Chapter 22: Purple-veined Wood
Chapter 22: Chapter 22: Purple-veined Wood
To Li Ping’s surprise, he soon had a lead on acquiring the Tier Two Middle Grade Spirit Wood he was looking for.
However, the news didn’t come from Gumu Sheng, on whom Li Ping had pinned his hopes. Instead, it was Bai Qing, the seventh and youngest brother of the Friends Association, who informed him.
Led by Bai Qing, Li Ping once again arrived at the Bai family’s residence in the Immortal City.
...
Entering the small courtyard, Li Ping was greeted not only by the Bai family’s white-haired, youthful-faced old ancestor, but also by a square-jawed, middle-aged cultivator who followed behind the ancestor, attending to him carefully.
The moment he saw Li Ping, a delighted expression appeared on the Bai family ancestor’s face. "Fellow Daoist Li, come, come, please have a seat!"
Li Ping’s gaze swept over the square-jawed middle-aged cultivator. A smile also on his face, he calmly walked forward and sat down opposite the Bai family ancestor.
At a glance from the Bai family ancestor, Bai Qing and the other attendants respectfully withdrew. However, the square-jawed middle-aged cultivator remained standing behind the ancestor, showing no intention of leaving.
"Speaking of which, the storm you’ve stirred up recently, Fellow Daoist Li, has truly astonished me," the Bai family ancestor said with a smile as soon as they were seated. "I had no idea you were also a great Talisman Master."
He had originally thought Li Ping was just an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator. Even after learning from Bai Qing that Li Ping was a Tier One Upper Grade Talisman Maker, he hadn’t paid it much mind.
Tier One skills, while valuable, were not particularly rare.
But over the past few months, Li Ping had demonstrated a terrifying speed in creating talismans, single-handedly crashing the market for Tier One Spirit Talismans in the Immortal City. From his success rate, any discerning person could easily tell that he was not far from becoming a Tier Two Talisman Maker.
A Foundation Establishment Cultivator *and* a Tier Two Talisman Maker!
This made the Bai family ancestor value Li Ping even more, making him even more desperate to rope him into the Bai family as an Honored Guest Elder.
Hearing the ancestor’s words, Li Ping shook his head. "You’re too kind, Fellow Daoist Bai. A mere Tier One skill is not worth mentioning."
The Bai family ancestor laughed heartily. "Haha... Fellow Daoist Li, you’re too modest. No ordinary Tier One Talisman Maker could achieve such a high success rate."
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Li Ping finally stated his purpose. "Fellow Daoist Bai, I heard from that boy Bai Qing that you happen to have a three-foot-long piece of Tier Two Middle Grade ’Purple Vein Wood’ that you wish to sell. I wonder if this news is true?"
Upon hearing this, a flicker of pride, almost imperceptible, flashed in the Bai family ancestor’s eyes. He smiled and said, "Indeed. I happened to find this Purple Vein Wood on an adventure just after I reached Foundation Establishment. When I first discovered it, it was already over a hundred years old and had reached the Tier Two Lower Grade."
Pausing to observe the change in Li Ping’s expression, the ancestor continued, "Later, I transplanted it into our family’s Tier Two Spiritual Land and have been carefully cultivating it ever since. Its age is now approaching three hundred years, and its quality has reached Tier Two Middle Grade."
"Originally, I planned to find an Artifact Refiner to craft this ’Purple Vein Wood’ into several Tier Two Middle Grade Dharma Artifacts to leave for the younger generation of my family. But since you need it, Fellow Daoist Li..." As he spoke, the ancestor looked at the square-jawed middle-aged cultivator behind him. "Mingde, bring out that ’Purple Vein Wood’ for Fellow Daoist Li to see."
The square-jawed man attending to him quickly replied, "Yes, Ancestor."
He then slapped the Storage Bag at his waist and took out an exquisite Jade Box about four feet long. A Sealing Spirit Talisman was affixed to the box, its main purpose being to prevent the spiritual nature of the object inside from leaking.
