In order to figure out a way to earn spirit stones, my senior brothers made a difficult decision.
Go down the mountain and set up a street stall!
I stood at the mountain gate, watching my senior brothers pack their things.
Su Ning stuffed demon beast meat into his storage bag~
(It was the meat from when I was wandering on the road—the ones we roasted, and there was quite a bit left over.)
Yan Chuan ran back and forth to the back of the mountain several times,
digging up a pile of ordinary iron ore.
Murong Zhuo scratched around the cliff edge for spiritual herbs—
the cheapest, most worthless kind that grows randomly by the roadside.
Gu Chenguang was in charge of accounting and packing.
I asked them: “…Can these things actually sell?”
Su Ning didn’t even turn his head: “Don’t know.”
Yan Chuan scratched his head: “Might as well try.”
Murong Zhuo blinked: “What if someone happens to be blind?”
Gu Chenguang nodded: “What if?”
I went silent for three breaths of time.
And then I followed in their footsteps.
…………………………
The town at the foot of the Sword Sect’s mountain was called Jianming Town (Sword Sounding Town).
Supposedly, it got its name because when sword cultivators practiced, the hum of their sword aura could travel all the way down the mountain.
The scale of Jianming Town took me a bit by surprise.
It was surprisingly no smaller than Qingyue Town at the foot of the Qingyun Sect.
Shops lined both sides of the street, with people bustling to and fro in an extraordinarily lively atmosphere.
There were vendors selling magical weapons, pills, talismans, spiritual herbs, and even…
Spiritual beast poop?
Su Ning explained: “That’s spiritual beast fertilizer produced by the Beast-Taming Sect—it’s said to help spiritual herbs grow better.”
Me: “…Oh.”
My senior brothers found a corner, spread out a tattered cloth, and started setting up their stall:
— Demon beast meat: Looks average, but edible.
— Ordinary iron ore: Contains more impurities than strands of my hair, but usable.
— Worthless spiritual herbs: Plucked from the roadside, barely acceptable.
But nobody bought anything.
Not a single person.
I squatted behind the stall, watching the crowd pass by.
Everyone who walked past would take a quick glance,shift their eyes away and walk off.
Su Ning’s face grew redder and redder.
Yan Chuan’s head dropped lower and lower.
Murong Zhuo started wiping his sword, even though it was already wiped to a shiny gleam.
Gu Chenguang wrote in his notebook:
— Street Stall Day 1:
— Foot Traffic: 1,000+
— Sales Volume: 0
— Note: So embarrassing.
Suddenly, a commotion came from the neighboring stall.
I poked my head out to take a look.
The neighboring stall was selling Nether Deep-Iron.
Pitch-black ore gleaming with a faint, cold sheen.
The stall owner was a middle-aged man, currently surrounded by a crowd of people.
“The quality of this is amazing!”
“How much for a piece?”
“I want 2 pieces!”
“I got here first!”
I turned to ask my senior brother: “What’s that?”
Su Ning stared at the neighboring stall, his eyes turning red: “Nether Deep-Iron! That’s a supreme grade material! It’s just that this stuff is produced in the Demon Realm, so it’s extremely hard to come by!”
Yan Chuan’s drool was almost spilling out: “If my sword could be mixed with a bit of Nether Deep-Iron… its hardness would increase by at least thirty percent!”
Murong Zhuo swallowed his saliva: “I heard that the black market price has been hyped up high recently—a fist-sized piece can sell for 100 mid-grade spirit stones.”
I raised my hand to ask a question: “How many low-grade spirit stones is one mid-grade spirit stone worth?”
Gu Chenguang didn’t even raise his head: “One high-grade equals 100 mid-grade, and one mid-grade equals 100 low-grade. So a small piece of Nether Deep-Iron is equivalent to ten thousand low-grade spirit stones.”
I nodded my head.
Then I quietly rummaged through my storage bag.
And pulled out two pitch-black pieces of ore.
“Is it this one?”
My senior brothers all turned their heads in unison.
And then wide-eyed in complete unison.
Su Ning: “Holy shit!”
Yan Chuan: “It really is Nether Deep-Iron!”
Murong Zhuo: “And it’s high purity! Look at this luster! This texture!”
Gu Chenguang: “Little Junior Sister, where did you get this?!”
Me: “Uh… there’s a lot of it near my hometown. I picked it up.”
Everyone: “…”
Su Ning took a deep breath: “Little Junior Sister, where is your hometown?”
I blinked: “A very far place.”
Yan Chuan: “Where specifically?”
Me: “My dad won’t let me say.”
Everyone fell silent.
This reason was very reasonable—after all, many secluded hermit families have such rules.
I took the chance to shift the topic: “Can this ore be sold?”
Su Ning’s eyes lit up: “Yes! Absolutely!”
Yan Chuan rubbed his hands together: “With this, we won’t have to set up a stall to sell demon beast meat anymore!”
