(4000) Foundation Establishment Realm Fourth Layer
2024-07-13
Chapter 368 (4000) Foundation Establishment Realm Fourth Layer
Dragon Gall?!
Upon hearing those two words, everyone present fell silent, especially Xu Bo, who stared blankly at the enormous Dragon Gall for a long time before tears streamed down his face...
"The brothers who gathered herbs with me back then all died in the mouth of this beast... I never thought that I, Old Man, would live to see this beast die!"
Xu Bo reminisced about the past with deep emotion. Lu Youcai and Fatty Chen looked at Luo Jun with awe. Even Lord Tong the Seventh seemed not to recognize Luo Jun.
In the Martial World world, masters are not uncommon. Although the Deep Mountains and forests of Guandong are dangerous, they are not much of a threat to martial arts masters who are proficient in internal energy. Even after witnessing Luo Jun's heroic figure in defeating the mountain bandits, Lord Tong the Seventh thought that he was a first-class martial arts master, probably an outstanding disciple of some major sect.
However, he knew Xu Bo's abilities. Experienced herb gatherers like him all possessed martial arts skills. Xu Bo, in particular, had connections with many sects in the north and held a high position in the Martial World world. Being employed by the Hundred Herbs Merchant Guild and helping to identify medicinal herbs was only one aspect of his role. Many matters in the martial arts world also required Xu Bo's intervention to resolve.
To such a person, the giant serpent, seemingly an invincible nightmare, was so easily ripped out of its body and had its gall bladder removed? This was no ordinary martial arts master!
We must win them over! No... such a person is not someone a medicinal herb merchant like me can win over, but at least we must establish a good relationship. If necessary, this person could be the lifeline to save the Tong family!
Thinking of this, Lord Tong the Seventh immediately said, "Xu Bo, congratulations on fulfilling your long-cherished wish, but let's get down to business first. Could you appraise the ginseng and Dragon Gall?"
Xu Bo also came to his senses, wiped away his tears, and said, "Please excuse me. The older I get, the more sentimental I become..."
"Young Hero Lin... you are no ordinary person, and I, Lao Xu, will not hide anything. Guandong Mountain Ginseng from Northeast China is sold by weight, and depending on its quality, one tael is worth three to five taels of silver. However, a single, full-weight ginseng cannot be sold at market price; it is usually auctioned off, and the general transaction price is over a thousand taels of silver... Since the establishment of our business, the largest Ginseng King we have ever sold was a full one jin and seven taels, which was bought by the Taihe Hall of East Province for four thousand two hundred taels. It is still hanging in their hall to this day, and is their prized possession..."
At this point, Xu Bo looked at Luo Jun's ginseng in the box again. "But none of what I've mentioned above can compare to this ginseng you brought... Not to mention the Hundred Herbs Merchant Guild has been established for so many years, even in the hundreds of years of history of Eight Paths Market, we've never heard of a treasure of this quality. Asking me to appraise it is truly difficult for me..."
As he spoke, Old Xu glanced at Lu Youcai, "Chairman Lu, how much money does the Chamber of Commerce currently have available for expenditures?"
"This..." Lu Youcai hesitated, after all, this was a trade secret.
Xu Bo noticed his predicament and bluntly asked, "You mentioned last time that you wanted to buy a batch of goods, which would require a lot of working capital. Have you raised enough funds now?"
Lu Youcai's eyes lit up, "That's about it..."
"That's good." Old Xu nodded and said, "Let's put the ordinary items aside for now. Could you allocate some funds to acquire this one?"
"Of course, it's all up to Xu Bo..." The batch of goods that Lu Youcai had his eye on, although they were all precious medicinal herbs, were indeed just ordinary items compared to this once-in-a-millennium Ginseng King.
Xu Bo nodded and looked at Luo Jun: "Here's what we'll do, Brother Lin. I'll value this ginseng at 50,000 taels, with a starting bid of 55,000 taels. If it sells, the Chamber of Commerce will take a 10% commission. If it doesn't sell, we'll consider it a 50,000 tael purchase. Either way, I guarantee you at least 50,000 taels in profit. How about that?"
This price was somewhat beyond Luo Jun's expectations. He had thought that a single ginseng would sell for a few thousand taels, enough to cover the storage fees at the Gathering Treasure Pavilion, but he never expected it to be so valuable!
One tael of silver is equivalent to one thousand copper coins. If we consider that one copper coin is roughly equivalent to one yuan of Zhendan Coin, then fifty thousand taels of silver, or fifty million, is already a huge sum of money.
But the two worlds are ultimately different, and money cannot be converted so simply.
Compared to the Main World, the productivity of the [Martial World] world is far behind, and its total wealth is far inferior. For example, the treasury of Zhendan in the Main World easily contains trillions of Zhendan Coin, and its total output value is easily in the hundreds of trillions. Compared to such huge figures, tens of millions are only a fraction of one hundred thousand or even one millionth...
