The five-member group from Blackstone Sect temporarily remained in Bluestone County, their might deterring every Rogue Cultivator from entertaining crooked thoughts.
This brought unprecedented prosperity to the market's legitimate trade.
Uniform stalls, clearly marked prices, and a safe environment ensured that every transaction was conducted within proper rules.
Yang Shi took the opportunity to sell off the Spirit Rice the family could not finish eating this year.
Sold at the market price of 1 Spirit Stone per ten jin, it brought in a total of 50 Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
Adding the 23 Low-Grade Spirit Stones left over from selling Divine General cards earlier, Yang Shi now had the enormous sum of 73 Low-Grade Spirit Stones in hand!
The ancestral hall in the teahouse's backyard.
Yang Shi dug out 12 Low-Grade Spirit Stones from the pile and pushed them before Jiang Xiaobai.
"These twelve are for your cultivation."
Jiang Xiaobai hurriedly shook her head. "I don't want them. Brother, you should buy some pills that can help you temper your body. I'll slowly absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth on my own."
"Take them when I tell you to. I asked Senior Brother Bai; he said that at your stage, refining the pure spiritual energy of one Low-Grade Spirit Stone each month will make your cultivation twice as fast as merely absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Your improvement in strength is very important to our family."
"Our... family." Jiang Xiaobai blushed, then said coyly, "Brother, in another three months, I'll be eighteen."
"Oh. The remaining 61 Spirit Stones are what we can use. We'll exchange them for a suitable wood-element cultivation method for you, then buy some other family assets."
"Hmph! I don't want it. Buy things for yourself instead." Xiao Bai pouted and turned her head away, angry for some reason.
"Let's wait for the ancestor first. His divine sense can see the goods in this market, so he'll surely pick out the most suitable items for us."
Indeed.
Yang Genshuo could see the spiritual power on objects, so naturally he could pick out the good stuff.
He had been examining the Rogue Cultivators' wares all along, but this was ultimately a marketplace at the very bottom rung. Most sellers were Rogue Cultivators in the Embryonic Breath Realm and martial artists in the Innate Grandmaster Realm.
There were only a very few Qi Refining cultivators.
Most of their goods were common items, and their values were broadly agreed upon. Prices basically would not rise or fall much, leaving no room to pick up bargains.
Yang Genshuo patiently inspected the goods at every stall and found two items suited for Yang Shi and Jiang Xiaobai.
"Marrow Cleansing Pill?"
Yang Shi walked to a stall in the market and picked up a small jade bottle. Inside was a black pill. The spiritual energy it emitted condensed within the bottle without dispersing, making it appear quite precious.
"Boss Yang has a sharp eye. This Marrow Cleansing Pill is a genuine First-Grade Pill. After taking it, it can cleanse the impurities within the body, optimize one's bloodline, improve cultivation aptitude, and raise cultivation. It is one of the essential pills for all immortal cultivators. Would you like one?"
With the ancestor guarding the gate, Yang Shi did not need to worry about being cheated even though he did not recognize the Marrow Cleansing Pill. Still, his heart ached as he looked at it.
"This tiny pill costs twenty Low-Grade Spirit Stones?"
The shop owner said, "Never mind strengthening the body and raising cultivation—even its ability to improve aptitude alone makes it worth the price! Twenty Low-Grade Spirit Stones truly isn't expensive!"
A person could only take a Marrow Cleansing Pill once. Taking more would be useless.
Most crucially, it was extremely effective for Martial Cultivators.
After some haggling, they settled on eighteen Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
Only forty-three Low-Grade Spirit Stones left.
When Yang Shi arrived at another stall indicated by the ancestor, he saw a cultivation-method Jade Slip.
"Springwood Longevity Technique."
A wood-element Qi Refining technique that could be cultivated to Peak Qi Refining.
Its special feature was that it could absorb the essence of plants and trees to stimulate one's own potential and extend one's lifespan.
It came with three spells: Universal Growth Art, Springwood Rejuvenation Technique, and Wood Spirit Possession.
"This is great. It suits Xiao Bai."
Yang Shi glanced at the price—fifty Spirit Stones—and his vision went dark.
"You dare sell a cultivation art that can only reach Qi Refining Stage for fifty Low-Grade Spirit Stones?"
"Because it grants longevity! Who among us immortal cultivators does not want a longer life? One more year of lifespan means one more chance to advance to Foundation Establishment. So is this merely a Qi Refining technique? No! It is a shortcut leading to the Foundation Establishment Realm!"
