Chapter 9: Preparations Before the Cyan Rattan Stream
Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Preparations Before the Cyan Rattan Stream
As Lu Zhao left the side hall and stepped into the Guest Minister Pavilion’s Library Pavilion, a memory from three years ago surfaced.
At that time, he had just become a Lowest-Rank Guest Minister. Upon learning of the Library Pavilion’s existence, he had rushed over, eager to exchange for a technique. When the Steward announced the price, "The Wind Manipulation Technique costs five Spirit Stones...," he fell silent for a long time and ultimately left without exchanging for anything.
Returning to this place today, his state of mind was completely different. He now had the means to exchange for a technique.
He picked up a Jade Scroll from a counter. The scroll was pure white, no more than half a foot long. On its front, the three words "Wind Manipulation Technique" were carved in small, ancient seal characters. This was the technique he wanted to exchange for.
Lu Zhao walked to the counter. The Steward yawned and said in a lazy tone, "Mr. Lu, are you sure you want to exchange for this? This technique is quite difficult to cultivate. Last month, another cultivator tried to force it and supposedly damaged his meridians..."
"I’ll take it." Lu Zhao pushed five Spirit Stones across the counter without the slightest hesitation.
The moment the Jade Scroll touched his forehead, a massive amount of knowledge flooded into him. In his Sea of Consciousness, the figure of a person walking on the wind appeared. Lu Zhao guessed it was an ancestor of the Zhou Family. As the figure moved, the secrets of Spiritual Qi flow slowly merged with his Spiritual Soul.
A quarter of an hour later, Lu Zhao frowned and pressed his temples. He felt a headache, as if tiny needles were pricking him. The Little Spirit Rain Technique activated on its own, slowly easing the stabbing pain.
’These Jade Scroll transmissions are great in every way, except they consume too much Divine Sense,’ he thought. ’Even though I’m already at Mid-stage Qi Cultivation, I still find it taxing.’
After putting down the Jade Scroll and fully comprehending the Wind Manipulation Technique, he suddenly understood why the Zhou Family disciples always seemed sluggish when using it. This technique was tailor-made for cultivators with a Wind Spirit Root.
For those with other Spiritual Roots, cultivating it was not only an uphill battle but also resulted in power far inferior to that of a Wind Spirit Root Cultivator.
Of course, the Wind Manipulation Technique wasn’t the only Escape Technique available in the Library Pavilion.
The reason Lu Zhao chose it was because there were few Water Element Escape Techniques to begin with, and none were suitable for his current level of Cultivation.
After much deliberation, he reluctantly decided to exchange for the Wind Manipulation Technique. Even if the attribute wasn’t a match, its power would not be lacking if he cultivated it to a deep level.
Besides the Wind Manipulation Technique, he also exchanged for a technique called the Water Nurturing Technique. This technique served for both Healing and Detoxification, making it perfectly suited for the environment of Cyan Rattan Stream.
This was his third time here. When he had first become an Honored Guest Elder and heard that he could freely exchange for techniques, he had been overjoyed, exclaiming at the Zhou Family’s generosity for not treating its Honored Guest Elders like Outsiders.
It wasn’t until he experienced it for himself that he learned that while the Library Pavilion had a vast collection, it contained no Cultivation Hundred Arts Collection, no precious Cultivation Techniques, and even had restrictions on cultivation.
Furthermore, exchanging for any technique required swearing a Heart Demon Oath: it could only be used for one’s own cultivation and not be passed on to others. Otherwise, the technique would backlash, causing damage to one’s Divine Sense at best, or inducing Qi deviation at worst.
Even so, such generosity was considered rare in the Cultivation Realm.
After leaving the Library Pavilion, Lu Zhao decided to try his luck at the various shops in the Marketplace—he planned to find a shop for a stable partnership, one that would sell his Puppets on consignment.
Three hours later, Lu Zhao was in a shop.
"Not interested." The fat Shopkeeper behind the Ironwood counter didn’t even look up, twirling his rat-like whiskers as he spoke with a sharp tone, "Mr. Lu, your Puppets are exquisite, I’ll give you that. But Demon Hunters need a Shield Puppet that can withstand a charge from a Black-toothed Pig. What’s the use of these fancy trinkets?"
He flicked the Puppet away with a finger, and the Cyan-striped Mouse Puppet skittered across the green brick floor, striking sparks.
Lu Zhao’s fists clenched at the sight, but he eventually relaxed them. He silently retrieved his Puppet. This was already the fifth shop, and most of the Shopkeepers had shown no interest.
