A Transaction

"Old Liu, you..."

"You aren't joking, are you?"

Jiang Ran took two steps back with an incredulous look on his face.

"Why would an immortal sect need mortals like us to mine?"

Old Man Liu had made an outrageous and unreasonable request.

--He wanted Jiang Ran to take Iron Ox's place and become a miner!

The Hundred-Yue Immortal Sect issued a summons, gathering miners within the territory of Black Dragon Mountain. Every household registered with the yamen was required to send one person to answer the call.

To put it bluntly, it was simply pressing men into service!

"My young friend doesn't understand," Old Man Liu said in a very humble posture. "The Hundred-Yue Immortal Sect is currently at war with the Mingji Immortal Sect, and right now is probably when they are most short-handed."

It was a sect that was currently fighting a war? That made it even more dangerous.

Facing such an unreasonable request, Jiang Ran naturally made the decisive choice to refuse at the very first moment.

Putting aside whether this matter was dangerous or whether it was a huge trap for the moment, his understanding of the Grand Ruins Realm was still too lacking. He hadn't even entered Black Dragon City, and he had no idea what these so-called immortal sects were actually like.

Being a miner was just hard labor; there was no need to go to the battlefield as cannon fodder, so theoretically there was no danger, but what if...

What if this Hundred-Yue Immortal Sect wasn't a righteous sect? Then going to enlist as a miner would simply be digging his own grave.

"No, I won't accept."

"My strength is far too low, and I'm not skilled at mining either," Jiang Ran still shook his head.

No matter how one looked at it, being a miner was definitely not a good thing.

If it really were a good thing, how could Old Man Liu bear not to let his own biological son go?

"Besides, I'm not a native of Black Dragon Mountain..."

"You are a member of the Liu family now," Old Man Liu blurted out coldly.

The scene froze instantly, and the two men fell silent at the same time.

So, from the very first moment they met, the one surnamed Liu had already planned to make him the "substitute talisman" for his own biological son?

Jiang Ran suddenly figured it out, and a cold glint flashed across his eyes.

No wonder. No wonder this strange old man had been so warm and enthusiastic since the first day.

He had inquired after his well-being, provided food and lodging, and even actively acted as a guarantor to let him enter the household registration of the Liu Family of Xiangzhuang.

Turns out everything had a trace to follow, and the price had already been marked long ago.

"What if I still refuse?" Jiang Ran's voice was much colder.

Admittedly, the Liu family possessed Qi-Nourishing heritage, and Old Man Liu certainly had martial arts in him.

Yet the current Jiang Ran had already entered the second stage of Qi-Nourishing, and he also had Qi-Refining spells to rely upon. It was unlikely that an old man with declining blood and Qi could pose much threat to him.

"Why must my young friend be like this..."

Old Man Liu sighed, took the initiative to show weakness, and poured Jiang Ran a cup of tea.

"Iron Ox has hopes of absorbing Qi; if he is summoned to mine, his future will be ruined."

"If my young friend is willing to help, this old man naturally won't treat you unfairly."

"The Qi-absorbing technique passed down in my Liu family will be taught to you without reservation, and the method for gathering the Autumn-Grass Frost-Condensing Qi is included within it."

A Qi-absorbing technique, plus a method for gathering Qi.

Without a doubt, this was a fairly good bargaining chip.

Jiang Ran was silent for a moment. "Not enough."

The Liu family had promised to give him the technique long ago, but that was only a well-intentioned promise after all and didn't count as the real deal; therefore, he didn't mention it and simply said it wasn't enough.

Upon hearing these words, far from being troubled, Old Man Liu instead revealed a trace of joy.

"My Liu family can give you an additional sum of silver money, guaranteed to satisfy you."

Negotiating terms was a good thing; being able to make demands meant there was room for discussion, and as long as the price offered was right, everything was negotiable.

"Silver money is useless to me," Jiang Ran shook his head.

"Whatever my young friend wants, feel free to speak of it."

Jiang Ran pondered for a moment, and no longer standing on ceremony, he spoke directly: "I want a strand of True Qi, and give me a Qi-absorbing treasure."

