Setting Up a Street Stall Among the Witch Race

"Brother Yellow Dragon, I don't have much good stuff either. I know you immortal cultivators are very interested in spiritual roots. I snatched this from a Taiyi Realm Demon Race member. The fruits it bore were bright red, and the flavor was even more explosive than your Crimson Blood Wine!"

As Wu Tong spoke, his lips unconsciously pursed, as though he were reminiscing about that unforgettable taste.

"Unfortunately, no one in our Witch Race is good at growing this stuff, so I just ate it all bit by bit—branches, leaves, and trunk included!"

"Only this nasty stump was left. I tossed it into my cave dwelling and forgot all about it."

"It looks like it's still got a bit of life in it. Take a look—do you think it's useful? If it is, let's trade it for wine!"

He looked at Yellow Dragon eagerly.

"If it's useless, just wait in the tribe. I'll go rob a few more from the Demon Race!"

At first, Yellow Dragon had not paid it much mind. The stump's spiritual energy had almost completely dispersed, and there was nothing remarkable about it—it was simply a dead, withered stump.

What good things could the Witch Race have ever eaten?

Yet when he took the section of stump from Wu Tong, he sensed a trace of unusual Dao rhythm flash past.

His heart stirred. He gathered his focus and calmed his breath, a faint clear radiance appearing at his fingertips as it slowly seeped into the stump for careful examination.

A moment later, a burst of delighted light erupted in his eyes!

Within this dried stump was actually a trace of scorching fire-element origin, and deep within it was locked an exceedingly faint thread of vitality!

A stump bearing such an aura could not possibly be an ordinary innate spirit tree. It ought to be what remained of a ranked spiritual root. As for an innate spiritual root, it was not something a Taiyi Realm Demon Race member could possess!

Its origin had merely leaked away too severely, and its vitality had nearly withered completely. To plant it anew and bring it back to life, who knew how much time it would take?

Then he saw the bite marks on it, and Yellow Dragon's mouth twitched. How many good things had been ruined like this?!

Still, obtaining a spiritual root made any amount of time spent worthwhile.

"It's useful! I like it very much!"

Suppressing his excitement, Yellow Dragon said to Wu Tong, "Though only a trace of vitality remains, once it is in my hands, it will not die. When I succeed in cultivating it, I'll let you eat the fruit of this spiritual root, Wu Tong!"

Yellow Dragon took out another jar of Crimson Blood Wine and handed it to Wu Tong. "As long as you can find things like this, Brother Wu Tong, bring them to me. I won't let you suffer a loss."

Wu Tong was instantly overjoyed, hugging the wine jar and grinning from ear to ear.

This stump made Yellow Dragon realize something!

The Witch Race cultivated by absorbing the earth's turbid qi, strengthening their bodies, and tempering their blood and qi. Yet they did not cultivate the Primordial Spirit or absorb spiritual energy. In their eyes, all things under heaven were likely divided into only two kinds: "edible" and "inedible."

The demonic beasts they hunted, as well as spiritual roots and immortal herbs, were basically swallowed directly to strengthen their blood and qi.

As for things that could not directly increase blood and qi, or things that did not taste good, they would casually toss them aside and leave them forgotten in some corner.

Yet these things the Witch Race deemed "useless" might be priceless treasures to beings who cultivated the immortal path!

Looking at the jars of wine in his Mysterious Yellow World, a plan to make a fortune swiftly took shape in Yellow Dragon's mind.

The next morning, he set up a large platform on a relatively open patch of grass in the tribe and laid out a simple "street stall."

He did not call out to attract customers. He simply took out more than a dozen smaller stone jars, each containing roughly ten jin of Crimson Blood Wine.

Meanwhile, he hired Wu Tong to sit guard over the stall at the price of one jar per day.

He opened the lid of one jar, and in an instant, the domineering yet enticing aroma of wine seemed to come alive, burrowing into the noses of the surrounding Witch Race members.

The rich fragrance of fruit wine stirred the blood and qi of the gathered Witch Race members.

Very quickly, one, two, ten... more and more Witch Race warriors were drawn by this strange scent they had never smelled before. They gathered around, staring at the crimson liquid sloshing inside the stone jars as they repeatedly swallowed their saliva.

"Ahem. Listen up, everyone. This is Crimson Blood Spirit Wine, brewed through my own secret method. Not only does it taste wonderful, it can also aid the cultivation of Witch Race warriors. Even Great Witch Houyi said it was good after drinking it!"

Seeing that enough people had gathered, Yellow Dragon spoke loudly, his voice carrying clearly into every Witch Race member's ears.

Hearing this, the Witch Race members looked at one another. For a moment, they were rather bewildered and had no idea what Yellow Dragon was talking about.

Seeing this, Yellow Dragon took out several stone bowls and poured the blood-red wine from the stone jars into them. As the wine flowed out, its tempting fragrance grew even stronger, and several Witch Race members kept swallowing their saliva.

If Wu Tong had not been standing nearby, Yellow Dragon suspected they would have simply reached out and snatched it.

"Everyone, have a taste!"

He distributed the filled bowls to several Witch Race members at the front.

The people who had long been unable to wait took the bowls and drained them in one gulp. Their faces instantly flushed crimson, and then they all stared fixedly at the other stone jars.

Looking at the impatient crowd, Yellow Dragon said, "As long as you have all sorts of strange and rare things, you can bring them to trade with me—whether they are remnants of spiritual roots or refined gold spirit ore."

Just then, Wu Tong smugly pointed at the stone jars in front of Yellow Dragon and shouted, "See that?! That old stump I ate down to nothing but a rotten tree stump? I traded it for dozens of these stone jars!"

One stone sent up a thousand waves!

"What?! Wu Tong traded that broken stump for dozens of them?"

"I think I've got a few old bones I couldn't chew through too...!"

"I've still got several stone pellets in my cave. They're hard enough to chip teeth, and I never had the heart to throw them away..."

"Quick! Go back and look!"

The words of a Taiyi Realm Witch Race member like Wu Tong, along with the living example before their eyes, were more convincing than any explanation.

For a moment, the gathered Witch Race warriors erupted in an uproar. Then they scattered with a roar, racing one another back to their dwellings...

The first transaction of the Primordial World had begun!

Before long, all manner of items had piled up around Yellow Dragon: strange vines, dry and twisted yet faintly gleaming; beast bones etched with natural Dao patterns; peculiar ores containing wisps of various innate origin energies; and dozens of spiritual herbs reduced to broken roots and snapped stems—mostly leftovers the Witch Race had tossed into corners after eating the parts richest in spiritual energy.

Unfortunately, after Yellow Dragon identified them, only a few still retained vitality. Even fewer had reached the grade of spiritual roots—there were only two.

Over the next several months, Yellow Dragon set up his stall here almost every day.

Having tasted Crimson Blood Wine, the witches of the Houtu Tribe found its temptation impossible to resist. Every day, tribesmen came bearing all sorts of bizarre and strange items to trade.

After carefully inspecting them, Yellow Dragon would exchange a small jar—or several jars—of Crimson Blood Wine for anything in which he detected even a trace of extraordinary vitality or unusual energy.

His stored Crimson Blood Wine was being depleted at an astonishing rate, and before long, more than half of it had been traded away.

Yet compared to what he gained, that was merely a little witch before a great witch.

Countless rare immortal herbs and spiritual medicines, more than ten remnants of spiritual roots that still retained a trace of vitality!

There was even a complete acquired spiritual root, traded by a Daluo of the Witch Race after he drank Crimson Blood Wine and heard that spiritual roots, immortal herbs, and such could be used in exchange.