Sword Shatters Stars

Chapter 36 is a bit more expensive

Upon entering Shanwang Village, Lin Xiufeng immediately grabbed someone and asked:

How do I get to the bone processing shop in the village?

"From the pharmacy, turn left and walk about fifty steps to the left fork in the road..."

"Thanks."

Lin Xiufeng and Zhao Youyue walked and turned until they reached another intersection.

Lin Xiufeng asked, "Which way should we go next?"

"You didn't remember?" Zhao Youyue was surprised.

"If you write it down, I'll be too lazy to write it down."

"...I thought you remembered it. That person was rambling, and I didn't hear what he said after that."

"same."

Lin Xiufeng laughed and had no choice but to ask someone else.

After asking, he still didn't remember, certain that Zhao Youyue had remembered this time.

As it turned out, he succeeded in slacking off; Zhao Youyue did indeed remember it.

But the problem was, Zhao Youyue, after mentally sketching out the route and distances from the previous map, frowned and said:
"Was that person deliberately messing with us? This route circled around half the edge of the village, then circled back a bit, and then went towards the village center again. We covered about seven times the distance!"

"Either they're playing a trick on us, or the person is a blockhead who's telling us the path they usually take to move around."

"This is infuriating!"

Zhao Youyue thought no one would be that stupid; she must be playing a trick on someone.

"I think it's the latter, so there's no need to be angry. A good mindset is something you can adjust yourself."

"Ah Q!" Zhao Youyue disagreed.

"Okay, you can continue to sulk, and I'll be happy."

Lin Xiufeng didn't argue with her. When there's no need to confirm the situation, of course, you should choose the perspective that's best for your physical and mental health!

If you've really been tricked, wouldn't getting angrier just make you worse off?
We found a pharmacy; it was quite large, and there was plenty of room for the two of us to put all the things we were carrying inside.

"You found the Hound Wolf? Congratulations!"

Finally, he continued:
"The standard for making bone meal in our Shanwang Village is slightly higher than the market price; it takes eleven catties to make one gram."

"It's too expensive, and the quantity is too large. Please reduce the amount."

Lin Xiufeng had no idea what the normal price was, so he could only try to negotiate in a serious manner.

According to Qin Yong's exchange rate, it shouldn't exceed one to ten.

"The rule in Shanwang Village is that you can't bargain. If you want to negotiate a price, you can only do so with the village chief, Shanwang. No one else has that right."

"Okay! How long will it take to finish?"

Lin Xiufeng knew he wasn't qualified to talk about it; the village chief here was definitely a Heavenly Martial Artist!

If we knew their background, we might just rob them.

"One month, add one pound to the ratio for express service, ten days."

"Urgent."

Lin Xiufeng didn't want anything to go wrong; the exchange rate here was already higher than normal, so it wouldn't make a difference if he exchanged even one more pound.

Lin Xiufeng then deliberately asked:
"If I come across someone selling the horns of mutated beasts, I can help make the connection and trade them for bone meal."

The people in the shop didn't ask where the wolf's horns had gone, they only said:

"It's hard to find one; few Heavenly Martial Warriors are willing to trade. And there are even fewer Heavenly Martial Warriors coming and going from Shanwang Village, so there's no hope at all."

Lin Xiufeng was relieved. The horn of the wolf was indeed a weapon of the Heavenly Warriors, and it was very precious!

The shopkeeper took a wooden sign, wrote down the quantity and type of goods to be picked up, and stamped it.

"Come back in ten days to pick it up."

After leaving the shop, Zhao Youyue speculated:
"The official price should be 10 pounds per gram, and the processing fee should be included in it, which means it's 10% more expensive here."

"They dare to rip people off like this because they know there are no other villages nearby. Forget about it. They'll just send the furs to make mats, blankets, and clothes, and then let them roam around."

"Let's see if there are one or two people who are suitable to be recruited into the group."

Zhao Youyue hadn't forgotten about this.

Lin Xiufeng, however, wasn't as enthusiastic. The meat was enough to feed the Azure Armadillo King; the bones weren't much of a burden. But he couldn't go back on his word, and since personnel matters rested with Zhao Youyue, the deputy commander, he'd let her find the right people.

Zhao Youyue saw one or two people moving around, who were young and looked pleasing to the eye, so she went to ask them.

"Anyone here? Yes? Sorry to bother you."

