Buying Gifts

That was in June of this year. After the tens of thousands of cultivators who had been summoned by the Hundred Spirits Sect from various places to join the Demon Extermination War a year earlier had withdrawn from the territory of the Serpent Dragon Lake, two Golden Core experts from the Hundred Spirits Sect, Spirit Talisman True Person and Spirit Array True Person, led the entire Hundred Spirits Sect and thousands of Hundred Spirits Sect cultivators to directly attack the territory of the Serpent Dragon Lake.

In just half a month, the Hundred Spirits Sect seized more than 40,000 li of territory in the Serpent Dragon Lake area with lightning speed.

During this time, the only Water Flood Dragon in the Golden Core Initial Stage in Serpent Dragon Lake did not offer any resistance.

This territory of over 40,000 li was also divided by the Hundred Spirits Sect into four prefectures: Water Source County, Cold Moon County, Clear Forest County, and Western Sun. Like the Ice Flood Dragon County, these four new prefectures belong to the Jiao Province.

Because the territory occupied this time was too large, and the number of Foundation Establishment Cultivator born in this Demon Extermination War was too small.

In addition, some Rogue Cultivator, after reaching the Foundation Establishment, have become accustomed to being lone wolves and are unwilling to establish Lineage.

This resulted in the fact that only the second-tier spiritual veins in the counties of Shuiyuan and Bingjiao were exchanged for contribution points by some newly established Qi Refining families and independent Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Hundred Spirits Sect, thus establishing Foundation Establishment families.

The Spirit Vein of the other three prefectures are guarded by cultivators from the Hundred Spirits Sect, who cultivate Spirit Field Spirit Vein the Spirit Vein.

In these four newly opened prefectures, the Hundred Spirits Sect followed the precedent and built a market town on the highest-grade Spirit Vein in each prefecture, named after the prefecture. "Water Source Market Town, Cold Moon Market Town, Clear Forest Market Town, and West Yang Market Town".

To guard against a counterattack from the Demon Beast of Serpent Dragon Lake, Hundred Spirits Sect has deployed a large number of troops in West Yang County, West Yang Market Town is closest to Serpent Dragon Lake. The Spirit Array True Person of the Hundred Spirits Sect are also stationed there, just like when they were stationed in Huai River Market Town.

"With these territories, the Hundred Spirits Sect controls three states. With these territories as a foundation, the Hundred Spirits Sect will probably catch up with the Profound Yang Sect, the number one power in our Yan Kingdom, before long," Ling Xiaohua guessed, and then revealed another bombshell.

"According to a Qi Refining cultivator from the Hundred Spirits Sect stationed here, the Hundred Spirits Sect will hold its annual disciple recruitment conference in Hundred Spirits City, Ning Province, two years earlier than it used to be, on January 1st next year. Moreover, the requirements of the Hundred Spirits Sect have been lowered quite a bit this time. Anyone who has reached the Qi Training Middle Stage before the age of eighteen can join the Hundred Spirits Sect. If one has a hundred skills, one can directly enter the sect."

"Even in my Ling Clan, there are quite a few people of this age who have reached the Qi Training Middle Stage. In my opinion, the Hundred Spirits Sect is just pretending to recruit disciples this time. In reality, they just want to recruit some disciples with low cultivation levels to take care of the Spirit Field cultivated on the many Spirit Vein of the three counties of Cold Moon County, Clear Forest County, and Xiyang."

"This apprentice-acceptance ceremony is probably just a way to fool those Rogue Cultivator."

Yang Qiuyun agreed from the side. "That's right. Some time ago, I heard from my elder brother that the Yang Lineage has issued an order forbidding any clansmen with four or Five Spirit Root from joining the Hundred Spirits Sect. I guess it's because they're afraid that if these clansmen with poor aptitude rashly join the Hundred Spirits Sect, they'll be used as servants by the Hundred Spirits Sect."

"However, there is nothing wrong with Rogue Cultivator joining the Hundred Spirits Sect. With the Hundred Spirits Sect as their backer, they have something to rely on, which is better than venturing into the Cultivation World alone. Furthermore, Rogue Cultivator have never had many resources. Those who are only eighteen years old can enter the Qi Training Middle Stage, and eight or nine out of ten of them have pretty good talent."

