A Losing Deal

That bargaining tactic had cut straight at Song Qi's jugular. No wonder he was getting worked up.

Seeing him hopping mad, Jiang Yang stopped provoking him. Instead, he softened his tone and said with a smile:

"Senior Brother Song, you must have noticed that I'm only a newly admitted disciple in early Qi Refining. My pockets are so empty that mice could run around in them.

"Forget those hundreds you're asking for—I couldn't scrape together even fifty."

At that, Song Qi stopped glaring and said sullenly:

"Then what do you want? Give me a proposal, and stop making sport of me."

A smile rose to Jiang Yang's face. He began trying to reason with Song Qi instead, saying earnestly:

"I spoke out of turn, Senior Brother. But we don't even know whether this Spirit Seed is alive or dead. I could spend five or eight Spirit Stones to take it home and try planting it. If it sprouted, everyone would be happy; if it didn't, at least I wouldn't lose too much.

"It's just a gamble for a bit of fun, after all. There's really no need to spend too much on it."

Those words left Song Qi silent. He understood Jiang Yang's meaning perfectly: his junior brother regarded this as nothing more than an idle move on the board, a wager on the future. It wasn't something he absolutely had to buy.

He was also making it clear that his status was low and that squeezing him dry wouldn't yield more than a few Spirit Stones. If Song Qi wanted to close the deal, he would have to show some sincerity.

Song Qi knew all that himself. This lousy seed had sat in his hands for ages since he acquired it. Seeing a chance today to recover his losses on the deal, greed had naturally stirred in him, and he had hoped to make a handsome profit.

Now that it clearly wasn't possible, he weighed his options, sighed, and said:

"Fine. Let's both take a step back. Eleven Spirit Stones, and this time I won't accept one less. Don't say any more, Junior Brother. For even one stone less, I'd rather let it rot in my hands."

Song Qi had yielded of his own accord, but he had also nailed his price firmly in place. He was afraid Jiang Yang would come out with another offer of five. Just hearing it gave him a headache.

Jiang Yang finally breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. He had also worried that Song Qi might be a stubborn hothead who simply refused to budge. That would have left him in a bind.

Whatever he thought inwardly, Jiang Yang's expression remained unchanged. Although he knew he couldn't push the price any lower, he still couldn't help asking in puzzlement:

"I understand, Senior Brother, but why does it have to be eleven?"

Song Qi gathered his sleeves and said through gritted teeth:

"Because I never make a losing deal. This thing cost me ten Spirit Stones in appraisal fees alone."

The seed had merely been thrown in with another item when he acquired it. He hadn't recognized it and had thought it might be something valuable. In the end, he had no choice but to take it to the Appraisal Pavilion for someone to examine.

After spending ten Spirit Stones, all he learned was that it was a seed—and a dead one at that. Nothing else. He had been so angry that he wanted to fling it far away on the spot, but then he remembered Bi had paid out those shiny Spirit Stones after all. So he kept it, waiting for someone destined to take it.

That wait had lasted over three years. Several times, he had wanted to throw it away, but never managed to go through with it. Being able to recover his costs now was already a comfort.

Jiang Yang shook his head with a laugh. The man insisted on earning one Spirit Stone no matter what. Senior Brother Song was quite a character.

Eleven shimmering Spirit Stones made a sizeable handful. He handed them over in exchange for the pitch-black, oval Spirit Seed.

Afterward, Jiang Yang walked a little farther down the alley and saw quite a few curious things.

Cultivation methods whose spiritual energy had been severed, Spells with missing words and passages, Mystic Artifact fragments shattered into crumbs, and strange, fantastical statues of unknown origin.

All in all, the place was something of a Ghost Market. There was little proper merchandise; most people traded in bizarre odds and ends. Of course, if you had such peculiar items yourself, most of them would buy those too.

After lingering for two to four hours, Jiang Yang slowly strolled out of the market.

Although he had spent a long time inside, Jiang Yang had bought nothing apart from that one Spirit Seed.

The reason was simple: he had no use for what he could afford, and he couldn't afford what he wanted. Fortunately, he had no urgent needs. He had come purely to broaden his horizons.

He climbed all the way up to the mountain hollow and returned to his Cave Abode. Pulling over a Meditation Cushion, Jiang Yang sat down. Only then did he have the leisure to take out the seed and examine it closely.

