Thunder-Attracting Pearl?

Lin Chen’s heart stirred slightly.

The Thunder-Attracting Pearl is a special magical treasure that can weaken the thunder tribulation to some extent, while purifying the pure energy within the thunder tribulation.

It purifies the energy to temper the cultivator’s flesh body and divine soul. Its principle is completely different from that of a lightning rod.

If used during a thunder tribulation, it is indeed quite the aid.

Thinking of this, Lin Chen asked:

"Fellow Daoist, how many spirit stones for one Thunder-Attracting Pearl?"

"A hundred thousand spirit stones each." Xie Huaying interjected at this time, her beautiful eyes fixed on Lin Chen.

"This fellow Daoist, you look somewhat familiar. Have we ever met?"

Lin Chen blinked and said: "Young lady, your way of striking up a conversation is a bit old-fashioned."

"Ah?" Xie Huaying was momentarily stunned, then her face flushed red and she said no more.

She truly felt that Lin Chen looked familiar, as if she had seen him somewhere before.

But with Lin Chen’s interruption, she lost the inclination to inquire further.

Lin Chen took out a bag of spirit stones and handed it over.

"Here’s a million spirit stones, give me ten pearls."

Xie Huaying nodded upon hearing this, and handed over a jade box, inside of which were ten Thunder-Attracting Pearls.

"Keep these Thunder-Attracting Pearls in the jade box and don’t take them out lightly."

"When the thunder tribulation comes, consuming the Thunder-Attracting Pearls can purify the tribulation’s body tempering effect..."

Xie Huaying reminded, then handed over a black jade pendant.

"Fellow Daoist, you have substantial wealth. If you later visit the black market in Earth Dao City or Celestial Dao City to procure rare resources, you can show this jade pendant."

Lin Chen nodded upon hearing this, accepted the jade pendant, and then turned to leave.

Yang Cai’Er greeted Xie Huaying and then left together with Lin Chen.

As they walked down the street, Lin Chen casually asked:

"Cai’Er, how did you learn about this black market?"

Yang Cai’Er thought for a moment and said:

"Actually, many of the guides in the city know a bit about it; this black market isn’t really a secret..."

"Besides, I enjoy coming to this sweetwater shop to drink honey water... so one thing led to another and I got to know Sister Hua."

Lin Chen nodded upon hearing this, Yang Cai’Er’s words further deepening his suspicion.

"Senior Zhou, since it is still early, shall I take you on a tour to the Upper City District?" Yang Cai’Er offered eagerly.

Lin Chen nodded, riding his flying sword to the Upper City District with Yang Cai’Er.

...

By dusk, Lin Chen had roughly explored the Upper City District.

"Senior Zhou, it’s getting late today... if you have any questions later, feel free to seek me out."

Yang Cai’Er extended her right hand, showing the white ring on her finger.

"Senior, the residence certificate in Human Path City has communication capabilities. As long as you’re within a hundred miles of the city, you can use it, similar to the Sound Transmission Jade Scroll."

"Cai’Er’s is a temporary residence certificate. I upgraded the messaging function with a hundred spirit stones, but the senior’s permanent residence certificate directly has this function."

As she spoke, Yang Cai’Er touched Lin Chen’s black ring with her ring.

As expected, Lin Chen sensed an additional node inside his ring that could contact her at any time.

Lin Chen felt amazed at this, as even in the Righteous Alliance, not all late Foundation Establishment cultivators could afford a communication jade scroll.

But here in Human Path City, communication seemed to have become a common way of contact.

"However, since this ring’s communication is issued by Human Path City, it might be secretly monitored."

"Basic information can be communicated, but secret information should never be transmitted via the ring."

Lin Chen thought to himself.

He then took out a bag of spirit stones and handed it to Yang Cai’Er.

"Thank you for today, and if I need anything in the future, I’ll find you."

Yang Cai’Er accepted the spirit stone bag, then looked surprised.

"Senior, this... this is too many spirit stones!"

"Cai’Er can’t possibly use so many..."

The spirit stone bag Lin Chen handed to Yang Cai’Er contained exactly ten thousand spirit stones.

Enough for her to obtain permanent residence status in Human Path City.

Simply guiding him around was naturally not worth so many spirit stones.

But helping Lin Chen with the herbs for the Nascent Soul Pill was worth the ten thousand spirit stones.

Lin Chen shook his head and said:

"Take it. I might need your help in the future..."

With that, Lin Chen transformed into escape light and vanished.

...

In the evening, Lin Chen returned alone to the inn.

After setting up an array to isolate divine sense, Lin Chen glanced at the countdown on his arm.

"10:56."

Less than 11 hours remained before his next return to Blue Star.

Lin Chen took out the resources he had purchased today.

In addition to the herbs for the Nascent Soul Pill and the Thunder-Attracting Pearl, Lin Chen also bought many other herbs and materials.

The raw materials in Human Path City were undoubtedly of much higher quality than those in the Righteous Alliance.

Lin Chen could even buy many high-tier materials for crafting treasure artifacts.

Of course, the price was also very steep...

"Guangyuan Town and Changchun Mountain Marketplace, though only eight hundred miles apart, have such differences in pricing..."

"And Human Path City is nearly a hundred thousand miles away. For Qi Refining or even Foundation Establishment Cultivators, this is an insurmountable distance... Only Golden Core Cultivators have the possibility of reaching Human Path City from Yanlai Country..."

Lin Chen shook his head.

He took ten days to travel from Yanlai Realm to Human Path City, thanks to his sufficient tunneling speed.

But for Foundation Establishment Cultivators, this time would extend to a year or even several years...

Such a long distance, coupled with constant dangers along the way, Lin Chen himself encountered several groups of Tribulation Cultivators.