"A Qi-absorbing treasure? You..." Old Man Liu was given a huge fright and almost failed to sit steadily.

The ancestors of the Liu family had indeed produced immortals who entered the Dao through Qi-absorbing, but that was after all several hundred years in the past. With the bloodline passed down to this generation, what treasures could possibly be left behind?

A treasure of the Qi-absorbing tier was something that would be fought over by everyone no matter where it was placed.

This young friend Jiang was simply opening his mouth like a lion!

Jiang Ran picked up his teacup, blew away the floating foam, and remained calm and collected.

That's right, he was deliberately driving up the price on the spot.

He already had some guesses about how strong the Qi-absorbing realm was, and the corresponding Qi-absorbing treasures were naturally incomparably precious.

The Liu family came from a peasant background and was unlikely to have such a treasure.

However, the Liu family had a heritage after all, so they might not be unable to produce something better than a technique.

Since Old Man Liu cared so much about his son, he would definitely be willing to bleed.

"How easy is it to gather Qi? Iron Ox has yet to succeed in nourishing Qi, and gathering Qi remains a distant hope."

"My young friend jests. Qi-absorbing treasures are only things the lords in the city can enjoy; how could my Liu family be qualified to possess them."

"Then forget it." Jiang Ran curled his lips and made a motion to stand up.

In truth, he really had nothing to worry about; he could live just as well away from the Liu family, and even if he encountered danger, he could return to Pingjiang once again.

Old Man Liu felt a bit short of breath and hurriedly raised a hand. "My young friend..."

"Fine. This old man has a spiritual herb here that was originally prepared for Iron Ox; I will grant it to my young friend now."

After a bout of rummaging, a dark red wooden box appeared on the table.

Jiang Ran raised his brows slightly, took the wooden box, and pushed it open gently.

Quietly resting in the wooden box was indeed a small grass about two inches long, faintly emanating a pale blue clear light.

A treasure, definitely a treasure!

Although Jiang Ran's cultivation was only at the first layer of Qi-Refining, he was still a genuine Qi-Refining cultivator with a keen perception of spiritual objects.

This small grass looked unremarkable, but inside it actually contained a very vast spiritual Qi.

"Old Liu, this is?"

"The Soul-Nourishing Herb; obtaining this item was exceptionally difficult," Old Man Liu said sincerely.

"If my young friend's Qi-nourishing goes smoothly, you can take the Soul-Nourishing Herb at the final critical moment to nourish your divine soul, and perhaps succeed in nourishing Qi."

Jiang Ran understood instantly. The so-called Soul-Nourishing Herb was a nourishing spiritual object for the fourth stage of Qi-Nourishing—nourishing the soul.

"Not bad."

Hearing the praise, Old Man Liu perked up.

"The Soul-Nourishing Herb is gifted to my young friend, so then is this matter..."

"Hmm." Jiang Ran stroked a nonexistent beard. "No."

"No?"

"Right, still not enough."

At this moment in Old Man Liu's eyes, Jiang Ran's smiling face looked simply like a demon.

Jiang Ran's expression didn't change, keeping a smile.

If not for today's unreasonable request, he would definitely have remembered the kindness of the Liu family's shelter.

But it was different now; both parties clearly understood it was just a transaction, each taking what they needed, and there was no affection to speak of.

"So be it..."

Old Man Liu let out a heavy sigh.

"This trip to the immortal sect's spiritual mine will be a few months at the shortest, or up to five years at the longest. This old man is also wasting my young friend's years."

As he spoke, he pulled a square box wrapped in kraft paper from his bosom and handed it to Jiang Ran very solemnly.

"This item was passed down by the ancestors of my Liu family. It is said to be a token from a certain immortal senior; holding it can grant protection."

"Young friend Jiang is going to the Hundred-Yue Immortal Sect, and perhaps you can rely on this item to obtain a stroke of good fortune."

"That would be wonderful." Jiang Ran finally agreed.

Mining for the immortal sect, two years at the shortest, or five years at the longest?

That didn't exist; it didn't exist at all. Once he took the benefits, he could run away at any time.