After looking in all directions, Austin stepped into an elixir shop. It had been a while since he had worn a long robe. He skimmed through the shelves and the inner door, expecting the shopkeeper to cany minute.
But by then the preoccupied sales clerk who was busy cleaning an artifact had noticed that it was Austin.
Happy to see Austin after so long, he extended his arm in greeting.
In the last few months, Austin's recurrent visits and marked interest in expensive items had made him an important customer of the shop. One time, the sales clerk had sold what Austin just needed. In return, he was tipped a fat bonus, close to an amount that would have taken him at least five years to earn. Astounded, now he worshipped Austin and the ground he set his foot on.
Austin coming in today immensely lifted his spirits. He tried to make Austin as comfortable and welcomed as he could.
"Welcome. Warmly welcome. My distinguished guest, I've been expecting you. Please cin. My boss has been waiting for you at the back of the house.
Would you like to have something before we begin? | have prepared our best Green Dragon Tea for you. Would you like to have a cup before we go ahead?" The salesclerk’s hospitality made Austin feel extremely awkward. Shaking his head, he briskly tossed him a vital energy crystal worth one hundred.
The value of the tip had the sales clerk overjoyed. He jumped from one foot to another with an open mouth unable to express his gratitude to the benevolent spirit.
Having no patience for the clerk's words to come, Austin went straight to the back of the house. The shopkeeper had been waiting for Austin all this while and looking outside the window to while away his time.
"So, are the elixirs prepared?” Austin spoke straight to the point. He didn't want to give him a chance to initiate any small talk.
"Yes. Assignment completed! | will be honest here. Selixirs listed on this sheet are beyond our capability. After all, we are just a small shop. But then | reported to the head shop of the imperial capital city and heard back from them saying that they will get all our elixirs.
The medicinal herbs should be reachingin ten days.” The shopkeeper spoke pleasantly as he reported his happy progress.
Secretly, in his heart, Austin was exhilarated to hear this.
"Excellent! You did a wonderful job! You have helpedfind my herbs and pills twice." Austin reached out for his Space Ring and in a flash, he handed three million pieces of vital energy crystals to the shopkeeper.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtNot to pause a second, Austin took out another three hundred thousand pieces of vital energy crystals as payment.
The shopkeeper quietly observed Austin taking out such a huge amount with ease. He wondered who this man was that had no qualms in parting with a sum like this.
As a shrewd businessman, the shopkeeper obviously identified that Austin was a young man.
But he also knew that Austin was no ordinary cultivator.
‘Is he a young aristocrat coming from an extremely wealthy family?" he secretly speculated, 'Or a disciple of shidden noble man who is willing to pay a huge cost to cultivate?" But, the shopkeeper thought it best to keep these things to himself. He wasn't inclined to dig out any secrets. He could see that the young man took pains to hide himself as hard as he could. Obviously, he didn't want to reveal his true identity.
The boss gathered up the three million vital energy crystals. He too took out a Space Ring and handed it to Austin. Austin felt the cold touch of the ring in his palm. Then he checked it with his spiritual sense. He could feel lots of herbs and elixirs inside the ring. His eyes glistened to see the precious herbs that would help him to cultivate stage three of the Overlord Body-refining Formula.
Having found no fault or anything amiss with the previous order, Austin wasn't as careful as the last tin checking the elixirs.
He had begun to implicitly trust the shopkeeper. He simply packed the Space Ring without going over the goods again.
"Hmm... | have to say the head shopkeeper of the Imperial City, finding the preparation of my elixirs easy, must be a tremendously strong person. His reserve of elixirs must also be sufficient.
So, | will give you another list of elixirs. | hope he can find them all." Austin ordered the shopkeeper to look for the other items since he was impressed by the shopkeeper's resourcefulness.
Austin thought that though the elixirs in hand would enable him to cultivate to stage three of the Overlord Body-refining Formula, he could aim higher. He already knew the advantage of having an extremely strong body during combat. So why not make it more powerful? In the past, Austin couldn't have been more ambitious for he wouldn't have been able to afford to cultivate further. But now, with millions of vital energy crystals on him, this was just the beginning.
After paying three million vital energy crystals just now, he still had about two million vital energy crystals left. Besides, since he had mastered the alchemy, Austin believed that as long as he practiced harder, he would be able to refine more and better elixirs that would earn him more vital energy crystals.
Now, to cultivate stage four of the Overlord Body-refining Formula, five million vital energy crystals were needed. Austin saw shope in earning that amount on his own.
So Austin decided to consult the shopkeeper and ask whether all the medicinal herbs needed for stage four could be available.
