Chapter 207 Trading Level 8 Puppets
After the day of the return of spring, countless disciples throughout the Azure Dragon Academy went into seclusion.
Both alchemy disciples and martial arts disciples are doing their best to digest the benefits they have gained from the Divine Pill Tree.
Many of the training grounds and practice areas within the academy have also been rented out.
All the disciples who participated in this event are seeing their strength improve rapidly at a visible rate.
Meanwhile, since the alchemists have benefited the most, many pills have recently been sent to the trading hall. Many of these pills are of high quality, allowing countless disciples who were unable to participate in the event to purchase pills at will and improve their own strength with the help of these pills.
The Wandian Tower has also added some martial arts videos, martial arts techniques and secret skills that can be rented, which also provides a lot of help to other disciples.
Furthermore, in many factions, because disciples participated, they would prioritize selling the large amount of resources they brought back that they could not digest themselves, or exchanging resources with familiar factions, relatives, friends, and others.
Overall, a wave of enthusiasm for cultivation has swept through the entire academy.
Even the Hidden Dragon Ranking and Azure Dragon Ranking have seen a surge in challengers—many outstanding disciples have been knocked down only to climb back up the rankings, while many others have seen their rankings plummet and others have risen rapidly.
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Not only the Azure Dragon Academy, but all other forces that benefited from the Divine Pill Tree saw their alchemists' strength soar.
However, due to differences in power, achievements, and benefits, the benefits received also vary.
Because of its strength, the Azure Dragon Academy is generally very stable and safe. Even though it is known that the Azure Dragon disciples' gains are also terrifying, once the defensive formation is activated and the state lord's token is also activated, no villains come to harass them.
However, the situation may not be the same for forces outside of the Azure Dragon.
Of course, most of the level eight and nine forces remained the same as usual, but there were still a few less ethical level eight forces that, because they did not receive enough, secretly used various means to gain "new gains".
Among the countless forces below level eight, there are also many instances of "big fish eating small fish," which has even caused some chaos in some places, especially in those unclaimed state cities, where many forces have started fighting each other!
In large states with a lord, the situation is naturally better. On the surface, they still respect some rules, but many people do all sorts of things behind the scenes. Those with extensive and powerful connections also have their own ways of concealing their actions.
For every victor, there is a vanquished; many small forces perished, while medium-sized forces were either coerced or drawn into countless conflicts and suffered heavy losses.
Even those whose families and clans were destroyed... still exist.
Possessing a treasure is a crime; the strong prey on the weak, so a swift and decisive battle is necessary.
The storms won't disappear anytime soon, or perhaps for several years.
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During this time, the two masters have returned all the books they had taken away to make copies.
Zhong Cai glanced at the small mirror in the ancient city every now and then and found that Ning Xuran's malice value was still rising—sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, but it had already soared to a very high number, and even now, every few days when she checked on him, she would receive a "little surprise".
In response, Zhong Cai also took note of the Golden Light Pavilion and even wrote a letter to his master.
Master Sang didn't hide anything and directly explained how he had avenged his disciple. He also mentioned that there seemed to have been a debate within the Golden Light Pavilion about whether to apologize to him, but it ultimately came to nothing. Apparently, it was because a Nirvana Realm expert he had summoned had already caused trouble for the Golden Light Pavilion's businesses, and the Golden Light Pavilion valued its reputation, so it ultimately gave up on seeking peace.
Master Sang said that this was exactly what he wanted.
Even if only alchemists from the Ning family faction targeted his disciple, they were all from the Golden Light Pavilion faction. No matter how big the internal differences were, they still belonged to the same force, and their fates were intertwined.
After apologizing to the other party, he had to be "lenient" and open up orders to other factions, even though he preferred to sever all ties completely.
He had absolutely no desire for his pills to become a tool for the other side to strengthen itself—besides, who knew that after he opened up orders to them, other factions might trade the pills they refined to the Ning family faction!
Zhong Cai deeply agreed with her master's idea.
