Chapter 637: The Sumptuous Enlightenment Pill

"Since you are open for business, Daoist Friend, is it proper to turn customers away at the door?" Wang Sheng smiled. He stepped forward, clasped his hands, and added, "What you have mentioned are concerns I naturally understand, Senior. I only seek this pill because I have no other choice."

The middle-aged female immortal in palace robes raised her eyebrows slightly. The word "senior" that Wang Sheng used clearly pleased her.

Earlier, Yaoyun had quietly reminded Wang Sheng that the woman was at the mid-stage of the Heavenly Immortal Realm and should not be underestimated. Even the manager of a single shop was already a Heavenly Immortal. The strength of the Qiling Immortal Sect was truly extraordinary.

"Please come inside, both of you. I apologize for the poor reception," the immortal said. Dressed in a robe fit for palaces, she bowed slightly in greeting and led Wang Sheng and Mu Wanxuan to seats by the window.

As soon as the martial siblings sat down, a pair of young attendants with their hair tied into small bun-like knots stepped forward to serve tea. The manager then introduced herself as Cha Yue, her Daoist name.

On closer inspection, her face seemed to deliberately show faint lines of age. With cultivation at her level, appearing young or old was effortless. What stood out was her calm, steady, and dignified presence, carrying an unmistakable, immortal bearing.

Cha Yue said, "The Lingdan Pavilion has three types of pills that can address the issues you mentioned. They're divided into low, middle, and high grades.

"The low grade is called the Three-Essence Enlightenment Pill. Its main ingredient is six-thousand-year-old Spirit-Enlightening Grass, three-thousand-year-old Emerald Rainbow Grass, Sacred Jade, one-thousand-year-old Eagle Orchid Grass, Purple Mist Root, and the rare treasure Purified Star Milk. It is then refined for forty-nine days using Three-Essence Primordial True Fire.

"Just one pill is enough to help the user break through a bottleneck in their Daoist realm. It will also make it easier for them to sense and align with the Great Dao for several years. However, once the medicinal effect fades, the user will find it difficult to enter deep meditation and often needs more than ten years to fully recover. Moreover, taking the pill again after that will result in greatly diminished effects."

So there really are pills that can help cultivators gain insights into their Daoist realms?

Wang Sheng sighed mentally, finally realizing that he had underestimated the breadth of the cultivation world.

The endless space was vast beyond measure, and countless experts inhabited it. Pills that could assist cultivators in comprehending the Dao were likely no more than rare but ordinary treasures.

Wang Sheng smiled. "Then what about the middle and high grades?"

Cha Yue smiled. "Are you not going to ask about the price of this pill? A single low-grade pill costs three cubic units of top-tier Immortal Stone or treasures of equivalent value."

A cubic unit in the endless space was a

chi

in length, width, and height, which meant a cubic unit of Immortal Stones was roughly equivalent to a hundred top-tier Spirit Stones. The price was undeniably steep.

Wang Sheng nodded. He casually tapped the carpet beside him and placed a neat stack of top-tier Immortal Stones on the floor, filling the Lingdan Pavilion with radiant immortal light.

"Give me ten of these enlightenment pills."

Mu Wanxuan blinked. She had heard Wang Sheng mention that he had subdued a dragon fiend, who then seized vast amounts of the treasure that the Celestial Wind Sect had collected over a hundred thousand years. Even so, spending this much was still rather excessive and a bit too ruinous.

However, Wang Sheng deliberately spent such a huge amount to establish a small connection with the Qiling Immortal Sect. He would then observe and see if he could gather information regarding the mustard seed realm that contained the divine tree.

That Golden Immortal and the Qiling Immortal Sect would not possibly make a move against him over such a small amount of Immortal Stones.

Moreover, even if he did not use these enlightenment pills himself, he could still give them to Shi Qianzhang and Liu Yunzhi. From his perspective, trading Immortal Stones for a way to get past a bottleneck in one's Daoist realm was more than worthwhile.

Now that Wang Sheng thought about it, perhaps Linyuan could also benefit from such pills. It could give him a better chance of breaking through the Heavenly Immortal barrier.

Taking that into consideration, ten pills now felt a bit insufficient.

Cha Yue sized Wang Sheng up for a moment, wondering which celestial sect he belonged to. He was spending so lavishly that he casually ordered ten enlightenment pills.

