Eternal Life from the Golden Needle Technique

"Cyan Jade Pills? Of course we have them. How many would you like, Immortal Master?"

At Shen Changchuan’s words,

the attendant’s smile grew even brighter.

"Ten or more."

"This way then, Immortal Master. Please, head up to the second floor."

The attendant enthusiastically led the way, heading toward a wide staircase in the back.

Their conversation,

was overheard by everyone around them.

Several pairs of eyes focused on Shen Changchuan.

However, Shen Changchuan’s expression remained unchanged as he calmly followed the attendant to the second floor.

The second floor was very spacious.

Its floor was tiled with smooth slabs of an unknown White Jade Stone. Counters lined the room, their crystal glass cases holding all sorts of exhibits. From the ceiling hung Fluorescent Stones, bathing the area in a white light.

For a moment, Shen Changchuan was dazed, feeling as if he had returned to one of the high-end shopping malls of his previous life.

After they reached the second floor,

the attendant gave a brief report and went downstairs, replaced by a manager who came to receive him.

The manager took a translucent Jade Bottle from a hidden compartment beneath the glass counter, placed it before Shen Changchuan, and said,

"These are the Cyan Jade Pills you require, sir. There are five to a bottle. How many would you like?"

"May I inspect them?"

"Aside from tasting them, feel free to use any other method you wish."

Shen Changchuan then opened the lid of the Jade Bottle.

A rich, clear fragrance of elixirs wafted out, causing Shen Changchuan to feel his own Magical Power stir restlessly.

He then peered through the mouth of the bottle and saw five elixirs, perfectly round like Cyan Jade and faintly glowing.

He was now ninety percent certain about these elixirs.

’They’re exactly what I need.’ 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

’Then again,’

’a business as large as the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion wouldn’t stoop to fraud over something like this.’

"How much are they?"

"Six hundred Spirit Stones each."

"Six hundred? Aren’t they five hundred Spirit Stones each?"

"Ah, sir, that’s likely the internal price for business partners of the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion. We are fair to all our customers; the standard price for public sale is a uniform six hundred Spirit Stones each."

Hearing this,

Shen Changchuan’s brow furrowed slightly.

"A friend referred me here to make a purchase. Is there any chance of a discount?"

As he spoke, Shen Changchuan took out the token Si Houqing had given him.

"Is this... a token from the Sanhe Chamber of Commerce? Hmm, this will do. However, since you’re not one of our official partners, sir, the most I can offer is a discount of fifty Spirit Stones per pill."

"Can’t you go any lower? What if I buy a larger quantity of elixirs, for example?"

"I’m sorry, that’s really not possible."

"Refining elixirs isn’t easy. We at the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion can’t operate on a model of small profits and quick returns."

"However, if your purchase exceeds ten thousand Spirit Stones, sir, I can take the liberty of giving you some gifts as a bonus."

The manager explained patiently, a smile on his face.

"What kind of gifts?"

"Cultivation Techniques, Magic, Cultivation Experience, things like that. Of course, they are all limited to below the Qi Introduction Late Stage. You may select any five you wish."

After wasting a good deal of breath,

he still couldn’t get the price down.

Shen Changchuan sighed helplessly.

"Alright then. I’ll take twenty Cyan Jade Pills."

"Of course. Please wait a moment."

A short while later,

four bottles of elixirs appeared before Shen Changchuan.

Shen Changchuan inspected them one by one,

and after confirming there were no issues, paid eleven thousand Spirit Stones and put all the elixirs away.

"Is there anything else you need, sir?"

"No, thank you. What about the bonus gifts? I’ll choose from the Magic category."

Shen Changchuan shook his head.

’Eleven thousand Spirit Stones... that was a real hemorrhage!’

’My entire wallet is empty now.’

’How could I have any Spirit Stones left to buy anything else?’

’The cost was just too high!’

’To be honest,’

’for over ninety-eight percent of Qi Introduction Seventh Layer Cultivators in this world, spending over ten thousand Spirit Stones on elixirs for a rapid boost in Cultivation simply isn’t worth it!’

’Probably only the direct heirs of powerful, aristocratic families can afford such treatment.’

’Forget ordinary Cultivators; even those from regular prominent families couldn’t sustain this kind of spending.’

’But there’s no other way.’

’With the current turbulent situation in the Border Desolate Land,’

’I have to increase my strength as quickly as possible.’

’And so,’

’the only way is to pay-to-win to accelerate my Cultivation.’

Just as Shen Changchuan was lamenting inwardly,

the manager took out a compendium of Magic and handed it to him.

"You may choose any five types of Magic from this."

Shen Changchuan took the compendium of Magic,

and began browsing through the pages.

After a good half an hour, he finally selected five types of Magic.

Among these five, four were Magic related to the Wood Element and Sword System.

Obviously,

Shen Changchuan planned to use them all as stepping stones for his Cyan Wood Sword Light Cultivation.

After cultivating them to Perfection, he would use the accumulated experience to fill up the progress bar for the Cyan Wood Sword Light.

As for the last one,

it was a Secret Technique called the Concentric Vision Technique.

This Secret Technique was rather special.

It allowed the caster to share their vision with someone they had a mental connection with over a great distance.

And this,

was precisely why Shen Changchuan had deliberately chosen it.

’Just think,’

’if I use the Concentric Vision Technique on Xiaofeng.’

’I’ll be able to see everything from the sky through its eyes.’

’The value for reconnaissance would be almost incalculable!’

After getting everything he came for, Shen Changchuan didn’t linger and left the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion directly.

However,

not long after he left,

a secret message was sent out, unnoticed by almost everyone.

In a certain mansion within the city,

a shadowy figure’s face twisted with manic joy upon receiving the news.

A short while later,

among the local guides at the city gate waiting for out-of-town Cultivators to earn some Spirit Stones,

a skinny man with a pointy chin and monkey-like cheeks slipped out of the city, unnoticed, and quickly vanished.

If Shen Changchuan had been there,

he would have surely recognized him.

The departing skinny man with the pointy chin and monkey-like cheeks was the very same person who had approached him at the city gate, eagerly offering his services as a guide and claiming he could lead him to all sorts of secret places, including the black market!

...

The events that transpired behind him,

Shen Changchuan was completely unaware of.

At that moment, he

was facing another problem.

After leaving the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion, his original plan was to ride Xiaofeng straight back.

However, when Shen Changchuan communicated with Xiaofeng through the seed left in its Sea of Consciousness by the Beast Taming Secret Technique,

he learned that after rushing for the better part of the day to get there, Xiaofeng had consumed a great deal of Demonic Power and was exhausted. It would need at least a day of rest to recover.

Left with no other choice,

Shen Changchuan could only find an inn in the city to rest for the night.