Sage of Humanity-Chapter 1619 - 1617: Hua Qianying

In theory, cultivators of the same star system wouldn't make things too difficult for one another. Chu Shen hails from the Cheling World, and behind him stands Jiu Yan, a Sun Blaze powerhouse. Although Celestial Flames World is also a domain of the All Phenomena Galaxy, and has Sun Blaze backing, they shouldn't disregard Jiu Yan's face and take action against Unparalleled Island.

But the truth is evident: Unparalleled Island has been taken over by the Celestial Flames Merchants Guild and renamed Tianyan Island, while Chu Shen and Tang Jun are nowhere to be found!

Lu Ye thought it over repeatedly and could only guess that the temptation of Unparalleled Island was too great. Hence, Celestial Flames World disregarded the rules and took action.

He checked the goods in the jade slip and found a complete range of items with excellent quality. Basically, everything a cultivator would need could be found within.

This special offer truly showed some sincerity; a ten percent discount might not be much, but if many cultivators purchased goods, the given profits would still amount to a considerable figure.

"Customer, our guild's promotion will only last for one month. Now there's only three days left, so if you want to buy something, do not miss out," the female cultivator added.

Lu Ye didn't have much to buy, but considering it might arouse suspicion if he didn't buy anything, he decided to purchase some elixir pills.

After paying with spirit jade and acquiring the elixir pills, Lu Ye leisurely walked out of the Celestial Flames Merchants Guild.

Wandering casually around the island, Lu Ye prepared to leave. The basic situation here was now clear; the next step was to find Chu Shen and Tang Jun to inquire about the specifics.

Tang Jun's whereabouts were unknown to Lu Ye, but since Chu Shen wasn't here, he must be in the Cheling World. Therefore, he only needed to make a trip to the Cheling World, and upon meeting Chu Shen, he would naturally learn of Tang Jun's whereabouts.

However, before Lu Ye had a chance to leave, he saw a figure suddenly emerge from a shop. The leading man turned around and said to those inside the shop, "Tomorrow is the final deadline. Consider wisely!"

After his words, he stormed off, muttering under his breath: "Unappreciative!"

Lu Ye didn't know what had happened, nor did he intend to watch, but after seeing the figure inside the shop, he paused and walked over.

The shop wasn't large, and on Unparalleled Island, there were many such shops, all just small ones, the smallest on the island.

Above the entrance were two large characters: Good Elixir!

Undoubtedly, this was a shop selling elixir pills, and daring to use these words as a sign showed the owner's confidence in the quality of their elixir pills.

Entering the Good Elixir Shop, a petite figure immediately came into view, her expression soft and frail, seemingly aggrieved by the earlier incident, with a mix of anger and helplessness.

Upon seeing Lu Ye, she froze for a moment, then exclaimed with joy: "Senior Brother Li?"

He used the name Li Taibai while here in the All Phenomena Ocean, so naturally, she would address him as Senior Brother Li.

Lu Ye slightly nodded: "Junior Sister Hua, it's been a long time."

The shopkeeper of the Good Elixir Shop was, surprisingly, the woman Lu Ye had personally recruited from the flea market on All Phenomena Island. Since buying elixir pills from her twice, he knew she was quite skilled in alchemy, so he had her open a shop on Unparalleled Island.

Though Lu Ye wasn't very familiar with this woman, he at least knew her name was Hua Qianying.

Another person whom Lu Ye recruited, besides Hua Qianying, was Ahn Zhe, who sold Dragon Breath Crystal.

Due to Lu Ye, both enjoyed great privileges upon arriving at Unparalleled Island; when leasing their shops, they paid almost only a symbolic amount of spirit jade. At that time, Unparalleled Island was already taking shape, and countless forces sought to have a shop here but couldn't. Even if they could get one, the leasing fees wouldn't be small.

But since Hua Qianying and Ahn Zhe were personally recruited by Lu Ye, Chu Shen naturally treated them differently.

The shop wasn't large, and perhaps due to the earlier incident, there were no customers coming for transactions. Hua Qianying warmly invited Lu Ye to sit down and prepared the best Spiritual Tea.

Over the years, she had gained many benefits here, having her own shop was a completely different experience than setting up a stall in the flea market, with a much more stable and larger customer flow.

And because her elixir pills were of extremely high quality, even at slightly higher prices, she had made a name for herself with many returning customers. Unfortunately, her personal energy was limited, and she strictly controlled the quality of her elixir pills, so the number she could sell wasn't high.

Despite this, she had earned some spirit jade over the past few years.

All of this was thanks to Lu Ye; naturally, she was grateful to him, having thought about personally thanking him. But after recruiting her, Lu Ye vanished, leaving her with no way to find him despite her attempts to visit.

Seeing Lu Ye again, Hua Qianying was undoubtedly very happy to finally have an opportunity to thank him in person.

