Clan Cultivation: Starting with Building an Island Immortal City

55: Difficult transactions, barterYan Gang rushed to Li Yinglong’s table in three steps, his tall body slightly bowed, his dark face flushed red, and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.

He opened his mouth, his throat rolled violently a few times, but he only let out a few heavy gasps, unable to utter a single word.

His eyes, usually as calm as a mountain, were now filled with anxiety, embarrassment, and a hint of unspeakable shame.

What kind of person was Li Yinglong? With two lifetimes of experience, he had seen too much of the treachery in the business and official worlds, and he instantly saw through the predicament of this honest young man.

He did not wait for the other party to stammer out words, but slowly stood up, flicked his sleeves, his expression calm and unruffled, and said lightly:

”Don’t worry, is it that there’s a clue about the ice soul spirit ginseng, but you’ve encountered a difficulty?”

Yan Gang was stunned, looking up in surprise, seemingly not expecting the other party to be able to predict the future.

Li Yinglong smiled slightly, his tone certain:

”Looking at your expression, anxiety mixed with three parts of relief and seven parts of difficulty, you must have found the item, but are stuck in the transaction phase. Your sister, Aya, must still be negotiating with the seller, unable to spare a Clone, which is why you came to seek help, is that right?”

Every word hit home, Yan Gang listened dumbfounded, only able to nod woodenly.

”Since that’s the case, why are you still standing there? Lead the way.”

Li Yinglong’s tone was unquestionable, and he had already taken the lead in walking downstairs.

Lin Xiaowan immediately followed obediently.

Yan Gang then awoke as if from a dream, feeling both grateful and ashamed in his heart, and said in a muffled voice:

”Thank... Thank Old Sir!”

He no longer cared about anything else, hurriedly rushed forward to lead the way, his steps quick and urgent.

The three walked through the bustling crowd of the market, Li Yinglong’s steps were steady, and he chatted with Yan Gang as he walked:

”How much did they ask for? How much are you short?”

Yan Gang dared not look back, his voice filled with annoyance:

”They asked... they asked for five hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones! Or equivalent good Body Tempering Medicinal Materials, or Medicinal Pills that can advance one’s Middle Stage Qi Refining Cultivation... All the Spirit Stones my brother and sister have, plus a few ’Dragon Blood Vines’ and ’Earth Essence Ginseng’ that we usually couldn’t bear to sell, put together, barely amount to two hundred... still short... still short quite a bit.”

”Oh? Five hundred Spirit Stones...”

Li Yinglong’s eyes flickered:

”This price, for an ice soul spirit ginseng of about fifty years, is not cheap, almost more than half overpriced. What is the seller’s background?”

”They are... they are two Loose Cultivators from the north, who said they were from the Northern Wilderness Ice Plain, looking very capable, and their Cultivation... seems to be at the fourth or fifth layer of Qi Refining.”

Yan Gang’s voice was a bit weak:

”They said this ginseng was obtained by their brother and him after taking great risks and guarding it in the depths of a cold pond for half a month, and this price is already a discount given because... because we urgently need it...”

Upon hearing this, Li Yinglong’s lips curved into a faint arc.

Risk? Discount? He had heard this kind of rhetoric many times at the negotiating table in his previous life.

It was nothing more than seeing that the buyer was determined to get it and then raising the price on the spot.

”Did they say anything else? For example, are they eager to sell it? Or are others also interested in this item?”

Li Yinglong asked again.

Yan Gang tried to recall, shaking his head and saying:

”No, they didn’t... They only said that this item was in high demand and told us to make a quick decision, otherwise...”

”Otherwise what?”

”Otherwise... otherwise they would sell it to someone else.”

Yan Gang answered honestly.

Li Yinglong already had a good idea in his mind.

This trick of bluffing and creating a sense of urgency was not clever.

If there were truly others competing for it, the seller would never just verbally urge them; they would have shown more eagerness or even waited for a higher bid.

Before long, the noise ahead grew louder, approaching a relatively crowded corner of the market.

From afar, a slightly sharp voice could be heard, with obvious impatience:

”...Why say so much! If you have Spirit Stones, then trade; if not, then leave quickly! Don’t pester us here and delay our business!”

Another slightly glib voice interjected, playing the good cop:

”Hey, Big Brother, calm down a bit. I see this Little Sister is also sincerely interested, but is temporarily inconvenient. Little girl, don’t cry anymore. Although we brothers are eager to help, we are also running a small business, so we can’t do a losing business, right? If you really can’t gather enough, bartering is not impossible, but these few Dragon Blood Vines and Earth Essence Ginseng of yours, although their age is acceptable, are not rare items, their value... tsk tsk, you’ll have to add more to them...”

Pushing through some of the crowd, Aya was seen standing in front of a simple stall, her eyes red, her pretty face full of anxiety and pleading, bowing repeatedly to the two Cultivators behind the stall.

