Immortal of the Nine Realms

"Black Dragon Fish?! Goodness, it really is Black Dragon Fish! Which esteemed senior is this, and where did you get so many Black Dragon Fish?!"

"Ahhh! I used up 13 mid-grade spirit stones just to break through to the mid-stage of the Golden Core Realm recently! Damn it! If I hadn't had to break through, I could have bought a few Black Dragon Fish!"

"Is that Langya Wenqiu from the Extreme Sword Peak? Is this senior also from the Extreme Sword Peak? Why does he look so unfamiliar? Has he been in seclusion for the past few years?"

The surrounding cultivators were mostly in the Golden Core Realm, ranging from the early to late stages. Some of them had their eyes lit up at the sight of the Black Dragon Fish, while others pounded their chests in frustration. Some even recognized Langya Wenqiu.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The commotion drew the attention of many people. In the distance, a Nascent Soul Realm vendor and a few Nascent Soul Realm patrons watched with curiosity.

"Are those really Black Dragon Fish? There must be over a hundred here! Impressive, where did this come from…?"

"What a pity. I struggled to get enough Black Dragon Fish back then and had to choose to break through first. Now it's of no use."

"That's Langya Wenqiu from the Extreme Sword Peak. The person next to her is… Hmm, very familiar. Who is he?"

"Seems familiar. Let me think…"

Mad King Fang Chen?!

Several Nascent Soul cultivators were visibly shaken, looking surprised. They then looked toward Elder Huang not far away.

"The last time I saw him, he was lying in a jade coffin… Truly, the ways of the world are unpredictable…"

Huang Mingyang looked at Fang Chen with a hint of sentiment in his eyes. This person had once been admitted to the sect's registry by him personally, then later removed. Now… he was back.

And now, Fairy Yu's whereabouts were unknown, and Jing Yuehan was in confinement. Only two or three decades had passed, yet so much had happened.

A few Nascent Soul Realm cultivators approached Elder Huang Mingyang.

One of them inquired politely, "Elder Huang, is that really Mad King Fang Chen? When did… Junior Brother Fang come to the sect?"

"He just arrived. The Supreme Emperor has taken him as a disciple."

"The Supreme Emperor..."

Although the crowd was somewhat shocked, it was not unexpected. During the Immortal Dynasty Manor incident, they had already seen Fang Chen's terrifying strength. This wasn't just fear from the perspective of ordinary cultivators, but from their perspective as sword cultivators. The term terrifying wasn't used lightly.

It was a conclusion they had reached after much study and discussion. If they encountered this Mad King, even if he wasn't having one of his episodes, at the same level… they would still lose.

"It's not surprising that he could gather so many Black Dragon Fish…"

"Why isn't it surprising? No matter how strong his methods are, what does that have to do with fishing? Black Dragon Fish are so hard to catch, and you only have three days each time. Having this many Black Dragon Fish couldn't have been accumulated over just a few years, right? Black Dragon Fish spoil if kept too long; they can't be raised anywhere but Black Dragon Lake."

"Maybe Junior Brother Fang is a fishing master?"

"That…"

The scene at Fang Chen's stall grew increasingly lively. He had initially been considering how to set the price, but the enthusiastic customers had already started setting it for him.

Someone pointed at a 2-pound Black Dragon Fish and excitedly asked, "Brother, will you take 4 mid-grade spirit stones for that one?"

Fang Chen didn't have any intention of haggling and nodded lightly. "Sure."

The buyer immediately purchased three fish and left excitedly, leaving Fang Chen with 12 mid-grade spirit stones. This set the price standard at 2 mid-grade spirit stones per pound.

Another potential buyer said, "Brother, that's the price at Black Dragon Lake. You brought them from so far away, so it should be 3 spirit stones per pound."

This comment immediately attracted hostile glares, and the speaker realized his mistake but wasn't about to back down.

He retorted, "What's wrong? I've eaten plenty of Black Dragon Fish."

"So what if you have? We haven't!"