"Perhaps, some of those Rogue Cultivator who join the Hundred Spirits Sect can actually turn their lives around, reach the Foundation Establishment, and become powerful figures. After all, the probability of obtaining Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object in the Hundred Spirits Sect is much easier than in the outside world."

When Yang Qiuyun mentioned the Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object, she stopped talking and looked at Ling Pengyun.

The same goes for Ling Xiaohua.

Seeing the expressions on his parents' faces, and considering the matter of the Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object they had just mentioned, Ling Pengyun naturally understood what his parents meant.

"Father and Mother, I made a contribution when I discovered the Mystic Water Iron Mine. Our Third Grandfather had already promised me that the Lineage would jointly purchase a batch of Hundred Spirits Water with me. Considering that I can now earn Spirit Stone from both weapon refining and Spirit Plant, it wouldn't be a problem to buy another batch of Meridian Protecting Pill."

"There's such a thing? Your Lineage has treated you well. If you ever reach the Foundation Establishment, remember not to let your Lineage down." Yang Qiuyun said with a surprised expression.

"That's right," Ling Xiaohua chimed in from the side.

Ling Pengyun nodded with a serious expression.

"Father, Mother, I understand this."

Seeing this, Ling Xiaohua and his wife were quite gratified.

They all came from Lineage that had benefited greatly from its Lineage, and naturally did not want their children to become ungrateful people.

None of the three wanted to continue discussing this topic, so they changed the subject and started chatting casually.

They might talk about which arrogant and domineering clansman got a female cultivator pregnant and then refused to take responsibility, or which famous Rogue Cultivator in Cloudwater County had improved his cultivation level, and so on.

After lunch, Ling Pengyun left the general store alone and strolled around Cloudwater Market Town.

Based on his childhood memories of Cloudwater Market Town, he found a shop selling Daoist robes and spirit skirts.

Upon entering the shop, a beautiful middle-aged woman in a colorful dress greeted us.

"Sir, are you here to buy a Daoist robe?"

Ling Pengyun shook his head and said, "I'll buy the spirit dress myself."

Upon hearing this, the beautiful middle-aged woman said nothing more and waited quietly to the side.

Ling Pengyun walked to the right side of the shop where spirit dresses were specially displayed. His gaze swept over the dozens of spirit dresses of different styles on display, and finally settled on a bright red long dress.

"Mother wearing this spirit dress will surely make Father completely infatuated," Ling Pengyun thought to himself.

This time, Ling Pengyun, a grown man, came to this store to buy a spirit dress, precisely because he wanted to buy one for his mother, Yang Qiuyun.

Since he entered the Dao, his mother has never bought him a beautiful spirit dress, but instead saved most of the Spirit Stone for his cultivation.

His father was the same.

Now that he has earned such a large amount of Spirit Stone by crafting Law Artifact for his Lineage, he naturally wants to show his filial piety to his parents.

As for why he didn't bring Yang Qiuyun to buy the spirit dress himself, it was simple: he was afraid that Yang Qiuyun would be reluctant for him to spend Spirit Stone on these things. After all, he had only made a small fortune this time, not a large sum of Spirit Stone that would leave him with no worries.

In this situation, it's better to act first and ask questions later than to drag Yang Qiuyun along to go shopping.

But the items bought to honor his father were something else entirely.

Having made up his mind to buy the long dress, Ling Pengyun stretched out his hand, pointed to the spirit dress he had his eye on, and asked the middle-aged woman in charge who had been waiting.

"What is the value of this gown?"

Upon hearing this, the woman in charge's eyes lit up, but to avoid being deterred by the price of the dress, as other cultivators who had taken a liking to it in recent years did, she hesitated.

The beautiful woman then described in detail the features of the spirit dress before revealing its price.

"Sir, you have a good eye. This spirit dress is not only beautiful, but also of high quality, reaching the First Rank Middle Grade. The Law Technique attached to this spirit dress is the Fire Arrow Art. As long as you inject spiritual power into this spirit dress, you can summon a fire arrow in an instant. Its power is comparable to that of an ordinary Qi Training Middle Stage Refining cultivator using this Law Technique at full power."

