Nine Star Hegemon Body Art

Pill Yang Prefecture. Amongst the surrounding prefectures, it was the one with the smallest territory. Its perimeter was merely ten thousand miles. It was around the same size as the chaos region.

But of all the prefectures in the Eastern Wasteland, it was the richest prefecture. Furthermore, this prefecture only had one master: the Pill Tower.

Everything here was controlled by the Pill Tower. There was no sect or power that could establish itself here. There was also no one who dared try to take a bite of this prefecture’s profit.

Pill Yang Prefecture was a paradise for alchemists; thus, most of the cultivators here were alchemists. The reason why the Pill Tower could gather over eighty percent of all alchemists in the Eastern Wasteland wasn’t just because of its wealth and resources, but because of its extremely precious alchemy tomes.

Only by entering the Pill Tower could you study those ancient pill arts that had been passed down from ancient times. Only by entering the Pill Tower could you reach the peak of the Pill Dao. That was the first thing alchemy masters imparted to their disciples.

Only by entering the Pill Tower would you have a chance of entering the holy land of cultivation: Pill Valley.

Pill Valley represented the supreme authority of this world’s alchemy arts. It was the most sacred power in this world. There was not a single alchemist who didn’t treat joining Pill Valley as their lifelong ambition.

Pill Yang Prefecture was actually one city, a monstrously enormous city. There were dozens of roads that were over thirty miles wide to allow for the carriages to pass.

All of the carriages were being pulled by Xiantian Magical Beasts. Weaker Magical Beasts weren’t even able to run fast enough.

The city was just too big. If you didn’t have good means of transportation, it might take you many days just to get to the other end of the city.

Above the city, it was common to see large Magical Beasts flying. But the people below were too lazy to even look at those enormous figures. This was the Pill Tower’s territory, and no one dared be unbridled here. No matter how fierce a person was, they had to be obedient here.

The flying Magical Beasts were all registered with the Pill Tower. Each of those Magical Beasts had a large symbol around their neck which was a pass to fly here. Without it, they would be killed by the Pill Tower’s guards.

The flying passes were extremely limited. Not just anyone had the qualifications to obtain one. Those who could sit on flying Magical Beasts all had high statuses.

Within Pill Yang Prefecture, there was a large tower, a tower so high that it soared into the clouds. It was impossible to see its top.

This was the Pill Tower’s symbolic building: the Seven Treasure Jewel Tower. It was forbidden to fly within thousands of miles of the tower. No one could fly around there, or the Magical Beast and its master would be instantly killed.

This was the core region of the Pill Tower, and it was called the treasure tower region. Only alchemists had the qualifications to enter this place. Other cultivators were forbidden.

Outside the treasure tower region, Long Chen was sitting in the corner of a restaurant, looking at the scenery outside. He was having a drink on his own.

This was his third day here. He had pretty much familiarized himself with this unfamiliar environment. He had also learned some common knowledge regarding the Pill Tower. It should be enough.

After eating and drinking his fill, Long Chen went to find somewhere to rest and think of how he would muddle his way into the Pill Tower.

Without realizing it, Long Chen walked into a remote alley. This alley was a bit shabby and was extremely unremarkable. It was precisely the kind of place he wanted.

“Does sir want a place to rest? Our rooms are very clean, and the price is exceptionally cheap. Come and have a look!”

Long Chen was in the midst of walking when a small door opened, and a girl appearing thirteen or fourteen years old shyly peeked out.

This girl couldn’t count as beautiful. She was extremely thin, and her complexion was an unhealthy yellow color. It was clear that she had some malnutrition problems. But her eyes were extremely lively, and they made people feel pity for her.

“It sounds like you’ve been waiting to say those words for a long time.” Long Chen laughed. He words were said extremely stiffly.

This girl had only summoned the courage to come out when she saw someone was passing. But then seeing Long Chen’s evil smile, a trace of panic filled her.

“I… I…” The girl clenched her robes, afraid to say anything.

Long Chen couldn't help laughing. It seemed his new face had ended up scaring her. “No need to be afraid. I’m not a good person, but I’m not a bad person either.”

Long Chen hadn’t changed his voice. It was still very magnetic, and it made her relax slightly. “Does sir want a place to rest? Our rooms are very clean, and the price is exceptionally cheap. Come and have a look!” She repeated her words, hope appearing in her eyes.

“Yes, now it sounds better. Your words don’t sound as stiff as before. In recognition of your advancement, I’ll agree to take a look. But let me say this first, if it’s not satisfactory, I won’t be staying there.” Long Chen laughed.

