Eternal Life from the Golden Needle Technique

’Seems pretty simple...’

At the Half-Mountain Courtyard,

Shen Changchuan rubbed his chin and casually tossed out a cheap Wasted Pill he had bought through his connection with Si Houqing.

The Elixir traced an arc through the air,

but before it could touch the ground,

Xiaofeng leaped up from nearby, snatching the Wasted Pill in its beak. With a tilt of its head and a gulp, it quickly swallowed it.

After eating the Wasted Pill,

Xiaofeng still wasn’t satisfied.

It gazed at Shen Changchuan with a look of longing.

At the same time, it shook its head and wagged its tail,

its excited appearance making it look just like a little puppy begging for food.

Seeing this,

Shen Changchuan was a little speechless.

’I only made you starve for over two months because I was worried you’d regain your strength and I wouldn’t be able to keep you contained in the village.’

’Is this really necessary?’

’You don’t have a shred of pride left!’

Shen Changchuan couldn’t help but complain inwardly.

’Some ordinary eagles can go without food or water, starving to death rather than submitting.’

In contrast,

this guy, a Demon Beast, had no backbone whatsoever. Its surrender was swift and absolute.

Through the Beast Taming Secret Technique, Shen Changchuan could sense its inner thoughts.

He could feel that...

...it no longer had any will to resist or defy him.

It wholeheartedly saw him as its master and would obey his every command.

This rendered all of Shen Changchuan’s previous worries and extensive preparations completely useless.

But while he was relieved,

this spineless creature...

...made Shen Changchuan start to have some doubts. ’Could I even make use of this thing?’

’After all, you’re a magnificent Demon Beast at the Qi Introduction Sixth Layer Peak Level,’

’and you caved after just a few days of hunger.’

’How am I supposed to guarantee your loyalty in the future?’

’Forget it.’

The thoughts flashed through his mind, and Shen Changchuan shook his head.

’This is actually a good thing.’

’The faster it caved,’

’the more time I saved.’

Besides, his only reason for taming it was to use it as a mode of transportation, to make travel more convenient.

He never intended for it to be his combat partner.

’Whether it has backbone or not...’

’...doesn’t seem to make much of a difference.’

So,

Shen Changchuan fed a few more Wasted Pills to the fawning creature before him.

’Eat up. Have some more,’ Shen Changchuan thought.

’Hurry up and recover. I’ll need you for what comes next.’

It was clear that,

after starving for over two months,

while Xiaofeng’s pride had been worn away, its Primordial Qi had also been severely damaged.

Not long ago, after using the Beast Taming Secret Technique to control it,

Shen Changchuan had tried standing on its back and commanding it to fly.

However,

because it had been locked up for over two months with little food or water, and its injuries had not yet healed, its Primordial Qi was heavily depleted.

The little creature had only managed to carry Shen Changchuan for a little over a hundred feet...

...before it couldn’t hold on and came falling down.

This instantly extinguished the excitement Shen Changchuan had been feeling.

’Looks like it’s not that easy after all!’

’This thing needs to be nourished and trained back into shape before it’ll be useful.’

Fortunately,

Shen Changchuan wasn’t in a hurry.

He was the steady, cautious type, not someone who acted rashly.

Before taking any action,

he would always make as many plans and preparations as possible.

And so,

for the next ten-odd days,

Shen Changchuan basically fed the Gale Falcon all sorts of cheaply bought Wasted Pills to help it recover its Primordial Qi, while also having it take short flights to get its body back in shape.

Of course,

during this process,

in his spare time,

Shen Changchuan certainly didn’t forget to practice his Cultivation Techniques and improve his own strength.

Now,

after he advanced to the Qi Introduction Seventh Layer, his speed at practicing Cultivation Techniques had grown even faster. By now, all thirty-plus Magic he had originally purchased had reached 100% Perfection.

This brought Shen Changchuan a considerable accumulation of related Cultivation Experience.

The cultivation progress of the Cyan Wood Sword Light, a type of Magic, had also reached sixty percent.

This progress...

...wasn’t a very significant improvement.

However, his execution of the Magic was much more stable, and the casting time from Sealing Technique to actual combat use had also decreased somewhat.

This meant that after breaking through to the Seventh Layer, Shen Changchuan’s strength had once again improved.

And during this time,

the caravans from three chambers of commerce also arrived, carrying large quantities of goods.

With the arrival of the goods,

three new trading posts opened for business.

For the occasion,

the three newly opened chambers of commerce, along with the Sanhe Chamber of Commerce, launched a small wave of promotions to celebrate the grand opening.

This brought a great deal of excitement to all of Dawan Village.

And judging by the beaming smiles on the Shopkeepers’ faces afterward, their income was clearly excellent.

That evening,

the chambers of commerce even held a celebratory banquet.

Of course,

as the host, Shen Changchuan was naturally on the guest list.

He certainly wouldn’t be left out.

Without much thought, Shen Changchuan could guess,

that the so-called celebratory banquet was just a pretext.

He figured their purpose was to build a connection with him, get to know him, and deepen their relationship.

This wasn’t Shen Changchuan being arrogant.

It was simply the truth.

Although he always made sure to use the Breath Concealment Technique to hide his aura in front of others, making him appear to be merely at the Qi Introduction Fourth Layer Peak in their eyes,

as a member of the Tian Nan Shen Clan,

with the great banner of the Tian Nan Shen Clan behind him,

for small, rural caravans like them, there was no harm in getting acquainted with him. In fact, it could even help them expand their network.

For these veteran merchants who had been in business for many years, this was practically instinct.

As for the invitation,

Shen Changchuan didn’t refuse.

After all, he was planning to go to Qing City himself to purchase Cyan Jade Pills,

and the best way to find out how to buy the Elixirs at a lower price was clearly to get information from them.

Since the Shopkeepers of these merchant guilds could procure so many Immortal Cultivation Materials,

they more or less had connections and channels.

Even if they didn’t introduce him to their contacts,

the information they could reveal about their channels would be enough to save him a lot of trouble.

Moreover,

after mastering the Beast Taming Secret Technique and controlling the Gale Falcon, Shen Changchuan had also been entertaining the thought of raising Xiaofeng’s strength to the Qi Introduction Seventh Layer, to improve its power as much as possible.

After all, the higher Xiaofeng’s Realm, the faster it would be,

and the greater his own mobility would become.

Shen Changchuan didn’t mind procuring some Wasted Pills as a perk for it to enhance its strength.

Therefore,

Shen Changchuan naturally accepted their invitation.

「That night,」

after a round of feasting and drinking,

the men took the opportunity to become more familiar with one another, and the distance between them closed considerably.

Shen Changchuan exchanged a great deal of information with them and obtained the details he wanted, such as the channels for the major chambers of commerce in Qing City that sold Cyan Jade Pills.

In the process,

Si Houqing even promised that since Wasted Pills were cheap, he could have the caravan bring a batch for him on their next trip.

This was a pleasant surprise for Shen Changchuan.