Chapter 37 – Neighbor Stops Florida Man from Turning National Treasure into Furniture
"Oh, I must warn you. If you're thinking you're smart because you only bid one or two spirit stones to get six elixir pills from me, you won't get any. The minimum bid is 600 million spirit stones! Any lower, and I won't sell you any!"
Wu Buyi snickered and warned the three old alchemists. The three elders clicked their tongues and tore the papers. Then, they brought out a new set of writing papers.
Ouyang Long shook his head as these old foxes had the same idea. Had he been in their shoes, he would have used the same technique to get the elixir pills for cheap. Unfortunately, Wu Buyi was also a cunning fox and a professional alchemist in this field. Nobody could outsmart him in his games.
While waiting for the old alchemists to finish, Ouyang Long whispered to Wu Buyi as he was curious about Leo.
"Hey, brat. About your new master, is he a soul formation cultivator?"
Wu Buyi widely grinned, "Of course. He's as strong as you. Actually, his foundation is more profound. He doesn't have the domineering and suppressive aura like you, but he can definitely use all five element essence!"
Ouyang Long narrowed his eyes. He confirmed another coincidence - The mysterious cultivator that slaughtered the Hound Squad was a soul formation cultivator!
'I have a feeling that they're the same person. Did Ting'er offend him or did he try to steal his pills? Was he an idiot?!'
His expression was so dark that he didn't know if he should be angry or ashamed of his son. Still, even if his son was in the wrong, Ouyang Long believed that it was inappropriate for a soul formation senior to kill junior cultivators as it violated the unspoken Jianghu traditions – No senior should bully, harm, or kill a junior as conflicts might escalate. If everybody selfishly slaughtered every junior, the cultivation world would have been in chaos as nobody could cultivate in peace.
Using this belief as a core, Ouyang Long concluded that Leo was in the wrong. No matter how rude his son was, he didn't deserve to die!
'It doesn't matter! No matter how strong his foundation is, an alchemist can't possibly defeat a true martial artist. If he's weaker than me, I'll cripple him and force him to be a pill slave for my clan for the rest of eternity! If he's stronger than me, I'll pressure these old alchemists to excommunicate him from the three alchemy sects! He needs to compensate me for my boy's death!'
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10 AM of the next day, Leo crawled out of his bed. He put on his clothes and dragged his feet out of the store to wash his face and cook some late breakfast. Fortunately, no one visited the store in the early morning or late morning. He got the time for himself to sort things out.
However, Leo soon discovered an issue - Leo ran out of edible wolf meat. Without meat, he had no other food except vegetables, bananas, and other fruits.
He looked at the showcase refrigerator and stared at the immortal grass. He wondered if he should continue eating them. While contemplating his future, the corner of his eyes found the grain pills on the aisle shelves.
He had two choices – Grain pills or grass.
"Grass or pills... grass or pills... pills or veggies... I HATE VEGGIES!"
Leo hesitated. He knew that eating mutated fruits, vegetables, or grass would grant him some lifespan. However, Leo had been eating meat every day, and his current palate found it difficult to eat vegetables or grasses.
His stomach desired meat!
Leo turned toward the grain pills. They could fill his stomach for a couple days, and they would get rid of the hunger issues. But again, it would hinder Leo's lifespan gain for two days.
"Argh! Fine. No grain pills! I'll eat some fruit instead! REJECT HUMANITY! RETURN TO MONKE!"
Leo stomped toward one of the fridges. He picked a gold banana and started eating them. After downing four bananas, Leo burped, having enough food for the morning.
From a cow to a dog-eater, from a dog-eater to a monkey, Leo wondered if he would become something else tomorrow.
He checked his lifespan status next, wondering how many years he got from the bananas.
<Your Current Lifespan: 148 Years...>
It was 128 after Leo had spent everything last night. Four bananas increased his lifespan by 20, which was equal to what the elixir grain pill offered.
Leo snorted as he believed that it was the right decision. He had plenty of fruits, so it would have been a waste not to eat or use them as alchemy ingredients.
After the meal, Leo resumed working. He visited the two workshops to collect the newly made grain pills. Each pot gave him 30 pills of various elements. The majority of the pills were still Metal Grain Pills, but their quality got better.
The metal element ones came out as medium-grade instead of low-grade. As for the other elements, they came out as low-grade pills. Even the five-element elixir grain pill came out as low quality.
Looking at the new batches of pills, Leo wondered what kind of unique pills would come out after he upgraded it to the quality to the max.
