Chongming Xianzong

Chapter 6 Barter Meeting

The tea in the ruby ​​cup was very green. Niu Gui'er and Kang Dabao were the host and the guest, each occupying a cushion across the tea table, but there was no sound for a long time.

"The leader this time is Bai Bian from Baijiazhai. There are also Taoist Wu from Songlin Temple, Gu Laoliu from Wuniao Mountain, and Second Sister Song from Linghe Market,"

Niu Gui'er still didn't have Kang Dabao's patience. He started talking a few words, but when he mentioned Song Erjie from Linghe Market, he paused.
"This is the one who introduced you here."

"Kang is familiar with my second sister." Kang Dabao nodded in acknowledgement.

He then said, "The one from the Bai family has already reached the seventh level of Qi training, but I heard that he is already in his eighties. I wonder how much strength he still has left?

The rest of you are just like you and me, your cultivation is only at the middle stage of Qi training, and you think you can take the heads of the four ghosts of the Liu family with this little talent?"

"If it is an easy task, Niu will do it himself. Why would he need to share a piece of the pie with you?" Upon hearing this, Niu Gui'er laughed strangely.

"That makes sense, but unfortunately our cultivation is weak, so we can only eat some chicken ribs." Kang Dabao frowned.

"It's an easy business, but you don't have the courage to do it, fellow Taoist!" Niu Gui'er said with even more disdain.

Kang Dabao shook his head and said nothing. He knew that the deal Niu Guier was talking about was the bounty issued by the sixteenth young master of the Yuan family in Jingnan.

I heard that a cauldron that the young master won in the casino escaped. If someone catches it and brings it back to Yuan Mansion, they can get a second-grade top-grade magic weapon.

This matter has been making a lot of noise recently, and Kang Dabao certainly won't do this business.

Firstly, it is really heartless, and secondly, if they really encounter a cauldron in the foundation-building period, who will catch whom when they meet?
However, some desperate people in the Yushan Fellowship were very excited after hearing the news, and several groups of people went to search for it.

I don’t know whether they have been caught or not, but I heard that a lot of people have died.

In comparison, the heads of the four ghosts of the Liu family are easier to get.

They were just four evil cultivators in the middle stage of Qi training, and it was unclear what heinous crimes they had committed. However, the reward offered by the Baisha Jiumo Division was 2,000 yuan, and they did not take a penny from the seized proceeds, which was really a generous reward.

The two were speechless again. At this time, there was another knock on the door outside the quiet room.

"I think another Taoist friend has arrived. I will go and greet him first."

Just as Niu Gui'er was about to get up and go out, Kang Dabao also stood up. Niu Gui'er was stunned, sneered, and walked out of the quiet room first.

Kang Dabao didn't care about the notorious Niu Gui'er, the Taoist Wu who killed his brother and stole his sister-in-law, the Gu Lao Liu who locked up ghosts and refined zombies, and the sarcastic and unruly Bai Bian of the Bai family.

Except for the second sister Song, whom he had known since childhood, none of the people who gathered here would dare to say that they were cleaner than the four ghosts of the Liu family. They had to be on guard against them secretly colluding with each other to harm the Taoist master.

"I am Taoist Wu from Songlin Temple. Nice to meet you two Taoist brothers."

Outside Niu Guier's teahouse stood a Taoist priest with long eyebrows, white hair and beard, an immortal look, and a kind face.

Before Kang Dabao could return the greeting, a short man wearing a colorful bird-feathered robe appeared ten feet away. He rode past the teahouse servant and walked in, laughing loudly, "I am the Sixth Elder from Five Birds Mountain, nice to meet you, fellow Taoists."

After another round of greetings and false politeness, the four of them returned to the quiet room, each with their own ulterior motives.

As the host, Niu Guier poured two more cups of tea, and the smoke in the room became even worse. Of course, still no one drank it.

