Nine Star Hegemon Body Art c1-2048
Page 686
“Hehe, fortunately I didn’t sell these back then, or I’d have lost out.” Now Long Chen understood how important yuan spirit stones were.
He looked inside the primal chaos space and saw Lei Long. It was condensed into a ball of light, looking like an egg.
The self-detonation last time had been extremely harmful to Lei Long. Right now, it was using all the thunderforce gained from the tribulation to undergo a rebirth.
Long Chen couldn’t help being stunned by Lei Long and Huo Long’s intelligence. It seemed the stronger they became, the more they advanced in other aspects as well. Huo Long had even awakened its own innate ability.
Huo Long’s innate ability was to summon eight split bodies. He wondered whether Lei Long would awaken an innate ability once it revived through this nirvanic rebirth. He was full of anticipation.
All the Iron Spruce Oaks in the primal chaos space were withered and dead. He had been forced to be decisive back then when he had killed the final lightning incarnation of his tribulation.
The reasons he had been able to escape his death this time were two fold. One reason was how he had caused the tribulation to lose a great deal of its energy by attacking it, making the final lightning incarnation weaker, while the other reason was that the Iron Spruce Oaks contained an ocean’s worth of life energy. If it hadn’t been for that, he would have definitely died.
But now, he didn’t have any Magical Beast corpses for the black soil. He had tried using the corpses of the devil beasts, and while he found that they could be devoured by the black soil, they didn’t provide any life energy. Otherwise, his Iron Spruce Oaks would have long since grown to their peak.
Leaving his room, he saw that Meng Qi and Tang Wan-er had already freshened up. They had prepared a towel soaked in hot water, allowing Long Chen to sit back and relax while Tang Wan-er used the towel to clean his face and Meng Qi combed his hair.
Long Chen felt so blessed that he might die. Two peerlessly beautiful women were helping him clean his face and comb his hair. He didn’t know how many people would die of envy if they learned of it.
“Long Chen, why aren’t you talking? Normally, your mouth spouts so much nonsense,” asked Tang Wan-er upon seeing Long Chen’s infatuated expression.
“This is a rare pleasure. I’m afraid if I open my mouth, you’ll stuff the towel into it. That would be a waste,” said Long Chen with his eyes still closed.
Putting it like this, he elicited laughter from both Meng Qi and Tang Wan-er. It was like the tinkling of silver bells. After laughing, Tang Wan-er grumbled, “Who asked you to be so annoying that people want to choke you after you open your mouth? You deserve all your punishment!”
Long Chen immediately shut his mouth and continued enjoying this warm peace. After being cleaned and dressed, Long Chen felt much more awake.
Looking in the mirror, he couldn’t help but sigh emotionally. Now that he thought about it, it seemed it had been many years since he had looked at his reflection. His eyes might be able to see through anything, but without a mirror, they couldn’t see himself.
His face was still youthful, and still full of vigorous energy. But the depths of his eyes concealed a cold sharpness.
This was his first time looking so closely at himself. Or perhaps it was that he was viewing himself from the point of an observer. He saw something within the depths of his eyes that made even himself afraid.
“What, are you struck stupid by your handsomeness?” teased Tang Wan-er upon seeing him blankly staring at his reflection.
Only then did Long Chen recover. Was he afraid of himself?
“Long Chen!” Suddenly, a woman walked in. The only other one able to freely enter his residence was Qing Yu.
“Sister Qing Yu, please sit.” Tang Wan-er immediately pulled her over to a seat.
Qing Yu was originally Tang Wan-er’s maid, but the two of them were closer than sisters. Although Qing Yu liked to nag, she cared deeply for Tang Wan-er, making it so Tang Wan-er both loved and feared her.
“Why didn’t you come out earlier? There are many things waiting for you to do. Think about how old you are, when will you…”
Long Chen, Meng Qi, and Tang Wan-er all bitterly smiled. Once more, Qing Yu was lecturing them. In truth, she had been waiting for them to come out to get to business.
