I Shall Be Everlasting In the World of Immortals

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“Cheep!”

The second-rank black demonic bird reacted swiftly. As soon as the killing formation activated, it instinctively halted. It screeched angrily, emitting a burst of dark light and wind that dispersed the surrounding water ripples.

With a sweep of its black feathers, a dozen arc-like feather blades sliced in all directions.

Some of them targeted Lan Chang'an and the Profound Water Turtle, but most were aimed at the illusory blue moon above.

“Not too stupid.”

Lan Chang'an told Guan Qiaozhi to retreat into the cave mansion, and he summoned the supreme-grade magical weapon, the Vajra Bell, which he had purchased in Huanglong Immortal City.

A five-foot-long golden bell flew across the pond, transforming into a large bell several zhang wide, forming a semi-transparent golden shield to block attacks for the Profound Water Turtle.

In reality, it was just for show.

The little attacks of a second-rank demonic beast couldn’t harm the Profound Water Turtle, which had retreated into its shell.

Clang! Boom!

Lan Chang'an infused his mid-Foundation Establishment mana into the Vajra Bell. The booming sound waves struck the second-rank black demonic bird trying to break out of the formation.

The demonic bird staggered in the sky, bleeding from its mouth and nose, its speed was significantly reduced.

The Vajra Bell not only provided defense and trapped enemies but could also emit sound waves that shook blood and energy, startling the mind.

Squeak!

A nimble orange-yellow demonic rat leaped out of the cave mansion.

Its sharp claws, glowing with a dark yellow light, sliced off the head of the second-rank black demonic bird.

Lan Chang'an stopped preparing his spells.

The trouble with demonic birds lay in their high mobility. Ordinary mid-Foundation Establishment cultivators found it hard to kill such early second-rank flying beasts.

However, with the help of Little Turtle Peak’s formation, Lan Chang'an could handle even late second-rank demonic beasts with just his surface abilities.

Decades ago, the Heavenly Moon Wolf from the Black Fog Mountain Range had only managed to reach the late second-rank level under the amplification of the full moon.

After processing the materials from the demonic beast, Lan Chang'an treated himself to a feast of demonic bird delicacies that evening.

Ye Fei from Little Pill Peak was invited to join.

“Fellow Daoist Lan, the beast tide’s scale has exceeded expectations. Do you think a small group of demonic beasts might come over?” After eating and drinking, Ye Fei wiped the oil from his mouth and spoke with a tone tinged with worry.

Demonic beasts had strong physiques, making poisons less effective.

He didn't want his newly found ideal spiritual vein site to be ravaged by demonic beasts.

“It's hard to say.” Lan Chang'an shook his head.

“Wuqi Mountain is some distance from the front lines. As long as it’s not a big beast tide, the real threat won’t be these demonic beasts.”

Even if a small group of demonic beasts did come through, he was confident he could handle it.

Little Turtle Peak housed the spiritual trees and herbs Lan Chang'an had cultivated for decades.

This kind of opportunity to quietly make a fortune is enough for him to stay put despite the small risks.

...

Half a month later.

As expected, someone came to deliver materials to Lan Chang'an.

The first to arrive was the Beast Taming Zhou Family.

The representative, a middle-aged scholarly man, was Zhou Jingxuan, whom Lan Chang'an had conversed with in Huanglong Immortal City years ago.

Zhou Jingxuan, in the mid-stage Foundation Establishment, had a few strands of white hair at his temples, he was quite a bit older than Lan Chang'an.

“Long time no see, Fellow Daoist Lan. Your cultivation has advanced even further, worthy of being an inspirational example of a late bloomer.”

Upon seeing Lan Chang'an again, Zhou Jingxuan felt a complex mix of emotions.

Decades ago, when he, at the early-stage Foundation Establishment, attended the auction at Bamboo Leaf Mountain, Lan Chang'an was an unknown mid-stage Qi-Refining stage talisman master.

Without realizing it, this person had steadily progressed, advancing one step at a time, until unexpectedly he caught up to him.

“Fellow Daoist Zhou flatters me. I’ve just been lucky not to get stuck at bottlenecks. Advancing to the mid-stage Foundation Establishment after a hundred years is quite mediocre.” Lan Chang'an humbly replied with a smile.

The reason he had caught up to Zhou Jingxuan was not because of fast cultivation. Rather, it was the dilemma that most Foundation Establishment cultivators faced, the lifelong difficulty in advancing to the late stage. Zhou Jingxuan had been stuck at the mid-stage Foundation Establishment for decades.

