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Chapter 320: Fanghu

Apart from the ones at the highest positions of Mount Shu, which included the sect leader and the Guardian Elders, the other three—Wang Xuanling, being the grand peak master; Old Man Sikong, being known for his virtue; and Tantai Jing, being known for his wisdom—were often called upon for important matters.

These individuals constituted Mount Shu\'s current decision-making team. Only for major public matters would all thirty-five peak masters be called to a meeting.

As for Di Nufeng, she usually disliked attending such gatherings because they interfered with her sleep. If she did attend, it meant that others preferred not to come...

So she was only called for particularly significant matters.

"Pavilion of Celestial Fate is unwilling to sell the Demon-Subduing Pestle to Mount Shu in advance but said they would give us a 10 percent discount on the final auction price," Wang Xuanling said in a deep voice.

"10 percent off?" The Alchemy Master responded, "That\'s quite a discount."

"As expected, it’s not possible for us to get it before the others," the Conservation Master said with a sigh.

With the Pavilion of Celestial Fate establishing such a significant presence in Taotie City, they had to ensure their credibility remained intact. If the immortal sects in the Divine Nine and Terrestrial Ten could purchase the displayed items in advance, it would undermine the purpose of holding an auction.

However, they still had to show some respect to Mount Shu, hence offering a 10% discount as a gesture of goodwill. This decision was understandable.

"The Mount Shu Sect must get the Demon-Subduing Pestle back," the Discipline Master said firmly. "The Mount Shu Sect has made great achievements through the six demon-eliminating treasures. Since it has resurfaced, we must bring it back!"

"That\'s true, but the people from the Penglai Supreme Sect might also compete with us..." Old Man Sikong said, "After all, they have the Demon-Cutting Saber. They probably want to gather all six demon-eliminating treasures too."

A few years ago, the Mount Shu Sect had some minor conflicts with the Penglai Supreme Sect precisely because of the six demon-eliminating treasures.

A long time ago, a senior of the Mount Shu Sect entered the Profound Darkness Hidden Realm with the Demon-Cutting Saber and died there, which resulted in the Mount Shu Sect losing the Demon-Cutting Saber.

A few decades ago, Daoist Chi Niu[1] from the Penglai Supreme Sect found this legendary weapon in the Profound Darkness Hidden Realm.

According to the customary rules of the immortal realm, if a sect\'s members lost a valuable item in a hidden realm for many years, it would become an ownerless treasure. Whoever finds it during their exploration of the hidden realm would get to keep it.

However, given the extraordinary significance of the six demon-eliminating treasures, the Mount Shu Sect went to negotiate, hoping to exchange other valuable items for the Demon-Cutting Saber. This was quite reasonable.

But Daoist Chi Niu was deeply fond of the Demon-Cutting Saber and directly rejected Mount Shu\'s offer for a trade.

Even without considering the synergy between the six demon-eliminating treasures, the Demon-Cutting Saber alone could rank among the top hundred in the Catalog of the Mortal World\'s Ten Thousand Treasures. Treasures of this level were indeed not something people would easily exchange.

After some disputes, the matter was eventually left unresolved.

With the appearance of the Demon-Subduing Pestle this time, there was an eighty percent chance that the Penglai Supreme Sect would compete for it. After all, the six demon-eliminating treasures complemented each other, and possessing two together would significantly enhance their power.

"Yes, such a legendary weapon at an auction will undoubtedly fetch a sky-high price," mused the Supervising Elder. "How can Mount Shu compete with Penglai when it comes to wealth?"

The emergence of a legendary weapon would inevitably spark a bidding frenzy, and it was no surprise if the final price soared to extraordinary heights.

The Penglai Supreme Sect, renowned for its three resource-rich islands teeming with countless spirit plants, was considered the most blessed land of an immortal sect in the nine provinces. In comparison, Mount Shu\'s financial and martial strength seemed somewhat inadequate.

With sufficient materials, the Mount Shu Sect could make as many sword coins as they desired. However, the downside was that if those sword coins ended up in the hands of others, they could use them to exchange for Mount Shu\'s resources.

If the Mount Shu Sect make a large number of sword coins to purchase the item and intentionally raised the prices of their own resources, they might gain a temporary advantage. However, the consequences would be severe: they would become isolated, and their reputation would be ruined.

This consequence was more severe than missing out on the legendary weapon.

The Discipline Master pondered for a moment before suddenly saying, "Why not just take it by force?"

"Pfft—" Tantai Jing nearly spit out his tea and quickly said, "Discipline Master, think carefully. Seizing a legendary weapon by force in Taotie City would ruin Mount Shu\'s reputation instantly... it\'s not worth it!"

After a pause, he continued, "We will compete with Penglai in this auction. With the right strategy, we might not necessarily lose. We are able to rally the full strength of our entire sect, while Penglai is deeply divided due to its factions. At most, we\'ll be up against the Fanghu faction."

The Penglai Immortal Realm was a collective term for the three immortals\' islands—Penglai, Fanghu, and Yingzhou

Initially, the Penglai Supreme Sect resided on Mirage Mountain, while the members of the Penglai Secondary Sect were distributed across the three islands.

However, after a competition of growth with the Heavenly Star Divine Cult, the number of disciples in the Penglai Supreme Sect surged, making Mirage Mountain too small to accommodate everyone. Consequently, the sect ordered all its members to relocate to the three islands.

Now, only those who reached the seventh realm were qualified to establish a cave dwelling on the cloud-covered Mirage Mountain above the three islands, where they could live with their families and disciples.