After all, as a woman, it wasn’t convenient for her to barge into his room. But seeing that it was noon and the three of them still hadn’t come out, she finally entered.
“Sister Qing Yu, what’s so important?” Long Chen quickly interrupted her, or if they let a chatterbox like Qing Yu continue, she could lecture them for three days and nights. Furthermore, not one sentence of her script would be repeated. That was the most painful torture.
“Of course there’s something important! Otherwise, why would I have waited six hours just for you? It’s not that I’m chiding you, but-”
“Sister Qing Yu, the important matter, get to the important matter!” Long Chen quickly brought her back to the main topic.
“Right now, everyone in the Dragonblood Legion is at the peak of Sea Expansion. Many people have already touched the barrier of Foundation Forging, but without your orders, no one dares to break through. Other than the Dragonblood Legion, the disciples from the other factions have already started breaking through. Furthermore, there’s a piece of bad news. The Xuantian Dao Sect’s nine-ring Foundation Building Pills are sold out,” said Qing Yu.
“How could such an important pill be out of stock?” demanded Tang Wan-er. The nine-ring Foundation Building Pill was practically a must-have for Sea Expansion experts attacking Foundation Forging.
With the nine-ring Foundation Building Pill, a cultivator could condense their original rune easier, making their breakthrough much simpler. Furthermore, there were no side effects. It was a very important pill.
Long Chen was also surprised. But he quickly sneered, “Were they all bought by certain people?”
Qing Yu nodded. “Yes, the Divine Beast Mansion and Hegemon Hall both used the excuse of wanting to be completely sure about their disciples’ breakthroughs and bought two sets of Foundation Building Pills for their members. So all the nine-ring Foundation Building Pills have been sold, and if we want any, we’ll have to wait a certain amount of time. Furthermore, if we want a large amount, it probably won’t be a short waiting time.
“The Ten Thousand Insect Guild and Heaven Female Alliance didn’t think Hu Guishan or Fan Song would be so despicable. Even if they try to be frugal, the number of pills they can offer us is far from enough.
“Furthermore, this morning, I went to the Ten Thousand Pill Hall to ask the situation about the refining of more nine-ring Foundation Building Pills, but their reply was extremely cold. All they said was they would need time to refine more, refusing to give a concrete date.
“When I continued asking, that person finally impatiently said that I would have to either wait, or refine it myself!”
Even with Qing Yu’s gentle nature, toward the end, she couldn’t help but get angry. She had essentially been driven away by the Ten Thousand Pill Hall.
“They’re asking for a beating!” Tang Wan-er was enraged. It was unexpected for the Ten Thousand Pill Hall to go so far as to even bully Qing Yu. “Long Chen, go beat them for sister Qing Yu.”
“Alright, it just so happens that I was bored.” Long Chen laughed sinisterly and began to walk out.
It was Qing Yu who stopped him. “You’re already adults, so stop acting like children. The main point is how to resolve our current situation.”
Long Chen smiled. “In truth, this matter is very simple. The Divine Beast Mansion and Hegemon Hall’s idiots are colluding with the Alchemy Pavilion to harm us. If we urgently want the pills, we’ll have to lower our heads and have them rip us off. We’ll have to buy the nine-ring Foundation Building Pills from them at tens of times the cost. Speaking of which, isn’t the Foundation Building Pill an eighth tier pill with several precious ingredients?
What is its price?”
“Yes, it’s very expensive. It costs eight thousand points for one. I don’t know if they’re trying to retrieve points from us now that we made so many points, but the price is definitely frightening,” said Qing Yu.
“That’s not out of the realm of possibility, but a Foundation Building Pill truly is that valuable. My guess is that in the past, the price probably wasn’t that high, and they sold them to disciples at cost. After all, the growth of its disciples is the foundation of the sect. Even if they don’t earn anything, it’s better than not allowing the disciples to advance.
“But eight thousand points, eh? After the last battle, the Divine Beast Mansion and Hegemon Hall are down to fifty thousand members. Normally, each person would prepare two nine-ring Foundation Building Pills for themselves, so two sets would be four pills. Then eight thousand times four is thirty-two thousand, and then times fifty is… damn, they spent one billion six hundred million points for this. Did they use everything they had?” asked Long Chen.
