Chapter 161 Market

The stall owner glanced at the newcomer—a cultivator at the third layer of Qi Refining. The herbs appeared out of thin air in her hand, indicating she possessed one and only one storage pouch. He then looked at the Spirit Gathering Grass in her hand. It was a fifty-year-old Spirit Gathering Grass, as fresh as if it had just been plucked and brimming with spiritual energy. However, it hadn't been kept in a medicine box, which had caused some damage to its leaves, resulting in a poor appearance.

Wearing the professional, squinting smile of a seasoned merchant, he said, "I'll take it! I wonder how much more the fellow Daoist has."

"How much is this spiritual herb worth in Fellow Daoist's eyes?"

"It's already winter now. Fellow Daoist probably plucked this several months ago. Due to improper preservation, a lot of spiritual energy has been lost. Since Fellow Daoist only has a single stalk, I can only offer you this much." As he spoke, the stall owner extended a single finger.

Yun Qing frowned slightly. She knew that improper preservation simply meant it had spent months sitting in the system backpack where time stood still, so she had no real objection to his assessment. She could tell right away that he was trying to beat down the price, but what on earth was she supposed to make of him holding up a single finger? Was a single finger supposed to buy a stalk of spiritual herb? Was she supposed to take a finger back and feed it to the great eagle?

Song Bin had told her that she could shop around, so she wasn't worried about being forced to make a deal at this particular stall. With a smile, she held up two fingers.

The stall owner's smiling expression shifted instantly. He shook his head and stubbornly held up a single finger once more.

Yun Qing felt a wave of frustration. What was with all the charades? She retrieved the stalk of spiritual herb, stood up, and prepared to check out other stalls.

"Eleven low-grade spirit stones. Not a single stone more." The stall owner's voice transmission echoed in her mind.

Yun Qing let out a long sigh of relief, finally understanding how many spirit stones the stall owner's single finger represented: ten low-grade spirit stones. The sixty-odd stalks of Spirit Gathering Grass in her backpack, taken together, could sell for over six hundred low-grade spirit stones. Well, perhaps due to differences in age and quality, the exact yield of spirit stones might vary slightly.

"Many thanks, Fellow Daoist. I'll go have a look elsewhere."

"If you have more than ten stalks, I can buy them at twelve low-grade spirit stones each. That's the highest price I can offer."

The price seemed quite fair indeed, but Yun Qing, still unsure of the market value, had made up her mind to leave. She cupped her fists in salute to the stall owner and walked deeper into Transverse Third Street.

After visiting two more stalls, she confirmed the going rate for Spirit Gathering Grass: most places bought them at a flat rate of ten low-grade spirit stones.

Judging by the price of the Spirit Gathering Grass, six hundred low-grade spirit stones would certainly not be enough to buy everything she needed.

Yun Qing moved on to yet another stall. This time, the stall owner was a young, handsome male cultivator in the mid-stage of Qi Refining, distinguished by a pair of exceptionally thick eyebrows.

She produced a spirit ibex horn and asked, "Fellow Daoist, do you buy these horns?"

The stall owner gestured toward the table with an inviting motion. "Please place it here, Fellow Daoist, and allow me to inspect it closely."

Spirit ibex horns were not as easily identifiable as Spirit Gathering Grass; careful observation was normal, so Yun Qing placed it on the table as requested.

A fifth-tier spirit ibex horn—intact, exceptionally well-preserved, with zero loss of spiritual energy. It was a fine piece of goods.

The stall owner raised his thick eyebrows and sized Yun Qing up: This female cultivator possessed striking looks, yet she wore a cloak simply cobbled together from the pelts of fierce beasts. Due to poor craftsmanship, the spiritual energy had leaked severely, revealing only that it was pieced together from spirit ibex fur. Underneath, she wore the rough cloth and fur garments of a mortal summer outfit, and her shoes were ordinary mortal footwear as well. She carried no extra storage pouches, possessed the cultivation base of the third layer of Qi Refining, yet was attempting to sell items belonging to the Foundation Establishment stage without even setting up a barrier.

The stall owner quickly formed his conclusion: This person had no cultivation background, no backing, and was simply a destitute rogue cultivator who had likely stumbled upon the spirit ibex horn by pure luck.

He extended a single finger to probe the situation. Those who knew the market value generally knew what things were worth, while those who didn't would have to see if he could pull off a successful bargain-hunting coup.

