In the next few days, Xiao Chen holed himself in his room to refine pills . He had Qingluan and Ziyun'er sell the pills off in an auction at the Myriad Immortals Pavilion, earning him a handsome sum . Never mind the money for several months' of lodging, he had more than enough to purchase several luxurious courtyards in Tianyuan City .

His earnings were negligible to a cultivator; however; it wasn't enough to pay even one-hundredth of the price for a top-quality magic treasure or an ancient cultivation method .

He had made up his mind to personally partic.i.p.ate in the auction fiesta of the Myriad Immortals Pavilion, held once every ten years . Cultivators from all over the world would be gathered there . He was curious if he could find anything suitable for him there .

Today, Qingluan and Ziyun'er came over and handed him a brocade box full of Spirit Stones . He repeated the same question he asked over the past few days, "Who are the people who bought these pills?"

"Besides cultivators from large sects, someone from the Zuoqiu family seemed to have bought it as well . " Qingluan faithfully reported what she knew .

"Someone from the Zuoqiu family?" Xiao Chen sneered, instantly understanding what was going on .

The Evolution of Tao Pills that he refined were recorded in the Elixir King Scripture, and its effectiveness far exceeded pills of the same rank . With the Immortal's Sword a.s.sembly around the corner, these pills were bestsellers . The Elixir King of the Zuoqiu family, Zuoqiu Que, would naturally take advantage of this frenzy to make a good earning .

However, his business must have suffered greatly from the sale of Xiao Chen's "One-day Decade Pills" . His stock outnumbered Xiao Chen's but lost at one aspect: the price .

Most preferred Xiao Chen's more effective pills, which was likely why Zuoqiu Que decided to buy one and reverse-engineer it . That way, he could reproduce the pills . It wasn't merely out of a desire to regain business but also a desire to obtain the prescription of such a great pill .

Advertis.e.m.e.ntThis didn't worry Xiao Chen at all . No one would be able to reverse-engineer any of the pills recorded in the Elixir King Scripture . Even if they somehow managed to figure out its prescription, they would fail without the refinery techniques and Gui Xian's notes written in the scripture .

"There's also one more thing . The chief auctioneer of the Myriad Immortals Pavilion hopes that you'll attend their Myriad Immortals a.s.sembly three days later . "

Qingluan took out a small, purple-golden card and continued, "This is their VIP card . They hope you'll make an appearance . "

Xiao Chen accepted the purple-golden card and chuckled . This was exactly what he wanted .

Of course, he understood why they gave him this VIP card . They were trying to rope him in .

Even though his Evolution of Tao Pills were only Tier Three pills, not even Rank Four Elixir King would be able to replicate his distinct refinery techniques . And an Elixir King of that rank would be enough to be a VIP nearly anywhere . Those from the Myriad Immortals Pavilion must have misunderstood that he had a Rank Five Elixir Master .

Three days pa.s.sed by in the blink of an eye . This morning, Xiao Chen three pills into jade bottles and cautiously put them into three small brocade boxes . He had spent the past three days carefully refining this Evolution of Tao Pills . Compared to his previous stock, these were far more effective . They were as good as Tier Four pills .

Once he was ready, he summoned Qingluan and Ziyun'er . Just as they were preparing to leave, Murong Xian'er started pestering them . "Brother Xiao Chen, I wanna go! I wanna go!"

Xiao Chen chuckled . He had been so focused on refining and selling the pills recently that he seemed to have "neglected" her . Since it was such a beautiful day, he thought it was a good idea to take her out for a walk .

The four of them then left the courtyard . Since they were attending as VIP guests, they had to be dressed appropriately . Xiao Chen went to a lavish-looking store selling formal attire, where two salesgirls immediately greeted him .

One of them lost her interest, however, when she saw how wretched his clothes were . She turned around and went to serve a plump, middle-aged customer who had just walked in instead . With a bright smile, she said, "Welcome, Sir Qiu . "

The remaining salesgirl was still smiling . "h.e.l.lo, sir . What kind of formal attire do you need? Our clothes are all imported from the West . I'm sure they're all suitable for a gentleman like you . "

Xiao Chen frowned at the other salesgirl's att.i.tude . He also noticed that the store sold eccentric clothing with slim sleeves and separate tops and bottoms . The colors were dark, too . They didn't match a cultivators' sect's disciple like him . After scanning the store, he pointed to a set of formal attire hanging from the tallest spot . "Take that down for me to see . "

"I'm so sorry, Sir . You can't try on this set because it's relatively more expensive," the salesgirl said, smiling .

