Phoenix Yellow Dendrobium

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Chapter 49: Phoenix Yellow Dendrobium

Standing in the path of a rising wind, even a pig could take flight.

With the information gap between two worlds at his disposal, it was no exaggeration to say that earning spirit stones to buy cultivation methods would be as easy as turning over his hand for Chen Beiwu.

But the experience of his previous life had taught him that the bird that stuck its head out was the first to be shot.

In his previous life, countless wealthy people had spent fortunes buying off the media to keep themselves off every rich list, avoiding attention so they would not become targets.

The cultivation world was no different.

There were plenty of ways to earn spirit stones, but Chen Beiwu preferred steady, safe sources of income.

"Thank you, Senior."

Wanwan accepted the spirit stones with gratitude on her face, though inwardly she was cursing up a storm.

Just then, Chen Beiwu looked toward a rogue cultivator who had only just set up a stall along the street. Several dozen medicinal plants lay on it, their skins faintly yellow and their stems and leaves resembling segmented bamboo.

The stallholder seemed sleepy. He yawned, then picked up a stalk and ate it raw.

Noticing where Chen Beiwu was looking, Wanwan asked curiously, "Senior, are you interested in phoenix yellow dendrobium?"

Phoenix yellow dendrobium regulated vital energy, calmed the mind, dispelled deficiency heat, replenished essence, and strengthened yin. It could be used in medicine, brewed into tea, cooked, or simply eaten raw, making it popular among early-stage Qi Refining cultivators.

However, this medicinal plant could not help cultivators refine qi, so it had no grade. It did not even qualify as a first-tier exotic herb.

Large quantities of phoenix yellow dendrobium grew deep in the mountains behind Abysswall Market, and practically no one bothered with it. Only passing cultivators occasionally picked some to eat and refresh themselves.

"I like brewing tea with phoenix yellow dendrobium."

At this point, Chen Beiwu seemed to take an interest. "I'd like to purchase a batch. Do you have a source?"

"Well..." Wanwan looked troubled.

Phoenix yellow dendrobium was so common that no rogue cultivator bothered selling it. Only in mortal kingdoms could its price be inflated to a hundred gold pieces per jin.

At Abysswall Market, two spirit stones were enough to buy a hundred jin of phoenix yellow dendrobium.

Abysswall Market had once been home to a rogue cultivator who thought himself terribly clever.

To earn spirit stones, he had hired large numbers of mortals to gather phoenix yellow dendrobium deep in the mountains, offering Golden Immortal Fortune as payment.

Qi Refining cultivators would not spend enormous amounts of time gathering a hundred jin of phoenix yellow dendrobium for one or two spirit stones, but mortals would.

The result was an excessive harvest and far too little demand. The price of phoenix yellow dendrobium plummeted to one spirit stone per thousand jin, costing that rogue cultivator his entire investment and turning him into a laughingstock.

This senior likes brewing tea with phoenix yellow dendrobium. Could he be from a secular dynasty rather than a cultivation lineage?

"You don't?" Chen Beiwu frowned slightly.

Although phoenix yellow dendrobium was ungraded, it still barely counted as a medicinal plant in the Southern Wasteland's Earth Evolution Realm.

Even if he could not buy it at Abysswall Market, that did not mean the nearby mortal kingdoms had none.

"Yes, yes, I do. How much phoenix yellow dendrobium do you need, Senior?" Wanwan hurriedly replied.

"A hundred jin to start," Chen Beiwu said.

"Four spirit stones for a hundred jin of phoenix yellow dendrobium. How does that sound, Senior?" Wanwan asked tentatively.

"That works. How long will it take?" Chen Beiwu raised his eyelids slightly.

"It'll be ready by noon tomorrow." Delight stirred in Wanwan's heart, and her gaze softened as she looked at Chen Beiwu.

She could make at least three spirit stones from this deal. Though that still would not cover renting a cultivation cave abode, it would buy her nearly half a month's access to the market.

Chen Beiwu tossed her a spirit stone. "Very good. Here's the deposit."

Watching Chen Beiwu's figure disappear, Wanwan's sweet smile gradually faded. She turned and walked into a secluded alley.

