Lu Tiandu held a black bamboo hat and observed it intently.It was the same size as common bamboo hats, with a wide brim, but its color was jet black. A circle of black silk cloth wrapped around the brim, allowing it to fall neatly over the shoulders.
Upon inspection, Lu Tiandu couldn't tell the material of the hat, but the divine barrier upon it was quite sophisticated, evidently placed by someone highly skilled in such techniques.
This treasure, like the invisible gauze cloak Lu Tiandu had previously acquired from Qi Lao San, was relatively rare.
The primary reason for this was that the various barriers enacted within it were beyond the reach of ordinary people, and the secondary reason was that they required specialized materials and the corresponding refining methods.
This also indicated that such a treasure would certainly be expensive.
"...This Void Spirit Hat is one of our Stardust Pavilion's most famous treasures. The divine barrier upon it was inscribed by a Jindan-stage master. Without Jindan-stage cultivation, it's impossible to see through the true nature of this treasure..."
Madam Lan smiled as she introduced the hat. "Furthermore, this hat also has defensive properties. While its defensive power is slightly inferior to that of a high-quality, top-tier defensive artifact, it's comparable to ordinary top-tier defensive artifacts..."
In reality, Lu Tiandu was particularly drawn to its ability to block divine consciousness detection. It could even block the detection of cultivators below the Jindan stage—a truly rare and valuable item.
As for its defensive power, Lu Tiandu downplayed it. After all, with the divine consciousness and mana required to activate the hat, he wouldn't be able to use a purely defensive artifact.
The old man had already identified the pill as the genuine Dingyan Pill, possessing miraculous anti-aging properties, bringing eager smiles to the two women's faces.
"How many Dingyan Pills do you have left?" Madam Lan asked with a faint smile.
The beautiful female cultivator surnamed Cen also stared at Lu Tiandu nervously.
"Senior, you're joking! How could there be so many of these rare elixirs?" Lu Tiandu shook his head. "Senior, please tell us how to sell this bamboo hat!"
"Well, we're the ones getting anxious!"
Madam Lan saw Lu Tiandu's eagerness to buy and said nothing more. "If you need this magical weapon, just pay two thousand spirit stones!"
"What! So expensive?"
Lu Tiandu asked, a little surprised.
After all, he had expected this item to be more expensive than ordinary magical weapons, but he hadn't expected it to be this expensive. Two thousand spirit stones could buy a talisman.
While this cloak was convenient for certain tasks, it could only block the spiritual sense of a cultivator in the Foundation Establishment stage. For a moment, he hesitated.
If this bamboo hat weren't so expensive, it wouldn't have sat in the Stardust Pavilion for years without a buyer. After all, who would wear something that blocks spiritual sense detection every day to do something secretive?
Why would there be so many shameful things? After all, not everyone has a huge secret to hide.
Madam Lan, however, wasn't surprised at all. She smiled faintly, "The materials used to refine this treasure are extremely scarce, and this treasure features a divine barrier carved by a senior in the Jindan stage. The price isn't excessive, and we haven't intentionally raised the price just for you..."
"In that case, I'll consider it!" Lu Tiandu feigned hesitation, conveniently putting away the Dingyan Pill.
"Wait!"
Madam Lan smiled faintly, "I understand what you mean, fellow Daoist. If you want a discount, I can offer a discount on some of the spirit stones, but you must satisfy me for the Dingyan Pill!" She gave Lu Tiandu a meaningful look.
Humph! Satisfaction? Of course I will!
"I wonder how much you'd be willing to pay for my Dingyan Pill?" Lu Tiandu pretended not to notice Madam Lan's hints.
"If you bring out at least two more, I'll buy them for 1,500 spirit stones each. What do you think?" Madam Lan sipped her spiritual tea. "Also, I'll give you a discount of 200 spirit stones on the Void Spiritual Hat... That's the base price!"
"Okay, deal!" Lu Tiandu was no longer bothered to pretend. He was very satisfied with the price.
He was determined to get this Void Spiritual Hat.
