Nine Evolutions of the True Spirit

The two Belligerent Pellets caused Wei Xu-Ren to flinch, but he could still hold himself together. However, in the next moment, the third pellet arrived.

Despite being a late Core Forging Realm cultivator, Wei Xu-Ren was at his limit after receiving the two attacks from Lu Ping; he had lost the composure and poise of a grandmaster alchemist.

When the third Belligerent Pellet exploded, Wei Xu-Ren had no choice but to endure the heartache he felt from positioning the cauldron above his head.

To his surprise, the technique contained within the third pellet wasn’t powerful. Instead, it was a water wave. As soon as the pellet exploded, it attracted all the water around the palace, condensing it and releasing it all at once.

With barely any time to react, Wei Xu-Ren could no longer be bothered by the rules. He hurriedly shielded himself with a barrier. The next thing he felt was a tremendous force crashing down on him, forcing him to lower his stance. At the same time, he noticed that the spiritual energy in his barrier was being siphoned.

“No!” Wei Xu-Ren realized that things were getting out of hand, but it was already too late. The water eroded the barrier and started seeping in, leaving Wei Xu-Ren completely drenched.

Wei Xu-Ren had been utterly humiliated.

Steam started rising as Wei Xu-Ren heated his body to dry his drenched clothes. Although it all happened so quickly, everyone had seen what had happened.

After losing his pride when Mei Xuan-Qin toyed around with him during his days as a master alchemist, Wei Xu-Ren managed to redeem himself and regain his honor by advancing to a grandmaster alchemist. Yet, this hard-earned reputation was thrown away by Lu Ping today.

Wei Xu-Ren might have acted shamelessly back then, but it was what he had chosen. Being humiliated by someone else, however, was a different matter altogether.

“You little sh*t! How dare you! I want you dead!”

Before Lu Ping could say anything, Tian-Hu’s intimidating voice sounded, “Dead? Who?” His daunting eyes locked onto Wei Xu-Ren; he looked like an evil apparition that had climbed out of the abyss.

With a ferocious expression, Wei Xu-Ren opened his mouth and tried to argue back, only to be halted by Dao-Li, who said, “Brother Tian-Hu, Wei Xu-Ren was at fault just now. I propose we sweep this incident under the rug and move on. What do you say?”

Enraged by Wei Xu-Ren, Tian-Hu had sworn to kill Wei Xu-Ren, but he discarded the idea when Lu Ping managed to get revenge. After hearing Dao-Li’s attempt to patch things up, Tian-Hu replied with disdain, “Then so be it. The little rascal has gotten his payback against Wei Xu-Ren.”

While it appeared as if he was replying to Dao-Li, Tian-Hu was actually expressing his thoughts to the other master alchemists that had given Lu Ping a hard time. Immediately, the master alchemists heaved a sigh of relief. Their gazes were also filled with gratitude when they looked at Lu Ping. It was more than just fortunate to escape from the hostility of a Law Avatar Realm cultivator.

Their wavering emotions were captured by the Law Avatar Realm grandmaster alchemists from the many sects, causing them to feel complicated. “These two sure are cunning b*stards!”

The Hai Yang Sect’s Law Avatar Realm grandmaster alchemist, Cang-Qiong chimed in, “All right. Now that we’ve settled the insignificant affairs, shall we begin with the conference? Let’s start with the trading session.”

Cang-Qiong’s proposal received the acknowledgement of everyone present. Lu Ping was looking forward to seeing how the trades worked. As a first-timer, he had high hopes for what was to come.

The alchemists got up from their seats and walked over to certain individuals as if they had planned to do so beforehand. Tian-Hu was discussing with Shu-Min of the Shui Yan Pavilion, exchanging a couple of items.

Lu Ping realized that while every sect possessed land that could produce different products, it did not mean they could get their hands on everything they needed. Furthermore, each sect produced various unique products. Some were experts in growing spiritual herbs, while some sects grew high-quality spiritual plants that couldn’t be found elsewhere. Hence, the conference gave the sects a chance to obtain things they could not produce themselves.

As a result, the cultivators immediately headed toward their ideal trading partners as soon as the conference started. After attending the conference more than a dozen times, they had already acquired detailed information on the production of each sect.

