Immortal Mortal

With two stunned waiters looking at them, Mo Wuji and Shen Ling gobbled down a table full of dishes. The waiters’ gaze soon changed to one of reverence, and they looked on as Mo Wuji and Shen Ling left.

Those waiters had met men who had large appetites in the past, but never before was there a woman who could eat that much too. Not only did she have a big appetite, but more importantly she also possessed a level of beauty that neither waiter had seen before. Such a gorgeous woman wolfing down a table of dishes was the complete opposite of what they had expected.

“Senior apprentice sister Shen, since you have already had your fill, how about you head back first. I’ll go attend to some issues.” Mo Wuji urgently wanted to shake Shen Lian off before going to buy medicinal ingredients and drug refining equipment.

Shen Lian was still wary of Mo Wuji when she initially interacted with him, but now after a meal together and a long discussion about cultivation, she felt more familiar with him. Shen Lian threw that bit of caution to the wind. “I have nothing to do back at the apartment and was planning to go shopping anyway. What are you going to buy? Perhaps I can give you some suggestions.”

It became apparent that he would not be able to get rid of this nuisance. Mo Wuji had no choice but to reveal his plan, “I intend to go to buy some equipment for refining drugs. Why would I need you to tag along for that?”

“You are going to buy a pill furnace? How does one who has not even started cultivating buy a pill furnace?” Shen Ling asking in a surprised tone.

Mo Wuji explained himself, “I’m not going to buy a pill furnace, only some normal equipment for refining drugs to try my luck on the path of a drug refiner. You’re also aware of my lack of talent in cultivating. If I can become a drug refiner, even if I fail to cultivate, I’ll still be able to earn a living.”

Shen Lian nodded empathetically, “You’re not wrong, but there’s no future for a drug refiner. If there’s something that’s worth learning, it would be the skills of a pill refiner.”

“Will you teach me pill refining techniques? If you’re willing to, then I won’t mind learning how to refine pills,” snorted Mo Wuji.

Awkwardly, Shen Lian replied, “There’s too much investment required to become a pill refiner. Since you can’t cultivate, it’ll still be better for you to learn the ways of a drug refiner.” How could she not know how hard it was to train in pill refining when her own father was a pill refiner?

Realising that her suggestions were not that realistic, Shen Lian added on, “In the whole of Chang Luo City, Xing He Pill Pavilion has the best pill furnaces. Not only are the pills there top notch, but they also make the highest quality pill furnaces. But my recommendation is for you to go to Luo Hai Merchant House. Even though their pill furnaces are not as good as those at Xing He Pill Pavilion, but their drug refining equipment is the best in the whole Xing He Empire.”

“Let’s go to Luo Hai Merchant House then.” Mo Wuji said without hesitation.

He was not going to refine pills anyway, and what’s more was that he knew Luo Hai Merchant House pretty well.

…

“Sir, what are you looking for today? I’ll definitely show you the highest quality goods with the lowest prices.” Mo Wuji immediately found the shop assistant that sold him the .

“Do you have any immortal grade drug refining equipment, something on the same level as the ?” Mo Wuji said while patting the assistant’s shoulders.

The shop assistant felt rather embarrassed. He had tricked Mo Wuji into buying the manual, and now Mo Wuji brought it up, obviously reminding him not to fool him with something similar.

“Kekeke…” a crisp laugh came from the side, as she heard Mo Wuji praise the , she could not hold it in any longer. It was one thing to skillfully package the , a book that could be found everywhere, as the , but it was another to describe it as a top notch technique. What a joke.

Mo Wuji turned around to see two women, one of which he recognised. Qu Wan’Er, the woman he had met on the ship, was the last person he expected to meet here.

“So it’s senior Qu. Thanks for helping me diffuse the situation on the ship.” Mo Wuji greeted her with a heart full of gratitude.

Slightly embarrassed, Qu Wan’Er replied, “Sorry about that, my friend was not intentionally laughing at you.” However, it was apparent that it was Qu Wan’Er’s friend who laughed.

After Qu Wan’Er finished speaking, she instinctively took a glance at Shen Lian. She could not understand why Shen Lian, someone who appeared to be a cultivator, would hang around Mo Wuji, who had only mortal roots.

Mo Wuji waved her off, “It’s fine. Maybe to you it’s just a mere , but for someone like me who has never cultivated before, it is the highest quality which can make a mortal, immortal. Just take it as I’m ignorant about the outside world.”

