Steady Mortal Path: Starting from Obtaining the Golden Core Inheritance

Chapter 240 Itinerant Merchant Caravan

On the way home.

Li Chongyuan and his wife Qu Jiao discussed Lin Changsheng's matter.

“Husband, although this alchemist Lin has not revealed his age, he does not have the decrepit air of an elderly cultivator. It seems that his lifespan is still very long, and he may really have the potential to break through to the False Core stage.”

Recalling that handsome young man, as smooth and beautiful as jade, Qu Jiao's eyes sparkled, as if she were pondering something.

“I have also secretly investigated him. There is a huge life force in his body. It may be related to his main cultivation technique. But at least he is in his prime and has great potential in terms of both skills and cultivation.”

Li Chongyuan agreed with his wife's words, but a hint of hesitation appeared in his eyes as he spoke.

In the world of cultivation, it is a taboo for cultivators who have reached a certain level to actively inquire about others' main cultivation techniques, spiritual root aptitude, and lifespan.

These questions may seem insignificant, but if they fall into the hands of enemies or even rivals from the same sect, they can use them to deduce the strengths and weaknesses of a cultivation technique, its cultivation speed, progress, and even the time required to break through bottlenecks.

This could very likely lead to various forms of targeted attacks, whether intentional or not.

However, the couple's cultivation level was higher than Lin Changsheng's, and after spending more time with them, he could vaguely see some clues.

"Madam, do you think... this Master Lin is truly trustworthy?"

Li Chongyuan always felt a thorn in his heart when he recalled the meeting between Master Yu Huai and Lin Changsheng.

The two stayed inside the restricted area for half an hour, but when he asked about the specific content of their discussion, Master Lin refused to reveal it.

He often thought that even if he had told the truth that Master Yu Huai had offered generous terms, he would have felt that Master Lin was being honest, and that it would have prevented him from having such doubts.

"Over the years, as you have seen from our close observation, my husband, that Master Lin seems to be a person who practices asceticism and has never left our Li clan territory."

"As long as it can be used by us, all we have to do is keep an eye on what's going on over there."

Qu Jiao's eyes flickered, and she chuckled softly.

"Yes, Madam is right. After observing him over the years, Master Lin's character is indeed impeccable."

"The quality of the pills he refines each quarter is always guaranteed and in the same quantity, without any compromise. Even Shouye, who follows him closely, has seen a significant improvement in his alchemy skills. In this respect, he is better than Master Ma."

Recalling the years he had secretly observed Lin Changsheng's performance, Li Chongyuan seemed much more relieved.

His tone suggested some dissatisfaction with Master Ma Dan.

In the Li clan's territory of Dafang Township, there are several alchemists of the second rank or above.

However, the alchemist with the highest skill level so far is Master Ma, while Master Lin is slightly inferior.

Therefore, when refining precious pills like Foundation Establishment Pills, Master Alchemist Ma must be present to ensure a high success rate.

However, this Master Ma Dan was arrogant and often used flimsy excuses such as headaches and fevers to delay the alchemy tasks assigned by the clan.

Furthermore, he never passed on his alchemy skills to outsiders, nor did he accept members of the Li clan as disciples.

In contrast, Lin Dan did a much better job in this regard.

“I was thinking that since Master Lin has always been all alone, it might be much better if he could leave something to care about here.”

Qu Jiao suddenly revealed her thoughts.

A few days later,

The Li family sent someone to introduce another stream of spiritual spring water into Lin Changsheng's courtyard.

At the same time, a formation master from the clan was specially invited to upgrade the spirit-gathering formation.

After several days of effort, the concentration of spiritual energy in the courtyard, which had stabilized, increased to a new level.

It is equivalent to a second-tier superior spiritual spring eye.

It is sufficient to support Lin Changsheng's current cultivation at the late Foundation Establishment stage.

Similarly, after the spiritual spring's level was upgraded, the Li clan's middle and upper management also significantly increased the amount of pills Lin Changsheng was required to refine each quarter.

In addition, almost every so often, Qu Jiao would bring a new batch of beautiful women from the Li clan to serve her in the courtyard.

Lin Changsheng had some guesses about the Li family's intentions in doing so.

But as always.

The task of refining elixirs must be completed on time and delivered in full.

The women who were sent were treated just like Chen An'an back then; they were never mistreated, but they could never go any further.

Over time, Madam Li realized Lin Changsheng's feelings and stopped sending the girl over.

……

Several months have passed in the blink of an eye.

Lin Changsheng enjoyed the second-tier high-grade spiritual spring eye, which was plentiful and sufficient for his daily cultivation needs.

Even with the growth costs of the early-stage second-tier Flower Carp, it's still more than enough.

Without the constant stream of beautiful young female cultivators from the Li family to deal with, Lin Changsheng lived a much more comfortable life.

In his spare time, he would also like to offer some pointers to Li Shouye on the difficulties he encountered in alchemy.

