Chapter 10: Spirit Stones
The young girl and the old beggar settled on a price, agreeing to six thousand Talisman Coins for all the Spirit Stones.
There were about twenty to thirty Spirit Stones in the pile, making each one worth around two hundred Talisman Coins. Chen Qianliu, having Cultivated in his previous life, knew that this was a fair price for unrefined raw stones, and the old beggar's initial quote was indeed a rip-off.
The young girl took out a beast-skin pouch, inspected each Spirit Stone, and placed them inside. Two of them were of very poor quality, which she found somewhat distasteful. Her eyes darted, and she tossed them to Chen Qianliu, saying, “Great-Grandma won't let you accompany her for nothing. These two Spirit Stones are yours.”
The young girl waved her hand and skipped away.
Chen Qianliu secretly rejoiced at this moment because, worried about traveling alone and the dangers on the road, he had, despite his initial disdain, Cultivated the Great Vehicle Myriad Flowers Fist scripture gifted by the Spirit Gate.
This fist scripture had five levels, but all five levels combined were only equivalent to the Qi Refining First Level.
Although the fist technique was profound, its Foundation lay in a martial artist's Internal Energy. With abundant Internal Energy, one could master the fist technique in one go; insufficient Internal Energy meant one could not fully unleash the profundity of this fist technique.
Chen Qianliu's Green Emperor Jia-Yi Skill had reached the Golden Essence Jade Liquid Realm, and his True Qi was several times more abundant than someone who had Cultivated the Great Vehicle Myriad Flowers Fist scripture to the fifth level. After all, how could an immortal's True Qi compare to a martial artist's Internal Energy?
With his Foundation, his progress in Cultivating this fist scripture was incredibly fast. Although it had only been a little over ten days, he had already Cultivated the scripture to the third level, developing several hundred jin of strength throughout his body.
This was also the advantage of a martial artist's Internal Energy: it could strengthen muscles and bones, cleanse marrow, refine skin, and increase arm strength.
If not for his martial artist's Internal Energy, young Chen Qianliu, even with his Qi Refining First Level Golden Essence Jade Liquid Realm cultivation, truly wouldn't have been able to carry the two heavy Spirit Stones. He was holding the two large Spirit Stones, about to catch up, when he realized the young girl had walked away extremely quickly this time, vanishing in an instant. It seemed she no longer needed him as a small follower. He could only grudgingly find an empty spot under a large tree to set down the Spirit Stones, muttering, “It's fine that she left, but she should return my deer.”
However, that white deer was just an ordinary wild deer and not worth much money. These two Spirit Stones were enough to buy one to two hundred deer, with some money left over.
Chen Qianliu also had two Low-Grade Spirit Stones in his previous life. Spirit Stones, mostly formed from the remains of ancient exotic beasts or primeval powerful beings, were usually unearthed as raw stones with many Impurities. They had to be refined by secret methods to become Spirit Stones capable of storing True Qi.
Refined Spirit Stones were the hard currency of the Cultivation world. Many Cultivators would carry a batch with them, filling them with True Qi during peacetime and drawing on the True Qi within to replenish themselves when needed.
Logically, Chen Qianliu should have been happy to receive two Spirit Stones for free, but he had no storage Magic Treasure. These two low-quality Spirit Stones were also extremely heavy, each weighing dozens of jin, making them a burden to carry. While they were something the young girl, who called herself Xiao Hu Xian, could casually bestow, they were the only valuable items he possessed. He also didn't feel comfortable leaving them anywhere, thinking, “How can I keep these things? I can't just watch them all the time and do nothing else. Should I set up a stall and sell them too?”
Chen Qianliu placed the two raw stones on the ground, and a thought suddenly sparked in his mind. He mused, “Perhaps I can refine them with a Spell?”
“However, refining Spirit Stones is not a one-day task; it might take several months to feel light.”
Only large Schools possessed Spells for refining Spirit Stones. Some Schools even had professional Spirit Stone refiners who took on outside work, charging a considerable fee for refining a Spirit Stone. The Yu Xian Sect, a major School of its time, also had its unique secret art for refining Spirit Stones. As a Utility Disciple, Chen Qianliu was not fortunate enough to learn such a valuable Spell. However, his Senior Martial Sister was a Golden Core Peak expert, with access to all the Sect's secret methods.
