After returning to the Lin family's residence, Lin Qin, with a radiant face, was so happy that he almost seemed to float in the sky.
Do cultivators value diligent training above all else?
Nonsense! What matters most is, damn it, opportunity.
And what is an opportunity? That an elder in the Golden Core Realm suddenly takes notice of you—that's an opportunity.
As for whether the other had any hidden intentions with him, Lin Qin didn't even bother to think about it.
In the eyes of a Yuan Ying elder, the entire Black Cloud City was nothing, let alone him.
"I've never had such a wonderful start!"
As he walked, Lin Qin couldn't help but raise his arms and shout loudly.
At that moment, the head of the Lin family, Lin Shicong, passed by. Upon hearing his son say this, his expression turned strange.
"What's wrong with you, boy?"
Lin Qin, instinctively, wanted to share the good news with his father.
But then he remembered the warning his future master had given him before leaving.
He decided that he would rather die than reveal that secret, so he simply smiled and said:
"Uncle Qin told me that when I reach the Foundation Realm, I'll be able to marry Weiwei."
"Really? Then I'll look forward to having a grandson."
Lin Shicong also showed a smile on his face.
After the marriage alliance between both families, they wouldn't have to worry about the aggression from the Ning family anymore.
"I'm going to lock myself in meditation for a week. I need to make use of the time to train."
Lin Qin hurriedly said goodbye to his father and returned to his room, preparing to refine the flying magic sword that Tang Yu had given him.
He took out the sword and began focusing on refining it.
While Lin Qin was fully absorbed in his refining.
In another room, Lin Xuan, who had been unconscious, finally woke up.
During his unconscious state, his soul had been absorbed by a jade pearl, where he encountered a fragment of a soul that resided within it.
After receiving some guidance from that spiritual ancestor, Lin Xuan finally understood what was wrong with his body.
Fortunately, that ancestor left him a pill recipe and told him that he just needed to follow it to resolve his problem.
"Refine pills, huh? But these ingredients are too expensive… Cold Smoke Grass, Poria Fruit..."
As he read the names of the eight ingredients in the recipe, Lin Xuan felt a headache coming on.
To obtain them all, he would need at least twenty middle-grade spiritual stones.
At this moment, all he had were just three middle-grade spiritual stones, which he had managed to save up with great effort.
Borrowing wasn't even an option.
In the entire Lin family, probably no one would want to lend him anything.
"Well, let's see if I get lucky."
Murmuring to himself, Lin Xuan washed his face and left the Lin residence, heading straight to the Black Cloud City black market.
The most famous thing about Black Cloud City was its black market, where it was said that anything could be found.
There was someone who once bought a treasure damaged for ten low-grade spiritual stones and, after restoring it, discovered that it was an ancient treasure of great value.
He eventually sold it to the Treasure Pavilion for eight thousand high-grade spiritual stones.
But there were also those who spent hundreds of high-grade spiritual stones on a counterfeit and ended up losing everything.
Lin Xuan had just left the Lin residence when Tang Yu, secretly following him, snuck after him.
Seeing that he was heading straight for the black market, Tang Yu smiled with amusement, looked around, and then grabbed the arm of a Qi Refining Realm cultivator.
"What are you doing?"
The cultivator had a modern hairstyle with a middle part, and upon being grabbed, he showed an expression of displeasure.
"Come with me for a moment. I need your help with something."
Tang Yu handed him a middle-grade spiritual stone.
Upon seeing the spiritual stone, the man's expression immediately changed to a sincere smile, and he quickly moved away with Tang Yu.
"What does the ancestor command? I'm Xu Kun, and I'm willing to risk my life for you."
"It's something simple. Do you see that guy with an arrogant air? He's about to enter the black market to buy something. Follow him."
"Buy exactly what he buys, but if the price exceeds five middle-grade spiritual stones, don't do it. Got it?"
Saying this, Tang Yu took out five high-grade spiritual stones and handed them to the man.
This was a classic cliché from cultivation novels: when the protagonist goes shopping, they always find a hidden treasure.
No matter how valuable it is, everyone else ignores it, and only they are able to recognize it, sometimes even by pure intuition.
According to the original plot.
Lin Xuan would buy a very valuable treasure for only two middle-grade spiritual stones.
Then he would sell it for a large sum, buy the materials for the pill, and make a major breakthrough, slapping Lin Qin in a duel.
But if a problem could be solved with money, then it wasn't really a problem.
Xu Kun was so nervous that his hands trembled while holding the spiritual stones. Never in his life had he seen so much money together.
Anyone who could take out so many high-grade spiritual stones had to be, at the very least, a Golden Core Realm cultivator.
Carefully storing the stones in his storage ring, Xu Kun smiled obsequiously and said, "Ancestor, rest assured that I will carry out the task."
"Do a good job and I will accept you as my disciple."
Tang Yu patted him on the shoulder and began making false promises.
Upon hearing that, Xu Kun almost screamed with excitement and immediately ran after Lin Xuan to fulfill his mission.
By that time, Lin Xuan was already exploring the black market.
"Take a look, I just brought treasures from a secret land!"
"Look at these pills! Ancient pills, only one medium-grade spiritual stone each!"
"Here I have a treasure-hunting weasel that only gives birth once every hundred years! Don't miss it!"
The vendors were shouting nonstop while the cultivators moved from stall to stall looking for good deals.
