He gave the required Spirit Stones and left for the city through the Spatial Portal.
…
The bustling city was alive with activity as merchants, cultivators, and commoners went about their business.
Shen Yuan soon arrived at the designated meeting place, a large courtyard filled with wagons loaded with crates of herbs and guarded by a small group of cultivators.
A middle-aged woman in green robes approached him, her eyes filled with confusion. “May I ask who you are and what business you have with our group?”
Shen Yuan looked at the woman for a second before responding, “I accepted the task of protecting this caravan on its way towards the Sacred Valley Sanctuary from my sect.”
The middle-aged woman thought for a second. “But we didn’t give that mission to any other sect than the Radiant Lotus Sacred Sect.”
“Yes, that’s why I’m here,” Shen Yuan affirmed again.
The middle-aged woman grew more confused as she sharply looked at Shen Yuan. “Lad, no need to lie to me. I might be getting old, but I still know that no male disciple is allowed inside the Radiant Lotus Sacred Sect.”
Shen Yuan shook his head and took out the mission paper that he had received from the sect. “Here, have a look at this.”
The middle-aged woman suspiciously took the scroll from his hand and unfurled it, her eyes quickly scanning the entire document.
She took a deep breath as she looked at him again. She bowed slightly while apologizing, “My apologies for being presumptuous in knowing something that I had no knowledge of. Let me formally introduce myself; I’m known as Master Qiu, the leader of this caravan.”
Shen Yuan nodded his head. “Looks like they explained my situation in the mission scroll. Anyway, my name is Shen Yuan. I’ve already been briefed about the situation here. How many guards do you guys have?”
“We have five guards, all at the Origin Core Creation Realm, but none of them are specialized in combat. Most are here for their experience in escort missions and to learn some healing techniques from the healers,” Master Qiu admitted with a hint of concern in her voice.
“We’ve also hired a mercenary at the Extreme Origin Core Realm for added protection,” she finished speaking.
Shen Yuan’s eyes flickered with interest. “A mercenary? Where is this individual?”
Master Qiu gestured towards a figure leaning casually against a wagon. It was a tall woman with short silver hair and piercing green eyes.
“Ah, so you asked for additional help,” the woman said as she walked over, her tone laced with a mix of curiosity and amusement. “I’m Lian Fang, the mercenary assigned to this caravan. And I didn’t know that the Radiant Lotus Sacred Sect had started to take in male disciples.”
“I’m Shen Yuan, an Inner Sect disciple of the Radiant Lotus Sacred Sect. And no, they have not started taking in male disciples; I went through the Trial Pagoda and cleared it to gain entry.”
Lian Fang’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Impossible! You actually completed that impossible trial which no one had been able to do since the founding of the sect?” freёwebnovel.com
“Um, what are you talking about?” Master Qiu asked as she had little knowledge about the sect due to her low cultivation base.
Lian Fang tried to compose herself, as this was truly not something she was expecting to hear today.
“The trial… it’s one of the well-known trials of the Eastern Desolate Region. No one in the history of the sect has been able to clear it. But he… now it makes sense—that’s the only way a male disciple can join that sect.”
Shen Yuan smiled lightly and turned his head back to Master Qiu. “So, when will we leave?”
“Ah yes, we were just waiting for you. Now that you are here, we will leave shortly,” Master Qiu quickly said, as her own respect rose upon hearing Lian Fang’s words.
Shen Yuan nodded and went towards the horses to take a look.
They were the average quality horses that you can rent from within the city, but Shen Yuan wasn’t satisfied with them as he looked back at Lian Fang.
“How much time do you think we can save if we upgrade these horses to Northern Wind Horses?” he lightly asked.
Lian Fang felt faint at heart as she heard about the most expensive horses that were available on the market. “Why do you need those? They are so overpriced. We might save a lot of time, but each one of them comes at an astronomical value, and we would need like a dozen of them; otherwise, the normal ones will slow us down.”
“So, how much time will we save?” Shen Yuan repeated his question.
Lian Fang got silent for a bit as she made some calculations before replying, “We can finish the journey in around four days—two for reaching that place and two for coming back.”
Shen Yuan nodded his head. “Good, then we will take them.”
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“Impossible, the caravan members are not rich eno—” Before she could finish her words, Shen Yuan interrupted her.
“Tell me the price of them.”
She got silent for a bit, but her eyes soon widened in disbelief. “Wait, you will pay—” She closed her mouth as she saw Shen Yuan getting impatient with her. “A single Northern Wind Horse is priced at 10,000 Mid-Tier Spirit Stones per day or a million Low-Tier Spirit Stones. And we would need at least 15 of them for four days…” She choked as she realized the astronomical amount it was reaching.
The amount was even higher than what she earned in a year.
“So, around 600,000 Mid-Tier Spirit Stones or 60,000,000 Low-Tier Spirit Stones,” Shen Yuan thought for a second as he took out an empty storage ring and put 600,000 Mid-Tier Spirit Stones in it.
“No, you would need at least 80 million Low-Tier Spirit Stones, as the conversion value is not the same everywhere,” Lian Fang still reminded him.
“Matters not, here, take them and go with a few guards to get the horses. You can do at least that much, right?” Shen Yuan tossed the storage ring toward her while instructing on what to do.
Lian Fang caught the storage ring and scanned it with her Qi before her eyes widened, but she didn’t lose her composure as she had expected something like this to happen.
She raised her head and nodded towards Shen Yuan before leaving with a few guards.
Master Qiu soon returned as she looked at Shen Yuan in disbelief. “Y-You didn’t have to spend so much money for our sake.”
Shen Yuan shook his head. “It was not for you. I want to get this mission finished as soon as possible, and that little amount of Spirit Stones is nothing for me.”
Master Qiu took a deep breath and nodded towards Shen Yuan. “It is our honor to have you with us for this journey.”
Shen Yuan smiled lightly and didn’t reject her words.
…
Soon, Lian Fang returned with 15 Northern Wind Horses.
She had calmed down by now as she hurriedly came towards Shen Yuan. “Young Master Yuan, it was so exciting to spend so many Spirit Stones at once.” Her eyes shined brightly as she exclaimed.