307: Chapter 305 Gathering of Heroes

The next day, when that sickly dull purple shimmer pierced through the heavy clouds and spilled onto Liuyun Town once again, Su Lin slowly opened his eyes from meditation.

The immortal essence within his body, which had been as heavy as lead and mercury, had become much lighter after a full night of circulation.

The medicinal liquid Chu Weiwei had refined left a light green light membrane within his Meridians, acting like high-grade lubricant applied to a dry bearing; the pain that had previously made even breathing feel like a tearing sensation had completely vanished.

This feeling... was like swapping a suit of chainmail weighing dozens of pounds for close-fitting silk underwear, making him feel so light he almost wanted to roll around in the courtyard.

Of course, that thought only flashed through his mind for a ten-thousandth of a second.

"Revered Master~ You're awake?"

Chu Weiwei was leaning over, hands propped on her knees, looking down at him in an extremely ambiguous posture.

Her long hair fell with the breeze, a few strands playfully sweeping across Su Lin's nose, bringing with them a cold and alluring medicinal fragrance.

What made Su Lin's scalp tingle most was that the girl had somehow obtained a damp silk scarf and was meticulously wiping her fingertips, her eyes filled with a fanatical "I want to cut you open and look" gaze.

"Revered Master absorbed the medicinal power so well; your skin is even shimmering with immortal light. I really want to... take a bite and see how it tastes."

Su Lin's eyelid twitched. He calmly sat up and put some distance between them.

"Weiwei, I've taught you that the first thing to do upon waking is breathing exercises, not staring at your Revered Master's face."

"But looking at Revered Master is Weiwei's best form of cultivation."

Chu Weiwei pursed her lips, her eyes curving into crescent moons, her tone filled with a sense of natural justification.

"Besides, Weiwei was just helping Revered Master check the closure of your pores to ensure not a single bit of immortal essence leaked out. This is also a doctor's duty."

Su Lin twitched the corner of his mouth, thinking to himself that her gaze clearly indicated she wanted to turn him into some kind of human Medicinal Pill and swallow him whole.

He stood up and cracked his knuckles. Feeling the abundant power within him, his heart settled slightly.

"Fine, enough nonsense. The medicinal effects have stabilized; let's go for a walk in town.

While we're at it, we'll listen for news about the issuance of the immortal registry, or... the movements of that Earth Immortal Xuan Tian."

"As you command~ Revered Master, please wait a moment while Weiwei handles those traps."

Chu Weiwei swayed her slender waist as she walked quickly around the courtyard. With a light wave of her delicate hand, she retrieved the glowing poison pills she had buried earlier, her movements as nimble as if she were picking fruit from her own backyard.

Looking at her back, Su Lin silently complained: If this girl ever takes a dislike to someone, she'd probably turn the entire town's well water into lethal poison.

...

Stepping onto the long street of Liuyun Town once again.

The street was much noisier now than it had been yesterday afternoon.

Those ragged, haggard-looking Half-Immortals were pushing specially made wheelbarrows out of various alleys.

The carts were loaded with a greyish powder that emitted a faint glow—the immortal spirit ash the old man had mentioned.

Su Lin discovered that this so-called immortal spirit ash was essentially the residue of high-concentration Immortal Qi crystals under extreme extraction; it contained extremely chaotic Law fragments and was useless for cultivation, but it was an excellent fuel for maintaining large-scale defensive Formations.

"This Earth Immortal Xuan Tian is simply treating these people as free mining machines."

Su Lin walked slowly along the stone path with his hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping over the Cultivators whose backs were bent under the heavy pressure.

"This isn't cultivation; this is clearly a large-scale online mining survival game, and the kind that doesn't pay and lets you disconnect at any time."

He went into full rant mode in his mind.

In the Lower Realm, the Body Integration Stage was already a figure who could trigger regional phenomena, but here, they had to dig in the dirt for a few ounces of ash. If those fellows in the Lower Realm who thought about Ascension all day knew about this drop in status, they would probably rather cripple their own cultivation than come up.

"Hey, did you hear? The black market in Liuyun Town seems to have some good stuff for sale today."

Two passing Half-Immortals were discussing in low voices, their expressions carrying a hint of excitement rarely seen.

"What good stuff? Could it be a Marrow-Cleansing Talisman from the Main City?"

"No, I heard it's a few newcomers who just dropped down. They were carrying quite a few heavy treasures from the Lower Realm but were intercepted by Lord Xuan Tian's guard unit. They're preparing for a public auction at Juxian Pavilion."

Su Lin's footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

Heavy treasures from the Lower Realm?

