"There's no time to waste. Daoist Wu, why don't you take me to see your friend right now?" Lu Xuan put down his wine cup and looked at the Wu clan cultivator with eager eyes.
"I'm not sure if he's home right now... But since you're in such a hurry, it must be important. I'll take you there," the Wu cultivator replied, seeing Lu Xuan's urgency. With that, he led Lu Xuan out, heading towards the home of the snake-catching cultivator.
After walking for about half an hour, they arrived at a house made of dark stone. The house was quite spacious, but as they got closer, a chill filled the air.
As Lu Xuan followed the Wu cultivator into the stone house, he felt the coldness prickling his skin, giving him goosebumps.
Just as they entered, a green python slithered out, stopping a short distance away from them, hissing and flicking its tongue.
"Little Green, come back! It's Uncle Wu," a somewhat childish voice called from inside the house. The voice then changed to a soft hissing sound, and the green python turned into a green light and returned the way it came.
A boy around thirteen or fourteen years old walked out. The python quickly slipped into the boy's sleeve. Despite the python being large, no one could tell it was hidden in the boy's small frame, as if they were one.
Lu Xuan finally got a good look at the boy. He was thin, pale, with squinty eyes and very thin lips. When he smiled at the Wu cultivator, his slightly sharp teeth showed.
"Uncle Wu, my dad is out. It's just me and grandpa at home."
"I know. I'm here for something else today," the Wu cultivator said, introducing Lu Xuan and the boy. Lu Xuan learned that the boy's name was Yu Jie, and he lived with his grandfather while his father hunted snakes for a living.
"My grandpa is raising baby snakes in the backyard!" Yu Jie said curiously, looking at Lu Xuan. He then went into the backyard to call his grandfather.
"Uncle Yu, this is my neighbor, a Spiritual Plant Cultivator named Lu Xuan."
"Daoist Lu, this old man is my friend's father, Elder Yu," the Wu cultivator explained.
Lu Xuan greeted Elder Yu respectfully.
The three of them sat down in the house. Yu Jie brought in three cups of hot tea and then quietly sat in the corner, occasionally stealing glances at Lu Xuan.
Lu Xuan found the boy's gaze strange, like being watched by a venomous snake, but he felt no malice, just pure curiosity. When Yu Jie noticed Lu Xuan looking at him, he shyly lowered his head.
"Uncle Yu, is Brother Yu out?"
"Yes, he's gone to the wilderness. When he returns, remember to come and get some fresh snake bones and gallbladders," Elder Yu replied slowly.
"That's not urgent. I'm here with my neighbor to ask you something," the Wu cultivator clarified.
"I heard your family has been catching snakes for generations and has unique skills in hunting snake monsters."
"I wanted to ask how you usually handle the blood from the snake monsters you catch."
"Snake monster blood?" Elder Yu pondered. "It's not widely used. We only bring it back if there's a special demand from cultivators or if the blood has some value."
Lu Xuan nodded.
Elder Yu continued, "Since the blood needs to stay fresh, we don't bring it back often. It's usually used as material for alchemists to make special pills, or sometimes cultivators need snake monster blood for their techniques."
"What level of snake monsters do you usually hunt? Can you guarantee a steady supply?" Lu Xuan asked.
"Most are unranked or first-grade snake monsters, and there are some second-grade ones. You don't need to worry about the quantity; we know a few places in the wilderness where snake monsters live, and they are quite abundant."
Hearing this, Lu Xuan felt relieved.
"Actually, I need a steady supply of snake blood, preferably from first-grade or higher, second-grade would be even better."
As for third-grade, that was out of the question. Third-grade snake monsters were equivalent to foundation-building cultivators. Even if a snake catcher at the sixth level of Qi Refinement found one, it would just be a meal for the snake.
"Second-grade snake monsters... Let me think. There's one called the Green Water Python. Its blood is red with a hint of green and can be used to make a certain detoxification pill. How does that sound?" Elder Yu suggested after a moment of thought.
"As long as you can provide it regularly, that's fine," Lu Xuan replied. He believed that using snake blood with specific properties to cultivate the dragon vine would not only promote its growth but might also lead to unexpected changes.
"We can provide it regularly, but the amount won't be very large. After all, there aren't many second-grade Green Water Pythons, and they can be a bit difficult to deal with."
"What's the price?" Lu Xuan asked curiously.
"Ten spirit stones per pound. What do you think?" Elder Yu asked tentatively.
Lu Xuan almost couldn't hide his expression. A little while ago, he had spent seven spirit stones for a small bottle of blood from a two-winged golden-scaled snake.
Even though the price was slightly inflated due to being a pre-order, it was clear that buying one pound of second-grade snake blood for ten spirit stones was a much better deal than what he had gotten before.
"Middlemen really make a killing..." he thought to himself, realizing that the value of the snake blood itself was low, but after going through the trading hall, the price had skyrocketed.
Buying directly from the Yu family would save him a lot of spirit stones compared to other channels. Plus, the consistent supply of second-grade snake blood made Lu Xuan feel generous for once.
"Alright, that works," he agreed with a nod.
Elder Yu and Yu Jie couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.
In the past, when they hunted snake monsters, if there wasn't a specific request from cultivators, the snake blood they brought back usually couldn't be sold for a good price and often went unsold, leading them to throw it away. Only first or second-grade blood could fetch some value.
Now, selling second-grade Green Water Python blood for ten spirit stones per pound would earn them much more than before. The risks of hunting second-grade snake monsters were worth it for the spirit stones.
Moreover, the valuable skin, bones, gallbladders, and venom from the second-grade Green Water Python made Elder Yu, who was getting old, want to return to his prime and experience hunting second-grade snake monsters again.
They agreed on a simple contract. The Yu family didn't have any second-grade Green Water Python blood at the moment, so Lu Xuan left five spirit stones as a deposit. When Yu Jie's father returned, he would deliver the blood, and Lu Xuan would pay the remaining spirit stones.
Before leaving, Elder Yu insisted on giving Lu Xuan a bottle of snake blood from an unranked snake they had just killed, despite Lu Xuan's repeated refusals.
In the end, he couldn't turn it down and had to accept the bottle of snake blood.
(End of Chapter)