Sword Sect Outer Sect

Chapter 19 The Spirit
Ke Huai was the initiator of this barter gathering, so naturally no one objected to him starting it.

"Then I will start, as a way to get the ball rolling."

"What I want is very simple..."

Ke Huai stood up, and with a light tap of his spiritual energy, some words and patterns solidified in the air, seemingly patterns of seeds and herbs.

"The seeds of any precious herb, or the seedlings that have not yet flowered."

"I can accept any of the ones I have drawn. If there are any seeds of precious medicinal herbs that are not listed here, I can also offer a price for them."

Green pine wood, submerged peach wood...

Of the eight or nine kinds of spiritual herbs and medicinal seeds depicted in the painting, Song Yan happened to recognize two of them because of his previous alchemy practice.

These are indeed very precious spiritual herbs and medicines that can be used for alchemy.

However, it takes a long time to grow, and its seeds and buds are not valuable, so there are very few people trading this thing.

If one wants to use it in alchemy, it must be at least several decades old, or even nearly a hundred years old.

What does Ke Huai want the seeds of this spiritual herb for? Is he going to grow them himself?

Ten years later, or a hundred years later, will we refine elixirs again?

Silence fell over the room; no one spoke.

As if he had expected it, Ke Huai showed no obvious regret and was about to end his turn.

"Uh... wait a moment, Brother Ke."

Zhou Jiasheng, who was standing to the side, seemed to have hesitated for a long time before finally speaking.

"Is this what you drew in your picture...?"

He examined it carefully for a long time, and then, somewhat uncertainly, took out a small ice-blue flower from his Qiankun bag.

Ke Huai's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, your Frost Jade Flower is actually a seedling of the Frost Jade Fruit."

"I can buy it for ten spirit stones, or you can exchange it for something of similar value."

Zhou Jiasheng laughed heartily: "I just thought it was pretty and picked it without thinking. I never imagined that this little flower would be worth a few spirit stones."

"Fellow Daoist Ke, if you have Yellow Sprout Pills, then exchange them for Yellow Sprout Pills. If you don't have them, then bring them with spirit stones, and I will go and buy the pills myself."

Huangya Dan is a popular elixir for Qi Refining cultivators to enhance their spiritual power, suitable for consumption from the early to late stages of Qi Refining.

For Zhou Jiasheng, this was a completely unexpected windfall.

"There are some."

Overjoyed, Ke Huaixi quickly took out a bottle of Huangya Dan (a traditional Chinese medicine), and the two completed the exchange in front of everyone.

The first trader made a profit, and the atmosphere in the room became much more lively.

Zhou Jiasheng wanted to sell a low-grade defensive magic weapon in exchange for some pills used for cultivating spiritual power.

Although Song Yan was somewhat tempted, he hesitated and was outmaneuvered by Fellow Daoist Rong.

The two eventually reached a deal.

Lin Xiaoyu wanted to offer a talisman, but the talisman had a strange appearance, and she herself couldn't explain its function.

Since everyone here is a rogue cultivator, they don't have many cultivation resources to begin with, and they certainly wouldn't waste spirit stones on things they don't even know if they're useful.

Ultimately, the exchange was unsuccessful.

Finally, it was Song Yan's turn.

"What I want to offer is a bottle of special pills and two Yin Puppet Reincarnation Nails."

Before coming to the night market, Song Yan thought it over and decided not to bring the pill formula with him. Instead, he burned it with a single finger of spiritual fire.

This pill is truly too evil.

He didn't consider himself a great philanthropist, but this pill was truly sinister. If the formula fell into the hands of someone with ulterior motives and caused bloodshed, he would inevitably bear the consequences if investigated.

It's better to play it safe and just sell these pills.

"..."

Before Song Yan could even begin introducing the elixir, everyone in the room was already startled by the Yin Puppet Reincarnation Nail.

Ke Huai remained calm and composed: "Fellow Daoist Tong, what are you doing...?"

"It's nothing. I just killed a demonic cultivator when I went down the mountain and took it from him."

"hiss--"

Demonic cultivator!

