Eternal Tale

”Fellow Daoists, take a look. This is the Nine Spirit Grass, harvested from the Nine Spirit Immortal Spring, five thousand years old. It has been transported thousands of miles just to be safely delivered into your hands. Though it has a price, the friendship on the path of immortality is priceless!”

”Heh, how many spirit stones? Eight thousand mid-grade spirit stones!”

...

”This fellow Daoist, would you like to see some beast artifacts? They preserve the magical power of a Wild Beast’s final moments. When activated, it’s like the roar of ten thousand beasts, with a fierce and overwhelming might!”

...

”I just received a batch of Heavenly Hidden Stones from the mines. The quality is good, and the chances of cutting out treasures are high. Fellow Daoists, don’t miss out, hehe.”

...

As Chen Xun wandered aimlessly down the bustling street, the noise reached his ears.

When he heard someone selling Heavenly Hidden Stones, he stopped, recalling the time he and Black Bull went to the Tongtian Tower and cut a few Heavenly Hidden Stones at a stall.

That inferior low-grade spirit stone still hung in his robe. Thinking of this brought a slight smile to his lips.But upon hearing the price of the Heavenly Hidden Stones, Chen Xun’s smile froze, and his fists unknowingly clenched. Why was the price here more than half cheaper than before...

A hint of pain flashed in his eyes as he shook his head and moved on, muttering under his breath, ”It seems I should source directly from the origin, saving at least half.”

As he spoke, Chen Xun took out a small notebook to jot down a note. This was valuable experience in cultivating immortality, a priceless treasure for the younger generation.

Perhaps in the future, he could try acquiring a Heavenly Hidden Stone mine and cut to his heart’s content.

He continued to stroll, passing by stalls set up by itinerant cultivators along the roadside.

Most of the items were for low-level cultivators, so he glanced briefly and lost interest.

What surprised him were the strange beasts accompanying some cultivators on the street.

These beasts were neither spiritual beasts nor demonic beasts, with a wild and peculiar aura, containing some ancient bloodline power.

Even though they were deliberately suppressed in the market, their blood energy was still overwhelming, far stronger than the spiritual and demonic beasts of the same realm Chen Xun had seen.

”Wild Ancient Beasts...” Instantly, information about these beasts surfaced in Chen Xun’s mind.

According to records, there was a special kind of beast in the wilderness known as Wild Ancient Beasts.

Wild Ancient Beasts had some connection with ancient beasts.

Most Wild Ancient Beasts had the blood of ancient beasts flowing in their veins, being the offspring of ancient beasts and other creatures.

However, due to their mixed bloodline, they were eventually abandoned by the ancient beast lineage and formed their own lineage in the wilderness, known as Wild Ancient Beasts.

Though the cultivation talent of Wild Ancient Beasts couldn’t compare to the ancient beast lineage, they were much stronger than ordinary demonic and spiritual beasts.

Many Wild Ancient Beasts, upon reaching a certain level of cultivation and with some luck, could undergo bloodline transformation, gaining the inherited divine abilities of ancient beasts, and could even reach the Great Ascension or Tribulation Crossing Venerable stages.

Moreover, in the Wild Heaven Region, ancient beasts were powerful yet rare, and few could tame them.

Thus, most cultivators and factions preferred to raise Wild Ancient Beasts, helping them evolve their bloodline to become the guardian beasts of their family or faction.

With these thoughts, Chen Xun gave them a careful look and then moved on, stopping in front of a grand yet ancient-looking pavilion.

”Xuanling Pavilion...” Chen Xun murmured softly, walking inside without any emotion.

Inside the shop, all the assistants were Outer Disciples of the Xuanji Sacred Land, indicating that this pavilion was likely the property of a significant figure from the Xuanji Sacred Land.

Upon entering, Chen Xun saw various magical artifacts displayed on the first floor, diverse and complete, mostly items used by cultivators in the Golden Elixir Realm.

After a brief glance, Chen Xun withdrew his gaze, expressionless.

At this moment, the manager in the Void Refinement realm immediately noticed Chen Xun, his eyes narrowing slightly.

The person before him seemed to have a restrained aura, very ordinary, yet inexplicably gave him a sense of unfathomable depth.

Especially the calm and composed demeanor and aura between his brows, which was definitely not that of an ordinary cultivator.

This aura, he had only seen in his Unity realm master and the Great Ascension elders of his sect.

Originally cold and unapproachable, Qi Yongbin seemed to transform, immediately putting on a warm smile as he approached.

”Fellow Daoist, I am Qi Yongbin, the shopkeeper of Xuanling Pavilion. May I know what you are looking for? If you need any assistance, please feel free to ask, and I will do my utmost to fulfill your needs.”

He raised his arms respectfully, his tone neither humble nor arrogant.

