"Yes, it's me, Chow," Long Huang announced, a smug smile spreading across his face as he leaned casually against the counter.
Noticing the confident grin, Bo Chow's eyebrows twitched, signaling his amusement.
"My, my, you've become quite the eye candy."
"How about we head to the red district? With your looks, I can guarantee we'll score some free services, hehe," said Bo Chow. The wicked grin on his face was almost contagious.
"Chow, are you sure you're 19? Your life is just staring, and you're wasting away at the Red Fairy pavilion every chance you get."
"Little brother, you don't understand the women at the Red Fairy pavilion are on a different level than you have...."
"Enough of that, I need some clothes." Long Huang cut in decisively.
"What are you looking for?" Bo Chow replied, still chuckling.
"Some briefs and robes, preferably in black."
"It'll take some time, and I need your measurements since I don't have anything in stock. You're the only one who requests briefs around here," Bo Chow explained, crossing his arms with a shrug.
"Stop with the excuses. I know you've probably stolen my design and are already selling them. Just hand over five briefs one size larger than my last, and five of your large robes, mostly black."
"I doubt you have a full set of all-black robes anyway," Long Huang insisted, his confidence unwavering.
"Can't hide anything from you, huh?" Bo Chow admitted, exasperation edging his voice.
At that moment, the employee nearby chuckled at the exchange.
"Hmph! What are you laughing at? Go fetch our customer what he wants," Bo Chow commanded, his authority restoring order.
"Do you have to be so harsh on her?"
"Yes or else when those arrogant young masters come around, she'll break at the first harsh word."
After a few minutes, the girl returned, arms loaded with items. "Hmm," she began, glancing at the list of items in her hands,
"I have two all-black robes, two cherry blossom black robes, a black and gold robe, and the five briefs you requested," she said, presenting the items with a flourish.
Bo Chow's eyes lit up as he calculated the total price on a small ledger.
"That will be twenty silver coins."
Long Huang furrowed his brow, irritation creeping into his expression.
"Can it be a little cheaper?"
Long Huang's voice was laden with urgency.
A faint smile played on Bo Chow's lips, an understanding passing between them.
"Fine, I'll give you the absolute lowest price, eighteen silver coins."
"Fifteen! I'm low on funds right now, but as soon as I get more, I promise to double the amount and repay you," Long Huang stated with sincerity.
But Long Huang's thoughts were far from 'If this bastard keeps pressuring me, I'm going to make him go bankrupt so fast he'll start begging me for money.'
"Fifteen coins? That's quite low; there's hardly any profit in that for me..." said Bo Chow, seeming a bit reluctant to part with the 3 silver coins.
Bo Chow bit his lip. He replied cautiously, with a warm smile, "Fine, I hope you keep your promise. The Azure Lotus Sect's territory is not too far from here, and I intend to make some noise if I don't receive my due."
"Thank you," Long Huang replied, feeling a wave of relief washing over him.
Bo Chow appreciated Long Huang's polite demeanor, especially during transactions.
However, unbeknownst to him, Long Huang was far from polite and harbored truly evil thoughts.
From Bo Chow's first haggle, Long Huang was already planning to undermine Bo Chow's business, feeling that the shopkeeper was ungrateful for essentially appropriating his innovative ideas.
After completing his purchase, Long Huang smiled and waved goodbye to the employee, then exited the shop.
The employee, who had been thoroughly disregarded during this interaction, watched his retreating figure with wide eyes.
'I wonder if he has someone,' she mused internally. While Bo Chow on the side, seeing this shaked his head and smiled.
Now, Long Huang possessed everything he required but was left with hardly any money.
"Hopefully, this is all worth it…" Long Huang murmured to himself as he stepped out of Blossom City.
Whoosh!
Once he was out of the bustling city, Long Huang attempted to utilize the Wind Deer Steps technique to glide swiftly, but to his dismay, he stumbled and fell.
Grateful that no one was close enough to witness his embarrassment. After brushing off his robes and continued on his way.
Two hours later, Long Huang finally reached his destination: the imposing Archdevil Mountain Range, specifically aiming for the renowned Cloud Forest.
The Cloud Forest, expansive and majestic, was the largest woodland in the Archdevil Mountain Range, spanning an area ten times the size of Blossom City itself.
The forest was teeming with wild beasts and demon beasts and barely any normal animals. Wild beasts had the largest population and mostly lived on the outer edge.
Wild beasts were animals that had undergone significant transformations due to the influence of spiritual energy.
