join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for dozens of advance chapters for over a dozen fics | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter
Upon seeing the middle-aged woman agree, Dugu Bo's eyes lit up with excitement.
He quickly took out 150 gold coins and immediately handed them to the middle-aged woman.
The middle-aged woman was also quick, promptly handing the packaged herbs to Dugu Bo.
Dugu Bo excitedly took the herbs, secretly chuckling to himself:
"Haha, this time I really hit the jackpot. Such a large bag of herbs, the price is definitely more than 150 gold coins. These herbs are so rare, that woman actually agreed to sell them to us at this price, she's truly foolish."
Dugu Bo, carrying the large bag of herbs, quickly pulled Zhuge Lan away from the stall, afraid that the middle-aged woman might change her mind.
As he thought, he smugly looked at Zhuge Lan, as if showing off his spoils.
After confirming that they were quite far from the stall, Dugu Bo finally burst into happy laughter, saying to Zhuge Lan:
"Kid, we're so lucky! Our first transaction in this Ghost Market, and we found a big treasure!"
Zhuge Lan looked puzzled, asking in confusion:
"What, are these herbs very valuable?"
Dugu Bo said proudly:
"This is a rare Spiritual Essence Grass. The Spiritual Essence Grass plant is short, with round, jade-green leaves, and veins that shimmer with a faint white light. Its stem is slender and tough, and a small five-petaled white flower blooms at its top, with a golden stamen in the center, emitting a faint fragrance."
Dugu Bo looked at Zhuge Lan's puzzled expression, becoming even more pleased.
He cleared his throat and began to explain the Spiritual Essence Grass to Zhuge Lan in detail:
"You brat, don't underestimate this Spiritual Essence Grass. The environment it grows in is extremely demanding. It mostly grows deep in valleys rich in spiritual energy, or in ancient, uninhabited forests."
Dugu Bo continued as they walked:
"Take those valleys, for example; they contain endless spiritual energy. Spiritual Essence Grass relies on absorbing the spiritual energy emitted by spiritual veins to grow strong. Moreover, other rare spiritual items might accompany it. Think about it, can something that grows alongside Spiritual Essence Grass be ordinary? There might even be some treasures we've never seen before."
Listening, Zhuge Lan's eyes gradually showed curiosity, and he pressed on:
"Do these spiritual items have any effect on the Spiritual Essence Grass? Or do they have any special relationship?"
Dugu Bo stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and said:
"Hmm, that's an interesting question. These accompanying spiritual items, they and the Spiritual Essence Grass should have a symbiotic relationship. Spiritual Essence Grass absorbs spiritual energy to grow, and at the same time, it might release some special aura or energy, which could also benefit the surrounding spiritual items. For example, some spiritual items might need a certain aura emitted by the Spiritual Essence Grass to promote their own growth or evolution. Conversely, these spiritual items might also protect the Spiritual Essence Grass."
Zhuge Lan said in surprise:
"It can be like that."
"Think about it, in such a dangerous place, with other spiritual items nearby, ordinary small demon beasts wouldn't dare approach the Spiritual Essence Grass easily, allowing the Spiritual Essence Grass to grow better."
Dugu Bo explained.
"So that's how it is."
Zhuge Lan nodded:
"That truly makes sense. So, what special effects does this Spiritual Essence Grass have?"
Dugu Bo stroked his green hair and said:
"After the Spiritual Essence Grass is refined into a pill, it can accelerate the cultivator's speed of absorbing heaven and earth spiritual energy. After consumption, it can improve the cultivator's spiritual energy gathering efficiency in a short time, making the cultivation process twice as effective. It also has a certain auxiliary effect on breaking through cultivation bottlenecks, helping cultivators gather more spiritual energy at critical moments, increasing the success rate of breakthroughs. In addition, cultivators who take Spiritual Essence Grass long-term can also nourish their meridians, making them tougher and wider, laying a solid foundation for future cultivation."
Zhuge Lan also nodded deeply after listening. After a moment of thought, he said:
"Then this Spiritual Essence Grass should be very sought after in the market, right? Why would that middle-aged woman sell it to us so cheaply?"
Dugu Bo chuckled and said:
"This is where you don't understand. Although Spiritual Essence Grass is very precious, not everyone recognizes its true value. And that middle-aged woman doesn't look like a cultivator; she probably just obtained these herbs by chance and didn't know their use, which is why I got such a great deal. But we also need to be careful; she might realize it later and come looking for trouble."
Zhuge Lan then realized:
"I was wondering what happened; you bought it and then dragged me away. So you were planning something mischievous."
...
However, on the other side.
As Dugu Bo and his companion quickly left, they didn't notice that the middle-aged woman also quickly packed up her stall and departed.
When they found a less crowded place to carefully examine the herbs, Dugu Bo's face instantly turned pale.
He impatiently opened the package, only to find that except for the top few layers which were real herbs, the rest was a pile of weeds.
"This... what's going on?"
Dugu Bo's eyes widened, unable to believe what he saw.
"Old Poison, what's wrong?"
Zhuge Lan, who was originally looking around for beautiful women, heard Dugu Bo's slightly angry voice and came back to his senses, asking.
"Damn it, besides these on top, look, the rest below are all weeds!"
Zhuge Lan was also stunned by this scene. After a moment of stunned, he said:
"We're screwed, Old Poison, we might have been tricked."
Dugu Bo gritted his teeth and said bitterly:
"That hateful woman, how dare she trick me! I'm going to find her and settle the score right now."
Saying that, he turned to walk back.
When the two returned to the middle-aged woman's stall.
The stall that was originally there was now empty, leaving only a vacant space.
Dugu Bo was trembling with rage, his eyes burning with furious flames.
"How dare she play a trick on this old man! If I see her again, I will not let her off!"
He stomped his foot heavily, and the ground seemed to tremble with him.
Zhuge Lan at this moment also laughed heartily:
"Look at you, you originally thought you got a great deal, but now, your cleverness backfired. It truly is 'the Dao is one foot high, the devil is ten feet high'! That middle-aged woman is even more calculating than you."
Dugu Bo was so enraged that he clenched his fists tightly:
"Who knew she was so cunning. I was thinking that my first transaction in the Ghost Market would be profitable, but I didn't expect to be scammed. As expected, the waters of this Ghost Market are truly deep! I'm so angry!"
Zhuge Lan, standing beside him, also looked helpless, but he still tried to comfort Dugu Bo:
"Old Poison, don't get too angry and hurt yourself. Just consider it paying for a lesson."
"Paying for a lesson? That's 150 gold coins! When have I, Dugu Bo, ever suffered such a great loss!"
Dugu Bo roared loudly, and passersby around them cast strange glances.
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for dozens of advance chapters for over a dozen fics | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter