Chapter 26: Choice
Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Choice
After closing the shop door, Li Ping couldn’t help but wonder about Gumu Sheng’s cultivation.
He remembered that not long ago, his third brother was only at the Qi Refining Sixth Level. ’How did he break through in just over a month?’
’With his aptitude from his Four Spirit Roots, breaking through to the Late-stage Qi Refining shouldn’t have been this easy.’
In response to Li Ping’s curiosity, Gumu Sheng made no attempt to hide the truth. He said frankly, "Big Brother, I got lucky. I bought a Qi Condensing Pill from one of Master Hu’s disciples, which allowed me to break through the bottleneck to the Late-stage Qi Refining in one fell swoop."
Li Ping nodded slightly. He had also heard of the Qi Condensing Pill; it was a type of Pill that helped break through bottlenecks, similar in effect to the Foundation Establishment Pill.
However, the Foundation Establishment Pill was used to aid the breakthrough to the major realm of Foundation Establishment, whereas the Qi Condensing Pill could only help a Cultivator break through the minor realm of Late-stage Qi Refining.
But even so, Pills that could help break through bottlenecks had always been highly sought after by Cultivators, with exorbitant prices second only to life-extending Pills.
Although the Qi Condensing Pill was only a Tier One Upper Grade Pill, its value was more than ten times that of ordinary Tier One Upper Grade Pills, costing at least a hundred Spirit Stones.
With such a high price, typically only Cultivation Clans or Foundation Establishment Cultivators could afford to buy them for their juniors.
For Gumu Sheng to be able to produce such a large sum of Spirit Stones, it was clear he was quite wealthy.
Furthermore, as far as Li Ping knew, as a Pill that could raise a Cultivator’s realm, the Qi Condensing Pill was even more popular in the Immortal City than Tier Two Spirit Talismans.
In addition, the Spiritual Materials needed to refine Qi Condensing Pills were hard to find, and it could take a very long time to refine even a single batch. Thus, a batch of Qi Condensing Pills was often completely claimed by well-connected individuals before it was even finished.
For his third brother to be able to get a share showed he was quite capable.
Of course, Li Ping also understood.
Unlike him and his other sworn siblings, who were all artisans that lived by their craft.
Gumu Sheng was a businessman. For a businessman, the most important thing was to cultivate connections in every trade and stay well-informed.
Gumu Sheng said he was able to buy the Qi Condensing Pill because he was lucky.
But Li Ping believed that he must have started long in advance, deliberately befriending Master Hu’s disciple and planning for a long time, so that he could decisively act at the critical moment and secure the Qi Condensing Pill.
...
And now, he had found a new opportunity through another Cultivator he was on good terms with.
An opportunity that would allow Li Ping to buy a High-tier Cultivation Technique needed for the Foundation Establishment Stage at a very low price.
Gumu Sheng unconsciously lowered his voice. "Big Brother, Senior Wang, the one who guards the Secret Skill Pavilion here in the Immortal City, recently failed to break through to the Late-stage Foundation Establishment. The attempt severely damaged his Primordial Energy. He only had forty or fifty years of life left to begin with. This injury damaged his very Origin, so now there’s no telling when he’ll pass away. Because of this, he wants to leave behind more Spirit Stones for his descendants before he dies, to ensure they have some security after he’s gone."
Li Ping nodded, signaling for him to continue.
"So, he secretly sent a message to trustworthy Cultivators," Gumu Sheng continued. "As long as someone is willing to pay a certain amount of Spirit Stones, they can sneak into the Secret Skill Pavilion he guards and pick out a Cultivation Technique or Secret Technique. I happened to do business with one of Senior Wang’s descendants. He decided I was reliable, and that’s how I found out."
Gumu Sheng grinned as if seeking praise. "Hehe... Because he’s about to pass away, this Senior Wang is very easy to negotiate with. According to the price his descendant told me, for just one hundred Spirit Stones, you can enter the Secret Skill Pavilion and choose a High-tier Cultivation Technique to take with you."