Their strength ranges from the Skin Tempering Realm to the peak of the Blood Tempering Realm.
Demon beasts, on the other hand, were beasts with a bloodline that awakened a primal ancestral memory and learned how to cultivate by forming a best core.
To put things into perspective, the weakest demon beast of the Awakening Core Realm was equivalent to a human cultivator at the Peak of the Body Refinement Realm, and had the defense of a Qi Converging Realm cultivator.
As for those with powerful bloodlines, the gap was more pronounced; luckily, such demon beasts were extremely rare.
But Long Huang was not here to fight those monsters. He had two straightforward missions: to locate the elusive Red Tiger and study it, without engaging in combat with this demon beast; after all, he valued his life.
And hunt some wild beast, since a little extra coin never hurt anyone.
"Due to overhunting through the years, wild beasts are no longer in high demand, except for a few rare ones."
"Hmm, my storage pouch can't accommodate too much, so I can't use quantity to make up for quality, and most rare wild beasts are large, so I can't hun to much of those either, as for the smaller ones, unless it can help with cultivation there not worth much."
"So I'll just have to hunt wisely, and have a mix of both small and big ones," Long Huang reasoned.
Whoosh!
Utilizing the surrounding branches to propel himself, soon, he landed atop a towering, hundred-foot-tall tree.
From this elevated position, Long Huang gained an expansive view of his surroundings.
The height made his heart race with a mix of exhilaration and trepidation, but he quickly composed himself. Standing atop the tree, Long Huang surveyed the landscape, keenly searching for any signs of life.
Swoosh!
In an instant, his vision sharpened, allowing him to perceive everything within a seven-mile radius with startling clarity.
He focused first on the source of the noise he had heard, trying to discern whether it was a wild beast or a demon beast.
Quickly, he took in the situation and counted a total of twenty beasts that posed a potential threat. Luckily, none were especially strong wild beasts.
Of the twenty wild beasts, the rarest was a bule and black snake that was nestled in a patch of wild bule flower, waiting for anything that dared to draw near.
"Blue and black spotted king cobra, a highly venomous beast that can pose a deadly threat even to Meridian Tempering Realm cultivators if they are caught off guard. Not bad for my first kill."
"Let's get this started."
Long Huang declared softly, steadying himself with a deep breath. He broke off a sturdy branch and hurled it towards a target in the distance.
Swish-----
As he released the branch, it sliced through the air with a distinct thrum and struck the snake situated one hundred meters away.
Thwack!
Long Huang's marksmanship was impeccable. He hit its head squarely, dealing a crushing blow that shattered its skull.
Hisssssss!!!
The cobra recoiled, hissing angrily as if cursing the unknown assailant who dared to attack it. The cobra thrashed helplessly for a brief moment before succumbing to its injuries. Seeing this, he let out a sigh of relief.
Luckily, it died on the spot, or else in a confrontation, the snake's speed and venom could have easily spelled his demise, especially with only his fists as weapons.
"Worth about 5 gold notes, not a lot, but still, the skin of a mosquito is still meat," Long Huang whispered.
After successfully dispatching the blue and black spotted king cobra, Long Huang climbed down the tree and, as quickly and quietly as possible, approached its body.
He needed to harvest the snake's venom before it all leaked out, and also the liver, which is a highly prized item in the pill market.
As he approached, his hands trembled a bit, and he even turned his head to avoid looking directly at the mangled beast.
For it was his first time killing anything other than an insect, and his body began to react nervously.
After taking a moment to adjust, Long Huang steeled his nerves and started to harvest the cobra's venom.
Scree----------ech
Long Huang, who was now about harvest the cobra's liver, heard a deafening screech and looked to the sky.
High above, a huge bird silhouette tore through the clouds.
Its slate-black feathers shimmered like tempered steel, and its beak seemed to be made of pure steel.
Long Huang wore a solemn expression. This beast, known as the "Metal Pecking Eagle," was extremely famous among new cultivators.
"Metal Pecking Eagle one is worth about 20 gold notes," Long Huang thought as he fixed his gaze on the eagle greed flashing across his eyes.
Long Huang then climbed back up the tree, broke a branch, and, with a quick motion, threw it toward the Metal Pecking Eagle.
Swish!!!
The branch tore through the air with a tremor, racing toward the eagle as it continued its hunt. It seemed as though the branch was a continuous meteorite, perfectly following the trajectory set by Long Huang's eyes.
"Scree—ch"
An angry screech erupted from the eagle as it charged toward him.
"Fuck! Not good!"