“Yes, yes, please enter!” The girl hastily led the way with delight.

Long Chen walked in through the gate and took his first look at the inside. How was this an inn? It was clearly a small farmer’s yard. There was a two-story wooden house. The farming tools hadn’t even been put away, and Long Chen even saw the head of a hoe and sickle behind a wooden plank.

But this place was very tidy. Entering the house, he walked up to the second floor. The girl opened up a door, revealing a bed. And then... there was nothing else, not even a table. It could not be more simple.

There were sheets on the bed, and they were very orderly, but they were clearly not new. However, they had been cleaned very well, and Long Chen could still smell the scent of the sun. The sheets had most likely been hung and dried outside, and he did like that kind of feeling.

Looking out of a very small window, he saw a small pond with a small boat floating on the water. It wasn’t a bad picture.

“Are you satisfied? If there’s anything you’re not happy with, just ask and I’ll do my best to fix it!” said the girl worriedly.

“It’s not bad. It’s very simple and charming. Lying on the bed, you can even count the stars.” Long Chen nodded.

“Aiya!” The girl followed Long Chen’s gaze and blushed. There was a plate-sized hole in the roof that she hadn’t noticed before.

“Sir, please wait a moment! I’ll immediately go fix it!” She was just about to go find a ladder.

“It’s fine. It won’t rain for a few days. This kind of sunroof is not bad. If you block it, it’ll just look like an eyesore,” said Long Chen.

“Sir, you… really are interesting.” Following Long Chen’s jesting, the girl was no longer as nervous as before.

“How much is this room?” asked Long Chen.

An embarrassed look crept over the girl’s face. Gulping, she stuttered, “How about… one silver… for one day?”

“One silver a day?” Long Chen frowned.

“Ah, if you think it’s too expensive, we can discuss it!” The girl jumped in fright, afraid he might leave.

“Within the expensive territory of the Pill Yang Prefecture, that price is way too low!” laughed Long Chen.

Hearing that Long Chen wasn’t mad about the price, the girl was extremely grateful. She sadly explained, “My grandpa saved up for many years in order to buy this property. We hoped to turn it into an inn to make some money. But my grandpa is old, and his eyes have become diseased, so there’s no way for him to do any manual labor. I hope to run this inn well enough to provide for my grandpa. Hehe, you’re our first guest.”

The girl couldn’t conceal her excitement. Pulling Long Chen into her inn made her extremely happy.

“Xiao Cui, let our guest eat!” An elderly voice rang out from below.

“Come, come, let’s go eat!”

Long Chen followed the girl to the first floor. He saw an elder standing beside a table, twisting his head to hear. He was blind.

“Here we have some simple food and tea for our guest. Please don’t be courteous.” The elder bowed to Long Chen.

“Sir is too formal. I’m no noble person, and simple, coarse food is what I’m used to,” said Long Chen politely. Sitting down, he saw that there were only some vegetable dishes. There was no meat. The soup was a simple cabbage and tofu soup that didn’t smell too bad.

Long Chen saw that when the girl portioned her soup, she took mostly the cabbage, but the serving she gave him had quite a bit of tofu. He couldn’t help sighing inside. No matter how flourishing the city was, there were always people struggling to survive on the lowest level, struggling just to have food to eat.

“So you aren’t someone from Pill Yang Prefecture? Why did you come here?” While eating, they chatted with Long Chen, finding him to be friendly and easy-going.

“Hehe, I just came here so I could fill up my stomach. Tomorrow, I’ll go find some work to make some money.” Long Chen smiled.

“Big brother, is that one silver a day too expensive for you? You can stay here until you have the money to repay us,” said the girl. She was now much closer to Long Chen.

“Hahaha, that’s just some pocket change. Don’t worry, my current employer is extremely rich. When the time comes, I’ll make an investment and build you a huge inn, and Xiao Cui can be the boss,” said Long Chen.

This grandfather and granddaughter might have it extremely hard in this place, but they were still very kindhearted. Long Chen hadn’t encountered such simple and honest people in a long time.

“Xiao Cui, starting tomorrow, go buy some more meat. This big brother of yours is rather gluttonous.” Long Chen threw a sack of money to Xiao Cui. Inside were over a hundred gold coins. It had been a long time since Long Chen had ever spent such things.

“Heavens, this much?!” Xiao Cui jumped. She had never seen this much money. Even just buying this little courtyard had only cost a few dozen gold coins.

Long Chen laughed. This child was too thin, and she was still in the midst of growing. She needed some more nourishment. Long Chen returned to his room and slept for a night. The next day, he directly set off for the treasure tower region. It was time to get down to business.