Late Qi Refining Stage, Double Blessings

Red Cliff Market, Spirit Beast Hall.

More than a month later, the customer flow at Spirit Beast Hall had already decreased considerably.

Unless they came to buy or sell something, cultivators who had already visited the shop would not come again.

However, in the eyes of some cultivators who had sold items at Spirit Beast Hall, the purchase prices offered here for certain goods were higher than those of other shops.

Thus, when some cultivators obtained spiritual items while venturing out and compared prices among different shops, they would include Spirit Beast Hall as one of their options.

That morning, a middle-aged man in black with late Qi Refining Stage cultivation strode into Spirit Beast Hall.

After entering the shop, he familiarly called toward the counter, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, Lin has brought your shop some business again."

Behind the counter, Zhou Chun, who had been reading, hurriedly rose and looked toward the visitor upon hearing this.

When he saw the man's appearance clearly, he smiled and cupped his hands in greeting. "So it's Fellow Daoist Lin. What treasure have you acquired this time?"

"It's nothing good. A few days ago, I joined several fellow Daoists to hunt demons and happened to pick a few spiritual herbs."

As the man in black spoke, he patted the Storage Bag at his waist and took out three wooden boxes, placing them on the counter.

Then, seemingly unconcerned, he said in a broad manner, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, take a look and see how many spirit coins these items are worth."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony."

Zhou Chun answered, then opened the first wooden box and took out a ginseng-shaped spiritual herb the width of two fingers, examining it carefully.

First, he turned the spiritual herb over and scrutinized it for damage or scars, while also examining its length, size, and the patterns on it.

Next, he brought it close to his nose and took a deep sniff, smelling its medicinal fragrance and ginseng scent.

Then he pinched the ginseng stalk between his fingers and rubbed it several times, verifying that it was not a pieced-together forgery.

Only after this process of looking, smelling, and testing did Zhou Chun place it back into the wooden box and say to the man in black, "One freshly harvested Yellow Sprout Ginseng, between fifty and seventy years old, in excellent condition without damage. This shop's purchase price is seven spirit coins!"

The black-clothed man's eyes shifted slightly at those words, but he said, "No rush. Let's look at the other two first."

Zhou Chun smiled and nodded, then opened the other two wooden boxes and took out the spiritual herbs inside to inspect them one by one.

"One freshly harvested Silver Thread Orchid, in excellent condition without damage. This shop's purchase price is five spirit coins."

"One freshly harvested Candle Flame Grass, with slight damage to its appearance. This shop's purchase price is eight spirit coins."

After quoting the prices of all the spiritual herbs in the three wooden boxes, Zhou Chun returned them to their boxes and looked at the man in black. "Fellow Daoist Lin, are you satisfied with I's offer? Would you like to sell these spiritual herbs to our shop?"

"The prices are indeed fair. It seems Lin will have to visit your esteemed shop more often in the future."

A faint smile appeared on the black-clothed man's face, revealing his satisfaction.

Then he pushed the three wooden boxes toward Zhou Chun and left with the twenty spirit coins Zhou Chun had given him.

After the man in black left, Zhou Jiasheng, who had been sitting on a chair in the shop, rose and walked to the counter. In front of Zhou Chun, he opened the three wooden boxes and inspected the three spiritual herbs again.

Then he looked at Zhou Chun and said blandly, "The Yellow Sprout Ginseng is over sixty years old. Seven spirit coins is a normal price."

"The Silver Thread Orchid has already matured and can be used in medicine. Five spirit coins is also a normal price."

"The Candle Flame Grass has a slight tear in its root and stem. Its medicinal efficacy has leaked away, and it is difficult to preserve for long. At most, it is worth seven spirit coins!"

At this point, he shook his head at Zhou Chun. "You are still too young. You need to learn and do more. Put that one spirit coin on your tab for now!"

"Yes, this nephew understands."

Zhou Chun replied, then recorded the transaction in the account book.

Only after finishing the entry did he say softly, "Actually, this nephew also knows that the Candle Flame Grass is not worth eight spirit coins. But the purchase prices offered by various shops for the first two spiritual herbs would basically not differ. Since Fellow Daoist Lin still came to our Spirit Beast Hall under such circumstances, he was clearly dissatisfied with the purchase price other shops offered for the Candle Flame Grass."

"In that case, this nephew believes that if yielding one spirit coin this time can make him give priority to Spirit Beast Hall when selling spiritual items in the future, then that one spirit coin will have been very well spent!"

Zhou Jiasheng's gaze tightened slightly, and he could not help looking at Zhou Chun with surprise in his eyes.

He stared at Zhou Chun like that for quite a while before finally letting out a long sigh with a complicated expression. "I am inferior to you!!"

After speaking, he even laughed at himself. "I, Zhou Jiasheng, have lived for decades and always prided myself on being seasoned, prudent, and worldly-wise. Yet today, I was taught a lesson by a young junior like you. How laughable, how laughable!"

The complexity of his feelings at that moment was beyond words.

Seeing this, Zhou Chun hurriedly said, "Sixteenth Uncle, you overpraise me. There was nothing wrong with your way of handling this matter. Aren't the shopkeepers and clerks at other stores all doing the same?"

He then gave a faint bitter smile. "This nephew's approach is merely a trick of opportunism. Perhaps when Fellow Daoist Lin comes again next time and sees that there is no profit to be gained, he will not return afterward."