"This skirt requires half a day to accumulate spiritual power after each use."

"However, this dress is quite expensive, costing 110 Spirit Stone."

Ling Pengyun thought the price was reasonable. The Light Body Daoist Robe he was wearing was also purchased for 110 Spirit Stone, so he didn't say anything more and paid 110 Spirit Stone directly, then asked the lady to wrap it in a gift box.

The dresses are all automatically adjustable in size, so there is no need to measure the waist or other measurements.

After leaving the spirit dress shop, Ling Pengyun went to "Hundred Spirits Artifact Hall", the largest shop selling Law Artifact in Cloudwater Market Town.

This equipment shop is run by the Hundred Spirits Sect. Every market town built by the Hundred Spirits Sect has one of these "Hundred Spirits Artifact Hall", as well as Hundred Spirits Talisman Hall, Hundred Spirits Array Hall, Hundred Spirits Pill Hall, and so on. After all, the Hundred Spirits Sect is known for its many arts and crafts, and its members have all kinds of people skilled in various arts and crafts.

Even though the Cloudwater Market Town was sparsely populated, the Hundred Spirits Artifact Hall Law Artifact had many exquisite magical artifacts, with hundreds of different kinds. Even Ling Pengyun, Artifact Refiner, was dazzled by the sight.

And these are only the Law Artifact sold on the first floor of the Hundred Spirits Artifact Hall; the Hundred Spirits Sect has two floors in total.

The first floor sells low- to mid-grade first-tier Law Artifact, while the second floor sells First-Tier Superior-Grade Law Artifact.

This shop is extremely famous in the market because it sells high-quality Law Artifact and is run by the Hundred Spirits Sect.

Nowadays, the shop is bustling with customers buying Law Artifact, and it takes two shop assistants and a manager taking turns to keep up with the demand.

Ling Pengyun, the customer, could only examine the Law Artifact in the shop on his own.

After browsing around the store, Ling Pengyun finally stopped in front of more than ten jade bracelet-type Law Artifact.

Ling Pengyun's gaze swept over the dozen or so bracelet-like magical Law Artifact in front of him, and he finally took a fancy to a First Rank Middle Grade White Jade bracelet Law Artifact.

"The Law Artifact artifact looks quite exquisite and exudes wealth; it would be very suitable for Mother to wear," Ling Pengyun muttered to himself.

After a while, once one of the shop assistants from the Hundred Spirits Artifact Hall had finished serving a customer who had purchased a magical Law Artifact and seen him off, he was free to go straight to Ling Pengyun's Ling Pengyun and begin serving him.

"Sir, are you looking to buy a jade bracelet or similar Law Artifact?" the shop assistant asked.

"Hmm, may I take a look at that white jade bracelet?" Ling Pengyun asked, pointing to the white jade bracelet he had his eye on.

Upon hearing this, the young shop assistant quickly went behind the counter, took out the white jade bracelet that Ling Pengyun had pointed to, handed it to Ling Pengyun, and introduced it to Ling Pengyun.

"This item is called the Thousand Jun Bracelet. In battle, it can transform into a five-foot-long object with the strength of a thousand pounds. Furthermore, it has a relatively good hardness and can also serve as a defensive magic Law Artifact. Due to these two functions, its price is higher than that of ordinary First Rank Middle Grade Law Artifact. The price is one hundred and twenty Spirit Stone."

After listening to the shopkeeper's introduction, Ling Pengyun became interested. He took the Thousand Jun Bracelet that was handed to him, infused it with spiritual power, and observed that the Thousand Jun Bracelet in his hand was indeed gradually increasing in size, just as the shopkeeper had said.

As the size increases, the weight of the jade bracelet also continues to rise.

When the jade bracelet reaches a size of five feet, its weight also reaches exactly one thousand catties.

"With such a fair price for Law Artifact that can be used for both offense and defense, it's no wonder that the Hundred Spirits Artifact Hall still has quite a few customers in the usually quiet Cloudwater Market Town." Ling Pengyun sighed inwardly after seeing the power of the Thousand Jun Bracelet.

