The stalls were overflowing with goods, their variety dazzling Xu Ning.
Of course, Xu Ning wasn't just looking. Sometimes he'd squat down to examine items more closely, his keen eyes observing details.
Most of the goods, however, revealed to him that they were counterfeit or of poor quality. He could sense their true nature.
After browsing around, Xu Ning didn't buy anything. Mainly, nothing really appealed to him. He was waiting for something better.
Wandering aimlessly, Xu Ning unknowingly arrived at the section where the itinerant merchants were gathered. He decided to go straight inside.
At first glance, the inside seemed similar to the outside, with stalls lining both sides. But the quality of the goods was noticeably higher. These were the real treasures.
"Fellow Daoist, looking to buy something? I'm the manager of the itinerant merchant group. My name is Le Jinhua. You can call me Lao Jin. Let me show you around!"
At this moment, a middle-aged man approached with a professional smile.
Having been a merchant for many years, Le Jinhua immediately recognized something different about Xu Ning.
Although this young man didn't exude any cultivation aura, his walking posture was incredibly confident and commanding. If you ignored his apparent cultivation level, he looked like a high-ranking official or sect elder.
Little did he know, Xu Ning had held a high position for many years as Prime Minister and had long cultivated a special bearing. Though he had become more discreet about it later, some habits remained.
"Very well," Xu Ning nodded slightly, his tone casual.
Seeing Xu Ning's calm, unflappable demeanor, Le Jinhua became even more certain of his guess. This person is no ordinary individual. Probably someone from a major sect in disguise.
He immediately began to enthusiastically introduce the goods to Xu Ning.
The traveling merchants brought a wide variety of items: herbs, pills, refining materials, array materials, demon essence, and demon beast body materials, among others.
The entire market was divided into different areas based on these categories to make it easier for customers to shop.
After walking through several sections, Xu Ning still showed no intention of buying anything. Le Jinhua became anxious, wondering if he had misjudged the man.
At this moment, Xu Ning made his decision. He gestured for Le Jinhua to talk aside.
Le Jinhua was immediately delighted and quickly led Xu Ning to a private room away from the crowds.
Immediately, Xu Ning pulled out a rough burlap sack from under his robes.
Le Jinhua was instantly taken aback. There wasn't even a storage bag. This guy was clearly bluffing. Maybe I was wrong.
But then Xu Ning pulled a medicinal herb from the sack, and Le Jinhua's eyes widened in shock. "This... this is a mid-grade Spirit-level Cloud Spirit Flower!"
Le Jinhua, being knowledgeable and experienced, recognized it at a glance.
Mid-grade Spirit-level herbs were generally not allowed to circulate outside the sect freely. They were controlled resources. Le Jinhua rarely received them in his trade.
Xu Ning spoke calmly. "Old Jin, what price do you think these Cloud Spirit Flowers are worth? I have several."
Le Jinhua pondered for a moment, his merchant's mind calculating rapidly. "Fellow Daoist, I won't beat around the bush. Ten low-grade Cloud Spirit Flowers are worth one spirit stone. Mid-grade ones are worth five spirit stones each at market price."
"However, we merchants need to make a profit from buying them. How about four spirit stones each? That's a fair price."
Xu Ning narrowed his eyes. "You're immediately deducting one spirit stone from the market price? That's quite a cut."
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Le Jinhua smiled sheepishly, spreading his hands. "We have to eat too, Fellow Daoist. Shipping costs, risk, it all adds up."
Xu Ning pondered for a moment. Then, under Le Jinhua's wide eyes, he slowly took out five more flowers from the bag, one by one.
"How about this? Twenty-three spirit stones for five flowers. I know you can make a little more profit at that price. That should be about right for both of us."
Le Jinhua readily agreed, his face beaming. "Okay, let's do as you say, Fellow Daoist. A pleasure doing business. But I wonder if you'll have any more next time? I'd be happy to buy them."
Xu Ning was noncommittal. "We'll talk about next time later. Right now, I need to purchase some things. Please prepare them for me first."
Soon, Xu Ning gave a brief overview of what he needed, listing items he had been wanting for his upgrades.
Le Jinhua was also surprised. Xu Ning needed far too many things, and they were all specific.
In the end, he spent fifteen of the twenty-three spirit stones he had just earned.
He bought spirit iron for his weapons, demon beast meat for the Yingying Monster, array materials for the thatched hut, spirit wood for the dung bucket, some rare spirit herb seeds for planting, and five Qi Gathering Pills to study.
