Shopping, Golden Core Restriction

"I would like to buy a first-tier spirit vein—the kind I can own outright!"

Li Ye made his first request.

"A first-tier spirit vein? What attribute do you want, or do you want an attribute-free spirit vein with balanced five elements?" Uncle Spirit Vine asked.

Ordinarily, Four Seasons Sect shops would not readily sell spirit veins.

Even when they did, the buyers had to be affiliated with the Four Seasons Sect. Otherwise, what if outside sects bought up large quantities of spirit veins with Spirit Stones? Wouldn't that cause problems?

Li Ye now had that authority.

The Four Seasons Sect had always been exceedingly generous toward its subordinate forces and disciples.

"Mm."

When he had inspected that Spirit Vein Willow earlier, Li Ye had already noticed that it was an earth-attribute spirit plant. Thus, he answered, "An earth-attribute spirit vein."

"Ten thousand Spirit Stones."

As he spoke, Uncle Spirit Vine somehow curled out a crystalline little sphere from somewhere. Within it lay a slender streak of light, curled up like a plant root and giving off a yellowish-earth glow.

So this was a spirit vein? A single ball could hold it.

How wondrous.

Li Ye quickly took out ten thousand Spirit Stones. The Spirit Stones vanished the moment they were placed on the ground, while the little sphere containing the spirit vein was delivered into his hand.

Having never handled such a thing before, Li Ye had worried that it would be heavy.

Yet it felt light as air in his hand—one could even say it had no weight at all. He could not sense any Spiritual Energy within it either; it seemed like an ordinary object.

Uncle Spirit Vine said, "Using this is simple. Just pierce it with a golden needle, then bury the spirit vein in the soil and let it take root."

"However, your courtyard probably doesn't have a Spirit Vein Plate, does it? I suggest you spend another thousand Spirit Stones to buy one. It will lock down the source of the spirit vein and map out the areas through which it should flow.

"Otherwise, it might run away."

This was indeed money worth spending, so Li Ye took out another thousand Spirit Stones and exchanged them for a jade disc that looked like a Bagua plate.

Except all the trigrams upon it were Gen, and there were grooves just large enough to hold a Spirit Vein Orb.

"Once you return, place the Spirit Vein Orb into any one of the grooves, then use your Divine Sense to divide the spiritual-power threads.

"Remember: once this item is used, it will record the fluctuations of your Divine Sense. From then on, no power other than one identical to your Divine Sense can alter or activate it, so there are no returns once you use it!"

After explaining this, Uncle Spirit Vine continued, "You look like you have other needs as well. Just say them all at once and save us from doing this piece by piece."

"...This junior would also like to find a restraint capable of controlling spirit beasts, and have my courtyard renovated to partition off a place where I can chat and discuss the Dao with fellow cultivators," Li Ye said.

"Your courtyard is easy enough. There's plenty of room beside it already; partitioning off another mu of land for you will be enough. As for a restraint to control spirit beasts..."

"What tier is the spirit beast you wish to control?"

Li Ye's expression remained unchanged. "Golden Core."

It took two thousand points of Vital Essence to bind it, so it was certainly no ordinary creature. He might as well say Golden Core.

Otherwise, if he bought something inferior that could not restrain it, that would be a real headache.

"..."

Su Ya's expression shifted subtly, while Uncle Spirit Vine somehow made clicking sounds. "You brat really have guts. You dare reveal something like this to outsiders?"

"This junior sincerely seeks guidance, so naturally I will not beat around the bush."

Li Ye had now proven his abilities, and he could also sense the importance the Four Seasons Sect placed on him. This was perhaps the boldest and riskiest decision he had ever made.

—His heart was uneasy, while Su Ya and Uncle Spirit Vine were even more moved. This Fellow Daoist Li—this little friend Li—could be astonishingly bold at times. He truly stayed silent until he spoke, then stunned the world with a single cry.

Precisely because they knew how difficult it was for Rogue Cultivators—how they had to tread carefully through every arduous step—they found Li Ye all the more extraordinary. Being able to offer trust was truly no easy thing.

But this was indeed something they were happy to see. He would be a junior brother within the sect in the future, and a sense of belonging naturally needed to be cultivated.

Su Ya blinked and hinted, "Fellow Daoist Li, the market is very safe.

"If you truly encounter a problem you cannot solve, you can always come to Uncle Spirit Vine for help. This elder... is very strong!"

Uncle Spirit Vine tried its best to put on an imposing air, but as a mere vine, it simply could not pull off that feeling no matter what.

It gave Li Ye three choices:

"Judging from your appearance, that Golden Core Spirit Beast has likely fallen into slumber or suffered grievous injuries. Otherwise, you would certainly have found a way to subdue it long ago and would not have come seeking a restraint method."

"This Golden Ring can affect beasts at the Golden Core level."

"This Blood Seal Method excels at binding spirit beasts without physical forms."

"This Seal Character excels at restraining Spirit Materials that are plant-based lifeforms."

These three items covered nearly all types of spirit beasts; the remainder were merely exceptionally rare varieties.

"This junior wants the third one."

The Huai Spirit Scroll, no matter how he looked at it, seemed to be a spirit born from vegetation.

"I'll give you a discount on this item—fifty thousand Spirit Stones."

"..."

What a steep price—fifty thousand Spirit Stones.

If he hadn't just harvested a batch of Spirit Stones, he wouldn't have been able to afford that many even if he sold Li Ye himself.

But generally speaking, this kind of restriction was sold to low-level cultivators.

If one were truly a high-level cultivator, they could easily defeat spirit beasts, and would have more or less a few beast-controlling techniques in hand.

If they could truly beat a spirit beast until it had no ability to resist before placing the restriction on it, it would only be for their juniors to carry for self-defense.

Thus, those who needed such a thing would not be particularly highly cultivated, and the price was not considered too high either.

Li Ye took out fifty thousand Spirit Stones and bought it—a mere yellow slip of paper bearing the character "Restriction."

More than half of the Spirit Stones he had just acquired vanished in an instant, but being able to settle the matter of the Huai Spirit Scroll and the Spirit Vein Willow was still a good thing.

"Many thanks, Senior Spirit Vine. This is Peach Blossom Wine brewed by this junior, as well as the Purple Oil Spring Rain I collected." He took out the gifts he had prepared long ago and handed them to Spirit Vine.

"Oh, not bad, not bad!"

The latter accepted them with a delighted smile.

Of course, since Su Ya was still here, Li Ye did not forget to give him a bottle of Peach Blossom Wine as well.

Li Ye then took his leave and prepared to depart, but before he could go, Su Ya called out to stop him:

"In a few days, I'll be delivering wheat to the mortal territory of our Four Seasons Sect. Come with me, and remember to bring some Aura of Golden Fortune."

"There'll be something in it for you!"

After saying that in a mysteriously cryptic manner, Su Ya waved his hand and left.

Li Ye's mouth twitched at the sight.

Talking only halfway through! Did all cultivators have this kind of temperament?

What a detestable riddler—but he truly did not dwell on it too much.

There was something he had long been looking forward to doing now. He really could not spare the mind for much else.

He would deal with this matter first.

The Huai Spirit Scroll, the Spirit Vein Willow!

He wondered just how many surprises they would bring him?