However, compared to the Martial World world, the government's treasury usually only has tens of millions of taels of silver, and in years of disaster it may even shrink to the level of millions of taels. In comparison, 50,000 taels of silver is only one-thousandth or even one-hundredth of the national treasury!
Reflecting on the lives of ordinary people, in the feudal era of the Martial World world, people's needs were far less diverse than those of modern people in the Main World. Most of the money earned by ordinary people in the Martial World was used to maintain basic sustenance; having enough to eat and wear was considered a stable life. However, in peaceful modern society, basic needs only account for a small portion of living expenses. Other expenses such as entertainment, electronic products, education, medical care, transportation, loans, utilities, and even the consumption of luxury goods are unimaginable for ordinary people in the feudal era.
You could say that if you give an ordinary person in the Martial World one tael of silver, they can use it to buy rice and vegetables and live for several months. But if you give a modern person in the Main World a thousand dollars, they might not even be able to maintain their basic living for a month.
In short, in the Martial World world where productivity is low and goods are relatively scarce, the value of money cannot be simply calculated using the price of the same kind of goods. In the Martial World world, this 50,000 taels of silver is far more valuable than the 50 million taels in the Main World.
Luo Jun naturally had no objection to such a huge sum of money, Lord Tong the Seventh also expressed that the Chamber of Commerce was sincere enough, so the price of ginseng was basically settled.
Next up was this enormous Dragon Gall, but the Chamber of Commerce was in a bit of a predicament.
"To be honest..." Xu Bo sighed, looking at the Dragon Gall, "In terms of rarity alone, this Dragon Gall is probably much more valuable than that precious ginseng... However, according to the pharmacopoeia, the effects of Dragon Gall are nothing more than clearing heat and detoxifying. Compared to ginseng, which can replenish qi and strengthen the body, and even almost bring the dead back to life, no matter how good the quality, it will probably be difficult to find a suitable buyer..."
"In fact, the better the quality, the harder it is to sell..."
Luo Jun understood immediately. If you said there was a Special Medicine that could cure cancer, and there was only one available in the world, even if you offered an exorbitant price, someone would still want to buy it.
But if you develop a miracle cold medicine that instantly stops a runny nose, no matter how effective it is, it probably won't sell for a high price...
"However, Dragon Gall are somewhat beneficial for cultivating vital energy. This quality of Dragon Gall is unprecedented, and no one knows how effective it is. If Young Hero Lin doesn't have the time, I can contact some martial arts sects on your behalf, and perhaps there will be a market for it... But the Hundred Herbs Merchant Guild cannot guarantee a price for you."
Luo Jun nodded in agreement. After all, the 50,000 taels had already exceeded his expectations, and since Martial World world silver could not be taken with him, more would not be of much use to him.
Moreover, there were more than just these two things in his bag... Afterwards, Luo Jun took out several medicinal herbs, many of which he himself couldn't name, but the abundant vital energy they contained made him certain that they were definitely not ordinary.
As expected, each of these medicinal herbs elicited exclamations of surprise from several experts.
"Young Hero Lin, where did you find so many treasures?" Xu Bo had spent half his life navigating the medicinal herb market, and he had never seen such heavyweight treasures before!
"This was all obtained from the valley guarded by the giant serpent..."
Luo Jun wandered the Deep Mountains of Guandong for several days, encountering many treasures. However, judging from the concentration of spiritual energy, even top-quality medicinal herbs found elsewhere were like common weeds in that valley. In the end, he abandoned the treasures he had gathered elsewhere and picked a few of the best quality ones from the valley to take out. "No wonder, no wonder..." Xu Bo nodded. "With such exotic beasts guarding it, it must be Secret Realm that gathers the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi... Any one of these items would be enough to shake up the medicinal herb market!"
The items are valuable, but Lu Youcai also stated that the Chamber of Commerce doesn't have enough funds to absorb all these treasures, and can only help Luo Jun list them out to find sales channels.
Luo Jun didn't mind and confidently left it to them to handle. In the Martial World, strength is the most important currency, and he had already demonstrated absolute power. Even if these merchants had ulterior motives, they would have to think twice.
In the following days, the Hundred Herbs Merchant Guild released several major auction announcements, with several medicinal herbs having starting prices of tens of thousands of taels of silver and being listed for auction, causing a stir among countless herbal merchants.
Not only those who are currently procuring locally, but the Chamber of Commerce also sent letters to some major pharmaceutical companies that did not send representatives, highlighting the origin and efficacy of these treasures, emphasizing that such an opportunity is rare and once in a century, and that this opportunity will not come again.
When these messages were released, the first reaction of the pharmaceutical merchants was that the prices must be wrong. It's already unbelievable enough that one item of this quality would appear, but several in a row? Had Uncle Xu Bo lost his mind?
