In the blink of an eye, ten days passed, and all the Vein Opening Pills he had bought were consumed. At first, he thought the Vein Opening Pills only increased cultivation time with poor effects, but when paired with spirit porridge, he could cultivate for seven hours a day, which was equivalent to seven days in the past!
With the help of Hard Work Makes Up for Clumsiness, his improvement speed was incredibly fast. At this rate, it would only take about eighty-five days to increase his talent by another point!
Currently, Mu Jiuxiao’s days were very tightly scheduled: cultivating for seven hours, drawing talismans and recovering Spiritual Qi for one hour, practicing Earth Spirit Spike for one hour, and resting for three hours each day. He didn’t even have time to go to the Qilian Mountains, let alone the marketplace.
If not for running out of Vein Opening Pills this time, he wouldn’t have planned to go out.
“Chirp chirp.”
Seeing Mu Jiuxiao about to leave, Little Gray-Gray, who had been hiding under his bed, flew out and darted into his embrace like an arrow.
Little Gray-Gray was very spiritual. During this period, it had become familiar with Mu Jiuxiao. When Mu Jiuxiao cultivated, it accompanied him by his side; when someone came, it hid under the bed; when Mu Jiuxiao went out, it darted into his embrace.
However, keeping an additional pet also increased expenses. The spirit rice that originally would have lasted him through winter would probably not even last this month at this rate of consumption.
Although Mu Jiuxiao warned Little Gray-Gray not to steal, it would always take a little when he wasn’t paying attention. When caught, it would look at him pitifully, making him both angry and amused.
Mu Jiuxiao had tried both beating and scolding, but he really had no choice. He could only let it be. After all, they were together almost all the time, so opportunities for it to steal food were limited.
Pocketing the Water Cloud Talismans, he arrived at the marketplace again. Last time, he had been fooled by Qi Tuohai, who kept calling him brother and bought five talismans for one Spirit Stone. This time, he absolutely couldn’t sell them cheaply.
He planned to sell the Water Cloud Talismans directly to the Magical Artifact Pavilion, but when he went there, the manager said it wasn’t the farming season, so one Water Cloud Talisman could only be exchanged for two spirit stone fragments.
Of course, Mu Jiuxiao wasn’t satisfied with this price. He still intended to set up a stall and sell them. He didn’t believe there really was no one who recognized their value.
“Young brother, long time no see.”
Unexpectedly, as soon as he set up his stall this time, he encountered Qi Tuohai. It seemed like Qi Tuohai had come specifically for him, appearing extremely enthusiastic upon seeing him. However, Mu Jiuxiao became slightly vigilant. “Senior Qi.”
“Young brother, give me another sixty Water Cloud Talismans.” Qi Tuohai directly stated his purpose.
Mu Jiuxiao put on a foolish appearance. “Senior, I only have sixteen Water Cloud Talismans. Also, I can’t sell at the price of five talismans for one Spirit Stone. After selling to you last time and doing the calculations, I actually lost money.” This story is hosted at novelping.com.
“Don’t worry, I won’t make you lose money this time. How about four talismans for one Spirit Stone?” Qi Tuohai suggested.
“The price of four talismans for one Spirit Stone is certainly good, but it’s not even enough to buy one bottle of Pills.” Mu Jiuxiao lowered his head.
“Aren’t Pills just three Spirit Stones per bottle? You can buy one bottle of Pills and still have one Spirit Stone left to buy talisman paper. After buying the paper and drawing the talismans, just come find Uncle. I’ll take as many as you have!”
It was clear that Qi Tuohai genuinely wanted the Water Cloud Talismans in Mu Jiuxiao’s possession. Although Mu Jiuxiao didn’t know what Qi Tuohai wanted them for, he knew Qi Tuohai urgently needed them, so he said, “Senior, can you give me five Spirit Stones? I want to buy a larger stack of talisman paper at once.”
“Alright then, consider it making friends with you.”
Qi Tuohai took out five Spirit Stones, bought the Water Cloud Talismans from Mu Jiuxiao, and then hurriedly left.
Seeing his retreating figure and thinking about the information he had obtained from him-that Pills only cost three Spirit Stones per bottle-Mu Jiuxiao angrily headed straight to the Pill Pavilion.
