"Three Spiritual Hoes, two Spiritual Scythes, and thirty jin of Red Marrow Rice Seeds, altogether three hundred and twenty-one Spirit Stones, no bargaining."
The woman's tone was firm.
Fu Changsheng found the price acceptable.
But he still shook his head and said:
"Friend, look, this Spiritual Hoe is already worn out. To use it, you'd have to take it to the Artifact Refining Workshop for some work, which alone would cost several Spirit Stones. Five of them together would be several dozens. You see, I sincerely want to buy them. Could you perhaps round it down to three hundred Spirit Stones?"
"These items were left by my father. If I truly didn't lack the talent for being a Spirit Plant Cultivator, I wouldn't sell them at all. Moreover, I have use for these Spirit Stones, not a single one can be spared."
After she finished speaking.
The woman sat back down immediately and opened the Talisman Dao Mastery book, reading it with great interest.
Fu Changsheng took a few steps, seeing no response from her, awkwardly returned, and said, "Friend, I'll take these things. However, could I copy the 'Talisman Dao Mastery' book you have in your hand?"
His family's cultivation technique scriptures had all been stolen by the Southern Barbarians.
Nothing remained.
Because his cultivation was too low before, he hadn't had the chance to learn the Hundred Skills of Cultivation.
The woman hesitated for a moment and said:
"This 'Talisman Dao Mastery' book cost me fifty Spirit Stones."
The implication was clear.
She was asking Fu Changsheng to make up a little more for it.
However.
Fu Changsheng acted as if he hadn't heard.
The woman could only say:
"So be it."
Saying that.
She took out another copy from her chest.
The cover was brand new, with the words "Talisman Dao Mastery" written prominently.
Fu Changsheng paused for a moment, realizing that although she seemed to be reading, her real intention lay elsewhere. After their transaction, Fu Changsheng wrapped the Spiritual Hoes and Scythes in cloth and placed them in the Red Marrow Rice sack, carrying them swiftly to the Spirit Pet Shop.
According to the time.
This was exactly when the Spirit Pet Shop received new stock.
Inside the Spirit Pet Shop, there were only a few customers scattered around. After all, even the cheapest Tier One Low-Grade Spirit Pet cost several hundred.
Just as he entered.
Liu Qingyun, wearing a veil, followed right in.
It seemed her important business involved purchasing a Spirit Pet.
In a flash.
Fu Changsheng suddenly thought of a possibility.
His heart immediately began to race.
He didn't waste any more time, quickly glancing past each caged Spirit Pet, ignoring anything that wasn't a snake-like species.
As he was nearing the end of the shop.
He still didn't see the Little Cyan Snake:
"Could it be the shop hasn't received the Little Cyan Snake yet?"
Stepping a few more steps inside.
A streak of green caught his eye.
He saw a three-foot-long, coiled Little Cyan Snake caged at the very end. Upon closer inspection, its tail was obviously cut in half, and its breath weak.
The shopkeeper, seeing Fu Changsheng's keen interest, glanced at Fu Changsheng's outfit and quickly said:
"Sir, this Little Cyan Snake is quite pitiful. Its whole family was wiped out by some High-Tier Demon Beast, leaving it to tumble off a cliff, barely clinging to life. It's a sad sight, isn't it?"
The shopkeeper was evidently trying to evoke empathy from Fu Changsheng.
Fu Changsheng, unsure of how to avoid suspicion, immediately played along with teary eyes:
"Shopkeeper, how many Spirit Stones for this Little Cyan Snake? I'll take it."
As he spoke.
He noticed from the corner of his eye that Liu Qingyun had just walked in.
Sure enough.
If he hadn't come today.
Liu Qingyun would likely have bought the Little Cyan Snake.
The shopkeeper pondered for a moment, thinking that since the Fu Family had been completely looted, setting a high price might scare him off. He opted for a middle figure and said:
"Sir, since it's fate that you and this creature meet, I'll give it to you at cost, three hundred Spirit Stones all told."
"Alright!"
Fu Changsheng immediately took out his box, opened it, took one Spirit Stone from it, and gave the rest to the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper, seeing this.
Was inwardly pleased, clearly having set the exact amount Fu Changsheng could afford.
Transaction complete.
Fu Changsheng covered the Little Cyan Snake's cage with a black cloth he had prepared, then took it and left. As he passed by Liu Qingyun, she vaguely felt as if she had missed something.
"Phew!"
Once out of the Spirit Pet Shop.
Fu Changsheng immediately relaxed.
At this moment.
Out of the corner of his eye.
He faintly noticed several people following him, one of whom was unmistakably Li Changtai from the Li Family.
Li Changtai, having failed to assassinate him in the Phoenix Tree Forest of Qilian Mountain before, clearly hadn't given up.
"Hmph!"
Fu Changsheng sneered.
Daring to shop so openly, he of course had the assurance of an Invisibility Cloak. Most of the cultivators in the Marketplace were at the Qi Refining Stage, and once he donned the Invisibility Cloak, they wouldn't be able to detect him at all.
Therefore.
He directly turned into a restroom.
Once inside, he put on the Invisibility Cloak, leaped up, jumped to the second cubicle, and when someone opened the door, darted out, silently slipping out of Nanyang Marketplace.
Risking nothing, he returned to the clan grounds.
When he handed the Spiritual Hoes, Scythes, and Red Marrow Rice to his eldest brother, Fu Changren, Fu Changren was both excited and somewhat guilty, knowing all these items were acquired by Fu Changsheng alone, they couldn't even gather a single Spirit Stone, so he patted his chest and promised:
"Patriarch, rest assured, I will fully dedicate myself to cultivating these fifty acres of Spirit Field, ensuring a bountiful harvest next year."
"Then I'll leave it to you, big brother."
Fu Changsheng also took out the 'Talisman Dao Mastery' from his arms, letting the three siblings copy it to see if any of the four had talent in Talisman Making.
When he returned to his Cave Mansion.
A familiar voice echoed in his mind once more:
"Ding"
"You have acquired three Spiritual Hoes, two Spiritual Scythes, and thirty jin of Red Marrow Rice Seeds for the clan, earning thirty-five Clan Contribution Points."
Fu Changsheng's heart leaped with joy.
Unexpectedly.
There was a reward for acquiring goods for the clan.
Now his Clan Contribution Points suddenly rose from eight to forty-three.
As he considered exchanging for daily intelligence, the panel flickered again:
"Ding"
"You provided the clan with a copy of 'Talisman Dao Mastery,' earning thirteen more Clan Contribution Points."
At the same time.
The Clan Contribution Points climbed to fifty-six.
Reaching fifty, it triggered a chance for a lottery, with a prompt asking if he wanted to draw.
Fu Changsheng hesitated.
Currently, he had only one Spirit Stone left.
The contributions he could make to the clan were limited; if he spent fifty Contribution Points now, accumulating back to this number might not be easy.
After pondering for a while.
Fu Changsheng made up his mind:
"Exchange for the daily intelligence!"
He intended to see if the next three pieces of intelligence were useful, and if so, he would use the remaining fifty points for the lottery, then use the effective intelligence to earn more Contribution Points. In this way, it would serve both purposes.
The panel shimmered with yellow light.
Line by line, text appeared:
[1: Your Tenth Uncle has an illegitimate daughter named Molan in the Ten Thousand Flowers Tower of Anyang County. In ten days, she will be taken away by Li Changtai. In two hundred years, Molan will become a Nascent Soul Great Cultivator of the Great Zhou Dynasty.]
[2: ...]