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The senior disciples on Chongguang Peak also saw the many martial arts inheritance jade tablets that Jiang Chongguang had brought over, which were worth studying, as well as various mystical weapons that might be useful and certain martial arts resources.
Jiang Chongguang wouldn't let his disciples suffer losses, so after they inscribed the jade tablets and selected some mystic artifacts and other resources, they also gave generous gifts of gratitude—all of which were made of mystic stones of different grades.
The total amount is around one million high-grade Xuan stones.
They also sold some unused resources to the college.
Even though the academy acquired a considerable amount of goods through this transaction, compared to what Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan obtained, the high-grade items were still few and far between. Therefore, they actually bought everything that Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan offered.
Among them, there were 27 level-eight resources, for which the academy paid approximately 4.05 million high-grade Xuan stones.
Two hundred and three level-seven resources were obtained, costing approximately 304,500 high-grade Xuan Stones.
Three hundred level-six resources will cost approximately four thousand five hundred high-grade Xuan stones.
Forty level-five resources will cost approximately six high-grade Xuan Stones.
All told, it amounted to several million high-grade Xuan stones in income.
Although it's not as much as the amount of Xuan Stones obtained at that auction, there are still a lot of rental fees from the jade tablet images, so the long-term income will be substantial...
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Duobao Peak.
Zhong Cai is refining her level four elixir.
He only managed to complete a dozen or so top-grade pills on the Pill God Tree. There are still so many left. He wants to refine them all to this level before researching level five pills.
He believed that by then, it would be a natural success in a very short time!
This was his premonition, and he was certain it would happen.
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In the adjacent room, Wu Shaogan studied the images on the jade tablets, integrating the experience he gained into the archery techniques he had just learned, thus enhancing the power of his archery.
His original techniques were already quite powerful, and he became more and more proficient with practice. But now, after absorbing some new "nutrients," he has discovered that there are still many immature aspects that need to be readjusted.
So whenever he made progress, Wu Shaogan would practice on the spot, making a loud and thunderous sound.
It would naturally reach Zhong Cai'er next door.
However, it had no effect on Zhong Cai.
Zhong Cai was never disturbed by any external noise.
When Zhong Cai spent too long refining pills and became tired, he would browse through some classic texts on alchemy and watch videos of ancient alchemists refining pills. If he felt he had been sitting for too long, he would put away his alchemy furnace, pick up his meteor hammer on the spot, and stretch his limbs, thus honing his secret techniques as well.
Speaking of which, among the many martial arts jade tablets, there is indeed a meteor hammer technique.
But the quantity was very small—perhaps because Dan Shenmu couldn't see that Zhong Cai had learned the meteor hammer, so it just gave some randomly, which happened to include three or four pieces.
It does have a certain effect on refining Zhong Cai's secret techniques.
However, it is far less effective than alchemy.
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Before we knew it, half a year had passed.
On this day, Sang Yunchu and Jiang Chongguang arrived at the Puppet Trading Hall together.
The Puppet Hall is located in a remote but heavily guarded area of the Azure Dragon Academy, and only instructors, teaching assistants, or disciples carrying the tokens they have been given are allowed to enter.
High-level puppets can only be traded here.
Besides the puppets provided by the academy, if a disciple wants more puppets, he/she needs to complete tasks to earn task points, then obtain the qualification to purchase them, apply for a puppet trade, and then be taken to a side hall by the person in the trading hall who granted him/her the qualification to choose from—only puppets below level five are allowed.
Puppets above level five must be obtained in person at the Puppet Hall.
In the Puppet Hall, the highest level of puppets reached level eight.
Sang Yunchu and Jiang Chongguang came here as planned, with a simple purpose: to buy several defensive puppets for their disciples.
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The chief administrator of the Puppet Hall was an old woman with silver hair and a clean-shaven face. She was thin and frail, but her eyes held a terrifying divine light.
Everyone who comes here respects her because she became the general manager here because she personally made a large number of high-level puppets.
She can also create level eight puppets.
