"What? Master Zongfu... passed away so suddenly?"
Fang Xi was shocked.
Zong Wu, the master symbolist from whom he often bought talismans, of course, Fang Xi thought more about his fiery-tempered companion, Lu Zhi.
"Oh!"
He looked at Chen Ping, knowing why the other had a hint of joy, but he restrained himself.
"Alas... Friend Lu lost his beloved, I must go and console him properly. However, attending the master's memorial service without suitable spirit stones is not ideal." Chen Ping looked at Fang Xi, his eyes hinting at debt repayment.
Fortunately, Fang Xi was there to repay his debts. He immediately took out five spirit stones. "Thanks to Brother Chen and Friends Di and Jiu Xuan for their help last month. Here are five spirit stones, please ask Brother Chen to return them to the two friends for me..."
"Naturally!"
Chen Ping took the spirit stones and hurried off to buy gifts to comfort the widow.
This left Fang Xi feeling a bit frustrated. He hadn't even had a chance to mention his broken prohibition talisman, so he could only silently curse this friend who prioritized pleasure over friendship.
Master Zongfu was wealthy and had rented a cave mansion in the Qingzhu Mountain market.
As soon as he entered, Fang Xi immediately felt a pure spiritual energy enveloping him, silently marveling, 'Is this a first-grade spiritual vein cave? If I had such rich and pure spiritual energy to aid my cultivation, I would probably have already mastered the Changchun Technique to the peak of the third level and attempted to break through to the mid-stage of Qi Refinement.'
In the Southern Wasteland cultivation world, spiritual veins are divided into several grades corresponding to different realms like Qi Refinement and Foundation Building.
A first-grade spiritual vein can only roughly meet the needs of Qi Refinement cultivators.
A second-grade spiritual vein can support Foundation Building cultivators in their cultivation.
Qingzhu Mountain has a first-grade spiritual vein, usually locked by formations and only available for internal use in the market.
For cultivators like Fang Xi, who cultivate outside the market's formations, they can only enjoy a bit of residual spiritual energy, barely considered cultivating on a low-grade spiritual vein.
In terms of effectiveness, it's just slightly better than ordinary methods.
"Friend Jiu Xuan, Friend Di!"
Upon entering the cave mansion, Fang Xi saw two familiar faces.
Old Daoist Jiu Xuan was still dressed in Daoist robes, looking like an immortal, while Di Qi, upon seeing Fang Xi, smiled, "Friend Fang is truly trustworthy!"
'It seems that Chen Ping has indeed returned the spirit stones to these two, without any greed... Well, they can be considered decent friends.' Fang Xi was a bit worried that Chen Ping might have kept his spirit stones for himself.
After all, the three of them had borrowed the spirit stones together initially.
As they entered the inner room, they saw many cultivators present, all seemingly acquaintances of Master Zongfu.
His companion Lu Zhi was dressed in mourning attire, serving spirit tea and snacks to the guests.
After a few days of absence, Lu Zhi looked slightly tired but still charming.
Especially in mourning attire, her current appearance was even more captivating.
Chen Ping couldn't take his eyes off her.
"Oh? These two are here too?"
Fang Xi scanned the room and saw Shen Haoran and Fairy Yunmeng beside Chen Ping, muttering softly.
"Hmph, just a couple of arrogant individuals..."
Di Qi also noticed Shen Haoran and felt a bit embarrassed.
"Oh?!"
Fang Xi looked at Di Qi thoughtfully, then at Shen Haoran, understanding the situation.
These people were all friends of Chen Ping, and they probably had regular interactions.
But Shen Haoran and Fairy Yunmeng both surpassed Di Qi in terms of family background and cultivation. Moreover, judging from the incident at the Mingqing Pavilion last time, they were not the kind to show humility and respect.
Di Qi must have suffered losses and held some grudges.
'Fortunately, he didn't say anything disrespectful. This kid still has some tact.'
Fang Xi nodded inwardly and then, along with Old Daoist Jiu Xuan, presented a low-grade spirit stone as a gift.
"After a round of tea, Lu Zhi stood up from her seat and bowed gracefully, saying, "Thank you all for coming on behalf of my late companion!"
"No need to be polite!"
"Not at all..."
Fang Xi and others quickly returned the courtesy.
"Cough... I wonder why Master Zongfu was attacked?" Shen Haoran, holding a white jade folding fan, looked like a refined gentleman as he asked.
Immediately, Lu Zhi replied, "My late companion didn't listen to advice and went outside the market in search of opportunities, only to be killed by rogue cultivators... According to the information I gathered, the likely culprits are the 'Kou Clan's Three Villains'!"
"It's them?" Di Qi gasped.
Seeing Old Daoist Jiu Xuan looking puzzled, Lu Zhi explained, "The Kou Clan's Three Villains are three brothers, said to have reached the late Qi Refinement stage. When they join forces, they can even contend with a Qi Refinement Grand Perfection cultivator. They have been wreaking havoc, causing bloodshed and countless deaths..."
"Ah, they are so ruthless?" Old Daoist Jiu Xuan widened his eyes.
Although he called himself an 'Old Daoist,' he was actually just a beginner in the Qi Refinement stage. Faced with such fierce villains, he probably wouldn't even be able to handle them.
Fang Xi observed coldly, seeing the names of the enemies causing his friends to fall into an eerie silence.
Not a single one of them vowed to avenge Master Zongfu.
