Harvest (Part 1)

Xu Chunniang changed back into her green Carefree Sect disciple uniform. She had no choice; one of the two outfits she'd bought had been destroyed in battle, and the other, while intact, was so filthy she couldn't possibly wear it for now.

She didn't linger after returning to Green Mountain Town, heading straight for the Treasure Pavilion.

Senior Sister Yao looked at Xu Chunniang with a hint of pleasant surprise. "Junior Sister Xu, it's been quite a while since I've seen you. I thought you might have returned to the sect."

Xu Chunniang smiled. "I went to the Hundred Demonic Mountain Range these past few days."

Upon hearing this, Senior Sister Yao's eyes lit up, and she quickly led Xu Chunniang into a private room meant for guests. "Junior Sister Xu, do you have some good items to sell again?"

Xu Chunniang didn't play coy, directly releasing the corpse of a Fire Cloud Tiger.

"A Fire Cloud Tiger!"

Senior Sister Yao exclaimed, her gaze towards Xu Chunniang becoming slightly complex. "This is a demonic beast at the fourth layer of Qi Condensation, and Fire Cloud Tigers are only found around Tiger Gorge Mountain."

Not just anyone dared to venture near Tiger Gorge Mountain. The Cloud Tiger Beasts there were exceptionally ferocious, and they often appeared in groups.

Xu Chunniang chuckled. "Senior Sister, you don't think I killed this Fire Cloud Tiger, do you? The last time I managed to kill that Blackwater Crocodile was purely by luck.

I joined a team a few days ago, and this Cloud Tiger Beast was hunted down under the lead of a Senior Sister at the sixth layer of Qi Condensation. I merely earned her trust and helped with the processing."

Senior Sister Yao's expression softened with understanding. If a Senior Sister at the sixth layer of Qi Condensation was leading the team, it wasn't surprising they could hunt a Fire Cloud Tiger.

"This Fire Cloud Tiger is extremely useful. Its hide can be used to refine armor, its meat is edible, its blood can be used to make ink for talismans, and its bones can be used to brew spiritual wine. As for its penis, it's a great tonic..."

Senior Sister Yao revealed a mysterious smile. "It's worth eighty Spirit Stones in total."

A hint of satisfaction flickered in Xu Chunniang's eyes. This Fire Cloud Tiger was even more valuable than she had imagined.

With a wave of her hand, two more Cloud Tiger Beasts appeared: a Gold Cloud Tiger at the fourth layer of Qi Condensation and the Wind Cloud Tiger at the fifth layer.

"A fifth-layer Qi Condensation Cloud Tiger Beast, and a rare Wind Cloud Tiger at that!"

A hint of excitement surfaced on Senior Sister Yao's face as she couldn't resist reaching out to stroke the Wind Cloud Tiger. "Using its hide to refine soft armor could potentially yield a mid-grade Spiritual Artifact!"

A mid-grade Spiritual Artifact?

Xu Chunniang's heart stirred. A typical mid-grade defensive Spiritual Artifact would cost around four hundred Spirit Stones on the market.

Senior Sister Yao took a deep breath and turned back. "Junior Sister Xu, this Gold Cloud Tiger, like the previous Fire Cloud Tiger, is worth eighty Spirit Stones. If you're selling this Wind Cloud Tiger, we'll price it at one hundred and fifty Spirit Stones."

Xu Chunniang shook her head. A mid-grade Spiritual Artifact versus one hundred and fifty Spirit Stones – any fool would know which to choose.

"My Senior Sister said that the Wind Cloud Tiger isn't for sale. Instead, she's entrusting you to help refine a piece of soft armor with it."

"It's not impossible," Senior Sister Yao mused for a moment. "If that's the case, you'll need to cover the price difference for the other materials and pay a forging fee of one hundred Spirit Stones. Also, if the forging fails and only a low-grade Spiritual Artifact is produced, you cannot hold the Treasure Pavilion accountable."

"Agreed."

Xu Chunniang nodded. Artifact refining inherently carried risks. Even if the end result was only a low-grade soft armor, it would still be significantly better than other low-grade soft armors.

Senior Sister Yao quickly calculated the cost of the other materials.

"The Wind Cloud Tiger's hide is valued at one hundred and twenty Spirit Stones, and its other parts are valued at thirty Spirit Stones. The material cost for refining the soft armor is eighty-five Spirit Stones, plus the forging fee of one hundred Spirit Stones. Junior Sister Xu, you will need to pay a total of one hundred and fifty-five Spirit Stones.

