Peddler Hu Bugui, Easing Worries and Solving Troubles

As his view grew increasingly open,

Xu Changqing finally caught sight of his own second-grade spirit field.

At first glance, it seemed no different from the first-grade spirit fields on the outskirts.

Neither its area nor the height of its ridges differed much.

But upon closer inspection, he found that the soil was black.

It was clearly black soil with richer nutrients.

Not only could it grow spirit plants of exceptional quality,

but it could also increase their yield.

Not far away, roughly ten meters off, stood an abandoned wooden house.

When Xu Changqing approached and looked inside, he found that there was not even a speck of dust.

There were no snakes, insects, rats, or ants either.

It was exceptionally clean.

Inside, there was one bedroom, one sitting room, one washroom, and one kitchen.

There were not many decorations in the house, only daily necessities such as a bed and cooking utensils.

"Not bad." Xu Changqing was quite satisfied.

Anything it lacked could be slowly added later.

At the very least, it kept out the wind and rain.

The first thing Xu Changqing did next was change clothes.

He had always disliked the gray robes worn by outer sect disciples.

Before long, he had changed into the white robes reserved for official disciples.

A green rice seedling was embroidered over his chest.

Even his whole bearing changed.

He appeared more steady and composed.

No one would take one look at him and assume he was a spirit farmer.

"Next comes the spirit rice porridge I've been longing for." Xu Changqing grinned.

Once one became an official disciple of the Dongting Immortal Sect,

there was no longer any need to drink ordinary rice porridge.

This hundred jin of spirit rice would last him at least until next spring.

Xu Changqing immediately went to the kitchen, set up a pot, and boiled water.

Half an hour later, a pot of fragrant spirit rice porridge was ready.

The concentration of wood spirit qi in the kitchen rose noticeably.

Xu Changqing ladled out a small bowl and carefully examined it before his eyes.

This spirit rice was plumper than ordinary rice.

Even after being cooked, it did not seem loose or mushy.

It was even somewhat springy, and when cooled, it resembled jelly.

Xu Changqing took a small taste, and his eyes immediately lit up.

The texture of the spirit rice was incredible.

With one bite, spiritual qi and fragrance burst together.

The fragrance nearly muddled his entire mind.

"Hm?"

Xu Changqing said in surprise, "My spiritual power is increasing."

Though it was rather slow,

this stuff had no inherent limit and could be eaten over the long term.

Why were Zhang Er, Han Su, Zhao Xin, and the others

all thinking about spirit rice?

This was the reason!

And spirit rice produced from first-grade spirit fields already had such an effect.

If it were second-grade or even higher...

one could imagine how astonishing it would be.

After eating his fill, Xu Changqing did not rest.

Nor did he plant spirit seedlings.

Instead, he took out his jade tablet and continued studying the Wood-Spirit Entanglement Art.

As long as Zhang Er remained alive, Xu Changqing would feel threatened for as long as he lived.

Therefore, he had to possess the strength to protect himself.

But the Wood-Spirit Entanglement Art was, after all, a high-level spell.

It was impossible to learn it all at once.

Fortunately, the current Xu Changqing was different.

Before this, it would probably have taken him over two months just to grasp the basics.

But now, Xu Changqing felt it would take no more than a month.

And once he learned it, he could use his "golden finger" to forcibly raise its level.

Time passed to the third day after he became an official disciple.

Xu Changqing carried a hoe on his shoulder and began loosening the soil in this mu of second-grade spirit field.

It was winter now. The temperature was falling lower and lower, and the weather was becoming increasingly cold.

As a result, the black soil was harder than he had imagined.

If he had not reached Middle Qi Refining, with five threads of spiritual power supporting him,

he truly would not have been able to finish it all in a short time.

Xu Changqing thought to himself, I wonder how much the yield will be?

"Oh my—someone actually lives over here." At that moment, an exclamation came from nearby.

Xu Changqing hurriedly looked over and froze.

He saw a fat man leading a spirit beast resembling a camel as it slowly approached.

A palm-sized bell hung around the spirit beast's neck.

Whenever it moved, a jingling sound immediately rang out.

Its back was piled high with bundles.

As the other party drew closer, a foul stench spread through the air.

