Zhang Wen sat quietly in the reception hall. A heavy feeling slowly pressed down on his chest.
"How exhausting…"
He muttered softly before falling silent. Countless thoughts flowed through his mind. If it were an ordinary trade hall, even after collapsing there would still be a framework left to rebuild. But this place had almost nothing remaining.
Zhang Wen opened his eyes. He carefully adjusted the concentration of poison within Zhen Yi's body, allowing her to move again, then spoke in a serious tone.
"Go and bring me all the medicinal herbs."
Zhen Yi flinched slightly. Though her body could move again, her cultivation was still completely unusable. She did not ask any questions. She immediately stood up and left.
"Understood."
As soon as the door closed, Zhang Wen turned his gaze toward the four figures lying motionless on the floor. He stepped forward, reached out with one hand, and seized the bodies of the former administrators. Water energy stirred as dark poison quietly seeped into their bodies.
This poison was not meant to kill.
It was meant to render them completely unable to move for several days.
After finishing, Zhang Wen flicked his hand. The four were wrapped in faint water bubbles and tossed into the corner of the reception hall.
Then he turned to look at Ming Yuan, who stood silently behind him.
"Are you curious," Zhang Wen asked, "about why I did not allow you to reveal your identity to Zhen Yi?"
Ming Yuan pondered for a moment before replying in a calmer voice than before.
"My identity… is something many people desire. The fewer who know I am still alive, the better. And it would be best to wait until at least one of us has a cultivation level truly capable of protecting ourselves."
Zhang Wen paused slightly, then let out a soft laugh and nodded in satisfaction. He immediately asked another question.
"Can you control the power of the stars? I mean… condense a star and make it release heat."
Ming Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly, then slowly lifted his hand. A mysterious force trembled. The air around his palm warped before a fist sized star appeared.
It rotated slowly, emitting a golden white glow. Heat radiated outward in steady waves.
Zhang Wen nodded at once.
"That's enough. That will do."
At that moment, Zhen Yi returned. She was breathing slightly heavily, since her cultivation still could not be used. Several spatial rings were stacked on both her arms. She removed one and handed it to Zhang Wen.
"All the medicinal herbs are inside."
Zhang Wen accepted the spatial ring before speaking again.
"Take me to the largest area in the trade hall."
Zhen Yi quickly led the way, guiding the two of them through a long corridor lined with empty shelves, until they stopped in a vast chamber at the rear.
This had once been the weapon exhibition hall. The space was wide, the ceiling high, and stone pillars engraved with defensive formations still remained.
Zhang Wen stepped into the center of the room, then turned to Ming Yuan.
"Help me create a star."
Ming Yuan nodded. He gathered his power and formed a star the size of a fist. Heat surged outward like a heavenly forge.
At the same time, Zhang Wen raised both hands.
An enormous volume of water appeared in midair and rapidly condensed into a gigantic water sphere. The sphere floated steadily above Ming Yuan's star. Inside, countless water currents spiraled in overlapping layers, each rotating at a different speed. It resembled a pill cauldron with multiple temperature zones contained within a single vessel.
"Maintain the heat. Do not let it rise any higher," Zhang Wen said.
Ming Yuan nodded again. One hand supported the star while the other carefully regulated the output of heat. Beads of sweat seeped from his temples. This was not an easy task. Even the slightest mistake could not be allowed.
Zhen Yi stood to the side, her beautiful face slightly pale, eyes widened in shock. She had seen countless alchemy processes before, but she had never seen anyone use true stellar power as a heat source. Nor had she ever seen a pill cauldron that was a water sphere.
At that moment, images overlapped in her mind, between someone she once knew and the man now controlling the power of the stars.
Meanwhile, Zhang Wen flicked his hand. More than ten thousand Yellow rank medicinal herbs rose into the air at once. Gentle water currents crushed them instantly. Roots, leaves, and stems shattered into fine powder before dissolving into the water sphere.
The liquid inside gradually turned pale green. A fresh herbal fragrance spread throughout the hall.
Next, over two thousand eight hundred Spirit rank herbs were added in batches. Zhang Wen used his spiritual sense to directly extract the essential components, discarding impurities and retaining only pure medicinal essence.
The liquid slowly shifted into a clear blue hue. The circulation of energy within the sphere accelerated.
Then Zhang Wen took out the Earth rank herbs.
