Supreme spiritual

Ke Huai had organized this small barter gathering, so naturally he went first. No one objected.

"Then I shall start, and toss out a brick to draw forth jade."

"What I want is quite simple..."

Ke Huai stood, lightly tapping with spiritual power in his hand. Words and images took shape in the air, seemingly depicting seeds and medicinal herbs.

"Seeds of any precious medicinal herbs, or seedlings that have yet to flower."

"Anything I have depicted here will do. If you have seeds of precious spirit medicines not listed here, you may also name your price."

Jade pine wood, Water-Sinking Peach...

Of the eight or nine kinds of Spirit Herb and spirit medicine seeds depicted, Song Yan happened to recognize two from his previous pill refining.

These were indeed very precious Spirit Herbs and spirit medicines that could be used in pill refining.

However, they took many years to grow, and their seeds and flower buds were not worth much, so few people traded in such things.

Before they could go into a furnace for pill refining, they needed to be at least several decades old, or even close to a century old.

What did Ke Huai want Spirit Herb seeds for? Was he going to grow them himself?

And refine pills ten years, a hundred years from now?

Silence fell over the room. No one spoke.

Seemingly having expected this, Ke Huai showed no obvious disappointment and was about to end his turn.

"Uh... Wait a moment, Brother Ke."

Beside him, Zhou Jiasheng finally spoke after seemingly hesitating for a long time.

"What you drew there... is it this?"

He studied the image for a good while longer, then somewhat uncertainly took a small ice-blue flower from his spatial bag.

Ke Huai's eyes lit up, and he repeatedly confirmed it. "Fellow Daoist Zhou, that Cold Jade Flower of yours is precisely a Cold Jade Fruit seedling."

"I can offer ten Spirit Stones for it, or you can exchange it with me for something of similar value that you want."

Zhou Jiasheng laughed heartily. "I only thought it looked pretty when I picked it that day. Who would have thought this little flower was worth a few Spirit Stones?"

"Fellow Daoist Ke, if you have Yellow Sprout Pills, exchange those for it. If not, give me Spirit Stones, and I'll buy pills myself."

Yellow Sprout Pills were a relatively common pill for increasing spiritual power among Qi Refining Stage Cultivators, suitable for use from the early Qi Refining stage through the late Qi Refining stage.

For Zhou Jiasheng, this was entirely an unexpected windfall.

"I do, I do."

Overjoyed, Ke Huai hurriedly took out a bottle of Yellow Sprout Pills, and the two completed their exchange with everyone as witnesses.

The very first trader had gained something, livening up the atmosphere in the room considerably.

Zhou Jiasheng wanted to trade a low-grade defensive Law Artifact for some pills used to cultivate spiritual power.

Though Song Yan was somewhat tempted, his hesitation let Fellow Daoist Rong seize the opportunity first.

In the end, the two reached a deal.

What Lin Xiaoyu wanted to trade was a talisman, but its appearance was strange, and even she could not say what it did.

They were all rogue cultivators with few cultivation resources to begin with, and were even less inclined to waste Spirit Stones on something whose usefulness was unknown.

In the end, no exchange was made.

Finally, it was Song Yan's turn.

"What I wish to trade is a bottle of special pills, along with two Yin Corpse Puppet Rebirth Nails."

Before coming to the night market, Song Yan had deliberated repeatedly. He had not brought the pill formula, instead burning it with a fingertip's worth of spiritual fire.

These pills were far too sinister.

He did not consider himself some great philanthropist, but these pills were truly evil. If someone with ulterior intentions obtained the formula and committed slaughter, an investigation might well saddle him with the karmic consequences.

It was better to play it safe and simply sell these pills.

"..."

Before Song Yan could even begin introducing the pills, the Yin Corpse Puppet Rebirth Nails had already given everyone in the room a fright.

Ke Huai, however, remained composed. "Fellow Daoist Tong, this is..."

"Nothing much. I went down the mountain, slew a Devil Cultivator, and stripped them off his body."

"Hiss-"

A Devil Cultivator!

