"Divine Wood Seed"

"Divine Wood Seed"

Shi Yue was no stranger to the bustling Great Void Valley. When he heard the shopkeepers calling out their wares along the street, he felt like going in to have a look. Even if he didn't buy anything, it would be nice just to browse.

But then he remembered he'd just spent three hundred and eighty Spirit Stones, and dismissed the thought.

After several turns, Shi Yue stopped in front of a shop. A plaque hung over its entrance, bearing the three characters "Taotao Residence."

It was a secondhand Magic Tool shop, specializing in discarded Magic Tools. The prices were low, though of course their quality couldn't compare with brand-new ones.

Several Moonlight Stones were embedded in the walls. Their soft glow illuminated the entire shop, making it as bright as day.

Dozens of Magic Tools were arranged on the shelves. Most had defects; since repairs cost too much, their owners had sold them here.

The shopkeeper was a sharp-looking, middle-aged man. At that moment, he was explaining something to a young woman.

"Fairy, this Autumn Rainbow Saber is a High-grade Magic Tool. Its former owner once used it to slay a Level One High-grade demon tiger. There are two chips in the blade, but they don't affect it much. Since this is your first time at my shop, how about a hundred Spirit Stones?" The middle-aged man enthusiastically introduced a Red Flying Knife with two finger-sized notches in its blade.

"A hundred Spirit Stones is too expensive. Can you make it cheaper?" the young woman haggled, her eyes full of fondness.

"How about this? Since you're as beautiful as a flower, Fairy, ninety-five Spirit Stones." The middle-aged man smiled broadly.

Hearing this, Shi Yue's mouth twitched.

The young woman was short and fat, with a face full of pockmarks. That was "beautiful as a flower"? Was the man looking with his eyes open and lying through his teeth?

"Deal." The young woman blushed at his words and agreed.

Seeing this, Shi Yue nodded to himself. For the sake of Spirit Stones, even lying through your teeth was nothing.

After paying, the young woman left, beaming and swaying her barrel-shaped waist.

"What kind of Magic Tool would you like to buy, fellow Daoist? Would you like me to show you around?" The middle-aged man asked with a smile.

"I'd like to see a Magic Tool for plowing," Shi Yue said bluntly.

"A Magic Tool for plowing? We happen to have just acquired one." The middle-aged man nodded. He reached toward the Storage Bag at his waist, and a strangely shaped Magic Tool appeared in his hand.

The tool was yellow all over, with a shortened handle. It was covered in rust and looked quite old.

"To be frank, fellow Daoist, this tool was used by a Spirit Planter from the Taixu Sect. Don't let its shabby appearance fool you. Fitted to a bovine demon beast, it plows just fine. How about fifty Spirit Stones?" The middle-aged man said with a broad smile.

"The handle's missing a section. Who knows if that'll affect its plowing? It's covered in rust, too. What if it breaks while I'm using it? Besides, it's only a Low-grade Magic Tool. Fifty Spirit Stones is far too much. Ten would be more like it." Shi Yue frowned and haggled.

"Ten Spirit Stones? You must be joking, fellow Daoist. That wouldn't even cover what I paid for it. How about this? Since it's your first time at my shop, I'll give you a discount. Thirty Spirit Stones. How does that sound?" The middle-aged man frowned and considered for a moment before making the offer.

"Fifteen, tops. If not, I'll go to the next shop. I remember there are a few more up ahead." Shi Yue shook his head.

"All right, fifteen it is." The middle-aged man considered briefly, then agreed.

After paying, Shi Yue put the Magic Tool into his Storage Bag and left Taotao Residence.

It was still early, and Shi Yue didn't want to head back yet, so he continued browsing along the street.

A quarter of an hour later, Shi Yue arrived at a Bluestone Plaza, where many small stalls had been set up. The stallholders were all Rogue Cultivators.

The goods at the stalls were a jumble: Magic Tools, Talismans, Spirit Herbs, and all kinds of other cultivation items. Of course, you could sometimes find something valuable, depending on your eye for a bargain.

"Qi Refining Powder, just four Spirit Stones per pill! Five pills to a bottle, twenty Spirit Stones a bottle! Fair prices—come take a look!"

"Fifty-year-old Red Sun Flowers! Don't miss your chance as you pass by!"

"Fine Mid-grade Magic Tools, only eighty Spirit Stones!"

The stallholders occasionally shouted to drum up business, but most sat quietly behind their stalls, simply placing signs beside their wares to mark the prices.

Shi Yue made his way through the crowd from stall to stall, sometimes stopping to listen to what the onlookers were saying, but he didn't buy anything.

The goods sold by Rogue Cultivators were cheap, but mostly common stuff. Shi Yue was only browsing to pass the time.

Before long, Shi Yue reached the center of the plaza.

"I don't want this seed anymore. Give my Spirit Stones back! I buried it in a Spirit Field for a whole month, and it still hasn't sprouted. It's obviously dead."

"Hmph! You can eat whatever you want, but you can't go around saying whatever you want. This seed still has life in it. How can you call it dead?"

"If it's alive, why hasn't it sprouted after a month? You're clearly a fraud."

"I told you already, this is the seed of some kind of Divine Wood. It's perfectly normal for it to sprout late."

A heated argument came from a stall up ahead.

At the mention of a "Divine Wood Seed," Shi Yue's face showed a flicker of interest, and he quickly walked over.

The surrounding cultivators heard the argument and curiously gathered around.

There were three great divine trees in the Cultivation World: the Sky Thunder Bamboo, the Soul Nurturing Wood, and the Spirit Eye Tree. However, few cultivators had ever seen one with their own eyes. It was said that all three had gone extinct in a great calamity tens of thousands of years ago.

So although it was only a seed from a divine tree, it still attracted the interest of many cultivators.

Shi Yue reacted quickly and secured a good spot, giving him a clear view of everything before him.

A young man of about seventeen or eighteen stood in front of the stall. He was at Qi Refining Level Five and held a Green Wood Box containing a green seed about the size of a longan.

The stallholder was a middle-aged man with a face full of bulging flesh. Judging by the fluctuations of spiritual power around him, he was at Qi Refining Level 8.

Someone noticed a plum blossom embroidered on the young man's collar. It seemed to mark some kind of status.

Shi Yue saw the plum blossom on the young man's collar and nodded to himself. So the young man was a member of the Chen Family of Plum Blossom Ridge. No wonder he dared to challenge an expert at Qi Refining Level 8.

Great Tang had five major cultivation sects: the Ancient Sword Sect, the Myriad Beasts Sect, the Wind Fire Sect, the Taixu Sect, and Colorful Clouds Valley. Of these, the Ancient Sword Sect was the strongest overall, while the Taixu Sect ranked near the bottom. Besides the five major cultivation sects, Great Tang also had many Cultivation Families, including the Chen Family of Plum Blossom Ridge.

If Shi Yue remembered correctly, several members of the Chen Family of Plum Blossom Ridge had joined the Taixu Sect. The Cultivation Family had a fairly good relationship with the Taixu Sect.