Chapter 35: Chapter 35 Selling Meat (Seeking Collections)_1 Chapter 35: Chapter 35 Selling Meat (Seeking Collections)_1 Green Bamboo Mountain Market.
Fang Xi deliberately activated his Mixed Origin True Skill, transforming into a masked burly man with a mask, carrying several dozen pounds of Taisui Meat, as he entered the market.
This Taisui Meat, of course, was harvested by him in the Great Liang World.
As for the Taisui?
It was settled in the Great Liang World.
After all, this demon was like a plant demon, not very aggressive and too lazy to move, very easy to keep alive!
As for bringing the Taisui to the Cultivation World?
The idea had crossed Fang Xi’s mind, but he quickly dismissed it.
After all, the Taisui was a Demonic Beast, and he could not fully confirm that the creature did not possess intelligence.
If it leaked information, that would be far too dangerous.
Fang Xi passed by many market buildings and stopped in front of a shop.
The golden signboard had ‘Hundred Tricks Tower’ written in bold, flowing script.
In the Green Bamboo Mountain Market, Pill Furnace Pavilion specialized in selling pills, Heaven Talismans Hall dealt in talismans, Thousand Mechanism Hall was mainly about cultivation methods and Puppets, Drunken Immortal Building was a place where female cultivators conducted business, and Mingqing Loft was the elegant site of tea drinking and music appreciation.
And the Hundred Tricks Tower was a store that sold all varieties of general merchandise, having everything one could think of, and at the same time, it also consistently purchased Spiritual Objects.
Fang Xi’s goal was this tower!
‘Setting up a stall myself is too slow and too conspicuous…’
‘Selling to a vendor might fetch higher prices, but there’s a risk of being cheated or targeted…’
‘By comparison, the reputation of a large merchant is slightly better, as they probably wouldn’t do anything to me over a few or a dozen Spirit Stones…’
Of course, if one day he accumulates hundreds or even thousands of Spirit Stones, then no merchant’s reputation can be deemed safe, and they might even be the first to make a move!
After all, it is a matter of worth or not worth.
A few Spirit Stones are not worth compromising the reputation of Hundred Tricks Tower, but a few thousand or ten thousand Spirit Stones? Even if the one behind the scenes personally smashes the signboard, they probably won’t hesitate much.
It was because he was clear about this point that Fang Xi decided to wait until he had reached the second layer of body refining before embarking on this business.
The most he could face from someone willing to attack him over a few or a dozen Spirit Stones would be a cultivator at the mid-stage of Qi Refining… at least he would have a means of self-defense!
Walking into the Hundred Tricks Tower, a shop assistant immediately greeted him, “This Sir…”
“I’m here to sell Monster Beast Meat!”
Fang Xi slammed the Taisui Meat heavily onto the counter, his voice hoarse and his demeanor rough, even carrying a hint of evil Qi!
This was no disguise; although he was still a little white rabbit in the Cultivation World, his hands were already stained with blood in Great Liang, which naturally gave him a different aura.
“Very well, please wait a moment!”
The assistant hurriedly ran to the back to find the manager.
Cultivators who hunt Monster Beasts are tough characters! Even if the other party’s cultivation doesn’t seem high, they could still be in disguise!
Before long, a male cultivator dressed in sky-blue satin embroidered with golden coins came out, around forty years old, with a plump and amiable face wearing a smile, “This Sir wishes to sell Monster Beast Meat? My name is Qi Liu, one of the managers of Hundred Tricks Tower. May I take a look first?”
“Please do!”
Feeling the deep and unfathomable Spiritual Power fluctuations of the other party who was in the later stages of Qi Refining, Fang Xi inwardly tensed and waved his hand.
Qi Liu’s expression became more serious, he opened the parcel and saw the pale white Taisui Meat.
First, he formed a Magic Spell and cast a spell on it to check for poisons.
Then, looking uncertain, he took out a copper mirror and shone it towards the Taisui Meat.
Hum!
A faint ring of white light appeared on the copper mirror.
Qi Liu nodded, “Sir, please observe… this is a device used by our tower specifically to identify Monster Beast Meat. The color represents the class; white is for first-tier Qi Refining level, blue is for Foundation Establishment Monster Beasts… and the number of rings represents strength, one ring for early Qi Refining, two rings for mid-stage, three rings for late stage… The Monster Beast you have hunted is barely acceptable for low-grade first-tier… And according to my spell estimation, this meat is of a slight wood attribute, greatly nourishing to Qi and Blood, is it not so?”
“Indeed, Manager Qi has perceptive eyes,” Fang Xi nodded in acknowledgment.
The Taisui being a fungal organism could barely qualify as having a wood attribute.
As for its strength? It was a joke indeed, barely being considered low-grade first-tier was certainly not wronging it.
“Hehe…” Qi Liu laughed somewhat proudly, then with some curiosity, he continued, “Please forgive my ignorance, but I cannot determine the species of this Monster Beast.”
After saying this, he looked at Fang Xi with a probing gaze.
“This, I also cannot identify it. It’s probably some hybrid or mutant species…”
Fang Xi’s heart skipped a beat, but he replied calmly.
“Hmm, the Cultivation World is so vast, even I cannot surely recognize all the Monster Beast species, it’s truly regrettable…”
Given that many strange Monster Beasts existed in the Cultivation World, Manager Qi Liu didn’t pursue the matter too much, after some thought, he gave a quote, “For this Monster Beast Meat… How does our guest plan to sell it?”
With the crunch time at hand, Fang Xi smiled directly, “According to the market rates, low-grade first-tier Monster Beast Meat sells for one Spirit Crystal per pound!”
