Chapter 147

"There are still more than two months left, what's the rush? I still have to report it." Selling monkey wine and such good defensive materials, this girl is a treasure trove! It's just that they don't know who's behind her. They have to find out the truth and not step on a landmine.

After Fu Le came out, he wandered around the market, looking at the stalls set up by the spiritual practitioners. There were some really good things there. The highest level of those high-grade beast cores was level four, and there were no higher levels.

Level 4 beast cores are about the size of an egg, and come in various attributes, mainly depending on the attributes of the spirit beast.

A level four beast core costs 50,000 level one spirit stones. Fu Le could afford it, but she didn't dare to buy it, or rather, she didn't dare to buy it for the time being.

Fu Le looked at the defensive weapons of the Spirit Masters again and again, but couldn't find anything good. Most of them were first-tier, and there were second-tier ones, but they were sold privately, and the prices were comparable to those of the Martial Pavilion. There was no guarantee, and if there was a problem after buying them, there was no way to find anyone to help.

"What is this?" Fu Le squatted down next to a blond young man's stall. It looked like six jelly-like things. They were shiny and soft.

"This is earth essence. One piece can cover one square meter of land, and it can be stored away at any time. Compared with ordinary spirit soil, the maturation time of spirit plants can be shortened by ten times. If you irrigate it with spirit beast blood or fermented spirit beast meat or spirit beast bone powder, the growth rate of the spirit plant can be even faster. The fastest I've tried can reach one to one hundred." The young man, who had been sitting listlessly, immediately perked up when he heard someone ask about his goods. His words sounded like they were recited from memory, without even a single interjection.

"Could you demonstrate for me?" If it could shorten the ripening time, she could take it back and plant it in a flowerpot. People who transmigrate and are reborn are given a planting space as a bonus, and she has a soil spirit, which would make up for the regret of not having a planting space. Fu Le was happy inside, but dared not show it, lest this person raise the price on the spot.

"Of course!" The young man's smile stretched almost to his ears.

“Girl, don’t be fooled by him. That earth spirit of his has probably eaten, and only eats, things with spiritual energy. It needs at least ten catties of it at a time. Even if you feed it the cheapest spirit beast meat every day, it won’t be able to keep up. If you don’t feed it for a day, you can forget about exceeding a one-to-ten ratio. The results from growing it like this, after calculating the costs of raising it, are barely enough to break even. Low-level spirit plants are not cost-effective, and high-level spirit plants grow slowly, making them even less cost-effective. Here, we have no shortage of spirit soil, and spirit plants grow very quickly. His is practically useless.” The man selling spirit beast eggs next to him revealed the truth.

Fu Le: ...

She said, "There's no such thing as a free lunch." However, shortening the planting time by tenfold is definitely enough for growing ordinary medicinal herbs.

The young man's true colors were exposed by the vendor next to him. His handsome face turned red and he became dejected. He dared not look at the person in front of him and looked ashamed.

He knew it was going to fail again.

"How much is this?" The pleasant voice rang out again.

The young man looked up and met a pair of dark, piercing eyes. "You're still buying?"

He was all ready to pack up and leave when things took an unexpected turn for the better.

"Well, if the price is right, I'll buy it and just plant some ordinary low-level spiritual plants; I don't plan to irrigate them."

"That's fine too. Each one costs 20,000 level-one spirit stones. When I bought them, I spent 300,000 level-one spirit stones for six of them. I originally intended to use them to grow high-level spirit plants." As if he had thought of something, anger appeared in the young man's eyes. Needless to say, he had been ripped off.

The key issue is that he needs spirit stones now, and if he doesn't sell them, he simply won't be able to gather enough spirit stones to buy the materials he wants.

Fu Le chuckled, "Do you have any more? If you do, I'll take them all."

"There are four left. If you want them, the price will still be the same."

Fu Le used his points cup to pay 200,000 level-one spirit stones and gave them to the young man.

"Thank you, young lady. I thought I wouldn't be able to sell them again today. I was thinking of going to another place and lowering the price a bit. Here, take these as a token of my gratitude for your trust." The young man handed over a pair of jade earrings. "These are a pair of defensive earrings. They're fine for anyone below the Spirit Realm."

The bright green earrings, only five millimeters in diameter, are so beautiful that you can't take your eyes off them.

"Thank you." Hearing the young man say he planned to lower the price, Fu Le felt a pang of sadness. She hadn't expected there to be a follow-up; such a simple gift had touched her heart.

"No need to thank me, it's homemade and not worth much. If I didn't need to buy materials, I wouldn't have been willing to give away the Earth Essence at such a price." The young man smiled憨憨地, but it made Fu Le pause.

