Chapter 292: Lucky Face, Unlucky Hand

"Sister Luo, do you know where the Four Seas Pavilion in the Capital City is?"

Lu Bai asked.

Luo Qing nodded. "I do. I’ll take you there."

She didn’t ask about Jiang Tao.

For her, the less she knew, the better.

If the matter ever came to light and she were questioned, there would be fewer holes in her story, making it easier to feign ignorance.

Luo Qing had been in the Capital City for half a year and had wandered around a few times. She knew of a famous building like the Four Seas Pavilion.

A moment later, the two arrived at the Four Seas Pavilion.

Lu Bai approached the front desk, pondered for a moment, and said, "Excuse me, are Daoist Yu and Daoist Yun Luo here?"

The clerk, a young woman, looked momentarily bewildered but maintained her smile. She shook her head and said, "I’m sorry, I’m not sure who you’re referring to, sir."

Just then, a middle-aged man dressed as a merchant, who had been resting with his eyes closed on a lounge chair in the distance, suddenly opened his eyes and looked over at Lu Bai.

After sizing him up and glancing at his hands, the middle-aged man frowned slightly. Still, he stood up, strolled over, and asked tentatively, "May I ask your name, little brother?"

"And you are?"

Lu Bai didn’t answer, asking a question in return.

The middle-aged man cupped his fist slightly. "My surname is Fan. I am the Chief Shopkeeper of the Four Seas Pavilion in the Wu Dynasty Capital City."

"Greetings, Shopkeeper Fan. I am Lu Bai."

Lu Bai returned the gesture.

"It really is Brother Lu."

Shopkeeper Fan’s face was all smiles as he explained, "Senior Yu and Yun Luo aren’t here; they’ve long since departed on their travels. However, before they left, they instructed me that if a tall, imposing brother with a fair face, dark hands, and the surname Lu came by, I was to receive him."

"Fair face, dark hands?"

Lu Bai clicked his tongue.

’What kind of description is that?’

’It must have been Little Yun Luo!’

’Probably because I was too rough with her before and made her cry. Now she’s getting back at me...’

Shopkeeper Fan chuckled. "I was a little uncertain just now when I saw your hands were fair and smooth. But hearing you’re called Lu Bai, I figured that must be it."

"Am I that famous?"

Lu Bai muttered.

Shopkeeper Fan smiled. "After all, a First-Grade Marquis enfeoffed by the Late King was confined to the Capital City because of you. A family with hundreds of years of history fell into decline. It caused quite a stir, both in the court and among the public."

He paused, then stepped aside and gestured. "Brother Lu, let’s not stand here. This way, please."

"You’re too kind, Shopkeeper Fan."

Seeing that Yu Daoxuan and Yun Luo weren’t there, Lu Bai got straight to the point. "I have the corpse of a Tier Three Demon Beast. It was just killed, so it’s still fresh. Do you buy them here?"

On his way back to the Capital City just now, Lu Bai had tried to absorb the Demon Qi from the beast’s corpse to activate the Secret Technique, ’Demon-Revealing Treasure Mirror’.

However, after the Demon-Revealing Treasure Mirror appeared, the pattern of the six domestic animals on its back could not fully materialize.

Perhaps the Snake Demon’s level was too low, and its Demon Qi wasn’t pure enough.

After all, the Demon Qi from a Snake Demon like this couldn’t compare to that contained within True Dragon Blood.

The Snake Demon’s corpse was useless in his hands, so he might as well sell it for money.

"We do."

Shopkeeper Fan nodded.

Lu Bai asked, "What’s the price?"

Shopkeeper Fan said, "That depends on how well-preserved the Demon Beast corpse is. If there’s little damage, the price will naturally be higher. Of course, it also depends on the rarity of the beast itself. Each beast has its own price."

Lu Bai slapped his Storage Pouch, and the Snake Demon’s corpse, coiled within a fist-sized ball of Magical Power, appeared floating in mid-air.

"Take a look, Shopkeeper Fan. How much is this corpse worth?"

Lu Bai asked.

Shopkeeper Fan was slightly surprised to see Lu Bai perform this trick.

He knew Lu Bai was a Martial Artist, but he hadn’t expected him to also know a bit of Cultivation.

Of course, the Magical Power was extremely weak, probably only at the First-Layer of Qi Condensation.