Song Yan spoke calmly, but everyone was shocked, and their eyes looked at the white wolf mask with more awe.

If they knew that the three demonic cultivators were only at the third level of Qi Refining, I wonder what they would think.

"This bottle of pills is called the Spirit Transformation Blood Pill. It is a demonic pill. Its effect is..." "It can allow mortals without spiritual roots to grow special meridians in their bodies, thereby giving them the opportunity to cultivate to the third level of Qi Refining."

"what?!"

"Is this true?!"

Everyone gasped in surprise.

Indeed, this item is probably one of the most unique items at this barter fair.

That makes sense. Those with spiritual roots naturally don't need such things, but cultivators always have families and blood relatives.

The absence of spiritual roots is the norm.

Theoretically speaking, if one could produce a continuous supply of Spirit Transformation Blood Pills, one could create a small Qi Refining family with an average strength of the third level of Qi Refining.

Before Song Yan had even made a bid, Ke Huai was already impatient.

"Does Fellow Daoist Tong possess the formula for this pill?"

“Yes…” Song Yan nodded first, but then changed the subject: “However, the ingredients and refining method required for this pill are too evil, so I have destroyed the formula.”

A barely perceptible hint of regret flashed in Ke Huai's eyes, but he quickly said, "Brother Tong is very righteous."

Song Yan continued, "...I don't think I need to introduce the Yin Puppet Reincarnation Nail. I can have any three of what I want."

"First, spirit stones. Take them all; twenty-five spirit stones will suffice."

"Secondly, there are medicinal pills, such as Huangya Dan, which requires three bottles."

"The third one is either a spiritual object or a clue or information about it."

A supremely spiritual object?

The other five looked at each other, especially Wu Huaguo and Rong Xiaofeng, who saw a hint of surprise in each other's eyes.

"Any spiritual object, regardless of its attribute, is acceptable."

This supremely spiritual thing actually encompasses a very wide range of things.

For example, the more common Spirit Wood Spirit and Spirit Fire Spirit each have different types.

Some of these spiritual items are actually not that precious, otherwise Song Yan wouldn't be asking for such an exorbitant price.

If it's just a few scattered bits or pieces of information, or even a definite piece of news, then it's worth about twenty spirit stones.

As mentioned in the Spirit Transformation chapter, the most spiritual items can be used to refine and strengthen the Sword Dao Seed.

Even if I don't intend to disperse my cultivation to plant the sword in the future, the supreme spiritual object will still have other uses, so it's not a loss.

Since she was already there, Song Yan decided to try her luck.

Each of the three things he proposed is actually acceptable.

"..."

There was a moment of silence in the room as the group seemed to be considering their offer. Song Yan, with a calm expression, was facing Ke Huai.

Ke Huai was indeed tempted and was about to offer twenty-five spirit stones, but Rong Xiaofeng beat him to it.

"My husband and I will contribute three bottles of Huangyadan."

"Ok?"

Even Song Yan was surprised.

The three conditions he proposed, twenty-five spirit stones, were the normal price.

The news about the most spiritual items is somewhat advantageous, since it's only related information.

These three bottles of Yellow Sprout Pills are roughly equivalent to thirty spirit stones, which is clearly a loss.

"However, after this meeting, my wife and I would like to speak with Fellow Daoist Tong alone. Would that be permissible?"

"..."

Song Yan looked at Ke Huai; he didn't know the rules, so it would be better to ask the host.

Ke Huai smiled and nodded: "As long as both parties are willing, that's fine. I can't concern myself with things that far ahead."

"it is good."

Having completed the transaction, Song Yan had come out on top by a large margin.

The Daoist couple Rong Xiaofeng and Wu Huaguo wanted to sell two sets of mother-and-child flying blades, which were also low-grade magic weapons, worth about fifteen or sixteen spirit stones. In the end, Lin Xiaoyu exchanged them for a Purple Flame Talisman of similar value.

Song Yan couldn't help but question the meaning of life.

Why do all these independent cultivators seem to be wealthier than me?

(End of this chapter)