The Path of Immortality: Starts With Creating Water Bear Gu

Seeing that Long Xuan remained silent, Old Sun showed a disdainful expression, but in reality, he was panicking inside.

What was going on? Just now, Long Xuan had been bidding without changing his expression and raising the price swiftly, clearly having much more leeway.

Thirty-four Sea Converging Pills should be far from his limit, right? So why did he suddenly stop raising the price? This didn’t make sense.

It was precisely because Old Sun had seen how confident this person was that he decided to raise the bid by a few more pills to trap him, waiting for a hint of hesitation before withdrawing.

But who would have thought that with just one additional bid, Long Xuan would stop bidding altogether? This was a big problem now—Old Sun was starting to sweat.

“Hmph! Why don’t you keep bidding? Weren’t you very confident just a moment ago? And now you’ve given up so soon?” Old Sun taunted, trying to provoke him.

At this point, he had no choice but to use reverse psychology to push Long Xuan into bidding again. He swore that as long as Long Xuan raised the bid by one more Sea Converging Pill, he would immediately back down.

Long Xuan gave him a faint glance and shook his head silently.

Since the other party was clearly bluffing, there was no way Long Xuan would foolishly keep raising the price. What if Old Sun continued to falsely bid another thirty pills? Would Long Xuan still be obliged to follow?

Although Long Xuan could easily refine Sea Converging Pills, they weren’t something that just fell from the sky. Besides, he needed them for trading other materials, and there might not be enough.

Since Old Sun had the intention to scam him, then he could go to hell. He was not worthy of sympathy.

After giving Old Sun an indifferent glance, Long Xuan suddenly smiled and said, “You’ve won! Since Old Sun is so determined to have these ten pieces of Ironwood, I’ll graciously let you have them!”

Old Sun instantly felt like coughing up blood. "Graciously let me have them?" He finally understood what it meant to shoot oneself in the foot.

Cold sweat poured down his back as his face turned pale.

This was a big problem now—he didn’t have nearly that many Sea Converging Pills. How was he going to get out of this?

With so many people watching, today he was surely going to make a fool of himself in front of everyone, and his reputation would be ruined.

Old Sun sighed internally and pretended to search through his storage pouch. As he pulled out thirty-two pill bottles, his expression suddenly changed:

“Oh no! I forgot that I traded away two Sea Converging Pills this morning. I only have thirty-two pills now.”

Old Sun put on a look of embarrassment and turned to Young Master Mo, saying, “I sincerely apologize. I miscounted the pills. How about we settle with thirty-two Sea Converging Pills and let this young friend take the Ironwood?”

As soon as he said this, everyone’s expressions twitched, and they looked at Old Sun with strange faces.

None of them were fools; it was obvious that Old Sun had tried to raise the price maliciously and now was stuck with his own trap.

And now, with Young Master Mo asking for the Sea Converging Pills, Old Sun couldn’t deliver. This was the biggest joke of the day.

They had attended countless trade fairs, but this was the first time they had seen such a blunder, and everyone couldn’t help but smile, ready to enjoy the show.

“What? You don’t have enough Sea Converging Pills? Then why were you bidding recklessly!”

Young Master Mo’s face darkened completely. Daring to shout random prices at his trade fair and then back out—wasn’t this sabotaging his event?

If he let Old Sun off easily, how would he maintain his authority, and how would the following trade fairs continue if no one respected the rules?

Just as he was about to speak, a strong presence emanated from Mo’s steward in the distance, releasing the aura of a Gu King. He spoke up:

“Enough. Since Old Sun can’t produce the full amount of Sea Converging Pills, we’ll delay it. Master Ye can take the Ironwood in exchange for thirty-two Sea Converging Pills.”

“But this kind of behavior cannot be tolerated. Otherwise, how can future trade fairs continue, and where would our Mo Clan’s face be?”

The steward’s expression suddenly hardened as he sternly said, “Old Sun, you broke the rules first, so I’ll fine you thirty-two Sea Converging Pills. Is there any objection?”

The steward’s Gu King aura enveloped Old Sun, filled with a threatening tone.

Old Sun broke out in cold sweat, his face twitching uncontrollably.

What a ruthless move—he was going to take all of his Sea Converging Pills. This was as good as taking his life.

This steward was truly taking advantage of the situation, extorting him for all he was worth. He was simply too greedy.

But under the pressure of the Gu King’s aura, Old Sun had no choice but to submit. Otherwise, it would be seen as a lack of respect toward the Gu King, and Mo the Skinner would have an excuse to deal with him. At that point, he would lose even more.

He took a deep breath, stiffly turned his head, and forced a smile toward Young Master Mo, suppressing the pain in his heart:

“Apologies, it was my foolish mistake. I deserve to be punished. These thirty-two Sea Converging Pills are a gift to Young Master Mo as an apology. I hope you won’t hold a grudge against an old man like me.”

Old Sun slowly walked over to Young Master Mo and reluctantly placed thirty-two pill bottles containing the Sea Converging Pills on the table. He averted his gaze with difficulty and stepped back.

