Chapter 493: Secret Canon Of Yaos (I)
"Profound Frost Grass for sale! Freshly picked, a hundred-year Profound Frost Grass~."
"Bullshit! Isn't that just Profound Frost Grass that only recently grew in the demon god barrier? Where did the 'hundred years' come from? Who are you trying to fool?"
"That just shows you're an amateur. 'Hundred years' refers to the medicinal potency contained in the herb."
"This batch of Profound Frost Grass was stimulated by the rule power of two worlds. The medicinal potency inside far exceeds that of a hundred-year herb."
"Heh..."
Lin Zheyu strolled through the market outside Ruyang City, listening with interest to the haggling between vendors and cultivators, picking up all kinds of interesting knowledge along the way.
This mortal market, because of the appearance of the demon god barrier, had begun to show signs of becoming an immortal market. Now that the space-time node had fully opened, the demon god barrier would likely become one of the places cultivators came to train and explore. Unlike his last visit, Lin Zheyu found that a special formation had now been set up around the market, barring ordinary people from entering. Only cultivators could enter this market now.
"Do you buy Demonic Flood-Dragon Bulls?" Lin Zheyu asked at a stall marked "purchasing yao flesh".
Before setting out for the demon god barrier last time, Lin Zheyu had specifically looked into which yaos and herbs were worth money and had deliberately harvested quite a few.
The stall owner smiled and said, "We do. But Demonic Flood-Dragon Bulls are not worth as much now. For an adult one, we only pay one hundred fifty low-grade spirit stones."
Things were valuable when rare. At the time, a powerful figure had been buying up Demonic Flood-Dragon Bull flesh in bulk, driving the price to the absurd height of three hundred low-grade spirit stones. Now that that person's demand had been satisfied, prices had fallen back to normal.
"Fine." Lin Zheyu took out more than a dozen storage pouches of different shapes from his robes and said, "Take a look at these yao corpses and demonic plants, then give me a price."
These storage pouches had all been taken from enemies. During this trip into the demon god barrier, Lin Zheyu had gained a large number of them. Had he not used some to contain the demonic river earlier, causing them to be ruined by erosion from demonic qi, he would have had even more.
Seeing Lin Zheyu produce so many storage pouches, the stall owner immediately broke into a warm smile. "Of course, Senior. Please wait a moment. I will appraise them for you right away."
He had finally found a big customer. True experts usually had powerful factions backing them and rarely dealt with small vendors like him to sell yao flesh and materials. In all his years running this stall, Lin Zheyu was only the second big client he had encountered. The middle-aged stall owner poured out the contents of each storage pouch one by one. As he looked at the dazzling variety of rare yaos, plants, and herbs, excitement lit up his eyes.
"Demonic Flood-Dragon Bull... Scarlet Ghost Toad... Unbidden Salamander... Hiss, you even found a rare yao like the Gray Demon Dove." The man could not help muttering in amazement, his heart surging with excitement. And it was not just yaos. Lin Zheyu's storage pouches also contained all sorts of strange and unusual herbs, most taken from enemies he had killed.
"Wow!"
After checking all the storage pouches, the man let out a long breath, suppressing his shock and delight.
"Senior, I can offer four mid-grade spirit stones for all these yao corpses and herbs," the man said respectfully. "Not only in this market, but even in the major markets nearby, it would also be hard to find a price this high. This is the sincerity of our Wanli Alliance. We hope that in the future, any yaos you kill or herbs you obtain can be sold to us."
As he spoke, he took out an ancient jade token from his storage pouch. Carved upon it was a soaring eagle with wings spread.
Holding the jade token in both hands, the man presented it respectfully as he said, "This is a VIP jade token of our Wanli Alliance. With this token, you may enjoy VIP privileges when purchasing goods at any Wanli Alliance shop."
"Alright." Lin Zheyu was somewhat surprised inwardly, but his expression did not change as he quietly put away the jade token.
He had heard of the Wanli Alliance. It was a well-known merchant alliance in the cultivation world. Its scale and strength could not match those of the Soaring Cloud Pavilion, but in certain areas, it had unique advantages. For example, in businesses related to yao flesh, materials, and rare items, the Wanli Alliance was the best in Great Wei's cultivation world.
Seeing Lin Zheyu accept the jade token, delight flashed across the man's face. He called over a companion and gave a few instructions. The companion turned and entered the shop behind them, then returned not long after with an exquisite storage pouch.
The man handed over the storage pouch respectfully with a smile. "These are your spirit stones, four mid-grade spirit stones in total. Please take them, senior."
"By the way, I hear the Wanli Alliance specializes in business related to yaos. Do you happen to have powerful demon arts for sale? Or research texts related to yao demonic patterns?" Lin Zheyu asked casually.
The middle-aged man smiled obsequiously and replied, "We do. But this branch of the Wanli Alliance is only a small outpost. If you wish to purchase demon arts or texts related to demonic patterns, you would need to go to a nearby immortal market."
"Oh. Do you have a map of Wanli Alliance shop locations? I have not been here long and am not familiar with the area."
He only knew of one immortal market, and he did not want to go there. That old man who looked every bit the immortal sage on the surface, yet gave Lin Zheyu a faint sense of danger, was someone he had no wish to encounter again. The old man's strength was unfathomable, mysterious in every way, and Lin Zheyu always felt he harbored ill intent.
The middle-aged man smiled and produced a jade slip. "Yes. These are the locations of all Wanli Alliance shops in Great Wei."
"Thanks." Lin Zheyu pressed the jade slip to his forehead. The locations of all publicly known immortal markets in Great Wei were marked within.
