Besides the Blaze Talismans, Jiang Qihe priced the other two types of spirit talismans at six spirit stones each as well.
With over a hundred spirit talismans plus the price difference of over a hundred spirit stones for the previous batch, a total of nearly eight hundred spirit stones landed in her hands.
Storing away the spirit stones, Shi Yu sauntered over to the counters displaying various spiritual materials, wanting to see if she could find anything suitable for refining magical robes and weapons.
Transparent boxes of varying sizes were set on the counter. It appeared Tongyi Pavilion had yet to resolve its supply issues; half of these boxes were completely empty, while the rest held items of mixed quality.
Shi Yu swept her gaze across them. The most eye-catching item held within the boxes was a tail from a Mystic Ice Fox, pure white as snow and radiating a biting cold air. The tail was full, fluffy, and exceptionally beautiful. Judging by the bright spiritual light shimmering upon it, the Mystic Ice Fox must have possessed cultivation equivalent to a human cultivator's Foundation Establishment Realm.
“The quality is good, but unfortunately, its attribute doesn't suit me.”
Shaking her head, she looked at the other boxes; their contents were either lower in quality or possessed the wrong attributes.
Sifting through the selection, the only items that met her needs were a dozen or so feathers from a Golden-Winged Bird—dazzling and golden as the sun—and a few pieces of grayish-white Soul Frost Jade.
This handful of materials was naturally not enough. Shi Yu hesitated for a moment before turning her gaze back to the pile of spiritual materials she had previously overlooked.
“Should I just make do and pick a few more?”
On the other side, Jiang Qihe was in high spirits after closing this transaction. After carefully putting away the stack of spirit talismans, he returned to Shi Yu and asked, “Young Master Shi, is there anything else you require?”
Shi Yu pointed out the few items she had just selected and asked helplessly, “Manager Jiang, are these all the spiritual materials in the store? I still need some python-type spirit beast hides and spiritual items like Moonlight Stones.”
Hearing the items she requested, Jiang Qihe guessed she probably wanted to hire a weapon refiner to craft magical robes and artifacts.
This was quite common; if one commissioned a weapon refiner, one naturally had to provide the raw materials.
A touch of shame crossed his face. “These are all we have in the store today. However, if you write down a list of what you need, Young Master, and drop by again in a day or two when you're free, our stock should be much more complete.”
“Or, if you leave an address, I can search through the shipment once it arrives and bring whatever you need straight to you at the earliest opportunity.”
Come back in a day or two... Shi Yu had previously heard Jiang Qihe say that the merchant caravan transporting goods was blocked by spirit beasts and couldn't enter. Has that issue been resolved now?
Since she was fairly familiar with Jiang Qihe by now, she asked directly, “Is Tongyi Pavilion's merchant caravan able to enter now?”
Jiang Qihe gave a bitter smile and shook his head. “You must have rarely stepped outside recently, Young Master. Do you not know the current situation?”
Having spent most of her time holed up in her small courtyard cultivating with no acquaintances to exchange news with, her information was naturally quite behind.
Shi Yu blinked, adopting a receptive posture that indicated she was all ears.
There weren't many customers in the shop, and Jiang Qihe happened to be free, so he decided to tell her everything that had transpired recently.
He turned his gaze toward the towering mountains outside the window. “As far as the eye can see, the land beneath our feet—these mountains stretching for thousands of miles—is called the Fulong Mountain Range. The Yuxu Sect was established here, and this market was built relying on the Yuxu Sect. Yet all of this is merely the outer perimeter of the Fulong Mountain Range.”
“Deep within the mountain range lie endless dangers that ordinary cultivators dare not tread upon. However, the outer perimeter only harbors low-cultivation spirit beasts. Furthermore, with Yuxu Sect disciples conducting regular cleanups and rogue cultivators from the market going out to hunt, the outer perimeter has always been considered safe.”
Shi Yu had firsthand experience with this.
After the Immortal Destiny Gathering, when she had followed a few Yuxu Sect disciples here for the first time, traveling from the foot of the Yuxu Sect's mountain to the market, she hadn't encountered a single spirit beast along the way—only mundane birds and animals.
“However...” Jiang Qihe's tone shifted. “A while back, for some unknown reason, spirit beast activity suddenly flared up, and many powerful spirit beasts from deep within the mountain range fled outward.”
