Chapter Ninety-Three: Elixir of Life

Entering the underground city, he found it much as it had always been, changed very little.

Yet this time, his reception there was plainly different from the last. No sooner had he stepped inside than he was discovered by one of Hong Jiuling’s men. After being informed, Hong Jiuling immediately came in person to greet Xiao Cheng.

Xiao Cheng took Hong Jiuling’s enthusiasm in stride. He knew that when he had last come to the underground city, Hong Jiuling had mistaken his strength and assumed he was an innate expert, so this treatment was only natural.

Hong Jiuling exchanged a round of polite pleasantries, all the usual remarks about honoring his humble abode, and then invited Xiao Cheng to visit his modest dwelling.

Xiao Cheng had come precisely to “buy” spirit herbs from Hong Jiuling, so there was no reason to refuse.

Side by side, escorted by numerous subordinates, Xiao Cheng and Hong Jiuling made their way to Hong Jiuling’s residence.

His home was not nearly as luxurious as one might have imagined. Instead, it had an air of returning to simplicity, with all the furnishings made of wood.

After Xiao Cheng sat down, Hong Jiuling immediately had a maid pour him the finest grape wine. He was deeply puzzled, unable to guess what Xiao Cheng wanted from this visit.

He had met Xiao Cheng once before in Splendor. After Xiao Cheng left Black City that time, he had still harbored doubts about Xiao Cheng’s strength. After all, Xiao Cheng was far too young. But once he saw Xiao Cheng kick Yan Hongde flying with a single blow, all his doubts vanished. Xiao Cheng truly possessed at least the fourth level of innate power.

“I wonder what guidance the young master has for me today?” Hong Jiuling asked, lowering himself.

“Heh, I just came to see whether you have any spirit herbs here. I’d like to get some,” Xiao Cheng said without concealment, stating his purpose directly.

Hong Jiuling froze, a trace of displeasure rising in his heart. Last time he had shown Xiao Cheng enough respect, not only giving him money but also ten exceptional beauties. Yet now, it seemed Xiao Cheng was after his spirit herbs as well.

He did indeed have spirit herbs, and quite a few of them, but for any cultivator, such things were private matters, even more important than wealth or life itself. Although he did want to curry favor with Xiao Cheng, given Xiao Cheng’s limitless future, this sort of question had already touched his bottom line.

Seeing Hong Jiuling fall into thought, Xiao Cheng more or less guessed his concerns and smiled. “Rest assured, City Lord. I will offer a fair price.”

At that, Hong Jiuling felt somewhat relieved. At least Xiao Cheng did not intend to seize them by force or trickery. But spirit herbs were not something one could measure with money alone, and he was never short of money to begin with. The spirit herbs he had prepared were meant for next year’s Ghost Festival gathering, where he would exchange them for elixirs.

He had begun cultivating after he had already passed his golden years. Though his aptitude was decent, he had reached a point where he could no longer advance. Now he could only place his hopes in elixirs.

“Though I do have some spirit herbs, they are all rather ordinary. I wonder what kind of spirit herbs the young master needs?” After a long moment of thought, Hong Jiuling decided to use a few low-grade spirit herbs to dismiss Xiao Cheng. If he refused outright, then all the favor he had extended earlier would be wasted.

“What kinds of spirit herbs do you have?” As soon as he asked, Xiao Cheng felt a little abrupt. How could someone possibly hand over his entire inventory so easily?

Just as Xiao Cheng expected, Hong Jiuling’s expression darkened. He had intended to casually brush Xiao Cheng off, but now Xiao Cheng was clearly pushing his luck. He admitted he wanted to ingratiate himself, but he also had his limits. Xiao Cheng’s words had already brushed against them.

Xiao Cheng glanced at the two men standing by the door and smiled.

As the saying goes, one should return courtesy for courtesy. He remembered very clearly the great gift Hong Jiuling had once sent to the Azure Lotus, and he had not forgotten that favor. Since he had come here today to obtain spirit herbs, he had never intended to empty the well with bare hands.

Noticing Xiao Cheng’s glance, Hong Jiuling immediately made a gesture, and the two men at the door withdrew.

Once they were gone, Xiao Cheng took a jade box from his coat pocket and handed it before Hong Jiuling.

He had prepared the box in advance before coming. As the saying went, fine clothes adorn the man, and gold adorns the Buddha; placing the Spirit-Nourishing Elixir inside this box would no doubt elevate its worth by several degrees.

Hong Jiuling looked at the box in Xiao Cheng’s hand, not knowing what was inside, and felt a flicker of curiosity.

With Xiao Cheng’s movement, the jade box opened a crack, and wisps of green light leaked from within. At the same time, a warm and gentle spiritual aura drifted out of the box. Sensing the spiritual energy within, Hong Jiuling gave a startled murmur and stopped moving, staring fixedly at the box.

Xiao Cheng opened it fully. Inside lay three pills, each flowing with green light like luminous emeralds.

Feeling the vast spiritual energy radiating from the three pills, Hong Jiuling was shaken to the core. He stared wide-eyed at the elixirs in the box, his breathing quickening. As the city lord of Black City, a man of deep composure who had seen all manner of rare treasures, this was the first time in years he had been so visibly shaken.

He could not identify what kind of elixir lay inside the jade box, but he was a cultivator, and he could feel the immense spiritual energy within them. Spiritual energy could never be faked. These three pills were absolutely extraordinary.

He was not lacking in experience. Every year he attended the Ghost Festival gathering and had seen and purchased many elixirs. The ones he had bought before were merely reddish-brown pills, like hawthorn sweets, containing very little spiritual energy, yet even those he treasured as priceless gems.

The pills in the jade box now were clearly on a level far beyond anything he had ever seen. Their spiritual energy was abundant, their color like jade. They were no longer ordinary elixirs, but true spirit pills.

If he had these three spirit pills, he was absolutely confident he could break through two levels within two years and advance to the fifth level of the innate realm. Was this not exactly the thing he had dreamed of? His cultivation had not advanced in three years.

“What are these?” Hong Jiuling finally came to his senses after a long moment and asked, his voice trembling.

The pounding of Hong Jiuling’s heart naturally could not escape Xiao Cheng’s divine sense. At the very least, it was beating at one hundred and twenty miles an hour. Spiritual energy truly was fatal to today’s cultivators.

Xiao Cheng smiled faintly and said calmly, “These are Heaven-and-Earth Spirit-Nourishing Elixirs.”

He had deliberately added the words “Heaven and Earth” before Spirit-Nourishing Elixir, and the hidden trick in that name was known only to him.

Just from the name, Hong Jiuling knew the pills must be extraordinary. Heaven is qian, earth is kun; the name itself contained both heaven and earth.

After speaking, Xiao Cheng closed the jade box.

Seeing him shut the lid, Hong Jiuling steadied himself and knew the next step would surely be the bargaining stage. He was a businessman through and through, and he had seen such scenes many times.

But for something as precious as this spirit elixir, he simply had no idea how to set a price. In the past, a great pile of spirit herbs could only be exchanged for a few hawthorn-like pills. These three spirit pills were on an entirely different level.

Then, in the next instant, he could not help but freeze, because after closing the jade box, Xiao Cheng did not put it away. Instead, he placed it on the glass coffee table and pushed it toward him.

“What is this?” Hong Jiuling stared wide-eyed at Xiao Cheng, an expression of utter disbelief on his face.

“This is a gift for the city lord,” Xiao Cheng said carelessly.

With a flourish of emotionless indifference, he presented the box as a gift.