Li Yan had already heard Ouyang Jinfei's explanation and understood some of the situation, such as the fact that the mortals here knew of the existence of land-walking immortals but had no idea where these immortals lived. Now, hearing Ouyang Jinfei say this, how could Li Yan not understand? What "saving all living beings"—to put it bluntly, it was about building a majestic temple to indoctrinate mortals from a young age. Upon seeing the temple, they would prostrate themselves in worship. Such close proximity made it even more convenient for mortals to go and pray piously whenever they had time, allowing the monks of the Jingtu Sect to acquire more Willpower.
"In a moment, Fellow Daoist Jianghai can follow us to the temple in the city. Once there, I will lead you to the entrance. The one guarding this place is Buddha Yifa, who is in quiet cultivation in a separate courtyard behind the cultivator area. I can take you there as well," Ouyang Jinfei said enthusiastically.
"Then I shall trouble you, Fellow Daoist Ouyang! By the way, is there a marketplace here?" Li Yan didn't refuse, but he had no intention of letting Ouyang Jinfei take him to the Jingtu Sect's Buddha after they went inside. That would expose his cover.
"Of course, there's a marketplace, and a very large one at that. There's also a large-scale auction market in the city. By the way, Fellow Daoist Jianghai, are all your pills being bought by the Jingtu Sect this time? Are there any extra pills to be traded at the marketplace or auctioned?" Ouyang Jinfei asked with a smile, his eyes darting around.
Hearing this, Li Yan knew the other party was finally getting to the point. However, he was already prepared. "Of course, the family's transaction is with the Jingtu Sect. This was agreed upon. I am just here to complete the transaction," Li Yan said lightly.
"Oh, what a pity... But it's to be expected. The Huchen family's pills usually only fall into the hands of the Jingtu Sect and a few major powers." Ouyang Jinfei's face was filled with disappointment, and the earlier enthusiasm in his eyes when looking at Li Yan had vanished.
But he still asked with a glimmer of hope, "Fellow Daoist Jianghai, I wonder if I could purchase some pills from you next time? Whether they are antidotes or poisons, the Spirit Stones are not an issue."
Li Yan looked at Ouyang Jinfei with a half-smile. Ouyang Jinfei felt a bit awkward under Li Yan's gaze. He knew his request was a bit excessive. The Huchen family was a top-tier family. If it weren't for their location near the border between the Malevolent Spirit Sect and the Jingtu Sect, they probably wouldn't even offer up their meager supply of pills each time, let alone to a third-rate sect like his. Just then, however, Li Yan smiled.
"I will do as the family commands, but... since they sent me here, surely I'm not just making a trip for nothing? All of the family's pills are for the transaction with the Jingtu Sect, but my personal pills will have to make a trip to the marketplace. I need Spirit Stones too."
When Li Yan said this, Ouyang Jinfei was first stunned, then overjoyed. He looked at Li Yan with an eager expression, even stuttering slightly, "Jiang... Fellow Daoist Jianghai, since a transaction is possible, then... then could you sell some to me? Selling them at the marketplace is still selling, isn't it?"
After speaking, Ouyang Jinfei looked at Li Yan anxiously. Upon hearing this, Li Yan showed a difficult expression. This made Ouyang Jinfei's heart sink. He thought Li Yan didn't have many personal pills and was unwilling to sell them without comparing prices. Gritting his teeth, he hurriedly said, "Fellow Daoist Jianghai, if you don't have many with you, I can trade at a high price." He knew that pills were very expensive, and now he didn't know how many Spirit Stones he would have to spend, but he was determined to get the Huchen family's pills.
Hearing this, Li Yan first shook his head. Then, just as Ouyang Jinfei was about to speak again, he pondered for a moment before saying, "Fellow Daoist Ouyang, I truly don't have many pills that I refined myself. The reason is that I was in a great battle with someone before. This time, I was planning to go to the marketplace to barter for some things. My Magical Treasure is somewhat damaged, and I wanted to trade for some materials to repair it. But since you helped me just now, Fellow Daoist Ouyang, I can't be so ungracious. How about this? I can only give you one bottle of poison pills. There are only two inside. Would that be acceptable?"
When Ouyang Jinfei heard that Li Yan was finally going to sell him pills, and poison pills at that—the poison pills refined by the Huchen family were lethal weapons—how could he not be delighted? But when he heard there were only two, a look of pity was still hard to hide.
He immediately looked around. They were still more than ten li from the city. After scanning the area with his Divine Sense, Ouyang Jinfei pointed to a spot below. "Fellow Daoist Jianghai, look, there is a dense forest there. How about we conduct our transaction there?"
Li Yan nodded directly and was the first to fly downwards. The reason he went through all this trouble was, of course, that if the other party couldn't be certain he was from the Huchen family, given his earlier cunning, he would definitely insist on taking him to the stationed Buddha after entering the city. If he really went, the other party's hopes of a transaction would be dashed. If he didn't go, he would certainly become suspicious. Although it wouldn't cause him any real harm, it would definitely bring some trouble. The solution to this was actually very simple. Li Yan had already thought it through before deciding to impersonate Huchen Jianghai. Although questioning the burly man was a hasty decision, these tricks were a small matter for Li Yan. He had many Malevolent Spirit Sect pills in his Storage Pouch, originally for him to consume, but they had later become ineffective and he couldn't just throw them away. These pills were possibly even better than Huchen family pills of the same grade. Lord Lao Peak was famous for this. Li Yan was full of confidence. Tossing out two pills could solve everything.
