← 我的模拟长生路

第七十四章 一刻不得闲

On the Ten Thousand Immortals Island, the unusual fluctuations in the price of Spirit Fog Grass had long been a topic of heated discussion.

Li Fan learned about the situation after a brief inquiry. As expected, someone had set up a trap to severely exploit cultivators like He Zhenghao who sought to profit from this opportunity.

The destruction of the island where Spirit Fog Grass was cultivated was indeed true. After the news was confirmed, many people rushed in to make a quick buck. However, they didn't know that recently, the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance had discovered a sealed-off cave heaven that was over a thousand years old.

It was said that the interior of this cave heaven was rich with Wood-type Spirit Qi and was filled with various rare Spirit Plants. The Spirit Fog Grass was so abundant that it could be stepped on to crush several plants at once. This information had only been known by the high-ranking officials of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance until the market frenzy over the Spirit Fog Grass revealed the news.

No wonder the price of Spirit Fog Grass plummeted dramatically afterward.

"Looks like my friend He has no chance of making back his losses," Li Fan said with a sigh. "But, this big shot doesn't seem to be very honorable."

Li Fan checked the transaction records in the Ten Thousand Immortals Mirror.

It was Qing Mu Hua Sheng True Monarch who had first pushed up the price of Spirit Fog Grass and then delivered the final blow during the negotiations, driving down the prices significantly. Clearly, this was someone with insider knowledge.

Li Fan inwardly chuckled at the thought.

However, given that it was a Foundation Establishment True Monarch, those who suffered losses likely wouldn't dare to seek trouble from him. They could only swallow their losses and accept their bad luck.

Even Li Fan couldn't help speculating that the island where Spirit Fog Grass had been cultivated might have been destroyed by this Foundation Establishment True Monarch in secret.

"The market is truly treacherous," Li Fan shook his head.

Just as he was enjoying his moment of schadenfreude, He Zhenghao's message arrived.

"Friend, I've sold all the supplies obtained from the Beyond Realm," He Zhenghao's voice sounded weak and drained. "I have earned a total of 2342 points in contribution. According to our agreement, we each get half."

Although He Zhenghao had suffered significant losses during this investment, he hadn't taken any of Li Fan’s due share.

With the 1171 points from He Zhenghao and the remaining 125 points, Li Fan's total contribution now stood at 1296 points, enough to last for a while.

After some thought, instead of immediately closing himself off in meditation, Li Fan searched for Jiao Xiuyuan’s information. This person was known to have obtained a large number of Concealment Talismans from the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance's Talisman Hall and seemed well-connected. Li Fan wanted to buy some Spirit Talismans and see if he could gather any information about Si Kong Yi.

The Ten Thousand Immortals Island was roughly divided into three main areas: the inner core, which housed official buildings of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance such as the Council Hall, Martial Arts Hall, Medicine Hall, and Talisman Hall; the middle area with various cultivated caves that could be purchased for a sufficient amount of contribution points; and the outermost region, a mix of commercial and residential zones.

The Transmission Square was located at the boundary between the central cave areas and the commercial zone. The residences here provided only basic accommodation without Spirit Qi amplification or connection to the Ten Thousand Immortals Mirror. For cultivation, one still needed to return to the space within the mirror.

Jiao Xiuyuan had set up a shop in this area.

Following the information he found in the Ten Thousand Immortals Mirror, Li Fan arrived at the correct location: Qianli Hall.

Looking at the slightly crooked signboard, Li Fan stepped inside. The shop was small and cluttered with miscellaneous items; a man's voice could be faintly heard.

"Listen up, these ten Concealment Talismans will definitely be sold at the agreed price. I don't care what the current market value is..."

"What? You're canceling the transaction? Even your deposit isn't worth keeping!"

Bang!

"Damn! Another one! Do you think Jiao Xiuyuan is easy to bully?" A man with a scruffy face and dark skin slammed his fist on the table, angrily shouting.

But he quickly slumped in disappointment. "This is it, I Jiao Xiuyuan never do business that loses money... but now, I've lost so many Concealment Talismans..."

At this moment, he noticed a customer had arrived. But he couldn't see their face; they must have used a Concealment Talisman.

Jiao Xiuyuan paid no mind to such people.

"What can I get for you? Array Talismans, magical artifacts, medicinal pills—everything is available here!" He lazily greeted.

"How much do you sell Concealment Talismans for?" the other asked.

Jiao Xiuyuan's eyes lit up. "Ten points of contribution per talisman. How many do you want? If it’s more than ten, I’ll give you an 80% discount; if over a hundred, a 50% discount!"

Li Fan smiled. "I don’t need so many, just six will suffice."

Pausing for a moment, he added, "And your price is wrong. Before coming here, I bought one in the Ten Thousand Immortals Mirror. A Concealment Talisman that can shield Jin Dan cultivators from viewing costs only 20 points now. Why are you selling these substandard ones so expensively?"

Jiao Xiuyuan's face twitched as he quickly changed his price. "Eight points per talisman, no lower. You must understand the cost of making them!"

"Fine, give me six," Li Fan didn't haggle further.

To avoid exposing himself, Jiao Xiuyuan hurriedly took out six Concealment Talismans.

"How will you make the transaction?"

The Ten Thousand Immortals Mirror did not support anonymous transactions. Direct contribution point exchanges would reveal identities. However, Li Fan had prepared for this beforehand.

"Spirit Stones," he said and handed over five middle-grade Spirit Stones from his storage ring.

Standardized Spirit Stones were produced by the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance in collaboration with the Five Elders Association, divided into different grades equivalent to the legal currency of the cultivation world. They had unique anti-counterfeiting restrictions. The exchange ratio between top-grade, upper-grade, middle-grade, and lower-grade Spirit Stones was 10:1.

In the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, one lower-grade Spirit Stone could be exchanged for one point in contribution within the mirror. Therefore, Li Fan's five middle-grade Spirit Stones were worth 50 points of contribution.

"Keep any extra."

After receiving the Concealment Talismans, Li Fan naturally asked, "Do you take on business to gather information about cultivators?"

Jiao Xiuyuan immediately became alert.

He sized up Li Fan and after much thought, gritted his teeth. "Sure, why not? I’m already losing money hand over fist; if I don’t do some private work, my life is unsustainable!"

"What's your name, what’s your cultivation stage?" Jiao Xiuyuan whispered.

"Si Kong Yi, middle-stage Qi Condensation," Li Fan replied.

Reading Settings

18px
1.8
65ch
Show Pinyin + Chinese + English