Two rogue cultivators tending street stalls exchanged glances and followed the girl.

"Was today's sheep nice and fat?" one of them suddenly asked.

Wanwan kept her expression unchanged. "He wandered around all day without buying anything and wasted my damn time. What do you think?"

"That doesn't sound right. Judging by his clothes, he's either rich or noble. I get the feeling he has quite a background," said the thin-faced rogue cultivator.

The rogue cultivator selling phoenix yellow dendrobium was rather speechless. "What second-generation cultivator with any standing would drink low-end stuff like phoenix yellow dendrobium? He probably doesn't have many spirit stones on him. He's not worth the risk for us."

"True. His cultivation is a little high, too. He'd be hard to deal with." The thin-faced rogue cultivator nodded slightly, then looked at Wanwan.

Wariness flashed in her eyes, and she backed away two steps.

"Relax. I wouldn't stoop to targeting those two spirit stones of yours." The thin-faced rogue cultivator shook his head with a chuckle, then looked at the other rogue cultivator and held up one finger.

"I just spotted a nice little fat sheep. He's carrying at least this much. Want to get him?"

"Heh, of course we do."

Watching the two rogue cultivators leave with their arms slung over each other's shoulders, Wanwan breathed a sigh of relief.

Working as one of the Grimalkin Brokers made it easy to earn spirit stones, but it also made it easy to encounter cultivators involved in the gray trade.

If she was not careful and did not avoid offending people, she might end up dead out in the wilderness as soon as she left the market.

The wilderness.

Quite a clever girl!

Across from the secluded alley, a smile appeared on Chen Beiwu's face.

Clearly, the conversation between the three people in the alley had not escaped his divine sense.

Chen Beiwu then turned and headed toward the center of the market, where a cluster of buildings stood.

After paying twenty spirit stones, Chen Beiwu obtained the right to use a lower-grade cave abode in Abysswall Market for one week.

The lower-grade cave abode was extremely plain, with no unnecessary decorations and only a cushion for cultivation. To Chen Beiwu's pleasant surprise, however, the spirit vigor inside was abundant, and the concentration of spirit power was almost equal to that of a second-tier upper-grade spirit vein.

Even a lower-grade cave abode is this luxurious. I wonder what an upper-grade one is like. Chen Beiwu sighed, then took Golden Egg out of the Spirit Beast Pouch.

"Glug." A string of bubbles rose from the fish tank.

Without wasting time, Chen Beiwu activated his divine sense and helped Golden Egg circulate the Ten Thousand Beasts Art through thirty-six greater celestial circuits, slowly cleansing the demonic power within Golden Egg's body.

Demonic power was turbid and overbearing. Through a companion beast contract, it could gradually corrode a cultivator's magic power and convert it into demonic power.

Thus, after establishing a companion beast contract, cultivators would immediately manifest their companion beast's three meridians.

They would then transform turbidity into purity, replace blood with qi, cleanse the demonic beast's demonic power into pure magic power, and use the Companion Beast Cultivation Method and the Companion Beast Seal to establish a complete magic power circulation.

Simply put, this cultivation method was equivalent to giving a cultivator an extra bloodline enhancement sourced from their companion beast. It increased their cultivation speed while making it easier for them to sense and invoke the laws of Heavenly Abyss Star.

This was the path of cultivating through beasts that the Immortal Alliance had passed down to this day, allowing it to tower over the Demon Race!

Soon, as wisps of turbid qi dispersed into the world, a trace of fatigue appeared in Chen Beiwu's eyes.

Transforming turbidity into purity was a major undertaking.

An ordinary spirit beast needed roughly a month to convert the demonic power within its body into magic power. Golden Egg's greater aptitude could shorten that time to half a month.

During this period, Chen Beiwu's cultivation could not advance his realm, but he could temper the purity of his own magic power and leave his qi within Golden Egg, making their companion beast contract more stable.

"Glug!"

Sensing hunger through the companion beast contract, Chen Beiwu took out his Storage Bag and retrieved half a jin of gold and two pieces of purple coral stone.

At the sight, Golden Egg's eyes lit up, and Golden Egg eagerly opened a mouth.

(End of chapter)