bottleneck in his strength, making it difficult to break through in the short term.

With more skills, one is never overburdened. Chen Xun thought about cultivating magical techniques and talisman techniques to have more options when fighting enemies.

Low-grade magical technique cultivation secrets were not lacking in Huayang Market, but a book containing twelve low-grade magical techniques was priced at three hundred spirit coins, far beyond Chen Xun's means.

He dared not enter the more luxurious shops and visited several dilapidated ones but found no magical technique books he could afford.

"Wind Riding Technique..." Chen Xun entered a shop called "Liu Xianzhai" and opened a low-grade magical technique book, surprised to find the Wind Riding Technique inside.

In the past, he could run a thousand miles a day on the wilderness, but it was purely by brute force, consuming a lot of qi and blood.

Two months ago, in the White Wolf River area, to escape the pursuit of Lou Shiyi and the Meng brothers, he even consumed a Nine Yuan Nourishing Aperture Pill to replenish his qi and blood. Thinking about it now, he still felt heartache.

Although the Wind Riding Technique is a low-grade magical technique, it allows one to travel a thousand miles a day by riding the wind, consuming only two to three Yuan Gathering Pills. It was truly the best choice for travel, escape, and survival.

However, this magical technique book, besides the Wind Riding Technique, also contained four other low-grade magical techniques, priced at one hundred spirit coins, which was beyond Chen Xun's means.

Chen Xun hesitated for a while and asked the shopkeeper behind the counter:

"Can you sell just the Wind Riding Technique separately?"

The shopkeeper, a thin and dry man in his forties with triangular eyes, saw Chen Xun enter the shop wearing a leather robe but with an extraordinary sword at his waist, thinking he had encountered a big customer from a barbarian tribe. He never expected Chen Xun to be a poor man who wanted to buy a low-grade magical technique book separately.

The shopkeeper, upon hearing Chen Xun's words, wanted to roll his eyes, thinking: How can wandering cultivators be so poor nowadays?

Maintaining a professional smile, the shopkeeper said:

"I'm really sorry, but this magical technique book is consigned by someone else, and we cannot sell it separately. If you come back in a few days, I can help you ask the owner?"

Hearing the shopkeeper's tone, Chen Xun knew he was being asked to leave. He was helpless, who could blame him for being poor?

Chen Xun thought about returning home. Just as he was about to put the magical technique book back on the counter, he saw a graceful figure lift the curtain and walk out from the inner room. It was Cai'er, who had taken care of his daily life in the disciples' courtyard.