In his view, although Li Shouye was Li Chongyuan’s nominal second son, the two were actually quite similar in personality.

They don't have any particularly big ambitions.

In comparison, Li Shouye was even more frank and sincere in character.

With Lin Changsheng's guidance over the years, Li Shouye was already able to independently refine second-grade low-level pills several years ago.

That day, after pointing out some of the questions raised by Li Shouye, he did not leave as usual.

"What, is there something else?"

Lin Changsheng looked up.

“Recently, a caravan of merchants from other waters stopped to rest near the Li clan’s territory. They have many strange and wonderful things. If Master Lin is interested, you can go and take a look.”

"A traveling merchant caravan? I'm actually quite interested in that."

Li Shouye spoke with utmost respect and never overstepped the bounds; he was a person who valued rules very much.

Over the years, Lin Changsheng has never been stingy in his guidance of alchemy techniques, from which he has benefited greatly.

Therefore, although the two were both Foundation Establishment cultivators, Li Shouye still treated them with the respect due to a master.

Lin Changsheng didn't care much about this.

He only gave Li Shouye some pointers on alchemy because he found Li Shouye agreeable and needed to cultivate using the Li family's spiritual spring.

That afternoon, Lin Changsheng and Li Shouye left the courtyard together.

On the latter's recommendation, he visited the traveling merchants residing in the area.

I heard that this traveling merchant caravan has a total of more than 20 people, including one Golden Core cultivator and one Pseudo-Core cultivator who are in charge of leading the team, and the rest of the lowest-level cultivators are all Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Due to the unique environment of Jiuze Continent and its vast expanse of waterways, it is almost impossible for ordinary cultivators to cross it.

This led to the emergence of these itinerant merchant groups, who traveled year-round across various waterways, buying up local specialties at low prices and transporting them to other waterways for sale, profiting from the price difference.

From a distance, a huge spirit ship was moored in the waters near the Li family's residence in Dafang Township.

"What an impressive spirit ship! This huge vessel alone must be worth a fortune."

Lin Changsheng's gaze fell on the large spirit ship, which was several dozen feet long, and he couldn't help but admire it.

With his keen senses, he quickly detected several objects resembling machine gun emplacements mounted on the spirit ship, exuding a dangerous aura.

Judging from their appearance, one could tell that this traveling merchant caravan was wealthy, far more impressive than the bandits who robbed the Li family years ago.

Soon, under Li Shouye's guidance, the two successfully boarded the spirit ship.

However, the two did not meet a Golden Core cultivator. The person in charge of receiving Lin Changsheng was an elderly man in his sixties who was in the late Foundation Establishment stage.

The old man appeared frail and elderly, but his mind was remarkably clear. He was shrewd and worldly, clearly a seasoned veteran who had traveled to many places.

There stood a middle-aged female cultivator who didn't look like a maid or the manager of the place, which was rather strange.

When Lin Changsheng's gaze inadvertently swept over the middle-aged female cultivator, he was momentarily stunned, but he did not show any unusual reaction.

"Is this the middle-aged female manager of Linglong Pavilion from back then?!"

Although many years have passed and this person used some disguise techniques, he has nowhere to hide under Lin Changsheng's current divine sense.

After advancing to the late Foundation Establishment stage, his spiritual sense further increased, and now it has surpassed the Pseudo-Core stage, almost as strong as a Golden Core early stage cultivator.

Therefore, he was certain of the other person's identity.

"Why did she come here?"

"And he even became a member of a traveling merchant caravan?"

Lin Changsheng maintained a calm demeanor on the surface, but a sense of doubt arose in his heart.

When Lin Changsheng left Qingmeng Immortal City, he sensed that the young master Shen Wenyao seemed to have ulterior motives, so he restored his original appearance and never had any contact with Linglong Pavilion again.

However, when he participated in the Linglong Pavilion auction, he used a disguise technique to alter his collarbone, so the other party should not have recognized him.

"I am Quan Zhaoqing. May I ask how this Master Lin intends to conduct this transaction? Is it a sale or a purchase?"

The shrewd and calculating old man, named Quan Zhaoqing, quickly steered the conversation towards the topic of transactions.

As the saying goes, "old people are wise and experienced." Just by looking at Quan Zhaoqing's demeanor, Lin Changsheng knew that this person had probably dealt with all sorts of cultivators for many years and was very experienced.

Doing business with such a person is risky; you'll easily suffer losses if you're not careful, and there's almost no chance of getting a bargain.

"Lin has been in Lishi Village, Dafang Township for many years. He has only heard of caravans that travel in the waters, but he has never seen them. He is curious."

"I wonder what treasures Fellow Daoist Quan possesses here? Could you please provide a brief description so that I, Lin, can make my selection?"

Lin Changsheng did not rush to express his intention to make a deal. Instead, he pondered for a moment and then asked questions.

"Hehe, it's not surprising that he would say such a thing since this is his first time trading with us itinerant merchants."

"Then I will give Master Lin a brief introduction to the business scope of our traveling merchants."

