"Gentlemen, I've said everything that needed to be said. Will you join, or..." Xu Mingsheng's gaze shifted back and forth between the two.
Xu Changqing was very interested. "I'll join."
Xu Mingsheng's smile immediately blossomed. "Welcome to the Farmer's Heart Society, Daoist Cai. And what about Daoist Lin?"
At once, both his and Xu Changqing's gazes fell on the third person.
Lin Mengru furrowed her willow-leaf brows. After thinking it over again and again, she said, "I'll consider it some more."
"Of course, that's no problem. Even if we don't cooperate this time, it's nothing." Xu Mingsheng nodded.
The Farmer's Heart Society controlled the vast majority of Spirit Rice Grain and spirit plants.
Even if a small amount flowed into the market, it would not affect the overall situation in the slightest.
But precisely because Lin Mengru had refused,
Xu Mingsheng spoke almost exclusively with Xu Changqing for the rest of the journey.
And through this conversation, Xu Changqing learned quite a bit of information.
For example, the five factions represented by the Five-Element Spirit Root.
The Farmer's Heart Society was led by those with Wood Spirit Roots.
The Talisman Masters' Collective was led by those with Water Spirit Roots.
The Elixir Alliance was led by those with Fire Spiritual Roots.
The Spirit Artifact Workshop was led by those with Metal Spiritual Roots.
The Formation Guild was led by those with Earth Spirit Roots.
All five factions had trading posts in Red Maple Valley.
In truth, one could tell from their names alone.
The Farmer's Heart Society monopolized the spirit plant market.
The Elixir Alliance monopolized the medicinal pill market.
The Talisman Masters' Collective monopolized the spirit talisman market.
The Spirit Artifact Workshop monopolized the spirit artifact market.
Only the Formation Guild was somewhat special.
That was because not every disciple with an Earth Spirit Root could become a formation master.
This profession required extremely high comprehension to even enter.
And it had to be admitted that most people's comprehension was quite ordinary.
Precisely because they were scarce and irreplaceable, their prices were exorbitant.
Yet no one could do without the aid of formations, and the higher one's realm, the greater the demand.
Of course, that did not mean there were no independent cultivators at all.
There were, but not many.
Either they were newcomers, unqualified to be recruited,
or they were powerful enough to look down on a particular faction.
Xu Changqing asked curiously, "Daoist Xu, wouldn't that mean that most of the Spirit Farmers in our Spirit Fields, especially those senior brothers who have reached the Foundation Establishment Realm, belong to the Farmer's Heart Society?"
"That's right." Xu Mingsheng confirmed it.
"I remember there's a senior brother in the Foundation Establishment Realm named Zhang Su. Is he part of it?" Xu Changqing asked again.
"Senior Brother Zhang Su isn't." Yet Xu Mingsheng shook his head.
"Huh?" Xu Changqing was somewhat surprised.
Xu Mingsheng explained, "Senior Brother Zhang Su has some ties to people from the Elixir Alliance, so he grows medicinal herbs in his Spirit Fields."
Xu Changqing suddenly understood.
That explained why Zhang Su did not grow Spirit Rice.
"We've reached Red Maple Valley." At that moment, Lin Mengru, who had been silent for a long time, spoke up to remind them.
Xu Changqing looked ahead upon hearing this.
He was instantly stunned by the scenery.
No wonder it was called Red Maple Valley.
As far as the eye could see, there were crimson maple leaves everywhere.
Gathered together, they resembled a vast ocean of blood.
And in the deepest part stood an incomparably enormous Crimson Maple Ancient Tree.
Its branches were luxuriant and its leaves abundant, soaring into the clouds.
Its leaves resembled the rosy little palms of human infants.
When the wind blew, a series of "papapa" sounds immediately rang out, as though it were clapping to welcome them.
Soon, under Xu Mingsheng's control, the Flying Paper Crane slowly descended, and the three of them landed with it.
Lin Mengru did not say much and headed straight ahead.
Xu Changqing followed beside Xu Mingsheng and first went to the Farmer's Heart Society's trading post.
Soon, an antique wooden building came into view.
It had three floors in total.
What lay on the upper two floors was unknown, but the first floor saw the greatest flow of people.
Almost everyone was lining up.
And above the trading windows were clearly displayed the day's transaction prices.
Under Xu Mingsheng and the others' deliberate manipulation, the price of Spirit Rice Grain had risen like water lifting a boat.
Although Spirit Rice Grain produced by Grade-Two Spirit Fields varied somewhat in price according to quality, the difference was not especially outrageous.
Originally, two jin of Quality-Grade Spirit Rice could be exchanged for one Low-Grade Spirit Stone.
Now, it had become 1.5 to 1.
In other words, one and a half jin could be exchanged for one Low-Grade Spirit Stone.
Even Quality-Grade Spirit Rice from Grade-One Spirit Fields had gone from ten to one to seven to one.