As the store lacked products and grain pills, Leo queued for another batch of grain pills. Then, he visited the storeroom in the workshop to check the other fruits or vegetables to sell in his store.
The mutated fruits and vegetables were still there. Although they sat here for days, they still looked fresh and moist.
Leo carried a large bamboo basket of Bloodmelons, aka mutated watermelons, to the store and put them at the center of the store, near the front door.
Leo gazed at the Bloodmelons, wondering how much he should sell them for.
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[Bloodmelon]
Can only be found in Blood Swamps of demon-infested mystic realms. The melons grow from absorbing blood from the swamps, and their juice is filled with demonic Qi and Yin Energy. It is one of many fruits that Vampires and plant monsters are very fond of. Can be used as a water element catalyst.
[Traits]
Increase water element Qi and demonic Qi by 10 years' worth of cultivation (If consumed)
Increase water-based pill's success chance by 30%. (If used in alchemy)
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Since it gave 10 years' worth of Qi, Leo believed that it could be sold for about 20-50 years of lifespan. Also, he believed that it could be used as a lure to attract certain types of monsters.
Testing its effectiveness, Leo brought one of the Bloodmelons outside. He then rolled it like a bowling ball in the front yard.
"MEOW <3"
It only took Cat two seconds to jump from the roof to the front yard. It snatched the Bloodmelon and jumped to the store's roof. Despite not being able to eat anything for 48 hours, it still hogged the melon.
"..."
Leo stared at Cat, speechless. It seemed that the Bloodmelons were effective lures for plant monsters.
As the experiment was successful, Leo returned to the store and calculated the price. He wrote [50] on the label. Although it might be overpriced and might not sell, Leo could still use it as a catalyst in the future or directly consume it as a snack.
After arranging the placement of the basket, aisle shelves, and fridges, Leo picked a broom and swept the store. But before he could even start doing the chore, he heard the voice of Cat from the rooftop.
"Nom-Nom Meow?"
That didn't sound pleasant to hear. It also said this whenever it saw strangers or visitors.
"Ah, crap. Here we go again."
Leo toss away the broom and exited the store through the front door. He turned around and looked at Cat, who was still sitting on the roof and staring at the visitors.
"No food! They're not food!"
"No Nom-Nom?"
"NO NOM-NOM!"
"Meow..."
Cat was crestfallen. It turned around and returned to its favorite spot.
Leo deeply sighed and grumbled. Again, Cat had eaten a grain pill, yet he extorted food from visitors. Its gluttonous nature was troublesome.
After dealing with Cat, Leo turned his attention to the visitors. Surprisingly, he found a couple of familiar faces - Two of which used to visit this place before. One was a deacon that came with Han Hao. As for the other guy, he was the first customer of Leo.
Gao Yan brightly smiled and cupped his fist. He deeply bowed, "Greetings, senior! I heard about your store, and I hope I can buy some of your rare herbs again!"
"..."
Leo stroked his beard and deeply nodded. He had already forgotten about the guy. However, as he stated that he wanted his herbs AGAIN, Leo managed to remember him.
"Ah, Gao Yan wasn't it?"
He activated the shop domain system and allowed everybody to see their lifespans. Leo also rechecked Gao Yan's status.
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Name: Gao Yan
Age: 16
Lifespan: 202 Years, 3 Months, 18 Days, 4 Hours, and 10 Minutes
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As for the other disciples, they were pale in comparison. They had about 120 to 150 years.
Leo believed that Gao Yan had about 120ish years when he first met him. But now, he had over 200 years in stock. He wondered what he did to gain 80 years of lifespan during the past weeks.
The deacon stated his business. "Senior, I've brought more customers. Please allow us to purchase your pills again."
Leo smiled and opened the front door for them, "Come inside."
"Thank you very much!"
The deacon gestured for everybody to enter the store. Everybody also saluted Leo and prepared to enter the store in excitement.
On the other hand, Gao Yan looked behind him and gazed at the piles of lumber. For an unknown reason, his Qi resonated with the woods.
"Senior, what are those?" Gao Yan pointed at the roughly processed lumbers. Everybody stopped and turned around to see what the famous alchemist-to-be was interested in and gazed at the lumber pile.
Leo pursed his lips. They were useless woods that he had planned to change into furniture in the future. He didn't mind selling some to his first customer.
"Those? They're Iron Pine Wood."
"Iron Pine... Wood?!" Gao Yan's eyes gleamed. He remembered the term as he remembered reading about it in an encyclopedia.
"Yes. Do you need those?"
