Chapter 20: Trouble
Chapter 20: Chapter 20: Trouble
Spirit Treasure Pavilion.
The one who received Li Ping was, as usual, Miaorou.
Recently, in order to sell his Spirit Talismans for a higher price, Li Ping had been selling his crafted Spirit Talismans to various shops, getting to know each of the shopkeepers in the process.
However, when it came to buying resources, he still habitually came to the Spirit Treasure Pavilion.
This wasn’t because Shopkeeper Miao was particularly "large-minded," but purely a matter of habit.
A man’s habits can be very strange.
It was like that time in his past life when he would go for a bowl of beef noodles every day after work. This habit lasted for a full six months, and when he later "cheated on" the noodle shop for a certain Colonel’s chicken, the owner of the beef noodle shop had even started to wonder if something bad had happened to him.
...
Li Ping originally thought that as long as he had enough Spirit Stones, buying Talisman Ink and Spirit Wood would be easy.
But to his surprise, after he stated the items he needed, Miaorou put on a troubled expression.
"The Tier Two Middle Grade Talisman Ink is no problem. This Pavilion has enough in stock to satisfy your needs, Fellow Daoist," Miaorou said with a wry smile. "But as for the Tier Two Middle Grade Spirit Wood... although we have a small amount of this Spiritual Object, I cannot sell it to you."
Li Ping was puzzled. "And why is that?"
Miaorou began to explain, "You must know, Fellow Daoist, that the Spirit Treasure Pavilion is backed by the Chi Kingdom’s Sword Washing Pool. I myself am one of the Sword Washing Pool’s Stewards. Our sect is renowned throughout the neighboring kingdoms for its skill in Artifact Refining. The reason we opened this Spirit Treasure Pavilion in the Immortal City is twofold: first, to sell finished products like the Dharma Artifacts our sect produces, and second, to acquire basic materials from the Cloud Mist Mountain Range."
"These acquired basic materials must all be sent back to the sect for our Artifact Refiners to forge into Dharma Artifacts, which are then sold. I simply have no authority to dispose of them myself." Miaorou looked at Li Ping. "And as far as I know, it’s not just the Spirit Treasure Pavilion. The others, like the Ten Thousand Laws Tower and the Thousand Stars Tower, all operate the same way."
Li Ping now understood.
It wasn’t that the Spirit Treasure Pavilion didn’t have Tier Two Spirit Wood; it was that they planned to refine it into Dharma Artifacts before selling it to maximize their profits.
For example, the Tier Two Middle Grade Spirit Wood Li Ping needed could be used to refine Tier Two Middle Grade Dharma Artifacts or Talisman Paper of the corresponding grade. By doing so, its value would increase several times over.
Therefore, they were naturally unwilling to sell the raw Spirit Wood directly.
Realizing this, Li Ping felt a headache coming on.
’It seems if I want to get the Spirit Wood, my only option is to try buying it directly from Loose Cultivators.’
Loose Cultivators lacked the ability to process the Spirit Wood further. Even if they were reluctant, they could only sell it at a low price. If Li Ping offered a price slightly higher than the merchant guilds, those Loose Cultivators would probably not refuse to trade with him.
The problem was, Spirit Wood that reached Tier Two Middle Grade was extremely rare, even in the Cloud Mist Mountain Range. Moreover, he needed a section that was three chi long.
Such a Spiritual Material wasn’t something that turned up often. He would likely have to wait a very long time.
And when one did appear, he would have to compete with the major merchant guilds for it.
Alternatively, if he was willing to pay double the price or even more—essentially letting these major guilds rip him off—they might agree to sell the Spirit Wood to him.
In other words, for Li Ping to get the Tier Two Middle Grade Spirit Wood now, he had to spend either time or Spirit Stones.
At this thought, his brow furrowed unconsciously.
...