However, she also has two deputies here, who are specifically responsible for miscellaneous tasks.
Few cultivators came who deserved her personal hospitality.
To obtain high-level puppets from her, it's mostly through barter—and if you want to buy them with Xuan Stones, you'd need an astronomical number of mission points.
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Upon seeing Sang Yunchu and Jiang Chongguang, the old woman unusually rose to her feet and went to greet them.
"Master Sang, Instructor Jiang, what brings you here?"
Sang Yunchu smiled gently: "Naturally, I want to exchange for the puppet. Instructor Hua, why don't we go to the side hall to talk?"
Instructor Hua naturally respected this level eight alchemist—moreover, she was among the high-ranking members who knew the secrets of the Azure Dragon, so she knew that this person was not just an ordinary level eight, but also a level eight alchemy emperor!
She cannot afford to be negligent in the slightest.
As for Jiang Chongguang, Instructor Hua quickly realized that his rebirth was imminent.
Moreover, Jiang Chongguang was not only several minor realms stronger than her, but he also had Elder Jiang Yun, who had quietly reached the late Nirvana stage, behind him. She could not afford to underestimate him either.
At this moment, when Master Hua recalled the scene of the day of spring's return that she had heard about, she immediately had a clue in her mind—it must be for the sake of her disciples.
Instructor Hua had also heard that Sang Danhuang's disciple was very filial, and that he had reportedly shared countless classic texts with his master. Therefore, Sang Danhuang's alchemy skills might have improved considerably, and the pills he would be trading would likely be of very high quality...
Thinking about this, Teacher Hua even felt a little expectant.
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Soon, the group entered a side hall.
The Flower Master quickly activated the array, enveloping the entire side room and creating a quiet and safe environment.
Sang Yunchu didn't intend to say much, but simply smiled and said, "Instructor Hua, this time I've come to exchange for three level-eight puppets."
Jiang Chongguang also said, "I also have three."
The moment these two opened their mouths, they completely baffled Instructor Hua.
How many? Six?
Are level 8 puppets as common as cabbages?!
Just kidding!
Instructor Hua's eyelids twitched, and her gaze swept back and forth between Sang Yunchu and Jiang Chongguang's faces, trying to catch their expressions.
Then she realized that it wasn't a joke at all.
Instructor Hua fell silent. After calming herself down, she said stiffly, "There are only nine level-eight puppets in the entire Puppet Hall."
These two are trying to take most of the profits as soon as they open their mouths?
Sang Yunchu chuckled softly and explained gently, "Instructor Hua must know that my beloved disciple is currently very wealthy, but his strength is still lacking. Once he leaves the academy, he will likely face great danger. Therefore, I wanted to obtain an eighth-level puppet for him to protect him." His tone was gentle. "Furthermore, my disciple has a beloved Daoist partner who has also gained greatly from the Pill God Wood. If only my disciple is safe while his partner remains in a precarious situation, my disciple will not be able to find peace..."
"Therefore, of my three puppets, one is for each of the husband and wife, and the other is for myself." Sang Yunchu sighed softly, "I'm sorry to have troubled Instructor Hua, my current strength is still far from sufficient."
Jiang Chongguang was equally outspoken: "As his master, I also have to say that Shao Gan and his little Daoist partner should each have one. Besides, I will soon undergo Nirvana, so I need to have one by my side for defense, so I can break through in peace."
What the two said seemed to make a lot of sense.
However... there are still some far-fetched aspects.
Instructor Hua's lips twitched: "No matter how dangerous your disciples are, one puppet per person is enough. Why not send your disciples back and forth instead of sending them back and forth? The two juniors are only at the Suspended Illumination Realm, yet each of them has two level-eight puppets guarding them. That's going too far."
Sang Yunchu was not angry, and still smiled: "I only have this one beloved disciple, and he is completely devoted to his Daoist partner. If I only give him gifts and neglect his Daoist partner, wouldn't that create a rift between master and disciple?"
Jiang Chongguang nodded: "Doing less is fine too."
