Chapter 32 Innkeeper, Do You Accept Dan Manuals?

"I've heard that the first thing many cultivators do upon arriving in Yu County is to taste my Chen Clan's Azure-Scale Spirit Fish."

Eldrin (Person Name) listened with a faint smile as he began harvesting the spirit peaches.

The spirit peach tree grew swiftly, having reached the upper first-grade this year and borne over 1 100 and 60 spirit peaches.

He gathered 1 100 and 30 pieces, intending to deposit 30 into the clan treasury, sell 1 100 at the Yuyang Market, and keep the remaining 30-some for his own cultivation and entertaining guests.

Early the next morning, Eldrin bid farewell to the old uncle and the 2 siblings, then followed Chen Changlu and the others toward Spirit Isle Lake.

Since they had to transport live fish to Yuyang Market, the group had no choice but to lead the rented Emberhoof Horses pulling the fish tanks, making their journey rather slow. It took them over 10 days of travel before they finally reached Yuyang Market.

The Yuyang Market was the sole cultivation marketplace within a radius of tens of thousands of miles in Yu County. Over a 100 cultivation families of varying sizes, along with several 1000 scattered rogue cultivators, all relied on this market as their primary hub for trade and exchange.

This market had always been jointly governed by the 6 great Foundation Establishment clans, and in principle, the Chen family was 1 of them.

However, 60 years ago, the Chen Family declined overnight and lost the ability to station Foundation Establishment cultivators here. Thus, the tax revenue from Yuyang Market no longer included a share for the Chen Family.

It must be understood that the Yuyang Market generated immense profits, with annual tax revenues alone exceeding 5,000 spirit stones. Even when divided equally among the 6 great clans, each would receive nearly 1,000 spirit stones.

Unfortunately, precisely because the benefits of the Sunrest Market were so immense, the slightest misstep could attract the covetous eyes of demonic cultivators and rogue cultivators from outside. Thus, it was imperative to station a large number of powerful experts there.

Among the 6 great clans of Yu County, all except the Chen Clan had dispatched a Foundation Establishment cultivator to garrison this place. Since the Chen Clan had contributed neither personnel nor resources, they were naturally excluded from sharing in this immense stream of tax revenue.

Speaking of which, this was Eldrin's first time visiting Yuyang Market. He gazed at it with keen curiosity.

Chen Changlu, noticing his expression, explained from the side, "Don’t underestimate this Yuyang Market."

"Within Sunset Market, there are 5 Foundation Establishment cultivators and over 500 Qi Refining cultivators stationed. When they jointly activate the Heaven-Severing Demon-Slaying Array, even ordinary Purple Mansion demons might not gain any advantage."

The 2 chatted as they walked, soon arriving at the Chen family's Evergreen Pavilion.

The Chen Immortal Clan (Organization) now retains only 3 shops in Yuyang Market, 1 of which has been leased to a minor immortal clan.

For personal use were the Evergreen Pavilion and Evergreen Tower. The Evergreen Pavilion served as the family's establishment for trading cultivation resources such as elixirs and magical artifacts, while the Evergreen Tower stood as 1 of only 3 renowned taverns within the city.

Ever since the Chen Family established Spirit Isle Lake (Location) over a dozen years ago, the availability of such mortal delicacies as the Cyan-Scale Spirit Fish had caused Evergreen Pavilion's business to flourish increasingly, gradually overshadowing the other 2 establishments.

Especially in recent years, with the increased yield of the Cangqing Spirit Fish, the Eternal Azure Pavilion's annual earnings have surpassed 300 spirit stones.

This single item alone accounted for 30 percent of the clan's annual revenue.

Moreover, in recent years, the spiritual rice yield from Spirit Isle Lake (Location) had increased, and the spirit herbs cultivated by the family for hundreds of years were gradually maturing. This allowed the family to gradually eliminate its deficit, achieving not only a balanced budget but also a slight surplus.

If the Great Azure Mountain Spirit Vein had not been mortgaged, and the family could still manage the business of 5 Elements Essence Qi to Celestial Ruins Mountain (Location), then the annual surplus in the clan treasury might have reached 7 to 8 100 spirit stones.

"It seems this year's harvest is truly bountiful."

The group brought the spirit fish to the Evergreen Pavilion, where the Second Elder emerged to greet them all.

With a smile, he instructed everyone to release the spirit fish into the backyard pond for rearing—these spirit fish wouldn't be sold off in a single day.

Compared to ordinary demon beast meat, the Cangqing Spirit Fish not only boasts more tender flesh but is also freshly slaughtered, making it far more delectable.

