Chapter 42: Blood of Astronomical Value

"Ten thousand low-grade spirit stones for a single drop of heart blood, one thousand for ordinary essence blood, and ordinary blood is sold by the vat—one million for a thousand-jin vat."

Manager Zhao's voice echoed through the VIP room, and the expression behind Lin Chuan's mask froze instantly. He had anticipated that blood from Level 5 dragon and phoenix spirit beasts would be expensive, but he had not expected such an exorbitant price.

"Little Fatty, this price..." Lin Chuan called out in his mind.

"It's normal," Little Fatty's voice carried a hint of gravity. "A mid-level Level 5 Red-Gold Dragon is at least thirty zhang long, with a total blood volume of over ten thousand jin. The Five-Plumed Peacock is smaller, but still holds two or three thousand jin of blood. However, heart blood accounts for only about one-thousandth of the blood in the heart; a single Red-Gold Dragon can yield at most three to five hundred drops."

Lin Chuan did some quick mental math. Ten thousand per drop, three to five hundred drops would mean three to five million... and that was just for the heart blood of one Red-Gold Dragon. When combined with the Five-Plumed Peacock and the other types of blood...

"The twenty million low-grade spirit stones in your hand should be enough to buy all the heart blood and a portion of the ordinary blood," Little Fatty continued. "But if you want to buy all of it, don't even think about it without three or four million."

Lin Chuan swallowed hard. He had thought that holding twenty million low-grade spirit stones made him wealthy, but in the face of such rare heavenly treasures, he was still feeling the pinch.

"How does the esteemed guest wish to proceed?" Manager Zhao's voice pulled Lin Chuan back to reality. "How much do you require?"

Lin Chuan took a deep breath and, following Little Fatty's instructions, spoke up: "All the heart blood of the Red-Gold Dragon and the Five-Plumed Peacock, five thousand drops of ordinary essence blood for each, and two thousand jin and one thousand jin of ordinary blood respectively."

Manager Zhao's eyes lit up as his fingers moved rapidly in calculation: "Six hundred drops of heart blood in total, six million; six thousand drops of ordinary essence blood, six million; three thousand jin of ordinary blood, three million. That is a total of fifteen million."

He paused, his smile widening. "However, since you are a valued client of the Wanbao Chamber of Commerce, I will take the liberty of giving you a ten percent discount. Thirteen million five hundred thousand will suffice."

Lin Chuan breathed a sigh of relief; this was less than he had expected. But then, a thought struck him: over thirteen million low-grade spirit stones—even a warrior at the Earth Martial Realm might not earn that much in a lifetime, and he was spending it just like that...

Lin Chuan knew this was the merchant's bottom line and pressed no further. "It's a deal."

He took an exquisite storage bag from his robe and counted out 135 spirit stone crystal cards from the Tianyun Tower. Each card had a face value of one hundred thousand and shimmered with a lustrous glow under the lights. Manager Zhao accepted them with both hands, scanned them with his divine sense to confirm, and his smile became even more eager.

"A generous guest indeed!"

He retrieved three large sealed vats and eight exquisite jade bottles from his own storage bag, lining them up neatly on the tea table. "Please, inspect the goods."

Manager Zhao made a gesture of invitation. Lin Chuan stepped forward and opened the largest jade bottle first. As soon as the seal was broken, a scorching aura rushed toward him. Inside the bottle, five hundred drops of blood, red as fire, floated; each drop seemed to pulse with life, and one could faintly hear a low dragon's roar.

"Red-Gold Dragon heart blood, harvested three days ago from a mid-level Level 5 individual," Manager Zhao introduced proudly. "The vitality is perfectly preserved, and the bloodline essence is abundant."

Lin Chuan checked the other jade bottles; the Five-Plumed Peacock's heart blood shimmered with a brilliant five-colored radiance, while the ordinary essence blood was slightly paler in hue. The three large vats were filled with thick, viscous red liquid; even through the seals, one could feel the surging blood energy within.

"Little Fatty, how is it?" Lin Chuan asked internally.

"Not bad, it's fresh blood indeed," Little Fatty evaluated. "The purity of the heart blood is very high, and the ordinary blood hasn't been diluted. This Wanbao Chamber of Commerce has its ways; they hunt Level 5 dragon and phoenix beasts at will, and their preservation technology is top-tier."

Lin Chuan nodded to himself, raising his assessment of the Wanbao Chamber of Commerce another notch. An organization capable of providing such rare materials consistently must possess astonishing power behind the scenes.

After confirming everything was in order, Lin Chuan put the vats and bottles into his storage bag one by one. Manager Zhao personally escorted him to the door, saying meaningfully as they parted: "If you require any other rare materials, do not hesitate to come back to me. The channels of the Wanbao Chamber of Commerce far exceed your imagination."

Lin Chuan nodded slightly, said nothing more, and turned to merge into the flow of the black market. He took a few detours to confirm he was not being followed before removing his mask, changing his attire, and heading toward the Earth Fire Courtyard.

As soon as he entered the gate, he heard Zhang Lin's excited voice: "Brother Lin! You've finally returned!"

In the courtyard, the four of them were sitting around a stone table, their faces filled with undisguised joy. The table was piled high with spirit stones, glittering in the sunlight.

"In just half a day, all two thousand Spirit Gathering Pills were sold out!" Wang Tiezhu slammed the table in excitement. "We brought in over thirty thousand low-grade spirit stones!"

Li Yu was busy tallying the accounts. "After deducting costs and the shares for the alchemist apprentices, we made a net profit of nineteen thousand."

Zhang Yida added: "I have already arranged for the apprentices to speed up the refinement of the liquid medicine. We should have another two thousand pills ready in three days."

Lin Chuan looked at the four excited men, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. The first battle for Lingxiao Pharmacy had been a success, proving his business plan was viable. But thinking of the thirteen million he had just spent, this income seemed trivial.

"Well done," Lin Chuan nodded. "Proceed as planned. Gradually raise the price to sixteen stones, which will still be twenty percent lower than the market price."

Zhang Lin hesitated. "Brother Lin, won't the other pharmacies..."

"Not for the time being," Lin Chuan said with confidence. "Our costs are only half of theirs; they cannot afford a price war. By the time they react, we will already have established a firm foothold."

Hearing this, the four of them looked at him with admiration. Such business strategies were beyond their imagination.

"By the way," Lin Chuan recalled, "I need to go into seclusion for a few days. Do not disturb me unless it is something important."

"Seclusion?" Wang Tiezhu's eyes widened. "You just broke through to the fourth level of the Spirit Martial Realm!"

Lin Chuan smiled without answering and turned toward the main bedroom. Of course, he wouldn't tell the four of them that he had spent over thirteen million on dragon and phoenix blood. Some secrets were best kept by as few people as possible.

Inside the bedroom, Lin Chuan activated a soundproofing array; there was no need for defensive formations. It wasn't that he didn't trust Zhang Lin and the others, but with the presence of Elder Zi and Little Fatty, there was no one in Tianyun City who could truly threaten him.

Once prepared, Lin Chuan sat cross-legged on the bed and took a jade bottle from his storage bag. Inside, five drops of Red-Gold Dragon heart blood hovered silently, emitting a heart-palpitating fluctuation.