As he took out the Jade Box, the Bai family ancestor introduced him to Li Ping.
It turned out this square-jawed middle-aged man was the current Patriarch of the Bai family, a Qi Refining Ninth Level cultivator named Bai Mingde.
Bai Mingde peeled off the Spirit Talisman and opened the box with a CLICK. He then took out a piece of Spirit Wood about three and a half feet long and carefully placed it on the table.
Li Ping’s gaze was instantly captivated by the Spirit Wood.
The root of the Spirit Wood was wrapped in a clump of spiritual soil to keep it alive. Its main trunk was straight and bare, without a single branch, about the thickness of an adult’s forearm. Faint purple veins were visible on its pale green bark.
Just as the Bai family ancestor had said, this was a piece of Purple Vein Wood that had reached Tier Two Middle Grade. Even without the roots, its length was slightly over three feet, perfectly meeting Li Ping’s requirements.
"What do you think? Does this Purple Vein Wood meet your needs, Fellow Daoist?" the Bai family ancestor asked with a broad smile.
Meeting his gaze, Li Ping suddenly felt a headache coming on.
This Purple Vein Wood was indeed what he needed, but here came the problem: what price should he offer?
The Bai family ancestor had made it very clear; he had carefully cultivated this Purple Vein Wood for at least 140 or 150 years for it to reach its current grade.
Moreover, the man had originally intended to have an Artifact Refiner craft it into several Tier Two Middle Grade Dharma Artifacts to be passed down in his family. He had no intention of selling it.
After some thought, Li Ping decided to be direct. "To be honest, Fellow Daoist Bai, this Purple Vein Wood is exactly what I need. I just don’t know what price you are willing to sell it for?"
As he spoke, Li Ping had already made up his mind. As long as the Bai family didn’t ask for an exorbitant price—something as outrageous as the prices at the merchant guilds—he would take it.
But to Li Ping’s surprise, after receiving his confirmation, the Bai family ancestor chuckled and said, "Why talk about prices? It would only harm our friendly relations. Since you need it, Fellow Daoist Li, I will take it upon myself to gift this Purple Vein Wood to you."
"Gift it to me?" Li Ping was taken aback.
But he quickly shook his head. "You must be joking, Fellow Daoist Bai. One shouldn’t be rewarded for no contribution. How could I dare accept this Purple Vein Wood? Please, name a price."
Hearing this, the Bai family ancestor’s expression suddenly turned serious as he revealed his true intentions. "In that case, I will be so bold as to speak. As long as you are willing to become an Honored Guest Elder of my Bai family, what is a mere piece of Spirit Wood in comparison?"
’Honored Guest Elder?’ Li Ping sighed inwardly. ’I knew it wouldn’t be that simple.’
The Bai family ancestor had mentioned this before and had even presented a generous gift to congratulate him on reaching Foundation Establishment, but he had refused.
He had even been planning to find an opportunity to return that generous gift to the Bai family.
After all, becoming an honored guest of the Immortal City and becoming an Honored Guest Elder of the Bai family were two completely different things.
Serving as an honored guest of the Immortal City was like finding shade under a large tree.
But the Bai family?
The Bai family ancestor did not have long to live. Once he passed away—and with him, the family’s only Foundation Establishment Cultivator—there was no telling how much trouble would be waiting for them.
If he were to actually agree to this and swear an oath, he might very well have to engage in Magical Combat with cultivators of the same tier in the future.
The Cultivation Realm was full of strange and talented people, and those with fortuitous encounters were endless. All sorts of bizarre and harmful techniques were being created by cultivators at every moment.
In Magical Combat, one careless move could lead to a disastrous outcome.
Therefore, let alone fighting cultivators of the same tier, Li Ping didn’t even want to engage in Magical Combat with Low-tier Cultivators unless it was absolutely necessary.
There was no way he would agree to the Bai family’s request for him to become their Honored Guest Elder.