Chapter 87 - 85: Turbulent Undercurrents in Bishui City

Chapter 87: Chapter 85: Turbulent Undercurrents in Bishui City

"An auction?" Qin Hu’s eyes flashed as he took the invitation from Shopkeeper Zhou’s hands.

This was not a sudden occurrence. Every year, the Treasure Pavilion held at least two large-scale auctions, which were grand events in Bishui City and the surrounding regions.

At that time, not only would the Noble Families and Sects of the city gather, but many would also travel from afar from other Prefecture Cities, all for those Exotic Treasures rarely seen on ordinary days.

"Does Shopkeeper Zhou know about Monkey Wine and Hundred Fruit Brew?" Qin Hu asked, seemingly casually.

"Monkey Wine? Hundred Fruit Brew?" Hearing this, a fervent light immediately burst from Shopkeeper Zhou’s eyes.

"Naturally, I know of them! They are naturally brewed in the deep mountains by highly sentient ape-like Demon Fiends who gather various Spirit Fruits and use their innate Talent.

"Not only is the taste excellent, but they also have miraculous effects on a Martial Artist’s tempering of bones and tendons, as well as nourishing Qi Blood!

"Those of superior quality are no less effective than many precious Elixirs. Furthermore, they are milder and easier to absorb, having always been highly sought after by high officials, nobles, and top-tier Cultivation experts!

"If Clan Leader Qin has this item on hand, our Treasure Pavilion is willing to purchase it at a high price.

"If the quality is outstanding enough, it could even be listed among the Gamma-level or even Earth Tier Exotic Treasures in this upcoming auction!"

Shopkeeper Zhou’s tone was rushed. In his heart, he was already certain that since the Qin Family could harvest so much Treasure Medicine, discovering Top Grade Hundred Fruit Brew was absolutely possible.

This was a massive deal that could elevate the tier and appeal of the auction!

"I do have a batch! And the quality is extremely high. It was brewed by a Mountain Demon comparable to the Qi and Blood Like Dragon Realm. Not only is the taste sweet, but its alcohol nature is mild. Consuming it can strengthen bones and tendons.

"It is a rare and precious item!" Qin Hu stated calmly.

The mountain treasures he sold on this trip were only a tiny fraction compared to the harvest in Qin Yu’s hands. That was the Treasure Medicine from a radius of thousands of kilometers within the Wilderness Mountain Range.

It also included the collection from the Mountain Demon Race.

Aside from the precious medicinal herbs on land, the Insect Swarm had also collected quite a lot of Treasure Medicine underwater, such as Blood Coral, Dragon Beard Algae, Water Spirit Marrow, and so on.

These were equally of immense value.

With so much Treasure Medicine, and the ability to continuously acquire more from the mountains in the future, logically speaking, the Qin Family could completely sell it themselves. That way, the profits would be much higher than selling to the Treasure Pavilion.

However, the Qin Family lacked the channels to do so.

Moreover, Qin Yu did not have that much time to wait.

Therefore, it was best to reach a cooperation agreement with the Treasure Pavilion.

In Bishui City, there were also families and Sects that specialized in selling medicinal herbs for a living, such as the Hundred Medicines Alliance, Medicine King Manor, and so on.

It would not be easy to intervene and snatch food from their mouths.

"Top Grade Hundred Fruit Brew? Does Patriarch Qin intend to sell it? As long as the quality is high enough, it can even enter the auction items as a Gamma-level or even Earth Tier Exotic Treasure!

"Top Grade Hundred Fruit Brew works better than Elixirs. Not only does it lack pill toxicity, but its taste is also exceptionally good.

"Many who love good wine will be willing to spend a hefty price!" Shopkeeper Zhou’s eyes lit up.

The Treasure Pavilion claimed to collect Exotic Treasures from all over the world, and holding annual auctions also served to make their reputation even more resounding.

Because of this, whenever anyone had a treasure, the first place they would think of was the Treasure Pavilion!

The benefits this brought them were self-evident.

"Naturally!"

Qin Hu smiled. He wasn’t in a hurry to disclose the other Treasure Medicines. Business had to be done step by step; he couldn’t let the other party feel they had him figured out.

Otherwise, he would be easily manipulated.