This move had an unforeseen consequence at the time: Mirage Mountain was no longer a unified entity. Due to the Eminent Ones who moved to Mirage Mountain coming from different locations, the members were naturally split into three factions.

Each Eminent One wanted to direct resources to their own island, promoting their young talents to eventually become their right-hand person.

Over time, the divisions among the three factions deepened further.

Since the current sect leader originated from the Penglai Island, the Penglai faction was currently the strongest. For instance, Yang Yuhu\'s teacher, Daoist Huang Long, whom Chu Liang had met, as well as Daoist Bai Lin, the one who visited Mount Shu previously were part of the Penglai faction.

However, the Fanghu and Yingzhou factions were powerful as well. After all, Penglai was a huge sect with very deep roots, which meant that Fanghu and Yingzhou also had a strong foundation. Daoist Chi Niu, who possessed the Demon-Cutting Saber, was from the Fanghu faction.

Naturally, the members of the other two factions wouldn\'t assist him in competing for the legendary weapon at the auction.

Venerable Wen Yuan listened to their discussion for a while, then slightly raised his hand and ordered, "Weapons Master and Tantai Jing, take out 80% of the sword coins from the treasury and head to Taotie City to participate in the auction. The Demon-Subduing Pestle has been a legendary weapon of Mount Shu for thousands of years; please ensure that you bring it back."

Tantai Jing and the Weapons Master solemnly accepted the order, responding, "Yes!"

...

"I\'ve never seen this much money in my life..." Wen Yulong exclaimed, staring at the several storage enchanted tools on the table.

These storage enchanted tools were filled to the brim with Vermillion-Bird coins.

After the commotion at the restaurant, rumors about the shortage of Spirit-Concentration Pills spread like wildfire. Many cultivators, who had been holding off in hopes of a price drop, scrambled to make urgent purchases to secure their supply.

Seeing this, the pill shops immediately and eagerly sought out Chu Liang.

With so many people surrounding him, Chu Liang naturally couldn\'t "in good conscience" sell all the pills to the Precious Pill Pavilion. Instead, he divided his Spirit-Concentration Pills into five portions and sold them to five large pill shops at a rate of three pills for two Vermillion-Bird coins.

However, the portion for the Precious Pill Pavilion was sold at a slightly reduced price.

The special treatment that the Precious Pill Pavilion received led Elder Sun to personally thank Chu Liang. In his eyes, Chu Liang was a young hero who was both faithful and loyal.

The other pill shops knew that Chu Liang had sourced his Spirit-Concentration Pills from the Precious Pill Pavilion, so they had no objections. Even at this price, they could still make a considerable profit.

Eager to make a profit, the pill shops rushed to sell their stock quickly. They knew that the sudden influx of Spirit-Concentration Pills would drive prices down, and anyone who was slow to sell would end up taking a loss.

Wen Yulong watched Chu Liang\'s entire operation in amazement.

Through this series of maneuvers, Chu Liang turned 60,000 sword coins into 100,000 Vermillion-Bird coins, which were nearly equivalent in value, netting a profit of 40,000. Additionally, he secured the friendship of several major pill shops in Taotie City, ensuring smoother dealings in the future. Chu Liang gained both respect and wealth.

He made money off them, and they still had to thank him.

This was quite magical.

"It was thanks to your help this time. Is there anything you want to buy?" Chu Liang asked with a smile. "I\'ll pay for it."

Wen Yulong\'s eyes lit up immediately. "Really?"

"Well..." Chu Liang thought for a moment and handed over an enchanted storage tool. "Never mind, I\'ll just give you a bonus."

The storage tool contained 1,000 sword coins, which was no small amount for Wen Yulong.

However, the bonus was merely a drop in the bucket, not enough for the materials that would make his whimsical ideas come true.

If Wen Yulong was allowed to indulge in any purchases, Chu Liang might end up crying on his way back to Mount Shu.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Chu." Wen Yulong accepted the bonus without complaint and then asked, "Now that the Spirit-Concentration Pills are sold, what are we going to do? Are we heading back?"

"No rush. Since we made money, we have to spend it," Chu Liang replied. "There\'s something I want to buy. I\'m not sure if Taotie City has it."

"What is it?" Wen Yulong asked.

"Human-Faced Xiao," Chu Liang replied.

This ghastly entity enabled the unboxing of Large-Headed Dolls, which, while not as powerful as other enchanted tools, were crucial for Chu Liang’s cultivation growth.

It was all thanks to the Large-Headed Dolls bearing the burden that he could live such a peaceful life.

For these hardworking Large-Headed Dolls that worked everyday without taking a break, Chu Liang has only four words: the more, the better.

However, the Human-Faced Xiao was extremely rare. Despite his long search, Chu Liang had yet to encounter a third one. Now that he was in Taotie City, renowned for gathering treasures from across the nine provinces, he realized it was an opportune moment to resume his quest of searching for this entity.

"Isn\'t that a very rare ghost? What do you need it for, Senior Brother Chu?" Wen Yulong asked with curiosity.

Chu Liang paused for a moment, then replied mysteriously, "I have a connection with this entity."

Wen Yulong glanced at the figure before him, who spoke in riddles, and decided not to inquire further. Instead, he suggested, "Let’s explore around the area tomorrow. If we can’t find it, we can submit a request at the Pavilion of Celestial Fate. They specialize in finding treasures and will notify us as soon as they have any news."

Chu Liang smiled as he said, "That sounds perfect."

1. His name means red cow or maybe hot cow. ☜