Quan Zhaoqing chuckled and began to introduce the topic in his aged voice.

Lin Changsheng listened attentively, responding occasionally.

Gradually, as the old man explained, the expression on his face became increasingly shocked.

In particular, when the other party mentioned that the business scope of the traveling merchants included, but was not limited to, Jiuzezhou, Lin Changsheng couldn't help but be tempted.

"Well, has Master Lin decided what he desires?"

Seeing that Lin Changsheng seemed to be moved, Quan Zhaoqing stroked his beard and smiled calmly.

"Your caravan offers a wide variety of goods, which is truly breathtaking. However, since my cultivation has now reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment, I would like to first seek an opportunity to form a Core Formation Core, preferably a finished 'Golden Core'."

Lin Changsheng seemed to struggle for a moment, then asked with an expectant look on his face.

"The opportunity to form the Golden Core."

Quan Zhaoqing murmured to himself, seemingly surprised, but upon closer reflection, he felt it made sense.

"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint Master Lin. Even within our traveling merchant alliance, such a sought-after item as the Golden Core Pill is mostly consumed internally. I've been traveling with merchants for nearly a hundred years, and I can count on one hand the number of times I've sold Golden Core Pills during that time, and those were always in exchange for rare treasures from my customers."

Lin Changsheng showed an expression of "I knew it," and was slightly disappointed.

He knew the value of the 'Golden Core', so he didn't have high expectations.

In my memory, when 'True Man of Heavenly Poison' was breaking through to the Golden Core realm, he was already close to the end of the lifespan of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Even with the talent of "heaven rewards diligence," it's not a guarantee of success.

So he went into hiding, traveling to various countries, and set his sights on the Golden Core seedlings within the major sects.

He went to great lengths to investigate every cultivator who might have the opportunity to form a core, resorting to extortion, stunts, kidnapping, threats, and luring to kill—he used every possible means.

In the end, they not only successfully obtained the genuine 'Golden Elixir', but also searched for a large number of materials to refine the Golden Elixir.

He decided to go all the way and kidnapped a near-third-tier alchemist, threatening the lives of his family's offspring and using restrictions to coerce the other party into refining a Golden Core for him.

Even after successfully advancing to the Golden Core Realm, he never let go of this alchemist, instead treating him as a dedicated alchemy slave.

In his view, instead of spending decades honing his alchemy skills, he should improve his own cultivation and then recruit alchemists to serve him.

Fortunately, Quan Zhaoqing then produced a list of auxiliary spiritual items for refining the Golden Core. Although they were all scraps of auxiliary medicines, they were all rare and precious items related to the Golden Core process, so they were better than nothing.

In addition, Lin Changsheng, with a try-it-out attitude, inquired about the 'breakthrough' spiritual items for demonic beasts to advance to the third rank.

Compared to humans, it is much easier for demon beasts to break through to higher ranks.

Even some third-tier or near-third-tier demon cores with compatible attributes can become the main ingredient for breaking through to the next tier in beast pills.

To his surprise, after a thorough investigation, Quan Zhaoqing actually found a spirit item that was a slightly fire-attribute monster that had broken through to the next level.

Lin Changsheng was overjoyed.

The second-tier demonic beast, the Crimson Centipede, which he is about to break through to, currently only has one low-grade breakthrough spirit item.

Although a fire-attribute upgraded spirit item is not a perfect match, it is still useful for the Crimson Centipede, which has a trace of fire attribute.

However, the items Lin Changsheng sought to purchase were not cheap.

He used up more than 70% of his spirit stone reserves.

Therefore, they had to settle the debt with some high-quality elixirs.

In fact, selling some talismans or puppets would make him feel much better, but Lin Changsheng did not want to reveal his abilities other than those of a physician and alchemist for the time being.

After the transaction was completed, Lin Changsheng seemingly casually asked for a detailed map of the waters around Jiuzezhou, preferably with information about the surrounding areas outside of Jiuzezhou.

“We have kept maps of Jiuzezhou and the surrounding areas, but they are divided into three levels: ‘rough,’ ‘precise,’ and ‘detailed.’”

"Different grades naturally have different prices. I wonder which grade of map Master Lin would like?"

A shrewd glint flashed in Quan Zhaoqing's cloudy eyes.

The next moment, when he heard from the other party that a 'rough' map cost only a thousand spirit stones, while a 'detailed' map cost a hundred thousand spirit stones, Lin Changsheng couldn't help but curse the unscrupulous merchant in his heart.

He immediately gritted his teeth and asked for a 'precise' map worth 10,000 spirit stones.

……

Before long, the two successfully completed the transaction.

Just as Lin Changsheng was about to get up and return, Quan Zhaoqing suddenly asked out of the blue, "I wonder if Master Lin's alchemy grade has reached the second-tier high-grade, preferably the second-tier top-grade."

At this moment, the female cultivator who had been silent behind them also vaguely showed signs of being moved.