208 Leaving (2)
Everyone knew that Jiang Ming was not only an alchemist, but he was also a master of the Misty Rain Technique. The spirit herbs he cultivated were of excellent quality. However, he rarely sold them.
Jiang Ming smiled and did not say much. He asked the shopkeeper, Mr. Qin, to find a quiet room, and the two of them walked in and closed the door.
Although he had been working with Mr. Qin for a long time and trusted him, it was always best to be cautious.
In the quiet room, Jiang Ming looked left and right, then raised his hand and took out a storage ring. The spirit herbs were taken out from the storage ring and placed neatly on the table. Some were sealed in jade boxes to prevent any spiritual energy from leaking. The entire table was filled with his stock from several years ago.
As his cultivation level increased, the effects of these spirit herbs lessened. He might as well sell them for spirit stones.
“This quality…! As expected of you, Master Jiang!”
Mr. Qin looked at them one by one, and his eyes became brighter and brighter. He held a bunch of yellow fruits in his hands fondly.
“This yellow crystal fruit’s quality is flawless, and it’s also much larger than normal spirit fruits. It can also increase the success rate of alchemy. I can offer you thirty spirit stones per fruit. Is that okay, Master Jiang?”
Jiang Ming nodded. A normal yellow crystal fruit was only worth a little more than twenty spirit stones. However, the yellow crystal fruit that he cultivated every day with the Misty Rain Technique was of a much higher quality. Mr. Qin’s offer was fair.
Soon, all of Jiang Ming’s spirit herbs had been appraised by Mr. Qin. They were sold for more than seven hundred spirit stones in total.
“I still have some green jade lotus seeds. I wonder if you would like to purchase them?” Finally, Jiang Ming took out twenty dark green lotus seeds, each of which exuded a strong aura of spiritual energy.
In the past thirty years, he had harvested three life cycles of green jade lotus. Each life cycle yielded exponentially more seeds than the previous life cycle. Thus, he hardly needed them all.
Mr. Qin did not know whether to laugh or cry when he saw these useless seeds. “These are thirty-year-old green jade lotus seeds, right? How about fifteen spirit stones for the lot?”
“Alright!”
Jiang Ming waved his hand casually. However, in his heart, he was complaining. No wonder no one grew these seeds in Xiaoqian Mountain! It took thirty years to harvest the green jade lotus seeds. It would take almost a century for it to make a substantial profit!
“May I ask if you’re preparing to leave?”
Jiang Ming smiled. “Mr. Qin, you are naturally more well-informed than me. You have to understand that a weak cultivator like me can’t get involved in any big trouble.”
“Master Jiang, you’re not a weak cultivator.” Mr. Qin quickly waved his hand and said with a serious expression, “It may seem safe down the mountain. However, it’s not a place where cultivators like us can stay for long. The Hundred Pill Pavilion is well protected. I wonder if you are willing to join us. No matter what happens, we’ll definitely ensure your safety.”
Jiang Ming was stunned for a moment, then he immediately realized that the Hundred Pill Pavilion had probably taken a fancy to his mastery of the Misty Rain Technique and alchemy skills. They wanted to take advantage of this storm to recruit people and expand their forces.
Jiang Ming could also understand. Wealth was found in danger. Usually, these individual cultivators were extremely undisciplined, and it was extremely difficult to recruit them.
However, no matter what kind of protection the Hundred Pill Pavilion offered, Jiang Ming was not very optimistic about it. The Hundred Pill Pavilion would be nothing in the face of a Golden Core Realm cultivator.
Jiang Ming did not ask any more questions. He waved his hand and refused. He took the spirit stones and left quickly.
Walking out of the Hundred Pill Pavilion, Jiang Ming’s heart also trembled. He could not stay any longer.
He strolled around the market for a while and bought some middle-grade Light Body Talismans and other escape talismans. He then prepared to leave.
“Master Jiang?”
However, before Jiang Ming could walk out of the market, he was blocked by a figure.
“What a coincidence! Do you still have Qi-Returning Pills? Can you sell a few bottles to me?”
Jiang Ming looked at the beautiful woman in a white chiffon dress in front of him, and he was instantly vigilant.
However, on the surface, Jiang Ming’s expression did not change. He cupped his hands and said, “Greetings, Ms. Luo. I’ve already sold all of today’s medicinal pills to the Hundred Pill Pavilion. I’ll try my best to refine a few batches of them as soon as possible tomorrow, and I’ll personally deliver them to your residence.”
“Thank you so much, Master Jiang!” The woman in the white dress was surprised. She smiled brightly. She quickly walked to Jiang Ming and bowed to thank him.
A wisp of perfume suddenly entered Jiang Ming’s nose, and the woman’s neckline was lowered, inadvertently catching Jiang Ming’s eyes.
“Ah!” The woman in the white dress quickly covered her chest and turned to leave with a slightly red face.
Jiang Ming stared at the back of the woman in the white dress for a moment. Then, he turned around and strode away, flying down the mountain.
The woman’s name was Luo Yanyue, and she was also an individual cultivator on the small green peak. She had come to Xiaoqian Mountain a few years ago and would occasionally buy pills from Jiang Ming.
However, Jiang Ming had always kept a respectful distance from her. Although Luo Yanyue seemed to be cultivating a common technique called the Spring Wood Art, which was almost the same as the Five Elemental Arts, Jiang Ming’s heightened perception and Spirit Restricting Seal could always sense a strange, decaying aura from Luo Yanyue. It was like the rotten leaves on the ground in autumn, which made people feel uncomfortable.
Although the other party was only at the sixth level of the Qi Refinement Realm, Jiang Ming still maintained his vigilance and never had too much contact with her.
“Maybe she’s also here for this storm at Xiaoqian Mountain!” Jiang Ming thought to himself.
After leaving Xiaoqian Mountain, Jiang Ming directly took out the Spirit Sword Shuttle and sat on it. He cut through the clouds and flew away.
“I wonder if I’ll be able to successfully reach the Foundation Establishment Realm during this trip to the Black Rock Ruins.”
Jiang Ming’s mood was also in turmoil.
In the past few years, he had also compiled a lot of research related to the Foundation Establishment Realm. Thus, he had some understanding of the difficulty of breaking through.
As the name implied, the Foundation Establishment Realm was like laying the foundation of the future immortal cultivation path. If breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm was not achieved, the immortal cultivation path could not be continued. The quality of one’s foundation also determined how far one could go in the future.
In addition to the Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation technique, the method of building the foundation also required a lot of time and resources. Only one in a hundred would succeed.
“I don’t even have a Foundation Establishment Realm technique.” Jiang Ming thought of this and could not help but shake his head.
Suddenly, Jiang Ming raised his eyebrows and turned his head to look. A few streaks of light could be vaguely seen behind him.
The streaks of light were approaching Jiang Ming. Obviously, they were not here to chat.
“Why do I always encounter such things every time I go down the mountain?”
Jiang Ming explained. However, it was not unexpected. Every time he escaped, it was when chaos was about to break out. It was reasonable to encounter people who wanted to fish in troubled waters.
“Huh? Why does the purple light at the very front seem to be running for its life?”
Jiang Ming squinted and relaxed a little. It seemed that they just happened to be going in the same direction. He changed the direction of his Spirit Sword Shuttle and fled. He did not want to encounter trouble.
However, Jiang Ming’s eyes darkened. The purple light also changed its direction and rushed straight toward Jiang Ming.