As for Supreme-Grade Spirit Rice, people were fighting over it like mad.
There was no helping it. Many people wanted to make a name for themselves in the Formal Disciple Grand Competition.
If they were lucky, perhaps an "immortal elder" would take a liking to them, allowing them to become core disciples.
"Hiss." Seeing this, Xu Changqing could not help drawing in a sharp breath.
Xu Mingsheng said rather smugly, "Daoist Cai, now do you know how wise your choice was?"
"Then how should I trade?" Xu Changqing quickly calmed down.
Xu Mingsheng smiled. "You haven't completed three years yet, so you can't fully join the Farmer's Heart Society. But with my recommendation, one Low-Grade Spirit Stone can be exchanged for 1.8 jin of Quality-Grade Spirit Rice from Grade-Two Spirit Fields."
"1.8 to 1, huh?" Xu Changqing pondered.
That was higher than the market ratio.
Which was 1.5 to 1.
Clearly, he would be taking a loss.
"To tell you the truth, since Daoist Lin refused to join just now, our people will deliberately target her. When she comes later, it'll be 1.9 to 1, even higher than yours." Now that matters had reached this point, Xu Mingsheng no longer pretended. His gaze became fierce.
After so many years, the market had long been monopolized by the Farmer's Heart Society.
Even if there were a few fish that slipped through the net, they could not stir up any waves.
"Fine." Xu Changqing could find no reason to refuse.
Even if he went outside to sell it himself, he would be targeted.
He did not even know how long it would take to sell everything.
And the ratio would certainly be even higher than it was now.
So he might as well cooperate with the Farmer's Heart Society.
It looked like a loss, but in reality, it was not.
The market price itself was controlled by them.
In fact, if there were no Farmer's Heart Society,
two jin of Quality-Grade Spirit Rice from Grade-Two Spirit Fields could only be sold for one Low-Grade Spirit Stone.
Therefore, even if he sold at 1.8 to 1, he would still make a profit.
If he wanted to escape this situation, he could only switch to different spirit plants.
Higher quality naturally meant higher prices.
Or, like Zhang Su, he could plant all kinds of medicinal herbs that were already expensive to begin with.
Xu Mingsheng said solemnly, "Daoist Cai, you will never regret today's decision."
Xu Changqing directly took out three hundred jin of Supreme-Grade Spirit Rice produced by Grade-Two Spirit Fields.
It was a preliminary test.
"It's actually Supreme-Grade Spirit Rice!" Xu Mingsheng could not help viewing this fellow disciple in a new light.
He had thought reaching Quality-Grade would already be impressive.
Now that it was Supreme-Grade Spirit Rice, the ratio naturally differed.
Quality-Grade was 1.8.
Supreme-Grade was 1.6.
Xu Mingsheng immediately and readily gave him 187 Low-Grade Spirit Stones.
Now, aside from the ten jin he had lent Zhao Ziyao,
and the three hundred jin he had just sold,
Xu Changqing still had 790 jin of Supreme-Grade Spirit Rice produced by Grade-Two Spirit Fields on him.
"This is my Communication Talisman. You can contact me anytime." Xu Mingsheng took out a spirit talisman.
"Alright." Xu Changqing tossed everything into his Small Storage Bag, then left the trading post.
Once outside, he quickly spotted Lin Mengru in a corner.
She was the female disciple with a Wood Spirit Root who had arrived at Red Maple Valley Market with them earlier.
As expected, she had chosen to sell her Quality-Grade Spirit Rice from Grade-Two Spirit Fields herself.
Her ratio was 1.6 to 1, slightly higher than the market rate.
But just then, a Wood Spirit Root disciple suddenly appeared nearby.
He also set up a stall, and his ratio was even higher than Lin Mengru's.
Lin Mengru offered 1.6 to 1.
This man offered 1.7 to 1.
No matter how Lin Mengru raised her price, his would always be higher.
At one point, it even returned to 2 to 1.
That meant two jin of Grade-Two Spirit Rice could be exchanged for one Low-Grade Spirit Stone.
Lin Mengru had every one of her customers snatched away, and some even cursed her as a "profiteer."
Xu Changqing silently observed and discovered that no matter how many places she changed,
the moment she set up a stall, someone would immediately appear.
In the end, with no other choice, she could only obediently head toward the Farmer's Heart Society's trading post.
"This Daoist Lin seems not to trust the Farmer's Heart Society?" Xu Changqing mused.
Because he had the experience of his previous life, he had agreed to Xu Mingsheng's offer.
If he refused, the one he would offend would not be Xu Mingsheng, but the Farmer's Heart Society.
What could a mere Spirit Farmer use to fight against the colossal beast that monopolized the market?
But for the time being, the Farmer's Heart Society stood on the side of Spirit Farmers.
Because so long as the ratio did not return to 2 to 1, they would never suffer a loss.
It was merely a question of earning more or earning less!
Before you continue