Cautiously Cultivating Immortality in a Strange World

Chapter 14: Methods

The so-called Transmission Jade Slip was a jade slip that a cultivator would infuse with their own understanding and experience of a technique or martial art. Others could then use the jade slip to gain this understanding, increasing their comprehension of the technique and speeding up their cultivation.

Chen Lin was somewhat excited and blurted out, "How many spirit stones for an Object Manipulation Technique Transmission Jade Slip?"

As the saying goes, any problem that can be solved with money isn't a problem. He still had some spirit stones, and to leave this strange place as soon as possible, he didn't care about wasting them.

"Two thousand spirit stones!"

The woman quoted a price that made Chen Lin almost fall to the ground.

This wasn't just expensive, it was an extortion.

This price was just for an Object Manipulation Technique. What about other techniques? Wouldn't they be even more expensive?

Noticing the change in Chen Lin's expression, the woman smiled faintly and said, "Do you think it's expensive? But you should know that to create a Transmission Jade Slip, at least a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator is required. Do you still think it's expensive?"

"Ah!"

Did it really require a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator to create one?

Was it worth making such a big fuss over just an Object Manipulation Technique?

However, if it really did require a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator, then two thousand spirit stones wasn't expensive at all. With the identity of a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator, anything less would be looked down upon.

Moreover, the blank jade slip itself was a valuable item.

Wait a minute!

Was the Water Moon Pavilion backed by a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator?

He had always thought it was just an ordinary shop, but now it seemed that they were hiding something deep.

But regardless of whether the woman's words were true or false, he couldn't afford it.

Spending money was indeed satisfying, but his circumstances didn't allow it.

With a helpless expression, Chen Lin left the Water Moon Pavilion and began to inquire about the prices of Enlightenment Pills and Transmission Jade Slips in the market.

Just like the woman said, there wasn't even a Transmission Jade Slip for the lowly Object Manipulation Technique.

The technique was too low and not worth of such a high-end configuration.

As for the Enlightenment Pill, the price was outrageously high at 6,000 spirit stones, and it was impossible to buy even if you had the money!

This was a high-grade pill that could allow one to enter a state of enlightenment for a period of time, making it a waste to use it to practice Object Manipulation Technique.

In fact, it wasn't just the Enlightenment Pill; aside from the commonly available Qi Restoring Pills and Healing Pills, all pills related to cultivation were not publicly sold and were controlled by the major powers.

After learning this, Chen Lin couldn't help but curse the swindlers, feeling that he had wasted 10 lower-grade spirit stones for nothing.

The woman from the Water Moon Pavilion seemed to have given him two choices, but in reality, he could only choose the second option.

Was he really going to spend 2,000 spirit stones to buy their Transmission Jade Slip?

Chen Lin walked while thinking silently.

Of course, it was just a thought, and he knew it was unrealistic.

2,000 spirit stones would take him a long time to accumulate, and even if he got the Object Manipulation Technique, how would he cultivate other techniques? He couldn't rely on this forever, could he?

"If all else fails, I'll just have to rely on my own hard work to master Object Manipulation Technique and the Royal Wind Technique, and figure out the rest later!"

Chen Lin sighed helplessly.

He had also thought about creating his own Enlightenment Pill, since he had the Golden Finger ability and was confident he could succeed.

But it wasn't just the price of the materials; even the pill formula was impossible to obtain.

Not to mention the formula for the Enlightenment Pill, but there wasn't a single pill formula for sale in the entire market!

Feeling frustrated and losing interest, Chen Lin prepared to head back home.

Suddenly, a middle-aged man wearing a reversed fur coat approached him stealthily.

This man had a triangular face, a pointed chin, and a moustache, giving off the aura of a villain from a novel.

Chen Lin's instincts kicked in, and he discreetly grasped the Wandering Sword in his package with one hand while holding a stack of Fireball talismans with the other.

"Do you want a pill formula, fellow cultivator?"

As the man approached, he suddenly opened his wide fur coat, revealing several pockets on both sides, each containing a yellowed paper scroll that looked ancient.

This scene was truly unexpected for Chen Lin.

It was a familiar scenario.

It triggered a memory from his past life.

On that dimly lit street, a shady old man had stopped him, mysteriously asking, "Do you want a disk?"

The same scene, the same actions.

"No, I don't want it!"

Chen Lin coldly replied and was about to brush past him.

But the other person's next sentence stopped him in his tracks.