"You're a weapon forger?" Fu Le asked in surprise.

"Well, but I won't make weapons for martial artists anymore. I need to advance, so I can't make weapons below my current level. My master won't allow me to make any more." The young man seemed very troubled.

"Young man, you wouldn't happen to be from the Weapon Sect, would you?" the man who had been eavesdropping asked, his face full of surprise and doubt.

The young man scratched his head. "How did you know, Uncle?" It was clear that he didn't blame the man for his previous actions at all, nor did he hold a grudge.

Fu Le: ...

Who let their silly child out?

"Wow, kid, you're really something. A disciple of the Weapon Sect..." The uncle's eyes darted around, trying to establish a connection.

"Would it be convenient for us to have a meal together?" Fu Le interrupted the uncle and asked.

There are too many people eavesdropping around, so I'd better find another place.

"Is that okay? I'm actually quite hungry."

Fu Le just like that, cough cough, he took away the simple-minded young man.

The ignored middle-aged man: ...

Hmph, brat.

Ling Si Ge is a small restaurant that's quite popular because it's cheap, but the ingredients are all ordinary, low-grade spiritual plants.

Fu Le ate here once. Compared to other restaurants, this was the only one that cooked food with a pleasant aroma.

The simple-minded young man buried himself in his rice, perfectly embodying the image of a hard-working person, while Fu Le, apart from eating a piece of pastry at the beginning, mostly drank tea.

"Why aren't you eating?" The young man asked curiously when he looked up to drink some water to clear his throat after eating most of his meal. He noticed that Fu Le's chopsticks hadn't been touched.

"I don't like it, it doesn't taste good." Fu Le smiled.

"Huh? This isn't delicious?" Compared to the ones in the mountains, this is so much tastier.

"Are you full?" Fu Le asked with a smile as kind as a strange aunt trying to lure a child.

"Almost there." Without a second thought, the young man buried himself in his work again.

Fu Le waited patiently for him to finish eating. About half an hour passed before the young man finally finished and let out a big burp, covering his mouth. "Miss, my name is Yang Yan. What's your name?"

"Fu Le".

"You want me to forge weapons?" After wiping his mouth, Yang Yan suddenly sat up straight, his expression becoming serious. At this moment, he seemed like a different person, completely changing from his previous simple and honest appearance.

Of course, Fu Le wasn't surprised. People have many facets, and it's perfectly normal to use different attitudes depending on the person or situation. "You're right. What I lack right now is a defensive weapon. It would be even better if it combined offense and defense."

"Hehe." Yang Yan laughed out loud, as if Fu Le had said something very funny.

"What? You don't want to take this job?"

"You are only a Primordial Martial Artist. You can't activate offensive weapons at the Spirit Realm level. Your defense is passive, but it's not that you can't use them." This is the difference between a Spirit Realm cultivator and a Primordial Martial Artist. A Spirit Realm cultivator can use a Martial Artist's weapon, but a Martial Artist cannot use a Spirit Realm weapon.

"Whether it can be activated or not is none of your concern. I just want to know if you can do it. If not, I'll find someone else. The Spirit Artifact Pavilion should have some too." Fu Le appeared nonchalant, as if he could leave at any time.

Yang Yan did not answer immediately, but looked at her thoughtfully.

"Give me two sets of bird beaks you sold to the martial arts workshop in exchange. Also, take two more sets as materials for your offensive and defensive weapons."

"I also have the bones of this big bird, would you like to take a look?"

"You have one?!" Yang Yan stood up in surprise, then suddenly remembered something. "But why aren't you curious how I know you have a bird's beak?" How can someone so young be so calm and collected?

"Do you even need to guess? You were definitely nearby when I was selling bird beaks. We didn't try to hide anything, and many people saw us."

"What you said makes a lot of sense." Yang Yan scratched his head, reverting to his goofy self.

"Let's go somewhere else, this place is too small."

In the wilderness, the two found an open area and released the entire skeleton of the Kui bird.

Beneath the skeleton, which was several stories high, Yang Yan and Fu Le looked like two ants.

"My goodness! This bird is so imposing! Even its skeleton exudes such power. I can't tell if it's a spirit beast or a ferocious beast. But these bones are really something..." Holding a claw, Yang Yan almost drooled, squinting his eyes in a rather lewd manner. "Fu Le, how about you give me this skeleton? I'll give you a complete set of offensive and defensive weapons. My master is already a peak spirit cultivator. I'll have him forge it for you. The remaining materials can be considered as payment for the labor. How about it?"

Seeing Yang Yan's starry eyes, Fu Le laughed and asked, "Do you still want the bird's beak?"