Teacher Hua was having trouble breathing and had to take a deep breath to catch her breath.
She desperately wanted to say, "Why don't you both give one to your disciple and your partner?" But then she immediately thought that the two of them would probably say soon, "We definitely have to give one to our disciple, otherwise we'll feel like Master doesn't value us, and that will cause a rift between us."
That's outrageous!
To put it bluntly, they just want to get more level 8 puppets!
But this thing is really hard to make, especially since her own cultivation level is only at the Spirit Transformation stage. Each time she makes an eighth-level puppet, it takes a long time. Often, it takes eight or ten years to make one, and it takes several decades to polish a single puppet to a high quality.
Hua Liyuan also put in tremendous effort to avoid losing to another level eight puppeteer, daring not to slack off in the slightest!
Over the years, she finally managed to surpass her opponent, and of those nine level-eight puppets, six were made by her.
In other words, to satisfy these two, at least half of her stock would have to be taken away... And if these two only took away half when they were choosing, it would seem to indicate that the puppets she made were not as good as those made by another level eight puppeteer.
Wouldn't she lose face?
A jumble of thoughts rushed through Hua Liyuan's mind in an instant, but in the end, they finally coalesced into... a forced, unsmiling expression despite her best efforts to control it.
She looked up.
The emperor, Sangdan, appeared to be very patient, but his expression was ambiguous, a half-smile playing on his lips.
The instructor, Mr. Jiang, seemed to have a hint of impatience in his eyes.
Hua Liyuan: "..."
Fine, there aren't many people who can afford an eighth-level puppet anyway. She'll think carefully about what she needs and try to negotiate a price for one when necessary.
After this transaction is completed, she will devote herself to seclusion for a period of time to catch up on her work and make another level eight puppet as soon as possible...
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Hua Liyuan had already convinced herself, so she showed a calm smile and asked, "What resources do you two wish to exchange for?"
Sang Yunchu looked at Jiang Chongguang first.
Jiang Chongguang didn't mince words and simply said, "Please have Instructor Hua activate the spatial array first."
Upon hearing this, Hua Liyuan knew that this Junior Brother Jiang was probably going to use the corpse of a high-level savage beast in the transaction.
That works too. High-level beasts are not easy to obtain, and they are valuable from head to toe. They are indeed very useful.
So Hua Liyuan activated the spatial array.
In their view, the space inside the side hall had expanded more than tenfold, mainly due to the increased spaciousness at the back. However, the area where they were located remained unchanged, making it convenient for them to continue their conversation.
Jiang Chongguang stood up, walked to the back, and took out a mustard seed ring.
The next instant, an incredibly terrifying aura filled the entire side hall!
Various chilling and sharp pressures spread and crisscrossed, and the rich, yet surging, bloody aura almost condensed into a large cloud of blood mist, permeating and dispersing throughout the entire space.
Absolutely terrifying!
At this moment, both Sang Yunchu and Hua Liyuan held their breath.
Sang Yunchu had discussed this with Jiang Chongguang long ago and had given him some ideas, so he was well-prepared and knew exactly how many savage beasts were here.
However, Hua Liyuan was unaware of this.
After finally dispelling the surrounding blood mist, Hua Liyuan swept out with her soul and was shocked to see the scene in front of her.
Twelve heads!
A full twelve eighth-tier savage beasts!
Eleven of them are at the first stage of the eighth rank, but there is also one that has reached the second stage of the eighth rank!
It's obvious that these were all hunted down by Jiang Chongguang.
In other words, he is already able to hunt across two minor realms!
Even if they only killed one, that's undeniable strength!
It's terrifying. Even now, Jiang Chongguang, who has been at the peak of the Spirit Transformation stage, is still continuously increasing his combat power.
It's like a bottomless abyss, its limits are forever unknowable!
Such a person, once reborn... will likely become an incredibly terrifying figure in the process of rebirth before long.
Unparalleled in combat power, truly unparalleled in combat power!