“I heard that they got two billion seven hundred million points from the battle, so that’s over half their points,” said Qing Yu.
“Hehe, good, good. They want to con me? I’ll make them lose all the money they invested in this plot.” Long Chen laughed sinisterly.
Chapter 1095 Trap
“Hehe, just looking at Long Chen’s eyes, I know someone’s about to be out of luck.” Tang Wan-er covered her mouth and laughed upon seeing Long Chen’s expression.
“But of course. Do they think they can cheat me out of my hard-earned money? Speaking of which, how many points do we have now?” asked Long Chen.
“Ten billion seven hundred thousand points,” said Qing Yu.
“That many?” Long Chen couldn’t help being surprised.
“If your bracelet didn’t max out, then our points would be several times greater,” said Qing Yu.
Long Chen suddenly recalled that the numerical value on his bracelet had stopped working in the battle. The Xuan Master had said that the Dragonblood Legion could buy things at half price in exchange.
However, Long Chen had refused him. He didn’t want to take advantage of him, and he also didn’t want to owe anyone favors.
In any case, he had enough points, so why be in debt to others? However, he had obtained a special tablet. That tablet granted him access to any training region in the entire Xuantian Dao Sect free of charge. Furthermore, there was no name on it. Long Chen could lend it to others to use.
Currently, he had given it to Guo Ran, and he was using the best forging room now. Inside, there were spirit stones he could use free of charge to power his forging table.
Normally, using that top grade forging room cost a hundred thousand points a day. It was the most expensive of all the Xuantian Dao Sect’s training rooms. Giving the tablet to Guo Ran was the most efficient choice.
“Although we don’t have your points, we are still first place amongst all the factions, and by a large margin at that. When the points were distributed, I saw that Fan Song, Hu Guishan, as well as that Gao Xianyang all had a greedy light in their eyes,” said Tang Wan-er proudly, but she quickly became furious. “I bet they came up with this plot to get our points.”
The Alchemy Pavilion was related to the Law Enforcement Hall. That was no secret in the Xuantian Dao Sect. Furthermore, the Divine Beast Mansion and Hegemon Hall had a reason for their actions.
In truth, just one pill was enough for a disciple, and two pills were already extra insurance. A second pill would increase the effect by fifty percent. As for the third and fourth pill, there wasn’t much increase in effect.
But no one could say for sure that there wouldn’t be the slightest increase in effect. So by buying two sets of the pills, they could just barely get by within the realm of logic.
With this excuse and their points, as well as the collusion of the Alchemy Pavilion, this trap had been formed seamlessly.
If the Dragonblood Legion wanted the nine-ring Foundation Building Pills, they would have to buy them from the Divine Beast Mansion and Hegemon Hall. That was also legal.
A single disciple would only sell two pills. That couldn’t count as selling a large amount of medicinal pills, so it didn’t infringe upon the rules. That was what made Qing Yu the most furious, while also helpless.
She had already prepared herself to be ripped off. She just hoped it wouldn’t be too bad.
“It’s fine, such a minor matter isn’t worth you worrying about. Sister Qing Yu, I’ll handle it. I’ll go to the Elder Hall and recommend that the Elder Hall Master go take a trip to see the Tower Department Head.” Long Chen smiled.
“But they didn’t break any rules. Telling them is useless,” said Qing Yu.
“They didn’t break the rules now, but that doesn’t mean no one will break the rules in the future. I want to first cut off their path of retreat so that all their nine-ring Foundation Building Pills rot in their hands,” said Long Chen.
“You mean…”
“Hehe, yes, I can refine the Foundation Building Pill myself. To tell the truth, I saw the Alchemy Pavilion’s Foundation Building Pills a while ago, and even if you gave me such a thing, I wouldn’t want it,” said Long Chen disdainfully.
