assistirfilmes Chapter 287: Making Inquiries
Chapter 287: Making Inquiries
Staring at the sloping passage leading underground, Liu Xiaolou took a long breath. He sent his spiritual sense into his storage pouch. Everything he owned in the world was packed inside.He’d already braced himself to sell off everything he owned to buy a Foundation Establishment Pill. Aside from the Mysterious True Cord, the rest were all fair game to trade for spirit stones. The Bewildering Fragrance Tendon, the Three-Mystery Sword, the Glass Shield, the Jade Pendant Concealment, and the Spirit-Leopard Bone Flute.
The least valuable of the bunch was the Three-Mystery Sword. If it hadn’t later developed that soft but razor-sharp sword-light, it wouldn’t have been worth much at all. As it stood now, Liu Xiaolou figured it might fetch 35 spirit stones.
If he could sell the Bewildering Fragrance Tendon in his hand to a pro in the ambush trade, he should easily get 45 spirit stones for it.
The Jade Pendant Concealment was a niche cultivation tool. In the right situation it could be incredibly useful, but the truth was that chances to use it were rare. Liu Xiaolou had owned it for ten years and barely touched it. That meant he needed to find a specialist buyer. It wouldn’t be easy to sell, so he estimated its value at a modest 40 to 50 spirit stones.
Liu Xiaolou figured the Bone Flute that housed the phantom of a spiritual leopard was worth around 80 spirit stones. After all, the artifact was still maturing; its true power wasn’t visible to experts yet. If he cultivated it for ten more years, until it could be used at the Foundation Establishment stage, its value would skyrocket.
The most valuable item he had was the Glass Shield. He'd gotten that top-grade artifact from Lu Xiansheng of Tianmu Mountain. And its abilities were outstanding. Wei Hongqing had estimated it at around 300 spirit stones.
That alone put him over 500 spirit stones. If he added all the spiritual materials he had saved up, which were worth close to another 100, he’d be sitting on about 600 stones. That was enough to start haggling.
If that still wasn’t enough, he could even throw in the Qiankun Pouch, which would add another 300.
He just hoped his luck would hold here.
He stepped down the passageway, walked several dozen yards, and entered a cavern. The central chamber wasn’t very large, and several tunnels branched off from it. Each one had a carved sign marking its direction: Formations, Pills, Artifacts, Materials, Talismans, Beasts, Techniques, and Miscellaneous.
Someone came up behind him, also wrapped in a cloak with a hat and mask, and slipped into the tunnel marked “Beasts.” Another person passed him and went into the “Pills” passage.
Liu Xiaolou followed him inside. The passage curved to the left for over ten yards, opening up into another cavernous hall. This one was winding and maze-like, divided by countless natural stalagmites, stone pillars, rocky terraces, and walls. So much so that he couldn’t see the end of it at a glance.
Oil lamps hung from the ceiling and walls, but the light was dim, leaving the entire chamber in a deep gloom.
Many cultivators were sitting cross-legged against the stone pillars or huddled beside stalagmites and walls, each with a handful of pill bottles set out in front of them. More cultivators walked from seller to seller, asking a few quiet questions, opening bottles to sample the scent of the pills, sometimes leaving after only a moment, sometimes settling in and talking at length with the seller.
Liu Xiaolou straightened up, took a breath, and scanned the area. He noticed an empty spot under a stalagmite in the left corner, where a lone seller had set up. He walked over quickly and asked, “What kind of pills are you selling, friend?”
The man was dressed exactly like Liu Xiaolou, so there was no way to tell who he was. He picked up one of the pill bottles set before him, pulled out the stopper, and let a faint scent drift out. “This is the Heart-Nourishing Pill, made from my family’s secret recipe.”
Liu Xiaolou wasn’t interested. He didn’t even bother smelling it. He pointed to another bottle. “What about this one?”
“Qi-Nurturing Pills, also from my family.”
“And this one?”
“Meridian-Nurturing Pills. Go ahead and smell it.”
“That’s it? Just these three? Nothing else?”
“What exactly are you looking to buy, sir?”
“Got any Foundation Establishment Pills?”
“You’re joking, right? Forget about me. No alchemist in this entire hall is selling Foundation Establishment Pills.”
“You sound pretty sure.”
“Of course I’m sure. I’ve been around here for years, and in the past ten or so, I’ve never heard of anyone selling one.”
“This is Chicheng Market though.”
“And you’re asking for a Foundation Establishment Pill, my friend. That pill is insanely hard to refine. Every major sect keeps whatever they manage to make for their own disciples. They have no reason to put any up for sale. Let me give you a tip: the Chicheng Sect only managed to refine two Foundation Establishment Pills last year, and they have eighteen outer disciples waiting to break through.”
Even though he’d braced himself for it, having his hopes dashed right at the start really hit Liu Xiaolou hard. After traveling so far, he couldn’t help feeling a little down. Still, he was here now, so he might as well look around.
You never know, something unexpected might happen.
He didn’t bother with small talk anymore. He just went from seller to seller, asking straight out about Foundation Establishment Pills.
“Got any Foundation Establishment Pills?”
“No.”
“Sorry for bothering you.”
On to the next one.
“Do you have any Foundation Establishment Pills?”
“Well…”
“Do you or don’t you? Just tell me straight.”
“For now, no. But I can sell you some information.”
“What kind of information?”
“For two spirit stones, I’ll tell you where you be able to buy one. I can’t guarantee anything, but I’d say you’ve got a 30% chance.”
Liu Xiaolou studied the man for a moment. With that hat and mask hiding his face, there was no way to read him. In the end, Liu let go of the thought of tracking them down later for payback and said, “Funny, I’ve got some information too. 50% chance. Better odds than yours by twenty. Are you buying?”
No point dragging out a conversation that was going nowhere. Grumpily, Liu Xiaolou moved on to the next spot.
He had no idea how long he wandered. When he finally straightened up and looked ahead, he realized he’d reached the very end of the cavern hall. He had walked the whole thing.
He looked back and the crowd’s still there, and he just felt kind of drained and frustrated and helpless.
This whole trip had been for nothing.
He wandered around aimlessly for another hour, unwilling to give up. But reality eventually forced itself on him. He stepped back out and returned to the outer cavern hall.
No wonder Dragon Wanderer and Dai Shenggao had hunted for a Foundation Establishment Pill for years without success. It had nothing to do with spirit stones at all. The real problem was that the thing basically didn’t exist out in the open.
So what was he supposed to do now?
His eyes drifted across the other passageways. After a moment of hesitation, a small spark of hope lit up again. He headed quickly into the one marked “Miscellaneous.”
“Miscellaneous” meant anything that wasn’t pills, tools, talismans, materials, or formations. Liu Xiaolou was really curious what might be in there.
This cave was a bit smaller than the Pill Cave, but its winding layout was even more complicated. It also offered better privacy for anyone having a conversation inside.
There were clearly far fewer cultivators here, which made the place feel a bit quiet and empty.
After browsing around for a bit, Liu Xiaolou made his way toward a natural stone bridge. A woman was sitting on the edge with her legs dangling over the side, looking bored out of her mind.
He walked up to her. And was just about to ask if she had any news about Foundation Establishment Pills when she spoke first. “What level is your cultivation, friend?”
Her voice was a little hoarse.
He lowered his voice. “Do you happen to know anything about Foundation Establishment Pills?”
The woman stayed quiet for a moment, then shook her head. “I don’t.”
Liu Xiaolou didn’t have time to waste. He turned around and left, continuing his search for the next person.