"Given the advantages of the Hundred Spirits Artifact Hall, I wonder if anyone will buy the First Rank Low Grade Law Artifact I put in the general store."

Thinking about it this way, Ling Pengyun had a rather troubled headache.

After letting out a soft sigh, he finally came to his senses and spoke to the young shop assistant in front of him, "I'll take this Thousand Jun Bracelet. Does your shop sell demon Demon Serpent for early and mid-stage Qi Refining Qi Refining, as well as lower and middle-grade first-tier Xuan Gold?"

Besides magical Law Artifact, the Hundred Spirits Artifact Hall also collects or sells Weapon Refinement Materials Weapon Refinement Materials.

Upon hearing Ling Pengyun's words, the young shop assistant was overjoyed, thinking to himself, "A big client."

The young man then replied, "We do have both Demon Serpent and Xuanjin. The price of Demon Serpent is better, since recently tens of thousands of cultivators have followed our sect into the Serpent Dragon Lake area to kill demon Demon Beast, causing a flood of Demon Beast materials on the market. As a result, the price of Demon Beast materials is relatively cheap. You can buy two Demon Serpent for three Spirit Stone Spirit Stone at the Early-Stage Qi Training, and one Demon Serpent for the Qi Training Middle Stage Refining, which is half Spirit Stone and one Spirit Stone cheaper than the normal market price, respectively."

"However, this Xuanjin is a spirit iron, and our Hundred Spirits Sect has a great demand for it, so the price will be higher than the market price. First Rank Low Grade Xuanjin costs three Spirit Stone per kilogram, and First Rank Middle Grade six Spirit Stone per kilogram, both of which are one Spirit Stone more expensive than the market price."

"If you have a large demand for Xuanjin, we can offer a discount."

Under normal circumstances, the market price for a single Demon Serpent in the early and mid-stages of Qi Refining is two and five Spirit Stone, respectively.

The market price for first-grade lower and middle-grade Xuanjin is generally around two to five Spirit Stone per pound.

Ling Pengyun thought about it for a moment before speaking.

"Qi Refining ten pieces each of early and mid-stage Demon Serpent, and forty catties each of first-grade lower and middle-grade Xuan Gold."

The traditional materials required to forge the Golden Scale Inner Armor are a piece of Demon Serpent and four catties of Xuan Gold.

As for buying only this small amount of spiritual materials to refine the Golden Scale Inner Armor, it wasn't that Ling Pengyun was unwilling to spend Spirit Stone, but rather that he dared not spend too many Spirit Stone in this shop, since one can never be too careful.

When the young shop assistant heard the amount of spiritual materials Ling Pengyun wanted, his heart pounded wildly, and an uncontrollable excitement appeared on his face. He could earn at least five Spirit Stone from the transaction of the Demon Serpent and the black gold alone.

However, as a disciple of the Hundred Spirits Sect, even though he was only the lowest-ranking menial disciple, he had seen some of the world and quickly adjusted his mindset.

Because the transaction amount was too large, in order to avoid being observed by those with ulterior motives, the shop assistant invited Ling Pengyun into a quiet room next door for a private discussion.

The quiet room is small and simply furnished, with only a small table and a few chairs.

After the shopkeeper invited Ling Pengyun to sit down at a small table, he took out an abacus from his Storage Bag, fiddled with it for a while, and then said, "The fifty early -Qi Refining and mid-stage Qi Refining Demon Serpent you need will cost fifteen Spirit Stone and forty Spirit Stone respectively."

"Forty catties of first-grade lower and middle-grade Xuan Gold would require one hundred and twenty Spirit Stone and two hundred and forty Spirit Stone respectively."

"These spiritual materials together will require 415 and a half Spirit Stone, plus the Thousand Jun Bracelet, for a total of 535 Spirit Stone."

Before entering the shop, Ling Pengyun had already calculated the amount of Spirit Stone needed to purchase the batch of refining materials. Because he was mentally prepared, he readily paid the amount of Spirit Stone.

Once the Spirit Stone were given, the shopkeeper excitedly left the quiet room and summoned the manager, who then personally handed over the numerous spiritual materials needed by Ling Pengyun Ling Pengyun.