Chapter 359: Guan Lan_3
A single Blood Jade Fruit cost one thousand three hundred taels of silver.
The pamphlet clearly stated that after taking them, their effects were almost identical.
The entire three-hundred-tael difference was clearly the distinction between the Innate and natural versus the Acquired and artificial.
‘As long as you have enough money, you can use the best of everything. You won’t just get a head start when building your foundation, you’ll also win at the finish line—your ultimate potential—ten or twenty years from now!’
‘Time to make some money!’
An idea struck Chen Cheng. He glanced at Ding Lu and asked:
“Can I sell this case of Blood Jade Fruits to you?”
“Of course.”
Ding Lu said,
“I was actually planning on coming here to exchange for some auxiliary resources myself… But, Senior Brother Chen, didn’t you just say you were short on resources? How can you bear to part with them?”
“I have my own plans,” Chen Cheng replied casually.
“…My apologies. I spoke out of turn.”
Ding Lu quickly smiled apologetically and said,
“Since you’re the one selling, Senior Brother Chen, I’m willing to pay fifteen thousand taels of silver for this case of ten Blood Jade Fruits.”
“That won’t be necessary.”
Chen Cheng said,
“Just follow the price in the resource pamphlet. Thirteen thousand taels will be fine.”
“Well… alright then.”
Ding Lu had hoped to curry a little favor with Chen Cheng, but seeing his resolute expression and calm tone, she understood. He wasn’t just being polite; he genuinely didn’t want to owe her anything.
She knew better than to press the issue and immediately took out the Silver Notes, handing them to Chen Cheng.
Chen Cheng gave her the wooden case, then immediately stood up and walked toward the resource exchange counter.
He used the thirteen thousand taels in Silver Notes he had just acquired to directly purchase thirteen Mountain and Sea Blood-Nourishing Pills.
Others might fear the toxins in the pills, but Chen Cheng wasn’t afraid.
With that simple exchange, he’d instantly made a profit of nearly thirty percent.
‘I’ve already calculated everything,’ Chen Cheng thought. ‘As long as the Mountain and Sea Blood-Nourishing Pills are as effective as the Nine Altars Blood-Nourishing Pills, I can definitely form the Ninth Pillar of Blood Qi within a month and then push for the Divine Storage Realm.’
“Senior Brother Chen, what is this…?”
Ding Lu stared at the pill bottle in Chen Cheng’s hand, her face filled with astonishment.
Marsong was even more blunt, blurting out,
“Senior Brother Chen! If you needed money, you could have just asked Senior Sister Ding! Why resort to this? Aren’t you afraid the residual toxins from those pills will affect your future?”
“I’ll worry about the future when it comes. I only fight for the here and now.”
With those final words, Chen Cheng turned and left.
He left Ding Lu and Marsong sitting there, staring at each other in utter confusion.
…
Within a private courtyard inhabited by a Core Disciple of the Outer Sect.
Dong Chuo was soaking in a hot spring. Numerous herbs floated in the pool, dyeing the steaming, near-boiling water an unnatural dark green.
“Senior Brother Dong, there’s been a development…”
A plain-looking female disciple ran in, quickly crouching down to report,
“That Chen Cheng… he sold the Blood Jade Fruits you gave him. D-do you think he figured something out?”
Dong Chuo’s half-closed eyes snapped open, his pupils piercing through the swirling steam like daggers.
The muscles in his thick neck twitched. His brow furrowed deeply, then slowly smoothed out again.
“Impossible! I used a slow-acting poison! It’s colorless and odorless. Not even the most brilliant doctor could diagnose anything wrong so soon! He’s just a sixteen or seventeen-year-old brat. He can’t have figured out a damn thing!”
“Be that as it may…”
The female disciple bit her lip, her expression full of confusion.
“But why would he sell the Blood Jade Fruits? Could he just be so naturally cautious that he refuses to eat anything from a stranger?”
“You’re asking me? Who the hell am I supposed to ask?”
Dong Chuo ordered grimly,
“Pass down the order: keep a close eye on this Chen Cheng. Who he meets, what he says, where he goes… report every little thing to me immediately.”
“Yes, sir!”
After a firm nod, the female disciple lowered her voice and asked,
“There’s more news of defeat from Whale Hook Pass. The situation is growing more dire… If—and I’m just saying, if—Whale Hook Pass falls, where will we go? What will we do?”
“You’re asking me? Who the hell am I supposed to ask?”
Dong Chuo shot her a look, thought for a moment, then added nonchalantly,
“If the day truly comes when Whale Hook Pass falls, I’ll follow my clan, and you’ll all follow me. As long as you’re loyal to me, even if the heavens themselves come crashing down, I guarantee you won’t be harmed.”
“…Hearing you say that puts my mind completely at ease.”
The female disciple let out a long sigh of relief, her expression turning solemn as she said,
“The few of us have followed you for a long time now. We have never dared to forget the kindness you’ve shown us. That one word is carved into our very bones.”
She paused, staring at Dong Chuo with a fiery gaze, and enunciated the word with force:
“Loyalty!”
…
「Guan Lan Pavilion.」
In a quiet room on the third floor overlooking the Sea Marsh, the doors and windows were thrown open. A boundless wind swept in from across the water, carrying with it mist and a cool chill.
Chen Cheng sat cross-legged on a cushion, facing the grand vista of sky and marsh.
A full moon hung in the center of the celestial canopy, its cool radiance like water, its beams piercing through the clouds.
Waves began to swell upon the marsh, rolling in slowly, layer after layer, to crash against the shore-side reefs. They made a low, drawn-out sound, as if the world itself were silently breathing.
The moonlight rose and fell with the undulation of the waves, shattering into countless silver scales that shimmered on the water’s surface. The wave crests formed a continuous line, like an endless bolt of white silk unfurled across the water.
In the distance, the horizon melted into the water, making it impossible to distinguish sky from sea. Only a few lonely, cold stars, embedded deep within the clouds, looked down upon the mortal world.
An unknown amount of time passed.
Suddenly, something shifted within Chen Cheng. It felt as if the rhythm of the rising and falling waves had mysteriously synchronized with his own breathing. Even the circulation of his Tai Chi Qi began to align with it.
Rising and falling, inhaling and exhaling, one cycle repeating after another…
Between heaven and earth, there was neither self nor substance.
‘I am the world!’
HISS—