Murong Zhuo said excitedly: “Little Junior Sister! You’ve saved our entire sect!”
Gu Chenguang was already calculating frantically in his notebook:
Nether Deep-Iron Income Estimate:
— Existing Inventory: 2 pieces
— Estimated Selling Price: 200 mid-grade spirit stones
— Equivalent in Low-Grade Spirit Stones: 20,000
— Note: WE’RE RICH!!!
I shook my head: “We can’t sell all of it.”
My senior brothers were stunned.
I pointed to their swords: “Sell one piece, and use the other piece to upgrade your swords.”
Su Ning: “F—For us to forge swords?”
Yan Chuan: “Junior Sister, this is way too valuable…”
Murong Zhuo: “It’s better to exchange it for spirit stones for your cultivation.”
Gu Chenguang: “Right, we can’t accept this.”
I shook my head: “Senior brothers’ swords need to be upgraded. Besides, if your swords become stronger, you can take on more dangerous missions, earn more spirit stones, and buy me more Origin-Nourishing Pills.”
Flawless logic.
My senior brothers were so touched that their eyes grew red again.
Su Ning: “Junior Sister…”
Yan Chuan: “You’re only three years old, how are you already so sensible…”
Murong Zhuo: “Your senior brothers will definitely protect you with all we’ve got!”
Gu Chenguang wrote forcefully in his notebook:
Junior Sister’s filial piety: PRICELESS!
…………………………
And so, my senior brothers stashed one piece of ore into a storage bag to use for forging swords later.
The other piece was put up on the stall to sell:
“Nether Deep-Iron! Authentic Demon Realm specialty! Only one piece! First come, first served!”
Sure enough, as soon as they shouted, a crowd gathered around immediately.
“It really is Nether Deep-Iron!”
“The purity is so high!”
“I offer one hundred and fifty mid-grade spirit stones!”
“One hundred and seventy!”
“Two hundred!”
The price skyrocketed all the way.
My senior brothers were grinning so wide their mouths couldn’t shut.
Right at that moment, an jarring voice rang out.
“Yo, aren’t these the poor wretches of the Heavenly Sword Sect?”
I looked up and saw a young man dressed in a magnificent, luxurious robe walking over.
Behind him followed two henchmen.
He didn’t look too bad, but his chin was raised absurdly high, like a proud rooster.
Su Ning’s face darkened: “Zhao Youqian, why are you here again?”
The youth named Zhao Youqian sneered: “I just came to see what kind of trash you poor wretches are selling today.”
He walked up to the stall, swept a glance across, and put on a disgusted expression:
“This demon beast meat—it’s gone sour, hasn’t it? Even the color is wrong.”
“This iron ore—it has more impurities than people in our sect. Refining weapons? It’s more like refining scrap metal.”
“These spiritual herbs—even pigs wouldn’t eat them. How do you have the cheek to put them out for sale?”
Finally, he looked at that piece of Nether Deep-Iron. His eyes lit up, but his mouth remained disdainful: “Nether Deep-Iron? Couldn’t be ordinary iron ore dyed black, could it?”
Su Ning said coldly: “Zhao Youqian, if you want to fight, just say it outright!”
Yan Chuan’s hand was already resting on his sword hilt.
Murong Zhuo’s golden longsword also began to glow.
Gu Chenguang silently set up a tripping formation under his feet.
Zhao Youqian took a step back, but his mouth remained sharp: “Hey, hey, hey—trying to get physical just because you lost the argument? Let me tell you, I don’t fight with poor wretches!”
He knew the Sword Sect could fight, so he only dared to mock and didn’t dare to actually make a move.
This was his survival strategy: foul-mouthed, but valued his own life.
Seeing me, Zhao Youqian’s eyes lit up: “Yo, you even brought a small kid along? Coming out to make a living at such a young age, how pitiful. Why not come to our Qingyun Sect? Our sect is rich—meat with every single meal!”
I looked at him without saying a word.
Zhao Youqian: “What, are you mute?”
Me: “What’s your name?”
Zhao Youqian: “Zhao Youqian! An inner-sect disciple of the Qingyun Sect!”
I nodded: “Oh, so are you very rich?”
Zhao Youqian boasted proudly: “Of course! My family owns a spirit mine!”
I immediately flashed a sweet smile: “Wow, so amazing! No wonder Senior Brother Youqian is so handsome and your clothes are so pretty—one look and anyone can tell you’re a rich person.”
Zhao Youqian felt a bit smug and floaty: “That goes without saying!”
Cupping my face with my hands, I said: “Then Senior Brother Youqian must be the kind of person who buys things without ever asking the price, right? My dad said that’s how real big figures act!”
Zhao Youqian was now completely floating on cloud nine: “That goes without saying!”
Me: “Then… does Senior Brother Youqian want to take a look at our Nether Deep-Iron?”