Chapter 44 Let's Buy Hope

"Get out of here, I don't know you."

Wei Songnian looked extremely displeased and impatiently waved his hand to shoo people away.

"hey-hey."

Lin Antai didn't take it to heart and continued to say with a smile:

"I do the same business as Lao Wei. If my junior brother has any needs, he can also find me at the small market at the foot of Chitong Mountain."

Seeing that Wei Songnian's expression was getting increasingly grim, he stopped stirring things up and retreated with a smile.

Wei Songnian gritted his teeth and lowered his voice, saying:

"The Lin family comes from the Lin clan of Dazhu Mountain, which is next to our Wei clan of Xiaozhu Mountain. Due to some conflicts of interest, the two clans often have friction, and the relationship between the disciples of the two clans is also antagonistic after they enter the sect."

The Lin family has some connection with a certain deacon in the Weapon Refining Hall; Lin Antai mainly deals in ore and weapon refining.

He knew perfectly well that the other party was simply there to annoy him; he had done the same thing when the other party brought a newcomer.

Ji An shook his head slightly. Where there are people, there will be conflict; it's human nature.

Most of the time it's because of profit, and sometimes it's because of other miscellaneous things.

As a spirit farmer, he had always stayed obediently at Biyue Lake cultivating spirit fields and had never encountered such trouble before.

As one's cultivation level continues to improve, one is bound to interact with various parties, inevitably leading to contact or conflict with others.

Sometimes, it's not that you're looking for trouble, but that trouble comes to you.

I heard that a demon-hunting team found a hundred-year-old Xuan Ye Ginseng, which is a key ingredient in Foundation Establishment Pills.

The demon-hunting team sold the elixir to an alchemist from a sect, but the team ended up receiving 'special treatment' from the alchemist's rival.

Who can you reason with about something like this?

The two sat down in a corner, and Wei Songnian smiled and said:

"Junior brother, please wait a moment, the trade fair will begin soon."

After a while, a thin, frail cultivator with dark red flame patterns embroidered on his sleeves entered and sat cross-legged in a corner of the high platform of the main hall, closing his eyes to rest.

The buzzing of conversation immediately subsided considerably, and Wei Songnian lowered his voice and said:

"This is Uncle-Master Chen Shiping, who comes from the Refining Hall and is a resident Foundation Establishment cultivator at this trade fair. He is especially skilled at identifying minerals and magical artifacts."

The disciple surnamed Cui, who had been guarding the entrance, entered, ascended the platform, and bowed respectfully.

"Uncle Chen, shall we begin the trade fair?"

"Can."

Uncle Chen didn't even blink, and gave a faint reply.

"Everyone who wanted to come has arrived, let's begin now."

I am Cui Yuan, and I will begin by offering my humble opinion to elicit further discussion.

This is the low-grade magic weapon, the Azure Scorpion Sword. The sword blank was forged from purple heart copper and black fire refined iron, and the tailbone and spine of a fire attribute scorpion demon beast were refined. It was also reinforced with twelve layers of magical restrictions, making it as easy to cut through iron as mud.

If it weren't for a slight mishap during the forging process, this sword would have been a mid-grade magic weapon.

The price is fifty-four spirit stones. Barter is accepted; ores, fire elemental essence, and first-grade mid-level or higher Azure Steel Bamboo are all acceptable exchanges.

Cui Yuan took out a two-foot-long dark red flying sword, infused it with magic power, and activated it. It rippled with crimson spiritual light and spread outwards with scorching waves of fire.

Wei Song introduced in a soft voice:

"Senior Brother Cui is quite talented in the art of weapon crafting. He was able to craft magical artifacts on his own several years ago. His skill in repairing magical artifacts is also quite remarkable, but the price is a bit high."

A common low-grade first-tier magic weapon can be obtained for twenty spirit stones.

Ji An nodded slightly, thinking to himself that with magic artifacts being so expensive, he wondered how long it would take to save up a set of demon-hunting gear. He felt his poverty once again and realized he still had to work hard to earn more crystals!

Immediately, a tall, bald monk stood up:

“Everyone knows Junior Brother Cui’s craftsmanship. It just so happens that our team members’ magical artifacts are severely damaged. We can give them to Junior Brother Cui, add some ore, and replace them with this magical artifact.”

The bald monk rolled up the sleeves of his Taoist robe, revealing his muscular, bulging muscles and bronze skin with a subtle metallic sheen.

“So it’s Senior Brother Yang. Please come up and make the deal,” Cui Yuan said with a smile.

