Family Cultivation: Rise of the Wilderness

Chapter 159 Changes in the sky
Three days passed in a flash.

Puyin Mountain remains the same as always, but it is not without changes.

At least Taibai Restaurant introduced one novel item that became a hot topic among its customers.

"A large group of Jade-Shattering Civets has appeared on the southern side of the outer perimeter?"

In the middle of the tavern, a rough and ancient stone pillar stood majestically, with more than ten notices with mottled ink marks pasted on it in a staggered manner.

Three to five people stood in front of the pillar, reading softly.

"Adult Jade Civet cats are worthless, but if you can find kittens and sell them to Tengjiao Workshop, you might make a fortune."

"How vast is the south side? Without a specific location, finding the Broken Jade Civet cub is as difficult as ascending to heaven."

"Why don't you ask the Li family? Since it was posted by the Li family, there must be a specific location!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than someone actually tore down the notice for the Broken Jade Fox, took it to the bar, and asked Li Qiansu about it.

Li Qiansu replied with a smile, "The Li family naturally knows the exact location, but this information was obtained with great difficulty by my Li family, so we cannot tell you it for free."

"Want money?"

The man's face immediately darkened.

Li Qiansu remained expressionless: "It's not expensive, only one spirit stone."

"A spirit stone?"

The man raised his voice, slammed the notice heavily on the bar counter, and strode away.

Li Qiansu didn't seem to mind, and simply said, "I suggest you repost the notice."

"Yes!"

The farce at the bar attracted the attention of other customers, and many of them burst into laughter.

"Wang Laizi, if you don't have money, don't pretend to be a hero."

"That's right, trying to get information from the Li family for free? Don't you even know your own status and position?"

Amidst the ridicule, Wang Laizi was furious and kept shouting insults at the others.

Such a lively atmosphere naturally attracted the attention of newcomers to the tavern.

After some questioning, many people ran to the base of the stone pillar to watch.

"The Mad Lion Demon Hunting Team is recruiting? How come they can advertise on Li family territory?"

Someone couldn't help but ask.

"You can do it by spending money."

Seeing that the newcomer didn't understand, someone explained, "The upper half of this pillar contains some exclusive intelligence released by the Li family. It's relatively reliable, but often incomplete. If you want to know the details, you need to pay to buy it."

"The second half is the public bulletin board, where anyone can post any message they want to publish, but of course, it's a paid service."

"I see."

Those around quickly read through the information released by the Li family, and many of them were overjoyed.

Most of the information here is related to monsters. The Li family has released information on the ranges where some powerful monsters are found, reminding everyone to be careful.

It also revealed some unusual activities of monsters. For example, the list mentioned that a group of Jade Foxes were migrating on the south side of the central section of Puyin Mountain.

Most monsters are solitary, and the Jade-Shattering Fox is no exception; such a large-scale migration is quite rare.

If you have the guts, you could ambush them halfway and catch these beasts off guard, reaping a lot of monster materials.

Several decent-sized demon-hunting groups were eager to make a move, but most people weren't interested.

Hunting a single Jade Civet is not easy for them, let alone a large group.

"The Li family is acquiring tiger bones for longevity!"

Someone exclaimed that the bones of the immortal tiger were the main ingredient for refining the longevity pill. Of course, the longevity pill could not grant immortality, but could only extend one's life by three to five years.

Nevertheless, as a rare longevity elixir, the Longevity Pill remains expensive and highly regarded; even the name of the Longevity Tiger is influenced by the Longevity Pill.

However, with the advancement of alchemy, some alchemists changed the main ingredients of the Longevity Pill, improving its life-extending effect and giving rise to a new pill called the Nourishing Essence Pill.

The Nourishing Essence Pill completely outclassed the Longevity Pill, so the Longevity Pill naturally declined and its formula could no longer be found.

Along with the elixir of immortality, the main ingredient—the bone of the immortal tiger—was also discarded.

However, just a few hundred years later, Master Yi of the Longyuan Sect discovered that adding bone powder from the bones of the Longevity Tiger during the forging process could enhance the toughness of magical artifacts. This discovery rekindled the interest of demon-hunting groups across the land in the Longevity Tiger.

From then on, the bones of the immortal tiger were transformed from materials for alchemy into materials for weapon crafting.