After brewing the Spiritual Tea, she poured a cup for Lu Ye, who, taking a casual sip, raised his eyebrows in surprise, looking at her: "This tea… is excellent!"

He was not a tea enthusiast and usually didn't drink much tea. He couldn't really tell the difference between good and bad tea, but there was something distinctly unique about this tea from Hua Qianying. The moment he tasted it, Lu Ye felt a refreshing spiritual sensation, and the warmth spread in his stomach as the tea went down.

With his current Star Cultivation Late Stage, ordinary things shouldn't affect him this way.

He knew the tea was excellent, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly why it was so good. He could only rate it as remarkable.

Hua Qianying smiled with her lips pursed and said, "I brought this from my hometown. If Senior Brother likes it, I'll give you some later."

"Thank you very much," Lu Ye said as he finished his cup, put down the teacup, and gestured for another cup.

Hua Qianying poured him another cup.

This time, Lu Ye savored it carefully and felt yet another unique sensation, making him realize how rare this tea was.

"What happened earlier?" Lu Ye asked.

He usually didn't bother with trivial matters, but since Hua Qianying had been recruited by him, and not just for her alchemy skills, he planned for the future where he could bring his Second Senior Sister and Hua Ci over. Having a skilled healing cultivator like her teaching them would save Hua Ci and Shui Yuan a lot of time and effort on the alchemy path.

Otherwise, letting Hua Ci and Shui Yuan explore on their own would be a waste of time and resources.

Now that the people were brought over, Unparalleled Island turned chaotic, leaving Lu Ye feeling helpless, and it seemed that Hua Qianying encountered some problems as well.

Upon hearing Lu Ye's inquiry, Hua Qianying gave a bitter smile, "After Unparalleled Island changed ownership, the Celestial Flames Merchants Guild wanted to recruit me, asking me to join them, but I didn't agree."

Previously, when she was setting up a stall at the flea market, she wasn't well-known. But ever since she opened an excellent apothecary on Unparalleled Island, many have come to know the quality of her elixir pills. Multiple factions have attempted to recruit her, but she has always declined.

After all, if she wanted to pledge loyalty to a faction, she didn't need to set up a stall at the flea market in the first place. Even a large-scale force like All Phenomena Merchants Guild, if she showcased her alchemy skills, they wouldn't refuse her.

She was not willing to join even All Phenomena Merchants Guild, let alone others. Celestial Flames Merchants Guild might be good, but they were still a step below All Phenomena Merchants Guild.

Initially, she accepted Lu Ye's proposal mainly because he didn't impose any restrictions or other requirements on her, and their relationship was more of equal cooperation. Unparalleled Island offered her a shop and charged a symbolic fee, allowing her the freedom to do as she wished.

If she joined other factions, no matter her alchemy skill level, she wouldn't receive such favorable treatment. In return for the benefits those factions provided, she would inevitably bear some unshirkable responsibilities, such as producing a certain number of elixir pills within a specified time frame...

However, she had extremely strict control over the quality of her elixir pills, and would not sell any that didn't meet her standards. This alone would prevent her from meeting other factions' requirements.

It was natural for Celestial Flames Merchants Guild to want to recruit Hua Qianying. Cultivators heavily rely on elixir pills, and a skilled alchemist is an indispensable asset to any faction. With Hua Qianying's renowned reputation, it was expected that Celestial Flames Merchants Guild would target her once they took over.

"Since you rejected them, they probably won't let it rest," Lu Ye said.

Hua Qianying nodded, "Indeed, so Celestial Flames Merchants Guild demanded a large sum of spirit jade as a shop rental fee."

She had earned some spirit jade in recent years, and theoretically, paying the rental fee shouldn't be a problem. However, they didn't demand just one or two years' rent but an entire twenty years' worth, to be paid upfront!

This had never happened in All Phenomena Ocean, as the ownership of Spirit Islands frequently changed. Even if they rented out the shops, they charged fees annually because if the island got conquered, the previously paid spirit jade would be wasted.

Twenty years' rent was a massive sum, and Hua Qianying simply couldn't afford it.

It was evidently a form of exploitation; Celestial Flames Merchants Guild intended to force Hua Qianying into compliance. If she refused, they wouldn't suffer any loss and could reclaim the shop for rent.

"Tomorrow is the final deadline," Hua Qianying said.

"What's your plan?" Lu Ye asked.

"To leave," Hua Qianying replied without hesitation, knowing that even if she paid the spirit jade, staying here would only make her a target for Celestial Flames Merchants Guild. It was better to leave now.

Since she started out at the flea market, returning there was always an option.

Lu Ye nodded, "That's not a bad idea."

After all, Hua Qianying was someone he personally recruited, and he felt a tinge of selfishness. Now that Unparalleled Island had changed hands, he could only wait for the day when Nine Provinces cultivators firmly established themselves in All Phenomena Ocean before reconsidering.