Many cultivators in Yu County wished to taste this delicacy, but with the limited supply of Azure-Scale Spirit Fish, the Evergreen Pavilion could only offer them for sale once every 10 days. Unless it was the designated day, 1 simply couldn't get a taste.

After releasing the spirit fish, Eldrin made another trip to the Evergreen Pavilion, where he consigned a 100 spirit peaches for sale, converting them into 450 spirit stones.

He had been running this business for several years now. Though he conceded 10 percent of the spirit peaches' profits to his clan, it saved him the trouble of selling them personally while expanding the clan's commercial reach—a rather favorable deal all around.

After completing all this, he had an acquaintance lead the way and arrived at the Xuanming Pavilion.

Xuanming Pavilion was an enterprise of the Mu Clan, 1 of the 6 major immortal families in Yu County. The Mu Clan stood as the most ancient lineage in the region, having maintained its legacy for over 600 years.

For 6 100 years, although the Mu family had not produced a single Purple Mansion Patriarch, Foundation Building cultivators had emerged generation after generation. Through their continuous efforts spanning centuries, the Mu family established the largest spirit herb garden in Yu County.

It was said their family possessed nearly a 1000 mu of spirit fields, cultivating several times more spiritual herbs than the Chen family. Through this centuries-old spiritual herb garden, they had nurtured the only upper-second-rank alchemist in Yu County.

Even the higher-ups of Celestial Ruins Mountain (Location) like Patriarch Jiang and the leadership of Qingyang Sect (Organization) occasionally required their high-grade spirit herbs.

Because of this, the Mu family always had ways to obtain Foundation Establishment Pills (Spiritual Object). Including the 3 Mu family members who had reached Foundation Establishment through the Qingyang Sect, their clan now boasted a total of 7 Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Its clan leader, Mu Xuanming, was also an eighth-level Foundation Establishment cultivator, second only to the strongest in Yu County—the Lin Immortal Clan (Organization).

Eldrin was in need of a supplementary ingredient to advance his alchemy skills, and his first thought was of the Xuanming Pavilion.

With his exceptionally handsome appearance, such a cultivator naturally drew attention wherever he went. Clad in snow-white robes that accentuated his jade-like elegance and extraordinary aura, he caught the shopkeeper’s eye the moment he stepped into the Xuanming Pavilion.

Similar to the Celestial Ruins Pavilion, the Profound Elixir Pavilion—a shop specializing in spiritual herbs—rarely saw more than a handful of customers throughout the day. Most patrons purchasing spiritual herbs were regulars, leaving only a single shopkeeper present at this time.

The shopkeeper was a middle-aged female cultivator. The moment she laid eyes on Eldrin (Person Name), her face lit up, assuming a wealthy patron had arrived. She hurried over to attend to him.

"You look unfamiliar, fellow Daoist. Is this your first time at Yuyang Market?"

"Mm." Eldrin nodded. "I am a junior of the Chen family from Verdant Chariot Mountain. This is my first visit to the Xuanming Pavilion, and I intend to purchase some spirit herbs."

"So you're a cultivator from the Chen family. My apologies for the disrespect."

A flicker of disappointment crossed the woman's face. Established cultivation clans like the Chen Family typically maintained their own spirit herb gardens, so they seldom needed to purchase medicinal plants from outsiders.

Even if they were to make a purchase, it would only be for high-grade spiritual herbs, or merely to fill the few gaps in their own collection.

The former generally refers to spiritual herbs of the second tier or higher, which the Mu Family would never casually sell, while the latter often yields relatively modest returns.

Though somewhat disappointed, the woman still replied with a gentle smile.

"What might you be seeking, honored guest?"

"My current alchemy batch is still missing 1 portion of Heartbell Herb."

"Please wait a moment, honored guest. I shall retrieve it at once."

The proprietress spoke, then turned and went to the back room to fetch the Bellheart Grass.

While waiting for the female cultivator to retrieve the medicine, Eldrin sat in the hall drinking tea. Soon, he noticed a youth of about 17 or 18 years old walking in.

The man was clearly a wandering cultivator on his first journey, his cultivation merely at the second level of Qi Refining. When he entered the herb shop, a trace of timidity still lingered in his expression.

The youth glanced at Eldrin and, noticing his extraordinary aura and unfathomable cultivation, mistakenly took him for the manager of the Profound Emporium. He leaned in closer and whispered discreetly.

"Innkeeper, do you purchase alchemy manuals?"