"After all... without spirit stones, leaving the treasure mountain empty-handed is truly lamentable..."
After the exchange meeting, Fang Xi, Jiu Xuan Shangren, and Di Qi left the market together.
Jiu Xuan Shangren stroked his beard, sighing deeply.
It must be said that Lu Zhi's clearance sale had many good items, and they were at least twenty to thirty percent cheaper than the market!
Even Di Qi couldn't resist buying a few talismans made by Zongfu Shi in his spare time.
Only Fang Xi and him truly felt embarrassed by their empty pockets, only able to watch with envy.
"After all, what am I? Chen Ping, Chen Dao You is the impressive one, actually directly obtaining the inheritance of Zongfu Shi!" Di Qi also sighed, showing a hint of unwillingness, "Zongfu Shi's talisman crafting skills are extremely exquisite. I even suspect that he might have received the inheritance of the second rank... I wonder how much he revealed in his notes?"
"That's impossible. How could an inheritance of the second rank be valued at two hundred spirit stones? Has Lu Dao You gone mad?" Fang Xi chuckled.
According to his estimation, the jade slip notes contained the crafting methods of several top-grade first rank talismans, which was Lu Zhi's way of showing sincerity.
"But Chen Dao You still has a chance," Jiu Xuan Shangren said solemnly, "As long as he can form a marital bond with Lu Dao You, wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone? Not only would he bring back the beauty, but he would also gain a true treasure trove of a talisman master."
"Haha! Let's hope so."
The three of them burst into laughter that only men would understand.
...
The next day.
Fang Xi went down the mountain to buy food, returned to the Great Liang World, fed the Taishui in large quantities, and then slaughtered the beasts.
After a few days, he had accumulated nearly four hundred catties of Taishui meat.
Baiqiao Tower.
Thud!
Four hundred catties of demonic beast meat fell heavily to the ground, making the shopkeeper Qi Liu unable to close his mouth from smiling.
He ran his business honestly and finally saw some returns.
Sure enough, this wandering cultivator had brought all the demonic beast meat here?
"Friend, choosing our Baiqiao Tower is truly an honor for us. Please, have some tea," the shopkeeper Qi greeted warmly.
After all, the dozens of catties of demonic beast meat had been sold at a high price to a physical cultivator before, earning them a small profit.
"Please."
Yingsong quickly brewed a cup of spirit tea, but Fang Xi just raised his cup without drinking.
After all, in the cultivation world, one had to be cautious, especially with what one consumed.
"The quality of this demonic beast meat is similar to before, it should be from the same demonic beast... Hmm?" Qi Liu inspected it and suddenly looked uncertain, "Could it be that there are no bones in this demonic beast? The bones of this demonic beast are valuable, the bone marrow can be used as auxiliary material for alchemy, and the bone itself can be used for refining..."
"The shopkeeper has a keen eye. This demonic beast is indeed boneless, quite peculiar. Unfortunately, there is only this one..." Fang Xi sighed pretentiously and secretly vowed never to sell Taishui meat in this market again.
Anyway... after leaving Heishi City, he could always hunt other demonic beasts to sell.
Demonic beasts in the Great Liang World were abundant and low in strength, making them excellent targets for hunting!
"These four hundred catties of demonic beast meat amount to forty spirit stones. How does that sound, friend?" Qi Liu quickly calculated the weight and rounded it up for Fang Xi.
"The shopkeeper is generous." Fang Xi grinned, "But I would like to purchase a talisman. Does Baiqiao Tower have any?"
Compared to Tianfu Hall and Danding Pavilion, Baiqiao Tower was more like a general store, hence his inquiry.
"Oh, what kind of talisman is it?" Qi Liu was surprised.
"A Breaking Ban Talisman, just a first-grade one." Fang Xi emphasized.
"A first-grade Breaking Ban Talisman?" Qi Liu pondered for a moment and smiled, "Friend, you're in luck. This type of talisman is extremely rare. Originally, our tower didn't have it, but a guest sold one yesterday. It's in good condition, and the spiritual energy hasn't leaked much. Please have a look!"
He patted his waist lightly and took out a wooden box that looked somewhat familiar to Fang Xi from a sachet.
Upon opening it, a Breaking Ban Talisman identical to the one from the previous day appeared before Fang Xi.
'Maybe it really is a collection of Zongfu Shi. Did the buyer resell it to Baiqiao Tower?' Fang Xi pondered, but regardless of whether it was or not, it didn't concern him much.
After a careful inspection, Fang Xi inquired about the price, "Indeed, it is a top-grade first-grade Breaking Ban Talisman. What is the selling price?"
"Hehe... This Breaking Ban Talisman would cost at least thirty-five spirit stones at Tianfu Hall. I won't charge you the extra fee, friend," Qi Liu said sincerely.
'But I clearly remember that Lu Zhi sold this talisman for thirty-one spirit stones... Oh well, there's no point in mentioning it.' Fang Xi maintained his aloof hunter cultivator persona and nodded, "The shopkeeper is fair."
Internally, he felt a bit frustrated. This back and forth had practically wiped out his savings from the past two years.
