Transmigration: The Peerless Immortal Husband

Jiang Yan and Lu Qiusheng were slightly stunned when they heard this, but then they both laughed. Gu Yao was always so unpredictable; no one had expected him to be so generous, giving away 5% of the profits to the academy.

Elder He was also taken aback. The cultivators from the City Lord’s Residence were so surprised they almost thought they had misheard. What would Gu Yao gain from this? Was it just for reputation? Could he be a fool?

Chi Changye sat quietly, but the aura emanating from him made it impossible for anyone to ignore him. Those who had been ready to mock Gu Yao immediately stopped when they saw Chi Changye beside him. The news of Chi Changye hunting sea beasts had spread throughout the entire market. With just one sword in his hand, no sea beast could get close to him. Previously, a sea beast at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage had been slain by his sword, or else a great disaster would have occurred.

After a brief pause, Elder He narrowed his eyes and looked at Gu Yao, studying him. Seeing his seemingly innocent expression, he began to suspect that Gu Yao was pretending to be naive while secretly having deep schemes. This move meant he was placing himself behind Tianfu Academy, making it even harder to deal with.

However, Elder He couldn’t refuse. Master Hu’s attitude was clear, and this matter could only be decided by Gu Yao. Though he held the formula, he knew that without Gu Yao’s permission, it would never be leaked. He had dealt with Master Hu many times and knew just how “rigid” he was when it came to such matters.

Moreover, the City Lord had sent instructions that he must obtain the formula for the ‘Qingchen Pill’. Elder He understood the true meaning of this. The small benefit of profiting on Tianlin Continent was secondary; the real power lay in Changxian Sect. Once the formula reached Changxian Sect, they would dominate everything, and Gu Yao would no longer have any influence over that territory. The City Lord could also use this as an opportunity to gain rewards within the sect.

“Alright, then. Let’s sign the contract now, with Master Hu as the witness,” Elder He said. Initially, he had thought that Gu Yao would ask for a much higher price, but now, with only 5% of the profits, it didn’t seem excessive. After all, it was Treasure Pavilion’s business, and as long as the resources supplied to the City Lord’s Residence didn’t decrease, it was fine.

“Alright.” Master Hu nodded.

So, the three parties signed the contract in front of everyone. However, there were some minor changes in the content of the contract compared to what Gu Yao had previously mentioned. Elder He specifically emphasized that the price of the ‘Qingchen Pill’ should not be raised on Tianlin Continent, under any circumstances. Jiang Yan and Chi Changye exchanged glances, both seeing the “as expected” look in each other’s eyes. After observing Gu Yao’s reaction, Master Hu proceeded to act as a witness. It was clear that Gu Yao had noticed this change, but he probably just didn’t care.

The moment the contract was finalized, all three parties felt a mysterious force of binding, but as long as no one violated the contract, this binding force wouldn’t take effect. After the contract was created, Gu Yao immediately engraved a copy onto a jade slip and handed it to Elder He.

Elder He quickly scanned it before handing the jade slip to the accompanying alchemist for inspection. After the alchemist read the contents, a look of surprise appeared on his face. Some of the materials listed were a complete mess. A proper alchemist would never combine such materials in one formula. Many of the ingredients clashed with each other, and putting them together would only cause the furnace to explode.

However, the formula not only listed the required spiritual materials but also included every step of the refining process, the alchemical methods, and techniques. After mentally simulating it, the alchemist had to admit that, using these methods, the conflicting properties of the herbs could indeed be balanced, leading to perfect integration.

What a genius!

“Elder He, I’ll head to the alchemy room to try it out. There should be no problem with the formula,” the alchemist said, eager to give it a go.

“Alright.” Elder He agreed, looking forward to the result.

Gu Yao smiled and said, “I won’t be leaving Tianshui Market so soon. If there’s any problem, feel free to come find me.”

“Thank you, Master Gu,” the alchemist said, making an exception by bowing to Gu Yao before quickly leaving, accompanied by several other alchemists.

Master Hu wasn’t at all surprised by the alchemist’s reaction. Anyone who saw the formula would be impressed by its alchemical principles and techniques.

Master Hu and Gu Yao exchanged a glance before they both turned to Elder He to take their leave. Elder He made a token attempt to keep them there but ultimately saw them off personally. Most of the cultivators guarding outside hadn’t left, and when they saw Master Hu and Gu Yao walking out together, many of them sighed with relief. Elder He shot them a cold glance, irritated that they had been so reckless in their own territory.

Master Hu and Gu Yao parted ways at the entrance, each heading to their own destinations.

Meanwhile, Treasure Pavilion announced the sale of the ‘Qingchen Pill’, with the price set exactly the same as the previous two sales. This was good news for the majority of cultivators. It wasn’t long before rumors spread about Gu Yao’s negotiations with Elder He in the City Lord’s Residence. The price had been emphasized by Gu Yao himself, and the 5% profit would be donated to the academy. This only increased the cultivators’ admiration for Gu Yao.

Various factions, such as Beixing Sect, heard the news with some regret. Since the City Lord’s Residence had already intervened, it would be difficult to obtain the formula from Gu Yao. Fortunately, the price wasn’t too high, and now there was another channel through which they could purchase the pills. It shouldn’t be too difficult.

It wouldn’t be long before the alchemists in their sects could crack the formula, right?

“Master, what should we do now? Should we place an order with Treasure Pavilion?” a disciple of Beixing Sect asked Yan Yang. “Or with Cuiyan Valley?” Both of these forces were relatively large, with many alchemists.