"The Three-Essence Enlightenment Pill is not commonly requested, so I only have three in stock. Please wait a moment. I will have someone retrieve the remaining seven from within the sect."

"There is no hurry. Senior, please tell me about the middle and high grades as well."

"Sure thing."

Cha Yue took out an embroidered pouch, stored away the Immortal Stones, then placed the pouch in front of Wang Sheng instead of accepting the payment immediately.

She then gently explained, "The middle-grade pill is called the Six-Aperture Dao Comprehension Pellet. Its main ingredient comes from an artificial spiritual root known as Six-Aperture Jade Vine. The supplementary materials are all treasures over ten thousand years old, combined with ten-thousand-year-old Mystic Ice Dew, then refined in Divine Fallen-Dao Flame for eighty-one days.

"A cultivator may only take one of these pills in their lifetime. Any further use will have no effect, but its benefits are truly exceptional. It clears one's six senses, calms their Dao Heart, and allows resonance with whichever Great Dao they seek. The duration of this resonance varies from person to person, but it will never be less than three days.

"Because the Six-Aperture Jade Vine can only yield three taels of excess leaves and branches every thousand years, this pill can only be refined once in the same span of time. Each batch produces merely six or seven pills. That's why a single pill costs fifty cubic units of top-tier Immortal Stones or treasures of equivalent value."

Fifty cubic units of top-tier Immortal Stones...

Wang Sheng's lips twitched slightly. This was no longer a matter of being expensive. An ordinary True Immortal might still be unable to afford it even after exhausting their entire fortune. Converted into the widely circulated mid-tier Immortal Stones, the amount could nearly fill half of the Lingdan Pavilion. It would be enough to establish a grand defensive array for a small sect.

Noticing his reaction, the store manager softly commented, "I happen to have one Six-Aperture Dao Comprehension Pellet in reserve. You have taken out enough Immortal Stones to exchange for it."

Wang Sheng still had large quantities of top-tier Immortal Stones within his storage artifact, but it would not be wise to display such wealth too openly. He only asked, "May I exchange it for other valuable materials instead?"

Cha Yue smiled. "Of course. The Qiling Immortal Sect is currently collecting various Daoist arts and divine abilities. If you possess unused immortal arts, they can also serve as treasures for trade."

"That will not be necessary. I should have enough materials." Wang Sheng pointed to the side, making streams of light fly from his sleeve and pile up into a small hill shimmering with many colors. "How do you assess their value?"

He had withdrawn dozens of different rare materials. There wasn't a lot of each kind, but about a third were highly valuable artifact-forging materials, the sort that commanded a price but could rarely be found on the market.

Cha Yue examined them carefully and felt surprised. The materials were of considerable value, enough to trade for two Six-Aperture Dao Comprehension Pellets.

Did this True Immortal bring the entire treasury of his sect?

Following the principles of the Lingdan Pavilion, Cha Yue immediately said, "Please wait a moment, fellow Daoist. I will summon the sect's artifact-forging specialists to appraise these."

Wang Sheng nodded. Two attendants had already left through the front door. Before long, they returned with two elderly men, apparently invited from the neighboring treasured-artifact shop.

The two seemed accustomed to such work. Without a word, they lowered their heads and began examining the materials, quickly determining their value.

One said, "These are worth roughly one hundred twenty units of top-tier Immortal Stones. Several pieces are premium materials used for forging pill furnaces, which makes them quite valuable."

The two elders then cupped their hands and left the Lingdan Pavilion.

Cha Yue asked, "Are you certain you wish to exchange for these two kinds of pills?"

Wang Sheng nodded. "I'll have two Six-Aperture Dao Comprehension Pellets, then exchange the rest for Three-Essence Enlightenment Pills."

"Very well. I will give you twenty-five Three-Essence Enlightenment Pills."

Cha Yue stored the materials in another pouch, placed it before Wang Sheng, and sent someone to retrieve the pills from the sect mountain.

The two Six-Aperture Dao Comprehension Pellets were meant for his senior sister and sword spirit. He was human, not a saint. Naturally, closeness still mattered. Moreover, he himself would be satisfied just getting a taste of the Three-Essence Enlightenment Pills.