Seeing how much Xu Ning had bought and how quickly, Le Jinhua couldn't help but add, "Fellow Daoist, I have something here that I wonder if you'd be interested in. It's a special item."
Xu Ning asked curiously, "What is it?"
Le Jinhua replied, lowering his voice, "An Ancient Earth Vine seed."
Xu Ning was somewhat confused. "What's the use of this?"
Le Jinhua explained, "Fellow Daoist! This is one of the main ingredients in Foundation Establishment Pills. Extremely precious and rare. It's the foundation for breaking through."
Xu Ning asked flatly, "How much?"
Le Jinhua named his price. "How about eight spirit stones?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Ning thought, Good heavens, he's after my remaining spirit stones. Trying to take everything I just earned.
Of course, this couldn't be agreed to so easily. After thinking for a moment, Xu Ning said, "This thing is definitely not easy to grow. You need special conditions, and you're charging me such a high price for a seed that might not even sprout?"
As soon as Le Jinhua heard that there was a chance, he quickly said, "Fellow Daoist, the price is negotiable! We can work something out."
Although this kind of seed was one of the main materials for Foundation Establishment Pills, the requirements for planting it were also very high. It needed to be planted in a special spiritual environment, and most sects didn't have such a place. It was actually quite useless unless you had the right setup. Le Jinhua had been stuck with it for a while.
Xu Ning held up one finger. "One spirit stone."
Le Jinhua was stunned. "What? One spirit stone? Fellow Daoist, add a little more! This is a key ingredient for the Foundation Establishment Pill! It's priceless to those who need it."
Xu Ning glared. "Is this seed even mature? Can I even use it right now? It'll take years to grow."
Le Jinhua was taken aback, then thought for a moment. "Five. Fellow Daoist, that's the lowest I can go. I can't go lower."
Xu Ning held firm. "Two. That's my final offer."
Le Jinhua countered, "How about three? Compromise?"
Xu Ning nodded slowly. "Alright, three. But you have to throw in another seed of a different spiritual herb. A bonus."
Le Jinhua gritted his teeth. "Here's what I'll do. I also have a Dragon Blood Tree seed, which is also a key ingredient for the Foundation Establishment Pill. Very rare. I'll give you both for five spirit stones total. A package deal."
Xu Ning nodded. "Deal."
And just like that, when Xu Ning emerged carrying his purchases, he only had three spirit stones left of his original twenty-three. But he had acquired a wide variety of goods.
He didn't rush to leave. Instead, he continued browsing the market, looking for anything else of interest.
Finally, after some searching, Xu Ning saw something that caught his attention at a small, tucked-away stall: a fragmented magic technique called Thunder Strike.
When activated at the Spirit level, it could instantly triple the user's speed. It was excellent for both escaping and combat, a valuable trump card.
However, because it was fragmented and incomplete, the technique had significant side effects. If one's physique wasn't strong enough, activating it would at least result in serious injury—possibly worse.
But this was nothing to Xu Ning, as his physical strength far surpassed that of ordinary cultivators. He could handle the strain.
The stall owner was a thin, sharp-eyed child. Seeing Xu Ning's interest in the cultivation technique, the child's eyes darted around, smelling a customer. "Senior brother, this Thunder Strike technique is a good thing! After cultivating it, you'll have an extra trump card. It's saved my life more than once."
Xu Ning asked, "How many contribution points?"
The child held up one finger. "One hundred contribution points!"
Xu Ning was surprised. "One hundred? You could have just said you were robbing me! Why try to fool me with a fragmented technique that could hurt the user? That's too much."
The child was shrewd and quickly said, "Senior brother, we can negotiate! Make a counter-offer. Everything is negotiable."
Xu Ning named his price. "Fifty contribution points."
"Deal!" The child quickly picked up the technique manual and handed it to Xu Ning before he could change his mind.
Xu Ning was dumbfounded, feeling like he'd been ripped off. He should have started lower.
However, the technique was indeed useful to Xu Ning, so he didn't say anything more. He took out his sect token to transfer contribution points to the other party.
Just as Xu Ning was about to leave with the item, the child suddenly spoke up, seeing an opportunity. "Senior brother, I have some other fragmented techniques here. Do you want to see them? Might be something you like."
Xu Ning became interested. "Let me see them."
The child nodded eagerly and immediately took out a burlap sack and started emptying its contents onto the stall, revealing a pile of old jade slips and manuals.
Xu Ning stared at the pile for a while, then his eyes widened in an instant. He spotted another fragment of the Thunder Strike technique—the one that was still missing from the piece he had just bought. Together, they might form a complete technique.