Chapter 51: Sworn Brotherhood
Chapter 51: Chapter 51: Sworn Brotherhood
Someone was following him, and Chen Mo was on high alert.
The moment he set off, that familiar aura imprinted a figure in his mind. He had a fierce face, a full beard, and a powerfully built physique. His two arms were even thicker than an average person’s calves. This person had entered the Martial Dao and was considered a somewhat talented Spirit Plant Cultivator—Xiao Changhua!
At first, Chen Mo did not know why the man was following him, but after a moment of thought, he knew Xiao Changhua had no good intentions. Although he did not have eyes in the back of his head, Chen Mo kept his guard up. If the man dared to launch a sudden attack, he would absolutely send him to the afterlife without hesitation! His corpse would be left out in the wilderness, and by labeling him as a Tribulation Cultivator, even the Ancient Dust Marketplace would not be able to hold Chen Mo accountable.
However, as Chen Mo pushed his small handcart along the way, Xiao Changhua merely followed from a distance, showing no intention of making a move. It wasn’t until he entered the Marketplace that the man finally stopped.
"Is he really just escorting me?" Chen Mo shook his head.
It was highly likely that Xiao Changhua wanted to wait for him to finish selling his grain and strike on the way back! In that case, he would just let the man wait a few more days. He wasn’t in a hurry to go back anyway; there was still a lot of experience waiting for him to farm over at the Yi Er San Grain Station.
Chen Mo pushed his grain through the sparsely populated, desolate central courtyard and soon arrived at the Yi Er San Grain Station.
Sitting behind the counter at the entrance, Mei Hua was bored out of his mind. More than a month had passed since the autumn harvest. Let alone buying grain, he hadn’t even seen a single Spirit Plant Cultivator on the streets! The entire shop, and even the whole Marketplace, appeared extremely depressed.
That was until Mei Hua looked up and saw Chen Mo approaching with his handcart! His eyebrows shot up, and he broke into a wide grin as he hurried over to greet him.
"Fellow Daoist Chen, you’re finally here! The Shopkeeper has been dying for your arrival." Over the past few days, Song Yunxi had been talking about this man constantly, terrified that he would go back on his word and never return here for Breeding. If they had to use a Breeder with a ratio of seventy or eighty to one, wouldn’t he suffer a massive loss?
Chen Mo smiled and waved his hand, letting go of the handcart and walking straight into the grain shop. "Is Shopkeeper Song here?"
"Yes, yes, yes! I’ll go get him right away!"
With that, Mei Hua carried the grain sacks from the handcart into the shop, then patted the dirt off his clothes and headed to the backyard.
Before long, Song Yunxi, dressed in green clothes and carrying an elegant demeanor, walked out from the backyard. However, the moment he saw Chen Mo, he froze! His brows furrowed tightly, and his expression turned so serious that it made Mei Hua, who was standing to the side, tremble with fear.
After a moment, he finally asked tentatively, "You broke through?"
"By a stroke of luck, just luck." Chen Mo did not intend to hide it.
When dealing with these merchants, one sometimes had to display some Talent, especially when one’s strength was still low. Perhaps Golden Core or Foundation Establishment cultivators had a reason to hide their true strength, but Qi Refining was already unimpressive enough—what was there to hide? Pretending to be at the Qi Refining First Layer while actually being at the Qi Refining Third Layer? Chen Mo felt that was simply a ridiculous practice!
Only by showing enough Talent and potential when you were weak would others look at you with an extra degree of respect, granting you a certain amount of bargaining power. If it weren’t for his ability to achieve a thirty-three to one Breeding ratio, why would Song Yunxi ever treat him like a brother?
"It seems Song was truly blind!" The serious expression on Song Yunxi’s face gradually faded. "From the looks of it, Brother Chen is someone who accumulates strength and keeps a low profile. It seems you might even make a run for Foundation Establishment in your lifetime!"
"Shopkeeper Song praises me too highly!"
"Ah! How can you still be so distant? We’ve visited the Fragrance Pavilion together! We should naturally address each other as brothers!"
This time, Song Yunxi was genuinely willing to befriend him from the bottom of his heart. If Chen Mo were merely a Breeder, he might still harbor some thoughts of utilizing him. But now that the man had broken through to the First Grade within a single year, this level of talent was well worth his attention!
