Chapter 37: Chapter 37 Cultivation-Robber (Seeking Collections)_1 Chapter 37: Chapter 37 Cultivation-Robber (Seeking Collections)_1 “Alas… without Spirit Stones, to return from a mountain of treasures, how lamentable and regrettable…”
After the trading assembly concluded, Fang Xi, along with Lord Jiuxuan and Di Qi, left the market area.
Lord Jiuxuan stroked his beard, his face full of deep sighs and short gasps.
It must be said, with Lu Zhiqing’s clearance sale, many items were good stuff, and at least 10 to 20% cheaper than in the market!
Even Di Qi couldn’t help but buy a few talismans that Master Zong Symbol usually made.
Only he and Fang Xi were truly short on funds and could only watch with yearning.
“Alas… what am I compared to Mr. Chen? Chen Ping is remarkable, he actually took over Master Zong Symbol’s legacy!” Di Qi also heaved a sigh, his face showing a hint of unwillingness: “Master Zong Symbol’s talisman crafting skills are quite exquisite, I even suspect he received a second-tier inheritance… I wonder how much he will reveal in his notes?”
“That’s definitely not possible, a second-tier inheritance, how could it be worth two hundred Spirit Stones? Would Lu take us for fools?” Fang Xi responded with a wry smile.
According to his estimate, if the jade slip contained a few methods for crafting first-tier top-quality talismans, then Lu Zhi was already treating people with great sincerity.
“That’s true… However, Mr. Chen still has a chance,” Lord Jiuxuan seriously suggested, “As long as he can marry Lu, wouldn’t he kill two birds with one stone, gaining a beauty as well as the true hidden treasures of a Talisman Master?”
“Haha! One can certainly hope so.”
The three men shared a laugh that all men understand.
…
The next day.
Fang Xi went down the mountain to buy food, made a trip back to the Da Liang World, fed Taisui in large quantities, and then harvested its meat.
A few days later, he had nearly four hundred jin of Taisui Meat in his hands.
Hundred Tricks Tower.
Bang!
Four hundred jin of Monster Beast Meat slammed heavily onto the floor, causing the shopkeeper, Qi Liu, to grin from ear to ear.
His honest business indeed paid off.
Wasn’t this lone individual cultivator now bringing all his Monster Beast Meat to him?
“Sir, it is truly an honor for you to choose Our Hundred Tricks Tower. Yingsong, bring some tea, won’t you?”
Shopkeeper Qi smiled very amiably.
After all, the dozens of jins of Monster Beast Meat he sold before to a body cultivator at a high price indeed netted him a tidy sum.
“Please!”
Yingsong hurried to brew a cup of Spiritual Tea, but Fang Xi merely raised the cup without drinking.
After all, when mingling in the Cultivation World, one had to be extra cautious, especially with anything consumed.
“This Monster Beast Meat’s quality is the same as before, it should come from the same demon beast… Eh?”
After inspecting the meat, Qi Liu became somewhat puzzled: “Could it be that this beast has no bones? The bones of this beast are quite valuable, the marrow can be used as a supplementary material in alchemy, and the bone itself in talisman forging…”
“Shopkeeper, you indeed have a sharp eye, this demon beast was indeed as if boneless, very strange. Unfortunately, that was the only one…”
Fang Xi feigned a sigh and secretly swore he would absolutely not sell Taisui Meat in this market again.
After all… once he left Black Stone City, he could totally hunt other monster beasts to sell.
The Da Liang World was teeming with weaker monster beasts, making it an excellent hunting ground!
“For this four hundred jin of Monster Beast Meat, a total of forty Spirit Stones, what do you say?”
Qi Liu quickly calculated the weight and even rounded up the amount for Fang Xi.
“Shopkeeper is generous.”
Fang Xi grinned: “However, I’m looking to purchase a talisman, does the Hundred Tricks Tower have any?”
Compared to the Heaven Talismans Hall and Pill Furnace Pavilion, Hundred Tricks Tower was more like a general store, thus he asked.
“Oh, and which talisman might that be?” Qi Liu asked, somewhat surprised.
“A Prohibition-breaking Talisman, just a first-tier will do,” Fang Xi emphasized.
“A first-tier Prohibition-breaking Talisman?” Qi Liu thought for a moment and smiled: “You’re in luck, Sir. Such talismans are exceedingly rare, originally we did not have one, but just yesterday a guest sold us one. It’s in perfect condition, with hardly any spiritual energy dissipated. Please, have a look!”
He lightly patted his waist and pulled out a wooden box that Fang Xi found somewhat familiar from a pouch.
Upon opening it, a Prohibition-breaking Talisman identical to the one he had seen before lay in front of him.
‘Could it really be from Master Zong Symbol’s collection, that the buyer then resold it to the Hundred Tricks Tower?’ Fang Xi pondered.
But regardless of whether it was the same talisman or not, it didn’t really matter to him.
After a thorough inspection, Fang Xi asked for the price: “Not bad, it’s really a first-tier top-quality Prohibition-breaking Talisman, how much are you asking?”
“Hehe… in the Heaven Talismans Hall, it would sell for at least thirty-five Spirit Stones. I won’t charge that running errand fee, just pay the original price,” Qi Liu said, taking a sip of tea and speaking sincerely.
‘But I clearly remember when Lu Zhi sold this talisman for thirty-one Spirit Stones… Oh well, that can’t really be brought up now.’ Fang Xi maintained the aloof demeanor of a hunting cultivator and nodded, “Shopkeeper is fair!”
