After looking in all directions, Austin stepped into an elixir shop. It had been a while since he had worn a long robe. He skimmed through the shelves and the inner door, expecting the shopkeeper to come any minute.
But by then the preoccupied sales clerk who was busy cleaning an artifact had noticed that it was Austin.
Happy to see Austin after so long, he extended his arm in greeting.
In the last few months, Austin's recurrent visits and marked interest in expensive items had made him an important customer of the shop. One time, the sales clerk had sold what Austin just needed. In return, he was tipped a fat bonus, close to an amount that would have taken him at least five years to earn. Astounded, now he worshipped Austin and the ground he set his foot on.
Austin coming in today immensely lifted his spirits. He tried to make Austin as comfortable and welcomed as he could.
"Welcome. Warmly welcome. My distinguished guest, I've been expecting you. Please come in. My boss has been waiting for you at the back of the house.
Would you like to have something before we begin? I have prepared our best Green Dragon Tea for you. Would you like to have a cup before we go ahead?"
The salesclerk's hospitality made Austin feel extremely awkward. Shaking his head, he briskly tossed him a vital energy crystal worth one hundred.
The value of the tip had the sales clerk overjoyed. He jumped from one foot to another with an open mouth unable to express his gratitude to the benevolent spirit.
Having no patience for the clerk's words to come, Austin went straight to the back of the house. The shopkeeper had been waiting for Austin all this while and looking outside the window to while away his time.
"So, are the elixirs prepared?"
Austin spoke straight to the point. He didn't want to give him a chance to initiate any small talk.
"Yes. Assignment completed!
I will be honest here. Some elixirs listed on this sheet are beyond our capability. After all, we are just a small shop. But then I reported to the head shop of the imperial capital city and heard back from them saying that they will get all our elixirs.
The medicinal herbs should be reaching me in ten days."
The shopkeeper spoke pleasantly as he reported his happy progress.
Secretly, in his heart, Austin was exhilarated to hear this.
"Excellent! You did a wonderful job! You have helped me find my herbs and pills twice."
Austin reached out for his Space Ring and in a flash, he handed three million pieces of vital energy crystals to the shopkeeper.
Not to pause a second, Austin took out another three hundred thousand pieces of vital energy crystals as payment.
The shopkeeper quietly observed Austin taking out such a huge amount with ease. He wondered who this man was that had no qualms in parting with a sum like this.
As a shrewd businessman, the shopkeeper obviously identified that Austin was a young man.
But he also knew that Austin was no ordinary cultivator.
'Is he a young aristocrat coming from an extremely wealthy family?' he secretly speculated, 'Or a disciple of some hidden noble man who is willing to pay a huge cost to cultivate?'
But, the shopkeeper thought it best to keep these things to himself. He wasn't inclined to dig out any secrets. H
vital energy crystals, with this discount, he would just pay four point five million. Saving five hundred thousand vital energy crystals was a great deal!
After thanking the shopkeeper, Austin left the shop.
On his way back, as he exited the Pill Trading Street, he went straight for the suburbs in Peace Town. Austin was looking for a secluded place to cultivate the third stage of the Overlord Body-refining Formula.
He was also being cautious. After getting followed the last time, Austin let out a spiritual sense to envelop him in a range of 900 meters.
And he intentionally slowed down to keep on checking whether he had a tail. After his suspicions were allayed, he activated his Wind-commanding Skill. Another step, and he entered the shadows. Incognito, he flew towards a nearby mountain range at full speed.
As a cultivator about to cultivate, the last thing he wanted was to be disturbed.
So Austin only stopped when he found a quiet area to start immersing in the herb water to cultivate Overlord Body-refining Formula.
Yeehaw... Yee... haw...
The sound ripped the air.
Simultaneously, several red flood dragon horses galloped as fierce as tigers at the foot of the Sun Mountain.
Dressed in black robe, the group leader looked old and skinny. A pair of sinister eyes in a face as if it were carved of stone, gave him a dangerous look.
He was none other than the Blood Wolf Team's Leader. Behind him, over a dozen of evil cultivators followed looking every bit as mean and ruthless as their leader.
The old man lifted his eyes to look at the imposingly steep Sun Mountain.
"Austin is only a disciple of a small sect. He doesn't deserve me to come personally.
But I am left with no choice. Few people know that among the thirteen Wolf Generals, the one ranked eighth was my nephew. He was the son of my beloved sister who at the time of her death, had entrusted me with his care. I spent all my life cultivating him into a Wolf General, which was an achievement I was proud of. But now, unexpectedly, he got killed by some obscure disciple of an unknown sect! If I won't do this and kill him myself, I won't be able to let my sister rest in peace.