Flame Serpent Art

"Are there really such fools?"

The shopkeeper sat up at once, carefully examining the golden Spirit Rice. Its color, gleaming like gold itself, immediately stirred him to excitement.

"How many do you have? I'll take however many you've got. One Supreme-Grade Spirit Rice for one Low-Grade Spirit Stone!"

Shen Fan's face immediately lit up. This price was indeed the same as what that man had just said.

As he spoke, Shen Fan took out all fifteen Supreme-Grade Spirit Rice grains he had on him.

"This is all I have. I'm from the Heavenly Xuan Sect's Spirit Field. I accidentally dug these up while farming!"

"You brat really stepped in dog shit and struck luck! Looks like the Spirit Field you farm used to grow Supreme-Grade Spirit Rice!"

After inspecting them, the shopkeeper did not waste a word. He directly took out fifteen Low-Grade Spirit Stones and handed them over.

"Little brother, fifteen of them. Count them."

"No need. This place is run by our Heavenly Xuan Sect too. You wouldn't cheat one of your own, right?"

With that, Shen Fan put away the fifteen Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

"By the way, how much is a storage bag?"

"Heh heh!"

A trace of mockery appeared on the shopkeeper's face.

"The cheapest kind costs five hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones!"

"Holy shit!"

Shen Fan sucked in a sharp breath.

Then he turned and left without hesitation.

This was not something he could afford right now.

Fortunately, Spirit Stones were not large, only about the size of a fingernail. Carrying fifteen of them in his clothes would not attract anyone's attention.

As soon as he stepped outside, the young man was about to head in to look for him.

"I thought you'd run off!"

"Do I look like that kind of person?"

Shen Fan snorted. Having money had boosted his confidence by several points as well.

"By the way, do you know where they sell spells? First-rank low-grade ones, preferably fire-element."

After thinking it over, Shen Fan realized that he now had the Azure Water Fire Ward, which could remove fire poison and let him cultivate safely.

But he did not have a single offensive spell for self-defense.

In a place like the Waste Elixir Chamber, where fire-element spiritual energy was abundant, cultivating a fire-element spell could not have been more suitable.

"Of course. But if you want first-rank low-grade ones, you can find them in the shantytown."

As he spoke, the young man led Shen Fan to the shantytown.

This man seemed extremely familiar with the area.

Very quickly, he brought Shen Fan before a stall.

He seemed to have known the stall owner for a long time and got straight to the point. "I brought you a customer—a fat sheep. Don't you have a fire-element spell? Give him a cheaper price—skin him alive!"

"So it's Biaozi! Since you brought him here, naturally I'll give him the lowest price!"

The stall owner smiled knowingly, then pulled an ancient-looking wooden box from beneath the stall.

"Little brother, this was dug out of the tomb of a mighty Golden Core cultivator. Though it's first-rank low-grade, it was a spell used by that Golden Core mighty figure during his early cultivation days. It's called the Flame Serpent Art!"

The stall owner launched into an endless stream of words.

"This spell originated from the ancient fire cultivator sect, the Crimson Flame Sect. It was originally an introductory spell for Outer Sect Disciples, but because it was simple and practical, it later spread widely among Rogue Cultivators. In the 'Complete Guide to Basic Five Elements Spells,' it ranks seventeenth among fire-element spells and is one of the essential skills for Qi Refinement cultivators."

"And besides..."

"Though the Flame Serpent Art is first-rank low-grade, its strength lies in its flexibility and variety. It's suited for novice cultivators to familiarize themselves with fire-element spiritual energy control, and it lays the groundwork for learning higher-grade fire spells later, such as the Fireball Art and Heaven-Burning Art!"

"Also, do you know this? Although it requires hand seals and incantations, it's practically instantaneous!"

"Just imagine it—streams of fire serpents gushing out one after another. Wouldn't your opponent be forced to scurry away with his head in his hands?"

The stall owner's sales pitch left Shen Fan utterly dazed.

In short, it all came down to one thing.

Though this Flame Serpent Art was the lowest-grade spell, it was truly badass!

"How much?"

Shen Fan could not help feeling tempted and asked instinctively.

Seeing that Shen Fan was interested, the stall owner wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Thank goodness!

His torrent of words had not been wasted.

"Not expensive. Just five Low-Grade Spirit Stones!"

"And you call that not expensive?"

Though Shen Fan did not know the market price, he still knew how to haggle.

"Forget it. I'll look somewhere else."

"Well, business is business. There's always room for bargaining, right? Even if a deal falls through, goodwill remains. Brother, name a price. I guarantee I won't counteroffer!"

The stall owner hurriedly called after Shen Fan.

Shen Fan considered it for a moment, then immediately cut the price in half. "Two Low-Grade Spirit Stones!"

"Deal!"

Without a second word, the stall owner closed the wooden box and stuffed it into Shen Fan's arms.

"See, brother? I told you I wouldn't counteroffer!"

"I..."

Shen Fan was completely stunned. "Fuck me!"

"Pay up!"

The stall owner held out his hand.

"No, I wasn't ready yet. You have to give me some time to buffer!"

Shen Fan immediately felt that he had been tricked. Perhaps this so-called Flame Serpent Art could be bought for less than one Low-Grade Spirit Stone.

"Let's do it again. I'll start bargaining, then you counteroffer. Let's go again!"

"Are you messing with me?"

Hearing this, the stall owner slammed a hand on the table and roared.

"Two Low-Grade Spirit Stones. Are you buying or not?"

The moment those words came out, Shen Fan suddenly had the strange feeling of "someone coming to sell melons..." flash through his mind.

Good thing he was not Hua Qiang, or he would have hit him with a round of "Sari Lang" for sure!

With the stall owner's furious roar, everyone at the surrounding stalls immediately turned to look.

Seeing this, Shen Fan could only swallow his anger and grit his teeth through it.

Then he pointed at the young man who had been following him. "You've really been good to me, huh?"

The man was shameless enough to simply chuckle and follow after him.

After all, his task was to keep an eye on Shen Fan.

Returning to the place where he had arranged to meet Baishitong, Baishitong came back carrying bags and bundles in less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea.

Seeing Shen Fan still there, Baishitong immediately let out a sigh of relief.

"Check them. If everything's right, money and goods change hands at the same time!"

Shen Fan took the bags and immediately inspected them.

When he saw the medicinal ingredients he needed inside, he handed Baishitong three Low-Grade Spirit Stones without hesitation.

In truth, out of all these medicinal ingredients, Shen Fan only truly needed five or six kinds.

Though it was a waste of money, at least it was safe.

After all, what he needed them for was preserving corpses.

If someone observant saw them, they would definitely guess that these were ingredients required for the Corpse Refining Art.

That would be troublesome!

On the way here, Shen Fan had bought one jin of Spirit Rice.

Then he gave Baishitong three hundred grains and gave Biaozi ten grains, before turning to leave.

"Brother, come find me again next time you need something! I'm always around this area!"

Baishitong shouted loudly from behind him.

After saying that, he turned to Biaozi.

"Did you see how many Spirit Stones that guy has on him?"

Biaozi shook his head. "No, but I took him to Old Zhang Three's place, and he bought the lowest-grade Flame Serpent Art for two Spirit Stones!"

Baishitong said in surprise, "Why buy that thing? It can only light fires and cook rice!"

"Heh heh, that kid's a complete novice. He doesn't know any of this at all!" Biaozi said proudly.

"If that's the case..."

Baishitong narrowed his eyes at Shen Fan's departing back.

"Call the brothers. Tell them there's work to do!"