At this moment, his heart was bleeding. Those were thirty-two Sea Converging Pills—what an enormous fortune! Any Marrow Cleansing stage Gu cultivator would have to sacrifice nearly half of their assets to obtain them. Only heaven knows how much time he spent refining those thirty-two pills, how much cultivation time was lost in the process.

The loss of thirty-two Sea Converging Pills was devastating for any ordinary alchemist.

Young Master Mo stared blankly at the thirty-two Sea Converging Pills on the table. Soon, Long Xuan placed another thirty-two Sea Converging Pills on the table, and Mo’s head started to ache.

Good heavens, that’s a total of sixty-four Breakthrough Pills! Even if a pig ate that many, it would probably break through, right?

He honestly didn’t want to break through. If he pretended to fail, wouldn’t it be too obvious? His father would surely break his legs if he found out.

He showed disdain for these Breakthrough Pills, but the hundreds of Marrow Cleansing stage Gu cultivators below him had their eyes gleaming with greed as they gazed at the large number of pills.

With these Breakthrough Pills, there was a chance to ascend to the Spiritual Sea stage. Who wouldn’t want to become a Spiritual Sea stage expert? The allure was too great for them to resist. They wished they could rush forward and snatch all the pills, but they were deterred by the Mo family’s strength and had to suppress the urge.

Not everyone was like this strange Young Master Mo, who had no desire to break through or claim the Breakthrough Pills.

After collecting all the pills, Young Master Mo sighed helplessly and said, “Alright, the ten nine-hundred-year-old ironwood trees are yours. You can take them all now.”

“They’re treasures I’ve painstakingly accumulated. You better treat them well.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure they’re put to good use.”

Long Xuan looked at Young Master Mo with surprise. He hadn’t expected someone to remain so calm in the face of so many Breakthrough Pills, without a trace of joy. This showed incredible mental fortitude—he was truly an extraordinary person.

With these thoughts, Long Xuan quickly walked over to the ten ironwood trees and stored them all in his storage ring.

Luckily, his storage ring was of a large size, and he had already transferred his treasures into the World Tree seed inside. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to fit ten ironwood trees, as normal storage equipment couldn’t easily hold such large items.

If these ironwood trees had been older than nine hundred years, their size would have been even larger. It’s said that once they reach a thousand years, they undergo a qualitative leap, with both their size and hardness increasing significantly.

As Long Xuan put away the trees, Young Master Mo, unable to bear watching his treasures being taken away, had already walked off the stage.

According to the rules, the next person to step up would be Long Xuan. This helped save time. Of course, he could choose to forgo showing any treasures and simply walk off, as someone else would eagerly step up.

Long Xuan confidently walked to the table, hanging a list of over a hundred types of spiritual herbs in front for all to see.

Everyone gasped upon seeing the list.

Good heavens, half of them were thousand-year-old herbs! The others were at least five hundred years old. These were all rare and priceless items, incredibly hard to find.

What kind of pill could require so many expensive herbs? Everyone was shocked.

But the real surprise came afterward. Master Ye, who had just casually offered thirty-two Sea Converging Pills, now placed a hundred more on the table. The entire crowd froze in disbelief. They instinctively stood up, their eyes dull, and their breathing became rapid.

So many Sea Converging Pills! How many Spiritual Sea stage experts could break through with these? No one had ever seen such a terrifying quantity of Breakthrough Pills. Everyone was dumbfounded.

Did Master Ye’s family make these pills for free? He was practically giving them away. Everyone thought the thirty-two pills earlier were already astonishing, but this was nowhere near his limit.

Old Sun looked at the Sea Converging Pills that covered half the table. His mouth twitched, and he stood there, dumbfounded. He wished he could slap himself. How could he have been so foolish as to challenge this man to a contest of Sea Converging Pills?

With a smile, Long Xuan arranged the hundred pill bottles on the table and addressed the crowd of Gu cultivators below him: “These were all refined by my master during his spare time. I’ve been entrusted to sell them.”

“My master needs the items listed on this paper. A thousand-year-old herb will be traded one-for-one, and for five-hundred-year-old herbs, the exchange rate is two-for-one. So, who’s interested in making a deal?”

Long Xuan scanned the crowd with a smile. The items listed were the remaining materials needed to refine the Soul Restoration Pill.

Thousand-year-old spiritual herbs were impossible to gather on the market. His only chance to collect them was at this trade fair.

The Gu cultivators in the Marrow Cleansing stage present were all renowned figures from various regions, and their wealth was considerable. There was a good chance he could gather everything he needed today.

With some luck, he could refine the Soul Restoration Pill by tonight.

Upon hearing this, Old Sun clenched his fists and finally realized he had hit a wall. He hadn’t expected this person to have a mysterious alchemist master who could casually refine over a hundred Sea Converging Pills.

If he had known earlier, he wouldn’t have dared to challenge him. This was like courting death.

Then again, how could such a genius alchemist not have a powerful master behind him? He should have thought of this sooner. Old Sun’s face turned an ashen gray.

***

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