Chapter 500 501: The Teahouse Shopkeeper's Recommendation, the Posted City Notice

Chen Dong casually took out seven Middle-Grade Spirit Stones. "The extra one is a tip for you. After you've prepared the Spirit Tea, I have a few things I'd like to ask you."

The Shopkeeper called out. An attendant got busy preparing the tea while the Shopkeeper led Chen Dong to a quiet table. He smiled and said, "Sir, I see you've come alone. You're a new face, and quite generous. You must be here in Immortal Fox City to find a marriage partner! You should go to the Seeking Fate Courtyard or Lovers' Lake. The first two places are full of single members of the Demon Race. The last one, Zhenfang Pavilion, can directly help you choose a demon that meets your requirements!"

Chen Dong was speechless for a moment. 'This…'

The Shopkeeper glanced at him and quickly put on an expression that said 'I understand.' He hurriedly said, "Oh~! If you're looking for *that* kind of place, Immortal Fox City has them too. It's in the Southwest Alley. The largest building there is called Qingxiang Tower. You can find all sorts of people from the Demon Race and Human Race there for a night of passion. I suppose after the Spirit Race takes human form, the first thing they want to experience is this carnal pleasure. It's just that Qingxiang Tower costs a pretty penny in Spirit Stones, but I imagine that won't be a problem for a patron like you!"

Chen Dong saw the Shopkeeper's lecherous expression and knew he had misunderstood again.

But Chen Dong couldn't help feeling curious about this Qingxiang Tower. He really wanted to go and see it for himself.

So, Chen Dong cleared his throat and asked, "Are there any from the Frost Fox Race there?"

The Shopkeeper's expression changed abruptly. He quickly lowered his voice, "Quieter, quieter!"

In truth, Chen Dong's voice was already very low, but the Shopkeeper was still quite shocked.

After looking left and right, the Shopkeeper narrowed his eyes and whispered, "There are!" He then lowered his voice even more. "The affection of the Frost Fox Race is hard to come by. And since our King is also of the Frost Fox Race, their bloodline is considered even nobler. That's why they're the most expensive and most secret service at Qingxiang Tower. Only discreet, regular customers even know the Frost Fox Race is available there. However, seeing as you've let my humble shop earn so much today, if you want to go, just say Shopkeeper Huang from the teahouse sent you. Otherwise, you won't get to see anyone from the Frost Fox Race at all!"

Chen Dong sat up straight and cleared his throat twice. "Thank you, Shopkeeper!"

The Shopkeeper broke into a broad smile. "It's nothing, it's nothing. With the tip you gave, I'll naturally tell you everything I know!"

Just then, two waiters from the Demon Fox Race reverently carried over a pot of Spirit Fish Tea.

The Shopkeeper narrowed his eyes and said, "Enjoy your tea, sir!"

Chen Dong watched the two Spirit Fish in the Liuli pot chase each other in circles. The tea leaves swirled and settled naturally, and a pure Spiritual Qi was infused within the liquid.

He turned over a cup, poured a small amount, and savored it slowly. The tea seemed to contain a settled spiritual charm, a naturalness of the Dao that washed over his taste buds. As the Spiritual Qi dispersed, even Chen Dong's Golden Core cultivation increased by a sliver from that single cup.

In the shop, a Demon Cultivator was burning incense and playing a zither, producing a melody that cleared the mind. The atmosphere was one of refined elegance.

At that moment, however, Chen Dong remembered that this wasn't what he had wanted to ask the Shopkeeper. He shook his head slightly. 'Oh well. I'll finish this pot of Spirit Fish Tea first.'

As the tea ran low, the Spirit Fish in the pot also began to disappear. These Spirit Fish weren't living creatures; they were produced by the Spirit Fish Tea Trees unique to the Northern Territory. The trees grew in pairs, and each one produced leaves only once every three years, meaning a single Spirit Fish Tea Tree could only be used to brew one pot of tea every three years.

However, Chen Dong could tell that this tree wasn't very old—three hundred years at most. Its effect on a Golden Core Stage cultivator was minimal. If it came from an ancient tree that was thousands or tens of thousands of years old, it probably couldn't be bought for six hundred Spirit Stones.

Chen Dong sipped his tea while eavesdropping on the surrounding conversations. Most of the patrons in an elegant teahouse like this were mild-tempered Demon Cultivators, and many of them spoke with admiration for the current Fox Demon King, Yun Mengshang.

During his time in the teahouse, Chen Dong gleaned a good deal of information from the conversations of the other patrons, though most of it was useless.

Chen Dong didn't ask the Shopkeeper any more questions, instead leaving the teahouse. He did this to maintain a natural appearance and avoid arousing the suspicion of the Demon Race. If he had continued to ask about the Fox Demon King, the Shopkeeper would have likely reported him the moment he left. He might have even been arrested on the spot. After all, judging from the patrons' discussions, the current Fox Demon King, Yun Mengshang, had truly won the hearts of the demons.

Chen Dong was now in a difficult position. Approaching Yun Mengshang so abruptly was not a good idea. He needed a pretext to get close to her. 'After thinking it over and over, am I really going to have to do as Liu Ling said and present her with a novel?'

Just then, Chen Dong noticed a noisy crowd of people from both the Human and Demon Races gathered around a notice board.

He squeezed his way to the front to take a look and saw a search notice from the City Lord's Mansion. It was a request to find three types of Spirit Plants: the first was Soul-Nurturing Puyang, the second was Flame Cold Climbing Ivy, and the third was Arcane Origin Purple Fern. Anyone who found just one of them could go to the City Lord's Mansion to claim a reward of one thousand Top-Grade Spirit Stones or make one request.

The surrounding crowd gasped at the mention of one thousand Top-Grade Spirit Stones. That was equivalent to ten million Low-Grade Spirit Stones—a price high enough to hire a Nascent Soul Great Demon.

Chen Dong frowned, studying the notice for a long time. This search notice was truly intriguing.

It wasn't the enormous sum of a thousand Top-Grade Spirit Stones that caught his attention, but the three Spirit Plants themselves. These three Spirit Plants were of an extremely high grade, reaching the fifth tier—the kind of Spirit Plants that were typically only useful to those at the Divinity Transformation Stage. Moreover, even as fifth-tier Spirit Plants, they weren't worth a price of ten million Spirit Stones. Even in the Wangyou Realm, where prices were inflated, all three Spirit Plants combined wouldn't cost a thousand Top-Grade Spirit Stones. He estimated you could buy one for two hundred Top-Grade Spirit Stones, and that would still be an inflated price.

'Why would the City Lord's Mansion offer what is essentially ten times the market price in the Floating Shadow Realm to find these three Spirit Plants?'

Chen Dong pondered. 'Alchemy? But there's no need to be this desperate. Judging by the notice they posted, they've probably already searched the entire Demon Realm and only resorted to posting a public notice after failing to find them.'

'Judging from the offered price and the option to make a request instead of taking the Spirit Stones, they're already getting desperate.'

'Looking at the uses of the three Spirit Plants, only the first one, Soul-Nurturing Puyang, can increase one's Divinity Transformation Stage cultivation. The other two are used for healing or as secondary ingredients in Alchemy.'