Meanwhile, Mei Hua’s heart skipped a beat as he stood to the side. Perhaps Chen Mo didn’t know the weight of those words, but he knew them crystal clear! By calling Shopkeeper Song his brother, as long as he didn’t offend the Niu Family, wouldn’t he be able to walk sideways through the entire Ancient Dust Marketplace?
For a moment, Mei Hua was filled with endless envy. At this very moment, he didn’t dare underestimate this Spirit Plant Cultivator of Bao Lingtian standing before him anymore!
"Alright!" Chen Mo cupped his hands in a salute. "Brother Song is a few years older than me. How about I call you Big Brother?"
"Good! Good! Good!" Song Yunxi was overjoyed. He looked at Mei Hua and ordered, "Hurry and prepare the incense, candles, and sacrificial offerings. Today, Brother Chen and I shall become sworn brothers!"
"Yes!" Mei Hua hurriedly walked toward the backyard.
Chen Mo sat on the Taishi Chair, picked up a cup of high-quality tea, and began to sip it.
"Immortal Peak?"
"You have a good memory, brother. The last time you drank this was a year ago, right? To think you can still recognize the taste."
Chen Mo smiled, noncommittal. However, he thought to himself, "Nonsense, I only know this one type of Spirit Tea!" He couldn’t even name any other Spirit Teas.
"Second Brother, did you not suffer from the disaster this year?" Song Yunxi asked tentatively. After all, who didn’t know about the once-in-a-decade catastrophe that struck Purple Cloud Peak? How many Spirit Plant Cultivators had lost their entire harvest?
"I was lucky enough to protect a portion of it!"
Song Yunxi looked at him and nodded secretly. A cultivator at the Qi Refining Third Layer, paired with the Geng Metal Finger, would indeed be able to save more than half of the crop. It made perfect sense.
Of course, if he knew that Chen Mo was only at the Qi Refining Second Layer when the insect plague hit, his jaw would have dropped! He wouldn’t have believed it for a second!
"How do you plan to sell it? I reckon there are about five or six hundred catties here."
"Six hundred catties."
"For six hundred catties, that would be sixty taels of Spiritual Sand..."
"No, no, no. I plan to convert it all into seeds before selling it to you, Brother Song!"
Song Yunxi pondered for a moment. It made sense; the other party was a Breeder, and his Breeding ratio had even reached thirty-three to one. With such craftsmanship, he could obviously earn more Spiritual Sand, so why wouldn’t he?
"Alright. After we become sworn brothers, I’ll have Mei Hua lead you to the Breeding Room."
Chen Mo nodded and said, "Alright, but I’ll store these six hundred catties here with you first, big brother. After finishing the Breeding for the thousand catties of Spirit Rice we agreed upon, I’ll Breed the ones I brought. Is that okay?"
"It’s fine, but it doesn’t seem to make any difference, does it?"
Chen Mo gave a mysterious smile. "Patience, big brother. You will know the reason in a day’s time."
Song Yunxi was stunned as a bold thought surfaced in his mind. Could it be... could his Qi Crossing Technique be on the verge of a breakthrough? Could it be reaching Minor Achievement? Wouldn’t the seed yield rate rise even further then?
At this thought, Song Yunxi’s heart instantly leaped with joy, and his gaze toward Chen Mo held three more degrees of admiration. This Breeder was truly worth befriending!
In no time at all, Mei Hua arrived at the front courtyard; all the preparations for the oath of brotherhood had been made.
The two of them walked toward the courtyard, chatting and laughing, and soon arrived in front of a Spirit Platform. On the Spirit Platform sat an Incense Burner with three unlit sticks of incense placed inside. Below it were offerings of Spirit Rice, Talisman Paper, and other items. Song Yunxi stepped forward, pulled a stick of incense from the Incense Burner, and ignited it with a flame from his fingertip.
Soon, Chen Mo followed suit. Of course, his fire control was not quite as precise as Song Yunxi’s.
After the ceremony concluded, Song Yunxi suddenly threw his arm around Chen Mo’s shoulders and declared, "Brother Chen! From now on, you and I shall address each other as brothers!"