Internally, though, he felt a bit like spitting blood.
This back and forth transaction nearly wiped out his savings from the past two years.
After Fang Xi left, Qi Liu stroked his chin, somewhat dissatisfied: “I misjudged… this lad might really just be a low-tier cultivator who stumbled upon good fortune. With such insight, he still seeks to deceive me? Humph!”
Although Fang Xi was but a minor cultivator, even with the memories of a previous life, due to limitations of experience, he couldn’t completely conceal certain issues.
After chatting with shopkeeper Qi for a bit longer, his deception was quickly spotted.
“A few dozen Spirit Stones… let it be…”
Shopkeeper Qi sighed and returned languidly upstairs, starting to meditate and sip his tea….
Overhearing the sigh, Yingsong’s eyes shifted as he moved to the store’s backyard, clutching a Voice Transmission Talisman in his hand while muttering to himself, “Uncle, oh Uncle… It’s not that I don’t listen to you, but dozens of Spirit Stones are just a drop in the bucket for you, while for me, they represent a significant amount….”
As he funneled his magic power into the talisman, it transformed into a streak of fiery light that shot away and vanished….
…
Fang Xi stepped out of the market area, habitually taking circuitous routes.
“Hm, something’s off?”
Just then, his active Heaven Earth Listening Skill picked up on something amiss, prompting him to quickly drop down, his ears pressed to the ground.
Empowered by his True Strength, he detected extremely subtle vibrations from the earth.
“Someone is following me… two people, to be precise!”
Hurriedly changing direction, he sped up.
But no matter how he changed his course, the two pursuers seemed to keep pace, even closing the distance, indicating that they had also accelerated after realizing something was amiss with him.
Soon, two figures, one tall and one short, emerged in Fang Xi’s field of vision.
‘A Qi Refining early-stage and a Qi Refining mid-stage!’
Fang Xi sensed the other party’s undisguised spiritual power and malicious intent, feeling a slight relief in his heart, yet he shouted with caution, “Who are you, and why are you following me?”
“Hehe, kid, hand over all your valuables!”
The short cultivator, a Qi Refining early-stage in his thirties with a face full of freckles, sneered as he brandished a few talismans, trying to encircle Fang Xi from the side and cut off his retreat.
“Cultivation-robbers!”
Fang Xi’s expression turned extremely ugly, and with a flick of his hand, the Green Barley Sword rose in the wind, transforming into a streak of green Sword Light and charging toward the short cultivator.
“Magic weapon! Brother, save me!”
The short cultivator slapped a Gold Light Shield Talisman onto his body, and immediately, a golden light enveloped him. Only then did he cry out in alarm.
“Haha… Even with a magic weapon so shabby, you’re nothing but a paper tiger!”
Seeing the notched Green Barley Sword, the tall cultivator laughed rather than getting angry, slapping a dusty pouch at his waist.
A pitch-black Ghost Head Knife appeared, transformed into a black light, and tangled with the green Sword Light of the Green Barley Sword, easily suppressing it.
“Low-grade magic weapon!”
Witnessing this, Fang Xi’s heart sank even further.
His Green Barley Sword was merely an inferior low-grade magic weapon, easily subdued by the Ghost Head Knife, which was somewhat understandable.
“How… did you find me?” he shouted with feigned terror, fleeing without regard to his path.
“Haha… Brother, leave this kid to me, just a Qi Refining third-layer, easy to kill.”
The short cultivator was thrilled, eyes locked on Fang Xi as he muttered some sort of spell.
With the final syllable of the incantation spoken, two bright yellow earthen spikes formed in front of him.
“Go!”
Pointing at Fang Xi, the earthen spikes shot forth.
Fang Xi did a roll, narrowly avoiding them and ending up covered in dust, which only excited the short cultivator more: “You’re carrying ‘Three-day Fragrance’, you won’t escape, prepare to die!”
Before his words fell, another earthen spike had already pierced into Fang Xi’s back.
“Ah!”
Fang Xi cried out in agony, collapsing to the ground.
However, in his frantic escape, he seemed a bit too reckless, falling close to the tall cultivator.
“You talk too much!”
The tall cultivator scolded the short one, approaching Fang Xi’s ‘corpse’. Suddenly, he had an ominous feeling.
How could that sword-type magic weapon still struggle against the Ghost Head Knife without its master’s spiritual power backing it, given it wasn’t sentient?
“Not good!”
Realizing this, the tall cultivator tried to retreat.
But it was too late!
The supposedly dead Fang Xi rushed towards him with terrifying speed, closing the distance almost in a blink of an eye.
In a desperate moment, the tall cultivator tore open a Water Shield Talisman, cloaking himself in a bubble.
The next moment, Fang Xi’s fist smashed against the water shield!
Boom!
The water shield revealed a horrifying dent but did not break, merely dimming significantly.
“A body cultivator, and a mid-stage one at that!”
Seeing this, fear spread across the tall cultivator’s face: “Sir… it’s a misunderstanding…”
“Mixed Origin Strength!”
But Fang Xi didn’t wish to converse further. He raised his right hand high, terrible force gathering at his fingertips and crashing down hard onto the water shield!
Bang!
He unleashed all his strength, his Mixed Origin Strength carrying various forces bursting onto the water shield, tearing it apart and revealing the tall cultivator’s despairing face behind it.
He wanted to say something, but Fang Xi’s finger had already pierced into his throat.
Bang!
Fang Xi carelessly discarded the tall cultivation-robber’s body, then turned to the approaching short cultivator: “Just now… did you enjoy hitting me?”