"I think you're asking for trouble."

The crowd was riled up.

Having experienced the temper of these sword cultivators, Fang Chen noticed they were about to cause a commotion at his stall.

He cleared his throat and said softly, "My Black Dragon Fish is only sold at 2 mid-grade spirit stones per pound. This is an internal price, so please don't argue."

"Internal price? What does that mean?"

"You're dumb. What this brother means is that for us sword sect disciples, it's 2 mid-grade spirit stones per pound, but for outsiders, it's different."

"Good brother, that's the spirit! As expected of a sword sect disciple, very straightforward!"

With the sudden price increase worry removed, the atmosphere became harmonious again. Each person bought at least a fish, and some bought several, with varying weights.

They wanted to buy more, but as Golden Core Realm cultivators, they didn't have many mid-grade spirit stones and needed to save some for breakthroughs.

In less than half an hour, Fang Chen had sold out of all his Black Dragon Fish. Some were 2 pounds each, but there were also 3-pound, 5-pound, and even a 10-pound fish!

When the final count was done, the earnings exceeded Fang Chen's expectations, totaling 532 mid-grade spirit stones.

"Senior Sister Wenqiu, you take these extra 32 mid-grade spirit stones," Fang Chen said, handing over the surplus to Langya Wenqiu.

Langya Wenqiu was momentarily stunned, then quickly refused, "Senior Brother Fang, you should keep them. These Black Dragon Fish have nothing to do with me."

Fang Chen smiled. "It's a matter of reciprocity."

Langya Wenqiu hesitated, feeling embarrassed. In the end, she accepted the spirit stones. Her mind was already racing to think of an appropriate gift in return.

"Senior Sister Wenqiu, I have a list of spirit materials to purchase. Please take a look, and then we can split up to gather the materials."

Fang Chen handed Wenqiu a jade slip, interrupting her thoughts.

Wenqiu glanced at it and gasped, staring at Fang Chen in shock.

"Senior Brother Fang, are you sure this is your purchase list? These all would cost… at least 500,000 to 600,000 low-grade spirit stones!"

The list included over a hundred types of spirit materials, ranging from low-grade, yellow-rank to peak-grade, yellow-rank. Fang Chen had also specified huge quantities, and they also had to meet certain age criteria. For example, the peak-grade, yellow-rank medicine Hundred Year Chicken Heart Grass would cost at least 200 low-grade spirit stones per plant.

The quantities of the materials were staggering. 100 Hundred Year Chicken Heart Grass alone would require 20,000 low-grade spirit stones.

Then there was the peak-grade, yellow-rank medicine Hundred Year Dragon Blood Mushroom priced at 500 low-grade spirit stones per pound, with a total purchase quantity of 10 pounds.

Before Fang Chen could say anything, Wenqiu anxiously advised, "Senior Brother Fang… Although alchemy is a good path, it's labor-intensive and often frustrating. We sword cultivators are not particularly suited for this path. It might be better for you to use these low-grade spirit stones for something else…."

"It's fine, I'm just giving it a try. Besides, hundreds of thousands of low-grade spirit stones isn't a lot," Fang Chen replied with a smile.

He indeed didn't have many mid-grade spirit stones, with only about 1,600 remaining. However, when it came to low-grade spirit stones, he had almost 800,000 of those.

He had initially intended to use these low-grade spirit stones to purchase Vast Origin Fruits, but the ancestors of the Greenwood Sect had seized them. Later, many cultivators died at his hands. Although they didn't have many mid-grade spirit stones, their low-grade spirit stones were plentiful. Over time, he accumulated this fortune.

Rather than keeping them in his storage ring to collect figurative dust, exchanging them for alchemy materials was a much better option.

Among the entry-level, yellow-rank pills, there was one called the Little Feather Spirit Pill. As the name suggested, it was a simplified version of the Feather Spirit Pill. Every material he was collecting was for refining the Little Feather Spirit Pill. All materials, from low-grade, yellow-rank to peak-grade, yellow-rank, were essential.