Picking Up Leaks

Chapter 13: Picking Up Bargains

Jing Feng said, "Follow me. There's an illusion formation outside Tingfeng Valley, don't get lost."

Bi Fan didn't dare to be careless and followed closely behind Jing Feng. It seemed he had been overthinking things earlier.

However, Bi Fan remained cautious. He had suffered humiliation his whole life and found it hard to trust people.

Jing Feng carefully navigated, turning left and right. After a few twists and turns, the path ahead suddenly opened up.

High mountains and steep peaks surrounded them on three sides, with only one passage leading inward.

Inside was a large basin with many buildings. People bustled about, creating a lively scene.

"This is Tingfeng Valley. If you see anything you need, tell me. I still have some savings," Jing Feng said.

Among cultivators, the hard currency for trading was spirit stones. Most valuable items were exchanged through bartering.

Bi Fan had obtained quite a few spirit stones from the two Cosmic Bags, mostly mid-grade and low-grade ones. He roughly counted them: one hundred and thirteen mid-grade spirit stones and over three thousand low-grade spirit stones.

One mid-grade spirit stone could be exchanged for one hundred low-grade spirit stones. The exchange rate for high-grade spirit stones was also one hundred to one. Bi Fan was aware of these basic facts.

Entry and exit from Tingfeng Valley were very free, with no identity checks.

Upon entering Tingfeng Valley, one could hear various voices haggling or inquiring about transactions.

"Selling a high-grade Magic Tool jade fan, looking to exchange for a sword of the same grade."

"A hundred-year-old Poria cocos, interested buyers please come and see!"

Jing Feng heard that a jade fan was available for trade and walked over.

"How much for this jade fan? How many spirit stones?"

"Only exchanging for a high-grade Magic Tool long sword, not spirit stones." The stall owner was a middle-aged man who glanced coldly at Jing Feng.

Jing Feng gazed at the jade fan, his eyes shining. Unfortunately, he didn't have a high-grade Magic Tool long sword. Otherwise, he would have loved to trade for the jade fan.

Imagining himself holding the jade fan with an elegant demeanor made Jing Feng's heart ache with longing.

Bi Fan noticed Jing Feng's strong desire for the jade fan. Although he possessed a high-grade Magic Tool long sword, he had no intention of offering it to help Jing Feng with the trade.

Don't flaunt your wealth. Be wary of others.

Bi Fan had heard these principles many times and understood them, especially since he was more cautious than most people.

Jing Feng reluctantly cast one last look at the jade fan before walking away.

Tingfeng Valley was vast, with many streets lined with stalls on both sides.

These stalls offered all sorts of peculiar items: secret manuals, pills, talismans, Magic Tools, Magic treasures, Spiritual Medicine, materials for refining tools – everything imaginable.

With the intention of broadening his horizons, Bi Fan browsed each stall, occasionally inquiring about prices but making no purchases.

Recently, Bi Fan had acquired many treasures, which had raised his standards. Ordinary items no longer caught his eye.

Jing Feng said, "Little brother Bi Fan, are there any items you like? I'll buy them for you."

Jing Feng was clever. He wanted to give Bi Fan some benefits so that Bi Fan would feel indebted and less likely to refuse his request for the Dragon Sable later.

"No need. If I need anything, I can buy it myself. I have spirit stones," Bi Fan replied, shaking his head.

Jing Feng was frustrated. He couldn't understand why Bi Fan, with his Inner Breath Realm strength, possessed spirit stones and showed no interest in Magic Tools.

Bi Fan seemed enthusiastic, but it was mostly curiosity. He showed no intention of buying anything from start to finish.

Jing Feng traded for several small items along the way, but none were particularly satisfactory. He still hadn't found a sword to trade for his most desired jade fan.

Bi Fan and Jing Feng arrived at a stall filled entirely with books – eighteen in total.

Bi Fan scanned the books. Most were secret manuals for the Mortal Embryo Realm, primarily focusing on introductory Inner Breath cultivation techniques.

Since he already had the Qingyang Longevity Art, he had no need for these techniques.