"My name is Hu Bugui. I am an official disciple of Beast Spirit Valley. May I ask who this fellow cultivator is?" Hu Bugui, looking rather prosperous, grinned, and the two rolls of fat on his cheeks jiggled along with it.

"Xu Changqing." Xu Changqing introduced himself.

Hu Bugui asked again, "Fellow Daoist Xu, are you a newly arrived spirit farmer?"

"Yes, I just became an official disciple." Xu Changqing nodded slightly.

"I see you loosening the soil. Could it be that you intend to plant during winter?" Hu Bugui was rather surprised.

Xu Changqing smiled. "Since I'm idle anyway, I might as well."

"Well, isn't that a coincidence? I have something you need here." Hu Bugui's eyes lit up.

"You're a peddler?" Xu Changqing asked in astonishment.

"You could put it that way, but more accurately, I am a businessman on the rise." Hu Bugui wore a proud expression.

"What do you sell?" Xu Changqing was very curious.

"I come from Beast Spirit Valley, so naturally, what I brought is... spirit beast dung." Hu Bugui turned around, removed a small bundle, then opened it while facing Xu Changqing.

At once, an even more pungent stink billowed out.

It choked Xu Changqing into retreating several steps.

Only after the smell dissipated somewhat did he walk forward again.

Looking closer, he saw chunks upon chunks of spirit beast dung inside.

They were somewhat black, with plenty of plant fibers within them.

They had likely been collected for some time, so they were a little dry.

Hu Bugui smiled. "This is dung from a century-old spirit beast, just right for your second-grade spirit field."

"What price?" Xu Changqing fell into thought upon hearing that.

The black soil was naturally rich in nutrients.

But if spirit beast dung were added, it would surely be like adding wings to a tiger.

Especially now that it was winter, who would not want to increase their yield?

Hu Bugui said generously, "Originally, one hundred jin of century-old spirit beast dung costs ten low-grade spirit stones. Since you're a new customer, I'll give it to you for eight."

Xu Changqing shook his head. "I don't have spirit stones, only spirit rice."

Hu Bugui nodded. "Spirit rice is even better."

Xu Changqing asked in confusion, "How many spirit stones can ten jin of first-grade spirit rice be exchanged for?"

"Uh..." Hu Bugui gave an awkward laugh. "The market price for ten jin of first-grade spirit rice is one low-grade spirit stone."

Although spirit rice was in high demand, its output was not low.

And the price of first-grade spirit rice was fairly stable.

Only spirit plants of higher quality and rarer varieties sold for more.

"So ten jin of first-grade spirit rice is equivalent to ten jin of century-old spirit beast dung?" Xu Changqing was stunned by the result.

"Well... things are precious because they are rare." Hu Bugui defended himself awkwardly.

"Too expensive. Give me a friendship price. This won't be a one-time deal between us; surely you won't stop coming here in the future?" Xu Changqing did not want to give up so easily.

Hu Bugui deeply agreed.

Wasn't that how business worked?

There had to be give and take, and mutual honesty.

So he thought for a moment, then raised two chubby fingers on his right hand.

"What does that mean?" Xu Changqing did not understand.

Hu Bugui said seriously, "Give me ten jin of first-grade spirit rice, and I'll give you twenty jin of century-old spirit beast dung. How about it?"

"Only twenty jin?" Xu Changqing raised an eyebrow.

"Twenty-five jin. No more than that." Hu Bugui gritted his teeth.

"Deal." Xu Changqing did not want to sour the relationship.

After the two completed their transaction, Hu Bugui suddenly gave a mysterious smile. "I still have some good things here. Would Fellow Daoist Xu like to take a look?"

"Good things?" Xu Changqing was deeply skeptical.

He was selling dung—what good things could he possibly have?

Perhaps to prove his capabilities, Hu Bugui took out a small storage bag. After opening it, he pulled out several items.

They were a flask of wine,

a paper figurine,

and several seeds stuck with spirit beast dung.

Xu Changqing immediately wore a look of disgust and said, "What is all this?"

"You're all alone, so you surely need something to ease your worries and solve your troubles.

This paper figurine was personally designed by a talisman master from the Water-Controlling Pavilion. It can be male or female, and its lifelike effect rivals that of a True Person. It currently costs only fifty jin of first-grade spirit rice." After saying that, Hu Bugui winked and nudged his brows.

"..." Xu Changqing's forehead instantly filled with black lines.