Buying Spirit Beasts

Chapter 41: Buying Spirit Beasts

The shopkeeper was an old man in grey robes with white hair and beard, possessing a Qi Refining fifth-layer cultivation.

"Fellow Daoist, what would you like to see? This shop has a complete inventory. Would you like me to give you a tour?" As soon as Shi Yue walked in, the old man in grey robes quickly approached him, a smile on his face.

"How much are your fifty-year-old Spirit Herbs?" Shi Yue asked calmly.

"Fellow Daoist, you've come at just the right time. This shop just acquired two plants of fifty-year-old Yellow Phoenix Flowers. They're sixty-eight Spirit Stones each," the old man said with a grin.

"Sixty-eight Spirit Stones?" Shi Yue frowned upon hearing this.

Noticing the change in Shi Yue's expression, the old man quickly explained, "Sixty-eight is already very cheap. If Fellow Daoist buys two, I'll give them to you for one hundred and thirty Spirit Stones. What do you think?"

After speaking, he fixed his gaze on Shi Yue.

"How much do you buy fifty-year-old Spirit Herbs for?" Shi Yue asked after a moment of thought.

"That depends on the Spirit Herb, its quality, and whether the roots are damaged. Different Spirit Herbs have different prices, and their quality and completeness also affect the price," the old man said, word for word.

"These two Fire Sun Ginsengs, how much do you think they're worth, shopkeeper?" Shi Yue pondered for a moment before saying this, then he took out two bluish wooden boxes, each about a foot long, from his sleeve.

The old man took the two wooden boxes and opened them. Inside lay red ginsengs, about a foot long, emitting a faint medicinal fragrance.

He narrowed his eyes and carefully examined the two Fire Sun Ginsengs, occasionally sniffing them.

"Fellow Daoist, the quality of these two Fire Sun Ginsengs is average. However, seeing as it's your first time visiting our shop, hmm, how about fifty-five Spirit Stones each? One hundred and ten Spirit Stones for both?" the old man said lightly, placing the Fire Sun Ginsengs back into the wooden boxes, as if their quality was indeed just average.

If it were a novice who had just entered the cultivation world, they might have been fooled by the old man's superb acting. But Shi Yue, having grown up in the Great Void Sect, wouldn't be deceived.

He knew that the price of these two fifty-year-old Fire Sun Ginsengs was far more than fifty-five Spirit Stones. The old man saying this was merely trying to lower the price.

"Since the quality is average, I'll go ask at other shops." Shi Yue put away the two wooden boxes and turned to leave.

"Ah! Don't go! Fellow Daoist, the price can still be discussed, can't it?" The old man's expression changed upon seeing this. He quickly called out to Shi Yue, his face full of smiles.

"It can be discussed, but these two Fire Sun Ginsengs were obtained at great personal risk. If the shopkeeper offers too low a price, then I'll have to go to other shops," Shi Yue said calmly.

"How about this: fifty-eight Spirit Stones each?" The old man raised his eyebrows, thought for a moment, and asked.

"No, sixty-five," Shi Yue bargained.

The old man listened, thought for a moment, and said, "Sixty at most. Although this shop is small, the annual rent is not a small sum. If Fellow Daoist still cannot accept this, then you should look elsewhere!"

"Deal." Shi Yue heard this, thought for a moment, and nodded in agreement.

After speaking, he flipped his hand, took out two wooden boxes, and handed them to the old man.

The old man opened them, examined them carefully, and confirmed they were correct. Then, he took out one Mid-grade Spirit Stone and twenty low-grade Spirit Stones and handed them to Shi Yue.

Shi Yue pocketed the Spirit Stones and left with a beaming smile.

Next, Shi Yue visited several more general stores and sold all the Fire Sun Ginsengs he had on him at similar prices, exchanging them for over six hundred Spirit Stones.

When Shi Yue emerged from one of the stores, the sky had already darkened.

With over six hundred Spirit Stones on him, Shi Yue felt much more energetic as he walked.

A quarter of an hour later, Shi Yue arrived in front of a magnificent palace adorned with dragons and phoenixes. The silver plaque above the entrance bore the three golden characters "Hundred Beasts Palace."

The palace was over ten zhang high, and quite a few cultivators entered and exited. They all carried Spirit Beast Bags at their waists, and occasional roars of tigers and wolves could be heard from within the palace. The surrounding pedestrians seemed unfazed by this.

Shi Yue glanced left and right, confirmed there were no Great Void Sect disciples nearby, and then stepped inside.

Upon entering the palace, Shi Yue's gaze swept across the hall, and he was slightly taken aback.

The hall was extremely spacious, with many iron cages of various sizes placed on the ground, housing all sorts of Spirit Beasts. These...

Bluish giant wolves over ten zhang tall, red tigers with two heads, silver leopards over ten zhang long, black giant eagles about ten zhang in size, beasts with lion heads and tiger bodies...

Shi Yue was shocked at the sight. The Spirit Beasts he saw alone numbered no less than thirty to forty kinds, but they were all Rank 1 Spirit Beasts.

More than a dozen attendants in uniform were explaining things to cultivators who appeared to be customers. If someone purchased a Spirit Beast, they would open the cage and collect the Spirit Beast inside into a Spirit Beast Bag before handing it over to the buyer.

These enormous, strangely shaped Spirit Beasts appeared remarkably docile in their cages, showing no signs of suddenly attacking.

As soon as Shi Yue entered, a green-robed attendant quickly approached him with a smile. "Fellow Daoist, what kind of Spirit Beast are you looking to buy? Would you like me to give you a recommendation? This shop sells everything from Rank 1 Spirit Beasts to Rank 2 Spirit Beasts."

"I want to buy a Spirit Beast that's a bit larger and relatively inexpensive. Can you recommend one?" Shi Yue asked after a moment of thought.

"Of course, Fellow Daoist, please follow me." The green-robed attendant agreed with a smile and led Shi Yue to several large cages containing larger Spirit Beasts.

"This Rank 1 High-grade Green Wind Python has a fast crawling speed, thick skin, and tough flesh. Even High-grade Magic Tools can hardly harm it. It can also release Wind Blade Technique to attack enemies. Buying it is equivalent to having a fearless, suicidal soldier, and the price isn't very high – six hundred Spirit Stones," the green-robed attendant said enthusiastically, pointing to a bluish giant python about seven to eight zhang long.

Shi Yue shook his head upon hearing this. Although he could afford the Green Wind Python, his goal was to buy a Spirit Beast that urinated a lot.

"It's okay if Fellow Daoist doesn't like this Green Wind Python. How about the Two-headed Flame Tiger next to it? Although it's only a Rank 1 Mid-grade Spirit Beast, it's agile, incredibly fast, and can also release Fireball Technique to attack enemies. It's truly an excellent choice for a Spirit Beast. For only five hundred Spirit Stones, you can take this Two-headed Flame Tiger home," the attendant said, pointing to a red giant tiger about ten zhang tall with two heads.

Shi Yue's expression showed some emotion.

The size of this Two-headed Flame Tiger met his requirements, but five hundred Spirit Stones was a bit expensive.

"What do you usually feed it? For example, are there any special dietary requirements?" Shi Yue's expression shifted, and he asked.

"There are no special dietary requirements. Fellow Daoist can feed it Spirit Grain or ordinary meat. If that's not possible, you can take it to the wilderness and let it hunt some wild beasts."

Hearing this, Shi Yue shook his head. Given the size of this Two-headed Flame Tiger, it would surely eat a lot. He didn't have that much Spirit Grain to feed it. Even if it could hunt wild beasts, Shi Yue couldn't bring it out to hunt every few days!