After Fang Xi left, Qi Liu rubbed his chin and felt somewhat dissatisfied, "I misjudged... This kid might just be a low-level cultivator who got lucky. How could he think to deceive me with such limited knowledge?"
Fang Xi was just a small cultivator after all, even with memories from his past life, some things were hard to conceal.
After chatting with the shopkeeper Qi a bit more, his true colors were revealed.
"Thirty spirit stones, forget it..."
Qi Liu sighed and leisurely returned upstairs to meditate and drink tea.
It was only when he heard his sigh that Yingsong's eyes flickered. He went to the back of the shop, holding a sound transmission talisman in his hand, muttering to himself, "Uncle Liu... It's not that I don't listen to you, but dozens of spirit stones may be a drop in the bucket for you, but for me, it's a significant amount..."
He activated his spiritual power, turning the sound transmission talisman into a streak of firelight that flew out and disappeared.
...
Fang Xi walked out of the market, circling habitually.
"Hmm, something's not right?"
At that moment, he activated his Heaven's Sight and Earth's Listening Technique, realizing something was amiss. He quickly crouched down, pressing his ear to the ground.
With his true energy enhanced, he heard the extremely faint vibrations of the earth.
"There are people tracking behind me... It should be two individuals!"
He quickly changed direction, picking up his pace.
However, no matter how many directions he changed, those two individuals behind him could still keep up, and the distance between them was getting closer. Obviously, after realizing something was amiss on his end, they also sped up.
Soon, two figures, one tall and one short, appeared in Fang Xi's line of sight.
"A cultivator in the Foundation Establishment stage and one in the Core Formation stage!"
Fang Xi sensed the unhidden spiritual power and malice from the two, feeling slightly relieved but remained vigilant as he sternly asked, "Who are you? Why are you tracking me?"
"Hehe, kid, hand over all your belongings!" The short cultivator in the Foundation Establishment stage, around thirty years old, with many freckles on his face, sneered coldly, holding a few talismans in his hand, trying to flank Fang Xi.
"Robbing Cultivators!"
Fang Xi's face turned extremely ugly, and with a flick of his hand, the Qinghe Sword rose in the wind, turning into a green sword light that struck towards the short cultivator.
"Magical weapon! Big brother, save me!"
The short cultivator first activated a golden light shield talisman on his body, enveloping himself in a layer of golden light, then panicked and shouted.
"Haha... Your magical weapon is so shabby, truly a paper tiger!" Seeing the damaged Qinghe Sword, the tall cultivator sneered, patting a small, dusty pouch at his waist.
A pitch-black ghost head blade magical weapon emerged, turning into a black light that entangled with the green sword light of the Qinghe Sword, easily suppressing it.
"Inferior magical weapon!"
Seeing this scene, Fang Xi was even more certain.
His Qinghe Sword was just a damaged item among inferior magical weapons, easily suppressed by the ghost head blade, which was understandable.
"You... How did you find me?" Fang Xi asked with a fierce expression, fleeing in a panic.
"Haha... Big brother, leave this kid to me. He's just a third-level Foundation Establishment cultivator, easy to kill." The short cultivator was extremely excited, staring at Fang Xi, muttering incantations and casting a spell!
With the last syllable of the incantation, two bright yellow earth spikes formed in front of him.
"Go!"
The short cultivator pointed at Fang Xi, and the earth spikes shot out.
Fang Xi rolled on the ground, barely dodging, looking disheveled. This made the short cultivator even more excited, "You have the 'Three-Day Incense' on you, you can't escape, accept your death!"
Before his words fell, another earth spike had already pierced Fang Xi's back.
"Ah!"
Fang Xi screamed in pain, falling to the ground.
However, in his haste to escape, he seemed to have been too panicked, falling very close to the tall cultivator.
"You talk too much!"
The tall cultivator said to the short cultivator, walking to Fang Xi's 'corpse.' Suddenly, he felt something was off.
If the sword-shaped magical weapon didn't have the support of its owner's spiritual power, how could it still be entangled with the ghost head blade, not being a spiritual item?
"Not good!"
After realizing this, the tall cultivator tried to retreat.
But it was too late!
The supposedly fallen Fang Xi rushed towards him at a terrifying speed, almost appearing in front of him in the blink of an eye.
In a moment of urgency, the tall cultivator quickly tore open a water shield talisman, enveloping his whole body in a water shield.
The next moment, Fang Xi's fist struck the water shield!
Boom!
The water shield showed a terrifying dent, but it didn't break, just dimming significantly.
"Physical cultivator, and mid-stage!"
Seeing this scene, the tall cultivator's face immediately showed fear, "Friend... it's a misunderstanding..."
"Primordial Qi!"
But Fang Xi no longer wanted to talk to him. He raised his right hand high, gathering terrifying energy at his fingertips, and fiercely struck the water shield!
Boom!
He exerted all his strength, unleashing a mix of various forces with the Primordial Qi on the water shield, violently bursting it open, revealing the desperate face of the tall cultivator behind it.
He wanted to say something, but Fang Xi's finger had already pierced his throat.
Boom!
The body of the tall robber was casually discarded by Fang Xi, who then looked at the approaching short cultivator, "You seemed to enjoy yourself just now?"
(End of Chapter)