Shi Yu had previously heard about the frequent spirit beast activity from a shop assistant at Tongyi Pavilion.
She just hadn't expected that after so long, it still hadn't come to an end.
She lifted her eyelashes, her eyes clear as spring water. “Manager Jiang, I've been cultivating behind closed doors lately and haven't left my home, so I'm unaware of the current state of affairs. Could you explain it to me in more detail?”
She was young, and as she looked up with a pure, earnest expression on her delicate face, it was impossible not to feel fond of her.
Jiang Qihe nodded with a smile and continued, “Seven or eight days ago, several spirit beasts equivalent to the late stage of the Qi Refining Realm burst into the market, killing and injuring many mortals and quite a few cultivators.”
“Seeing the situation worsen, the Yuxu Sect formed an official defensive line three days ago to resist and eradicate the spirit beasts fleeing from deep within the mountain range.”
“In addition to deploying their own disciples, the Yuxu Sect called upon rogue cultivators in the market who have reached the mid stage of the Qi Refining Realm or higher to join. Whatever spoils they hunt down belong to the rogue cultivators themselves.”
(Layers one to three of the Qi Refining Realm were the early stage, layers four to six were the mid stage, layers seven to nine were the late stage, and reaching full saturation at layer nine was the Great Perfection of Qi Refining.)
Rogue cultivators lacked legacies and resources, making cultivation arduous; reaching the mid stage of the Qi Refining Realm was already considered quite remarkable.
From Jiang Qihe's subsequent words, Shi Yu learned that rogue cultivators usually relied on hunting spirit beasts and selling their hides, scales, viscera, and other spiritual materials to earn spirit stones.
Now, with a major sect spearheading the effort and the hunted spirit beasts belonging to themselves, everyone was more than happy to participate.
The defensive line was twenty miles from the market. With large crowds gathering, the cultivators who obtained various spirit beast materials during the resistance often chose not to waste time returning to the market to sell them, opting instead to set up stalls right on the spot.
“That being said...” Jiang Qihe paused before continuing, “the reason I asked you to return in a day or two, Young Master, is because I've already dispatched people to purchase goods over at the defensive line. When you come next time, our stock will be far more abundant.”
Shi Yu nodded to show her understanding.
Jiang Qihe pondered for a moment and added, “If you are in a hurry, Young Master, why don't I accompany you to the defensive line today? You might be able to pick out quite a few fine items there.”
“What do you think, Young Master?”
After listening to Jiang Qihe, Shi Yu indeed was inclined to pay a visit.
At a temporary market formed on the spot by cultivators who hunted spirit beasts, one might run into quite a few treasures if luck was on their side.
However, traveling there with her current cultivation at the second layer of the Qi Refining Realm, she couldn't guarantee she wouldn't encounter troublesome spirit beasts along the way. Nor could she guarantee that, after selecting desired items in such a crowded and mixed place, she wouldn't be targeted by those with ill intent.
Jiang Qihe possessed cultivation in the late stage of the Qi Refining Realm. Having him along would naturally be much safer. Furthermore, most rogue cultivators recognized his status as a manager of Tongyi Pavilion, which would save a lot of trouble.
Seeing that she was tempted, Jiang Qihe chuckled and added, “As it happens, I was planning to head over and buy a few things myself.”
Though he put it that way, Shi Yu didn't want to accept a favor for nothing. Jiang Qihe was a pavilion manager after all; there was no need for him to personally go and make purchases.
After some thought, she retrieved ten spirit talismans from the Yin-Yang Fate-Tapping Bell. “It wouldn't be right for me to make you take a trip specifically on my behalf, Manager Jiang. How about I give these ten spirit talismans to you as a gift?”
Ten spirit talismans were worth sixty spirit stones—quite a generous gesture.
Jiang Qihe was pleasantly surprised, naturally. Rather than politely declining, he accepted the spirit talismans openly and said, “Your spirit talismans are several degrees more powerful than ordinary ones, Young Master. The previous batch was small in quantity, so selling them off didn't give them enough time to create a big splash.”
“However, after today's batch, their reputation will surely spread across the market. By then, I fear even a single talisman will be hard to come by...”
“For me to receive these ten sheets is truly benefiting from your generosity, Young Master.”
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