Seeing Li Ping’s frown, Miaorou suddenly spoke up. "Fellow Daoist Li, if you’re really in urgent need of Tier Two Middle Grade Spirit Wood, I might have a solution."
"Oh?" Li Ping raised an eyebrow. "I’m listening."
Meeting Li Ping’s gaze, the woman deliberately stretched her body, putting her ample chest and slender waist on full display before him.
Then, she let out a soft sigh and said in a gentle voice, "The Pavilion has a batch of recently acquired Spiritual Materials that need to be sent back to the Chi Kingdom. I was supposed to escort this shipment myself, but I’ve reached a critical moment in cultivating a Secret Technique and simply cannot get away. If you could make the trip in my place, Fellow Daoist Li, then I’m willing to risk punishment and sell you a stalk of Tier Two Middle Grade Spirit Wood at our acquisition price."
After saying this, she looked at Li Ping with eyes that shimmered like autumn waters.
Her gaze seemed to hint that if he agreed to her request, he would be doing her a huge favor, and perhaps something more could develop between them.
In Miaorou’s eyes, her offer was exceedingly generous.
Li Ping would only need to escort one shipment of goods to be able to buy a stalk of Tier Two Middle Grade Spirit Wood at a low price, saving several hundred Spirit Stones. On top of that, he would earn the favor of a graceful and charming female Foundation Establishment Cultivator like herself, with the potential for their relationship to deepen in the future.
What reason did Li Ping have to refuse?
But little did she know, the moment she finished speaking, Li Ping’s internal alarms went off.
After guessing that he might have accidentally been dragged into a dispute between Core Formation Level powers, Li Ping had made up his mind never to leave the Immortal City.
Because of this worry, he had even given up his plan to return to the Jiang Kingdom to see his Master one last time.
’And now, this Miaorou wants to use Spirit Wood as payment to get me to make a trip to the Chi Kingdom?’
’Is she doing this unintentionally, or is she deliberately trying to lure me out of the city?’
’Could the matter with Lin Yue have something to do with the Sword Washing Pool?’
...
As numerous doubts flashed through his mind, Li Ping shook his head inwardly. ’No matter what she’s planning, until the time is right, I will not take a single step out of the Immortal City.’
As for when the time would be right?
In Li Ping’s view, his situation would change under two possible scenarios. At that point, no one would be paying attention to his movements anymore, and he would be safe.
The first was that Dai Sangyu would slay the mysterious person who harmed Lin Yue, achieve Perfection in her state of mind, and attempt to break through to the Core Formation realm.
The second was that the mysterious person would never be found, and Dai Sangyu, unable to achieve Perfection in her state of mind, would eventually pass away with regret.
From what Li Ping knew, Dai Sangyu was already over 170 years old. So even in the worst-case scenario, he would only have to lie low for about thirty years at most.
As a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, he could afford to be a shut-in for that long.
Besides, the Immortal City wasn’t lacking in resources. Staying inside wouldn’t affect his cultivation during the Foundation Establishment stage.
With these thoughts in mind, Li Ping looked at Miaorou and shook his head. "I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you, Fairy. I’ve been quite busy with my own affairs lately, so I don’t think I have the time to make a trip for you."
Hearing Li Ping’s words, a look of surprise flashed in Miaorou’s eyes. It seemed she hadn’t expected him to refuse so decisively.
She was about to try persuading him again, but Li Ping had already taken 300 Spirit Stones from his Storage Bag. "Never mind the Spirit Wood. Here are the Spirit Stones for the Talisman Ink. Please accept them, Fairy. As for the escort mission, you’d best find someone more suitable."
Miaorou opened her mouth, but in the end, she said nothing more. Instead, she accepted the Spirit Stones with a smile and retrieved three sheng of Tier Two Middle Grade Talisman Ink for Li Ping.
After checking that everything was in order, Li Ping put the Talisman Ink into his Storage Bag.
He cupped his fists in a brief salute and turned to leave without another word.