Newcomers who just dropped down?

He and Chu Weiwei exchanged a look, both seeing the same suspicion in each other's eyes.

At this juncture, who else could the "newcomers" sent to this vicinity be besides his several scattered disciples?

Especially with Su Hongling's personality, if she was intercepted, it definitely wasn't because she couldn't beat those guards; it was likely because the gravity Law of the Upper Realm left her unable to use her strength for a time, leading to her being caught.

"Revered Master, are we going to kill them and take the goods?"

Chu Weiwei's voice became extremely excited. Her fingers unconsciously rubbed against her sleeve, and her purple eyes had already begun to turn red.

"Weiwei thinks the Divine Souls of those guards would be very suitable as a primer for new medicine."

"Calm down, this is the local boss's territory."

Su Lin pressed down on her shoulder, forcibly suppressing that rising killing intent.

"Let's go check the situation first. If it's your Second Senior Sister, then naturally we'll bring her back. But if it isn't..."

"We just happen to need someone who knows the ropes to tell us the rules of this Taihuang Immortal Domain."

...

Juxian Pavilion.

In name, it was the only restaurant and information exchange center in Liuyun Town, but in reality, it was a fencing point and harvesting platform established by Earth Immortal Xuan Tian.

The entire building was constructed from a pitch-black, heavy wood, with several swaying lanterns hanging at the entrance, looking exceptionally oppressive under the gloomy sky.

When Su Lin led Chu Weiwei inside, quite a few powerful Half-Immortals were already seated, and he could even see a few experts who had vaguely stepped onto the threshold of the Earth Immortal level, sizing up their surroundings with ill intent.

The two chose a corner seat by the window.

Chu Weiwei skillfully pulled a pill emitting a faint fragrance from her sleeve and surreptitiously dropped it into the murky tea the shopkeeper had brought over.

With a "sizzle," a layer of fine white foam appeared in the tea, which then returned to being clear.

"Revered Master, this tea had Soul-Severing Smoke powder added to it. Drinking it won't kill you, but it makes your Divine Sense dull; it's what's commonly known as an intelligence-lowering drug."

Chu Weiwei lowered her voice, her tone filled with disdain for such low-end methods.

Su Lin picked up the teacup and took a light sip. Although the tea of the Upper Realm was bitter, that heavy Immortal Qi was indeed beneficial for washing the Meridians.

"It seems the Revered Master of Liuyun Town has a heart smaller than the point of a needle."

Su Lin grumbled in his mind. To even scheme over a cup of tea, how pathetic must this Earth Immortal be.

Just then, on the high platform in the center of the hall, a long-bearded man in a red robe heavily struck a brass gong.

"Everyone, quiet!"

The man's voice was laced with a hint of Earth Immortal pressure, and the noisy hall instantly fell silent.

"Today, our Juxian Pavilion has been blessed by Lord Xuan Tian to obtain several extremely rare specimens."

The long-bearded man looked smug as he clapped his hands. Several burly guards dragged three large iron cages covered in black cloth onto the stage.

"These fellows ascended from a place in the Lower Realm called... Kyushu.

Although their cultivation is heavily suppressed by our Laws, their Foundation is extremely profound. Even the Lord himself praised the Magic Treasures they carried."

Su Lin's fingers holding the teacup unconsciously tightened.

His Divine Sense passed through the crowd, attempting to penetrate those black cloths.

However, the cloths were clearly covered in clever isolation Restrictions, such that even his Void Refining Divine Sense could not completely penetrate them.

"Enough talk! Hurry up and pull back the cloths so we can see!"

"Exactly! Anything that can get a 'good' rating from an old fox like you must be extraordinary!"

The Cultivators below began to jeer.

The red-robed man chuckled and suddenly yanked the black cloth off one of the cages.

"Whoosh!"

The black cloth slid off.

Inside the cage huddled a wretched figure.

It was a Yao Beast three times the size of an ordinary tiger, covered in dark red scales with broken bone spikes on its back.

One of its eyes had been gouged out and was oozing foul-smelling black blood, while the other eye stared fixedly at the crowd below, its throat letting out an unwilling low growl.

"Is that... a Mountain-Swallowing Croc-Tiger? No, there's a hint of Dragon pressure in its aura."

Someone cried out in surprise.

"That's a mutated Bloodline! A Yao Beast of this Rank would definitely be a hegemon in the Lower Realm!"

Su Lin felt a slight sense of relief. Fortunately, it wasn't one of his disciples.

It seemed that besides those like them who came prepared, this cross-Realm transport had also forcibly pulled in many unlucky bastards.

