The Sacred Leaves Family's Wishes for Peace

Fang Hao and Jin Tianlu enjoyed drinks together, talking and laughing over two full jars of wine—and still weren't satisfied.

Jin Tianlu stood up and said,

"Let's go, brother. Let's hit the music halls and brothels, keep drinking! I made a big score recently—tonight we drink until we drop!"

Normally, Fang Hao had no interest in such places and would rather drink quietly at home. But it had been five years since they last saw each other, and the mood was too good to refuse.

He rose to his feet, and the two left together.

On the way, Fang Hao casually asked,

"Business has been good for you lately, huh?"

Jin Tianlu lifted his chin slightly, looking proud.

"Not bad. I made a few hundred top-grade spirit stones recently."

"That much?" Fang Hao was surprised.

Jin Tianlu chuckled and lowered his voice.

"You heard of Falling Moon Water?"

The name sounded familiar, but Fang Hao couldn't quite place it. He shook his head.

"Not sure. Is that how you made your fortune?"

"Exactly!" Jin Tianlu nodded.

"It's a water-attributed spiritual item. Nothing special on its own—moderate energy, not widely used."

"But it's a supporting ingredient for a Saint-grade pill. You don't need it, but using it improves the pill's success rate by ten percent. So demand is constant."

"Normally, spirit items of the same level are worth a few upper-grade spirit stones. But Falling Moon Water's price is over a thousand times higher—because it's completely monopolized by a few major forces."

"I see..." Fang Hao nodded in realization.

Jin Tianlu leaned in slightly.

"I got lucky and found some in an ancient ruin. That's how I hit it big."

Fang Hao grew curious.

"Why was it monopolized?"

"Ah, that's a long story."

By then, they had arrived at Mengyu Pavilion, a well-known entertainment house. As a familiar guest, Jin Tianlu headed straight to his private booth and ordered the usual setup before continuing.

"Falling Moon Water comes from Falling Moon Grass—a delicate plant with extremely strict environmental needs. If conditions are even slightly off, it dies. On top of that, it has no real use on its own. So no one bothered to cultivate it."

"Then about a million years ago, a renowned alchemy master developed a pill called the Heaven Spirit Pill. Falling Moon Water turned out to be a secondary ingredient for it, and it significantly increased the success rate."

"The pill was so effective that it spread rapidly through the cultivation world. The alchemist sold the recipe at sky-high prices to a few partner powers."

"Once people realized Falling Moon Water was involved, the scramble began. But the herb is too picky, even those major factions could only find a few wild patches after sinking huge amounts of resources."

"So they took control of those spots, locked down the supply, and cornered the market."

"Later the Heaven Spirit Pill recipe leaked. It became cheap and easy to get. But the bottleneck became the Falling Moon Water, which stayed rare—so prices soared."

"I suspect those forces are stockpiling it, releasing only small amounts at high prices or using it as barter in high-level trades."

Jin Tianlu drained his cup.

He didn't say where he'd found the water—that was his secret. Fang Hao didn't ask, respecting the unspoken rule.

At that moment, Fang Hao suddenly remembered where he'd heard the name before—it was listed as a supporting material in the Heaven Spirit Pill recipe.

That recipe was the first Saint-grade pill formula he had brought back from the Immortal Realm to the Fang Family.

Fang Hao's thoughts raced.

"Since our clan can mass-produce Heaven Spirit Pills, we might have a source of Falling Moon Water. If the price is as high as he says, I could take some to the Immortal Realm and sell it."

With that thought, Fang Hao asked casually,

"So what exactly does it look like? I found some unidentified spiritual items in the battlefield ruins—maybe one of them is it."

His words were suggestive, hinting at hidden wealth. Normally he wouldn't say something like that to just anyone. But with Jin Tianlu, it was different—he'd need the man's help to sell it anyway.

Jin Tianlu's eyes lit up.

"Of course, let me explain!"

He described the appearance, aura, and properties of Falling Moon Water in great detail—nothing was left out.

"If you really have some, I'll sell it for you—no commission," Jin Tianlu said with a hand to his chest.

Normally, he would take a cut from any transaction, with rates varying by item value.

And for something as expensive as Falling Moon Water, even a small cut would be a huge profit.

But even if he waived Fang Hao's commission, he'd still earn from the deal.

After all, being the broker who could move Falling Moon Water boosted his status and expanded his network. It was free advertising.

Fang Hao smiled.

"I was just asking. Who knows if I have any?"

"Still, it's good to know more about rare treasures. Otherwise, you might pass by a priceless item without even recognizing it," Jin Tianlu said.

Fang Hao nodded in agreement.

"You're right, Brother Jin."

The two drank late into the night before parting ways, satisfied.

A few days later, Fang Hao quietly left Zhentian City and returned to the Fang Family—under the pretense of closed-door cultivation.

Back home, the first thing he did was inventory his harvest from the Ancient Battlefield.

One immortal-grade cultivation technique, though restricted for personal use only—couldn't be passed on.

A tree branch suitable for refining an Emperor weapon, recovered from the Emperor's ruin.

A divine fruit nurtured by countless Heaven's Chosen, filled with pure spiritual energy, suitable for breakthroughs.

Hundreds of Saint and Great Saint Realm cultivators' wealth, including techniques, secret arts, weapons, pills, talismans—more treasures than he could count.

Many of them were unseen in the Tianyuan Realm—priceless artifacts in every sense.

And of course, his own cultivation had skyrocketed: from Spirit Fusion Sixth Heaven to True Saint Fifth Heaven in five years.

Even the other Heaven's Chosen of the Fang Family couldn't match that pace.

Compared to these gains, the other items he collected from the battlefield seemed trivial.