"I don't know when Brother Bai and Sister Song will be able to come, but I have a suggestion, you brothers may want to listen to it."

Gu Laoliu is only four and a half feet tall, but he is very sociable.

He is nearly sixty years old, and his cultivation has reached the sixth level of Qi training. His age and cultivation are the highest among everyone, but he is willing to put down his airs.

He became superficially familiar with the other people by keeping a low profile.

After saying polite words for so long, people were really tired. Now someone made a suggestion, and naturally there was no reason for the others not to listen.

“It’s rare for me to get together with you fellow Taoists on weekdays, and this is a good opportunity for us to share what we have.

The four ghosts of the Liu family are not easy to deal with. If we can improve our strength a little bit, we will have more confidence. What do you think, brothers?"

Gu Laoliu stroked the sparse beard on his chin and took out a palm-sized storage bag.

Several people thought this proposal was good and agreed.
"Then I'll throw out some ideas first. First-grade, top-quality yellow wood heart is a great material for refining wood-based magic tools.

I want to exchange it for a gold magic weapon. I can use spirit stones to make up the difference depending on its grade.

This yellow wood heart needs to be exchanged for a spiritual object worth about sixty spirit stones. If it is exchanged purely with spirit stones, the price will be slightly higher, at seventy-five spirit stones.

How about it? Are there any brothers who like it? "

Gu Laoliu took out the yellow wood heart that was the size of a baby's fist, and it was extremely precious.

When he held it in his palm and was looked at by the other people one by one, a faint woody fragrance was already flowing in the quiet room.

As for the so-called "high-quality materials", different people naturally have different definitions of a certain thing.

This piece of yellow wood heart of Gu Lao Liu is naturally ordinary stuff for those who are practicing to establish their foundation, but it is a treasure for ordinary people.

For low-level casual cultivators like Kang Dabao, they are worthy of the words "top-quality materials".

The other three were more or less tempted when they saw this.

Kang Dabao was not thinking about using the materials for himself. If he kept materials like Huang Muxin in his hands, it would be normal for him to sell them at half the price when he met a cultivator in urgent need of them, and he could make a profit by reselling them.

Then he shook his head and dismissed the idea. At this moment, it was more important to put the spirit stones into fighting skills.

On the other side, Taoist Wu and Niu Gui'er both made bids. Without shouting out the prices, they each took out a long piece of yellow silk, wrote down the price they wanted, folded it, and handed it to Gu Lao Liu.

This is a common trading method in the exchange meetings of low-level monks in the David Immortal Dynasty. The seller will pick out the offer that best suits his taste to conclude the deal.

Buyers who make bids will neither get into a quarrel of tempers and quote a price far exceeding the value of the item, thus damaging each other's feelings, nor will they bargain with the seller in public, thus embarrassing both parties.

Gu Laoliu took the two pieces of yellow silk with a smile and turned his back to compare them.

After a moment, he first said to Niu Gui'er: "I can only offend Brother Dao this time."

Niu Guier sighed. Even though it was not an important thing, Huang Muxin was rare. It would be a pity to lose it. But he still bowed and clasped his fists to congratulate Taoist Wu.

Taoist Wu squinted his eyes with joy as he took the Huang Muxin. After paying the spirit stone, he took out a golden-gourd short hammer as long as an adult's forearm from his storage bag.

"First-class, mid-grade, Army Breaking Hammer, with two restrictions: 'Like a Mountain' and 'Hard'. Fellow Daoist, please take a look."

Gu Laoliu took it carefully, and used his spiritual power to circulate around the artifact, examining and rubbing it for a long time.

The others did not urge them either, as they knew that magic weapons were related to the life and property of cultivators and could not be neglected in the slightest.

When Gu Laoliu took a closer look, his face was filled with joy.

The material used in this magic weapon is good. Although the two restrictions are not rare, they are more practical in fighting. "Like a mountain" means to increase the weight of the magic weapon when it is controlled, and "hard" means to enhance the durability of the magic weapon as the name suggests.