Countless thoughts surged through Hua Liyuan's mind, but in the end, they all boiled down to one sentence—fortunately, fortunately, she didn't show too much displeasure.
Now she understands very well that these are all items for trade.
However, Hua Liyuan still needed to confirm, so she asked, "Does Instructor Jiang mean to exchange these twelve savage beasts for three level-eight puppets?"
Jiang Chongguang nodded and said cheerfully, "Exactly."
Hua Liyuan quickly but carefully examined all the savage beasts.
Each one is a different breed, and none of them are very common. Even though their grade is the most common among level eight, their value is still quite high.
Even for cultivators who have truly reached the early stage of Nirvana, slaughtering eighth-order savage beasts is not so easy.
The corpses of eighth-tier savage beasts are a rare resource even within the Azure Dragon Academy.
Twelve heads... that's certainly enough for Instructor Jiang to choose from.
So, Hua Liyuan nodded and said, "Then let's do it this way. Give Instructor Jiang three puppet trading slots. He can go and choose one later."
Jiang Chongguang was satisfied.
Then, Hua Liyuan looked at Sang Yunchu with a questioning expression.
Sang Yunchu smiled and naturally took out a gourd.
The quality of this gourd is really not low. It is at least a level seven Xuan artifact gourd. The resources it can hold can reach the level eight at most, but the storage time will not be very long.
The fact that he can use such a gourd to hold things means that the resources inside are very precious, at least level seven. And since he wants to exchange it for a level eight puppet, it will definitely contain top-grade level eight resources.
Hua Liyuan took the gourd.
Sang Yunchu smiled and said, "Once it's opened, the medicinal effects will dissipate a bit. Instructor Hua, please listen to my explanation."
Hua Liyuan's fingers, which were reaching to uncork the bottle, paused instantly, and her gaze fell on Sang Yunchu.
"Could it be that what's inside isn't a medicinal pill?"
Sang Yunchu laughed and said, "If it's a pill, there's no need to use a gourd to hold it."
Then he began to explain.
"This item was created after I gained some insights from reading the inheritance that Cai'er had obtained, and it took me some time to finally make it."
"This is the 'Hundred Treasures Rejuvenating Soup,' of the finest quality."
"After taking this medicine, even a Nirvana cultivator can extend their life by five hundred years!"
Upon hearing this, Hua Liyuan's pupils suddenly contracted.
Extend your life by five hundred years!
Wouldn't that mean...?
Hua Liyuan looked up and met Sang Yunchu's smiling eyes.
She immediately understood that this was something Sangdanhuang had deliberately concocted to make it impossible for her to refuse.
If she really wanted any other level-eight pills, there was always a one in ten thousand chance that they would make her hesitate or feel the pinch... But this bowl of medicinal soup was something she could never give up.
Sang Yunchu smiled and said, "This amount of medicinal soup is enough for both of us."
He then stated the contraindications for taking it—
Each person can only take it once in their lifetime. If you want to take it again, it might turn into poison.
After all, this medicinal soup was made from eighty-one kinds of poisonous herbs.
If it becomes even slightly unstable and its medicinal properties become unbalanced, it can turn into a terrifyingly toxic substance.
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This herbal decoction is best suited for the current hospital director.
The dean's surname is also Hua. He is actually an elder in Hua Liyuan's family and is very kind to Hua Liyuan.
Hua Liyuan's current abilities are inseparable from the support of this elder. The Hua family's current status is also inseparable from the Dean's support.
The current headmistress only has three or four hundred years left to live. Although she has a past relationship with the governor, it will naturally end after she leaves. In addition, the headmistress has no direct children, so the governor will naturally not treat the Hua family differently.
Therefore, the longer the dean lives, the better.
Unfortunately, the dean had already taken a large number of other life-extending drugs. Normally, each life-extending drug can only be taken once, and it will become ineffective after being taken again. Even if it can be taken repeatedly, its effectiveness is often halved the second time, even less the third time, and almost useless after the fourth time.
The medicinal soup they were about to drink was one that the dean had never taken before, and it was just right for him.
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