Chen Xun’s gaze remained calm, like a still lake, as he smiled, ”I came here to sell some spiritual herbs. Does your pavilion accept spiritual herbs?”

”Spiritual herbs?” Qi Yongbin’s eyes flashed, his smile widening, ”Senior, please come inside. Let’s discuss this on the second floor.”

With that, Qi Yongbin led the way, and the two of them went to a private room on the second floor.

Chen Xun took out some spiritual herbs he carried with him, most of which were between five thousand to eight thousand years old, used for refining pills in the Unity realm.

Though rare, they weren’t considered precious, but they could be exchanged for some spirit stones, allowing him to indulge in the market below the immortal mountain for a while.

Chen Xun added, ”I wish to sell these spiritual herbs, but I require mid-grade spirit stones for the transaction.”

Qi Yongbin’s pupils slightly contracted as he looked at the spiritual herbs—what a grand gesture!

As the shopkeeper of Xuanling Pavilion, he was well-informed, but this pavilion was on the outskirts of the Xuanji Sacred Land, and most of the cultivators they dealt with were below the Void Refinement realm, with most items not being of high grade.

The spiritual herbs Chen Xun casually took out were essentially treasures needed for the Void Refinement and Unity realms.

This further convinced Qi Yongbin that the person before him was indeed a senior in the Unity realm!

With this realization, Qi Yongbin’s attitude towards Chen Xun became even more respectful.

Carefully watching Chen Xun, Qi Yongbin tentatively asked, ”Senior, we at Xuanling Pavilion would like to purchase all these spiritual herbs. As for the price, would ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones be acceptable?”

”Ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones?” Chen Xun seemed like an emotionless statue, his expression unchanged, revealing nothing.

After a soft murmur, Chen Xun sat quietly, not commenting on the price.

The atmosphere in the room grew tense.

Qi Yongbin took a deep breath, feeling an intangible pressure in the room, as if something weighed on his chest, making it hard to breathe.

”Se... Senior.” Qi Yongbin smiled bitterly inside, clearly dealing with an old monster.

After a moment of hesitation, he gritted his teeth and said, ”Eleven thousand spirit stones! This is the highest price I can offer!”

”At this price, we won’t make much profit, but since it’s your first visit, I wish to make a friend, hoping for future cooperation.”

”Alright, given your sincerity, let’s settle at your price!”

Seeing this, the silent Chen Xun seemed like a thousand-year-old iceberg melting, a rare smile appearing on his face as he looked kindly at Qi Yongbin, nodding in satisfaction.

With the price agreed upon, Qi Yongbin finally breathed a sigh of relief, a hint of joy in his expression. ”In that case, please wait a moment, Senior, while I fetch the mid-grade spirit stones.”

With that, Qi Yongbin bowed and left.

In no time, he returned, taking out a pile of mid-grade spirit stones from his storage ring, indicating he had used some sort of authority.

”Senior, please inspect them!”

”Hmm.”

Chen Xun nodded, not even glancing at them, and collected all the spirit stones.

Only then did Qi Yongbin dare to carefully store the spiritual herbs in jade boxes, sealing them with special methods before placing them in his storage ring.

”Young friend, since the transaction is complete, I’ll take my leave now.”

Chen Xun stood up, said a polite remark, and prepared to leave.

Qi Yongbin hurriedly followed, exchanging contact information with Chen Xun, and respectfully said, ”Senior, I’ll see you off! I hope if you have more spiritual herbs to sell in the future, you will consider me.”

”Certainly!” Chen Xun chuckled, descending from the second floor and soon disappearing into the bustling crowd.

Leaving Xuanling Pavilion, Chen Xun continued to wander the city.

In a secluded street, he bought a storefront and resumed his old trade.

After some renovation, the shop resembled a mundane blacksmith’s shop, simple and unadorned, with gray walls and no decorations, exuding an ancient charm.

Unexpectedly, he transplanted two Crane Spirit Trees in front of the shop.

If not for the magical artifacts exuding spiritual qi hanging on the walls, one might mistake it for a mortal’s blacksmith shop.

At dusk, Chen Xun walked slowly inside the shop, the slanting rays of the setting sun casting a warm glow on his face.

He couldn’t help but squint, his gaze following the light, as thoughts stirred in his mind.

A faint smile appeared on Chen Xun’s lips as he took out an old wooden chair from his storage ring. The chair was weathered, with the curve of the backrest bearing the marks of its owner’s years of use.

He quietly moved it to the doorway and sat down, closing his eyes slightly.

Unknowingly, the wind came.

The evening glow cast its light on his weathered face, the shadows of the trees gently swaying over him.

After a long while, Chen Xun let out a deep breath, memories flooding his mind. This place felt like his starting point, and now, he had returned, unchanged...