A case like Lu Bai’s, with Immortal Martial Cultivation, was not common, but it wasn’t unheard of either.

Any Martial Artist who possessed a Spirit Root would try to find an opportunity to pursue Cultivation.

Generally, they would cultivate to the First-Layer of Qi Condensation, which would allow them to skillfully use a Storage Pouch for their belongings, and then they would basically stop.

After all, the path of Cultivation had extremely high requirements for talent.

Even if one had a Spirit Root, its grade still mattered.

Without the guidance of a master teacher and the support of various Spiritual Elixirs and Cultivation Techniques, it was difficult to achieve anything significant.

Unless a Martial Artist was a top-tier talent who also possessed an Upper Grade Spirit Root, or even a Top Grade Spirit Root, and had connections and resources in the world of Cultivation, only then would it be possible to truly practice Immortal Martial Cultivation and advance on both paths simultaneously.

In Lu Bai’s case, Cultivation was merely a supplement; it didn’t increase his actual strength at all.

Shopkeeper Fan mused, "This Snake Demon corpse is pretty well-preserved. What’s rare is that it also has the bloodline of the Fierce Beast Fei Yi."

Although Lu Bai had torn the Snake Demon apart by hand, the corpse only had a few sword-like wounds. The cuts weren’t large, and the flesh was relatively intact.

Shopkeeper Fan said, "Normally, a well-preserved corpse of an ordinary Tier Three Demon Beast can be sold for one hundred Top Grade Spirit Stones."

Lu Bai’s heart skipped a beat.

Luo Qing’s pupils contracted slightly.

One Top Grade Spirit Stone could be exchanged for one hundred Middle Grade Spirit Stones.

One Middle Grade Spirit Stone could be exchanged for one hundred Low Grade Spirit Stones.

One hundred Top Grade Spirit Stones, if converted to Low Grade Spirit Stones, would be a full one million!

And it took one hundred gold to exchange for a single Low Grade Spirit Stone.

How much would that be if converted to gold?

Shopkeeper Fan continued, "The Snake Demon you killed, Brother Lu, is also a Fierce Beast Remnant. That’s worth another two hundred Top Grade Spirit Stones."

Lu Bai licked his lips.

A bit of Fierce Beast bloodline, and the price more than doubled!

"It’s just a pity it’s missing its Inner Core. Otherwise, we could add another three hundred."

Shopkeeper Fan said with a hint of regret.

"The Inner Core is here."

Hearing this, Luo Qing quickly reached into her robes, about to take out the Inner Core.

Lu Bai saw her intention and stopped her by placing a hand on hers, shaking his head slightly.

"One Inner Core is worth three hundred Top Grade Spirit Stones... that’s too valuable."

Now that Luo Qing knew the value of the Inner Core, the pressure was immense. How could she possibly keep it?

"So what?"

Lu Bai smiled. "If it weren’t for the Bone Strengthening Pill and Bone Forging Pill you got for me, Sister Luo, I wouldn’t be where I am today."

Hearing his words, Luo Qing was momentarily dazed.

Back then, she had spent almost all of her savings, just three Low Grade Spirit Stones, to get him the Bone Strengthening Pill and the Bone Forging Pill.

And now, the Demon Beast Inner Core Lu Bai had given her was equivalent to three million Low Grade Spirit Stones!

’Xiaolu is still the same Xiaolu.’

Lu Bai turned to Shopkeeper Fan and said, "We’ll sell it for three hundred Top Grade Spirit Stones, just as you said."

Shopkeeper Fan asked, "Brother Lu, would you like to exchange it for Talismans?"

Lu Bai shook his head. "No need. Three hundred Top Grade Spirit Stones will be fine."

He had a Storage Pouch, so three hundred Spirit Stones wouldn’t take up much space.

He already had a preliminary plan for his path in Cultivation.

Whether or not it would succeed remained to be seen.

Currently, the conditions weren’t right; he was still lacking quite a bit.

But he would definitely need these Spirit Stones for his future Cultivation.

Shopkeeper Fan was extremely efficient. He took the Snake Demon corpse and quickly produced three hundred Top Grade Spirit Stones, handing them to Lu Bai.

Lu Bai accepted the Spirit Stones, placed them in his pouch, and then turned to leave with Luo Qing.