Rogue Cultivator Market

"My spirit grain..."

Old Xu, who had been watching Zhou Changwang eliminate the pests from the side, let out a heartbroken cry. He hurriedly rushed down into the field and propped up the bent spirit grain stalk.

"You can't blame me for this.

Everyone knows how troublesome spirit locusts are.

Only by mastering Icebound Finger, one of the ice-element spells, and using the power of frost to freeze it can you stop its front claws from moving and damaging the spirit grain."

Zhou Changwang put the spirit locust's corpse into his cloth bag and spoke somewhat helplessly.

Icebound Finger was likewise considered one of the spirit plant spells. It could use the power of frost to freeze spirit insects and prevent them from further damaging spirit plants.

It was just that this spell was rather expensive. Spirit Plant Hall priced it at fifteen Low-Grade Spirit Stones; he had neither been willing to exchange for it nor possessed the Spirit Stones to do so.

"This old man isn't unreasonable either."

Though Old Xu's heart ached, he still spoke up.

He knew the nature of spirit locusts, so he naturally understood that Zhou Changwang was not to blame.

Then, looking at the stalk of spirit grain, he swiftly cast a spell.

Several breaths later, specks of spiritual light began radiating from his body and flowed into the spirit grain.

Spring Renewal Technique.

This was a healing spell. Not only could it be used on spirit plants, but it also had a certain restorative effect on injured people.

At this moment, Old Xu intended to use this spell to heal and restore the spirit grain.

As for whether it would actually work, that could only depend on the spirit plant's vitality and recovery.

Afterward, Zhou Changwang resumed his inspection and pest removal.

Fortunately, the pest removal that followed went fairly smoothly, and he did not discover any more spirit locusts.

Thus, after Zhou Changwang had inspected all three mu of spirit fields, his cloth bag contained seven more spirit insects.

"Seven spirit insects, plus the nine I already had, makes sixteen.

I heard that someone in the market is willing to buy spirit insects at fifteen for one Low-Grade Spirit Stone. Sometimes traveling merchants also come specifically to the spirit fields to buy them.

If I exchange them, I can earn another Low-Grade Spirit Stone.

That means I earned a full two Low-Grade Spirit Stones today."

As Zhou Changwang calculated in his heart, joy immediately welled up within him.

Though this was not a regular occurrence—after all, he could only earn one Low-Grade Spirit Stone from Old Xu every three days—the harvest of spirit insects was solid and real.

By the time he returned to his residence, night had only just fallen.

Zhou Changwang hurriedly washed rice and cooked a meal, while also preparing six spirit insects as dishes to go with it.

After all, he needed the spiritual energy within spirit insect meat to aid his cultivation as well.

Based on the experience he had "eaten" his way into over the past few days, six spirit insects were enough to fully restore the spiritual power he had expended earlier and even add a little to his Qi Refining cultivation.

Furthermore, with the Five Elements Formula at the Mastery level, his daily cultivation could routinely increase his cultivation by "one point."

That one point at a time might not have been much, but with one point here and another there, accumulated over years and months, wouldn't his cultivation rise naturally?

As for the remaining ten spirit insects, he planned to save them until a traveling merchant came to the spirit fields to purchase them, then exchange them for Spirit Stones.

Spirit insects were spiritual creatures, after all. Their flesh was tender yet tough; even if kept for three to five days, it would not spoil, and not much spiritual energy would dissipate.

"This Low-Grade Spirit Stone, though..."

Zhou Changwang woke from cultivation and once again could not resist taking out that Low-Grade Spirit Stone.

This Spirit Stone probably would not gather dust even in the mortal world, for even now, in the darkness of night, it emitted a soft, lustrous glow.

Then he put it away again.

Because he had already decided what to use it for.

To buy Spirit Rice.

People regarded food as their heaven.

Cultivators, unless they were enlightened true cultivators, likewise still needed to eat, drink, piss, and shit.

But ordinary mortal rice could only fill a cultivator's stomach; it was of no benefit whatsoever to their cultivation.

Spirit Rice was different.

Not only could it satisfy hunger, but the spiritual energy contained within it could also be easily absorbed and refined by him, gradually transformed into his own spiritual power and cultivation, increasing his strength.

"Spirit Stones may be good, but I am a cultivator. In this world, the only things that can truly let me stand firm and make a life for myself are cultivation realm and strength."

Zhou Changwang sighed.

Thus, early the next morning, he hurried out.

But he did not head toward the spirit fields. Instead, he went to the inner city of Phoenix-Cry Cove Market.

Naturally, he was not going to the various shops within the inner city, but to a Rogue Cultivator Market in the inner city's northwestern corner.

There, countless rogue cultivators set up stalls to sell goods. Prices were often somewhat cheaper than in shops, and sometimes one could even pick up a bargain, so many rogue cultivators gathered there.

"So this is the market's inner city. Even the air smells much sweeter.

If one lived here, one would probably gain a few extra years of life."

As Zhou Changwang stepped into the market's inner city, he drew a deep breath and could not help but marvel.

He knew that Phoenix-Cry Cove Market had been built atop a First-Rank Spiritual Vein, where the spiritual energy was far denser than in the outer areas. If mortals lived here, they might not necessarily live to a hundred without illness or disaster, but they could at least live beyond eighty.

"When I have Spirit Stones in the future, I must move into the inner city."

Zhou Changwang sighed, but did not dare linger long. He hurried toward the northwest.

Very soon, a long street appeared before him.

Cultivators had set up stalls all along both sides of the street.

The road was also filled with all kinds of people, some walking about, others stopping at the stalls to ask prices.

"There really are so many cultivation supplies."

Looking at the items displayed across the stalls, Zhou Changwang could not help but marvel inwardly.

The stalls held palm-sized talismans covered in complex patterns, ancient books bearing the names of all kinds of divine arts and wondrous spells, seemingly ordinary yet supposedly powerful Dharma Artifacts stolen by their owners from the great tombs of Foundation True Cultivators, Jade-Slip Eyes said to record powerful cultivation methods, bottles upon bottles of spirit pills with different effects, and seeds proclaimed to be Second Grade or even Third-Grade Spirit Plants...

Zhou Changwang carefully avoided those overly enthusiastic stall owners. He naturally understood that while some things in the Rogue Cultivator Market were indeed cheaper, there were also especially many scams, swindles, and deceptions.

If he truly believed the ghost stories those stall owners bragged about, he would suffer a crushing loss.

Fortunately, Zhou Changwang had grown up in the market and was extremely vigilant.

Before long, he arrived at a stall.

It was a rice stall.

Various kinds of rice were displayed there. There was not only ordinary rice for mortals, but all kinds of Spirit Rice as well, such as the Spirit Grain Rice Zhou Changwang was currently growing, Crescent Rice shaped like a curved moon, Blood-Red Rice streaked as though stained with blood, and even Spirit Fruit Rice as large as grapes...