"Enlightenment Pill's pill formula, only 300 spirit stones, guaranteed to be a genuine copy from a high-grade alchemy master, not a single mistake!"

The other person had directly mentioned the Enlightenment Pill's pill formula!

Chen Lin's expression suddenly turned cold, and he looked at the other person, "You've been following me?"

"Heh heh." The shady man let out a dry laugh and said, "It's not about following you, I just happened to see you searching for the Enlightenment Pill's formula in the store. To be honest with you, pill formulas are the treasures of alchemy masters, and no alchemy master would sell them. Wanting to buy one through regular channels is just a pipe dream!"

"Oh? If the formula is so precious, then how do you have so many? Are you a great alchemy master?" Chen Lin asked, his tone laced with sarcasm.

The shady man didn't seem to care about Chen Lin's sarcasm, he puffed out his chest with a hint of pride and said, "Snakes have their ways, mice have their ways, and my pill formulas are none of your business. You just need to know that if you miss this opportunity, you won't be able to buy the Enlightenment Pill's formula anywhere else."

After finishing, the man carefully looked around, making sure no one was paying attention, before urging Chen Lin, "So, are you going to buy it or not? If you're not, then I'll leave!"

Chen Lin furrowed his brow, initially wanting to turn and leave, but he thought for a moment and asked, "How can I be sure your pill formula is genuine?"

"I can take the Oath of Heart Demon. If the pill formula I sell has even a hint of falsehood, may my soul scatter and disappear!"

The shady man's expression turned serious, and he raised his hand to the sky, taking the oath.

Chen Lin was taken aback.

The other person dared to take the Oath of Heart Demon!

In this world, oaths weren't taken lightly, and there was a real heavenly law that existed, especially the Oath of Heart Demon, which was almost always binding.

Could it be that the pill formula the other person was selling was genuine?

He couldn't help but feel a spark of interest.

No matter where the other person got the formula, whether it was stolen or robbed, as long as it was genuine, it was fine.

Besides, he had already changed his appearance, and no one would be able to find him after he left.

"Can I take a look?" Chen Lin asked, wanting to inspect the goods first.

But the other person shook his head repeatedly, "That's not possible. The pill formula doesn't have much content, and if you take a look, you'll basically memorise the whole thing. Are you going to buy it or not? Forget it, I won't waste my breath on you!"

The shady man seemed to be getting angry and turned to leave.

"Wait!"

Chen Lin hastily called out to the other person.

The other person's reason was very reasonable; it was indeed difficult to inspect the goods for a pill formula.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Lin didn't bother to haggle anymore and said, "I won't inspect the goods either, but can you give me a discount? I don't have that many spirit stones on me!"

He really needed the Enlightenment Pill's formula now, so he was willing to take a risk, even though he knew the other person might be a swindler.

However, he couldn't agree to spend three hundred spirit stones on a gamble, so he was willing to consider a discount.

"Ah, a big man like you is really stingy. How much of a discount do you want?" the shady man asked, turning back with a look of impatience.

"Ten spirit stones," Chen Lin said in a low voice, feeling that the price was a bit too low.

As expected, the shady man flew into a rage, saying, "Ten spirit stones? Are you kidding me? This is a pill formula, not a bunch of cabbage!"

Chen Lin also felt that he had lowballed the price too much, so he thought for a moment and took out a small pouch of money from his package, shaking it and saying, "I have twenty lower-grade spirit stones here, and that's all the money I have. If you agree, we can make a deal; if not, then forget it!"

To be honest, Chen Lin thought that this transaction was definitely going to fail.

Twenty lower-grade spirit stones and the Enlightenment Pill's formula were not even in the same league.

Even if it was stolen, it was worth selling at a risky price!

But what surprised him was that the other person, with a look of desperation on his face, pulled out one of the paper scrolls, quickly walked over to him, stuffed it into his hand, and snatched the Spirit Stones pouch away.

"Today, I'm doing you a favour. If I wasn't having a bad day, you wouldn't even think about this price!"

After finishing, the man closed his fur coat and disappeared into the distance, leaving Chen Lin stunned.

"I've been had!"

Seeing this scene, Chen Lin, even if he was slow-witted, knew that his spirit stones had been wasted.

"Indeed, one should never get involved with gamblers and swindlers!"

Looking at the yellowed paper scroll in his hand, Chen Lin's mouth twitched, unsure how to evaluate his own behaviour.