Chapter 6 the reappearance of the iron-winged bird

**Xia Trading Company.**

The largest trading company in the Great Xia Prefecture, run by the Xia family of the Great Xia Prefecture.

The Nanyuan branch was located in a five-story mall on the commercial street. The first floor sold common pills, the second floor sold weapons, the third floor sold cultivation techniques, the fourth floor sold miscellaneous items from various races, and the fifth floor was for major transactions.

...

Su Yu headed straight for the fourth floor of Xia Trading Company after leaving home.

He had been here before with Su Long. Although Su Long was a ninth-level Thousand Pound Realm cultivator, the lack of sufficient Yuan Qi in Nanyuan meant that external aids were necessary for continued cultivation.

The fourth floor was divided into several areas: "Unknown Cultivation Techniques Area," "Demon Race Flesh and Blood Area," "Broken Magical Treasures Area," and "Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures Area."

Since it was only a branch in Nanyuan, most of the items were for the Thousand Pound Realm, with almost nothing for the Ten Thousand Stone Realm.

**Demon Race Flesh and Blood Area.**

A trained, attractive young woman with a professional smile greeted him enthusiastically, "What can I help you with, sir?"

"Ironwing Bird blood!"

"Ironwing Bird..." The employee thought for a moment before quickly responding, "Ordinary blood or essence blood?"

An Ironwing Bird was enormous, with a vast amount of blood. Apart from a few drops of essence blood, the rest was ordinary blood, which had limited use. Essence blood, on the other hand, had significant value.

Su Yu wasn't sure what he needed, so he hesitated and said, "Show me both."

"Sure!" The employee didn't ask further questions. The Ironwing Bird was a common race, a regular aerial force on the Battlefields of All Heavens. If it were a stronger flying race, the Nanyuan branch might not have it in stock.

Soon, another male employee retrieved two transparent glass bottles from the display case.

"This is ordinary blood, and this is essence blood, both from Thousand Pound Realm Ironwing Birds," the female employee explained as Su Yu stared at the glass bottles. "If you need Ten Thousand Stone Realm Ironwing Bird blood, the Nanyuan branch doesn't have it. You'd have to go to the Great Xia Prefecture to purchase it."

"Thousand Pound Realm is fine!"

He couldn't afford Ten Thousand Stone Realm blood, nor did he need it.

"How much does it cost?"

"The ordinary blood is cheap, 5000 coins per bottle. Essence blood is much more valuable. An adult Ironwing Bird can yield less than ten drops of essence blood, priced at 50,000 coins per drop."

Su Yu frowned slightly. So expensive?

"Thousand Pound Realm beings are cannon fodder on the Battlefields of All Heavens. They die in droves. Is essence blood really worth that much?"

The employee maintained her smile and explained, "You're right, sir. But transporting them from the Battlefields of All Heavens to the Great Xia Prefecture involves high costs! Extraction, preservation, sales... multiple processes, including taxes... So 50,000 coins isn't expensive."

She continued, "On the Battlefields of All Heavens, Thousand Pound Realm Ironwing Birds are indeed cheap. You might get lucky and find one easily. But this... isn't the Battlefields of All Heavens."

Su Yu was silent.

Indeed, Thousand Pound Realm beings from various races were worthless on the battlefields. The key issue was that during major battles, who had time to collect them? Even if you did, could you transport them back?

Only a powerful trading company like Xia Trading Company could handle transportation.

Therefore, the prices were naturally high in the rear.

"I'll take one bottle of ordinary blood... and one drop of essence blood!"

Su Yu felt a bit of pain. If his father were here, knowing that he spent over 50,000 coins right after he left, he might have been beaten to death.

"Sure. Will you be paying by card or cash?"

"Card!"

Su Yu maintained his composure, but his heart bled. 50,500 coins! That was a sixth of his father's years of savings, gone in an instant.

"I'm just guessing. If it turns out useless... I'll be at a huge loss."

Thinking of this, Su Yu quickly asked, "Do you buy back Ironwing Bird blood?"