"The price offered by the Li family is not bad! Ten catties of tiger bones can be exchanged for one spirit stone, which is about 40% higher than Zhang Mazi's offer."

Some were tempted, while others retorted indignantly, "I knew Zhang Mazi was a complete swindler."

The Changsheng tiger is quite large, and its bones are naturally heavy. However, the Changsheng tiger bones specifically refer to the vertebrae; the bones from other parts of the body are not valuable.

Even so, a fully grown Changsheng Tiger can weigh thirty or forty pounds just from its spine. Hunting just one Changsheng Tiger can yield three to five spirit stones.

"The Li family only acquired a limited amount of tiger bones, only 100 jin, which is not available to us."

“It’s not just the Li family that’s buying them. Look down there, Old Man Wu and Madam Feng are also buying the Longevity Tiger Bone, and they’re offering even higher prices than the Li family.”

"That's true."

The crowd whispered among themselves, wondering when the immortal tiger bone had become such a sought-after item.

But regardless, this is good news for them.

The Changsheng Tiger is just an ordinary tiger demon. After reaching adulthood, most of them are in the mid-stage of the Spirit Awakening realm, and only a small number can break through to the late-stage of the Spirit Awakening realm.

Moreover, the Everlasting Tigers are mostly lone wolves and don't usually team up with friends.

Hunting such monsters is not easy, but it is within the acceptable range for most monster hunting groups.

"Besides the Longevity Tiger Bone, there are several other refining materials. Strange, could it be that a new refining sect has moved into Pu County?"

"It's really strange. Materials like the Longevity Tiger Bone sell well in Pushui Market, but they've always been cheap in Puyin Mountain. If it weren't for Zhang Mazi offering to buy them at a high price, no demon-hunting team would be willing to get them."

Amid the discussion, Li Qiansu suddenly walked over, holding a stack of brand-new notices in his hand.

"Manager Li, is there any new intelligence?"

"Hehe, it was all provided by you guys, you'll find out soon enough."

Li Qiansu smiled mysteriously and posted a new notice on the lower part of the stone pillar.

The label read, "The Soul Suppressing Sect produces the Burning Fiend Pill, 10 spirit stones per bottle!"

"The Burning Fiend Pill?"

"Ten spirit stones?"

The onlookers were immediately stunned. The price of the Burning Fiend Pill had indeed been 10 yuan a bottle at one time, but that was four years ago.

Four years later, the price of the Burning Demon Pill stabilized at thirteen spirit stones per bottle, causing many demon-hunting teams to complain bitterly.

However, the price of the Burning Fiend Pill has now plummeted.

"Manager Li, is this...is it true or false?"

Many people couldn't wait to crowd in front of Li Qiansu, chattering away.

"Hehe, our Taibai Restaurant does not evaluate the information published on the public bulletin board. You can judge for yourselves."

After saying that, Li Qiansu tapped the signature in the lower right corner of the new list.

"It's Zhao Jindou!"

"Although Zhao Jindou is cunning, he has a good reputation, so it shouldn't be false."

As they were talking, Li Qiansu posted a second and a third notice, most of which stated that he was willing to buy certain materials at a high price and that interested parties should contact him.

The names of those who signed these notices, such as Old Man Wu, Zhang Zhi'ang, and Madam Feng, were all well-known itinerant merchants in the middle section of Puyin Mountain.

"The world is about to change in Puyin Mountain!"

Someone muttered to themselves, and another chimed in, "That's right. All along, itinerant merchants and various demon-hunting groups have been dealing in secret. Outsiders have no idea what the prices are for the demon beast materials they trade."

"But now, the price is transparent! Who will benefit from it, and who will suffer losses?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Fei, who had been silently watching the rankings from the side, was stunned.

He didn't know who benefited, but he knew that the eldest brother, Ge Yi, and Zhang Mazi had been trying their best to collect the bones of the immortal tiger.

Now that the price of tiger bone has suddenly skyrocketed, Ge Yi and Zhang Mazi must be furious.

Thinking of Zhang Mazi, Wei Fei suddenly realized that the Burning Fiend Pill was Zhang Mazi's prized business, and he vaguely sensed a conspiracy.

(End of this chapter)