Wind and Snow Ranch
Upon hearing this, the young cultivator turned his head in surprise to look outside the house, and saw a bearded cultivator with a bamboo stick standing not far from the gate.
Seeing that someone had noticed him, Lin Xiao stepped forward. "This is my first time in Chongxiao Domain. I've never seen a ranch of this size before. My apologies."
"So you're a fellow Daoist from the Mysterious Extreme Domain. My disciple's unruly behavior has made you laugh." The old cultivator finally opened his eyes and looked at Lin Xiao, introducing in a leisurely tone. "This is the Wind and Snow Ranch built by Wind and Snow City in the Chongxiao Domain. If you have your own flock, you can come here to graze your livestock. The prices are favorable, and we treat everyone fairly, young and old."
After saying that, the old monk pointed to the large wooden sign standing next to the gate, which was clearly a price list.
Lin Xiao glanced at it and found that the prices were set according to the size of the herd and the length of grazing.
"How can I get my own herd? Does Wind and Snow Ranch sell them?" he asked.
The old cultivator pointed in a direction. "The ranch doesn't participate in any sales. There's a small market in the valley beyond the ranch where some cultivators sell the cubs from their herds. If you're interested, young friend, you can go take a look."
"If you are short of money, you can also try your luck in the Wind and Snow Mountain Range. If you can catch a few Snow Ox, Snow Sheep, and Snow Pig and raise them well for a period of time, you can also start your own herd."
Upon hearing this, Lin Xiao clasped his hands in thanks and said, "Thank you for your guidance, senior." Then he turned and left.
He planned to go check out that small market first.
The old cultivator, seeing that this bearded cultivator, despite having already Foundation Establishment, was still performing a fist-and-palm salute instead of the proper etiquette between cultivators, couldn't help but shake his head and sigh inwardly. As expected of Rogue Cultivator without the guidance of a sect or Lineage, even his manner of greeting was that of a rough and uncultured person from the martial world.
But who cares? It's none of my business anyway. There are countless Foundation Establishment Realm Rogue Cultivator in this land, risking their lives every day for a few resources. They might just die Celestial Person. They're pitiful people too.
The old monk gently rocked back in his recliner and closed his eyes again.
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Following the direction pointed out by the old cultivator, Lin Xiao found the small market located in the valley after circling around half of the ranch.
Compared to other markets he had seen in the Immortal Cultivation Realm, this market was indeed small, roughly encircling a valley. The stalls were somewhat haphazard, and it didn't seem like someone had planned it out; rather, the cultivators who came here simply set up their stalls wherever they felt they were ready.
Lin Xiao only needed to glance around to take in the entire situation without even using his Divine Sense.
There are basically only two types of stalls here: one with a few bamboo baskets, and the other with bottles and jars galore.
The stall with bamboo cages clearly showed what it was selling, judging from the young herds inside.
As for those bottles and jars, Lin Xiao noticed that some of them were very similar to the small oil jars that the little cultivator had secretly tried to reach for in the guardhouse by the gate.
He recalled the "Spirit Oil" mentioned by the herding monk when he inquired at the ranch.
Based on the words of the herding monk, it can be inferred that this Spirit Oil is the main product of these special herds, but its specific use is unknown.
Quite a few cultivators came here to buy Spirit Oil. Although the market was not large, it was quite lively. There were many cultivators buying or asking questions in front of the stalls selling Spirit Oil.
Lin Xiao followed the flow of people inside.
"Brother, this is top-quality Spirit Oil, absolutely incomparable to any other. If you use my Spirit Oil at the foot of the mountain, you'll definitely last at least half an incense stick longer than others!" a stall owner said.
"But your price is much higher than others," the customer hesitated.
"Oh dear, you have no idea how much effort I've put into tending my herd. This price is really not expensive. How about this, I really can't lower the price of the Spirit Oil, but I'll give you a special discount on this Snow Sheep, how about that?" The stall owner secretly took out a perfectly intact Snow Sheep. "This hide usually sells for a hundred Spirit Stone, but today I'm doing this as a favor to make friends with you, so I'll only give it to you for seventy Spirit Stone!"
The customer's eyes lit up when he saw the attractive-looking Snow Sheep. Although it couldn't compare to Spirit Oil, it was still a good product. Usually, three or four pieces of hide could be used to make a warm robe. However, because herding cultivators did not easily slaughter their herds, the production was very low. Most of it was consumed within the sects of herding cultivators, and not much reached the market.
So he gritted his teeth and took out Spirit Stone: "Alright, wrap up the things for me at the price you said."
The stall owner quickly packed the twenty jars of Spirit Oil and a Snow Sheep for him, took the Spirit Stone, settled the account, and continued to wait for the next buyer.
The sect assigns a quota each quarter for purchasing Spirit Oil and hides from the herds of its disciples who are engaged in herding.
However, the prices offered are generally low, sometimes even at a loss, far less profitable than selling them in the market. Therefore, many cultivators, after fulfilling their sect's minimum quota, do not choose to sell the remaining supplies back to the sect, but instead bring them here to sell.
Don't think that just anyone can do this job. Herding is a skilled job. These herds are not easy to take care of. If you're not careful, they can easily get sick and die, or fail to produce Spirit Oil for various reasons.
If not properly cared for, a single Snow Seed might not yield even a drop or two of Spirit Oil.
Moreover, these Snow Seed love to live in herds, so the larger the herd, the easier it is to raise them. However, if they get sick, the disease can spread to many areas.
Cultivators who want to do this job not only need sufficient breeding and herding skills, but also need a certain amount of financial resources. After all, just forming a sizable herd requires a lot of money, not to mention the risk of ending up with nothing and back to square one overnight.
Lin Xiao took a quick stroll around the market and obtained the prices of Spirit Oil and various herd cubs. As for the price of the herd pelts, apart from the regular price of one hundred Spirit Stone that the stall owner had mentioned earlier, no other stalls had mentioned it.
It is said that Snow Seed animals have a very low mating desire, which is the main reason why there are very few cubs for sale in the market. Most herds keep the cubs for themselves. Unless the herding cultivators are short of money or simply do not have the energy to continue expanding the herds, they will not put the cubs out for sale.
However, there aren't many people buying cubs. Only if you're lucky enough to encounter a cultivator who wants to expand their herd, or a novice who doesn't know anything about the industry and wants to join the herding business to get a share, can you sell them.
Taking care of the cubs also requires extra effort. Some vendors will offer lower prices to avoid keeping the cubs stuck with them, while some cultivators who are not in a hurry to sell will offer more reasonable prices.