Chapter 1204: Chapter 512: Picking Up a Bargain, Everything is Ready [3rd Update, Subscribe Requested]

The remarkable effects of the Ancient Dust Pill left Zhou Chun extremely satisfied, prompting him to invest even more resources and effort in seeking out the Spiritual Medicines required for its refinement.

Speaking of which, it was fortunate that he was refining it in the Great Zhou Kingdom, where gathering resources was highly convenient.

If it were in a place like Jingguo Country, just procuring the blood essence of a fourth-order Magical Beast as the alchemical catalyst would have been a major headache for Zhou Chun.

After all, blood essence is not the ordinary Spirit Blood of a Magical Beast. It’s not as simple as heading to the Wasteland Territory, battling a fourth-order Magical Beast, and collecting some fresh blood from its wounds.

But in the Great Zhou Kingdom, though fourth-order Magical Beasts were rare, many major factions kept them in captivity, making it relatively easy to obtain their blood essence.

In fact, sects like the Commanding Spirit Sect where Yu Jinghua was hiding would treat such items as a special sect commodity, selling or exchanging them for Spiritual Medicine or resources.

If Zhou Chun could cultivate a Magical Beast to the fourth order, selling its blood essence in the future would undoubtedly result in tremendous profits!

Of course, he would never do such a thing.

Extracting blood essence would deplete the Essence Energy of the Magical Beast itself, thereby hindering its cultivation and growth.

Among his Spirit Pets, aside from the Golden Winged Tiger, the other three all possessed Fifth-order Demon King potential!

If he were to delay their evolution for such short-term gains, it would undoubtedly be akin to trading a watermelon for sesame seeds.

Good things, of course, should be shared collectively.

This time, Zhou Chun did not focus resources on cultivating any single Spirit Pet. Instead, he evenly distributed the remaining five Ancient Dust Pills: one for the Golden Armor Turtle Bearer Stone, two each for the Thunder Flood Dragon Baibai and the Golden Winged Tiger.

As for the Wood Charm Mu Sang, the benefits it gained from the Secret Realm Island earlier were already significant enough; feeding it the Ancient Dust Pill would be wasteful.

While these Spirit Pets consumed the elixirs and entered a deep sleep to absorb the medicinal power, Zhou Chun received a message from Luo Qingni and visited her “Qingni Residence.”

“This is the Spirit Awakening Pill refined by Master Ge Yun. Its effectiveness in aiding the opening of the Purple Mansion is comparable to Spirit Pills like the Purple Dust Pill. After discounts, it’s priced at only twenty thousand Spirit Coins per pill. Taoist Friend Zhou, please accept this!”

In the Qingni Residence, Luo Qingni, after exchanging pleasantries with the visiting Zhou Chun, brought out a jade bottle and explained the purpose of her invitation.

After hearing this, Zhou Chun immediately accepted the jade bottle and expressed his gratitude: “Much obliged, Taoist Friend Luo. Please accept these Spirit Coins.”

He handed over forty thousand Spirit Coins to Luo Qingni as he spoke.

Luo Qingni didn’t stand on ceremony and directly accepted the Spirit Coins before turning to Zhou Chun and saying, “I will enter secluded cultivation for some time following this. If there is anything urgent, please leave a message at the shop where Qingni has a listing. Once Qingni emerges, I shall reach out to you.”

Upon hearing these words, Zhou Chun immediately understood and responded with a polite bow: “Of course, Taoist Friend Luo. I wish you success in your retreat, and shall take my leave to avoid further disturbance.”

He then voluntarily excused himself and departed.

Back at his cave residence, Zhou Chun began cultivating his secret technique in peace, patiently awaiting the Underground Treasure Exchange Convention to commence.

Nearly a year passed, and at last, the Underground Treasure Exchange Convention Zhou Chun had been anticipating began.

This year, the convention was held near the Tianyuan Immortal City, for which Zhou Chun had already secured his entry token in advance.

Using various methods to conceal his identity upon entering the venue, Zhou Chun noticed numerous other cultivators who had similarly masked their identities. Some were so thorough in concealing their aura that it was impossible to discern their exact Cultivation Realm.

By the time the Underground Treasure Exchange Convention officially started, the number of cultivators present had exceeded two hundred!

Among them, the majority were Purple Mansion Phase cultivators. There were also some late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, while Golden Core Stage cultivators were relatively scarce. Zhou Chun identified seven, though it remained uncertain if others were intentionally concealing their cultivation grades.

The host of the Treasure Exchange Assembly was a Golden Core Middle Stage cultivator whose figure was shrouded in a hazy black mist, possibly due to some Divine Skill or Magic Artifact.

After delivering an opening address, the host flicked their sleeve and laid out the items they intended to exchange.

One by one, the treasures were introduced: “Dharma Treasure Spirit Material–Blackwater Profound Crystal, one piece. Dharma Treasure Spirit Material–Millennium Cold Iron, one piece. The venomous fangs of a fourth-order inferior Snake Demon, a pair. Snake scales, one hundred thirty-four pieces. Millennium Snake Dragon Grass, five stalks…”

“These items are only exchangeable for thousand-year Treasure Medicines. Those who wish to trade may communicate with me privately to discuss the terms.”

Zhou Chun couldn’t help but feel he had made the right decision!

Seeing the series of treasures laid out by the Golden Core Middle Stage cultivator stirred excitement within Zhou Chun.

He had plenty of valuable items himself, but never quite found the opportunity to exchange them for what he truly desired.

If every Golden Core Stage cultivator brought forth such treasures for trade, then Zhou Chun would surely have no difficulty obtaining the materials he sought.

However, while the items presented by the Golden Core Middle Stage cultivator were undoubtedly excellent, the resources they sought in return were clearly even rarer and more valuable.

Dharma Treasure Spirit Materials, in the hands of most Golden Core Stage cultivators who had already refined their Lifebound Dharma Treasures, were relatively unexciting.

Unless one had access to a Refiner Grandmaster capable of crafting a second or third Dharma Treasure, such materials mainly served as bargaining chips for acquiring rare treasures.

Thousand-year Treasure Medicines, however, were a different matter altogether.

Zhou Chun knew that some Golden Core Stage cultivators pooled their efforts to gather thousand-year Treasure Medicines to refine elixirs that would improve their cultivation. The refined elixirs would then be distributed among the contributors according to their level of involvement.