Suddenly appearing in the pharmacy and bluntly accusing the shop assistant of overcharging was a woman.
A woman in a goose-yellow long skirt.
If one spoke of beautiful women, Ling Xiao had seen his fair share, but the finest among them were probably Ling Yixue, Dai Yuling, Lan Yuer, and now this woman in the goose-yellow skirt.
Their beauty wasn’t just skin-deep but a refined elegance from within and without.
Compared to them, Shi Yulian, once the top beauty of Tianfeng City, was nothing special, and others like Ling Yu, Xu Ying, or She Mei, though stunning, lacked a certain quality.
“Wow, look, it’s Fairy Linglong!”
“Rumours say Fairy Linglong is the top beauty of Sha Family Fort, and it’s clearly true. Just look at that figure, absolutely stunning!”
“Shh! Watch your mouth. Do you think you can disrespect Fairy Linglong? She’s the saintess bestowed upon Sha Family Fort, a blessing to warriors. Countless warriors, gravely injured and half-dead, have been saved by her.”
“Ahem, I was just talking, just talking.”
“Even talking won’t do. If you disrespect Fairy Linglong again, don’t blame me for cutting ties with you! And if someone comes to teach you a lesson over this, I won’t help you.”
In the crowd, two people actually started arguing over Fairy Linglong.
Ling Xiao glanced at the woman thoughtfully. Honestly, his first impression of her was quite positive.
Not only was she beautiful, but that refined aura, both inner and outer, was utterly captivating.
Of course, what mattered most was her willingness to speak out for justice.
He knew the shop assistant was overcharging, but the item’s true value far exceeded a hundred taels of silver. He didn’t haggle because he feared delays might cost him the chance.
“Thank you, Fairy, for speaking up,” Ling Xiao said, glancing at Fairy Linglong before turning back to the assistant. “Wrap up the herb. Here’s a hundred taels of silver.”
The assistant didn’t dare accept the full amount, hurriedly waving off the offer.
Ling Xiao simply grabbed the herb and shoved the silver at him.
Only then did he relax.
The herb in his hand was worth far more than a hundred taels of silver, even ten thousand taels of gold wouldn’t suffice. With the crowd growing, he worried someone might catch on and ruin the deal.
“Fairy Linglong, you saw it, he insisted on buying it. I didn’t force him!” the assistant said, nearly in tears.
He was clearly intimidated by Fairy Linglong.
Though not a pharmacist or alchemist, Fairy Linglong had a reputation because she possessed a special ability to heal warriors’ injuries, an ability so powerful it surpassed any medicine.
.
This was why she was so highly respected.
“It’s Nine Dragons Grass!” someone suddenly shouted.
Sure enough, there were knowledgeable people in the crowd, someone who’d overlooked the Nine Dragons Grass mixed in with Nine Serpents Grass. Ling Xiao’s selection had brought it to their attention.
On the surface, Nine Dragons Grass looked very much like Nine Serpents Grass.
However, the liquid from Nine Serpents Dragons Grass flowed green, while Nine Dragons Grass produced a golden liquid.
With strong enough soul power, one might even sense a faint dragon’s aura from Nine Dragons Grass, something Nine Serpents Grass lacked.
Legend said that Nine Dragons Grass over a thousand years old could even project a true dragon’s shadow, and with deep comprehension, it wasn’t strange to awaken a dragon-type martial soul.
The Nine Dragons Grass in Ling Xiao’s hand was about five or six hundred years old, but even so, it was something only spirit stones could buy, gold wouldn’t cut it.
Century-old Nine Dragons Grass was a key ingredient for refining the low-grade Yellow Rank pill “Century Nine Dragons Quenching Essence Pill.” While auxiliary materials could be substituted, Nine Dragons Grass was irreplaceable.
The Century Nine Dragons Quenching Essence Pill was an extremely valuable cultivation pill, far more effective for Ling Xiao’s progress than even top-grade True Essence Pills.
More importantly, while top-grade True Essence Pills only boosted true energy, the Nine Dragons Quenching Essence Pill enhanced everything, soul, true energy, body, and even martial soul, offering comprehensive improvement.
Yuan Zun had planned to have Ling Xiao refine this pill, but the required materials were hard to find. The Moon Flower Sect had only some auxiliary ingredients, lacking a few key ones.
One of them was Nine Dragons Grass.
Yuan Zun hadn’t expected Ling Xiao’s luck to be so good, finding it in a pharmacy in Sha Family Fort before even entering the depths of the Fulong Mountain Range.
The knowledgeable pharmacist’s explanation of Nine Dragons Grass’s wonders instantly drew suspicious glances toward Ling Xiao, including from Fairy Linglong.
The shop assistant seemed to realise why Ling Xiao was so insistent on buying what he thought was Nine Serpents Grass.
“We’re not selling it,” the shopkeeper declared, striding over in two quick steps before the assistant could speak.
“What a joke. I’ve already paid, and the item’s mine. You think you can just say it’s not for sale now? Dream on,” Ling Xiao retorted, ignoring the shopkeeper. He stored the Nine Dragons Grass in his Mountain River World and planted it.
If he could nurture the five-hundred-year-old Nine Dragons Grass to nine hundred and ninety-nine years in the Mountain River World, the effect would be even better.
It couldn’t exceed a thousand years, or it would become a Thousand-Year Nine Dragons Quenching Essence Pill, meant for Heaven-Human Realm experts, far beyond Ling Xiao’s current cultivation.
“Your Highness Fairy Linglong, you must uphold justice for our shop. This man is clearly forcing the purchase,” the shopkeeper said, bowing to Fairy Linglong instead of addressing Ling Xiao.
“Hmph, an outsider daring to cause trouble in Sha Family Fort? Tired of living?”
“Exactly. Leave the item and get lost. A mere hundred taels of silver for Nine Dragons Grass?”
“Surround him, don’t let him escape!”
In no time, Ling Xiao was encircled, the crowd around him so tight it was impenetrable.
He could roughly guess their mindset.
If they couldn’t have something valuable, they’d ensure no one else could either.
Ling Xiao’s displayed cultivation was early third-layer Mortal Realm, impressive enough, but Sha Family Fort was a unique place. Warriors with fourth or fifth-layer Mortal Realm cultivation weren’t uncommon here.
Even sixth-layer Mortal Realm warriors had appeared.
Seventh-layer and above, however, were unheard of.
The warriors surrounding Ling Xiao were mostly first, second, and third-layer Mortal Realm. They believed that dozens of Mortal Realm warriors could easily handle a third-layer cultivator like him.