Song Yan spoke casually, but the others listened with pounding hearts, their gazes toward that white wolf mask gaining a measure of awe.

What would they think if they knew that the strongest of those three Devil Cultivators had only been at Qi Refining, third layer?

"These pills are called Spirit-Transforming Blood Pills. They are pills of the devil path, and their effect is..."

"They can cause special meridians to grow within mortals who lack spiritual root aptitude, thereby giving them a chance to cultivate to Qi Refining, third layer."

"What?!"

"Is that true?!"

Everyone cried out in surprise.

Sure enough, this was probably already one of the most unusual items at this barter gathering.

It made sense. Those in this world with spiritual root aptitude naturally had no need for such things, but cultivators had lineages and blood relatives.

Lacking spiritual roots was the norm.

In theory, if a steady supply of Spirit-Transforming Blood Pills could be produced, one could forcibly create a small Qi Refining lineage whose average strength was Qi Refining, third layer.

Before Song Yan could name a price, Ke Huai was already impatient.

"Might Fellow Daoist Tong have the formula for these pills?"

"Yes..." Song Yan first nodded, but then changed tack. "However, the ingredients and refining method required for these pills were far too sinister. I have already destroyed the formula."

A barely perceptible trace of regret flashed through Ke Huai's eyes, and he hurriedly said, "Brother Tong is righteous indeed."

Song Yan continued, "...I presume these Yin Corpse Puppet Rebirth Nails need no further introduction. I will accept any of three things."

"First, Spirit Stones. Twenty-five Spirit Stones will take the lot."

"Second, pills. If they are Yellow Sprout Pills, I will need three bottles."

"Third, supreme spiritual objects, or clues and information about them."

Supreme spiritual objects?

The other five exchanged glances. In particular, Wu Huaguo and Rong Xiaofeng each saw a hint of surprise in the other's eyes.

"Supreme spiritual objects of any attribute will do."

Supreme spiritual objects actually encompassed a very broad range of things.

For instance, the relatively common supreme spiritual wood essence and supreme spiritual fire each came in different varieties.

Some supreme spiritual objects were not actually all that precious; otherwise, Song Yan would not have opened a lion's maw with his demands here.

If it was merely a tiny amount, or definite information, then it would be worth around twenty-odd Spirit Stones.

The Spirit Transformation Chapter had mentioned that supreme spiritual objects could be fused and refined to strengthen a Sword Dao Seed.

Taking a step back, even if he decided not to disperse his cultivation and plant a sword in the future, supreme spiritual objects had other uses. He would not lose out.

Since he was here anyway, Song Yan wanted to try his luck.

In truth, he could accept any of the three things he had proposed.

"..."

The room fell silent for a moment. The others seemed to be considering their bids, while Song Yan sat facing Ke Huai with a calm expression.

Ke Huai was indeed tempted and was just about to offer twenty-five Spirit Stones when Rong Xiaofeng beat him to it.

"My wife and I offer three bottles of Yellow Sprout Pills."

"Hmm?"

Even Song Yan was surprised.

Of the three terms he had proposed, twenty-five Spirit Stones was the normal price.

Information about supreme spiritual objects would be something of a bargain, since it was only related information, after all.

Those three bottles of Yellow Sprout Pills were worth about thirty Spirit Stones, clearly making it somewhat of a loss.

"However, after this gathering, my wife and I would like to speak with Fellow Daoist Tong alone. Would that be possible?"

"..."

Song Yan looked toward Ke Huai. He did not know the rules, so it was better to ask the host.

Ke Huai smiled and nodded. "As long as both sides are willing, of course you may. Such matters are beyond my purview."

"All right."

With the exchange completed, Song Yan had, in fact, gotten quite a bargain.

The dao companions Rong Xiaofeng and Wu Huaguo wanted to trade a matched pair of mother-and-child flying blades, also low-grade Law Artifacts, worth roughly fifteen or sixteen Spirit Stones. In the end, Lin Xiaoyu obtained them in exchange for a Purple Flame Talisman of similar value.

Song Yan could not help questioning his life.

Why did every one of these rogue cultivators seem wealthier than him?