Ultimately, he had bought it because the Peach Branch in his sea of consciousness had trembled, stirring a sudden impulse that led him to crouch before the stall.

Although Jiang Yang didn't know what it was, anything that could make the Peach Branch tremble was surely no ordinary object. That much he believed.

The Spirit Seed looked dark and dull and felt round and solid between his fingers. When his Spirit Sense swept over it, it seemed like a lifeless object. He could see nothing special about it at all.

After a moment's thought, Jiang Yang sent the clear blue-green Magic Power within him surging through his hand and into the Spirit Seed.

Yet the Magic Power poured into it like a clay ox entering the sea, vanishing without a trace. Before long, thirty percent of Jiang Yang's Magic Power was gone, but the seed showed not the slightest change.

Seeing this, Jiang Yang withdrew his Magic Power and stopped trying. He wasn't surprised. If simply pouring Magic Power into it could produce a change, it wouldn't have remained neglected on a stall until now.

Still, the attempt had revealed a trace of its extraordinary nature. Once an ordinary cultivator reached Qi Refining Level One, the Magic Power in their body circulated ceaselessly and already possessed the strength to shatter metal and cleave jade.

When Magic Power was poured into an ordinary object like this, at best its properties would change; at worst, it would collapse and break apart. That was why cultivators needed refined Mystic Artifacts alongside their Spells when fighting—only those could withstand the force of channeled Magic Power.

Since this seed had remained utterly unchanged after receiving Magic Power, it naturally qualified as a Spirit Seed. The appraiser simply hadn't known what kind it was.

Having tried what he could, Jiang Yang put the seed away for the time being and left further plans for later.

It was most likely a dead seed. Leaving aside how to awaken its vitality, even if he truly wanted to plant it, he couldn't do so right now.

Although the Spirit Vigor around his Cave Abode was fairly abundant, the Sect had rules strictly prohibiting disciples from privately clearing land and planting Spirit Treasures nearby. Uncle-Master Xie, the Registrar, had specifically explained this before assigning him the abode.

The aim was to prevent Spirit Plants from consuming too much of the peak's Spirit Vigor and affecting its spiritual vein. After all, if everyone planted Spirit Plants, they would compete for Spirit Vigor. With so many disciples on the peak, supplying their cultivation had to come first. Priorities had to remain clear.

Still, it wasn't entirely impossible. If he truly wanted to plant one, he only needed to buy a Spirit Array to gather Spirit Vigor, then fill it with Spirit Stones to supplement the supply and nourish the Spirit Plant. That would allow him to grow it safely.

Ultimately, as long as the surrounding Spirit Vigor didn't fluctuate on a large scale, the Sect generally couldn't be bothered to intervene.

Jiang Yang had learned this during a casual conversation with Zhou Yanwei. At the time, he had silently grumbled and drawn a private comparison.

With Spirit Vigor regulated, the disciples' breathing exercises were like using electricity: daily consumption might fluctuate, but it stayed within a predictable range. Growing Spirit Plants, however, was like stealing electricity. Naturally, the Sect wouldn't allow it.

The advantages and disadvantages of this method were obvious. Jiang Yang's finances were poor at present. Neither a Spirit Array nor the Spirit Stones it consumed was something he could currently afford.

Jiang Yang gathered his thoughts, sat upright on the Meditation Cushion, and took a jade bottle from his Storage Bag.

It contained an Essence-Nourishing Pill.

A month had passed since he last took a Pill. He could take another now.

For more than a month, Jiang Yang had practiced diligently every morning without fail. With every day spent on Dawn Rain Peak, where Spirit Vigor was abundant, his cultivation had progressed at a decidedly brisk pace.

He privately guessed that after taking this Pill, even if he couldn't break through to Mid Qi Refining, he would probably be very close.

Pulling out the stopper, Jiang Yang tipped out an Elixir that gave off a delicate fragrance, tilted his head back, and popped it into his mouth. The refreshing medicinal liquid instantly made his mouth water, then slipped down into his stomach little by little.

As his Magic Power began to seethe, Jiang Yang dared not be careless. He gathered his mind and devoted himself wholeheartedly to circulating the Dew Essence Consumption Method, refining the pill's medicinal potency.