He took out two more jade bottles and showed them to the old alchemist, who was secretly stunned by the high price of the Dingyan Pill. Lu Tiandu played with the hat, wondering what was going on.
At this point, the beautiful woman surnamed Cen, who had been largely silent, also showed a smile of delight.
According to the agreement she had made with Madam Lan, she would receive one of the pills.
However, the thought of having to fork out a large sum of spirit stones and then ask someone for them made her feel uneasy.
However, she was about to complete her foundation building and would need that person's help, so she didn't mind.
Just as Lu Tiandu accepted the ten mid-level spirit stones and the 1,700 low-level spirit stones and prepared to leave, Madam Lan smiled and asked,
"If you have any extra Dingyan Pills, our Xingchen Pavilion is open to purchasing them. If you have any requests, please let us know and we will definitely satisfy you!"
Lu Tiandu's expression changed. He knew that three Dingyan Pills was still a bit too much. If he didn't leave now, he would probably become even more suspicious.
He was already wearing the bamboo hat, unfazed by Madam Lan's change of expression. He gave a wry smile,
"I only found this by chance. I couldn't bear to use it myself. I was saving these last two pills for my two concubines. I never thought they'd end up in your hands. I don't know how I'm going to explain this to you when I get home!"
"Hmph!"
Upon hearing that this man was saving these pills for his concubines, Madam Lan snorted coldly and said nothing more. However, the beautiful woman surnamed Cen glanced at Lu Tiandu, a hint of disappointment in her eyes. After all this man, for the sake of spirit stones, hadn't cared about his concubines...
After leaving the market, Lu Tiandu summoned the Spirit Light Shuttle and sped away. After a long circle, he stopped the shuttle, put away his bamboo hat, changed back into his normal attire, and headed straight for the nameless hill where Xin Ruyin lived.
Over twenty days later, Lu Tiandu bid farewell to Xin Ruyin and Xiaomei, telling them that he had heard rumors of a possible thousand-year-old elixir somewhere and needed to investigate. He would return within a year.
This deeply moved Xin Ruyin and Xiaomei!
After all, Xin Ruyin's ancient formula for alleviating meridian atrophy would be even more effective if a thousand-year-old elixir were added to the formula as his cultivation level increased!
After a long farewell, Lu Tiandu returned to Yue Kingdom on his flying sword, continuing westward.
Of course, the thousand-year-old elixir was one of his goals on this trip. After all, the Ascension Token was almost rusting in his hands, and Han Li was probably getting impatient.
His primary goal was to sell the Dingyan Pill for a large amount of spirit stones. This was his current flagship product, aside from his talismans.
Keeping it in his possession without changing would be unacceptable.
Six months later, Lu Tiandu, dressed in ordinary clothes, blended into the crowd, exited the Huadaowu Market, and left the restricted airspace. Finding a deserted spot, he unleashed his Spiritual Light Shuttle, transforming into a silvery glow and heading west.
Just then, a sallow old man in linen clothes and a white beard emerged from a short distance behind him, also releasing a circular disk and chasing after Lu Tiandu.
Although the disk was slow, it seemed to have fixed its sights on a particular direction, flying straight ahead.
After flying nearly a hundred miles from the market town, Lu Tiandu finally landed on an inconspicuous hill. A sweep of his spiritual sense revealed no one nearby, and he flicked his hand, revealing a small formation flag.
He casually chanted a few spells, and the flag emitted streaks of yellow light. It spun around and vanished from Lu Tiandu's sight. A fleeting flash of yellow light appeared on the nameless hill.
Lu Tiandu then chanted a few more spells and entered the simple cave he had created upon arriving in the market town, concealed by a maze formation.
Whenever he arrived at a market town, he would first search for an inconspicuous hill within a hundred miles of the market town, bury the disk and flag of the Sky Wind Fierce Formation, and create a temporary cave dwelling for emergencies.
This had become his habit. After all, while it was a bit of a hassle, his life was paramount, and at the Qi Refining stage, he could never be too cautious.
(End of Chapter)