Inside the cave mansion, the host and guest took their seats.

“Miss Zhou from your family, is she at the front lines fighting the demonic beasts?” During their chat, Lan Chang'an mentioned Zhou Qingxuan.

“That's right. Qingxuan is holding down the fort at the family grounds, contributing more than an uncle like me.” Zhou Jingxuan’s self-deprecating tone was tinged with pride and praise.

“Miss Zhou's talent for controlling beasts can indeed play a big role in a beast tide.” Lan Chang'an also praised her.

He recalled that Zhou Qingxuan had gained considerable rewards and encounters in the Green Underworld Mysterious Realm.

From Zhou Jingxuan, he learned that Zhou Qingxuan had experienced the trials and tribulations of the beast tide and had recently advanced to the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

Lan Chang'an was moved, estimating her age, Zhou Qingxuan was about twenty years younger than himself.

“A late Foundation Establishment cultivator under ninety.” Lan Chang'an couldn't help but pull up his assessment of this woman.

The goals of sect elites like Zhao Siyao and Zhang Tieshan were merely to reach the late-stage Foundation Establishment before the age of a hundred, hoping for a chance at Core Formation.

Zhang Tieshan, with his strong will and possible fortunate encounters, had barely achieved this goal.

Zhao Siyao had only recently advanced to the late-stage Foundation Establishment in the past two years, and was over a hundred years old, thus failing to meet the goal.

Of course, Zhao Siyao and Zhang Tieshan were not considered the top geniuses of their sects.

Liang Kingdom’s major sects had geniuses with earth spiritual roots and it could not be excluded that there were hidden heaven spiritual roots.

The Nascent Soul True Monarch of the current generation in Flame Departing Palace was a heaven-grade spiritual root cultivator.

Given Zhou Qingxuan’s progress, Lan Chang'an would have found it unusual under ordinary circumstances. However, given her encounters in the Green Underworld Mysterious Realm and the trials of the beast tide, so to be able to advance to the late stage of Foundation Establishment so smoothly was considered to be a sign of things coming together.

...

“Fellow Daoist Lan, can you handle this batch of materials from my family?” Zhou Jingxuan placed several storage pouches on the table.

Lan Chang'an examined them one by one, showing surprise.

These several storage pouches were filled with demonic beast materials suitable for drawing talismans.

Actually, before the beast tide, Lan Chang'an’s cooperation with the Zhou Family had gradually decreased. The Zhou Family had hired a second-rank talisman master as a retainer in recent years, and their new generation had also grown into some talisman masters talents.

However, there were too many materials seized from the beast tide for the Zhou Family to digest alone. The pressure of the beast tide was too great to hoard goods.

Demonic beast materials had to be immediately converted into spirit stones to acquire pills, talismans, magical weapons, and other war resources.

Combating the beast tide, comforting the clansmen, and recruiting cultivators all required a massive amount of spirit stones and war resources.

“I only need second-rank talisman materials.” Lan Chang'an's face looked troubled.

Most of the materials in the storage pouches were from first-rank demonic beasts.

“The price can be lower, paired with excellent second-rank talisman materials for sale.” Zhou Jingxuan suggested.

After some haggling, the two struck a deal worth tens of thousands of spirit stones.

Lan Chang'an used spirit stones and second-rank talismans at market prices to offset the cost, purchasing first-rank demonic beast materials at a low price and relatively cheap second-rank demonic beast materials from the Zhou Family.

Most of the first-rank materials were of superior grade, priced at half of what they were before the beast tide.

The second-rank materials were mostly of low to mid-grade. Low-grade materials were priced at a 30% discount, mid-grade at a 20% discount, and superior-grade at a 10% discount.

During the beast tide, excess of materials wouldn’t cause talismans to drop in price.

The current market trend was: material supply exceeded the demand for craftsmen, and the rapid consumption of talismans resulted in higher demand.

...

The transaction was substantial, and Lan Chang'an suggested splitting it into two parts, saying that he would have to cash in by drawing talismans during the period. Zhou Jingxuan had expected this and readily agreed.

In fact, Lan Chang'an’s current spirit stone reserves could easily handle the transaction in one go.

After the initial transaction, Zhou Jingxuan left hurriedly.

As he flew away from Little Turtle Peak.

Outside Wuqi Mountain, a sturdy, fierce-looking old man with dark skin approached.