"No, you need not comfort me."

Zhou Jiasheng shook his head. Looking at Zhou Chun with a complicated expression, he held out his hand and said, "Although I had objections to your previous methods, my eyes are not blind, nor is my heart. I can still distinguish the facts laid before me from what is good and bad!"

"What you said just now was right. If we can offer visitors concessions in such details that other shops do not, there is a great chance we can leave a favorable impression in their hearts, making them choose us first the next time they sell spiritual items. And it will not give other shops an excuse to make trouble for us!"

At this point, he said with wholehearted conviction, "No wonder the patriarch insisted on sending you here for experience. It seems the patriarch had long ago discovered that you possess insight and ingenious ideas beyond ordinary people!"

From that day onward, Zhou Jiasheng's attitude toward Zhou Chun visibly changed for the better.

Even when Zhou Chun made mistakes while appraising certain spiritual items afterward, Zhou Jiasheng no longer berated him with a sour face. Instead, he would calmly tell him where he had gone wrong and how he should correct it.

During idle moments, he would even tell Zhou Chun about instances from his own apprenticeship when he had made mistakes and been deceived, teaching Zhou Chun how to identify the methods used by skilled counterfeiters.

But as a result, Zhou Chun's earlier plan to take the opportunity to privately purchase spiritual herbs had no chance to be put into action for the time being.

Fortunately, he was not particularly anxious about it, so he peacefully spent each day learning this knowledge.

As time passed, when Zhou Chun's third month in the market had come to an end, he finally broke through to Level Nine Qi Refining after taking his tenth Jade Ginseng Pill, officially stepping into the late Qi Refining Stage.

Unlike his previous advances within the mid Qi Refining Stage, this minor breakthrough brought Zhou Chun enormous benefits.

First, his spiritual power increased by nearly sixty percent at once. Even if he went all out in wielding the First-grade High-tier magic tool, the Moon Blade Meteor Wheel, he could sustain combat for more than a quarter of an hour.

Then, his divine sense was greatly enhanced as well. Its detection range leapt to over eighty zhang, and he could control three or four magic tools at once without feeling any strain.

At the same time, with the increase in his cultivation, the two secret arts he had already learned—especially the Five Elements Spirit Armor Art—also saw a considerable rise in power.

And good fortune came in pairs.

Not long after news of Zhou Chun's breakthrough reached the family, Clan Chief Zhou Daoyi promoted him to a core member of the family and promoted Zhou Zhengyong to an elite member.

It turned out that, after repeated bargaining and discussions, the Crimson Radiance Iron ore vein could finally be publicly announced and mined.

After extensive negotiations, the Crimson Radiance Iron ore vein would be jointly owned and mined by the Five Great Cultivation Families. As the discoverer of the vein, and because it could provide Violet Palace-level combat power to deter those eyeing it greedily, the Zhou Family would receive thirty percent of the vein's production profits.

The Sun Family of Golden Maple Ridge was closest to the vein. They would provide the cultivators mining it with a place to rest and replenish supplies free of charge, and were also willing to undertake part of the mining work, thus receiving thirty percent of the vein's production profits.

The Wang Family of Red Medicine Valley had a Violet Palace cultivator and was willing to share the task of purifying and removing half the Turbid Fiendish Energy within the Crimson Radiance Iron Ore. Thus, they would receive twenty percent of the vein's production profits.

The Mu Family of Biyun Mountain and the He Family of Green Bamboo Mountain would only share some of the task of purifying and removing the Turbid Fiendish Energy from the Crimson Radiance Iron Ore, while providing martial deterrence. Therefore, they would each receive just ten percent of the vein's production profits.

Once the Five Great Cultivation Families had agreed upon the distribution of profits, they each dispatched people to the Sun Family of Golden Maple Ridge to stand guard over and protect the mine.

At the same time, they recruited large numbers of low-level Rogue Cultivators to mine the ore.

News of the appearance of this Crimson Radiance Iron ore vein also quickly spread through the market.

For a time, the entire Cultivation World of Misty Prefecture was stirred by this ore vein.

"Recently, because of that ore vein, there has been quite a commotion in the Cultivation World of Misty Prefecture. The clan chief said in his eagle message that we should also pay attention to gathering the opinions of cultivators in the market regarding this matter."

"This old man must remain here to oversee the shop, so I'll leave this matter to you, Zheng Chun Nephew."

Inside the Spirit Beast Hall, after Zhou Jiasheng finished reading the letter delivered from the family by a messenger hawk, he explained the situation to Zhou Chun.

The messenger hawks raised by the Zhou Family could carry messages back and forth across a thousand li.

Moreover, apart from takeoff and landing, the hawks flew at altitudes above a thousand zhang. Unless Foundation Establishment cultivators or flying demonic beasts took action, it was difficult to intercept such hawks.

Thus, the market side could exchange letters with the family at Nine Peaks Ridge every ten days, communicating information that did not require strict confidentiality.

Because the market was protected by an array, the messenger hawks could not enter. Normally, Zhou Chun would temporarily leave the market at a set time and head to a mountaintop outside, using a signal to notify the circling hawk to descend so that he could send and receive letters.

After hearing Zhou Jiasheng's words, Zhou Chun's heart stirred. He immediately replied, "This nephew understands. Then I'll have to trouble Sixteenth Uncle with the affairs of the shop."