Gu Lao Liuxian was very satisfied, and took out 155 spirit stones from his storage bag and handed them to Taoist Wu, and the deal was done. Taoist Wu was also very happy that he had just made a deal, and took out another first-grade low-grade magic weapon for trading, but it was far inferior to the Broken Army Hammer he had just taken out.

The atmosphere became quiet and seeing that no one had any interest, he took out two first-grade mid-quality Jingmai Pills.

This kind of elixir is quite unpopular in the circle of independent cultivators. Its main function is to help cultivators who have swallowed too much elixir to eliminate the poison in their bodies. Who among those present has such a blessing?

Although he failed to exchange the two items, Taoist Wu was not discouraged. He put away his things and left the stage. Niu Guier stepped forward and took out a jade bottle.

"A first-level, mid-grade realm-breaking pill costs 251 spirit stones and can help cultivators below the sixth level of Qi training break through bottlenecks.

If you have elixir poison, regardless of whether you achieve a breakthrough after taking the elixir or not, you cannot take it again within ten years, and you cannot take other elixirs that improve your cultivation within one year. "

These are genuine and good things. Kang Dabao looked at the two jade bottles and couldn't help but be moved. Taoist Wu beside him had already asked, "Fellow Taoist Niu, can I have a look?"

"That's reasonable." Niu Gui'er nodded his head and passed the jade bottle to Kang Dabao and Taoist Wu one after another.

Kang Dabao carefully opened the cork, and a faint fragrance wafted into his nose. He took a deep breath and felt his whole body become relaxed, as if even the bottleneck that had been in place for many years had loosened a little.

This was of course just an illusion. Although Kang Dabao's cultivation was low, the Chongming Sect had been established for a hundred years, and after its decline, it still had some inheritance.

Therefore, as the seventh-generation head, his knowledge was not too bad. He knew that in fact, this kind of low-level elixir had a relatively limited effect on helping cultivators break through bottlenecks.

If the realm-breaking pills made by a legitimate alchemist can increase a cultivator's confidence by 10 to 20 percent, then the pill-making technique that Niu Guier used is obviously much more crude.

This alchemist didn't even remove and blend many of the medicinal properties in the elixir, but just put it together into shape and released it.

The efficacy of such elixirs may be less than half of that of regular elixirs, but the toxicity is even worse. The latter point was also specifically pointed out by Niu Guier just now.

However, no matter how serious the side effects are, it is still an absolutely good thing.

This kind of elixir that can help one break through a realm is always hard to find in ordinary markets. Kang Dabao has encountered it only a few times in his many years of traveling as a merchant, and it was always when he was short of money.

Having been stuck at the fourth level of Qi training for so many years without making any progress, he was really interested this time and had begun to calculate how many spirit stones he could get for the things in his hands.

In comparison, Taoist Wu next to him was obviously more concerned about gain and loss, and there was even a hint of murderous intent in his eyes. He glared at Kang Dabao secretly.

Gu Laoliu has already reached the sixth level of Qi training and has no use for this elixir, so his only competitor is naturally Kang Dabao.

"My two fellow Taoists, please come in." Niu Gui'er was naturally happy to see this situation.

Kang Dabao smiled bitterly, but there was nothing he could do.

He only quoted a price of 200 spirit stones plus a bunch of sundries on Huangbo, not because he was afraid of making enemies, but because he really had no money. If the beast-controlling talisman was still there, he might be able to bid for it.

Then he and Taoist Wu each folded the yellow silk and handed it to Niu Gui'er.

Niu Guier turned his back and handed the Breaking Realm Pill to Taoist Wu with a happy face. He must have gotten a good price for it.

The latter's face suddenly brightened up, he put the pill in his arms as if it was a treasure, and accepted Kang Dabao's congratulations with a smile.