"One hundred Spirit Stones for a High-tier Cultivation Technique?" Li Ping was genuinely shocked now.
After all, he had previously inquired about the prices of High-tier Cultivation Techniques at the major merchant guilds in the Inner City. The cheapest started at a thousand Spirit Stones, and the more expensive ones were unobtainable even for several thousand.
As for the black market, since it was held outside the city, Li Ping hadn’t been there since reaching Foundation Establishment. But he guessed the prices there would be more or less the same.
’But here, it’s only a hundred Spirit Stones!’
Li Ping couldn’t help but marvel. This Foundation Establishment Cultivator of the Wang family was certainly making use of his power before it expired!
For him, however, this was a good thing.
’I thought it would take me a long time to save up enough Spirit Stones for a cultivation technique, but now... it seems I can get one immediately?’
The thought was tempting, but at the same time, a doubt arose. ’He’s being so reckless. If he gets caught, won’t I be implicated too?’
Although the price of the cultivation technique was very tempting, the risk of undermining a Core Formation Master made Li Ping uneasy.
Gumu Sheng noticed Li Ping’s hesitation and explained, "Big Brother, there are risks, but they aren’t that significant. The Wang family would never dare to let this get out. After all, if Fenglan Master were to find out what they’re doing... if he didn’t show mercy for old times’ sake, he could cripple their entire clan’s cultivation and banish them from the Immortal City."
"First off, the people choosing techniques are all trustworthy. Second, Senior Wang requires them to make a Dao Heart oath, so it’s unlikely the news will leak from them," Gumu Sheng continued. "Besides, if you decide to go to the Secret Skill Pavilion, Big Brother, you’ll obviously go in disguise."
He said with a smile, "The Wang family cultivators themselves won’t know who specifically chose which technique. That way, even if the Wang family really does meet with disaster, it won’t be traced back to you, Big Brother."
Li Ping nodded. According to Gumu Sheng’s analysis, the risk really wasn’t that great.
If he went in disguise, even if the Wang family was exposed, the Immortal City would have no evidence to prove Li Ping’s involvement.
’But the problem is, this isn’t Earth; this is the Cultivation Realm. With a Core Formation Cultivator like Fenglan Master in charge, does the Immortal City even need evidence to act?’
After much hesitation, Li Ping finally decided to take Gumu Sheng up on his offer and go to the Immortal City’s Secret Skill Pavilion to choose a cultivation technique.
He believed that although the matter had risks, they were manageable.
First, no Foundation Establishment Cultivator was a fool. That Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Immortal City surnamed Wang had lived for over 150 years; he wouldn’t do something so stupid if he wasn’t confident.
If he dared to do it, he must not be worried about being discovered by Fenglan Master.
Second, as Gumu Sheng had said, if he went in disguise, the chances of being implicated even if the Wang family truly met with disaster were low.
Finally, because a past scheme set by that woman, Dai Sangyu, had made him too fearful to even return to the Jiang Kingdom for his master’s final moments, he not only despised her but had also developed a deep-seated dissatisfaction with the Immortal City’s authorities.
Now, having an opportunity to undermine the Immortal City gave him a strange sense of satisfaction.
After carefully questioning Gumu Sheng about the details several times, Li Ping handed over the six Tier Two Lower Grade Spirit Talismans from his Storage Bag to the overjoyed Gumu Sheng, took the 300 Spirit Stones from his hand, and then departed.
...
That night, Li Ping’s figure quietly appeared at a residence near the Inner City of the Immortal City.
At this moment, he was dressed in a gray Daoist robe, wore a mask that blocked Divine Sense, and had a black conical hat on his head. He had even used a Secret Technique to disguise his aura to the level of the Qi Refining Ninth Level.
This was the outfit he had specially prepared for visiting the black market. He never expected it would come in handy now.