Longevity with a Turtle

Chapter 130: Chapter 107: Little Black’s Intense Desire

”A friend of mine is the captain of a Demon Hunting Team and would like to meet you. If you have time, Fellow Daoist, we can get acquainted on the first floor of the Hundred Treasures Tower tomorrow. If you’re busy, then we can just drop it,” Chen Jianghe said casually.

”A Demon Hunting Team? I wonder what tier of Demon Hunting Team it is?” Alchemist Zhuang asked.

”Everyone in the Demon Hunting Team is a Late-Stage Qi Refining Cultivator.”

”Hmm, that is worth getting acquainted with. When performing Alchemy, I also occasionally need the Spirit Cores and Heart Marrow of Spirit Beasts.”

”In that case, I will relay your intentions to him after I head back.”

”Alright.” Alchemist Zhuang nodded.

”Then I will take my leave.”

”Take care, Fellow Daoist.”

”Take care, Elder Chen.”

”No need to see me out.”

After returning to Qingping Lane, Chen Jianghe didn’t head back to his own courtyard first but instead went to Courtyard 514. He knocked on the door ring. Soon, Ruan Tieniu opened the courtyard door.

He had already changed his clothes, and Spirit Medicine had been applied to his wounds. However, it looked like ordinary Spirit Grass used to stop bleeding and aid recovery, rather than Healing Spirit Liquid. Naturally, it wasn’t a healing Spirit Pill, either.

This showed just how much Demon Hunters valued Spirit Stones. After all, according to Ruan Tieniu, they would go on an expedition once every four months and earn twenty to thirty Spirit Stones as their share. This was likely pure profit, but even as pure profit, it wasn’t considered much. If one didn’t rest all year and went out three times, they would only earn seventy or eighty Spirit Stones.

Deducting the rent in the Qinghe Marketplace, and considering they didn’t need Fasting Pills since they could resolve their food needs in the Youxian Mountain Range, these Spirit Stones were still only enough for a Late-Stage Qi Refining Cultivator’s Cultivation needs. Hoping to save up Spirit Stones was a pipe dream, let alone buying Body Refining Techniques. Therefore, even if Demon Hunters cultivated to Ninth-Layer Qi Refining Perfection before the age of sixty, they didn’t dare to lightly attempt Foundation Establishment. Their success rate was less than thirty percent.

As for buying Spirit Pills, they were even more reluctant to part with their wealth for that. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have sought out Chen Jianghe to see if he could buy Spirit Pills at a discount.

”Fellow Daoist Chen? How did it go? Is Alchemist Zhuang willing to meet?” Ruan Tieniu asked nervously.

This concerned the vital interests of his brothers in the Demon Hunting Team. As they ventured deeper into the Youxian Mountain Range, their Spirit Stone profits increased, but the danger rose equally. Therefore, they needed to prepare some healing Spirit Pills. Healing Spirit Liquid simply fell short in effectiveness. Once they were injured, they needed to consume a Spirit Pill immediately to maintain their combat power, rather than just sitting there waiting to die.

”Alchemist Zhuang agreed. You will meet on the first floor of the Hundred Treasures Tower tomorrow. At that time, Fellow Daoist Ruan, you can speak with Alchemist Zhuang privately.”

”Great, great!” Ruan Tieniu was overjoyed and hastily said, ”Do you have time, Fellow Daoist Chen? I can take you to meet my friend right now.”

Chen Jianghe shook his head and said, ”I will hand the Spirit Talismans over to you, Fellow Daoist Ruan. Could you handle the transaction on my behalf?”

”Uh... this?” Ruan Tieniu was slightly confused. It wasn’t that he was unwilling, but this involved Spirit Stones. As a Demon Hunter, he valued Spirit Stones highly. He was extremely cautious even when spending a single Spirit Stone; how could he just walk away with someone else’s highly valuable Spirit Talismans?

”Is it inconvenient for you, Fellow Daoist Ruan?” Chen Jianghe didn’t want to wander around the Qinghe Marketplace anymore, nor did he want to meet more people. He just wanted to cultivate in peace. He only associated with Alchemist Zhuang and Ruan Tieniu to earn more Spirit Stones. Had it not been for that, he wouldn’t have interacted with either of them so much under any circumstances.

”It’s convenient enough, but considering the value of the Spirit Talismans... how many of them do you have on hand, Fellow Daoist?” A hint of resolve flashed through Ruan Tieniu’s eyes as he asked.

”Thirty-two Middle-Grade Protection Talismans.”

”Gasp! That many!” Ruan Tieniu was quite surprised.

”Could it be that your friend cannot use so many, Fellow Daoist Ruan?” Chen Jianghe asked.

Ruan Tieniu spoke somewhat awkwardly, ”No, no, no. Even fifty of them could be used up; his Demon Hunting Team has over thirty Mid-Stage Qi Refining Cultivators. It’s just that I only have one High-Grade Flying Sword on hand.

”I’ve used it for over five years, and it’s somewhat damaged. Its value is far from matching your thirty-two Middle-Grade Protection Talismans.”