The Alchemy Pavilion’s alchemy arts could not compare to Pill Valley’s. All their high level pill formulas were purchased from Pill Valley, and they were limited to formulas below the ninth tier. If they wanted ninth tier pills, they would have to buy them from Pill Valley.
As for the eighth tier pill formulas they gave out, they were ordinary formulas with limited quality. Long Chen fundamentally looked down on these pills.
What kind of joke was that? Pill Valley wasn’t a fool. They wouldn’t give their good things away. Otherwise, how would they make money?
With his Pill Sovereign memories, Long Chen didn’t even place Pill Valley’s medicinal pills in his eyes, let alone the Xuantian Dao Sect’s amateur alchemists.
“Sister Qing Yu, tell everyone that only those that have yet to touch the barrier should continue cultivating. The rest can all take a break. Once everyone is caught up, we’ll advance together,” said Long Chen.
“Alright.” Qing Yu clearly felt much more relaxed. It was like she was another person compared to the Qing Yu that had arrived.
Once Qing Yu left, Long Chen went directly to the Elder Hall. He found the Hall Master and said he wanted to file a complaint with the Tower Department Head.
As a result, the Elder Hall Master immediately said that he would handle this matter himself and there was no need for Long Chen to do it personally. Long Chen immediately said humbly that he wouldn’t want to trouble him, but the Elder Hall Master said that the main point was that the Tower Department Head didn’t want to see Long Chen, so he had to go.
The Tower Department Head was extremely upright. If he criticized Long Chen, there was no way to know what Long Chen would do with his temper. To avoid such an awkward situation, he’d rather stay in a safer position.
Long Chen snorted upon hearing that. He didn’t bother with that and just waited for news.
When Long Chen returned to Crouching Dragon Mountain, Qing Yu told him there was already someone who had secretly contacted her and said that he could sell her nine-ring Foundation Building Pills if she needed them.
That person was one of Hu Guishan’s people. He had openly said that if the Dragonblood Legion wanted nine-ring Foundation Building Pills, they would only be able to buy some from him. If they wanted to wait until the Alchemy Pavilion refined more, hehe, they could wait until next year.
Such open peddling clearly showed they were confident in their backers. Qing Yu acted in accordance with Long Chen’s instructions and acted hesitant, in the end asking the price.
That person had immediately snickered and offered a price of thirty-two thousand for one pill. Back then, Qing Yu hadn’t been able to hold back a smile. Four times the price really was evil.
She had said that she
wasn’t able to decide such a thing that she would need to discuss it with others. That person left, merely saying that she should hurry. If she took too long, the price might not be thirty-two thousand points later.
Long Chen had Qing Yu continue to stall them. All she needed to do was act hesitant.
The next day, Long Chen received words from the Elder Hall Master that said everything was settled. The Xuantian Tower Supervising Department would investigate this matter. They would keep track of all the Alchemy Pavilion’s business transactions and definitely wouldn’t allow them to return their medicinal pills.
Now Long Chen was completely at ease. He directly told Qing Yu there was no longer any need to stall. But it seemed the other side had also received some news and was urgently trying to contact Qing Yu. However, Qing Yu never revealed herself to them again.
Now, Hu Guishan and Fan Song were both a bit panicked. But they still had one strand of hope. They thought Long Chen was intentionally competing with them in terms of patience. He was hoping to get more bargaining chips to get a better price.
After all, refining nine-ring Foundation Building Pills wasn’t something just anyone could do, especially not in those quantities. That was why they had been confident enough to follow through with this plan while investing so many points.
Hu Guishan and Fan Song were acting calm but filled with worry. They had spent one billion six hundred thousand points. That was the majority of the wealth of their factions.
While the two of them worried, Long Chen was in seclusion, about to start refining pills.
The pill he was refining was called the Nine Sea Foundation Building Pill, and it was different from the Xuantian Dao Sect’s Foundation Building Pill. It had nine main ingredients and its effect was ten times greater than an ordinary Foundation Building Pill. It was even better than the Spirit Immortal Foundation Building Pill he had originally been planning on refining.