He had spent one hundred sixty units of top-tier Immortal Stones in such a short time, making even him feel that he was being somewhat extravagant. When he glanced at the piles of Immortal Stones and materials stacked in the lower layers of his Qiankun Ring, he silently gave thanks to the Celestial Wind Sect for their generous "gift" of Comprehension Dao Pills and Comprehension Pellets.

While waiting for the pills, Wang Sheng began asking about matters related to Qiling. He explained that this was his first visit and that he had come after hearing of the reputation of the Qiling Immortal Sect.

Cha Yue freely shared several interesting anecdotes about the sect. Through it all, she never once asked about Wang Sheng's origins.

Discussing nothing but business was certainly a mark of a true merchant.

After a brief telepathic conversation with Yaoyun, Wang Sheng found the right moment to ask, "Senior, there is something that puzzles me. May I ask for clarification?"

"Oh? What is it? Please tell me."

Wang Sheng smiled. "Where does the Qiling Immortal Sect obtain so many precious spiritual herbs? As far as I know, Spirit-Enlightening Grass is extremely difficult to raise and requires very strict growing conditions. To make matters worse, it takes six thousand years to germinate. Just one of its stalks is already worth more than three units of top-tier Spirit Stones, yet the price you set for these pills seems rather low."

Cha Yue covered her mouth with her hand as she laughed softly. "You are quite interesting, Daoist Friend. This is the first time I have heard someone complain that the Lingdan Pavilion has set its prices too low. Since our own sect grows these herbs, we naturally get to decide the pills' prices.

"The Three-Essence Enlightenment Pill has little effect on cultivators above the Heavenly Immortal Realm, but it is perfect for someone like you. Cultivators who have surpassed their own Daoist realm yet still hope to advance further through pills are actually quite rare.

"These pills were originally refined for disciples of major sects who are stuck at bottlenecks. In reality, few sects are willing to spend large amounts of Spirit Stones on such disciples. Those who purchase these pills most often are parents seeking opportunities for their children. Parental devotion is always moving.

"To be honest, I hesitated when I named the price earlier. I intended to say ten units per Three-Essence Enlightenment Pill, yet I somehow said three instead. Perhaps this is simply fate."

Wang Sheng nodded calmly. One sentence in her explanation stood out to him: the sect itself grew all the herbs. That detail inevitably reminded him of the divine tree's mustard seed realm and the Heavenly Immortal who had entered it earlier, only to emerge half a day later. This piece of information alone made today's spending feel worthwhile. At the very least, it hinted at a possible turning point.

"You've yet to mention the best pill of the three, Senior."

Cha Yue's expression grew serious. "That would be the Nine-Essence Dao-Condensing Pill. It is extraordinary, refined from three stalks of Spirit-Enlightening Grass, each one hundred thousand years old. It is a priceless treasure that cannot be exchanged for ordinary valuables. If you have a priceless treasure, I can introduce you to the senior who refined this pill. Only they can decide whether to proceed with a trade."

Wang Sheng raised an eyebrow. Though he knew little about pill refinement, he understood that the word "nine" in Nine-Essence Dao-Condensing was certainly not chosen casually.

"Let me first see the Three-Essence Enlightenment Pills and the Six-Aperture Dao Comprehension Pellet," he said.

Cha Yue's eyes lit up. From his tone, he truly seemed to possess something of immense value.

A mere True Immortal has to be quite bold to reveal wealth so openly. Could he be the direct disciple of some powerful being?

At that moment, a streak of immortal light shot in from the horizon, flew into the city's defensive array, and descended toward the Lingdan Pavilion.

The newcomer was a female Heavenly Immortal, appearing as a delicate young lady. She had clearly come to deliver the two highly valuable Six-Aperture Dao Comprehension Pellets. Upon landing before the pavilion, she brushed her sleeve lightly.

While walking in, she said, "Sister Cha Yue, the two pills you asked f—"

The atmosphere suddenly turned heavy.

Wang Sheng kept his head turned, his brow tightly furrowed as his mind raced.

The female immortal who had just entered froze as well. After staring in shock for a moment, she cried out, "Pi Kachew? What are you doing here?"

Wang Sheng rose to his feet, cupped his hands in greeting, and calmly greeted, "I did not expect to meet you here, Fairy... Lin Feiyao."