Nine Evolutions of the True Spirit

After years of nurturing under Luan Yu’s care, the Golden Nut Tree in the Golden House could produce a couple of Golden Nuts every three years. These were all used to concoct Golden Nut Pellets, and after years of consuming them, Lu Ping’s physical body had become as strong as a low-level mythic instrument.

However, after advancing to the Core Forging Realm, the Golden Nut Pellets were no longer as effective as before. The pellets could still increase his strength, but only slightly. The appearance of the Bone Fortification Pellet came as a surprise to Lu Ping. Unlike other pellets, the Bone Fortification Pellet could only be consumed three times, and each concoction could only produce one pellet. If an attempt failed, all resources would be wasted.

Even so, Lu Ping was delighted because the concoction method was very compatible with the Wonder Water Concoction Technique. The technique could raise the concoction’s success rate to a certain degree for both Blood Condensation and Law Avatar Realm pellets. In general, the Wonder Water Concoction Technique was most suitable when concocting extremely rare pellets with a low success rate.

Lu Ping had something much stronger than the Bone Fortification Pellet in his possession – the white lotus he had stumbled on in the Fallen Rift. The lotus root had nine joints, each serving as a powerful tonic for strengthening the physical body. However, it was something beyond his level, so Lu Ping had no confidence in turning them into top-tier spirit pellets.

After the trading session, the conference’s main focus began. This was when many grandmasters and master alchemists took turns to reveal a precious possession.

“Elder Liao, do you have any five-year Longevity Pills? The Zhen Ling Sect will pay you handsomely if you have the recipe, and we won’t leak the information to anyone.”

“Are you asking this for Tian-Kang?” Liao Run-Jia smiled after looking at Lu Ping with surprise.

His question made Lu Ping’s heart sink to the bottom. “The Liao Family knows of Junior Grand Uncle Tian-Kang’s condition too?

A moment later, Lu Ping let go of his worries. “Maybe the Zhen Ling Sect didn’t hide this matter from the cultivators of the North Ocean.”

Liao Run-Jia quickly captured Lu Ping’s anxiety, and smiled, “My young friend, the Zhen Ling Sect acquired a three-year Longevity Pill from our family long ago. Besides, what happened to Tian-Kang is no secret to everyone in the North Ocean. I’m afraid your sect owns the most Longevity Pill recipes in the entire region. We did get our hands on a three-year Longevity Pill back then, but it was sold to Tian-Hu. Now, it’s hard to find a Longevity Pill that the Zhen Ling Sect does not own.”

From his words and attitude, Lu Ping deduced that Liao Run-Jia was speaking the truth. Lu Ping was merely testing his luck when he asked about the pill. He didn’t expect the Liao Family to possess any.

While disappointed by the answer, Lu Ping’s interest in the Liao Family was piqued because no ordinary family could get their hands on a Longevity Pill.

In the North Ocean, a three-year Longevity Pill was considered immensely invaluable. It was something that only the ten greatest sects in the region could acquire, indicating just how extraordinary the Liao Family was. Aside from that, Liao Run-Jia’s familiarity with the Central Plains was also why Lu Ping was interested in the Liao Family.

“Elder Liao, do you know of anyone in the East Ocean possessing the Longevity Pill?” Lu Ping asked with a frown.

“I suppose there’s only one faction left.” Liao Run-Jia smiled bitterly as he gestured to Lu Ping.

Lu Ping turned around and saw Tian-Hu walking toward Dao-Li from the Xuan Ling Sect. The two held a brief conversation before Tian-Hu stormed off angrily while Dao-Li grinned smugly.

Liao Run-Jia explained, “Whatever happened to Tian-Kang is seemingly closely related to a conflict between the two sects, so the Xuan Ling Sect definitely doesn’t want to see him recover.”

Lu Ping already knew this, but he replied regardless, “Thank you for your time, Elder Liao.”

Liao Run-Jia smiled bashfully, “Don’t thank me. There’s a favor I need to ask of you.”

Curious and wary, Lu Ping inquired carefully, “Let’s cut to the chase. What do you need from me, Elder Liao? I’ll do my best if it is within my capabilities!”

