Spirit Plant Seeds

Jiang Yang had only been wandering aimlessly to begin with. Hearing the man call out while he stood observing, he simply moved closer to take a look.

To be honest, with Jiang Yang's current knowledge, he could not recognize eight or nine out of every ten things on this stall, let alone judge their quality. Suddenly, something stirred in his heart, and instead of taking the step he had just begun, he crouched down to examine them slowly.

At first glance, it looked like a little general store, full of assorted odds and ends. Unlike the tidy stalls out on the street, it somewhat resembled the roadside antique stalls Jiang Yang had visited in his previous life.

A wooden sign stood behind it, reading: fate readings and divination, spiritual testing and treasure appraisal, locating baleful sites and auspicious points, Harvest of secondhand Mystic Artifacts.

Seeing Jiang Yang stop in front of his stall, the middle-aged man smiled and cupped his hands.

"My name is Song Qi. Everyone around this stretch of street calls me Old Song. May I ask your surname, junior brother?"

Jiang Yang naturally returned the greeting.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Song. My surname is Jiang."

Hearing this, Song Qi put on a hearty laugh.

"Then I'll call you Junior Brother Jiang. What do you need, Junior Brother Jiang? Spiritual testing or treasure appraisal?"

Jiang Yang nodded and replied, "No need to attend to me, senior brother. I'll take a look around first."

He had not actually decided to buy anything on this trip, so he dared not commit himself too firmly, lest he end up being taken for a fool.

Song Qi did not mind. He folded his arms and settled back into his seat.

"Look all you like, Junior Brother Jiang. See if anything catches your fancy."

Jiang Yang nodded, then lowered his head and swept his gaze from left to right, finally resting it on a tattered scroll.

The scroll was old, its outer covering rough and its roller crumbling, as though it might fall apart at any moment. Jiang Yang examined it cautiously without reaching for it, afraid that any mishap might give the man an excuse to extort him.

Instead, his hand landed on a rolled-up beast hide beside the scroll. Its fur faced outward, its shape looked irregular, and its surface was rather dirty, as though it had been dug out of the bottom of some old chest.

It felt surprisingly good in his hand, however. The fur was soft and the hide supple, unlike an ordinary animal pelt.

As soon as Song Qi saw Jiang Yang pick up the hide, his eyes lit up.

"Remarkable, Junior Brother Jiang! You picked out the crowning treasure of my stall at a glance. What a discerning eye!"

At those words, Jiang Yang's hand stopped in midair, and he grumbled inwardly.

How could something I picked up at random just happen to be a treasure? This blasted Song Qi must be trying to hoodwink me.

Despite his misgivings, Jiang Yang showed nothing on his face and merely asked:

"What exactly is this beast hide? May I unroll it for a look?"

Song Qi stroked his sparse beard and said eagerly:

"You must have noticed already, junior brother. This isn't the hide of an ordinary demonic beast. The hide alone is worth a considerable sum, never mind the simple map drawn on it. Its destination is unclear, but what if it leads somewhere?

"It could be a treasure cache, a spiritual hollow, or a baleful pit. Even an Ancient Cultivators Legacy isn't out of the question. Naturally, you can't unroll it for a look, but once you buy the hide, you can explore its mysteries and hunt for treasure yourself."

As he spoke, Song Qi looked Jiang Yang's clothes up and down again.

"Tempted, junior brother? I've taken a liking to you today, so I'll grit my teeth and part with my treasure. I won't ask much, either. Eight hundred!"

He put on an expression of heartrending anguish, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth.

"Eight hundred Spirit Stones! For just eight hundred Spirit Stones, I'll let you have it!"

Jiang Yang said, "Sorry to have bothered you."

Song Qi had barely finished quoting his price when Jiang Yang, without the slightest hesitation, quietly returned the beast hide to its original spot.

Leaving aside whether the hide was genuine, the claim that it held a treasure map had already robbed Jiang Yang of any desire to listen further. If this so-called map had even a shred of credibility, he did not believe the chance to explore it would ever have fallen to him.

"Huh?"

Song Qi had been secretly waiting for Jiang Yang to haggle. When he opened his eyes, Jiang Yang had already turned to look elsewhere.

"Won't you reconsider, junior brother?"

"No need, Senior Brother Song. A gentleman doesn't deprive others of what they cherish. You should keep this crowning treasure of yours."

Without even raising his head, Jiang Yang slipped in a quiet jab.

Next, Jiang Yang turned his attention to a metal fragment. It was about half the size of a palm, with a mottled surface and scattered, glimmering markings.

What drew Jiang Yang to it was simple. Judging by its appearance, this fragment ought to have been part of a Spirit Sword's crossguard. As for what grade of Mystic Artifact it had been when whole, he had no way of knowing.

Jiang Yang reached out to bring it closer for a careful look, but on his first attempt, he actually failed to lift it clear.