Even the locations of Wanli Alliance shops within major public-blessed lands and grotto-heavens were marked as well. The information was remarkably detailed. Strength truly made things convenient. Without Lin Zheyu needing to ingratiate himself, the Wanli Alliance had taken the initiative to court him, even offering a map of its shop locations.
"You are too polite, Senior. It is my honor to serve you!" the middle-aged man said with exaggerated humility.
Watching Lin Zheyu's departing figure, the man broke into a grin that only widened.
"Uncle, do you know that senior?" the young man beside him asked in confusion.
He had noticed his uncle was far more respectful toward that man than toward anyone else, almost to the point of shameless fawning. It was humility down in the dust.
"You brat, you should watch more, listen more, and learn more." The middle-aged man chuckled and said, "Anyone who can obtain this many rare yaos and so many valuable herbs, no matter how he got them, is not to be underestimated. Even among peak Foundation Establishment realm cultivators, he would be among the very top.
"His strength is secondary. The key is that experts like this usually have powerful backing and rarely come to sell yao flesh and materials to people like us. That is what makes him truly rare. Someone like this is worth lowering ourselves to befriend." The middle-aged man grinned.
He had given away his VIP jade token, which meant Lin Zheyu was now a client he had developed. As long as Lin Zheyu used that jade token to conduct transactions through the Wanli Alliance, he would receive a commission. That was why he had been so respectful and courteous.
***
Lin Zheyu rubbed the Wanli Alliance VIP jade token and pondered inwardly, The Wanli Alliance... I should find time to pay it a visit.
At the immortal market he had visited before, Lin Zheyu had also been to a Wanli Alliance shop, but because of his status and strength, he had only been able to buy ordinary goods. Whether the Wanli Alliance or the Soaring Cloud Pavilion, many things were not easily sold to outsiders. He had no access to their higher-level trading venues. As a result, the techniques he could purchase were extremely limited.
Of course, part of the reason was that Lin Zheyu had been poor and could not afford to spend much. If he had been wealthy, throwing down a few mid-grade spirit stones would have bought plenty of good things. He had been poor before, without enough spirit stones. But now, Lin Zheyu had struck it rich. He was seriously loaded.
Lin Zheyu made a round through the market, sold off all the odds and ends on him, and exchanged them for another three mid-grade spirit stones. Adding in the spirit stones from selling yao flesh and various herbs, plus the one mid-grade spirit stone Ji Ziyang had given him earlier, Lin Zheyu now had a total of eight mid-grade spirit stones. Converted into low-grade spirit stones, that was a full eight thousand.
"Fellow Daoist, I hear Tu Yuan's storage pouch is with you?" A young man in white approached with a smile and said, "I can offer five mid-grade spirit stones. Would you be willing to sell me Tu Yuan's storage pouch?"
That fellow Tu Yuan was fairly well known in the cultivation world, and the dharma artifacts he used were highly recognizable. When Lin Zheyu had asked around about the value of the artifacts in Tu Yuan's storage pouch, quite a few people had immediately recognized what he had.
"No. I plan to keep it for myself." Lin Zheyu shook his head.
Very good, the price had gone up again. Someone had offered four mid-grade spirit stones earlier, and Lin Zheyu had turned them down. The dharma artifacts in Tu Yuan's storage pouch were worth far more than he had imagined.
The young man smiled. "That is a pity. I am quite interested in those dharma artifacts of Tu Yuan's. They have some research value. Those artifacts are extremely precious to Tu Yuan. They are tied to the Golden Core realm he hopes to achieve. If you plan to wait for him to buy back his storage pouch, raise the price as high as you like. In the end, he will grit his teeth and pay, even if he has to swallow the loss."
"Many thanks for the advice." Lin Zheyu cupped his hands. He understood now. This youth had a grudge against Tu Yuan and deliberately came to make trouble for him.
"No need for thanks." The young man smiled, turned, and left, with no intention of befriending Lin Zheyu.
"Interesting. I did not expect Tu Yuan's dharma artifacts to be worth this much. If I do not fleece him hard this time, I would be doing those artifacts an injustice." Lin Zheyu smiled faintly and stopped asking around about their value. He would simply name a sky-high price and wait for the other side to bargain him down.
I will visit an immortal market, and while I am there, buy something for Elder Yang and Master as well.
A drop of kindness should be repaid with a spring. That was Lin Zheyu's principle. With his current strength, remaining in the Wuji Sect no longer brought benefits and might even bring trouble upon it. If he made enemies and they traced him back to being a Wuji Sect disciple, then even if he escaped, the sect could not.
Once outside the market, Lin Zheyu stepped forward. In two or three steps, he was already hundreds of meters away, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished entirely.
"So fast!"
"That's the Earth Shrinking Technique!"
"Who exactly is this guy? Good thing we did not make a move earlier, or we would be dead for sure!"
Expressions of shock appeared on many cultivators' faces outside the market.
Lin Zheyu had noticed these people long ago. But he was no longer the poor wretch he once was. He was newly rich, carrying a fortune of eight mid-grade spirit stones, plus Tu Yuan's highly valuable dharma artifacts. He could not even be bothered with the meager, low-grade spirit stones these people carried.
Deep in the wild mountains and forests, a man in green robes dressed as a scholar strolled leisurely down from the sky. It was Lin Zheyu, just arrived from the market outside Ruyang City. After comprehending the power of spatial rule, even his whole bearing had changed, becoming far more graceful and free.
"This is the place." Lin Zheyu landed lightly beside a stream. His spiritual sense extended outward and easily saw through the concealment in the mountain forest.
With a flip of his right hand, a low-grade spirit stone appeared. With a flick of his wrist, the spirit stone dropped neatly into a groove in the formation. Lin Zheyu stepped forward into the formation. Light flowed, and he vanished from the spot.