“Yes, our deal is between the two of us. I will give this skeleton to my grandmaster, and the unfinished materials will naturally belong to my master as well.”

How many pieces are in a complete set?

"It's hard to say, it depends on inspiration, but at least three pieces are required."

Are there any more earth spirits?

“No more,” Yang Yan shook his head so hard it was almost like a rattle drum. “Earth spirits are rare and hard to come by. It might take a thousand years to form one. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been fooled back then. Besides, these earth spirits don’t have any intelligence. I mistakenly thought they did, and that’s why I thought I got a good deal and took them all.”

"Oh? Earth spirits can have intelligence? And how powerful are intelligent earth spirits?" Fu Le was very interested.

"Intelligent earth spirits can autonomously adjust the nutrients in the spiritual soil, and can also add nutrients according to their feedback. If the owner is lazy, it can be left to grow naturally. Just throw it into the soil, and it will automatically find soil nutrients to absorb. The owner doesn't need to do anything. It shortens the breeding time by a thousand times or more. This is just a drop in the ocean, only ten times. It's really a useless thing. Most importantly, intelligent earth spirits can be contracted and act at will."

Fu Le's heart pounded as he listened. "Then, how large an area can one of these earth spirits cover?"

"About an acre, at most. My senior brother's was like that." Realizing he'd said the wrong thing, Yang Yan quickly changed the subject, "Hey, let's not talk about that. Do you agree to that deal with the bones?"

"Agreed, no problem." Fu Le agreed with a smile.

After the two signed the spiritual contract, Fu Le handed over the materials directly.

The spiritual contract here is a unique contract of the Weapon Sect. It is made on animal skin. Once the contract is established, it will turn into a bracelet mark and fall on the little finger of the person who made the contract. If a disciple of the Weapon Sect violates the contract, he will be punished and will never be able to cultivate again.

Therefore, disciples of the Weapon Sect are very cautious when signing spiritual contracts with external parties. They will never sign a contract for something that is not 100% guaranteed, nor will they make any reckless promises.

Fu Le found it quite interesting to watch as the gray aura covered his little finger, turning it into a small, rhomboid gray dot.

Thinking of something, he spoke up, "Is there any kind of spiritual contract that can prevent subordinates from betraying me? I'm planning to take in some disciples and train them with all my might, but I'm also naturally suspicious and worried about betrayal."

"That's easy, a spirit-locking ring will do. If you want one, I can make one for you while we're at it."

Fu Le: !!!

Is it that easy?

What happens if you're betrayed?

"Soul Lock, as the name suggests, is bound to the soul of the person to whom it is contracted. If the other party is determined to betray, such as by revealing some secrets that shouldn't be said, the soul contract lurking in their body will activate the moment they utter the first word, directly destroying their soul. The person's physical body will then become an idiot. However, I need my senior sister's help to make this." Unlike a spirit contract, which only damages the foundation, a soul contract directly attacks the soul itself.

"Are spirit contracts something only spirit practitioners can create?" Fu Le was very curious. If she cultivated to the spirit practitioner realm, would she also be able to establish a contract? Just thinking about it was exciting.

“That’s right. A spirit contract must be established by a spirit master of the fifth rank or above by borrowing the rules of the Heavenly Dao. Among our senior brothers and sisters in the Weapon Sect, only my senior sister has reached the threshold of the fifth rank. The spirit contract I just signed with you was established by my senior sister. All the disciples in the sect have it.” Speaking of his senior sister, Yang Yan’s face showed shyness and pride, which showed that he really admired his senior sister.

Fu Le was amused. "Do you have any talisman masters?" The most common thing in the cultivation world should be here.

"That painting by monks and Taoists? What's the use of that? Only you martial artists would believe in that. What reincarnation and stuff? It's all nonsense. Once you're bound to the limit, you naturally return to the Way of Heaven. How could you possibly reincarnate?" Yang Yan curled his lip in disdain.

Fu Le: ...

This place lacks the magical world of cultivation described in novels, yet one can extend their lifespan by hundreds or even thousands through cultivation. Isn't that similar in principle?

What surprised her most was that the people here didn't believe in reincarnation.

How can I contact you afterwards?

"Through the spiritual contract, you can infuse your energy into the mark, and it will get hot here and activate automatically. Try it."

Fu Le did as instructed, and sure enough, a flash of yellow light appeared on Yang Yan's little finger, and Yang Yan's voice became somewhat ethereal, like a phone call, and somewhat distorted.

"Wow, that's awesome!" With this, who needs a cell phone?!

"Cow? What does that mean?"

Fu Le: ...

+