"One must never take advantage of the other in a transaction . Can't I even take a look at it?" Xiao Chen replied unhappily .

"I'm sorry, Sir . This is our store's rules . " The salesgirl maintained her smile .

Suddenly, the plump, middle-aged customer pointed to the formal attire that Xiao Chen had his eye on . "Take that down and let me try it on . " The salesgirl next to him immediately said with a smile, "Very well . Please wait for a moment, Sir Qiu . " Then, she went to retrieve the clothes .

"Hang on! What do you mean by this?!" Qingluan yelled, frightening everyone in the store . The other customers turned to look in their direction .

The salesgirl from before rolled her eyes and ignored Qingluan . The plump, middle-aged man felt smug . Putting on a calm mask, he didn't even spare a look at Xiao Chen .

The salesgirl next to Xiao Chen said awkwardly, "I'm sorry, Sir . That attire costs two thousand taels . Sir Qiu is our regular customer, so… I'm sorry . "

Xiao Chen raised a hand to stop her from speaking . He said emotionlessly, "Two thousand taels? See if there are enough here . " He took out a Tier Five Spirit Stone and tossed it to her . Pure, dense spirit energy instantly permeated the store .

"Sir, you…" The salesgirl's hands were visibly trembling as she held the Spirit Stone . Qingluan bellowed, "What are you waiting for? Go and get the clothes!"

The salesgirl recovered her senses and immediately gave her colleague a look . "Don't just stand in a daze! Go and get the clothes for this gentleman!"

Her colleague s.h.i.+vered and hastily retrieved the set of formal attire . She deferentially presented it to Xiao Chen . The other customers in the store were flabbergasted as well . The plump, middle-aged man had an unsightly look on his face .

Both Spirit Stones and taels were used as currencies in the Violet Manor, with the only difference being that the Spirit Stones could help cultivators absorb spirit energy . One Tier Four Spirit Stone was equivalent to ten thousand taels while one Tier Five Spirit Stone was equivalent to one hundred thousand taels—a sum of money most people would never be able to finish spending in their lives .

This ordinary-looking youngster was not only rich but also a cultivator . The fact that he could casually take out a Tier Five Spirit Stone meant that he was undoubtedly a Young Master from some large sect or influential clan or even a child of the n.o.bility . The salesgirls made a drastic change in their att.i.tude and even acted more cautiously .

Under their enthusiastic service, Xiao Chen changed into the "gentleman's suit" that was popular in the West . He even put on a "gentleman's hat" and held a "gentleman's cane" .

Making a turn in front of the mirror, Xiao Chen thought that the clothes might be strange but they rather suited him . He supposed that not even his Master could recognize him if she saw him now .

The two salesgirls smiled gently, looking like the very picture of grace . One of them said, "This suits you very well, indeed . Please take a rest over there, Sir . We'll give you your change immediately . "

It wouldn't be quick or easy to find enough change for a Tier Five Spirit Stone . The salesgirls led him to the rest area and even brought him tea and water . They didn't even dare to serve their other customers . Sometime later, they finally returned with three Tier Four Spirit Stones and a mountain of Tier Three and Tier Two Spirit Stones .

Xiao Chen took the bag of Spirit Stones from them and tucked it into his Divine Vessel . He then turned around to leave . One of the salesgirls asked quietly, "Young Master, aren't you checking to see if you have the right amount of change?"

"Not necessary . " His Divine Sense was enough to tell him if they had given him the right amount of change . The two salesgirls said with smiles, "Then please have a good day, Young Master . We welcome you to frequent our store in the future . "

It wasn't until Xiao Chen left that they sighed in relief . Had he mentioned this to the shopkeeper earlier, they would likely lose their jobs . What a close call .

After leaving the store and walking a considerable distance away, Xiao Chen noticed that Qingluan and Ziyun'er were hiding their laughter . It had been some time since they met, but it was his first time seeing a smile on Qingluan's face . He turned around and asked, "What's wrong? Are my clothes that strange?"

Ziyun'er hid her laughter behind her hand . "No, but you're holding your cane upside down . "

"Oh, is that so…"