"Any partners? No? What level are you? Level three? Do you want to join our group? I'm busy with something lately. We'll meet at that shop in twenty-five days, and I'll introduce you to the group members... Your accommodation expenses during this period will be covered by the group... Okay, see you then."

Lin Xiufeng could only say that Zhao Youyue's tactics were quite effective.

In twenty-five days, the bones were all turned into bone meal.

At that time, we gathered as many members as we could. People who were willing to wait 25 days must have been eager for the team, and the team was quite stable.

When those who went meet and chat, they will find that, apart from the leader and deputy leader, everyone else has just joined.

Lin Xiufeng focused all her attention on her ears, trying to listen to other people's conversations and glean some information from them.

Later, I saw a tavern, went in to rest, and found that the rice wine they sold there was quite delicious.

The two people had a couple of drinks when they overheard someone at the next table saying:
"...When will your friend arrive? It'll be foggy in the bamboo forest area the month after next..."

"Don't worry, there's still time. With his ninth-level Heavenly Martial Soul assisting us, we'll be fine!"

"Nine levels? That's amazing! Maybe this trip through the Misty Forest will make me a Celestial Warrior!"

"That's hard to say. The Misty Forest is full of ups and downs; some people are so full they die of overeating, while others starve to death."

Lin Xiufeng treated them to a drink and inquired about the Fog Forest.

"If you weren't here for the Misty Forest, why did you come to Mountain King Village? Everything is expensive here!"

"Just happened to be passing by."

"A large mountain range thirty miles north of Shanwang Village is covered with bamboo forests. Every year on September 5th, a rich, colorful mist formed by celestial martial power rises from the ground, releasing colorful light mist."

"Catching a Mist Spirit allows you to absorb a considerable amount of Heavenly Martial Power. The better your luck, the more you'll find..."

"This is an event you can't miss!"

"That's right. We've been running around for half a year without any chance to fight mutated beasts. We've just been wandering around aimlessly. We're counting on the Misty Forest."

Lin Xiufeng also felt it was an opportunity not to be missed, but judging from their previous conversation, there seemed to be danger, so he asked:
"With so many people looking for us, wouldn't we have to take action if we ran into them?"

"Of course we have to take it! Not to mention Mist Spirits, if you have fewer people and run into a larger group, they might just eat you all up!"

"Many martial artists have come to the Misty Forest, haven't they?"

"What's the point of a Celestial Warrior? The Celestial Warrior's power concentration in the Mist Spirit is nothing to a Celestial Warrior."

Lin Xiufeng felt much relieved and chatted for a while longer, then casually mentioned:
"I saw someone making bone meal at the pharmacy today, but I don't know what it is."

"Only Heavenly Warriors need bone powder. It was first developed by the Anti-Heaven Organization and gradually spread. More and more people who mastered the method opened pharmacies."

“We can’t use it; you need a Heavenly Martial Heart to use it. There are few Heavenly Martial practitioners around here. I only heard that two came to the village today, carrying at least several hundred pounds of bones…”

"Just out of curiosity, that stuff isn't meant to be drunk, is it?"

Lin Xiufeng didn't want to bring up the topic with them, so she deliberately interrupted, her face showing a look of disbelief and speculation.

Zhao Youyue remained silent and left the performance entirely to him.

"I've seen it. A Heavenly Warrior breaks through the flesh of an acupoint and inserts bone powder. It looks painful!"

Based on Qin Yong's words, Lin Xiufeng deduced that this was the method of cultivating specific acupoints. As for why specific acupoints needed to be cultivated...

This is yet another new problem.

Unfortunately, this issue is not yet widely known because the number of Heavenly Warriors is still small.

Lin Xiufeng figured out the situation through conversation and by referring to the contents of the diary.

Shanwang Village is located in the southwestern part of the Dream Continent. The nearby mountains were once marked by the Tianwu Group.

The mutated beasts in the Heavenly Martial Realm have been mostly cleared out, with only the occasional mutated beast running over from elsewhere.

"The southern and southwestern parts of the Dream Continent are not suitable for exploration; they have both been swept away by the Heavenly Martial Group..."

"...There are still plenty of opportunities in the east, north, and west. After the Fog Forest, we plan to try our luck in the east..."

During their casual conversation, Lin Xiufeng learned that the eight people at the table had reached the Heavenly Martial Realm in two to four years.

When things were going badly, I tried for half a year but couldn't find any opportunity to absorb Heavenly Martial Power.

But to make matters worse, they were attacked by the large Tianwu Po Group on the way.

(End of this chapter)