Of the two Cultivators, one was tall and thin, with a cold, hard face, standing with his arms crossed; the impatient words just now had clearly come from his mouth.

The other was shorter and fatter, with a round face and a pair of small, gleaming eyes, twirling a few sparse whiskers, examining the Medicinal Materials Aya held in her hand, looking calculating.

There were many miscellaneous items on the stall, but the most conspicuous was a half-open cold jade box held by the tall, thin Cultivator.

Li Yinglong’s gaze fell on the item in the box.

The item was about the length of an adult’s palm, and its shape was quite peculiar:

The main body was grayish-white, wrinkled and twisted, resembling a shriveled infant curled up in sleep at first glance, but it was covered with a layer of white frost that seemed to be condensed from ice crystals.

At the ends of its ”head” and ”limbs”, there were several hair-thin but crystal-clear roots, which subtly curled and stretched as if by themselves.

Although it was unassuming, even slightly ugly, a pure and intensely cold Spiritual Qi continuously emanated from its body, making the surrounding hot air a few degrees cooler, and a thin layer of white frost even condensed along the edge of the box.

Li Yinglong glanced at Lin Xiaowan, giving her a look.

Lin Xiaowan nodded silently, indicating confirmation.

She was most enthusiastic about the spiritual plants recorded in the records of strange tales of the universe, and this ice soul spirit ginseng was also recorded there; it was indeed this item!

”Sister Aya!”

Seeing this, Lin Xiaowan quickly stepped forward, took Aya’s arm, and comforted her in a low voice.

When Aya saw Li Yinglong and the other two, it was as if a drowning person had grabbed a piece of driftwood; tears streamed down her face, and she said with a sobbing voice:

”Old Sir... you... you’re here...”

Li Yinglong nodded slightly to her, signaling her to rest assured, then stepped forward, his gaze calmly sweeping over the two Cultivators, finally resting on the cold jade box, and said indifferently:

”Fellow Daoists, is this the ice soul spirit ginseng?”

The tall, thin Cultivator snorted coldly, not answering, his attitude arrogant.

The short, fat Cultivator narrowed his small eyes, a businessman’s smile appearing on his face:

”Precisely, precisely! Old Sir has excellent eyesight! Look at its quality, this cold Qi, it’s definitely a top-grade item over fifty years old! If it weren’t for the filial piety of these two young friends, and them being friends of the Angry Dragon Clan, we would never sell it at this price!”

Li Yinglong did not take his bait, but turned to Aya and Yan Gang, confirming:

”Have you carefully inspected it? Is it indeed this item without a doubt? Are its age and medicinal properties intact?”

Aya nodded quickly, eagerly saying:

”We’ve inspected it! The Elder in our clan taught us how to identify it, there’s no mistake! It’s only older, not younger, and its medicinal properties are extremely well preserved!”

”Hmm.”

Only then did Li Yinglong look back at the short, fat Cultivator, slowly saying:

”Fellow Daoist just said five hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones, or items of equivalent value. Besides Spirit Stones, what kind of items are you interested in? Magical Artifacts, Talismans, or specific Medicinal Pills? Feel free to speak directly, to avoid repeated probing and wasted time.”

A glint flashed in the short, fat Cultivator’s eyes, and he smiled, saying:

”Old Sir is straightforward! If there are ’Qi Harmony Pills’, ’Essence Gathering Powders’ or similar items that can enhance Middle Stage Qi Refining Cultivation, or excellent defensive or escape Magical Artifacts, we would be very welcome. However... ordinary goods won’t catch my brother’s eye.”

Li Yinglong sneered inwardly; the other party’s appetite was quite large.

However, he showed no expression on his face. With a flick of his sleeve, several items appeared in his palm.

They were not precious Medicinal Pills or Talismans, but several pieces of spiritual ore raw stones of superior color and texture, and a small bottle of dark purple blood exuding a strange fishy smell but abundant Spiritual Qi.

”I don’t have Qi Harmony Pills, but Fellow Daoist, take a look at these items. Do they catch your eye?”

Li Yinglong’s tone was calm:

”These few pieces of ’Sunken Water Rhinoceros Horn Ore’ and ’Flame Heart Copper’, although not peerless treasures, are pure and abundant, making them good Materials for refining water and fire attribute Magical Artifacts. As for this bottle... it is the vital essence blood of a third-order Yao Beast ’Poison Drool Alligator’ that I obtained by chance, which has remarkable effects in Cultivating certain poison arts or refining special Magical Artifacts. Fellow Daoist, who travels frequently, must recognize their value.”

Among his items, the spiritual ore raw stones were dug from the Spiritual Vein derivative land on the island.

And the vital essence blood of the ’Poison Drool Alligator’ was plundered from the qiankun bags of Loose Cultivator and others before.

His Spirit Stones were also a bit tight, so he simply used these items to inquire about the price.