Reselling
A moment later.
Huang An saw Fang Yu out of the pavilion.
"Safe travels, fellow cultivator!"
"Please, Shopkeeper Huang, there's no need to see me any farther!"
Fang Yu hurried away from the Hundred Treasures Pavilion and wandered aimlessly around the market three or four times. Only after making sure no one was following him did he set off for his cave abode with peace of mind.
It was already dark. As he passed the female cultivator's little courtyard, the red lantern at the entrance glowed even brighter, and the courtyard gate was closed. He couldn't tell whether she already had a guest or had retired for the night.
Back in his own courtyard, Fang Yu sat down at the tea table, took out a porcelain bottle, and opened it.
A rich medicinal fragrance wafted out the next moment, soothing anyone who smelled it. He then poured two Lesser Barrier-Breaking Pills, each the size of a longan, into his palm.
Fang Yu had traded that near-supreme-grade Flowing Flame True Fire Sword for them. At first, Shopkeeper Huang had been reluctant, but after Fang Yu said he would look in other shops, Huang An had reluctantly agreed. Fang Yu knew, however, that even in exchange for two Lesser Barrier-Breaking Pills, the other man had certainly made a huge profit.
As for why Fang Yu had asked for two, he naturally wanted to be prepared. What if one pill wasn't enough to break through?
"I'll take one and try it first!"
Fang Yu poured one Lesser Barrier-Breaking Pill back into the bottle and tossed the other into his mouth.
The pill melted the moment it entered his mouth, turning into medicinal power tinged with coolness. It surged into his Dantian's Qi sea and mingled with his Law Power.
Fang Yu immediately circulated his Cultivation Method and tried to break through the bottleneck.
The next moment, he felt the previously rock-solid bottleneck loosen a little. This Lesser Barrier-Breaking Pill really does work wonders!
As the cool Law Power battered it again and again, Fang Yu felt his bottleneck grow increasingly loose. After an unknown length of time, he abruptly opened his eyes, picked up the jade bottle, and put the second Lesser Barrier-Breaking Pill into his mouth.
Several days later.
"Hahaha..."
A burst of hearty laughter rang out in the courtyard. Fang Yu's clothes billowed and snapped without wind, and the presence of the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining was on full display.
"Condense!"
With that sharp shout, a flame dragon appeared beside him, followed by a second, a third, and a fourth.
The four flame dragons joined head to tail, forming a circle that revolved ceaselessly around him and created a region of scorching heat at his side.
"Though these four flame dragons are a little less powerful than the Flowing Flame True Fire, they're still quite good!"
Fang Yu silently sensed the Law Power of the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining. With a thought, the four flame dragons slowly vanished, and his presence diminished with them, soon returning to the Qi Refining Third Layer.
After using the Yuanchen Pearl to conceal one layer of his Qi Refining cultivation, Fang Yu strode out of the courtyard and went to Liu Sanjie's nearby courtyard.
"Do you have time today, fellow cultivator, to play a solo for me?"
As Fang Yu spoke, he slipped a Spirit Stone into Liu Sanjie's hand.
Liu Sanjie took the Spirit Stone, caught Fang Yu's hand in passing, and led him into the room. "Fellow cultivator Li, please come inside and listen. I'll be sure to satisfy you..."
Soon, melodious strains of music drifted from the room, but they had only played for a moment when Liu Sanjie's coquettish laughter rang out:
"Fellow cultivator Li, what are you doing..."
Qi Ingestion path. Flaming Mountain. Cave abode.
"Clang... clang... clang..."
Fang Yu swung a golden hammer, gently tapping the Flowing Flame True Fire Sword in his hand to relieve the stress on its blade while checking its internal spirit patterns for problems.
A moment later, he put away the Flowing Flame True Fire Sword and headed to Fire Cloud Cave. Once there, he found an on-duty deacon who happened to be free and handed over two Flowing Flame True Fire Swords. After receiving six sets of materials in exchange, he headed straight for the market.
How would a Tie Household descendant have time to see him? Everything passed through the deacons, so Fang Yu had not seen Tie Chanyi again all these years. But he didn't care. As long as he received the materials stipulated by the contract, that was enough.
The Metal Stone Immortal Sect's market was as lively as ever, with all manner of spiritual items for sale. Metal and stone Law Artifacts were the most numerous, and their prices were extremely low.
That was unavoidable. After all, the Metal Stone Immortal Sect had more fire-stone laborers than anything else.
Fang Yu made a circuit of the market and arrived at the Metal and Stone Hall.
"Please have some tea, fellow cultivator Fang!"
"Many thanks!"
Fang Yu accepted the spirit tea brought over by the maidservant Hongxiu and took a small sip. Then he took three yellow-grade Flowing Flame True Fire Swords from his storage gourd and handed them to her.
Hongxiu took them, inspected them, and smiled. "Your External Alchemy Technique has improved again, fellow cultivator Fang. These three Flowing Flame True Fire Swords are all rare, fine pieces. How about fifty more Metal Fire Stones for each one, making it four hundred and fifty Metal Fire Stones per sword?"
"Good!" Fang Yu nodded. Hongxiu immediately put away the three Flowing Flame True Fire Swords and handed him 1,350 Metal Fire Stones.
"Sorry for the trouble!" Fang Yu accepted the Metal Fire Stones, then rose and headed out.
"Safe travels, fellow cultivator Fang!"
After leaving the Metal and Stone Hall, Fang Yu strolled leisurely through the market, examining the stalls one by one.
After successfully breaking through to the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining, Fang Yu's cultivation speed had begun to plummet. Maintaining his previous pace required several Spirit Stones a day, and the Spirit Stones he had left were soon exhausted.
Thus, he had no choice but to find a way to earn Spirit Stones. He had originally intended to keep selling Flowing Flame True Fire Swords over there, but after long consideration, he gave up on the idea.
If large numbers of Flowing Flame True Fire Swords appeared in the East Spirit Mountain Market, they would certainly attract attention. What was more, the Flowing Flame True Fire he now forged had reached the first-tier supreme grade. As soon as one appeared, it would surely draw covetous eyes and bring unnecessary danger.
So he decided it would be better to sell them directly at the Metal Stone Immortal Sect. After all, he was at the seventh layer of Qi Ingestion, at great completion, and was a metal-and-stone laborer who had signed a contract with a Tie Household descendant in the sect. No matter how many Flowing Flame True Fire Swords he sold, he would not attract attention.
After selling the Flowing Flame True Fire Sword and exchanging it for Metal Fire Stones, he would purchase supplies such as spirit talismans, inferior low-grade Law Artifacts, firefly grass, and metal and stone materials to sell at the East Spirit Mountain Market.
As long as he changed his appearance, presence, and cultivation each time, and sold different things, he could earn a large number of Spirit Stones to support his cultivation without attracting anyone's attention.
Even if it was more troublesome, he had no choice but to do it. After all, safety had to come first in everything.
"I'll take these water-virtue spirit talismans!"
"This spirit spring water is good. Give me two buckets."
"That Demon Beast meat looks good. Two jin, please!"
"..."
After making several rounds of the market, Fang Yu exchanged all his Metal Fire Stones for an assortment of supplies, then returned to his cave abode.
Time to transmigrate!
Soon, a Qi Refining First Layer cultivator with a thin build and half his face covered appeared in the East Spirit Mountain Market.
This person was naturally Fang Yu in disguise. He took out some spiritual items, placed them on a stall, and began calling out:
"Come one, come all, don't miss out! First-tier low-grade spirit talismans going cheap! The more you buy, the more you get free! First-tier low-grade Law Artifacts too, guaranteed brand-new..."