Ruan Tieniu took out his Flying Sword. It was a red High-Grade Flying Sword. Several chips could be seen on the blade, along with a long crack running down the body. If he were to sell it at a Magic Artifact Shop, it would be worth eighty Spirit Stones at most.

If the thirty-two Middle-Grade Protection Talismans in Chen Jianghe’s hands were sold at a ten percent discount off the market price, they would go for two hundred and one Spirit Stones, plus sixty grains of Spiritual Sand.

Before Chen Jianghe could say anything, Ruan Tieniu brought out his Storage Pouch.

”Fellow Daoist Chen, my Storage Pouch has a volume of one and a half cubic meters, worth one hundred and fifty Spirit Stones. Inside, there are also the bodies of two Late-Stage Tier One Demon Beasts, worth about fifty Spirit Stones.” As he spoke, Ruan Tieniu put his Flying Sword away, erased his Divine Sense Imprint from the Storage Pouch, and handed it to Chen Jianghe.

”Uh... alright!” Chen Jianghe took out the thirty-two Middle-Grade Protection Talismans and exchanged them with Ruan Tieniu.

”Please wait for me for an hour, Fellow Daoist.” Saying this, Ruan Tieniu quickly departed.

Chen Jianghe originally intended to ask Ruan Tieniu to provide collateral after he agreed. After all, it was over two hundred Spirit Stones’ worth of goods. He naturally couldn’t just hand them over to someone else, especially since they weren’t particularly close acquaintances. It was just that he hadn’t expected Ruan Tieniu to take the initiative to offer his items as collateral, which saved him the trouble of bringing it up. From the looks of it, Ruan Tieniu was quite honest. He had a tall physique and a stern face, but he was a sincere man.

Chen Jianghe didn’t wait around in Qingping Lane, either. Since he had an hour, he decided to return to his own small courtyard first.

He weighed the Storage Pouch in his hand. Sweeping it with his Divine Sense, he found two relatively small Demon Beasts and a few pieces of clothing inside. As for Spirit Stones? Demon Hunters simply couldn’t save any Spirit Stones; they basically spent them all right after selling their hunted Spirit Beasts.

He wondered, ”About fifty Spirit Stones... It seems that as the captain, Ruan Tieniu can earn over forty Spirit Stones from a single trip.

”But why did he rent a single-room courtyard in the Southwest District instead of a five-room courtyard in the Northwest District?”

Demon Hunters spent most of their time in the Youxian Mountain Range, so there was absolutely no need to rent such an expensive courtyard. Unless, of course, Ruan Tieniu also had an untold secret and required a relatively secluded space.

”Master, are we home?” Little Black’s impatient voice echoed on his Spirit Platform.

Little Black now had a new goal: to cultivate diligently and become a Tier Two Spirit Beast as soon as possible. With a thought, Chen Jianghe let Little Black out.

”We’re back, but I haven’t bought you the Red Mist True Dew yet. I can only buy it tomorrow.”

It was already 6:15 PM. By the time Ruan Tieniu returned, it would probably be 7:15 PM. At that time, Cultivators wouldn’t be allowed on the streets. Otherwise, the Cultivators who didn’t live in the Qinghe Marketplace would never have to leave at all.

Little Black’s nose twitched, his beady eyes glued to the Storage Pouch in Chen Jianghe’s hand. ”Master, are there Demon Beasts inside?”

”You can smell the scent from inside a Storage Pouch!” Chen Jianghe said in surprise.

”The scent is very faint, but since it’s so close, I can smell it.” Little Black’s beady eyes didn’t leave the Storage Pouch for even a second.

Chen Jianghe focused his mind and extracted the Demon Beast bodies from the unowned Storage Pouch.

”HISS!” Little Black took a deep breath, a fierce glint erupting in his beady eyes. ”Master, I want to eat them.”

”Eh?”

”The Magical Power I cultivated from the Third Transformation Demon Ascension Technique is restless. I feel like the bodies of these Demon Beasts will be more helpful to my Cultivation than the Red Mist True Dew.” Little Black looked at Chen Jianghe excitedly. ”Master, can I eat them? I don’t want the Red Mist True Dew anymore.”

With his gaze locked firmly onto the bodies of the two Demon Beasts, his longing voice echoed on Chen Jianghe’s Spirit Platform.

”If you eat the bodies of these two Late-Stage Tier One Demon Beasts, how many bottles of Red Mist True Dew do you think they would be equivalent to?” Chen Jianghe didn’t agree right away. Instead, he made sure to ask clearly first. He wanted to see which option was more cost-effective.

A bottle of Red Mist True Dew cost twelve Spirit Stones. Ruan Tieniu had said that the physical bodies of these two Demon Beasts were worth about fifty Spirit Stones. That meant the body of one Late-Stage Tier One Demon Beast was financially equivalent to roughly two bottles of Red Mist True Dew.

If eating two Late-Stage Tier One Demon Beasts was less effective than a single bottle of Red Mist True Dew, then he certainly wouldn’t let him eat them! He was still very short on Spirit Stones right now.