The reason Tian-Hu brought Lu Ping along was to give him a chance to broaden his horizons, not to hand over the assigned task of the sect to him. Hence, Lu Ping was relieved from the burden of communicating with these sly and cunning old cultivators. They might be no match for Lu Ping in terms of alchemy, but their experience was not to be underestimated. Sometimes, age was an advantage, especially in a profession where people often died young.

Lu Ping fidgeted with the interspatial ring on his hand and went through his possessions. Apart from the hundreds of spirit herbs and plants he had looted, Lu Ping also brought along the thousand spirit herbs from Huang Li Island. In addition to the spirit herbs Luan Yu was planning to use for his training, Lu Ping now had 2,500 thousand-year-old spirit herbs at his disposal.

He also had dozens of 3,000-year-old spirit herbs with him. Most of them had been collected from the spirit garden in the lone mountain within the Golden House. They were nurtured and carefully raised by Luan Yu over many years. In other words, these spirit herbs were all top quality.

Lu Ping wandered around the palace. During the trades, the alchemists would put their goods on display to invite the prospective trader, and those around them, to closely examine the items. When this happened, Lu Ping would always join them. After noticing him, the alchemists would greet Lu Ping with a nod and a smile. It was clear that Lu Ping had won their approval during the test; they were more than willing to show him kindness after factoring in the Zhen Ling Sect.

They even handed over their spirit herbs to Lu Ping for him to appraise them and test his limits. Lu Ping didn’t turn them down. Instead, he commented on the goods he received, readily admitting when he did not know anything about them. With the Tri-Pristine True Vision, the experiences from years of adventuring, and the teaching from experts like Tian-Hu, Lu Ping could accurately point out the uniqueness of many goods, leaving the alchemists in awe and filled with respect.

Initially, they were friendly with Lu Ping because of his potential and background. Now, they saw him as a proper and competent alchemist.

“So, what did you gain from the conference this time, young friend?” an old man asked with a smile.

Lu Ping turned around, and replied, “Greetings, elder. I’m here to broaden my horizons. I haven’t traded anything with anyone yet. Elder, may I know your good name?”

“I’m Liao Run-Jia, Liao Hu’s father!”

“Greetings, Elder Liao. It’s been twenty years since I last met Brother Liao. How is he doing?”

“All I can say is that he’s nowhere near your level. He barely entered the Core Forging Realm two years ago and is still far from becoming a master alchemist.”

“Congratulations, Elder Liao. The Liao Family is very powerful; with its knowledge and resources, Brother Liao is bound to become a future prominent figure in the region. It’s a shame I was unaware of Brother Liao's breakthrough, or I would’ve paid him a visit and brought along some gifts.”

Liao Hu was a member of the Liao Family whom Lu Ping met years ago in the Canyon of Sullied Gold. The North Ocean’s Liao Family was a reputed alchemy family known for their unique alchemy skills. Although they had not produced any particularly outstanding alchemists throughout the millennia, they had managed to produce a master alchemist, which was more than enough to sustain the family. With that, the Liao family solidified their position and eventually earned themselves respectable positions for their honest and righteous behavior because they wouldn’t take advantage of other alchemists or lone cultivators.

However, the actual reason they could stand firm for so many years was because of their family heritage wonder pellet, known as the Heart Condensation Pellet. This pellet could boost a cultivator in the Blood Condensation Realm to the next level. The only problem with the pellet was the ingredients. The spirit herbs required were incredibly scarce. As a result, the pellets had limited production. But, every pellet was incredibly sought after, allowing the Liao Family to gather massive amounts of wealth throughout the years, further improving the family’s overall strength.

Unbeknownst to Liao Run-Jia, the family's most classified recipe was already in Lu Ping's hands. He had even gotten his hands on the secret pellet, the Heart Forging Pellet, from the relics left behind by Liao Bing-Zhen. In fact, Liao Bing-Zhen’s relics had played a vital role in Lu Ping’s achievements.

Naturally, Lu Ping wouldn’t reveal this matter, but that didn’t stop him from feeling grateful to the Liao Family. Additionally, Liao Hu and Lu Ping were friends.

“Haha. There are a couple of things here. I wonder if you’re interested in them. If so, we could hold a trade.”

Lu Ping chuckled and replied, “It would be my honor, Elder Liao.”