Having said goodbye to Zuo Lingyun, Ye Xuan returned to his residence.
He hadn’t expected to see his adoptive master, Yu, upon returning.
Ye Xuan greeted with a cupped fist. Although she was his adoptive master, she was the first one he had paid respect to in this life.
"Kid, you’re finally back. How come you didn’t tell me before you dashed off to the Demon Ruins?"
Yu glanced at Ye Xuan, but then her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, "Your cultivation..."
"Just a small breakthrough."
Ye Xuan slightly curved the corner of his mouth.
Now, he was able to discern Yu’s cultivation level; like Gu Xuan, she also possessed the Third Grade Martial Saint’s cultivation.
"Well, I was originally worried about your inadequate strength when you ventured into such a perilous area, but now it seems I was overly concerned."
Yu looked at Ye Xuan with some surprise. She hadn’t expected that a trip to the Demon Ruins would greatly enhance Ye Xuan’s cultivation. When he had left, he was still in the Martial Venerate Realm, and now he was on the verge of breaking through to the Saint Realm.
Such a change was not insignificant; it was indeed rapid progress.
"Master, do you have any kind of natural treasures that can help condense the Sacred Body? I’m just a little short of breaking through to become a Saint. As your only disciple, shouldn’t you show some gesture as a master?"
Ye Xuan looked at Yu with a smile, half-jokingly.
"No, if I had any, I would have auctioned them off long ago. I’m short of money myself."
Yu glanced at Ye Xuan and gave him a stern look, then her gaze fell on the Rain Saint Sword’s scabbard, as if to say that she had given him a precious possession and that should be enough.
"Then, Master, do you know of any way that I can break through to the Saint Realm as soon as possible?"
Ye Xuan was just joking earlier. There were four months left until the trial at Martial God Mountain. Before that, he needed to break through to the Martial Saint Realm to stand a better chance during the trial.
"To condense the Sacred Body? That is quite a troublesome task."
Yu’s charming face turned contemplative, and after a moment of pondering, her eyes lit up, "I have an idea. You should go to the Sect’s Treasure Pavilion. They might still have stock of the Holy Body Ointment, which will definitely help in condensing the Sacred Body."
"Holy Body Ointment?"
Ye Xuan pondered for a moment. Holy Body Ointment was indeed a kind of Spiritual Medicine specifically for the stage of condensing the Sacred Body, extremely precious. He hadn’t expected the Heavenly Martial Holy Land’s Treasure Pavilion to have it. It was truly wealthy. But then again, the Heavenly Martial Holy Land was one of the major forces in the Central Domain. The rarity of Holy Body Ointment wasn’t so extreme that it was out of reach for an organization with so many Saints, who would struggle to cultivate without it.
"Thank you for the guidance, Master."
A smile immediately spread across Ye Xuan’s face, and then he looked at Yu with a grin, "Err, Master, about exchanging for the Holy Body Ointment, if I don’t have enough Contribution Value, could you perhaps lend me some support, as I am your only disciple..."
Yu wished she could fling Ye Xuan away with a slap; the kid was simply asking for too much. Taking him as a disciple was the biggest mistake she had ever made.
"Besides taking on missions, you can also exchange items for Contribution Value at the Deacon Hall. I see you’ve just returned from the Demon Ruins, so you must have gathered some treasures. That sword of yours, for example, could be sold for Contribution Value, which should be enough to buy a good amount of Holy Body Ointment."
Yu spoke indifferently.
Ye Xuan nodded. At the Demon Ruins, he indeed had acquired quite a few items. The treasures from that alien Saint, as well as Mu Yan – both of whom were at the Saint Realm and had some savings on them – if sold, could undoubtedly fetch a substantial amount of Contribution Value.
However, Mu Yan had some items that he couldn’t sell at the Deacon Hall for fear of being recognized, so he had to go through other clandestine channels of the Black Market.
As for the Dragon Abyss Ancient Sword and Thunder Brilliance Bow, he could actually dispose of them now, but having used these two items for a long time, Ye Xuan wouldn’t easily sell them unless absolutely necessary.
"By the way, I have taken care of your Xuantian Sect matter; they have regrouped and returned to their original sect location."
"Oh? Then I truly must thank Master."
Ye Xuan’s eyes brightened; the Xuantian Sect issue had indeed been a problem, and he had been continuously worried that the sect would be targeted, but now it seemed that the protection from Heavenly Martial Holy Land was somewhat useful.
When Ye Xuan arrived, he went straight to the managing elder to sell the valuables of the deceased and some pills he had refined in his spare time, selling them all as well.
In the end, he sold them for a total of fifty thousand points of Contribution Value.
With a price of twenty thousand Contribution Value per bottle of Holy Body Ointment, fifty thousand points were not enough to buy even three bottles. However, this was also because the two individuals he had obtained them from didn’t have many valuable possessions, and he only managed to reach fifty thousand points after transferring three thousand points from Mu Yan’s token into his own.
"This Holy Body Ointment is prohibitively expensive."
Ye Xuan frowned slightly, two bottles of Holy Body Ointment weren’t nearly enough. To fully condense his Sacred Body, he’d need at least five bottles.
"Kid, ordinary people would be more than satisfied with two bottles. Why would you need so much?" The managing elder looked at Ye Xuan with some puzzlement.
"My constitution is quite special,"
Ye Xuan smiled, and then a glint of light flashed in his eyes as he said, "I wonder, does the sect accept pill and artifact refining formulas?"
If he didn’t have enough Contribution Value, he would have to go back to his old trade and sell recipes.
The mention of selling recipes had perked up the managing elder, who immediately inquired.
"Holy-grade, low-rank."
Ye Xuan didn’t dare offer anything of too high a level; it wouldn’t be good to attract too much attention. For a disciple like him to possess a unique and secret recipe of Holy-grade, low-rank was already quite astonishing.
Having said that, he took out the prepared recipe and handed part of it over, "This is the secret recipe for the Domineering Body Pill, which I obtained in the Demon Ruins. It’s truly unique, with no second copy in existence."
The managing elder quickly took the recipe and after scrutinizing it thoroughly, his expression lit up with delight, "Indeed, this is a recipe I have never seen before. Hmm, but the sect’s regulations for exchange items don’t include recipes. How about this, youngster, I’ll personally offer twenty thousand points of Contribution Value for this recipe, how about it?"
"Twenty thousand points? Too little,"
Ye Xuan shook his head and then said with utmost seriousness, "Elder, do you realize I nearly lost my life in the Demon Ruins for this recipe? If it wasn’t for the fact I need Contribution Value, I would go down the mountain to sell it in the Black Market."
"Fine, fine, fine, twenty-five thousand then, and no more."
"Thirty thousand." Ye Xuan shook his head again, seemingly firm on his price.
"It’s too expensive."
Seeing the managing elder shake his head, Ye Xuan pretended to sigh, "If the elder does not want it, I’ll go to other elders. There will always be those who recognize its value."
"Alright, then, thirty thousand."
The managing elder glared at Ye Xuan; this youngster was far shrewder than the other disciples. Trying to get the better of him was proving exceedingly difficult.