The female employee was slightly surprised but quickly smiled, "Yes, we do. Ordinary blood is 1000 coins per bottle, essence blood is 10,000 coins per drop."

"I..."

Su Yu wanted to curse!

Rip-off!

Even though Xia Trading Company belonged to Xia Longwu's family, he had to call it a rip-off.

A fifth of the buying price. What a scam.

Forget it. There's no point arguing with them. These employees are just following rules; they can't make decisions. Talking to them is useless.

After swiping his card, he received a box containing two glass bottles.

One bottle had a single drop of golden blood, which seemed to be boiling, with a faint image of a small Ironwing Bird spreading its wings.

This was essence blood!

Essence blood from demon-like races generally had some benefits for cultivation.

Consuming Ironwing Bird essence blood could help Thousand Pound Realm cultivators enhance their physical strength.

After the Kaiyuan stage, human cultivators formally embarked on the path of cultivation, focusing on physical strength in the Thousand Pound and Ten Thousand Stone stages.

Essence blood was useful for the Thousand Pound Realm but not for the Kaiyuan stage. Consuming demon essence blood at that stage could harm the body. Otherwise, there wouldn't be cases of bodies exploding from bathing in the blood of gods and demons.

Kaiyuan's nine orifices were not connected, making it impossible for Yuan Qi to circulate. Accumulating it in the body was lethal.

Heaven Yuan Fruits and similar treasures contained pure Heaven Yuan Qi, which was mild, unlike the potent Yuan Qi.

As Su Yu was thinking, the salesperson reminded him, "Sir, if you haven't reached the Thousand Pound Realm, consuming Ironwing Bird essence blood would be very dangerous!"

"I know, thank you!"

Su Yu casually asked, "Do you have Heaven Yuan Fruits here?"

"What?" The salesperson looked puzzled, then quickly said, "Sorry, we don't have those. I'm not familiar with Heaven Yuan Fruits."

Su Yu didn't mind. With so many races and treasures, he couldn't expect a salesperson to know everything. It was good enough that she knew what they sold.

"What about Yuan Qi Liquid?"

"We don't have that either... Yuan Qi Liquid is hard to store and tends to dissipate, making storage costs too high!" The salesperson quickly explained, "The Great Xia Prefecture has it. We used to sell it here a few years ago, but the high costs and low demand made us stop stocking it."

"Oh, what's the price?"

"In the Great Xia Prefecture, it should be 100,000 coins per drop, though the price might have changed," the salesperson said, quickly recommending, "Sir, are you looking to speed up your Kaiyuan stage cultivation? We have many treasures and pills that can help, like Fire Pig blood and Kaiyuan Pills..."

Su Yu rolled his eyes. He wasn't a novice. These things claimed to help but only provided a marginal increase in speed. If his original cultivation speed was 100, these would increase it to about 101. He had long known about these options, but only a fool would spend extravagantly on them. Spending thousands on these items would only result in about one extra day of cultivation each month. Did he have so much money that he didn't know how to spend it?

Of course, some people bought these items; otherwise, they wouldn't be produced. There was a considerable market for them, and buying a small amount wasn't too expensive.

Su Yu didn't ask any more questions and left with his wooden box. He had the items in hand, but whether they would be useful was another matter. If they were useless, he could still sell them, albeit at a significant loss.

...

Downstairs in the residential area, Chen Hao, who was waiting for Su Yu, saw him returning from outside and asked curiously, "Ayu, where did you go?"

"Bought something."

"Oh, let's go to school then..."

"I'm not going!"

"..."

Chen Hao looked aggrieved, "Not going? Didn't you say earlier that you definitely wanted to go to school? Why the change?"

"I'll study at home!" Su Yu smiled, "You go ahead. Train well and aim to reach the fourth level of the Kaiyuan stage soon!"

Chen Hao was also at the third level of the Kaiyuan stage. Since he couldn't aim for the Civilization or Research Institutes, failing to get into the War Institute would mean going to the Administration Institute.

"I..."

Su Yu cut him off, eventually persuading Chen Hao to leave.

...