After walking for a while, Lin Xuan's gaze landed on a small palm-sized bronze cauldron.
"Brother, you have a good eye. This is the most precious treasure in my shop, it was inherited from my grandfather, he..."
The vendor approached, ready to spout a series of praises.
But Lin Xuan simply raised his hand and said, "Just tell me the price."
Not much, just two medium-grade spiritual stones.
The vendor rubbed his hands together and quoted his price.
Lin Xuan left with a grim expression. Even if he were killed, he couldn't afford to buy that thing.
After walking a bit further, his gaze returned to a jade tube.
The vendor was a mature, voluptuous woman with a seductive air.
She was sitting on a small stool, calling out to customers.
The cultivators passing by looked from above.
From that perspective, they could easily catch a glimpse of white through her cleavage.
Lin Xuan couldn't help but take a couple of glances before crouching down and asking, "How much is this jade tube?"
"Oh, does little brother want this jade tube? You have a good eye. I got it from a secret realm. If you can break the restriction sealing it, there might be something valuable inside. I'll sell it to you for fifty medium-grade spiritual stones."
The woman smiled coquettishly.
Jade tubes from secret realms often had natural restrictions.
Breaking them was difficult, and it didn't guarantee the contents would be valuable. It was like opening a surprise box.
"That story might fool others, but not me. I'm a disciple of the Lin family. I know this black market well. You're selling it for one medium-grade spiritual stone?"
Lin Xuan took out a medium-grade spiritual stone from his storage ring.
"Ah! Are you from the Lin family? No wonder you looked familiar. Alright, I'll sell it to you to make a friend."
Just as the woman was about to accept the offer...
Xu Kun, who had been following Lin Xuan, approached and shouted:
"Wait! I want that jade tube. I offer two medium-grade spiritual stones."
Hearing a higher offer, the woman smiled even more.
"Business is business. Whoever pays more gets it. Young man from the Lin family, do you want to raise your offer?"
Lin Xuan's face darkened.
His intuition told him that this jade tube contained something good.
But just as he was about to buy it, an obstacle appeared.
Grinding his teeth, he said, "I offer three medium-grade spiritual stones."
"I offer four."
Xu Kun immediately raised his bid.
His superior had given him five high-grade spiritual stones. He didn't have to worry about money.
Seeing Xu Kun continue to raise the bid, Lin Xuan, filled with frustration, could only sigh and walk away.
In his mind, he cursed Xu Kun's entire maternal line.
After paying, Xu Kun put the jade tube away and hurried to follow Lin Xuan.
When Lin Xuan reached another stall and became interested in a magical treasure, just as he was about to pay two medium-grade spiritual stones...
Xu Kun intervened again and offered more money to get the treasure.
It was then that Lin Xuan realized something was wrong.
Frowning, he looked at Xu Kun and said, "Friend, are you deliberately looking for trouble with me?"
"Are you crazy? Since when is buying things looking for trouble? Is this black market yours? Or do you think you can bully me, Kun?"
Xu Kun responded firmly. After all, he was following orders from an important person.
Lin Xuan, furious but unwilling to cause a scene, could only leave with a churned stomach.
Xu Kun followed him relentlessly.
If Lin Xuan tried to escape, he would chase after him. He didn't give him a chance to move freely.
Realizing that Xu Kun only wanted to annoy him, Lin Xuan decided to set a trap.
He chose a pill worth ten medium-grade spiritual stones.
But this time, Xu Kun didn't bid.
He didn't have that much money, and the vendor insulted him for wasting time.
Three hours passed.
Xu Kun ended up buying more than seventy items while following Lin Xuan.
Lin Xuan almost vomited from disgust as it seemed this guy had endless money.
Finally, he accepted his defeat and left the black market.
Xu Kun wanted to follow him, but Tang Yu called him with a voice transmission.
Upon seeing him, Xu Kun handed over a storage ring and said:
"Sir, here are the leftover spiritual stones and the items I bought. Do you need anything else?"
"No, you did a good job today. You may leave. I'll call you if I need something."
Tang Yu dismissed him with a wave of his hand.
They had managed to interrupt Lin Xuan's resource gathering.
His initial capital had been delayed.
The first step of the plan to interfere with him had been successfully completed, leaving Tang Yu very satisfied.
When Xu Kun left, Tang Yu took the storage ring and headed to the treasure tower in the city.
In the southern part of the Cloud Continent, every city had a branch of the treasure tower.
Upon entering, an assistant greeted him enthusiastically.
"What would you like to buy, immortal?"
Tang Yu took a token from his storage ring and showed it.
It was the token that Ambar had given him to use whenever he wished.
Recognizing the token, the assistant led him to the top floor to rest.
Soon after, a cultivator from the Forging Realm arrived hurriedly and bowed.
"Greetings, elder! How may I assist you?"
"I want to know how much these items are worth."
Tang Yu threw the storage ring to the pavilion master.
The elder took it and pulled out all the treasures to examine them one by one.
After half an hour of evaluation, he took out a golden abacus and moved it quickly before smiling.
"Elder, in total, they are worth thirty-six high-grade spiritual stones. Would you like to sell them here?"
"Yes, sell them."
Tang Yu didn't worry about that amount of spiritual stones.
His business was growing more and more, and his daily dividends had already reached several hundred high-grade spiritual stones.
However, Lin Xuan's terrifying luck as a protagonist left him perplexed.
Was he always going to find bargains and strike it rich wherever he went?
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