“Cultivators’ entire beings are treasures. It’s not strange for someone to have the same idea about me as I do about others.”
“After all, compared to the effort of grasping the laws of the heavens, directly seizing a ready-made Golden Core is much quicker.”
“But if it’s something that can be called a major business…”
A flicker of doubt passed through Li Fan’s mind. “Buying large quantities of cultivators’ corpses—what are they planning to do?”
Li Fan didn’t intend to delve too deeply into the other party’s motives.
However, their secretive actions, coupled with Zhang Debiao’s prolonged absence, hinted that something ominous might have already occurred.
Even though it’s challenging to silently kill a cultivator in the Xuanhuang Realm due to the phenomena accompanying their death, making someone vanish without a trace is an entirely different matter—there are countless ways to achieve it.
Take Zhou Qingang, for example. He’s still lying at the bottom of the Congyun Sea, a prime example.
As Li Fan hesitated, contemplating whether to spend some contribution points to have someone investigate Zhang Debiao further, an unfamiliar cultivator unexpectedly arrived at his door.
“Interesting. Let’s see what they want.”
In the courtyard of the Discussing-Dao Tower, Li Fan met the visitor.
It was a gray-robed cultivator.
Short, frail, and hunched, the figure’s face was etched with deep wrinkles, and he hobbled as though a gust of wind could knock him down.
As the stranger approached, Li Fan faintly detected a putrid, rancid odor emanating from him.
“Heh, heh, heh…”
“Fellow Daoist Yu, I heard you’re looking for Zhang Debiao? Could it be that he has something you need?”
The gray-robed cultivator wasted no time, speaking in an eerie, raspy voice.
Li Fan squinted his eyes, scrutinizing the visitor.
Though the person seemed to possess only Golden Core-level cultivation, Li Fan was almost certain it was merely an illusion.
The faint yet persistent sense of danger emanating from the stranger reminded Li Fan that this gray-robed cultivator was anything but simple.
“How should I address you, Fellow Daoist?” Li Fan asked politely, bowing slightly without directly answering the question.
“Daoist Xiumu,” the gray-robed cultivator replied succinctly.
Li Fan scanned his memory and found no record of such a person.
After a moment’s pause, he lowered his voice and nodded. “Indeed. I need some Golden Cores from cultivators. The more intact, the better. The higher the level of law they contain, the better.”
“Price is not an issue,” Li Fan added, emphasizing his sincerity.
A glimmer of light flashed in Daoist Xiumu’s eyes as he reached out, producing a Golden Core that shimmered with alternating blue and red hues.
“Fellow Daoist Yu, what do you think of this one?”
Li Fan’s heart stirred. He accepted the Golden Core and examined it closely.
It appeared freshly harvested from a cultivator, with faint traces of bloodstains still visible.
Sensing it with his cultivation, Li Fan discovered that the core contained insights related to wood and fire laws.
Using his [Truth] ability, the hint that it can be absorbed came through.
“What’s the price?” Li Fan asked.
“30,000 contribution points,” Daoist Xiumu said with a low voice.
Perhaps fearing that Li Fan might consider it too expensive, he quickly added, “I also have single-law Golden Cores available, which are cheaper—only 15,000 contribution points each. Of course, if you need a larger quantity, the price is negotiable.”
“Oh, and payment must be in equivalent spirit stones. I don’t accept direct transfers of contribution points,” he added as Li Fan hesitated.
Li Fan wasn’t concerned about the price but found Daoist Xiumu’s sudden appearance suspicious.
Moreover, the blatant sale of Golden Cores—something so taboo—was presented as casually as if it were common merchandise.
Even more concerning, Li Fan was using an entirely fabricated identity.
Daoist Xiumu knew nothing of his background, yet acted so brazenly.
Was he truly not afraid of Li Fan being a member of the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance, secretly investigating and enforcing the law?
“28,000 works too,” Daoist Xiumu offered, lowering the price when Li Fan remained silent.
Feigning hesitation, Li Fan finally nodded. “Deal.”
Pretending to store it in his ring, he secretly absorbed it using [Truth] Absorption instead.
The [Truth] Absorption panel showed a progress increase of 0.5% for unlocking an anchor point.
“At this rate, I’ll need a total of 200 complete Golden Cores, assuming they’re dual-law cores like this one. If they’re single-law cores, the number will be even higher.”
“Conventional methods won’t suffice to collect so many.”
“Unless I embrace evil and become a demon, slaughtering Golden Core cultivators indiscriminately…”
This thought crossed Li Fan’s mind momentarily before he dismissed it.
“Fellow Daoist Xiumu,” Li Fan coughed lightly, not requesting another transaction but instead voicing his doubts.
To his surprise, Daoist Xiumu responded nonchalantly, “Rest assured, our Golden Cores are nothing like the subpar ones Zhang Debiao scavenges. The origins of ours are safe and reliable—absolutely no concerns.”
“Even if the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance investigates, there won’t be any problems. You can use them without worry!”
He patted his chest confidently, with such force that Li Fan almost thought he might collapse from the effort.
“Impossible.”
The answer was far beyond Li Fan’s expectations, and he couldn’t hide his disbelief.
“This Golden Core clearly looks freshly extracted from a cultivator! Such an inhumane act wouldn’t just alarm the Ten Thousand Immortal Alliance—even the Five Elders Association wouldn’t let it slide!”
“If it weren’t for my urgent need, I wouldn’t engage in such a conscience-betraying act!” Li Fan declared righteously.
Daoist Xiumu sneered, not bothering to refute Li Fan’s theatrics, but suddenly asked, “What if the cultivators volunteered for this?”
“Volunteer?!”
Li Fan froze.
“That’s impossible!”
Shocked by the suggestion, he stared at Daoist Xiumu with wide eyes.
“Where there’s demand, there’s a market.”
“For as long as the Xuanhuang Realm’s order has been reestablished, our line of work has never been anything new,” Daoist Xiumu explained, shaking his head.
“Scavenging Golden Cores from corpses, like what Zhang Debiao does, is far too inefficient.”