In the living room, Su Yu stared at the two bottles of blood, frowning.

He had the blood, but how should he use it?

"Swallow it?" he wondered. "The blood of a Thousand Pound Realm being won't cause me to explode, but it will definitely injure me."

"Wait for another dream and let the Ironwing Bird kill me? But... it took more than ten years for one dream, do I have to wait another decade?"

Su Yu was frustrated. He had been excited before buying the blood, but now he was hesitant. The hint he got last night was hard-won. He had made up his mind to try it out if necessary, but now he was wavering. Getting injured would be very painful.

"Maybe apply it to my skin?" Su Yu thought and decided to try. Testing ordinary blood shouldn't be a big issue, unlike essence blood.

He opened the bottle of ordinary blood, dipped his finger in, and smeared some on the back of his hand, waiting for a reaction.

A few minutes later, Su Yu frowned. Nothing happened. The blood was slowly evaporating.

It cost 5,000 coins a bottle, and even if it was not essence blood, consuming small amounts could still be beneficial for health. It felt like a waste.

"Useless..."

"Should I drink a little?"

Su Yu licked a bit from his hand and waited again. Still no effect.

"Ordinary blood is useless, or is it that I'm using it wrong? Or perhaps my understanding is wrong?" Su Yu was getting a headache. He had spent tens of thousands of coins.

Was he being impulsive?

But the nightmares had tormented him for so long that he desperately wanted a solution. If spending a few thousand coins could solve it, he wouldn't mind.

His gaze fell on the drop of essence blood. He couldn't make up his mind.

Essence blood was indivisible, like a gemstone. It had to be consumed; applying it would be useless.

"Should I really swallow essence blood? I'm only at the Kaiyuan stage. Even if it doesn't kill me, it will severely injure me. Originally aiming for the fourth level, getting injured might mean I can't even maintain the third level."

Su Yu was indecisive.

Over the years, the nightmares had made him more mature and decisive than his peers. He wouldn't have considered applying to the War Institute if it weren't for his father being on the battlefield.

But the nightmares had been too many years. He really wanted to understand them.

"Just one drop, it won't kill me..."

"Should I give it a try?"

"If I get injured, I can just aim for the Civilization Institute. For the Civilization Institute, being at the third, second, or even first level of the Kaiyuan stage doesn't make much difference."

Su Yu stared at the glass bottle. The golden blood was dazzling.

After a moment's hesitation, Su Yu took out the essence blood. It was like a gemstone, slightly heavy in his hand.

He held the essence blood tightly, still no reaction.

"Should I wait another day and try dreaming again? Maybe another monster needs Ironwing Bird blood?"

"Or maybe the Ironwing Bird blood is only useful today?"

Each night's dream would change, usually around midnight. If it was only useful today, who knew when the next opportunity would come? Maybe never, or maybe in decades.

His breathing became uneven.

"Then... let's try it!"

"At worst, I'll get injured. If that happens, I'll apply to the Civilization Institute. I'll research the myriad races and eventually find the correct answer!"

As for the War Institute, the chances were slim. Faced with the choice between deciphering the dream and an uncertain acceptance to the War Institute, Su Yu gritted his teeth and decided to try deciphering the dream.

If the dream could be deciphered, there might be unexpected gains.

With one hand holding the essence blood and the other his communicator, Su Yu quickly sent a message: "Come to my house, I have something to tell you. If I don't answer, break in!"

The message was sent to Chen Hao. If he got injured or even fainted, he wouldn't have time to call for help. Chen Hao could take him to the hospital.

Having made these arrangements, Su Yu gritted his teeth and quickly swallowed the essence blood.

At worst, I'll get injured. Am I afraid of pain?

"Ah!"

A scream escaped as Su Yu almost cried in pain. It hurt so much!

Boom!

The next moment, his head buzzed, and Su Yu blacked out.

"Moonlight!"

A giant Ironwing Bird covered the sky once again, just like last night, but also different.

This scene was unprecedented in Su Yu's decade-long experience of non-repetitive dreams.

The Ironwing Bird reappeared!