"Hmm?"

He murmured in surprise. His five long, fair fingers closed around it, and only after exerting himself a second time did he secure it firmly in his hand.

A brief assessment told him that this tiny metal fragment actually weighed nearly a hundred jin. Without paying attention, he really could fail to lift it. Jiang Yang was genuinely surprised.

Song Qi cast him a sidelong glance and huffed.

"Heavy, isn't it? A fragment of an ancient Sword Cultivator's sword. Before it broke, it was at least a high-grade Mystic Artifact. One hundred and ten Spirit Stones."

"Even this costs a hundred and ten? Are you making fun of me, senior brother?"

Jiang Yang was dumbfounded. This was only a fragment, not an intact Mystic Artifact. Nothing remained but a broken crossguard, yet the man still wanted so much for it.

He was beginning to understand. No wonder there were so few people here. This was a swindler's stall, run by someone who sold scraps as spiritual treasures.

Song Qi bristled at that and protested:

"You're wronging me, Junior Brother Jiang! Look at its design. It has all the hallmarks of a proper Sword Cultivator's weapon. Then heft it. A palm-sized piece weighs over a hundred jin.

"Finally, look at these scattered markings. Perfectly authentic! This was forged with the Foundation Establishment–tier Spirit Treasure [Jade Crossbow White Gold]."

At that, Song Qi tapped the fragment.

"It's only being sold like this because extracting the material would cost more than the fragment is worth. If you had a way to separate out this bit of [Jade Crossbow White Gold], you couldn't buy it even at ten times the price."

Ordinary artifact refiners would struggle to separate out the Spirit Material. Hiring an established master would cost a hefty sum, and this little fragment probably would not even cover the fee. It simply was not worth it.

In the end, keeping it was like holding on to chicken ribs: tasteless to eat, yet a pity to throw away.

Only then did Jiang Yang understand. He swept the fragment with his Spirit Sense and indeed felt an indescribable sharpness. Combined with its considerable weight, it seemed the man truly was not lying.

“Then I misunderstood you, senior brother. Jiang Yang is shallow in knowledge; I hope you won't hold it against me.”

Seeing Jiang Yang apologize, Song Qi waved it off casually. Clearly, he had not taken it much to heart.

Finally, from a heap of differently shaped stones in the left-hand corner, Jiang Yang picked out an oval Pill about the size of a fingertip.

The Pill was pitch-black, with a pointed top and a smoothly rounded lower half. It resembled a medicinal Pill but gave off no medicinal fragrance. Yet if it was a pebble, it felt somewhat resilient rather than hard between his fingers.

Jiang Yang confirmed that this was the thing that had stirred his heart. He picked it up and asked casually:

"What is this?"

After their previous two exchanges, Song Qi already knew that the lad before him was as shrewd as a monkey, not some clueless greenhorn fresh out in the world. He could not be bothered to waste more breath.

He gave it a casual glance and said without much interest:

“An unidentified Spirit Plant seed. Fifty Spirit Stones.”

If this had been the first thing Jiang Yang picked up, he might still have been inclined to boast that it was some Spirit Treasure like a Soaring Immortal Lingzhi. Now, however, he merely called it an unidentified tree seed.

So this is a Spirit Plant seed.

Jiang Yang held the Pill between his fingers. If Song Qi had not told him, he really would not have recognized it. It was so black that, tossed on the ground, it could easily have been mistaken for a sheep dropping.

He extended his Spirit Sense over it, but it was like a stone sinking into the sea. He could scarcely detect the slightest trace of vitality, as though he were examining a lifeless rock.

Doubtful, Jiang Yang hesitated briefly before asking:

"This wouldn't be a dead seed, would it?"

Any Spirit Plant that ranked as a spiritual treasure, regardless of its grade, had to contain abundant vitality. Otherwise, it could never push through the soil and sprout. The Clear-Sound Jade Bamboo seedlings had demonstrated that much.

Song Qi's expression turned awkward. This really was a dead seed, and it was also the one item he had misjudged—a purchase that had cost him money.

Seeing him remain silent, Jiang Yang felt his guess was almost certainly right, so he said:

“Five Spirit Stones. Part with it for me, Senior Brother Song.”

That slash at the price cut all the way down to his heels. Naturally, Song Qi refused and repeated:

“Junior brother, this is a Spirit Seed. Fifty stones, not one less.”

"There's no vitality inside. It's a dead seed. Five is already plenty."

"Forty-five."

"Five."

"Forty. Let's be friends."

"Five."

"Thirty. Just thirty, and it's yours, junior brother! Surely that shows enough sincerity?"

"Five."

"You!"

The youth before him nearly made Song Qi's hair stand on end with anger. With his rosy lips, white teeth, and distinguished appearance, who would have imagined he could be this difficult?

Unable to help himself, he gritted his teeth and said:

"Who haggles like you do, junior brother?"