Chapter 39: Returning to the Market
[Simulation ended. You may retain one of the following.]
[1. The cultivation level at age 140.]
[2. The combat experience at age 140.]
A scapegoat?
Li Changsheng frowned slightly. As expected, Old Su was problematic. In fact, Old Su might not even be a formation spirit but a human. In previous simulations, he had always felt that the Diamond Sect's secret realm, originally a place for cultivating spiritual herbs, shouldn't lack the herbs needed to break through to the second transformation of the Divine Demon stage.
However, the Su family seemed like a good ally. They had faced pressure from the Medicine King Sect twice and still didn't hand him over. Moreover, with the Su family's resources, he had managed to raise his cultivation to the mid-Golden Core stage.
"Choose the first option."
Li Changsheng silently made his choice.
Boom!
The spiritual energy of heaven and earth condensed, and it felt like a bottleneck within Li Changsheng's body had been broken. He successfully stepped into the mid-Golden Core stage.
"How is this possible!"
Su Qingyu's mouth was slightly agape as she stared at Li Changsheng, who had just reached the mid-Golden Core stage. Her usual composure was gone. Even after reviewing countless records, she had never seen anyone break through a minor cultivation realm so effortlessly!
Lu He's face was also filled with shock. Her mistress, with her Heavenly Spiritual Root aptitude, would need at least several more years to break through to the mid-Golden Core stage. But this young man, a year younger than her mistress, had already surpassed her. Could his aptitude be even better?
Li Changsheng ignored their reactions and looked at Su Qingyu calmly. "I can join the Su family as a guest elder. I don't need divine abilities or techniques for now. What I need is a large amount of spirit stones—the more, the better."
"Just spirit stones?"
Su Qingyu looked puzzled. "I don't have many spirit stones on hand at the moment. I can give you two hundred thousand spirit stones for now. After the auction, if you follow me back to the family, I can give you more, but it definitely won't exceed a million."
"A million spirit stones is the maximum I can authorize. As long as you serve as a guest elder of the Su family, my family will provide you with at least three hundred thousand spirit stones annually, on par with peak Golden Core guest elders. What do you think?"
Although Su Qingyu didn't know why Li Changsheng needed so many spirit stones, she revealed her bottom line directly. Three hundred thousand spirit stones a year was a massive sum even for a Golden Core cultivator.
But given Li Changsheng's youth and his mid-Golden Core cultivation, he deserved such treatment.
"Deal!"
"But I need the two hundred thousand spirit stones upfront!"
Li Changsheng stated directly.
"Agreed."
Su Qingyu didn't hesitate. She took out a storage bag and handed it to Li Changsheng.
Li Changsheng took the storage bag and placed it into his own.
"I'll find you after the auction!"
"Alright!"
As Li Changsheng left the carriage, Lu He said with a worried expression, "Mistress, you just gave him the spirit stones like that?"
"What if he takes the spirit stones and runs? That's not the family's wealth—it's your personal savings!"
Su Qingyu smiled faintly. "Someone who achieves such a high cultivation level at a young age has their own pride."
"Let's go. We'll head to Misty Valley first. After acquiring that item at the auction, we'll return to the family."
...
Li Changsheng didn't choose to stay with Su Qingyu. Su Qingyu's entourage was too grand, and with her around, the Sunset Sect and the Wan family wouldn't dare to make a move against him.
He walked through the Tunmen Market with Bai Qing'er.
Zhao San and Qin Yi went to rent a cultivation cave.
The auction was still more than ten days away, so they would need to stay in the Tunmen Market for a while.
"Young Master, is this where cultivators gather?"
"It doesn't seem much different from mortal cities."
Bai Qing'er spoke softly.
"The Tunmen Market has existed for hundreds of years. Besides cultivators, many mortals also live here, mostly descendants of cultivators without spiritual roots. With mortals around, it's naturally similar to the outside world, except there are more cultivators."
Li Changsheng smiled and shook his head.
The two of them walked along the market's streets to the location where the Hundred Herbs Hall used to be, but it had been replaced by a shop selling talismans.
"Speaking of which, the pills in my old shop could have sold for a few hundred spirit stones, right?"
Li Changsheng smiled wryly. More than a year ago, earning a hundred spirit stones a month was something he was content with. Now, there were two hundred thousand spirit stones quietly sitting in his storage bag.
The signboard of the Heavenly Armory, which Zhao San and the others had opened with the Song shopkeeper, had also been replaced, but it was still a shop selling magical tools.
Li Changsheng entered the shop and sold all the magical tools he had obtained from those who had crossed him, keeping only the superior-grade tools for the auction to fetch a higher price.
The tools from dozens of cultivators sold for nineteen thousand spirit stones.
After selling the tools, Li Changsheng repeated the process with the materials in his storage bag, earning twenty-nine thousand spirit stones.
After browsing the market, Qin Yi and Zhao San found them.
Zhao San, who had been active in the market for many years, quickly secured a cultivation cave!
"I'll go into seclusion for a few days. I'll come out when the auction starts!"
With those words, Li Changsheng sealed the cave and set up several noise-dampening formations inside. As a second-level peak formation master, his formations were comparable to those of the Wan family's headquarters in Misty Valley. Even if he broke through to the Nascent Soul stage, the commotion wouldn't leak out.
"Top up!"
[Top-up successful. Balance: 225,000 gold coins.]
[Would you like to use the Cultivation Simulator immediately? Each use costs 10,000 gold coins.]
"Yes."
[At age twenty-one, after the auction, you killed all the cultivators who attacked you and occupied the spiritual vein in Misty Valley.]
[You gave Zhao San the Foundation Establishment Pills you had obtained from the killed cultivators, and Zhao San successfully broke through to Foundation Establishment.]
[A month later, you handed the formation core you had prepared to Zhao San and then returned to the Su family with Su Qingyu.]
[At age thirty-one, you accompanied Su Qingyu to the opportunity site. The Long family and the Medicine King Sect tried to ambush you, but you struck first, instantly killing two Golden Core cultivators. You then attacked the Long family and Medicine King Sect forces, killing three more Golden Core cultivators. The rest fled.]
[A month later, the Medicine King Sect's Nascent Soul cultivators and the Long family's ancestor came to the Su family, demanding your surrender. A great battle broke out.]
[At age one hundred and twenty-five, with the Su family's abundant resources, you reached the late Golden Core stage.]
[At age one hundred and forty-two, you were killed by a Medicine King Sect powerhouse.]
The late Golden Core stage achieved!
...
"Again!"
[...At age one hundred and thirty-five, with the Su family's abundant resources, you successfully reached the peak Golden Core stage.]
The peak Golden Core stage achieved!
...
[...At age one hundred and fifteen, you attempted to break through to the Nascent Soul stage but failed. You died!]
...
[At age one hundred and thirty, you failed to break through to the Nascent Soul stage. You died!]
...
[...At age one hundred and forty-one, you were found by a Medicine King Sect powerhouse on the outskirts of the Endless Forest and killed.]
...
Li Changsheng opened his eyes and frowned slightly.
"My aptitude is truly too poor!"
After seven simulations, he still hadn't managed to break through from the peak Golden Core stage to the Nascent Soul stage. With his Four Spiritual Roots aptitude, reaching Foundation Establishment was already considered a stroke of luck!
A few days ago, breaking through to the Golden Core stage in one go had made Li Changsheng feel confident again.
Now, trying to break through to the Nascent Soul stage had given him a harsh reality check!
"Hah!"
Li Changsheng took a deep breath and murmured:
"I need to find a way to advance my alchemy to the fourth level and refine Nascent Soul Pills!"