There were actually many other things he needed to handle on this trip, such as the Merit Points promised to Qin Yu by the Demon Suppression Bureau, as well as the Gamma-level Treasure Bow promised by Li Wanqing!

With Qin Yu’s Archery Skill, if he had a Treasure Bow, his deterrent power would be extraordinarily astonishing.

Since there was a Treasure Bow, a batch of good Arrows was naturally required!

For instance, Rune Armor-Breaking Arrows, Bursting Arrows, and so forth. He would need to purchase these himself, and they were also sold at the Treasure Pavilion.

Like other Weapons, ’Arrows’ were divided into tiers. There were Delta-level Arrows, Gamma-level Arrows, and even Earth Tier!

Delta-level Rune Arrows could pierce through a Qi and Blood Realm’s Protective Gang Qi, while Gamma-level ones could even shatter a Qi Sea Powerhouse’s defenses!

It was just that the price was exorbitant.

Arrows, for the vast majority, were single-use items.

With a Gamma-level Arrow, a single shot fired was equivalent to ten thousand taels of silver. How many people could afford to play with that?

This included the resources, Elixirs, and more required for Cultivation by himself and the numerous disciples of the Qin Family. In the past, without money, they could only endure it. Now that they had money, they naturally needed to take these things into consideration.

The items in the Treasure Pavilion were expensive, but their quality could be guaranteed.

Qin Yu had even told him that he wanted to collect the flesh and corpses of powerful Demon Fiends.

For example, the corpses of Qi Sea Realm Demon Fiends!

However, these matters could not be rushed. They had to be done one by one, and some even required a bit of luck.

The auction might just yield some unexpected gains.

"Easy enough! Easy enough! I wonder when they can be delivered? If they can make it in time for this upcoming auction, it would be best, as we can also promote them.

"You must be careful on the road. The Blood Demon Sect has been causing trouble in the surroundings lately, and some places are quite chaotic," Shopkeeper Zhou said, clapping his hands together with a smile.

"Rest assured, the items have already arrived..."

As Qin Hu spoke, the tail of the small black snake on his wrist wriggled gently, letting him know that the Thunder Roc had already delivered the items outside the city, and there were two large vats in total!

As for the remaining vat, it had been sent to the Qin Family.

The two of them quickly reached an agreement.

Qin Hu did not linger in the Treasure Pavilion. He left carrying three Gamma-level Low Grade Techniques—the Wind and Thunder Body Tempering Technique, the Thunder Shocking Wind-Stepping Technique, and the Thunder Shocking Sky Splitting Saber—along with three Delta-level Techniques.

At the entrance of the Treasure Pavilion.

"Uncle Zhou, what is the background of this Qin Family? Entering the city with such great fanfare to sell so many treasures in our Treasure Pavilion—aren’t they afraid of being intercepted and killed?

"Bishui City hasn’t been very peaceful recently..."

Watching the retreating figures of the Qin Family’s convoy, a servant boy dressed in a cyan silk shirt stepped forward and asked curiously.

Behind the convoy, he had already noticed several figures secretly following them.

Over the recent period, multiple robberies had already occurred outside Bishui City.

"Did you not see those War Beasts? Thirty War Beasts comparable to the Qi and Blood Realm—what ordinary faction would dare offend them?

"Have you never heard of the ’Celestial Wind’ Qin Family?

"With so much Treasure Medicine, and all of them clearly freshly picked, you will understand what that implies if you think about it carefully.

"The strength of this Qin Family is not weak."

Shopkeeper Zhou shook his head.

He was actually somewhat curious in his heart. The Qin Family was a prominent family, so what were they doing buying so many Cultivation Techniques?

However, asking about such matters would be crossing a line.

The Blood Demon Sect was causing chaos.

Bishui City had indeed been somewhat chaotic lately, and he had subtly warned them.

It was just that Qin Hu did not seem to care too much, so he didn’t say anything further.

The Qin Family convoy traveled down the streets, heading toward the east of the city. They eventually stopped in front of a secluded courtyard, which turned out to be a blacksmith shop.

The blacksmith shop was small, with several burly men bustling about inside.

However, when the Qin Family convoy appeared, everyone on the entire street looked over. The impact brought by thirty Rapid Insects was simply too great.

"Patriarch!"

"The Patriarch has returned!"