Yan Yang lowered his gaze to look at his smooth, full nails for a while before finally raising his head and saying, “Let’s place the order with the Xingyue Chamber of Commerce. Let’s request that part of the pills be personally refined by Master Gu. Actually, I’ll go to Tianfu Academy and discuss this with Fellow Daoist Jiang Yan in person.”

“Is that a good idea?” The disciples were surprised that the eldest brother had chosen the weakest faction.

Yan Yang smiled. “Don’t you want to use top-grade pills? Can the other two factions guarantee that they’ll be top-grade?”

This… was indeed a problem. The younger disciples all stood by Yan Yang’s side and supported his decision to place the order with the Xingyue Chamber of Commerce.

Yan Yang’s considerations weren’t just about the quality of the pills. Of course, having top-grade pills was better, but on the other hand, he also saw this as an opportunity to build a closer relationship with the Xingyue Chamber of Commerce, or rather with Gu Yao. He didn’t know exactly how much potential Gu Yao had, but his performance so far was impressive. If Gu Yao successfully established his foundation, surpassing Master Hu would just be a matter of time. Since he had missed the golden opportunity at the Immortal Ascension Conference, he didn’t want to fall behind again. The earlier he could leave a good impression on Gu Yao, the more beneficial it would be for him.

He glanced at Lu Minzhu, who was standing behind him, hoping that Gu Yao wouldn’t hold this matter against him.

Lu Minzhu bit her lip. The 5% profit had been given away so easily. If things had been different back then, both the Gu family and the Lu family would have benefited. Unfortunately, there was no such thing as a pill for regret, and time couldn’t be turned back.

More and more cultivators arrived in Tianshui Market, eager to place their orders for the first batch of pills and get their hands on them as soon as possible. After arriving, of course, they couldn’t just sit idly, so they joined in the efforts to resist the beast tide. The situation on the frontlines was becoming more favorable, and in the face of the cultivators’ attacks, some sea beasts began retreating toward the ocean. The news spread back to Tianshui Market and Tianhai Sect, encouraging the cultivators and further boosting morale and determination.

Jiang Yan came to find Gu Yao. Although the Xingyue Chamber of Commerce was the weakest of the three factions, many forces still came to place orders for pills. Some orders Jiang Yan could decide on his own, but any that involved Gu Yao needed his approval.

Lu Qiusheng couldn’t sit still. While Jiang Yan was busy, he frequently went out of Tianshui Market to fight the sea beasts, returning refreshed after each skirmish.

“Gu Yao, Yan Yang from Beixing Sect has personally come to place an order. Besides the ‘Qingchen Pill’, he wants other pills as well, but he has one request.”

“What is it?” Gu Yao remembered Yan Yang from the Immortal Ascension Conference, as he was quite well-known back then.

Jiang Yan said, “He hopes that some of the pills in his order will be personally refined by you, Gu Yao. Of course, the price for those will be different.” Yan Yang’s order was the largest, and completing this deal would be extremely beneficial for the Xingyue Chamber of Commerce. However, if Gu Yao disagreed, they wouldn’t push it. They weren’t desperate for the business.

“Has he specified a time?” Gu Yao asked. “As long as he can wait, I have no problem.” He had to finish the orders he already had before taking on this one. First come, first served; he wouldn’t give Beixing Sect special treatment.

“Of course.” Jiang Yan affirmed.

“Then it’s settled.” Gu Yao said, without hesitation.

Jiang Yan hesitated for a moment and then said, “I heard from Disciple Tian that a female cultivator who left Yuanyang with you back then—she has a special physique and ended up joining Beixing Sect as an inner disciple. I heard she’s here with them this time.”

Gu Yao was taken aback for a moment, then smiled. “You mean Lu Minzhu, right? It’s fine. She’s her own person, and Beixing Sect is Beixing Sect. One person doesn’t represent the entire sect.”

“Alright, then. I’ll trust your word on this,” Jiang Yan said with a soft smile. He reached out and ruffled Gu Yao’s hair, then, as per Lu Qiusheng’s words, thought to himself, ‘Why is Xiao Gu so likable? No one can bring themselves to dislike him. How could anyone have intentionally schemed against Gu Yao like that? Lu Minzhu must be blind.’

After messing up Gu Yao’s hair, Jiang Yan nonchalantly glanced over at Chi Changye, who was looking coldly at him, and flashed a grin. Then, he swaggered out, bearing the cold gaze of Chi Changye with ease. No matter how much pressure there was, it was all worth it.

As soon as Jiang Yan left, the little kitten immediately jumped onto Gu Yao’s head, continuing to wreak havoc. Chi Changye, with a blank expression, grabbed the little beast and pulled it away, ignoring its meowing protests. Gu Yao hurriedly started fixing his disheveled hair, thinking to himself, ‘What a troublesome little thing.’

Chi Changye looked at the kitten and said, “Has this little beast put on weight? You’ve been feeding it too many inner pills and medicinal pills lately, haven’t you?”

Demon beasts, especially exotic ones like this kitten, were different from human cultivators. Their ability to digest medicinal pills was top-notch, and they didn’t have to worry about pill poison. Even eating sea beast inner pills was similar.

The first time it went out to fight sea beasts, the little thing bounced around on the heads of the sea beasts. Chi Changye shot it a cold glance, hurriedly stuffed it into the spirit beast pouch, and then used his sword energy to shred the sea beasts to pieces. After the kitten had stepped on them, the internal organs of the sea beasts were almost burned to nothing. If he had waited a little longer, others would have noticed. He had to quickly erase all traces.

Gu Yao blinked and said, “It shouldn’t have, right?”

After the first incident, when they went out to fight again, he kept it in the spirit beast pouch. Gu Yao thought it was well-controlled, so when they returned to the market, he had indulged it a little. It shouldn’t have gained weight… right?