“I’ve heard of Xuan-Sen’s incident. The alchemists in the region never believed in the existence of the Wonder Water Concoction Technique before today, but our Liao Family already knew about its existence. I want to purchase a Spirit Water Vein Nourishment Pellet.”

“Oh?” Lu Ping casually took out a tiny jade box from his ring. The Zhen Ling Sect took the pill seriously after Lu Ping saved Xuan-Xen from losing his power. As a result, Lu Ping was given a bag of spirit herbs and was told to concoct ten such pellets under Tian-Hu’s command.

Of course, Lu Ping had kept a few extra pellets to himself after concocting them, which Tian-Hu had ignored.

Liao Run-Jia immediately used a clairvoyance technique. After seeing the pellets he wanted inside the box, Liao Run-Jia opened his mouth to say something. But, when he saw Lu Ping's carefree attitude, he paused for a second, and carefully asked, “Do you not know the value of these pellets?”

“You mean…” Lu Ping stuttered.

“Xuan-Sen was the first, but he won’t be the last. A few other Core Forging cultivators from different sects walked right into a monster ambush. The few survivors lost all of their strength. Three of them eventually succumbed to their injuries, while four of them are still clinging on to their lives. The monsters’ mysterious technique has caused great fear. Death is inevitable, but losing all of your strength the moment they injure you? That’s a different story.”

The confused Lu Ping asked, “If that’s the case, many sects must’ve learned about the recovery of Junior Martial Uncle Xuan-Sen, right? Why are they still skeptical about the Wonder Water Concoction Technique? Some of them don’t even recognize it.”

“That’s because Xuan-Sen is the only late-Core Forging Realm cultivator among them. They thought he walked away from the ambush unscathed because of his cultivation level.”

“I see. What do you think of my pellets?”

“They are all beyond measure.” interrupted someone. Lu Ping turned around, and to his surprise, he saw a charismatic middle-aged man walking toward them.

“Brother Ai, you’re here for the pellets too?” Liao Run-Jia inquired.

The middle-aged man greeted Liao Run-Jia with a nod before turning to Lu Ping, and said, “My name is Ai Zhong. I’m Ai Bo-Tao’s nephew. Greetings, young friend.”

“Greetings. How is Brother Bo-Tao doing?”. Lu Ping also recalled Ai Bo-Tao’s sister, who disguised herself as a man, but he did not ask anything about her as Ai Zhong had not mentioned her.

“He’s not doing very well. Your achievements are spectacular, and being a young man unwilling to be outshined by others in the same generation, Bo-Tao went to pick a fight with the monsters. The outcome of the battle was not good. Not only did he almost lose his life, he even lost his strength after being injured by the mysterious technique of the monsters.”

His revelation gave Lu Ping a scare, as he hurriedly asked, “How is he now?”

With a bitter smile, Ai Zhong continued, “Fortunately, he is still young, so he doesn’t have to worry about dying of old age for the time being. Then again, as a competent young man, losing all his strength is the same as killing him. He’s now very demotivated and depressed. To be honest, I was skeptical about the Wonder Water Concoction Technique of the Zhen Ling Sect, so I was thinking of inquiring about the situation with Great Ancestor Tian-Hu. I didn’t expect you to be the one concocting the pellets. Now, I’d like to ask the same favor as Brother Liao. Please help Bo-Tao!”

After working with Ai Bo-Tao and his sister a couple of times, they eventually became friends. Additionally, the Ai Family was a powerful faction in the North Ocean. Factoring in the Law Avatar Realm cultivator of the Ai Family, the Zhen Ling Sect would be more than happy to see him getting along with them.

Lu Ping hurriedly retrieved another box in his ring, delivered it to Ai Zhong, and said, “It’s not easy to concoct the pellet, and I don’t have many with me right now, but I do have a spare one for Brother Bo-Tao. Please accept it, elder.”

“You’re a good friend to him. I suppose we can take it slow now with the pellet you provided. Hmph. This little rascal must be taught a lesson. Hopefully, he will learn from his mistakes and understand that there will always be someone stronger than him, no matter how powerful he becomes.” Ai Zhong’s expression was no longer so gloomy after accepting the pellet.