Longevity with a Turtle

Chapter 131: Chapter 108: Careful Calculation

Little Black fell silent.

His bowl-sized head seemed to be weighing whether a Demon Beast Flesh Body or Red Mist True Dew was better.

Chen Jianghe did not rush him.

Ruan Tieniu had just left not long ago and wouldn’t be back anytime soon. There was plenty of time for Little Black to calculate.

This involved Spirit Stone expenses, so he couldn’t afford to be careless.

”Master, a Late-Stage Tier One Demon Beast Flesh Body can equal one bottle of Red Mist True Dew~”

Little Black’s voice transmission paused as if he was pondering again.

”One bottle of Red Mist True Dew?”

The value of a Late-Stage Tier One Demon Beast’s Flesh Body was equivalent to two bottles of Red Mist True Dew. This felt somewhat like wasting money, and Chen Jianghe felt a bit of resistance in his heart.

”However, it can also equal another five Spirit-Encompassing Flowers.”

Little Black transmitted his voice again. ”The Spiritual Qi in a Demon Beast Flesh Body is abundant, far richer than that of Spirit-Encompassing Flowers.”

”You mean a Late-Stage Tier One Demon Beast is equivalent to one bottle of Red Mist True Dew and five Spirit-Encompassing Flowers?”

”Yes, I can share it with Fur Ball.”

Little Black’s previous silent deliberation was twofold: first, to calculate the value of the Demon Beast Flesh Body, and second, to budget the expenses for himself and Fur Ball. It wasn’t easy for the Two-Legged Beast to make money, and he still had to raise the two of them—freeloaders at home. Naturally, they had to save wherever possible.

”Alright, I understand. Go back to the Spirit Beast Space first.”

Chen Jianghe placed Little Black into the Spirit Beast Space, then walked out of the courtyard gate to wait for Ruan Tieniu’s return.

Although he didn’t know how Little Black came up with his calculations, the result was surprisingly one bottle of Red Mist True Dew and five Spirit-Encompassing Flowers.

It should be noted that the effects of Red Mist True Dew and Spirit-Encompassing Flowers were different. One contained a massive amount of Spiritual Qi, while the other, although also possessing a significant amount of Spiritual Power, was primarily used to help purify Magical Power. The main function of Red Mist True Dew was to purify Magical Power and accelerate its liquefaction.

However, he understood Little Black’s personality quite well. The beast was an even bigger money-grubber than himself.

About half an hour passed, and it was already 7:00 PM.

In another fifteen minutes, the Qinghe Marketplace would enforce its curfew.

At this time, Ruan Tieniu’s figure appeared at the entrance of Qingping Lane, quickly arriving in front of Chen Jianghe. Wearing a bright smile, he handed the coarse cloth bundle in his hand over.

”Brother Chen, it’s a total of two hundred and two Spirit Stones. Count them.”

Ruan Tieniu’s Storage Pouch was currently held by Chen Jianghe as collateral, so he could only carry a coarse cloth bundle back. Chen Jianghe swept his Divine Sense over it and found the amount to be correct. Selling at a ten percent discount from the market price, there was an extra forty grains of Spiritual Sand. This must have been successfully negotiated by Ruan Tieniu.

Chen Jianghe took the coarse cloth bundle and stored the contents into his Storage Pouch.

”Thank you, Fellow Daoist Ruan.”

Chen Jianghe handed Ruan Tieniu’s Storage Pouch back to him.

”No need to be polite, we’re all brothers,” Ruan Tieniu said boldly.

However, after taking the Storage Pouch in hand, he still checked to see if any items were missing. The clothes didn’t matter much and weren’t worth a few taels of silver. But the Demon Beast Flesh Body was valuable; this was the fruit of his current trip, for which he had even gotten injured.

Regarding Ruan Tieniu’s claim of them being ”brothers,” Chen Jianghe didn’t refute it and only smiled.

”Fellow Daoist Ruan, can you sell the Demon Beast Flesh Body in your Storage Pouch to me?”

”The Demon Beast Flesh Body? Do you have friends in the Demon Beast Workshop, Brother Chen?”

The Demon Beast Workshop was a supported artisan workshop in the Qinghe Marketplace, specifically responsible for processing the Demon Beasts brought back by Demon Hunters. The Demon Beast hide and fur, Spirit Blood, Heart Marrow, Spirit Cores, and body parts—once disassembled, each section could be sold for Spirit Stones. However, processing them was extremely troublesome. Therefore, to save time, Demon Hunters would usually choose to sell them cheaply to the Demon Beast Workshop before heading back to the Youxian Mountain Range to hunt more Demon Beasts.

”Heh~”

Chen Jianghe chuckled softly and didn’t explain. His current relationship with Ruan Tieniu was purely based on mutual benefits. They couldn’t be considered friends, and even if they were, he wouldn’t say much anyway.

”Haha... Forgive my big mouth.”

It was only then that Ruan Tieniu realized Chen Jianghe definitely had other uses for buying the Demon Beast Flesh Body. As for what those uses were, he certainly wouldn’t tell him.

”Of course I can sell it, but the prices of Late-Stage Tier One Demon Beasts still vary greatly.

”Primate Demon Beasts, as well as those used for Alchemy, Talisman Painting, Artifact Refining, and Puppet making, are generally more expensive.

”Naturally, there are also distinctions in bloodline. A Second-Grade Lower-Class Bloodline is cheaper, while a Second-Grade High-Class Bloodline is slightly more expensive.

”I won’t deceive you, Fellow Daoist. The two Demon Beasts in my Storage Pouch both belong to the ordinary Late-Stage Tier One category.”

Ruan Tieniu paused and smiled awkwardly. ”Actually, they are only worth forty-six Spirit Stones.”

”No matter, I’ll buy them.”

Chen Jianghe said with a smile, ”In the future, around this time every year, I’d like to ask Brother Ruan to help me trade Spirit Talismans.

”It would be best if you could also set aside two Late-Stage Tier One Demon Beasts for me.”

”Good, good, good.”

Since Ruan Tieniu needed Chen Jianghe’s help and genuinely wanted to befriend him, he naturally agreed without hesitation. Despite having a Ninth-Layer Qi Refining Cultivation, in the eyes of those Upper-Level Cultivators in the marketplace, he was merely a laborer, a thug. But Chen Jianghe was different. At the Hundred Arts Exchange Meet, he was someone even a High-Grade Alchemist like Zhuang Yanfeng tried to build a relationship with. Therefore, in his eyes, befriending him could only bring benefits.

Chen Jianghe gave Ruan Tieniu forty-six Spirit Stones and returned to the courtyard, reflecting on what had happened today.

Zhuang Yanfeng had sought to build a connection with him because of his relationship with Gao Peiyao, and his ultimate goal was for his granddaughter’s sake. Ruan Tieniu wanted to befriend him because of his connection with Zhuang Yanfeng. All in all, this was all brought about by Gao Peiyao.

Looking at it now, even though he had shown his face at Gao Peiyao’s Foundation Establishment Celebration, he had also reaped the benefits she brought.