Walking into Chen's Cultivation Technique Shop, a refreshing wave of Spiritual Qi greeted him, and the floor, paved with azure luminous stones, exuded an air of grandeur.
Upon entering, a large red wooden bookshelf displayed various Cultivation Technique books and a few Legacy Jade Slips.
Behind the counter, a slightly plump middle-aged man was quietly reading a book. Noticing footsteps, he realized a customer had entered and quickly put down his book to greet him.
"Welcome, honored guest. What kind of Cultivation Technique are you looking to buy?" the Store Owner asked Li Mu, his tone warm.
"Boss, do you sell a Cultivation Technique for Evil Expulsion?" Li Mu asked, getting straight to the point.
"Yes, this 'True Thunder Evil Expulsion' is a Huang Grade Middle Rank Cultivation Technique, priced at 280 lower spirit stones," the Store Owner said, pulling out a hardcover book from under the counter and quoting the price.
"Uh! Do you have anything cheaper? Preferably around 20 lower spirit stones," Li Mu asked awkwardly after a moment of silence.
"Young man, are you joking? Our pavilion doesn't have any Cultivation Techniques under 100 lower spirit stones! You'd better go buy an Evil Expulsion Talisman instead!" The Store Owner's face darkened, and he unceremoniously shooed him away.
"My apologies for disturbing you!" Li Mu, having gained nothing, turned and left Chen's Cultivation Technique Shop, heading to the Spirit Talisman Shop next door.
The twenty lower spirit stones were what remained after selling two bags of spiritual rice and buying Emerald Spirit Fruit seeds last time. Li Mu hadn't dared to spend them carelessly, saving them for emergencies.
Evil Expulsion Talismans aren't cheap either!
Soon, Li Mu walked out of the Spirit Talisman Shop with a dejected expression.
An Evil Expulsion Talisman cost five lower spirit stones, and a single spiritual field would require about ten of them.
If the evil wasn't completely expelled, the Emerald Spirit Fruit plants' disease would definitely not be thoroughly cured.
Li Mu changed direction and went to the Loose Cultivator market to try his luck.
Li Mu found a Loose Cultivator's stall selling Evil Expulsion Talismans. After some haggling, each talisman still cost four lower spirit stones, and their quality wasn't great; they were still not enough.
If it really came down to it, he could only clear out that acre of Emerald Spirit Fruit. It wasn't too late to switch to cultivating Wind Spirit Grass now.
Wandering despondently through the market, Li Mu unexpectedly discovered the stall of the old Daoist who had sold him the Quenching Spirit Art last time. He quickly hurried over.
"Boss, do you still remember me? Do you have any Evil Expulsion Cultivation Techniques for sale?" Li Mu scanned the Cultivation Technique books displayed on the old Daoist's stall one by one, a look of disappointment on his face. Not only were there no good deals to be found among the Cultivation Technique books, but there were also no Evil Expulsion-type Cultivation Techniques.
"You!" The old Daoist didn't recognize Li Mu but greeted him warmly, "Evil Expulsion Cultivation Techniques? Yes! Yes!"
After speaking, the old Daoist reached for the Storage Pouch at his waist, and with a 'swish', a blue-covered book appeared in his hand.
"Is this one acceptable? 'Summoning Thunder Evil Expulsion Art,' a Huang Grade Middle Rank Cultivation Technique," the old Daoist said, looking at Li Mu and introducing it.
"How many Spirit Stones?" Li Mu asked tentatively.
"Two hundred lower spirit stones!" The old Daoist held up two fingers.
Upon hearing this, Li Mu fell silent. He only had 20 lower spirit stones. If he tried to haggle for a 90% discount, the old Daoist would probably explode on the spot!
A thought stirred within Li Mu. He suddenly remembered something: this old Daoist's Storage Pouch should still be hiding many good Cultivation Techniques. Previously, he had found a Xuan Grade High Rank Quenching Spirit Art here. Perhaps he could find another good deal!
"Hmm! If you lower the price, I'll take it! Also, do you have any other good Cultivation Techniques? Bring them out for me to see. I don't care for any of the ones you have on your stall," Li Mu said indifferently.
A big customer!
Hearing Li Mu's tone, the old Daoist immediately became enthusiastic and quickly selected Cultivation Arts from his Storage Pouch: "How about this one? 'Golden Armor Body Quenching Art,' Huang Grade High Rank."
"Too common, I don't want it!" Li Mu shook his head.