With the decision made, the group of four descended into the dense forest. After they landed, under Ouyang Jinfei's eager gaze, Li Yan smiled and patted the Storage Pouch at his waist. A small, white porcelain bottle flew out. After it flew out, Li Yan caught it. He didn't explain the pill's effects but instead opened the stopper and poured out a gray pill the size of a soybean. He didn't catch it in his palm but held it suspended with Spirit Power. Then, Li Yan looked around.
The moment he took out the pill, a wary look appeared on Ouyang Jinfei's face. He even took several steps back and, without any attempt to hide it, activated his Spirit Power shield, protecting both himself and his two disciples within it, but he remained silent.
Seeing Li Yan being so careful as to not even touch the gray pill with his own hand, the spiritual light on Ouyang Jinfei's body grew even brighter. Li Yan looked around and finally locked his gaze on a towering tree that would take two people to encircle. He then gently scraped a bit of gray powder from the gray pill with his Spirit Power. He then wrapped it in Spirit Power, flicked his finger, and shot it towards the giant tree. It was just a speck of dust, and it had no reaction at all when it hit the tree. The moment the gray dust touched the tree trunk, it dissipated completely.
The three of them stared at the giant tree without blinking. They knew Li Yan was demonstrating the poison pill's effect. Usually, when trading pills, unless it was a common or extremely famous pill, no matter how flowery the description, the seller would scrape off a bit for a demonstration. This was the most common practice in pill transactions. Seeing was believing.
However, after the dust landed on the tree trunk, several breaths passed, but the giant tree remained motionless. There were no signs of the bark or trunk rotting, let alone collapsing. This was completely different from what Ouyang Jinfei and his disciples had imagined. It was as if nothing had happened. Meanwhile, Li Yan had already carefully put the pill back into the white porcelain bottle and was standing there with a smile.
"Fellow Daoist Jianghai, this..." After watching for a while longer, Ouyang Jinfei couldn't help but ask, his face full of doubt. He saw no surprise on Li Yan's face, so it shouldn't be a problem with the pill. He just didn't know what this poison pill did.
"Hehe, you can try this as well, Fellow Daoist Ouyang." As he spoke, Li Yan flicked his finger again. A stream of Spirit Power shot from his fingertip towards the giant tree ahead, a wisp of finger-wind striking the exact spot where the gray powder had landed. The three of them only heard a crisp "ding" sound, as if Li Yan's finger-wind had struck a piece of refined iron.
Ouyang Jinfei seemed to understand something, and his eyes lit up. He didn't stand on ceremony. Channeling his qi, he also flicked out a stream of Spirit Power. The next moment, the giant tree shook, and at the same time, a "ding" sound was heard. Of course, this was Ouyang Jinfei controlling his Spirit Power; otherwise, how could a large tree withstand a blow from a Foundation Establishment cultivator?
"Huh!" After a soft exclamation, Ouyang Jinfei walked towards the giant tree with his two disciples, still within the Spirit Power shield. When he reached the tree, he first observed it with his Divine Sense. Then, he formed his hand into a blade and chopped at the tree trunk. Two sounds, "Chsh! Ding!" reached their ears. The part of the giant tree struck by Ouyang Jinfei's hand-blade was like tofu, leaving a deep groove. But a section of the trunk, about seven or eight inches wide, was like a piece of refined iron. The hand-blade only left a shallow mark on it.
At this moment, Li Yan's voice sounded again. "This pill is called the 'Refined Iron Pill.' I believe you are now clear on its function, Fellow Daoist Ouyang. Are you satisfied?"
"'Refined Iron Pill,' 'Refined Iron Pill,' truly like refined iron! Satisfied, of course, I'm satisfied! Just a speck of pill dust has such a powerful effect. Truly impossible for gods or ghosts to defend against, impossible to defend against, hahaha..."
A look of ecstasy appeared on Ouyang Jinfei's face. How could he not know how powerful this pill was? The "Refined Iron Pill" was an alternative to ordinary poison pills. It worked in the opposite way. Not only did it not corrode anything, but anything it touched would harden and solidify, becoming as firm as a rock.
This scene made the two young cultivators behind Ouyang Jinfei's jaws drop. Although they had encountered some Poison Cultivators, they were all low-level. This was the first time they had seen such a tyrannical poison pill. Although their hearts burned with desire, they knew that for the two of them, it was something they could only dream about.
Ouyang Jinfei knew that with this pill in hand, he would have a lethal weapon, even a tool for assassination. Imagine, just a speck of dust from the pill wrapped in Spirit Power and put into tea or food. If someone consumed it by mistake, how could their internal organs possibly survive? Furthermore, when fighting someone, if this poison was used and the enemy was touched by it, a part of their body would become unusable, or they might even be unable to move. For masters, life and death were decided in an instant. With that moment of sluggishness and stiffness, Ouyang Jinfei could easily slay his opponent. How could such a pill not be a treasure for killing?
Li Yan was, of course, confident in this pill. The people from Lord Lao Peak spent their days not only trying to refine all sorts of bizarre poison pills but also constantly innovating. However, the poison of this pill had already been devoured by Li Yan and now had no effect on him whatsoever. His earlier cautious demeanor was, of course, an act for Ouyang Jinfei and his disciples. He believed that even if Ouyang Jinfei now knew this pill was not from the Huchen family, he wouldn't have any second thoughts.
Li Yan's guess was correct. Ouyang Jinfei was now convinced that the young man before him was an Alchemy Cultivator from the Huchen family. But he did have a second thought, and that was, 'There are too few pills. If only there were more!'
At this moment, Ouyang Jinfei, seemingly magnanimously, dropped his protective spiritual shield. Laughing heartily, he looked at Li Yan with a burning gaze.
"Fellow Daoist Jianghai, what is the price in Spirit Stones for this pill? Hahaha..."