Chapter 35 Enter The Exquisite Pavilion Again

• In the void, Tan Xuan looked back at the valley below. Vaguely, he saw a little girl waving to him, a faint smile curling his lips. Then, his figure flickered, transforming into a stream of light that shot toward Jujiao City. About half an hour later, Tan Xuan arrived above Jujiao City. He folded his body and landed lightly before the city gates. "Hail, my lord!" The two city guards started at the sudden appearance of a man before them,dared not neglect, and immediately stepped forward to bow. Tan Xuan nodded slightly to them and walked directly into the city. The streets bustled as ever: cultivators of all hair colors and races wandered among hawking cries, creating a vibrant din. But Tan Xuan cared little for the hustle and bustle. Upon entering, he made straight for Exquisite Pavilion. "Friend Daoist, how may I assist you?" A woman around thirty asked politely. Tan Xuan eyed her—different from the one who sold him a map six years ago, likely rotated out. "I need to see your manager," he said. The woman frowned slightly. "Our manager is busy. If it's a trivial matter, we can handle it." Tan Xuan understood: to meet the manager, he needed to prove his worth. Without a word, he opened a storage pouch. With a thought, a dark shadow crashed into the pavilion's hall, releasing a thick stench of blood. "Demon beasts! He killed so many!" Cultivators shopping in the pavilion pointed at the small mountain of carcasses, gasping in astonishment. Over a thousand beast corpses—preserved in the storage pouch's vacuum—filled the hall, their bloody aura overwhelming. Luckily, Exquisite Pavilion's space was enchanted with a "store the vast in the tiny" formation, or it couldn't hold them. "Friend Daoist, please wait. I'll report to the manager immediately!" The woman apologized and hurried to the pavilion's rear. "Who is this person? So powerful!" "Gods! These are all True Spirit Realm beasts..." Moments later, crowds poured in from the street, marveling at the mountain of corpses. These were immense wealth: usable for forging magic treasures, refining pills, or—for demonic cultivators—even creating an army of undead soldiers in necromantic sects. Soon, the woman returned. "Friend Daoist, our young miss invites you." Nodding, Tan Xuan followed her to a back garden. They wound through a path to a peach blossom forest, where a seventeen-year-old maiden played a zither. "Miss, I've brought him," the woman reported respectfully. "Aunt Lan, you may retire," the maiden in white waved. "Yes, miss." The maiden eyed Tan Xuan curiously. "I am Beitang Yu. Your name, friend Daoist?" "Tan Xuan boy, this lass is formidable—already at Heavenly Being Realm," Feng Lingzi transmitted. Shocked, Tan Xuan kept his face blank. "Tan Xuan." "Friend Tan, may I ask why you insisted on seeing me? Those beasts outside, while numerous, mean little to Exquisite Pavilion." Beitang Yu got straight to the point. Tan Xuan nodded. He knew Exquisite Pavilion, with branches across the Eastern Domain and a history of selling immortal corpses, was no ordinary business. He didn't hesitate, handing her a storage pouch containing the golden direwolf's body. "A Demigod corpse!" Beitang Yu's face changed as she opened the pouch, feeling the lingering aura of the golden direwolf. She hadn't expected such a grand offering. While the outer corpses might tempt low-level demonic cultivators, a Demigod corpse could drive even demonic elders mad—refining it into a puppet would double their combat power. But for Tan Xuan, the corpse was useless treasure. His body, forged from an ancient corpse, needed no flesh essence; he already had the Water Thunder Pearl, second only to a saint artifact; and he didn't practice demonic arts to make puppets. So he felt no regret. "What do you seek in exchange, Friend Tan?" Beitang Yu asked, composing herself. Demigod corpses weren't priced in gold—only traded for treasures. "Items to repair the soul and accelerate water-attribute cultivation," Tan Xuan pondered. Feng Lingzi in the bronze scroll warmed at the request for soul-repairing treasures. Beitang Yu frowned. Tan Xuan's demands were steep. Water-attribute items existed, but soul-repairing treasures were rare—and she might not part with them. Seeing her reaction, Tan Xuan's heart sank. As expected, she said, "Apologies, Friend Tan. We have no soul-repairing treasures." Disappointment washed over Tan Xuan. "Tan Xuan boy, soul-repairing treasures are rare and precious—one Demigod corpse can't buy them," Feng Lingzi comforted. In the end, Tan Xuan traded the direwolf for water-spirit stones and the outer corpses for 150,000 gold coins, then left. "This Tan Xuan is interesting," Beitang Yu mused. "Aunt Lan, investigate his background." "Yes, miss."