Seeing the stall owner extend his single finger once again, Yun Qing felt utterly exhausted. Gritting her teeth inwardly, she thought: *For heaven's sake, can't you just speak like a normal human being?*

This time, she responded by holding up an entire palm's worth of fingers.

A fleeting look of disdain crossed the stall owner's face, a silent expression of "impossible" and "you must be joking." He transmitted his voice: "Your spirit ibex horn was harvested with poor technique, damaging the base. Many artifact refiners dislike flawed items like this. Judging by the thickness of the horn, its value is at best that of a third-tier spirit ibex horn. One hundred low-grade spirit stones is already the absolute highest price."

Yun Qing felt utterly drained. So this stall owner's finger was worth one hundred low-grade spirit stones, not ten.

The spirit ibex was a creature far superior to her own level. When harvesting materials from the carcasses of spirit ibexes, she certainly hadn't used any specialized collection techniques, so it was entirely possible she hadn't harvested it cleanly. As for the stall owner claiming the horn wasn't thick enough, could that be because she had hunted the spirit ibex in the summer?

As for the tier of this spirit ibex horn, it certainly wasn't third-tier; it had to be either fourth or fifth-tier, because none of the spirit ibexes she and the great eagle had killed were third-tier. The fourth and fifth-tier spirit ibex horns were all tossed together in a single grid of her system backpack, so she had no way of telling them apart.

In truth, one hundred low-grade spirit stones was quite a good price for her current situation. She had eighteen of them, which would amount to nearly two thousand low-grade spirit stones. However, the stall owner's earlier sneer had left a bad taste in her mouth. She had no desire to haggle with him and decided to take her business elsewhere.

Picking up the spirit ibex horn from the table, Yun Qing said, "Thank you, Fellow Daoist, but I won't be selling it."

Seeing this, the stall owner stopped using voice transmission and said aloud, "We were negotiating just fine, why aren't you selling anymore?"

Yun Qing didn't reply and turned to leave. The fact that this stall owner had abandoned voice transmission meant he was bullying her because she didn't know how to set up a soundproofing barrier.

Seeing that Yun Qing was still walking away, the young man grew displeased and raised his voice, "It's just a paltry spirit ibex horn, yet you had the audacity to ask for five hundred low-grade spirit stones! You won't be able to sell it anywhere!"

When she had held up her palm, she hadn't meant she wanted to sell it for five hundred low-grade spirit stones at all—she had just been playing along with his ridiculous guessing games! But while everyone else conducted their business quietly through voice transmission, this stall owner had bellowed out the random price she had gestured. Wasn't that a complete lack of professional ethics?

Yun Qing's expression shifted slightly, and she frowned in displeasure. "Thank you, Fellow Daoist, but I am simply not selling."

A destitute cultivator with such a low cultivation base dared to put on airs in front of him? Anger flashed across the stall owner's face as he shouted, "Did everyone hear that? This fellow Daoist claims she's not selling anymore—no one is allowed to buy her things!"

Yun Qing took a deep breath. Duan Mengrou had once told her that doing business within merchant caravans required specialized training. The very first lesson their caravan leader had taught them was that even if negotiations fell through, one should always leave room for reconciliation. After all, in this cultivation world where weapons were unregulated, the ultimate end of failed negotiations was bloodshed and murder to vent one's spleen.

"Liu Liu, are the cultivators in Profound Crystal City all this hot-tempered, or is it just that the better-looking and younger ones have worse tempers?"

"Who knows what goes on in you humans' minds?"

The man didn't even understand the basic business principle that harmony brings wealth. Fighting wasn't allowed in the city; at worst, people would just exchange a few heated shouts. If she started a shouting match with him here, even if she won the verbal sparring, she would merely be providing free entertainment for these bored stall owners and potentially making an enemy.

Yun Qing smiled, cupped her fists, and said, "I wish Fellow Daoist booming business and boundless wealth."

The young stall owner didn't reply. Having rarely experienced a smooth business transaction in his life, his face flushed hot and red, whether from anger or embarrassment.

Just as Yun Qing was about to stride away, a system notification suddenly flashed before her eyes:

"Wei Ji's hatred value toward you +10."

"Wei Ji's hatred value toward you has increased to suspicion."

This notification startled her. She hastily glanced back at the young stall owner who had already turned his back. Above his head floated the same white text: Name Unknown.

It wasn't him!