Chapter 299 - 163: Bianlan Pavilion, Lai Xian Hall

Chapter 299: Chapter 163: Bianlan Pavilion, Lai Xian Hall

The Bianlan Pavilion was only two stories tall, but each floor was quite high and spacious, with ceilings about ten feet up. A single set of floating, dark wood steps led up to the entrance.

Xuzhuang casually stepped onto the floating steps. Before he even entered, a hoarse voice drifted out from the pavilion. "Pang Ban, just give me a straight answer! We’re old acquaintances, let’s not let this sour our relationship."

The man called Pang Ban replied coolly, "Bianlan Pavilion does business, and this is the price."

"Fine!" the hoarse voice snapped. The man stormed out the door and came face-to-face with Xuzhuang. Without even descending the floating steps, he summoned a streak of light and shot away.

Xuzhuang raised an eyebrow, then stepped through the main entrance. He glanced around the empty main hall, where only one person stood behind a counter. He figured this must be the one called Pang Ban.

He was quite tall and broad-shouldered, dressed in a black robe. He lacked the typical mercenary air of a merchant; instead, he carried himself with the bearing of a Grandmaster, which was truly extraordinary.

Seeing Xuzhuang enter, Pang Ban looked up, a hint of surprise in his eyes. It was rare for his Bianlan Pavilion to be graced by someone with such a refined Daoist aura and an effortlessly ethereal air. After a moment’s thought, he spoke. "How can I help you, guest?"

Xuzhuang looked past Pang Ban to the wooden panel on the wall behind him. Many wooden tags hung there, inscribed with strange terms like "Dark Calamity," "Muddy Stream," "Illusory Eye," "Five Yin," "Light King," and so on.

Xuzhuang nodded in understanding and asked with a smile, "So, your pavilion is in the business of selling demons, then?"

Pang Ban glanced back over his shoulder. As if suddenly remembering something, he lifted a finger and tapped, knocking down the wooden tag inscribed with "Five Yin." He replied, "That’s right. The demons listed on the wall are all in stock."

Then he explained, "I couldn’t close the deal for the Five Yin Demon. I only have one left, and it’s already reserved."

"I see," Xuzhuang said. His gaze swept over the wooden tags on the wall as he asked, "Do you have any Formless Celestial Demons?"

"Hm?" Pang Ban’s gaze flickered. In a flat tone, he replied, "Formless Celestial Demons are exceptionally strange. Ordinary cultivators can’t handle them, and even the major Demon Sects have their own uses for them. They are extremely difficult to find, even here in Weiyun Immortal City."

Xuzhuang detected a hidden meaning in his words and decided to press the matter. "From your tone, it sounds like there might be a way to get one?"

A somewhat awkward smile appeared on Pang Ban’s face. "If you can afford the price," he said, "I could go out and capture one for you myself."

"Oh?" ’This man is certainly confident,’ Xuzhuang thought with a chuckle. But instead of asking about the price, he changed the subject. "What about the Muddy Stream Demon? How much do those go for?"

The so-called Muddy Stream Demons, as their name implied, were merely a low-level type of Celestial Demon formed from the gathering of the universe’s turbid qi. They had no Magical Power or Divine Techniques to speak of, and even the threat they posed was middling. Perhaps their only noteworthy trait was their sheer numbers. Whenever Muddy Stream Demons appeared, they came in vast, dark swarms that blotted out the sun and swept across the stars...

So naturally, they were not valuable.

Xuzhuang had only asked about the Formless Celestial Demon out of curiosity. He still hadn’t found a use for the one he’d captured in that mysterious Bronze Palace back in the Celestial Waterfall Realm. Seeking another one now would be pointless.

Perhaps it wasn’t a good match for his techniques, or maybe it was because his cultivation relied entirely on Clear Spirit Qi. Whatever the reason, Xuzhuang’s progress in comprehending the *Primordial Venerable Dao Transmission and Demon Refining Scripture* had been disappointingly slow. He was nowhere near the level of mastery required to refine a Celestial Will Demon Form Talisman.

Xuzhuang had considered abandoning the technique altogether. However, now that he had started down this path, it wasn’t in his nature to give up halfway without achieving some results.

Besides, the Celestial Will Demon Form Talisman was related to a demonic tribulation he would have to face.

Moreover, he predicted that the Celestial Will Demon Form Talisman, which embodied the Dao of formless transformation, should be highly compatible with his Tai Su Taoist Technique. At the very least, he had to succeed in refining the talisman before he could make a final judgment.

That was why Xuzhuang had a use for these Muddy Stream Demons.

The *Primordial Venerable Dao Transmission and Demon Refining Scripture* was a wondrous True Demon Refining Technique. Even setting aside the Eightfold Demon Refining True Technique, it still recorded all sorts of other methods: slaughter-refining, imprisoning demons for Alchemy, refining demons to increase one’s Magical Power and supplement core essence, and even unleashing a demon to attempt possession of one’s own body, using the resulting soul-battle to temper the mind—a whole host of demon-refining techniques.

Among these was a method for refining Muddy Stream Demons, turning their turbid qi into a beneficial force to advance one’s cultivation. This was actually the Foundation Establishment method for the *Primordial Venerable Dao Transmission and Demon Refining Scripture*, which happened to be a perfect fit for Xuzhuang’s current progress with the Demon Refining Scripture.

Pang Ban was a bit surprised by the sudden shift in topic from Formless Celestial Demons to mere Muddy Stream Demons. However, after a moment’s thought, he didn’t press the issue and said flatly, "This establishment only deals in Weiyun Coins, or Spiritual Essence and Spiritual Truth that are equivalent in value."

"Two thousand Muddy Stream Demons for one string of Weiyun Coins."

Xuzhuang pondered for a moment before reaching into his sleeve. With no discernible movement, he withdrew his hand, having already separated a small amount from a bottle of Taiyin Spirit Essence into an empty vial. He placed it on the counter and asked, "Will this do?"

Although Xuzhuang didn’t know the exact value of a Weiyun Coin, he had his own assessment of a Muddy Stream Demon’s worth, so he didn’t make a fool of himself with the offer.

Pang Ban merely glanced into the vial and showed a hint of surprise. "Taiyin Spirit Essence this pure is a rare sight," he remarked.

He didn’t pick up the Spiritual Essence. Instead, he reached out, and a black lacquered gourd, which hadn’t been on his person, flew into his hand from somewhere. He placed it on the counter and said, "Two thousand Muddy Stream Demons."

Then, with a sweep of his sleeve across the counter, he laid out a hundred or so bronze, round coins with square holes in the middle. "Your change," he said flatly. "One hundred and twenty-one Weiyun Coins."

Xuzhuang didn’t actually know anything about the exchange rates, but he had no intention of arguing. He casually took the gourd, swept up the coins, and replied with a smile, "I’ll be back if I need anything else."