Seeing the stall owner speak so forcefully and confidently, Yang Shi felt his teeth ache.
Refusing to believe it, he searched through the cultivation methods at the other stalls himself. He discovered that methods from the Embryonic Breath Realm to the Qi Refining Realm were all priced at around forty Low-Grade Spirit Stones, and none of them suited Xiao Bai as well as this one.
After another round of haggling, Yang Shi forcibly cut the price down to forty Spirit Stones and bought it.
After making the rounds, only three Spirit Stones remained.
The Yang Family's harvest for the year and the Spirit Stones earned from selling cards had been almost entirely spent.
"Right, I still have three Spirit Fruits."
Magma Fruits.
Yang Shi had seen them being sold outside. They were excellent fire-element materials, useful for either Spirit Meals or pill refinement.
They could sell for five Low-Grade Spirit Stones each,
but Yang Genshuo stopped him.
"Keep feeding them to Little Flame. It can grow into a Spirit Beast that guards the courtyard."
Since the things could not fetch much of a price anyway, they might as well continue strengthening the Yang Family.
The market was open for three days.
Amid laughter and cheerful voices from the Rogue Cultivators, trading was about to end that night.
Ding Zhen took out a set of Bloodburst Landmine Formation from his Storage Ring. After pondering for a long while, he put it away again.
"Boss, we're back."
"How did it go?"
"We still didn't find any Rogue Cultivators who wanted to join our Demonic Dao."
"..."
Over these last three days, they had finally remembered their proper business. Yet no Rogue Cultivator had any intention of joining the Demonic Dao; they were living quite comfortably here.
"Without hatred, jealousy, and rage, who are we supposed to absorb?"
Ding Zhen could not help recalling the day when he was still a child.
His father had taken him to the annual Rogue Cultivator Market and bought a Marrow Cleansing Pill, saying Ding Zhen had excellent aptitude. Once they got home and fed it to him, he would become an immortal. Yet halfway there, two greedy immortal cultivators joined forces and killed his father.
A master from Bloodsoul Valley appeared, took him back to Bloodsoul Valley, and taught him to make hatred his faith, cultivate the Demonic Dao, and personally butcher his enemies.
All these years, he had carried hatred with him, yet he had never found those two immortal cultivators.
But he had also followed his master's example and absorbed many people like himself into Bloodsoul Valley.
Yet the Bluestone Market established by Yang Shi a few days ago lacked that flavor. He felt disappointed, but also faintly relieved.
"Perhaps this year, I won't see more and more people like me appear."
"Let's go. We're returning to the sect. There's no one here we're looking for."
His two subordinates hesitated. "Then we're not setting up the Bloodburst Landmine Formation?"
Ding Zhen raised a brow. "Who's going to set it up? Who are we blowing up? How about you bury it in Yang's Board Game Teahouse, then after we leave—Boom! They'll all die!"
His subordinate hurriedly shook his head. "No. Even the Demonic Dao has its code. We have always repaid kindness with kindness and vengeance with vengeance. Boss Yang treated me to tea and even explained tactics to me. These days, I feel like my brain has started growing again. I can't do that."
"Same here."
Ding Zhen spread his hands. "Then what are you standing around for? Let's go. Are you waiting for the people from Blackstone Sect to discover us?"
Looking at these Rogue Cultivators who had debated Demonic Dao Kill with him in battles of lips and tongues, Ding Zhen truly could not bring himself to act this time.
Clap clap clap~
"Wonderful, wonderful. Ding Zhen, butcher of Bloodsoul Valley, actually has a day when he chooses not to kill."
The door opened, and Bai Heyu stood outside applauding with three of his junior brothers and sisters.
Just as Ding Zhen was about to flee, a powerful aura locked onto him. It felt as though the slightest movement would leave him separated from his head the next instant.
"Foundation Establishment."
Murong Ziyan drifted in through the window.
"Since you awakened at the last moment and stopped yourselves in time, I will spare your lives. Tomorrow, you will follow me to Blackstone Sect."
Late at night.
Ge Tan silently slipped into the Treasured Goods Pavilion.
Roar~
The low growl jolted Liao Cao awake from his dreams!
Opening his eyes, he saw an enormous wolf's head staring at him with blood-red eyes.
"Ah!!!"
Ge Tan sneered. "Speak. Who killed the retainer of my Ge Family?"
Before you continue