He did, however, notice a book on introductory talismans titled Talisman Communicate with Gods. The title sounded impressive, and the book's cover was gilded, shining brightly and catching the eye. However, the content was entirely an introduction to basic talismans and methods of inscribing them, holding little actual value.

"Old immortal, how much for this Talisman Communicate with Gods?" Bi Fan asked.

The stall owner was an old man who seemed delighted by Bi Fan's address.

"Young man, if you want this book, Talisman Communicate with Gods, give me ten spirit stones."

Just as Bi Fan was about to agree, Jing Feng interrupted, "Little brother Bi Fan, Talisman Communicate with Gods only records the most basic talisman knowledge. Such books are worth at most one spirit stone. Even with this gold-plated cover, it's not worth ten spirit stones."

"Young man, I won't ask for too much. Give me five spirit stones. That's what I paid for it originally," the old man said.

The old man wasn't lying this time. He had bought the book for a higher price because its exquisite cover made him think it held some secret, but he hadn't discovered anything useful from studying it.

Bi Fan quickly agreed, "Okay, I'll take it."

He took out spirit stones and exchanged them for Talisman Communicate with Gods.

After leaving the stall, Jing Feng whispered, "Brother Bi Fan, you were ripped off. Talisman Communicate with Gods is worth at most two spirit stones. I warned you, and you still fell for it."

"It's fine, as long as it's useful to me. Five spirit stones are worth it in my eyes." Bi Fan's values were clearly different.

Items that were useless to him, no matter how precious, wouldn't be worth spirit stones. However, for items that were useful, he didn't mind spending more spirit stones, as long as he felt they were worth the price.

Jing Feng didn't agree with Bi Fan's statement but didn't argue. After all, it wasn't his spirit stones being spent.

The two continued walking down. Almost every stall they passed, Bi Fan would stop to examine the items carefully, using what he had learned to discern their quality.

Suddenly, Bi Fan stopped. At one stall, he spotted an exquisite Magic Tool inner armor. However, this inner armor had lost its spiritual energy and looked very ordinary, mixed in with several other Magic Tools.

Although this was Bi Fan's first time traveling, he had heard enough to know a few tricks.

He casually picked up a Magic Tool and asked, "How much for this Magic Tool?"

The more he liked an item, the more he had to act indifferent, otherwise, he'd just be waiting to be ripped off.

But Bi Fan was even smarter. He picked up the Magic Tool and put on a look of reluctant admiration.

In the stall owner's eyes, he was a fat sheep ready for slaughter.

"This Magic Tool is the cream of the crop among mid-grade Magic Tools, almost comparable to high-grade Magic Tools. If you want it, little brother, I'll give it to you cheap, five hundred crystal stones." The stall owner was eloquent and could talk the hind legs off a donkey, but he was exaggerating too much.

The Magic Tool in Bi Fan's hand was indeed mid-grade, but it was the most common type, nowhere near the top-tier mid-grade Magic Tool the stall owner claimed.

That stall owner was quite greedy; the price he quoted was already that of a common high-grade Magic Tool.

Bi Fan put the Magic Tool down and said, "If I had five hundred crystal stones, I'd just go buy a high-grade Magic Tool directly."

Seeing that Bi Fan wasn't so easily fooled, the stall owner re-quoted a price: "Two hundred crystal stones. This Magic Tool is truly top-grade, absolutely worth this price."

"Two hundred crystal stones is still a bit high. How about this? Give me this broken inner armor, and it'll be two hundred crystal stones total," Bi Fan said, picking up the inner armor.

The inner armor looked very worn, with many areas polished smooth and shiny from use.

The stall owner hesitated for a moment, then agreed.

He had acquired the inner armor for only ten crystal stones. Two hundred crystal stones for both items meant he could still make a profit of half, so this deal was worth it.

The transaction complete, Bi Fan collected the two items he had acquired and left. His strategy had succeeded; he had struck a great bargain.

Jing Feng had been watching the entire time. He had initially wanted to stop Bi Fan but didn't say anything.

From the earlier incident of purchasing the Talisman Communicate with Gods, Jing Feng knew Bi Fan was a very opinionated person, and stopping him would be useless.