Chapter 103: Golden Tower

Whether it was the Demonic Path or the Righteous Path, their essence was no different.

He vividly remembered the greedy faces of those righteous cultivators collecting spirit stones when he passed through Black Mountain Pass years ago.

"Birds of a feather," he thought.

He was weak, and he empathized.

If he were to reach the Nascent Soul stage in the future, could he still retain his current pure heart?

Wang Yu didn't know, nor did he dare to ask himself.

"Senior Brother, we've arrived at the female cultivators' section. Do any catch your eye?"

The words of those around him pulled Wang Yu from his thoughts, and he looked towards the garden on his right.

A group of beautiful women, some plump, some slender, each with their own captivating charm, displayed their talents: some played the zither, some performed tea ceremonies while fanning themselves, and some danced gracefully.

There were young maidens, delicate and unassuming.

There were noble young ladies with bright eyes, fair teeth, and slender figures.

There were mature, seductive women with graceful figures.

So many, a veritable kaleidoscope of beauties, dazzling to behold and hard to tear one's eyes away from.

Even though it wasn't their first visit, Han Fei and Yang Shan were mesmerized, blurting out instinctively:

"If I could stay here for just one day, I'd die happy even immediately after."

"One day? I want seven!"

"Haha, as long as you gentlemen enjoy yourselves."

Wang Yu watched their undignified behavior, his heart calm as a still well. They were just a bunch of common beauties.

"Nothing worth seeing here. Let's go."

"Leaving already?"

Han Fei asked in surprise, "I thought Senior Brother would buy a few."

"Since Lord Zhou is holding an auction, he certainly won't let us buy the main attractions beforehand. What would he gain then? We'll wait for the auction."

"That's true. Auctions require bidding to make big money."

Seeing that they were only looking and not buying, the attendant's expression gradually darkened, no longer showing his previous humility.

"Since the three of you aren't buying, please leave quickly. I have other guests to attend to."

Han Fei and Yang Shan glared at him indignantly but dared not act out. After all, they served under Lord Zhou, and as long as they were in Eroding Heart City, they had to obey his command.

"Senior Brother, let's not stoop to his level. I'll take you to look around elsewhere."

"Very well."

As they walked, Wang Yu suddenly stopped and pointed to a walled courtyard. "Are there any items for auction here?"

The attendant grew impatient.

"No, no, hurry up and leave!"

"Hmph."

Wang Yu regarded him coldly, and the aura of his Qi Condensation eighth layer pressed down on the attendant, who shivered and fell to the ground, sweating profusely.

"You... what are you doing? This is Lord Zhou's territory!"

"I ask, you answer. With that attitude, even if I killed you, Lord Zhou wouldn't dare do anything to me."

Wang Yu spoke with such conviction that it intimidated the man, who then honestly replied:

"This courtyard is the residence of Miss Hongxiu. She's the main attraction of this auction, a unique female paragon trained for ten years by Immortal Mortal Residence."

"What's her cultivation level?"

"Qi Condensation fourth layer."

Wang Yu nodded, ceasing his questions. His sudden action was actually because someone inside had secretly transmitted a message to him, and the strength of that divine sense had clearly reached the Foundation Establishment stage.

The message was simply that she was imprisoned and hoped Wang Yu could save her.

He rejected it without a second thought. Such an act, if not a trap, was a desperate plea cast far and wide, and he saw no need to get involved. Even if it were for beauty, he was powerless and unwilling.

"Let's go."

The group left Immortal Mortal Residence, and Han Fei continued to lead the way.

Wang Yu first explored the Inner Market of Eroding Heart City, giving each of his escorts twenty spirit stones as payment before sending them away.

He then wandered through the Inner Market alone.

He found an artifact refining workshop and purchased a top-grade, first-tier alchemy furnace capable of assisting in pill concoction, which cost him two thousand spirit stones.

Next, he expertly located a channel for selling stolen goods and offloaded all his acquisitions, including the corpses, at a slight discount, earning twenty-three thousand spirit stones.

Some of the profit went to the fence, but Wang Yu didn't mind; it was just a small concession.

In addition to that,

Because Eroding Heart City was close to Spider Mountain, many resources produced there were often sold off in Eroding Heart City.

Among these was a cultivation pill called Nether Heart Pill, which used 'Spider Heart Grass' as its main ingredient. It had both first-tier and second-tier pill formulas.

It was very suitable for cultivators with Yin-cold attributes. Since his consumption of Cold Blood Pills was nearing its limit, switching to this Nether Heart Pill would be a good option.

Wang Yu purchased both pill formulas, ingredients for them, and materials for refining Rejuvenation Pills... all of which cost him just under ten thousand spirit stones.

The second-tier pill formula was quite expensive, and the twenty sets of first-tier Nether Heart Pill ingredients accounted for the largest portion of the cost.

After this expenditure, he wouldn't need to spend on pills again before breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage; he had enough, and any more would be beyond his capacity to consume.

With the remaining spirit stones, it would be best to acquire a high-grade Foundation Establishment Pill. If his aptitude could be raised to the level of three spiritual roots in the future, it would help him cross that threshold.

Investing the rest of his savings in magical artifacts and secret techniques would also be good.

"Oh, right, and dragon blood essence."

He had almost forgotten the most important reason for coming to Eroding Heart City. Wang Yu quickly changed direction and soon arrived at the largest shop in the Inner Market.

This was the Golden Full Pavilion. It wasn't a local power in Eroding Heart City but a giant merchant guild active throughout the Crimson Kite Demonic Realm. It boasted several Nascent Soul level patrons, and its main family, the Jins, were rumored to have top-tier connections even in the Great Lake Spiritual Realm.

Its rival, the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, was another powerful merchant guild, and the competition between the two was fierce. Typically, only one of them operated in a single city, as they never allowed both to do business simultaneously in the same place.

Years ago, Tantai Chan had attended an auction in Heavenly Treasure City, which was the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's headquarters and one of the most prosperous immortal cities in the Crimson Kite Demonic Realm.

The Eroding Heart City branch of the Golden Full Pavilion was a mere three stories tall, yet it was built with dazzling splendor. Even its pillars were carved from spirit jade and adorned with spiritual gold.

The glass counters were clear and bright, glittering with treasures and filled with spiritual energy, openly displaying its wealth to lower-level cultivators.

Prices there were also quite high.

It's worth noting that the poorer the low-level cultivator, the more they believed in the saying, "If it's that expensive, there must be a reason for it."

They even mistrusted cheaper items.

As Wang Yu entered, he was immediately greeted by an attractive female cultivator who generously revealed her fair chest. Under the light, her skin appeared delicate, smooth, and even slightly reflective.

"Esteemed guest, are you looking for something specific in our establishment?"

"Beast blood essence, dragon species."

"Please follow me." Hearing this, the attendant's smile became more genuine. She led the way with a graceful sway of her hips, emitting a faint, refreshing fragrance.

Wang Yu felt nothing.

Soon, he was led to a display cabinet on the west side of the first floor. The female attendant used spiritual energy to retrieve over a dozen jade bottles and explained clearly:

"These are a recent shipment of dragon-species beast blood essence, taken from a third-tier beast, the Azure Sea Dragon Turtle. Each bottle contains ten thousand catties of Dragon Turtle blood, from which one drop of blood essence can be refined.

"For Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment cultivators, directly using the blood is sufficient."

Wang Yu's heart stirred greatly at the prospect, but he then said helplessly:

"Your esteemed establishment overestimates me. How could I afford third-tier precious blood?"