"This beast has a starting price of fifty Low Grade Immortal Stones, or three thousand taels of immortal spirit ash!"

The red-robed man's voice rang through the venue.

Su Lin had no interest in these Yao Beasts; his gaze remained locked on the remaining two cages that had not yet been uncovered.

The Half-Immortals below were arguing over that mutated Yao Beast until they were red in the face; some even had their hands on their Storage Pouches, looking very much like they would simply seize it if they couldn't buy it.

Su Lin held his teacup, his eyes completely devoid of emotion, watching these Cultivators fight over scraps as if he were watching a play.

He was calculating the cost of living in this Taihuang Immortal Domain.

This place really charged for even the air you breathed.

Fifty Low Grade Immortal Stones for a half-dead beast—doesn't the Price Control Bureau care about this?

Chu Weiwei leaned against his arm, her finger drawing circles on his sleeve.

"Revered Master, do you think if Second Senior Sister were locked in a cage, she would just tear this restaurant apart?"

She laughed innocently, as if talking about something very fun.

"If your Second Senior Sister were caught, she'd already be roasting that Yao Beast by now."

Su Lin responded softly, his eyes looking toward the second cage covered in black cloth on the platform.

The red-robed man beamed as he finalized the buyer for the Yao Beast—a man with a scarred face.

Immediately after, he walked to the second iron cage and yanked off the black cloth.

Inside was a ragged, burly man.

The man's muscles were knotted, his skin shimmering with a bronze light, and his body was wrapped in thick iron chains.

His eyes were bloodshot, and he stared fixedly at the crowd below, his throat letting out beast-like low growls.

"Look closely, everyone."

The red-robed man tapped the bars of the iron cage with his whip, producing a piercing metallic clatter.

"This is a Body Cultivator who ascended from the Lower Realm; his Physical Body strength is comparable to a high-tier Yao Beast.

Whether you buy him to mine immortal spirit ash or to serve as a meat-shield guard, it's a guaranteed profit.

Starting price: two hundred Low Grade Immortal Stones."

A wave of whispers immediately broke out below.

A Body Cultivator might be formidable in the Lower Realm, but in this Taihuang Immortal Domain with its terrifying gravity, without immortal essence to support them, they were just Advanced laborers.

"Two hundred and ten."

A pot-bellied merchant slowly raised his sign.

Su Lin looked at the burly man with zero interest.

Clearly, the guaranteed pity roll had missed the mark.

Although this Body Cultivator had a good Foundation, he clearly wasn't his muscle-brained Second Disciple.

If it really were Su Hongling, this cage would have been punched into scrap metal long ago, and she probably would have hammered this red-robed man into the ground while she was at it.

"Revered Master, this one looks too stupid."

Chu Weiwei wrinkled her nose in distaste and leaned her head on Su Lin's shoulder.

"He's so thick-skinned it wouldn't even be easy to get the poison to sink in; Weiwei still prefers test subjects with more delicate skin."

This yandere comment caused several nearby Loose Cultivators to glance over.

Seeing Chu Weiwei's pure and exquisite face and then hearing such cruel words, they all felt a shiver run down their spines.

Su Lin irritably pinched her cheek.

"Can't you show some restraint? We're paupers right now and can't afford your expensive experimental Materials."

"As long as Revered Master is here, Weiwei would be happy even eating dirt every day."

The two were casually flirting in the corner while the bidding on stage had ended.

The Body Cultivator was eventually bought by the pot-bellied merchant for three hundred Low Grade Immortal Stones.

The red-robed man wiped the sweat from his forehead, a mysterious smile appearing on his face.

He walked to the final cage and placed his hand on the black cloth.

"Everyone, the main event has arrived.

This piece of cargo took our guard unit a great deal of effort to secure.

Not only is she exceptionally gifted, but she's also a breathtaking beauty.

Used as a Cauldron, the experience is guaranteed to be unforgettable for all you Fellow Daoists."

His words instantly ignited the atmosphere in the hall.

Those Half-Immortals craned their necks one by one, greed shining in their eyes.

In this dull and tedious Liuyun Town, encountering a high-quality Cauldron was a rare stroke of luck.

Even several experts who had been resting with their eyes closed now opened them one after another.

Su Lin straightened his posture, his heart beating slightly faster.

Following this kind of trope, there was a ninety percent chance that one of his troublesome disciples was locked inside.

No matter which one it was, the roof of this Juxian Pavilion probably wasn't going to stay on today.

He was even prepared to flip the table.

The moment he saw a familiar figure, he would immediately move to snatch them back.