Lin Ye pushed the door open and walked in, the dark circles under his eyes suggesting he hadn't slept well last night either.
As soon as he entered, he pulled a somewhat rough parchment scroll from his robes and handed it over.
“Miss Su, this is a map of the forces in Great Li that I managed to get my hands on overnight.”
Lin Ye scratched his head, looking a bit guilty. “After seeing your strength yesterday, I realized my meager skills are of no help at all. I originally wanted to stand out with a burst of hot-blooded enthusiasm, but instead, I ended up dragging you into this mess.”
He felt bad about it and felt he had to do something, so he had gone out to ask around about the situation in the imperial city.
Su Yueli was slightly surprised. She took the scroll and spread it out on the table.
Although this kid was a bit reckless, he was quite thoughtful and could be considered a friend worth making.
The two leaned over the table to look at it.
According to the markings on the map, four of the top martial arts families dominated the Great Li Imperial City: the Pang, Lin, Yun, and Chu families.
The reason these four families could stand out among the numerous martial sects and run rampant in the imperial city was because they all had immortal sects backing them, with cultivators supporting them from within their ranks.
Among them, the Pang and Lin families had formed an alliance, while the Yun and Chu families did the same, pitting the two factions against each other. Meanwhile, the Pang family fought with the Chu family year-round, keeping each other in check.
“As for those immortal cultivation sects with even deeper foundations, and the nobles in the imperial palace...”
Lin Ye let out a bitter laugh and said helplessly, “I couldn't get any information on them at all. As soon as the information brokers heard what I was asking, they kicked me right out.”
Su Yueli's heart stirred slightly, and she shook her head.
As expected, information barriers existed everywhere.
In this world, the weak didn't even have the right to inquire about the strong. If one's level wasn't high enough, the more they knew, the faster they would die.
Putting those thoughts aside, Su Yueli glanced at Lin Ye and suddenly joked, “You're also surnamed Lin. Do you think you might be blood-related to this Lin family in the imperial city?”
Lin Ye was taken aback, then shook his head vigorously with a bitter smile. “Miss Su, please don't tease me. My ancestors for three generations have been merchants in Shuozhou City, and this is the first time in my life I've ever been to the imperial city. How could I possibly be related to such a colossus?”
“You never know.”
Su Yueli raised her eyebrows. “Maybe you're an illegitimate child left behind years ago? Or perhaps your parents were actually members of the direct lineage who resolutely fled the family for love?”
Lin Ye's eyes widened, his mouth slightly agape. “Miss Su, your imagination is way too wild. If I were really a young master of the Lin family, we wouldn't have to huddle in this inn, worrying every day about being hunted down by the Pang family's experts.”
Su Yueli shrugged and put away the scroll. “That's true.”
The Pang family wanted to kill her. If she couldn't break through to the Fifth Realm in a short time, her situation would become extremely passive.
“Let's go, let's take a walk outside.”
Su Yueli stood up. Working behind closed doors was not the solution; she planned to try her luck in the markets of the imperial city.
Lin Ye naturally had no objections, slinging his long saber over his back and following behind her.
It was early morning, and the streets of the outer district were already bustling.
Shops lined both sides of the street, and the cries of street vendors rang out continuously.
The prosperity of the imperial city far surpassed that of Qingzhou City. Any random passerby on the street seemed to carry faint traces of blood qi fluctuations.
After walking for a while, Su Yueli turned her head and asked Lin Ye, “Are there any pills in this imperial city that martial artists can use?”
She wanted to see if she could use external forces to forcibly break through the barrier of the Fifth Realm.
Lin Ye thought for a moment, a difficult expression appearing on his face. “It's hard... Most of the pills in the world are used by the lofty cultivators. It's extremely difficult for mortal martial artists to get their hands on them.
“Besides, the pills from the immortal sects contain spiritual energy. We martial artists don't have Bone Talent, so we can't absorb them at all. Forcing ourselves to swallow them would only make our bodies explode.”
Su Yueli sighed in her heart.
For mortals, practicing martial arts was simply too difficult. Even the resources that aided cultivation were monopolized by the immortal sects. If a mortal wanted to make even an inch of progress, they had to risk their lives to endure it.
Just as she was feeling a bit disappointed, a very large shop appeared at the street corner ahead.
On a black plaque with gold lettering, the words "Wanbao Pavilion" were written. The interior was filled with all kinds of cultivation resources, and even quite a few weapons and armor rarely seen in the mortal world.
Su Yueli pondered for a moment and walked inside.
What if... what if there was something inside that she could use?
Upon entering, the scent of medicine assailed her nose. On the innermost wooden shelf, several exquisite white jade porcelain bottles were neatly arranged.
Su Yueli could sense that some kind of thick liquid seemed to be sealed inside those porcelain bottles.
“Young lady, you have an excellent eye!”
The shopkeeper was a shrewd middle-aged man. As soon as he saw Su Yueli's appearance and temperament, his face lit up with a smile, and he quickly walked over to greet her.
“You have such an ethereal, fairy-like appearance, yet your blood qi is so heavy. Truly extraordinary.”
The shopkeeper enthusiastically pointed to the white jade porcelain bottles and lowered his voice to introduce them. “What's inside these is the essence blood of Third Realm demon beasts from the depths of the great mountains!
“Through the intervention of the immortals in the sects, who used secret techniques to wipe away the violent, malevolent energy within, what remains is pure flesh and blood essence that is of great benefit to mortal martial artists!
“If a mortal martial artist drinks it, it can strengthen their blood qi and cleanse their marrow and bones. The core disciples of the major families in our imperial city usually drink this stuff like water!”
Lin Ye scratched his head when he heard this.
He hadn't expected that such a useful item for martial artists would actually be sold right on the street. He had failed to gather this information when he was asking around.
Feeling instantly embarrassed, he looked at Su Yueli.
He saw Su Yueli staring straight at the white jade bottles. A ripple of emotion finally appeared in her otherwise calm eyes.
Demon beast blood.
There really was such a thing that could assist martial artists in breaking through!
She had said she wanted to try her luck, and sure enough, there was something good!
The strength of a Third Realm demon beast was extraordinary. One had to know that even if a mortal martial artist cultivated to the currently known Tenth Realm, they would only be able to clash briefly with a cultivator in the Second Realm, Foundation Establishment, and even then, they might not win.
If it were the Third Realm, they would basically be seeking their own death.
Thus, although martial artists were strong, that was only compared to ordinary mortals. In front of cultivators, they were still like ants.
And a Third Realm demon beast was equivalent to a Third Realm cultivator. Such essence blood was indeed a great tonic for mortal martial artists!
At this thought, Su Yueli quickly asked, “Shopkeeper, how much is this?”
Seeing that Su Yueli was interested, the shopkeeper's smile widened, and he rubbed his hands together.
He chuckled. “Young lady, you must know how difficult it is to kill a Third Realm demon beast. The immortals have to pay quite a price for it~
“Not to mention extracting the essence blood from the demon beast itself. This essence blood is not something ordinary mortals like us can bear. Let alone mortals, even a martial artist would explode and die from drinking it!
“Therefore, the immortals still have to refine it and add some auxiliary herbs to process it into a level that martial artists can adapt to...”
Dark lines appeared on Su Yueli's pretty face, and she felt a headache coming on.
Why say so much? Wasn't he just trying to lay the groundwork for a high price?
She then said in annoyance, “Shopkeeper, just tell me how much it costs.”
Rate on N.U.