Even if Xu Bo had lost his mind, surely all the people in the Hundred Herbs Merchant Guild wouldn't be delirious... Driven by curiosity, some merchants still went to the guild to inspect the goods, but when they came out, they were all dumbfounded, muttering words like "immortal herbs, spirit medicine..." and it took them a long time to recover.
As more and more people went to the Hundred Herbs Merchant Guild to request inspection of the goods, everyone finally realized that the description posted by the Chamber of Commerce was not exaggerated at all, but even somewhat restrained.
Meanwhile, many large pharmaceutical merchants from other places rushed to Eight Paths Market overnight, eager to witness the splendor of these treasures.
Three days passed quickly. Many people came to watch the spectacle, but almost no one dared to actually make a bid.
Tens of thousands of taels of silver—even the Hundred Herbs Merchant Guild would have to grit their teeth to afford it. There are very few medicinal herb merchants in the entire Central Plains who can truly come up with such a huge sum...
However, Luo Jun wasn't worried. Looking at the time, there were still three or four days before the Martial World Gate reopened. He had already agreed with Lu Youcai that they would wait at most one more day, and the day after tomorrow morning, regardless of whether the herbs were sold or not, he would leave with 50,000 taels of silver. As for the remaining medicinal herbs, he wasn't in a hurry and would leave them at the merchant guild to sell.
With this condition, Luo Jun could get cash, and the Hundred Herbs Merchant Guild could leave the medicinal herbs for free. Both parties felt it was a good deal, and they quickly reached an agreement.
As night deepened, Luo Jun sat Five Hearts Facing Heaven- legged on the heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) in the Chamber of Commerce's Guest Room, his palms facing upwards, and his internal energy began to circulate more rapidly.
Nearly a month has passed since his last breakthrough, and the compression of his internal energy has reached its Limit. He has finally reached the bottleneck and is now at the point of attempting to break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm Fourth Layer!
Luo Jun adjusted the vital energy within his body to the optimal state, and then summoned the Dice of Heavenly Secrets.
"Breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm Fourth Layer."
"Ding! Event Difficulty 71 points, Final Points 50 + 15 points, Event Failed!"
Bad luck...
Luo Jun chose to Regret and try again.
"Ding! Event Difficulty: 71 points; Final Points: 28 + 15 points; Event Failed!"
"Holy shit..."
With Level 8 Luck, including Double Insurance, I rolled the dice four times in total, and not a single time did I get over fifty. That's incredible luck...
Luo Jun initiated the refresh, then Regret again. He then closed his eyes to rest on the kang (heated brick bed), and after midnight, he couldn't wait to try again...
"Ding! Event Difficulty 71 points, Final Points 11 + 15 points, Event Failed!"
What's wrong with me today?
Luo Jun blinked, as if the heavens didn't want him to succeed... Could this be some kind of ominous sign?
If it really is an ominous sign, then he should hurry up and improve his strength. Luo Jun didn't believe in evil spirits and launched a second Regret!
"Ding! Event Difficulty: 71 points; Final Points: 97 + 15 points; Event Success!"
It's finally done!
Luo Jun breathed a sigh of relief and began to circulate his vital energy, attempting to break through.
With the Dice of Heavenly Secrets as a safety net, Luo Jun's breakthrough went very smoothly. His internal energy quickly stabilized, and he successfully advanced to the Foundation Establishment Realm Fourth Layer.
"Ding! Event Success. Base experience points: 71, Severity Coefficient: 8, Final Experience points: 568!"
Congratulations on leveling up!
For the past twenty days or so, Luo Jun has been gaining at least one or two hundred experience points every day, and he was on the verge of leveling up. This time, the more than five hundred experience points he gained finally helped him reach level 46!
The Attribute Points extracted amounted to eight, resulting in a total of twenty-three attribute points gained.
However, Luo Jun's base attributes were already quite high, so the extra twenty-odd points, when spread out, did not significantly increase his overall attributes compared to before. Luo Jun simply checked the attribute table, had a general idea of what was going on, and then lay down and closed his eyes to sleep.
The next morning, Luo Jun got up and went out, taking a breath of fresh air and stretching in the courtyard of the Hundred Herbs Merchant Guild. Suddenly, his ears twitched, and he turned to look at the front hall, where he seemed to hear arguing.
Out of curiosity, Luo Jun went to the front hall. As soon as he entered, he saw several people from Guandong wearing animal skins standing in front of Lu Youcai, arguing fiercely.
"This originally belonged to Old Man Chang; you people stole it!" The leader of the group of Guandong was a tall, slender girl of about seventeen or eighteen, with bright eyes and white teeth. She was holding Luo Jun's ginseng and angrily said in broken Central Plains Mandarin, "Central Plains people, you've dug up so many treasures from our mountains, and now you're even stealing Old Man Chang's things! You're shameless!"
P. S. Six consecutive dice rolls, the highest I've ever gotten is fifty points. The worst streak I've had since I started writing this book.
(End of this chapter)