In his previous life, Chen Qianliu Cultivated for decades but didn't accumulate much wealth. Naturally, he was unwilling to spend a fortune on refined Spirit Stones, nor was he willing to pay Talisman Coins to a large School's Spirit Stone refiner. He secretly pleaded with his old wife to learn the Yu Xian Sect's secret method for refining Spirit Stones. He then acquired two pieces of Low-Grade raw Spirit Stone ore and painstakingly refined them over a year and six months.
The raw stones he acquired were originally of poor quality, and his refining technique was crude. As a result, the two Spirit Stones he eventually refined were of very mediocre quality: one could store seven-tenths of his power, and the slightly better one could store thirteen to fourteen-tenths of his power. Their durability was also poor; the slightly better one had been used dozens of times and, due to too many instances of storing and drawing True Qi, already showed signs of breaking down, making him quite reluctant to use it.
As Chen Qianliu was pondering how to arrange his future days, he heard a female Cultivator's voice say, “Little Fellow Daoist, are you willing to sell these two Spirit Stones?”
A middle-aged female Cultivator, dressed in a green robe, with a plain face, appearing to be around thirty years old, was standing before him, scrutinizing him.
He had some impression of this female Cultivator; she had a stall in the Immortal Market selling various small Magical Artifacts, which were quite suitable for Cultivators at the Qi Refining Second and Third Levels. He had passed by several times earlier and had looked at them many times.
Many Cultivators who had just achieved a Breakthrough did not have suitable Magic Treasures at hand. Refining one themselves would take a lot of time, delaying their proper Cultivation. They preferred to buy one in the Immortal Market to make do, and then replace it with a better Magic Treasure once their cultivation improved.
This business had no threshold; anyone could do it, earning hard-earned money.
Chen Qianliu quickly called out, “I'm willing to sell!”
Although he had considered refining the two raw stones himself, it would take too long. At his current low cultivation, he didn't even need Spirit Stones, so it was better to sell them for Talisman Coins.
The female Cultivator pondered for a moment, then handed over a peach wood seal, saying, “This is a Peach Mountain Seal refined with a Mountain Talisman. I haven't refined it many times, so it can only strike with a force of a few thousand jin at most. How about exchanging it for these two Spirit Stones?”
Chen Qianliu reached out and took the peach wood seal, subtly estimating its value. He mused, “This Magical Artifact is probably worth about five hundred Talisman Coins. Exchanging it for two inferior raw stones is quite a good deal. However, this kind of Magical Artifact is too common, with no special features, making it a bit difficult to sell. Fortunately, I happen to need a protective offensive Magic Treasure, so keeping it for my own use is also good.”
Chen Qianliu's cultivation was too low, and the Magical Artifacts he refined himself had limited power, which was why he chose to refine the crude wooden staff with the Illusion Character Skill. He then said, “I'm actually getting the better end of the deal.”
He circulated his True Qi and sensed that the Peach Mountain Seal did not contain any aura, knowing that the female Cultivator had not refined it and had made it with the intention of selling. He was even more pleased.
An unrefined Magic Treasure is easier to refine, saving the step of erasing the original owner's aura.
He was currently only at the Qi Refining First Level. Erasing the original owner's aura from a Magic Treasure, even if both had comparable power, would take seven or eight days. If the original owner's power was even higher, it might take even longer, so it was not as convenient as such a blank Magical Artifact.
The female Cultivator was also slightly pleased. She often sold Magic Treasures in the Suiyang Immortal Market and had long wanted to find two Spirit Stones, but the business of low-grade Magical Artifacts had meager profits, and her Talisman Coins were not readily available.
Just now, she had seen the young girl buy a pile of Spirit Stones and even toss two to Chen Qianliu, which made her heart stir, so she came over to discuss a trade.
Originally, she had thought that if Chen Qianliu wouldn't accept the Peach Mountain Seal, she could offer three hundred eighty Talisman Coins, and any more than that, she would have to reluctantly give up. She hadn't expected Chen Qianliu to be so agreeable and readily agree.
She took the two Spirit Stones and put them in her sleeve. The two chatted for a few sentences, and Chen Qianliu learned that this female Cultivator was named Chen Qing, a Loose Cultivator who lived in the Suiyang Immortal Market year-round, which made him more inclined to befriend her.
There will be an extra update after midnight today…
Hmm, I'm really getting old, slow-handed and slow-footed, I can't speed up.
Readers who have seen the old version also know that there were no stored drafts originally, and after a thorough revision, there are truly no stored drafts now. Otherwise, I would never be so stingy with extra updates…
Please allow me to take it slow…
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