Only Shopkeeper Wang of Lianyun Tower in the East Market had been interested, but his offer was only sixty percent of the market price, and he even tried to convince Lu Zhao it was a high offer. Besides him, an old Cultivator at the Artifact Refining Workshop on South Street had stared at the Puppet Core for half an hour before saying regretfully, "I’ll pass."
After visiting five shops without a break, only one had been willing to accept, and the terms weren’t good.
Shopkeeper Wang of Lianyun Tower was only willing to purchase the Cyan-striped Mouse Puppet for six Spirit Stones, which was much lower than Lu Zhao’s expected price.
He decided to head to the last one—Nine Abyss Pavilion.
He still held a sliver of hope for this negotiation. He remembered the Shopkeeper’s words from last time; that meaningful "interested" had to mean something.
Pushing open the doors to Nine Abyss Pavilion, he saw the old Shopkeeper fiddling with abacus beads with his Cyan Jade Pipe. Seeing Lu Zhao enter, his withered fingers suddenly pressed down on the rolling Ink Jade Beads. "Mr. Lu, were those leftover pieces of Wind Pattern Stone from last month useful?"
"They were useful enough."
Seeing the Shopkeeper fall silent, Lu Zhao felt a slight chill in his heart but kept a placid expression as he placed the Puppet Guard and the Cyan-striped Mouse Puppet on the counter.
The Puppet Guard suddenly vibrated and turned its head to look at the Shopkeeper.
"This is a new ’warning’ function I developed these past few days."
"Pardon my crude craftsmanship."
The old Shopkeeper’s cloudy eyes shifted to him. "Mr. Lu, you must have guessed that I intend to purchase your Puppets."
Lu Zhao nodded. The last time they spoke, the Shopkeeper had mentioned being interested in his new Puppets, which had led him to suspect as much.
With that, the Shopkeeper lifted a hidden compartment in the counter and took out a Soul Contract.
"If you are willing to sign a three-year exclusive contract, Mr. Lu, I am willing to purchase these Lower Grade Puppets at a price of eight Spirit Stones each, with a guaranteed minimum of five per month."
Lu Zhao took the contract and examined it closely. It was a Tier One High-Grade Soul Contract. Its binding force wasn’t particularly strong, but it was more than enough for a Qi Cultivator.
"And if I occasionally sell them myself..."
"The selling price must not be lower than Nine Abyss Pavilion’s."
Amidst the crisp sound of the pipe tapping on the green bricks, the Shopkeeper’s eyelids lifted slightly. "Of course, if you manage to refine a Puppet that can fly, then we can certainly discuss the terms."
The Cinnabar Seal on the contract glowed with a blood-red light. Lu Zhao paused his gaze on the clause stating "priority supply to Nine Abyss Pavilion."
’The terms are quite generous,’ he thought after reading it. ’As long as I don’t sell the Puppets to other merchants within three years, it won’t be a breach of contract.’
The old Shopkeeper muttered, seemingly to himself, "The Zhou Family has been searching for Flying Puppets recently..." His withered fingertip drew the character for "two" on the tabletop before quickly wiping it away.
After leaving Nine Abyss Pavilion, Lu Zhao stepped into "Fuyang Studio"—the largest Talisman trading post in the Zhou Family Marketplace. It was said that even Tier Two Talismans had appeared there before.
He didn’t go to the area where Wanderers set up their stalls. They mainly sold Tier One Lower Grade Talismans, and he needed Tier One Middle-Grade Talismans.
"Ten Tier One Middle-Grade Wind-controlling Talismans, ten Tier One Middle-Grade Vajra Talismans, and two Tier One High-Grade Fire Bird Talismans."
"That’ll be three Spirit Stones in total."
After paying, he only had seventeen Spirit Stones left in his Storage Bag.
Next, he still had to go to the Zhang Family’s Alchemy Room to buy medicine. He didn’t know how many Spirit Stones he would have left.
After rushing around all day, he returned to his small courtyard to find his Storage Bag considerably fuller:
Three Tier One Middle-Grade Antitoxic Pills, worth two Spirit Stones;
One Tier One Middle-Grade Spirit Recovery Pill, worth three Spirit Stones.
The former were for Detoxification. The latter, as its name implied, could instantly restore thirty percent of a Qi Cultivation Middle Stage Cultivator’s Magical Power upon consumption.
Entering the cellar of his small courtyard, the air was filled with the scent of Cyan Pattern Wood and the metallic tang of rat blood, yet it made him feel incredibly at ease.
The Zhou Family had given him seven days to prepare before heading to Cyan Rattan Stream.
His Puppet Materials were running low. For the next six days, aside from his daily cultivation, he planned to do only one thing:
--hunt Spirit-Devouring Rats and the Rat King with all his might.