However, upon arriving and arguing with them, they said that three Spirit Stones was a price for honored guests. As a mere Qi Condensation first-layer tenant farmer, could he be considered an honored guest?
Mu Jiuxiao had no way to deal with them. Who made him completely incapable of refining Pills? He could learn, but he didn’t have any pill formulas!
Moreover, the entire Ning’an Marketplace had only this one shop selling Pills. If he continued arguing, they might simply refuse to sell to him.
When under someone else’s roof, one must bow their head. After much persuasion, he finally managed to buy one bottle of Pills for four Spirit Stones.
Great, he should have asked Qi Tuohai to buy them on his behalf. Now, the Spirit Stones he got from him were thrown right back to the Pill Pavilion.
With only one Spirit Stone left, Mu Jiuxiao bought a stack of spirit paper. Not wanting to waste time traveling to the marketplace again, he also put down a Fireball Talisman with the stall owner as collateral, borrowed a stack of talisman paper on credit, and then returned home.
Passing by Li Xinyue and her brother’s house, he saw their door tightly closed and couldn’t help but feel worried. “I wonder how Brother Shuo and Xinyue are doing. I hope they are safe and sound, with abundant harvests.”
Li Shuo and Li Xinyue had already entered the Qilian Mountains some time ago. At first, afraid of encountering danger, they kept circling the mountain’s outer periphery. But the outer periphery had long been picked clean, layer after layer. Not to mention spiritual objects, even valuable herbs from the mortal world couldn’t be seen. After wandering the outer periphery for three days with no gains, the siblings decided to venture inward a bit.
Heading inward, their harvest improved considerably. In just two short days, the siblings dug up a Dragon Beard Grass, a Seven-Leaf Lotus, and a Crane Grass. These items alone were worth ten Spirit Stones-far better than farming.
In addition, the siblings discovered traces of a Great Bar Sheep. The Great Bar Sheep was a Yellow-grade low-grade Demon Beast, with a body like a donkey, a tail resembling a horse, low aggressiveness, and most importantly, delicious meat. If they could hunt just one, this trip would truly make them rich! Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
Therefore, the siblings closely tailed the Great Bar Sheep, not daring to lose focus for even a moment.
The Great Bar Sheep had sharp perception, but Li Xinyue was just a mortal. She emitted no Spiritual Qi fluctuations, so in the Great Bar Sheep’s perception, she posed little threat. Thus, it didn’t pay much mind to this mortal following behind, treating Li Xinyue like a little mouse.
As for Li Shuo, he followed behind Li Xinyue. After two days of trailing like this, they unknowingly followed the Great Bar Sheep into a valley.
The valley inside was lush with water plants, beautiful scenery, and Spiritual Qi misted the air. However, the moment Li Xinyue saw the valley, her hairs stood on end!
Disaster!
In the outer periphery of the Qilian Mountains, where could they find a place with such rich Spiritual Qi?
They had followed the Great Bar Sheep into the mountains for two days. Now, they were likely already far from the outer periphery and had entered the mountain range proper.
“Whoosh!”
At that moment, a python shot toward Li Xinyue like an arrow, opening its bloody maw wide to swallow her whole in one bite. Smelling the foul stench from its mouth, Li Xinyue bent backward and leaped back. The python followed closely, leaving her with nowhere to retreat.
As a peak mortal martial artist, her lightness skill was unquestionable, but against this python, her lightness skill seemed like a joke. This python simply followed no logic, appearing and disappearing unpredictably!
“Brother, save me!”
Cornered by the python again, Li Xinyue screamed in terror.
The next moment, the python’s tail wrapped around her, trying to deliver her to its mouth. Just as Li Xinyue was about to meet her end, a thunderbolt struck the python’s head. In pain, the python loosened its tail, and Li Xinyue swiftly retreated to Li Shuo’s side.
“Brother, is this what a Demon Beast is?”
Li Xinyue’s voice trembled, her hands and feet shaking uncontrollably. She could barely hold the longsword in her hand steady. During the previous fight, she hadn’t even had a chance to strike a single blow!