Everyone bowed in greeting one after another, but their gazes were involuntarily drawn to those Armored Battle Beasts exuding a ferocious aura.

Since when did the family possess such powerful strength?

These War Beasts, equipped in Profound Iron Armor, clearly belonged to the Qin Family!

Since when did their Qin Family have such formidable War Beasts?

"Mhm, let’s head inside first!"

Qin Hu glanced at the few figures trailing behind them and scoffed internally.

He thought, "Just as I expected!"

Even with the Rapid Insects acting as a deterrent, there were still some reckless fools tailing us. But within Bishui City, all they could do was watch.

If a battle broke out, the Demon Suppression Bureau within the city wasn’t just sitting around collecting dust.

As for outside the city, it was hard to say who would be the one doing the killing.

Upon entering the courtyard, Qin Hu wrapped up the several Secret Manuals securely. The tail of the small black snake on his wrist swayed gently, and soon, a black dot descended from the sky.

It was a Red-bellied Eagle!

If a powerful entity like the Black Thorn Eagle appeared in the skies above Bishui City, it might provoke factions like the Demon Suppression Bureau into taking action. A Demon Fiend comparable to a Qi and Blood like a Dragon like the Thunder Roc would cause sheer panic.

However, an ordinary wild beast like the Red-bellied Eagle would draw no one’s attention.

"Go, deliver these back."

Qin Hu tied the Secret Manuals firmly to the Red-bellied Eagle’s leg and gave it a gentle toss. The Red-bellied Eagle flapped its wings, swiftly disappearing into the clouds as it flew in the direction of the Shegu Mountain Range.

Watching the Red-bellied Eagle leave, Qin Hu turned around and instructed, "Qin Wu, gather a few men and accompany me out of the city. We are going to bring in the batch of ’wine’ stored outside."

He paused, glancing around the somewhat cramped courtyard. "This place... It seems we need to switch to a more spacious residence. At the very least, it must be large enough for the Black Thorn Eagle to take off and land."

Just as he was speaking, a commotion suddenly erupted outside the courtyard.

A young man dressed in the profound black uniform of the Demon Suppression Bureau, with a handsome face and sharp eyebrows, stood outside the courtyard and spoke softly.

"Demon Suppression Bureau’s Lin Jianqing greets Patriarch Qin."

In the Shegu Mountain Range, a trace of joy appeared on Qin Yu’s face as he watched the Thunder Roc land.

In the Thunder Roc’s sharp talons was, astonishingly, a Red-bellied Eagle!

At the Red-bellied Eagle’s speed, flying over a thousand kilometers would take an entire day. But if it was the Thunder Roc, it could maintain supersonic flight!

A round trip would only take an hour.

With the Thunder Roc around, Bishui City, despite being thousands of miles away, wasn’t far at all.

He thought, "Record the Secret Techniques into the Insect Nest and analyze them at maximum speed! With this set of Gamma-level Saber Technique and Body Technique, my strength will increase even more once I fully master and integrate them!"

Flipping through the Secret Manuals, Qin Yu’s heart stirred.

Skill-based arts like Body Techniques and Sword Skills required him to personally train in them, but the Insect Nest could provide Cultivation assistance, allowing him to master them at the fastest speed.

It could integrate them with the Insect Swarm’s original Cultivation Techniques to deduce and optimize them.

He thought, "This Lin Jianqing has decent character. My father hasn’t even approached the Demon Suppression Bureau yet, but he took the initiative to come looking for us first. With his protection, my father’s trip should go much smoother."

During the battle in Snake Valley, Lin Jianqing had been sneak-attacked and poisoned by the Snake Demon Li Tianyi. If the Black Thorn Eagle hadn’t carried him away from the battlefield at the critical moment, he would have almost certainly died.

Through the Shadow Scale Snake wrapped around his father’s wrist, the Insect Swarm network clearly transmitted the conversation from outside the small courtyard in far-off Bishui City straight into his consciousness.

He "heard" Lin Jianqing’s words:

"Uncle Qin, the Qin Family convoy entered the city with great momentum this time. Coupled with the massive transaction at the Treasure Pavilion, I am afraid it has drawn the attention of many factions, among whom there is no shortage of people willing to take desperate risks.

"Bishui City has been seething with undercurrents recently, so I hope you will be extra careful."