These two fourth-layer Qi Condensation Cloud Tiger Beasts total one hundred and sixty Spirit Stones. By that logic, I should be paying you five Spirit Stones."

With that, Senior Sister Yao smiled and produced five Spirit Stones.

Xu Chunniang accepted the five Spirit Stones with a hint of speechlessness. However, thinking about owning a Spiritual Artifact soon, she couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation.

"Senior Sister Yao, how long will this soft armor take to refine?"

Senior Sister Yao handed her a newly written contract. "You can pick it up in five days with this contract. Please confirm that it's to be refined into a female cultivator's style. Once refining begins, it cannot be changed."

"Confirmed, our captain is a female cultivator."

Xu Chunniang took the contract. Seeing the official seal of the Treasure Pavilion on it, she put it away with peace of mind.

She had originally planned to sell her items today, buy a Spiritual Artifact, and return to the sect. However, plans often changed. It seemed she'd have to wait another five days.

With seven days remaining until the Grand Examination, there was still enough time.

"Senior Sister Yao, I have some other items here that I'd like to sell as well."

With that, Xu Chunniang brought out a pile of low-grade herbs and materials, then unhooked the seven storage bags hanging from her neck.

"A total of thirty-seven stalks of herbs and sixteen pieces of low-grade materials. These are worth fifteen Spirit Stones in total."

After counting the low-grade herbs on the table, Senior Sister Yao turned her gaze to the storage bags. "These storage bags have a relatively small capacity. Our purchase price is ten Spirit Stones each, so seven of them are seventy Spirit Stones."

Xu Chunniang did some quick math. That brought the total to eighty-five Spirit Stones. She already had one hundred and thirteen Spirit Stones on her, bringing her total to nearly two hundred.

Not only was this enough to buy materials for Talismans, but she could even afford another Spiritual Artifact.

Xu Chunniang's heart fluttered. After all, as good as a mid-grade Spiritual Artifact was, it didn't change the fact that it was a defensive item.

"Please, Senior Sister Yao, take me to see the Spiritual Artifacts. My Senior Sister asked me to buy an offensive-type Spiritual Artifact for him."

Senior Sister Yao nodded and led Xu Chunniang to the Spiritual Artifact counter. "Most of the items displayed here are low-grade Spiritual Artifacts. If you want better ones, you'll need to go upstairs."

"Let's look at these first," Xu Chunniang said, her gaze falling upon the Spiritual Artifacts.

Senior Sister Yao took the opportunity to introduce them. "This is a spiritual bow, capable of shooting up to twenty Zhang. The bow body is refined from the spine of a White Lion Beast at the third layer of Qi Condensation, and the bowstring is made from the sinews of a Black Spotted Python."

Xu Chunniang's gaze moved past the spiritual bow, settling on a strangely shaped dagger.

Senior Sister Yao understood. "This dagger is refined from the horn of a Unicorn Rhinoceros. It fears neither water nor fire and is very hard. Among low-grade Spiritual Artifacts, it's considered a fine item."

Xu Chunniang thought about it. The dagger was too short; it would likely only be effective in close-quarters combat, which wasn't very suitable for her.

Afterward, Xu Chunniang looked at many other Spiritual Artifacts, and some truly caught her eye.

However, she didn't rush to buy them, preferring to look at more options for comparison.

Suddenly, a white Spiritual Artifact with a peculiar design caught Xu Chunniang's attention. She asked with some curiosity, "What is this?"

Senior Sister Yao glanced at it and spoke eloquently, "This is the Mother-Child Swift Shadow Shuttle, refined from the bones of a Swift Shadow Beast.

There are seven pieces in total: one mother shuttle and six child shuttles.

When attacking, it's incredibly fast, making it difficult to defend against, though its power is average. The combined power of the seven Mother-Child shuttles is about the same as the Unicorn Rhinoceros dagger from earlier.

Furthermore, it consumes quite a bit of Spiritual Qi to use. Because it's a special type of Spiritual Artifact, its price is a bit higher, costing one hundred and fifty Spirit Stones."

Xu Chunniang couldn't help but gasp. The dagger from before only cost one hundred and twenty Spirit Stones; this Mother-Child Swift Shadow Shuttle was a full thirty Spirit Stones more expensive.