Out of more than three hundred plants, only two hundred and ten were still usable. The rest had already lost their medicinal properties.
But he could not stop.
He carefully sorted each herb, separating their attributes with extreme precision. Some were for recovery, some strengthened meridians, and others enhanced spiritual energy.
As they were refined together, silver sparks began to appear within the water sphere, like starlight sinking deep into an endless sea.
Zhang Wen took out all seventeen Heaven rank herbs and arranged them in a circle around the water sphere. One by one, the herbs disintegrated, turning into tiny fragments that slowly flowed into the sphere.
In an instant, the entire liquid transformed into a radiant blue gold color, transparent like crystal. The energy currents within rotated calmly and steadily. Most of the medicinal materials had been refined until only their purest essence remained, and Zhang Wen added several special ingredients of his own.
At the final step, he raised his hand and gently pressed his palm downward.
"Refine."
The water sphere gradually shrank. The last traces of impurities were forced out as gray mist, until the liquid inside became completely still.
At last, the water sphere shattered.
Large amounts of white gold liquid floated in midair, automatically separating into multiple portions. Some condensed into pill forms, while others retained their liquid state.
Zhang Wen examined the results with satisfaction.
Earth rank recovery liquidHeals internal injuries and restores meridiansTotal: 3,600 milliliters
Earth rank spirit absorption liquidSuitable for accelerating cultivationTotal: 2,400 milliliters
Heaven rank stabilization pillsUsed before or after breaking through a cultivation realm, strengthens the foundationTotal: 56 pills
When the refinement process ended, the thick medicinal fragrance within the hall slowly dissipated, leaving behind only dense spiritual energy still circulating in the air. Zhang Wen lightly flicked his hand. All pills and liquids gathered together and were absorbed into his spatial ring in perfect order. Not a single drop was wasted.
Exhaustion washed over him. His shoulders ached deeply. He turned to look at the two behind him and spoke.
"Wait for me here."
Before Zhen Yi or Ming Yuan could ask anything, Zhang Wen's body transformed into a thin stream of water and vanished into the air, leaving behind only silence and a growing sense of unease pressing down upon the vast hall.
Zhen Yi took a deep breath. She did not speak, only sat down quietly, yet her heart pounded uncontrollably. In just a few short hours, the merchant hall that had been on the verge of collapse had regained a glimmer of hope, and the quality of those medicinal products was undoubtedly of the highest tier.
At the same time
Within Sword Heaven City, in the western district of the trade zone, the Cloud Pavilion Merchant Hall stood tall like a silver tower. The seven story building was constructed from spirit stone mixed with spirit metal, with formation lights constantly circulating around it.
An old man dressed in coarse gray robes walked in silently. His back was slightly hunched, his hair completely white, and his face covered in deep wrinkles. A faint Nirvana level aura spread from his body as he approached the reception desk.
The attendant merely glanced at him at first, but the moment he sensed the Nirvana aura, he immediately guided the old man toward the appraisal chamber.
When the items were placed on the table, the evaluator froze.
"This is…"
The liquid was a clear blue gold, pure and flawless. The spiritual energy within was calm yet unfathomably deep. Each pill was perfectly round, without even the slightest defect. The quality far exceeded ordinary market standards.
After a long silence, the evaluator contacted the upper management to inspect the goods personally. The appraisal process took several times longer than usual. Once the extraordinary properties of the medicines were confirmed, they decided to purchase everything without hesitation.
The final evaluation was issued officially.
Stabilization PillsQuantity: 56Heaven rank qualityEstimated price: 80 Peak spirit stones per pillTotal: 4,480 Top spirit stones
Cultivation Acceleration LiquidTotal volume: 2,400 millilitersEarth rank qualityEstimated price: 30 High spirit stones per milliliterTotal: 72,000 High spirit stones
Recovery LiquidTotal volume: 3,600 millilitersEarth rank qualityEstimated price: 20 High spirit stones per milliliterTotal: 72,000 High spirit stones
Total value: 5,920 Top spirit stones
(Exchange rate: 100 High spirit stones equals 1 Top spirit stone)
When the appraisal sheet was placed on the table, even the senior appraiser of the Cloud Pavilion Merchant Hall could not help but swallow quietly.
The old man who had sold the items simply nodded, not bargaining even a single word.
A vast number of spirit stones were transferred into his spatial ring. The soft clinking sound echoed like gentle rainfall.