"What type of Cultivation Technique do you want?! Be clear first!" The old Daoist frowned tightly.
"Take out all the Cultivation Techniques in your Storage Pouch. If I see something suitable, I'll buy it!" Li Mu suggested.
"Alright!" The old Daoist reluctantly took out the Cultivation Techniques from his Storage Pouch one by one.
"Seventy-Two Road Illusory Sword Art," Huang Grade High Rank; "Profound Earth Art," Huang Grade Low Rank; "Yi Wood Binding Spirit Art," Huang Grade High Rank; "Black Armor Body Refining," Huang Grade Middle Rank; ... The old Daoist, the stall owner, took out thirty to forty Cultivation Arts from his Storage Pouch, completely filling his small stall.
"Which Cultivation Art have you taken a fancy to? Don't tell me there isn't one! I've gone to all this trouble to take them all out!" The old Daoist said with a darkened face, glaring at Li Mu as he picked Cultivation Techniques, his tone annoyed.
"Have you taken them all out? Do you have any other Cultivation Techniques you haven't taken out yet?" Li Mu picked and chose, but found no good deals to be had.
"There are still a few worthless ordinary martial arts Cultivation Techniques. They're all out now!" The old Daoist took out the last few Cultivation Techniques.
"Vajra Fist," "Eight Trigrams Leg," "Heart-Shattering Palm"...
Li Mu's eyes lit up. He took the ordinary sword art, "Twenty-Four Season Swordplay," and a copy of "Profound Earth Art": "How many lower spirit stones for these two, plus that Evil Expulsion Art?"
To avoid making it seem too deliberate by only taking "Twenty-Four Season Swordplay," Li Mu reluctantly included another Cultivation Technique—"Profound Earth Art."
"You only want these three?" The old Daoist's face grew even darker as he asked in disbelief.
He had been made to take out all the Cultivation Techniques in his Storage Pouch, only for Li Mu to pick out the two most worthless ones. The old Daoist looked at Li Mu with disdain.
At this moment, the old Daoist suddenly remembered Li Mu. He was the young man who had spent 15 lower spirit stones to buy two Cultivation Techniques last time.
"Do you have Spirit Stones with you? You're not going to tell me you only have a few dozen Spirit Stones again, are you? I won't sell them cheaply to you this time," the old Daoist quickly put the Cultivation Techniques back into his Storage Pouch and warned.
Upon hearing this, Li Mu also felt helpless. He wanted to buy the three Cultivation Techniques with Spirit Stones immediately, but he was too short on funds right now and could only think of another way.
"Do you buy Cultivation Techniques?" Li Mu decided to sell the good deal he had found. He had already memorized and copied down the Quenching Spirit Art.
"Of course, I buy them, but they must be original manuscripts," the old Daoist said cautiously.
"How much would you pay for a Xuan Grade High Rank Cultivation Technique, but only the first three layers of a Divine Sense-type Cultivation Technique?" Li Mu asked softly.
"What?" The old Daoist's spirit was roused, and he looked at Li Mu in disbelief, doubting his own ears.
Li Mu had no choice but to repeat what he had just said.
"If it's true, I'll buy it for 10 medium spirit stones, and the three Cultivation Arts you've taken a fancy to will be given to you as well," the old Daoist gritted his teeth. Xuan Grade Cultivation Techniques were rarely circulated in the Loose Cultivator market, let alone Divine Sense-type Cultivation Techniques.
"How do I let you verify its authenticity? What if you memorize the content after I show you the Cultivation Technique?" Li Mu asked cautiously.
"Don't worry, I'll only look at the beginning to verify its authenticity. You can cover up the rest," the old Daoist quickly reassured Li Mu.
"10 medium spirit stones is too little. Can it be more? If I turn it over to the Sect, I might even have a chance to become an Inner Sect Disciple," Li Mu frowned, expressing his dissatisfaction.
"Heh! This is an incomplete copy. If you hand it over to the Sect, believe it or not, your life will be forfeit. Are you sure the Sect won't force you to reveal the rest of the Cultivation Technique?" the old Daoist scoffed coldly.
Upon hearing this, Li Mu was immediately speechless. Selling the Quenching Spirit Art was inherently a dangerous matter, but then again, who was he to complain when he didn't even have the Spirit Stones to find a good deal himself?
Considering the other good deal, Li Mu agreed to the old Daoist's offer. He turned around and reached into his embrace, taking out the tattered yellow paper containing the Quenching Spirit Art from his storage compartment.