Shen Zhaozhao: "Have you all had enough of your spirit cores?"

Everyone: "???"

Seemingly oblivious to the strange expressions that instantly appeared on everyone's faces, Shen Zhaozhao continued her analysis: "Think about it, what if—I mean, what if—the City Lord of Yunqi doesn't notice anything unusual, and the competition proceeds as planned?"

"Two days from now, the top four in terms of the number of spirit cores will still be able to advance to the finals. It's the finals, everyone!"

She paused, her gaze sweeping over the cultivators who were clearly interested, her voice full of seduction: "Therefore, at this critical juncture, the strategic significance of spirit cores is even more prominent!"

"Family members, if you feel your spirit cores are not secure enough and wish to replenish them for unforeseen circumstances..."

"Or some family members feel that survival is the priority right now, and with no hope of advancement, they want to exchange their hot-button spirit cores for real life-saving spirit stones to lighten the burden and get through these next two days with a lighter load..."

"So--"

Shen Zhaozhao's face lit up with an incredibly bright smile, one that was clearly "thinking of her family": "You can all come to me. I, Shen Zhaozhao, offer fair prices and honest service to everyone, young and old!"

"I am your most reliable logistical support!"

Pei Lang: "??????"

Pei Lang's eyes widened in disbelief. "No way?! Shen Zhaozhao, you heartless and unscrupulous merchant!"

They're all trapped in the demon's lair, and could be surrounded and slaughtered by a bunch of Golden Core stage demons at any moment!

You, you, you actually thought about reselling your spirit core?!

Did Little Yellow steal your conscience?!

However, what made Pei Lang even more dumbfounded was that there were actually a few cultivators in the crowd who, after their initial astonishment, began to exchange glances with each other.

Clearly, someone was considering a private deal.

But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he saw the other person's equally flickering eyes and the hand tightly clutching the storage bag, and his enthusiasm waned—in this godforsaken place, trust is even scarcer than spirit stones.

What if I give you the spirit core, and you try to renege on the deal or just steal it? Who am I supposed to complain to?

After much deliberation, everyone realized with despair that... it seemed that only Shen Zhaozhao, the middleman who was single-mindedly focused on making a profit from the price difference, was truly reliable!

At least she only cares about spirit stones. Trading with her is a simple cash-on-delivery transaction. Although you might get ripped off, it's safe, direct, and doesn't involve many complicated steps.

It's unclear who started it, but by the time Pei Lang realized what was happening, Shen Zhaozhao's trading stall was already packed with people.

"Senior Sister Shen! I'll sell all twenty of these!"

"Fellow Daoist Shen! Take mine! I have fifteen!"

"Excuse me! I was here first! Senior Sister Shen, please look at me!"

The cultivators ranked outside the top ten did not hesitate at all.

Senior Sister Shen is absolutely right. Not only are those spirit cores uncomfortable to carry around, but they're also like bright, shiny targets. It would be better to replace them with real, jingling spirit stones!

In an instant, all sorts of cloth bags, leather pouches, and even hastily torn-off corners of clothing containing spirit cores were piled up in front of Shen Zhaozhao.

Those sword cultivators who were barely in the top ten, especially those with decent cultivation but clearly short of money, looked at the well-dressed talisman and weapon cultivators with bulging storage bags, and tears welled up in their eyes.

Waaaaah!

If I had known this would happen, I should never have been fooled by my master's words, "Sword cultivators can break through all laws with a single sword," and plunged headlong into this dirt poor sect!

They're not stupid.

In the current situation, venturing deep into the secret realm to hunt monsters and replenish their spirit cores is tantamount to suicide. But if they continue to drag this out, with their meager resources, how can they compete with those guys who have spirit stones in their pockets to compete for the top four?

Rather than ending up with nothing, it's better to cash out as soon as possible!

"Fellow Daoist Shen..."

A swordsman carrying a spirit sword, with a somewhat embarrassed look on his face, squeezed to the front and said in a hoarse voice, "I... I'll sell these thirty-eight of them too."

The other sword cultivators: "???"

Is that right?!

Is this reasonable?!

Is this still legitimate cultivation?!

A moment later, once the spirit cores had been mostly recovered, the "money-spraying" battle among the top five big shots officially entered its most intense phase.

"Fellow Daoist Shen! I'll take all the remaining spirit cores! At the highest price we just discussed, 150 low-grade spirit stones each!"

"150? What a joke! I'll bid 300!" A weapon cultivator next to him, exuding an aura of "I'm rich," immediately raised the stakes, his eyes looking down on the enemy.

"400!"

"500!"

Prices have skyrocketed like a runaway horse!

Each bid was accompanied by gasps of astonishment from the surrounding cultivators.

Pei Lang watched from the side, his eyelids twitching.

no?

Are these people crazy?

Are you trying to force him to jump on the bandwagon and throw money around like crazy?!

He had initially thought he had secured his position by snatching those 100 spirit cores at a low price, but now it seemed...

Pei Lang felt a surge of excitement rush to his head: "Two high-grade spirit stones!"

He's going all out!

He, Young Master Pei, will fight tooth and nail to keep at least one of those four spots!

Otherwise, where would the Crimson Cloud Sect put its face?!

"Two top-grade pieces?! Pei Lang, are you crazy?!"

"You're just a scribbler idiot; even if you make it to the finals, you'll only be a pushover. Don't try to inflate prices here!"

Pei Lang and his mouth were fighting against a hundred men: "Damn it! How am I scribbling nonsense?! Besides, my talismans are better than yours, you stinking alchemist! What, are you, a stinking alchemist, planning to go to the arena and smash me to death with your alchemy furnace?!"

"you--@#@!"

Pei Lang and his mouth continued to sweep across the battlefield: "And you, you array cultivator, what are you doing joining in the fun?! With the time you spent setting up your lousy array on the arena, I don't know how many times my talismans would have sent your great-grandmother to her death!"

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