Lu Xiaotian took a wooden box from the carriage and opened it. Inside lay three purple, seven-leaved spirit herbs.
"How much would the shopkeeper offer for this kind of herb?" Lu Xiaotian suppressed his wild joy and asked without changing expression. To him, these spirit herbs were countless times more precious than that polygonatum, but he had no idea how much ordinary people valued them.
"If the shopkeeper's price is too outrageous, then our deal ends here." Seeing the fat shopkeeper's gaze flicker, Lu Xiaotian spoke indifferently. The more he appeared to care about the herbs, the worse it would be for him.
"This purple herb is somewhat helpful in regulating one's qi and blood, and its effects are quite decent. By rights, all three together are not worth that polygonatum. But rare things are precious; purple herbs are even harder to come by than hundred-year polygonatum. If little brother can produce two such polygonatums, then I'll make the decision—these three purple herbs will be yours," the fat shopkeeper said after pondering for a moment.
"No matter how rare it is, its value still depends on how effective it is at regulating qi and blood. I'm willing to trade this polygonatum for three purple herbs because they are somewhat useful to me, but they are not something I absolutely must have." Lu Xiaotian spoke impatiently. "If that won't do, I'll go elsewhere."
"Little brother truly is a shrewd fellow. Fine, I'll consider it making a friend of you." Realizing he could not squeeze out any more profit, the fat shopkeeper gave a bitter smile. For the time being, he had not discovered any special use for these purple herbs. Trading them for a forty-year-old polygonatum was already an extremely worthwhile deal.
"Farewell!" After putting away the spirit herbs, Lu Xiaotian tossed the polygonatum to the fat shopkeeper and cupped his hands. An ordinary wooden box would cause the spiritual essence of such herbs to leak away; they had to be stored in jade boxes with spiritual essence. However, taking out the jade boxes from his storage pouch now would be far too shocking. It was better to leave as soon as possible.
"I wonder whether little brother has any more valuable herbs like this. Wonder Ganoderma Hall will purchase them all at high prices." After accepting the polygonatum, the fat shopkeeper smiled as he looked at the bulging bundle on Lu Xiaotian's back.
"If I need anything later, or if Wonder Ganoderma Hall has more of these purple herbs, I'll come again." Lu Xiaotian frowned slightly, left those words behind, and walked out.
Lu Xiaotian had barely gone any distance after leaving when the fat shopkeeper clapped his palms together. A powerfully built young martial artist emerged from the back of the apothecary. "What are your orders, Shopkeeper Ma?"
"Follow that boy. See what use he has for those purple herbs. Also, if circumstances allow, test whether his bundle contains any other precious herbs."
Shopkeeper Ma's smile faded, and he appeared quite imposing before the young martial artist. In his eyes, these purple herbs could only be made into ordinary medicines for regulating qi and blood. Their medicinal properties were somewhat fierce as well, making them far from superior goods. Yet Lu Xiaotian had been willing to trade a forty-year-old polygonatum for them, which truly surprised him. The purple herbs were of little use in his hands anyway. If he could learn their special purpose through this boy, it would not be a bad unexpected gain.
"Yes!"
The young martial artist cupped his hands to accept the order, then flashed out of Wonder Ganoderma Hall and trailed behind Lu Xiaotian. Looking at Lu Xiaotian's bulging pack, a trace of greed flashed across his face. Someone who could casually produce a forty-year-old polygonatum was certainly no ordinary person. Moreover, Lu Xiaotian had said before leaving that similar transactions could be made again. Didn't that mean his pack contained herbs of equal value, or perhaps even more precious ones?
His yearly salary was less than thirty taels of silver. He followed Lu Xiaotian out of the county town and into the wilderness north of the city. The young martial artist glanced around. There was no one nearby. Only then did he feel at ease enough to shout, "Kid, stop."
"What do you want with me?" Lu Xiaotian turned around and asked.
"Leave behind your bundle and those purple herbs. Then you can get lost!" the young martial artist snorted.
"You're from Wonder Ganoderma Hall. Did your shopkeeper order you to do this?" Lu Xiaotian asked.
"You don't need to know that. While I still have a little patience, you'd better do as I say. Otherwise, one more corpse in the wilderness would be the most normal thing in the world." The young martial artist slowly pressed toward Lu Xiaotian.
"If you have the ability, come take them yourself."
Lu Xiaotian spread his hands. By then, Leopard had silently appeared not far behind the young martial artist. Leopard was several times larger than an ordinary leopard. If it were brought into the county town, it would likely cause panic and draw the government troops into a hunt. Thus, Lu Xiaotian had kept it waiting in the wilderness outside the city.
Several little green ants had also settled among the grass. In truth, Lu Xiaotian had noticed the young martial artist the moment he emerged from Wonder Ganoderma Hall. He merely wanted to see what the other man intended to do. He had not expected the young martial artist to harbor such vicious thoughts.
"Since you insist on courting death, don't blame me." With a savage grin, the young martial artist kicked off the ground and suddenly clawed at Lu Xiaotian's crown with lightning speed.
Then I cannot be blamed either. Lu Xiaotian's expression turned cold. Martial artists who had once seemed swift beyond compare now appeared clumsy and slow when they used their martial skills. This must have been a change in his body after cultivating the Primordial Unity Scripture. Lu Xiaotian's heart settled. Rather than ordering Leopard to attack, he directly drew his dagger and slashed like lightning across the young martial artist's reaching wrist.
The young martial artist only saw a blur before crying out miserably. Clutching his right wrist, from which blood gushed like a pillar, he stared at Lu Xiaotian in utter horror. He had never imagined that this plainly dressed youth could move so quickly.
"Go back and tell your shopkeeper not to harbor crooked intentions. Otherwise, next time it won't be as simple as severing your hand tendons."
Lu Xiaotian said coldly. The old man in black robes was still lurking within his sea of consciousness, and he did not know when the old man might break free. Though Lu Xiaotian was young, the old man's presence reminded him that he had to get rid of him as soon as possible. Otherwise, he would always remain a sword hanging over his head. Lu Xiaotian did not yet wish to fall out with Wonder Ganoderma Hall. After all, it was only there that he had obtained spirit herbs for the moment. Otherwise, based on what the young martial artist had done, that slash would have gone across his throat.
"Yes, yes!" The young martial artist's face was filled with terror. With his right hand crippled, more than half his fighting strength was gone. How could he dare remain before Lu Xiaotian? He immediately fled back the way he had come, scrambling away in a miserable panic.
Lu Xiaotian looked around in every direction. After confirming that no one was present, he stored the spirit herbs separately in jade boxes. He entered the mountains, found a relatively concealed cave, cleaned it out, then took out one spirit herb and plucked off a leaf to swallow.
A vast, fierce surge of spiritual qi dissolved within his body. He guided it through his meridians with his consciousness.
"Huh?"
Lu Xiaotian soon discovered that apart from the portion of spiritual qi converted by his meridians and dantian, quite a bit of it was slowly disappearing within his body. Only a small part was transformed into vital energy in his meridians. Startled, his Primordial Spirit moved to the mysterious barrier within his body. At that moment, strands of green mist drifted through the originally vast white fog. These strands of green faintly emitted an agile aura, enticing him to touch them.
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