Gao Yan nodded, "Yes, senior! I can use them as charcoal for alchemy. They are metal-based, right? It will be a big help when I refine difficult pills that require metal essence. Actually, I can upgrade non-element pills into metal element pills with metal-based charcoals."
Leo raised his brow. He had no clue what Gao Yan was talking about as he didn't need charcoal or firewood to make pills. After all, he only needed to spit a few times to supplement the cauldron with all elemental essence.
"Well, sure. How much will you need?"
"One log-worth is enough, senior. Umm, how much is it? Are they expensive? I believe they're very rare."
"..."
Leo looked around him. He wondered if Gao Yan was blind as the iron pine trees were everywhere around here.
'He probably doesn't know. Well, the barks are all black, but these lumbers have already been peeled. Meh, it doesn't matter. I won't take advantage of him. 10 years is enough.'
Leo coughed and declared the price, "Only for you, 10 years per a log's worth of lumber. Want it?"
Gao Yan was delighted, "Yes, please!"
Leo didn't think much. He grabbed a log of processed lumber and placed it in front of Gao Yan. The latter's lifespan instantly decreased by 10 years. One year went to the deacon while Leo got 9 years of lifespan.
Gao Yan happily touched the lumber. He unsheathed his sword and tried to chop it.
CLANK
His sword broke in one hit.
Gao Yan: "..."
Everybody: "..."
Gao Yan's face reddened in embarrassment. He shyly sheathed his broken sword. Then, he bowed to Leo, "S-Senior. If it's possible, could you help me chop them into smaller pieces? I can't bring them home like this. They are too heavy for me."
Leo inwardly questioned Gao Yan about how he would carry everything home. He lifted it with one hand and flipped it around to weigh it. Judging from his feeling, the entire lumber was about five thousand pounds.
Since it might be too heavy for the teenager, Leo helped him. He put it back on the ground. Using only his bare hand, he karate-chopped, cutting the log into 10 blocks of lumber.
Gao Yan and the disciples watched Leo in awe and respect. The deacon was also interested in the wood and touched its surface. As soon as he touched it, he sensed the overwhelming metal element Qi inside.
"T-This is..."
The deacon realized what the lumber was. He was stunned.
"I-Isn't this tougher than steel?! Wait. Isn't this sacred wood?! ARE ALL OF THESE SACRED WOODS?!"
"EH?!" Gao Yan was stunned.
Leo rolled his eyes. He went into the store and grabbed a cubic block of sacred wood. He placed it in front of the store to show the deacon, "Y'all need to refine it first before it can become sacred wood. This block is the real sacred wood. As for those, they're just iron lumber."
"W-WHAT?!"
The deacon touched the surface of the sacred wood block. He gasped in excitement, "S-Senior! I'll buy this! How much?!"
Leo narrowed his eyes. As he had learned from his past mistakes, he chose to probe for information first before he named the price.
"What do you need it for?"
"Are you kidding, senior?! I know many top blacksmiths on the continent. This is the finest material to make a holy weapon! It doesn't matter if it turns out to be a wooden sword. It can instantly kill every type of undead monster in one hit!"
Leo raised his brow. He glanced at the raw iron lumber and wondered if he should make more of these sacred wood blocks. Then, he thought of the making process.
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[Alchemy Recipe – Sacred Wood]
One Iron Pine Lumber
Wood and Metal Essence
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It didn't need a lot of material – Any piece of iron pine lumber that could fit in the cauldron was enough. Moreover, it only took 10 minutes to make. The only downside of this item was the labor as Leo had to manually uproot the trees, cut the branches, and peel the bark by hand.
Thinking of the tedious labor, Leo jacked the price.
"100 years. Want it? You have the 10% discount since you're affiliated with the store, so that will only cost you 90 years."
"T-This..."
The deacon gulped. He took several deep breaths, contemplating if he should purchase it.
While the deacon contemplated his choice, Gao Yan asked Leo, "Senior, sir. If I remember correctly, it takes a whole year of dedication and hard work for an alchemist to refine this rare lumber into sacred wood. Is that true?"
Leo held back his laughter. It took 10 minutes of idle refining as the workshop automatically made it for him. He grinned and messed with Gao Yan, "That was nothing. I made it during my free time. I was planning to turn it into a chair or something. From what I learned, sacred wood is a good material for furniture."
"F-Furniture?!" The deacon almost vomited blood. "P-Please don't turn it into furniture! I'll buy it! I'll buy it!"
Leo stroked his beard and widely smiled. Once again, he managed to get rid of unused items in his store for lifespan.