Therefore, the chances for Foundation Establishment Cultivators to arrive at Human Path City are slim, not to mention Qi Refining Cultivators...

As for Wenda City, it is more than a hundred thousand miles away from Human Path City... even farther.

Only some large commerce associations, like the Guangyuan Commerce Association, would traverse the Qing State land for transactions.

"Hmm, now that I’ve come this far, I should buy more medicinal ingredients, cultivation techniques, and the like..."

Lin Chen stroked his chin. Behind him is an entire High Martial World waiting eagerly for valuable resources he would bring back.

However, which specific items to buy should be consulted with the think tank when I return.

"The materials for Nascent Soul Pills should best be brought back to Blue Star for cultivation; if all goes well... within a few years, we should have plenty of Infant Peach Fruits and Heart Guard Grass, just in time for the Nascent Soul Stage breakthrough."

Lin Chen thought silently.

On this trip for Nascent Soul formation, there’s much to prepare.

With the Nascent Soul Pill and Thunder-Attracting Pearl already found, the next step is to find the Thunder Avoidance Divine Pill.

Besides, auxiliary pills for surviving heart tribulations and Magical Treasures like Tribulation Shields are also most welcome.

"I still have eight million Spirit Stones in hand, but I wonder if it’s enough..."

Lin Chen put all his goods into the Nanobag, quietly waiting for the crossing time to arrive.

...

Great Xia Country, Martial Arts Palace.

After Lin Chen’s return, he handed over the supplies to Wang Lishan, then asked him to prepare a list of roughly what resources the country needs to buy.

Upon returning to the Cultivation Realm, he can conveniently procure them in bulk along the way.

Having handled all this, Lin Chen immersed himself in the Alchemy Room.

With a slight movement of his heart, a mass of green liquid split into dozens of strands, entering the Pill Furnace.

He then added various auxiliary herbs and began alchemy...

After one two-hour period, hundreds of smooth pills flew out.

Lin Chen carefully picked and chose from them, selecting a dozen or so upper-grade Jade Marrow Qi Replenishing Pills.

"Not bad, about ten pounds of Jade Marrow can produce hundreds of Jade Marrow Qi Replenishing Pills..."

"The instrument’s temperature and timing are nearly optimal. It’s just that the upper-grade rate is somewhat low."

Lin Chen nodded slightly, putting away the upper-grade Jade Marrow Qi Replenishing Pills.

He naturally prioritized using those of good quality.

The remaining Jade Marrow Qi Replenishing Pills were also quite valuable, beneficial for cultivation. They were left for the talented cultivators of Great Xia Country to consume.

After alchemy for three whole days, Lin Chen managed to control the upper-grade rate at around ten percent.

He refined hundreds of upper-grade Jade Marrow Qi Replenishing Pills, to keep for future use.

This could help him break through to the Nine Revolutions Golden Core faster.

Afterward, Lin Chen spent three days refining hundreds of Jade Marrow Bone Forging Pills.

Upon finishing the two kinds of pills, Lin Chen gave them to the country for testing their effects.

In Lin Chen’s view, the Jade Marrow Bone Forging Pill is undoubtedly a Martial Arts Treasure on par with the Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill.

However, the exact effects would need further experimentation.

...

A month quickly passed.

Lin Chen stayed in Human Path City for a full month, obtaining a Passage Document to Tunnel City.

During the period, Lin Chen saw many Martial Monks from the Demon-Suppressing Temple in the Upper City District, but unfortunately did not see Li Tianhan.

This day, Lin Chen felt it was time to head to the next checkpoint, so after greeting Yang Cai’Er, he left Human Path City.

Having stayed in this city for only a month, Lin Chen had little attachment and didn’t even make new friends.

He merely purchased a lot of medicinal ingredients and artifact refining materials, spending nearly a million Spirit Stones.

After handling everything, Lin Chen headed toward Tunnel City.

Another three days passed, and Lin Chen flew across a thirty thousand mile journey, finally reaching Tunnel City.

The Three Cities of Wenda have similar layouts and city regulations.

In Tunnel City, Lin Chen spent ten thousand Spirit Stones to buy a permanent residency permit.

First, he obtained a Passage Document for Celestial Dao City, then Lin Chen went to the Lower City District’s black market.

After showing his Jade Pendant, Lin Chen smoothly met the black market leader in Tunnel City.

"Fellow Daoist, may I know what you wish to purchase?" the leader asked.

Lin Chen got straight to the point: "Thunder Avoidance Divine Pill, Spirit Shield for crossing thunder tribulation, do you have them here?"

The items Lin Chen wanted had very distinctive features, the leader took a deep look at Lin Chen before saying:

"We have them, an ordinary Thunder Avoidance Divine Pill costs five hundred thousand Spirit Stones, and middle-grade ones a million Spirit Stones..."

"As for Spirit Shields, their price varies from ten thousand to a million Spirit Stones depending on their power."

After hearing this, Lin Chen clicked his tongue; the cost of Nascent Soul formation was indeed too high.

Not to mention, merely preparing the basic Nascent Soul Pill, Thunder Avoidance Divine Pill, and the like requires at least millions of Spirit Stones.

Regardless of whether the Nascent Soul formation succeeds or not, it’s millions of Spirit Stones down the drain, which ordinary Core Formation Cultivators can’t afford.

However... Lin Chen could certainly buy the ingredients and refine them himself.

After pondering for a moment, Lin Chen said:

"Do you have the ingredients for refining the Thunder Avoidance Divine Pill?"

The leader nodded, producing two purple spiritual medicines.

"Thunder Spirit Grass, a hundred thousand Spirit Stones per plant..."