Judging from the situation, although Taoist Wu has a dog-like face like Li Yunlong, his wealth is much richer than that of the head of the sect Kang Dabao.

A large amount of precious goods was handed over to Niu Gui'er, which made Kang Dabao envious.

After three transactions, the other three people all gained something, only Kang Dabao returned empty-handed.

So when Kang Dabao came forward, the others all became somewhat uninterested.

The wealth of this head of Kangda seems to be even smaller than everyone imagined. I don’t know why Second Sister Song, who has always had a wide range of friends, would introduce such a person to me.

"Everyone, please look," Kang Dabao took out something, which turned out to be a piece of black animal bone shrouded in black air.

"This..." The other three looked at each other in bewilderment. After a while, Ancient Six smiled and said:
"I am an old man with limited knowledge, and I cannot compare to you who have inherited the legacy. What kind of treasure is this? I hope you will take the trouble to explain it to me."

The other two people also echoed after hearing this.

"I, Kang, can't really explain what this thing is. I can only guess that it is the bones of some great demon.

But after years of immersion in it, I have discovered several wonderful uses of this thing, and I am about to share them with a few fellow Taoists.

One is to drive away insects and beasts. The monsters at the middle stage of Qi training are very afraid of this thing.
The second is to turn blood into powder. If you use this thing to gently attach to the corpse of an ordinary monster or cultivator, it will turn into powder in just a moment.

Third, if this thing is really the bone of a great demon, it must be a top-notch material for refining weapons."

When Kang Dabao finished speaking, he saw that everyone's faces were indifferent, and he gradually lost his confidence.

Even though I knew that the people who came this time were all shrewd people and the probability of being fooled was low, I never expected that this group of people seemed to have no interest at all.

He had received this strange object from the descendant of a cultivator, and on a whim he took the nine spirit stones.

I never thought that after a few years, I couldn't even deceive a stupid husband.

"Exorcising insects and beasts is only at the middle stage of Qi training. Are you kidding, Brother Kang? I'll go to the forest and pick up some dried feces from high-level Qi training monsters. I'm afraid they're not inferior to your 'auction item'.

Blood-transforming powder is not a scarce item. Five spirit stones can buy it and it can be used by three generations.

As for the great demon spirit bones, can Daoyou Kang trust them? "

Taoist Wu sneered a few times, thinking that this "big master" had been a traveling merchant for a long time, and he must think everyone he saw was a foolish man from a family of immortal cultivators who was so easy to be deceived.

It is common to see goods of varying quality at such small trade fairs, and those with poor eyesight would consider themselves unlucky if they bought such goods.

Those with a better eye will just see through the product and not buy it. Few people will criticize an item in public, so why offend others?
It is not known whether Taoist Wu is really so upright and hates evil as much as he hates evil, or whether he really looks down on Kang Dabao, the head of the traveling merchants.

This act of ignoring the unspoken rules directly exposed Kang Dabao, and the situation immediately became ugly.

"Haha, Brother Wu, you're too polite." Seeing Kang Dabao's face flushed, Gu Laoliu came out to smooth things over.

Kang Dabao bowed to Gu Laoliu to thank him, then put away the black bone with a stern face.

He had no intention of trading anything else and left the stage in disgrace, but in his heart he hated Taoist Wu for his actions that had made him lose face.

With the atmosphere at this point, Niu Guier, as the host, had no choice but to arrange accommodation for everyone in the courtyard, and the trade fair ended in a bad mood.

In the next two days, Kang Dabao discussed metaphysics and philosophy with a few others, without stopping from dawn to dusk.

After two days, nothing was found. It was hard to believe what kind of useful information could be produced by a group of people with their own agenda gathered together.

After listening to the profound Taoist scriptures and Zen principles for two days, Kang Dabao felt a little dizzy. Soon after returning to his room, he lit a stick of sandalwood and prepared to meditate to relax his mind, without closing his eyes yet.

But then I heard the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground in the yard.

(End of this chapter)