This time even the cold and unfeeling Qu Wan’Er could not keep it in anymore and burst out in laughter.

“Sir, I have a set of the drug refining equipment that you’re looking for. It’s called the Eternal Evergreen. Unlike the , it’s really named the Eternal Evergreen. It was imported from a faraway land, and has been idling in the shop because not many people use machines to refine drugs. The quality of this set of equipment definitely outclasses the rest by many times, and the drugs that it produces are of high purity.” The shop assistant frantically added on to his description of the equipment, seeing that Mo Wuji was staring at him again.

“How much does it cost?” Mo Wuji asked directly. He had bought many low quality equipment back in Cheng Yu State at around one to two thousand gold coins. Even if the equipment were much better here and there were a tenfold increase in price, he would still be able to afford it.

“370 thousand gold coins…”

The shop assistant’s words completed rained on Mo Wuji’s parade. He barely had 30 thousand gold coins on him, nowhere close to 370 thousand.

“Well I have a stalk of Two-leaved Fire Grass with me, will you accept it as payment instead?” Mo Wuji asked hopefully.

By his estimates, the Two-leaved Fire Grass was worth far less than the Clear Sight Fruit but he had no other way than to try his luck.

“Ah, you have a stalk of Two-leaved Fire Grass? Could you sell it to me? I’ll pay 400 thousand gold coins!” Qu Wan’Er suddenly screamed out.

“You want the Two-leaved Fire Grass?” Mo Wuji doubtfully asked. Qu Wan’Er nodded, “Yes, I need the Two-leaved Fire Grass, here’s the 400 thousand in gold notes.”

Without waiting for Mo Wuji’s reply, Qu Wan’Er took out four 100 thousand gold notes. All four were fron Luo Hai Merchant House, so there would be no issues with exchanging them for gold coins here.

Mo Wuji swiftly retrieved a wooden box and passed it to Qu Wan’Er, thanking her at the same time.

“I should be the one thanking you. I’ll be making a move first, until next time.” Qu Wan’Er grabbed the wooden box, tugged at the woman beside her, and quickly exited the merchant house.

The four gold notes went into the shop assistant’s hands, “Could you help me get the highest quality drug refining equipment that you mentioned?”

The shop assistant never thought that he would close such a big deal this fast, and he rushed to keep the gold notes, before replying respectfully, “Please wait for a moment, I will deliver that set of drug refining equipment to you immediately.”

Once the shop assistant left, Shen Lian started to speak, “I find this very weird. Even though the Two-leaved Fire Grass is quite rare, but it’s still not worth that much. The Senior Qu that you’re acquainted with seems to train mainly in water style techniques too. Why would she pay such a high price to buy your stalk of Two-leaved Fire Grass?”

Mo Wuji replied coldly, “None of your business.”

In reality, once Qu Wan’Er said that she urgently needed the Two-leaved Fire Grass, Mo Wuji knew that she was lying. She was not well-versed in telling lies, as it did not suit her personality at all. However since she already made her offer, it would not be polite for him to refuse. Regardless of the reason behind her actions, Mo Wuji still accepted this act of goodwill, taking note of this instance of kindness.

…

“Wan’Er, don’t tell me that you have feelings for that kid? I know that you need the Two-leaved Fire Grass too, but why would you give him 400 thousand gold coins?” Qu Wan’Er was grilled by the woman beside her the moment they stepped out of Luo Hai Merchant House.

Qu Wan’Er calmly replied, “He only has mortal roots.”

Upon hearing that Mo Wuji only had Mortal Roots, Qu Wan’Er’s partner immediately knew that she definitely did not fancy him. But she still looked at her with eyes full of doubt. Qu Wan’Er continued, “Even though he is just a mortal, the level of determination and resilience is something that I’ve never seen before in my whole life. Being struck by wave after wave of lighting, even cultivators would have retreated, but he didn’t. Time after time he was beaten back by the streaks of lightning from the lightning crocodiles; time and again he forged forward, at last using his mortal body to kill both lightning crocodiles.”

“So what? He’s just another musclehead.”

Qu Wan’Er shook her head, “If he were a musclehead, he would not have killed two lightning crocodiles. This incident proved that he knows where his limits are. He knew that during the fight to the death, both lightning crocodiles would die in his hands. Unfortunately, he’s just a mortal…”