“Elder Zhou.” Zheng Centipede smiled and cupped his hands.

Before the Zheng Family of Bamboo Leaf Mountain was annihilated, they had a good relationship with the Beast Taming Zhou Family and had once married a girl of their family to the Zhou Family as a concubine.

Zheng Centipede knew Zhou Jingxuan and had visited the Beast Taming Zhou Family after advancing to the Foundation Establishment Realm, though he had been casually dismissed.

“So, it’s Brother Zheng.” Zhou Jingxuan briefly responded and continued on his way without stopping.

Unbothered by the cold shoulder, Zheng Centipede flew to Little Turtle Peak.

After reporting his arrival, he was granted entry.

...

In the cave mansion, facing the mid-stage Foundation Establishment Lan Chang'an, Zheng Centipede appeared more respectful than before.

After some small talk, Zheng Centipede tentatively asked,

“Fellow Daoist Lan, you must have made a big deal with the Beast Taming Zhou Family for Elder Zhou to pay you a visit personally?”

“Just some demonic beast materials for talisman making.” Lan Chang'an didn’t elaborate.

His cooperation with the Beast Taming Zhou Family over the years couldn’t be hidden from those paying attention.

“It’s quite a coincidence. I have some second-rank demonic beast hides. Would you be interested, Fellow Daoist Lan?” Zheng Centipede smiled, his facial scars twisting together, looking rather menacing.

“Second-rank demonic beast hides? How does Brother Zheng wish to trade?” Naturally, Lan Chang'an wouldn’t refuse second-rank talisman materials.

“I prefer to trade for second-rank talismans, especially mid-grade ones. I can offer a lower price.” Zheng Centipede presented a storage pouch.

“Second-rank talismans? I heard someone say that the Zheng Family ‘hired’ a second-rank talisman master to help draw talismans.” Lan Chang'an’s tone was teasing.

Zheng Centipede’s smile turned awkward, and he sighed:

“Sigh, that scoundrel barely counts as a second-rank talisman master, with lousy skills! He wasted quite a few of my good materials.”

The scoundrel he mentioned was naturally Chen Sheng.

Two years ago, Zheng Centipede and Chen Sheng had a conflict over disputed properties near the former Chen Family territory.

Zheng Centipede had crippled one of Chen Sheng’s legs. Afterward, no one spoke up for Chen Sheng, and Fairy Shi had merely insisted on leaving him alive. Zheng Centipede was going to cripple Chen Sheng’s cultivation as well when the opportunity arose.

Chen Sheng wasn’t foolish; he hid outside for a while.

When the beast tide hit and talismans were in high demand, Chen Sheng tried to buy talisman materials to earn some spirit stones, only to be caught by Zheng Centipede.

To save himself, Chen Sheng humbly agreed to work as a talisman slave for the Zheng Family.

However, Chen Sheng’s skills had long been neglected. While he could make first-rank talismans without issue, his success rate and quality for second-rank talismans were abysmal.

“Second-rank talisman masters are rare talents. Brother Zheng should take good care of him.” Lan Chang'an kindly advised.

“I understand.” Zheng Centipede laughed heartily.

In the subsequent transaction, Lan Chang'an traded second-rank talismans, mostly low-grade ones, with only one mid-grade talisman, with the excuse that the Zhou Family had bought the rest.

The second-rank beast hides from Zheng Centipede were slightly cheaper than those from the Zhou Family.

Lan Chang'an didn’t question the source of the materials.

The Zheng Family’s current Apricot Villa was located east of Wuqi Mountain, a little closer to Huanglong Immortal City.

Zheng Centipede could obtain demonic beast materials through purchases in Huanglong Immortal City or by personally hunting demonic beasts. He could also rob and kill on the way to obtain demonic beast materials.

With a thought, Lan Chang'an inquired about the specific situation of the beast tide in Huanglong Immortal City and the front lines from Zheng Centipede.

Zheng Centipede was well-informed, knowing the ins and outs of Huanglong Immortal City.

He told in detail which city walls had been breached during the beast tide and which direct descendants of Huanglong Mountain had fallen in battle.

Lan Chang'an suddenly realized that Zheng Centipede was of some use.

He didn't want to leave Wuqi Mountain and go to Huanglong Immortal City to take risks, and at the same time, he had to be on guard against Kong Mao, as well as petty criminals coming to raid Wuqi Mountain.

At present, he lacked eyes and ears, as well as someone to run errands for him.

(End of chapter)