“Ha ha… Naturally, our shop purchases at rates lower than market prices,” Qi Liu said with a faint smile, “However… since this is Sir’s first transaction with our tower, let’s honor Sir this time. Yingsong!”
The waiter hurriedly came forward to weigh the monster beast meat and reported the amount, “A total of sixty-seven pounds, valued at six Spirit Stones and seven Spirit Crystals.”
He immediately took out six colorful Spirit Stones and several broken Spirit Crystals, stuffing them into Fang Xi’s hands.
Gazing at this scene, Fang Xi even had to use his Mixed Origin Strength to stop his body from trembling.
Heaven, have mercy!
When had he ever had so many Spirit Stones?
In a whole year of farming, plus various bits of additional income, he would only earn two or three Spirit Stones a year!
Wasn’t it the lack of Spirit Stones that had kept his cultivation from advancing, forcing him to abandon the cultivation world’s body-refining techniques in favor of studying Qi and Blood Martial Arts?
It was all because of one word—poverty!
Now, he finally saw so many Spirit Stones!
Fortunately, aware that he was in a den of wolves, Fang Xi casually stuffed the Spirit Stones into his bosom and laughed heartily, “Manager, you’re so straightforward!”
Just as he was about to take his leave, he heard Qi Liu’s voice, “Hold on a moment!”
“What is it? Does Manager Qi have further advice for me?”
Fang Xi’s eyes narrowed slightly, with Mixed Origin Strength already flowing in his palm.
At such a close distance, even if the opponent were a late-stage Qi Refining expert, they would suffer a loss against a body cultivator!
“Hehe… No, no, just wanted to ask our friend here, surely there is more to this monster beast than just this small amount of meat? If you have more coming, don’t forget to take care of our little shop’s business.”
Qi Liu smiled cordially as he sent Fang Xi out of the Hundred Tricks Tower, bowing respectfully as he watched him leave.
Once Fang Xi’s silhouette disappeared into the stream of people, Yingsong approached and said, “Uncle… did I misjudge earlier? That cultivator doesn’t even have a Storage Bag; it’s possible that he just stumbled upon a monster beast’s corpse by pure luck… and ten pounds of meat for one Spirit Stone, that price is a bit too high…”
“Hehe, you’re my nephew, and I’m looking out for you. There’s still so much you need to learn.”
Qi Liu returned to the counter, smiling as he looked at the Taisui Meat, “This monster beast meat is only a lower first-grade, but it is unusually pure and is a great supplement for Qi and blood. If we sell it to a body cultivator, we can ask for at least one Spirit Stone per five pounds! And as to whether that man is simply lucky or a true tough cookie, what do I care? A monster beast only has a few hundred pounds of meat at most, would we destroy the Hundred Tricks Tower’s reputation over a few dozen Spirit Stones? If we dare to do that, the family won’t let us off the hook!”
“Uncle is right!” Yingsong wore an enlightened expression.
Qi Liu, watching the direction Fang Xi had left, didn’t say another word.
The very presence of Fang Xi had made even him feel a startled sense of trepidation. This guest’s superficially low cultivation level might be due to him practicing some sophisticated technique to conceal his true power, definitely making him a tough nut to crack!
To provoke such a person over a lower first-grade monster beast? He wasn’t crazy!
…
“Am I being too cautious?”
After changing his appearance several times in various places, Fang Xi stepped out of the market, still feeling a bit of a fright.
In Great Liang, he’d been reckless because he knew no one could beat him.
But here in the Southern Wilderness Cultivation Realm, he felt apprehensive because there were too many people who could!
Fortunately, once out of the market, Fang Xi kept up his disguise for a distance before no cultivator-robber suddenly jumped out to kill and rob him.
Seeing that he was safe, he immediately discarded his outer garment, dressing in the attire of a Spirit Farmer, and turned back to the slum area.
Next, Fang Xi planned to find Chen Ping to repay his debt and casually inquire where he could buy a Prohibition-breaking Talisman.
‘Speaking of which, I befriended Chen Ping originally thinking I could widen my channels to sell Great Liang’s resources…’
‘But now, his channels are still too weak. That Jiuxuan guy is even poorer than me!’
‘Only that Di Qi might be worth counting on… Next time I get hold of other monster beasts, I might consider selling to her.’
What about Taisui Meat?
After selling a few hundred pounds, Fang Xi was ready to stop.
Otherwise, if people found out he had a monster beast that could endlessly produce monster beast meat, they would tear him to pieces!
‘Speaking of which, the Taisui’s trait is indeed not bad.’
‘With it in hand, one could continuously produce Spirit Stones…’
‘Uh, no, I forgot to consider the fact that the market for body cultivators is niche, and it is bound to become saturated sooner or later… and before the market becomes saturated and the price plummets, I could easily be exposed…’
Fang Xi arrived at Chen Ping’s room and knocked on the door.
The one-month deadline was nearly up. He was a man of his word, and debts had to be repaid.
Having borrowed four Spirit Stones to purchase a Qi Blood Pill and promised to repay five in a month, he would pay back five!
Although the interest was frightening at 25% per month, and 300% annually…
‘Chen Ping, it turns out, has quite a talent for lending money at interest.’
While he was pondering, Chen Ping pulled open the door, his face unable to hide his joy which then turned to a wail, “Mr. Fang…”
“What’s the matter?” Fang Xi asked, puzzled.
“I just received the news… my master, Zong Wu, has passed by the sword!”
Chen Ping answered with a face full of sorrow.