Wei Songnian then introduced, "This is Senior Brother Yang Lie from Pagoda Peak. He mainly cultivates the body and is said to be preparing for Foundation Establishment."

The two quickly completed the transaction and walked down the platform together.

Then, one by one, cultivators went up on the stage to trade. Some sold their spiritual herbs and minerals, while others left disappointed. Wei Songnian also went up to the high platform and successfully exchanged a spiritual item for a Ginseng Essence Pill.

During this time, some people asked Chen Shiping to appraise their items, and he would charge one to three spirit stones for the appraisal fee, which made Ji An marvel at how easy it was for Foundation Establishment cultivators to earn spirit stones.

The trade fair ended after about an hour.

Cui Yuan handed a pile of spirit crystals to Chen Shiping. The Foundation Establishment cultivator was the first to leave, and the others also dispersed.

"Senior Sister Li, please wait."

Wei Songnian stepped forward and stopped the two female cultivators who were about to leave the main hall, flattering them:

"I feel that Senior Sister's spiritual pressure is even stronger. It seems that she is not far from reaching the Foundation Establishment stage."

"Junior Brother Wei, just say what you have to say."

The woman in the white Taoist robe covered her mouth and laughed. She had a birthmark the size of a grain of rice on her right eyebrow.

"Senior Sister has joined the Ningcui Cliff lineage. I wonder if she has any spirit peach seeds? Junior Brother Ji would like to buy them."

Wei Songnian introduced Ji An to the two women. Ningcui Cliff was the training ground of Ge Ying, a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator from the sect.

Master Ge is skilled in alchemy and planting. There is a second-grade top-quality spirit peach tree in the sect, which he is cultivating.

Li Lingyu glanced at Ji An, a hint of joy flickering in her eyes:

"I wonder if Junior Brother Ji wants to buy ordinary first-tier spirit peach seeds or second-tier seeds, the price difference is quite significant."

The cultivation cycle of spirit fruit trees is relatively long, and there are certain requirements for the quality of spirit fields and planting techniques, making it relatively difficult to sell the seeds.

The seeds were of no use to her, so being able to exchange them for crystals was certainly something to be happy about.

"Could it be that Senior Sister has the seed of the spirit peach tree that the sect cultivates?"

Wei Songnian asked with some surprise, "If we could obtain the seeds of a second-grade top-quality spirit peach, that would certainly be the best choice."

"You're dreaming. A second-grade top-quality spirit peach takes thirty-six years to bloom and bear fruit, and then another thirty-six years to bloom and bear fruit again. It can only be enjoyed by high-level cultivators and ancestors in the sect's Chaoyuan stage. Where am I supposed to get its seeds?"

What I have is a low-grade, second-tier spirit peach seed cultivated in my master's private medicinal garden; there's only one.

Li Lingyu held a slightly reddish peach-shaped coin in her hand and gently waved it in front of the group.

Ji An cupped his hands and smiled:

"I wonder how many crystals a low-grade second-tier spirit peach seed costs?"

The higher the grade of the mother tree's seeds, the easier it is to cultivate the seedlings to a higher grade. If you have the opportunity, you should definitely buy seeds of a higher grade.

Ji An was confident that he could go further in the cultivation world. Putting aside everything else, breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage would give him two hundred years of lifespan, enough for him to do whatever he wanted.

If he advances to the Foundation Establishment stage and then cultivates a wood- or water-based main cultivation technique, and saves up some spirit stones to buy some longevity pills, it won't be a problem for him to live for 250 years.

"With three spirit stones, a second-grade low-level spirit peach seed, once cultivated to the fruiting stage, will surely reach the first-grade low-level, or even the first-grade high-level."

Back then, a single peach tree was a money tree.

Extending her delicate hand and showing three fingers, Li Lingyu winked mischievously.

"Senior sister is right, but..."

When it came to the bargaining stage, Wei Songnian stepped forward without hesitation and spoke eloquently:

"The fruiting of the Spirit Peach has little to do with selling the peach seeds, right? Senior Sister only sold the seeds and didn't participate in the cultivation."

Besides, it takes many years for a peach tree to reach fruit production, and it needs constant care during this time.

"If we buy a low-grade, first-tier peach seedling for only 10 spirit crystals, we can enjoy spirit peaches sooner."

Wei Songnian held up one finger and said firmly:

"One spirit stone is the most we can get; let's buy a glimmer of hope."

(End of this chapter)