The shopkeeper took a deep breath when he heard Austin.
He knew that the business with this young man standing in front of him could be big. The payment would be in millions of crystals.
So he adjusted himself and calmed down to say, "Okay then. I'll go over your list and tell you what is possible." Then he immediately went to get a writing brush, paper, ink and ink stone.
Austin wrote down all the elixirs needed for stage four that he had just spoken about. Finishing his list, he handed the paper to the shopkeeper.
For a few minutes, the shopkeeper was engrossed by what all had been put down there by Austin. Amazed at the inventory, he looked up at Austin curiously. "Who is this young man exactly? Why would he spend a huge fortune in quick succession? What does he plan to do with the precious elixirs?" Of course, he asked these questions to himself. He dared not speak them to Austin.
"Sir, with a great number of years’ experience as the shopkeeper of this elixir store, | can tell you that the elixirs on this list will cost five million vital energy crystals!" The boss stared right at Austin and replied in a low obedient voice.
"You're right. You really have immense experience to be able tell their worth in a single glance," Austin praised him immediately.
"Sir, so you really will purchase elixirs worth five million?" The boss looked at Austin and asked expressing doubt.
Austin had spent about four million vital energy crystals on elixirs in all his visits to the shop.
If this business were included, Austin would have spent nine million vital energy crystals in total! For an ordinary cultivator, this was a terrifying number.
"Yes. Don't worry about it. If the head shop of the imperial capital city can prepare all the elixirs | enlisted, | would definitely pay for them." "Well then, Sir. | will report this list to the head shop first and wait for their reply. Here is a VIP pass of our shop. You can cto this shop for the reply or any other of our shops in a few more towns around here.
Just look for the Sky Dragon Elixir Shop. In each town and county of the Violet Orchid Empire, there is a branch.
You can also go to the head shop in the imperial capital city to ask for their reply if you like." "Good. I'll pay a hundred thousand vital energy crystals as my deposit." Austin then took out the said amount and handed them over.
The shopkeeper was overjoyed and took the crystals.
"You're really a generous man! | feel so honored to have a guest like you! Without wasting any more time, | will inform all the chain shops in the country about your VIP status. You will enjoy a ten percent discount from the next time." As he finished, he took out a jade piece as big as half of his palm. He then covered it with his hand for a couple of minutes. It looked like he was transferring ssort of information.
Then he handed it to Austin.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Sir, this is the VIP pass of the Sky Dragon Elixir Shop." Austin took the jade piece, satisfied. He was pleased by the discount too.
Whenever he would spend big, the pass would help him save a lot of vital energy crystals.
For example, it he purchased medicinal herbs worth five million vital energy crystals, with this discount, he would just pay four point five million. Saving five hundred thousand vital energy crystals was a great deal! After thanking the shopkeeper, Austin left the shop.
On his way back, as he exited the Pill Trading Street, he went straight for the suburbs in Peace Town. Austin was looking for a secluded place to cultivate the third stage of the Overlord Body-refining Formula.
He was also being cautious. After getting followed the last time, Austin let out a spiritual sense to envelop him in a range of 900 meters.
And he intentionally slowed down to keep on checking whether he had a tail. After his suspicions were allayed, he activated his Wind-commanding Skill. Another step, and he entered the shadows. Incognito, he flew towards a nearby mountain range at full speed.
As a cultivator about to cultivate, the last thing he wanted was to be disturbed.
So Austin only stopped when he found a quiet area to start immersing in the herb water to cultivate Overlord Body-refining Formula.
Yeehaw... Yee... haw...
The sound ripped the air.
Simultaneously, several red flood dragon horses galloped as fierce as tigers at the foot of the Sun Mountain.
Dressed in black robe, the group leader looked old and skinny. A pair of sinister eyes in a face as if it were carved of stone, gave him a dangerous look.
He was none other than the Blood Wolf Team's Leader. Behind him, over a dozen of evil cultivators followed looking every bit as mean and ruthless as their leader.
The old man lifted his eyes to look at the imposingly steep Sun Mountain.
"Austin is only a disciple of a small sect. He doesn't deserveto cpersonally.
But | am left with no choice. Few people know that among the thirteen Wolf Generals, the one ranked eighth was my nephew. He was the son of my beloved sister who at the tof her death, had entrustedwith his care. | spent all my life cultivating him into a Wolf General, which was an achievement | was proud of. But now, unexpectedly, he got killed by sobscure disciple of an unknown sect! If | won't do this and kill him myself, | won't be able to let my sister rest in peace.