He couldn't help but sigh inwardly, realizing the harsh reality of the cultivation world.
While Master Zongfu was a mid-grade symbolist with great potential when alive, his death was now deemed worthless.
It wasn't worth it for the cultivators to provoke the powerful Kou Clan's Three Villains!
"Hmph!"
Seeing this, Lu Zhi coldly snorted in dissatisfaction.
But then, she calmed down and took out a plain cloud-patterned handkerchief, wiping her eyes, "My late companion is gone, and as a weak woman, I can't sustain this business alone. I plan to sell everything and return to my hometown... Thanks to everyone's presence, I will hold an exchange meeting here!"
Many people's eyes lit up at this announcement.
Including Fang Xi!
Unfortunately, thinking of his empty pockets, Fang Xi could only shake his head wryly, 'Alas... I don't even have the strength to be a vulture...'
Auction events in the cultivation world are grand occasions!
And among fellow cultivators, there are occasional small-scale exchange meetings where items are exchanged in a barter format, sharing resources.
With the sudden passing of Master Zongfu, many fellow cultivators had gathered, likely having received the news!
Next moment, Lu Zhi's soft voice rang out, "This is Cave Mansion No. 8 of Qingzhu Mountain, with a lease of five more years, starting at a base price of fifty spirit stones..."
"I'll take it!"
"I offer fifty-one spirit stones!"
Soon, the lease was secured by an old Daoist in a yellow robe for fifty-five spirit stones.
Lu Zhi then presented a symbol pen, "A first-grade high-quality symbol pen, with the pen tip made from the fur of a Silver Moon Wolf..."
This time, it attracted many symbolists.
Fang Xi saw Chen Ping's face flush red, secretly discussing with Shen Haoran and Fairy Yunmeng, but they didn't start auctioning.
'Could it be that negotiations fell through?'
As he pondered, he saw Lu Zhi take out a yellowed ancient jade slip, "The symbol-making notes of my late companion, containing the methods for many spiritual symbols..."
"One hundred spirit stones!" A young symbolist apprentice who had competed for the symbol pen exclaimed with excitement.
"One hundred and fifty spirit stones! This is the entire symbol inheritance of a Master Symbolist, you're dreaming!" Another senior symbolist immediately rebuked.
After a round of bidding, the price settled at one hundred and seventy-six spirit stones, unable to go any higher.
After all, cultivators are shrewd and wouldn't lose their rationality over a symbol inheritance.
"Two... two hundred spirit stones!"
Suddenly, another voice rang out.
Fang Xi looked over and was surprised to see it was Chen Ping!
Seeing Chen Ping's pale face and determined expression, Lu Zhi was slightly taken aback but agreed, "Two hundred spirit stones, the symbol inheritance of the late Master is now yours, Friend Chen."
"Thank you, thank you."
Chen Ping chuckled foolishly, but Fang Xi felt something was amiss.
Even if Chen Ping had some savings, it was only a few spirit stones. He had already spent quite a bit on Red Bee Fairy, so how did he have so many spirit stones?
Unless... Shen Haoran and Fairy Yunmeng lent them to him.
And these two were not good people; lending so many spirit stones to Chen Ping must come with very strict conditions!
Moreover, there must be something on Chen Ping that they coveted!
Otherwise, there were plenty of poor wandering cultivators around, but none had successfully borrowed a large sum of spirit stones.
As Fang Xi pondered, the exchange meeting came to an end, and Lu Zhi cleared out all of Master Zongfu's remaining talismans.
She even sold a few treasured talismans from his collection.
One of them made Fang Xi's breath hitch.
"A first-grade high-quality prohibition talisman, a rare and exquisite talisman, which my late companion bought at a high price to study... If any fellow cultivator is interested, it's available for thirty spirit stones."
Lu Zhi took out a wooden box, inside which lay only one talisman. On the pale yellow talisman, the silver symbol ink strokes were intricate and complex, seeming to contain a hint of distortion between the silver runes.
This was the prohibition talisman Fang Xi urgently needed!
Unfortunately, after repaying his debts, he was left penniless.
'What a pity, what a pity! If only I had a bit more time...' he lamented silently, only to hear a symbolist stroke his beard and say, "A first-grade prohibition talisman can only break first-grade restrictions and formations, not very useful... If it were second-grade, its value would increase tenfold or even a hundredfold."
First-grade formations were nothing special; the Situ family protected the Qingzhu Mountain market with second-grade formations.
If those rogue cultivators got their hands on a second-grade prohibition talisman, the entire Qingzhu Mountain market might be in danger!
However, Fang Xi knew that this first-grade prohibition talisman was still very useful, and the old symbolist was trying to lower the price!
Sure enough, the next moment, the voice continued, "In the Tianfu Hall, a perfectly preserved first-grade high-quality prohibition talisman is priced around thirty-five spirit stones. Friend, your price is a bit high..."
"Hmph, my prohibition talisman hasn't leaked any spiritual energy, and I've even lowered the price by five spirit stones. How can you call it high?" Lu Zhi's phoenix eyes narrowed, her fierce demeanor returning.
"Sigh..."
Watching this scene, Fang Xi could only sigh inwardly, 'Not every opportunity that presents itself is meant for me...'
With no spirit stones to spare, he could only wait for the next sale of demonic beast meat to accumulate enough spirit stones before trying his luck at the Tianfu Hall.
(End of Chapter)