bookbashuk Chapter 44 Verbal Dispute
Chapter 44 Verbal Dispute
"Xian'er has the aptitude of four spiritual roots. Our Su family has no ties with the Moon Shadow Sect, so we will definitely not be taken in by them."
"It's perfect time to buy this Qi-Inducing Pill. After testing Xian'er's spiritual root aptitude, if her spiritual root has fully developed, then we can use the Qi-Inducing Pill to break through to the first level of Qi Refining as quickly as possible and become a cultivator."
"I'll feel more at ease if we subdue the little snake monster as soon as possible."
"Although the little snake demon beast seems very obedient after several years of training, we can't bet that it will have the same absolute affection and gratitude towards the Su family as Little Grey."
"Once it breaks through to the early stage of the first rank, if it really wants to find a chance to escape, it can just disappear into the Biyue Mountains. We might not be able to catch it then," Su Qingyan thought quickly to himself.
If one begins cultivation before their spiritual root has fully developed, the active spiritual energy will "burn" the immature spiritual root, causing permanent and incurable damage.
The final result was that he would never be able to break through to the first level of Qi Refining.
This is also why Su Qingyan insisted on bringing his eldest son, Su Yuanxian, to participate in the Moon Shadow Sect's disciple recruitment ceremony.
We can't risk the future of our eldest son, Su Yuanxian.
Behind the stall sat a small, elderly man dressed as a traditional Chinese medicine doctor, who looked to be around fifty years old and appeared quite relaxed.
Even when no customers visited his stall, he wasn't worried. He smiled and told stories to the little girl next to him who looked about 70-80% like him.
Seeing that the little girl was about the same age as his eldest son, Su Yuanxian, it was highly likely that she was also there to test her spiritual root aptitude. Su Qingyan used this as an opportunity to start a conversation, asking for some information while buying things.
Su Qingyan smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist, you've also brought your granddaughter to the Moon Shadow Sect's disciple recruitment ceremony, haven't you?"
"How much are the Qi-Boosting Pills at your stall?"
"What is the price?"
Seeing a customer inquiring about the price, the old-fashioned cultivator who looked like a traditional Chinese medicine doctor turned around and explained to Su Qingyan with a hint of pride, "This is not my granddaughter."
"It's my daughter!"
Su Qingyan was taken aback for a moment, then immediately praised, "I didn't expect you to be so vigorous at your age, fellow Daoist! I truly admire you!"
"Young man, you have a good eye." The old-fashioned cultivator, who looked like a traditional Chinese medicine doctor, was pleased with the compliment and smiled, continuing, "You just said you wanted to buy Qi-Inducing Pills, right? I think you're easy to get along with, so I'll sell them to you at the usual price, no extra charge!"
"You should know that the Moon Shadow Sect is holding a disciple recruitment conference right now. There will definitely be many promising talents whose spiritual roots have been tested. These people all need Qi-Inducing Pills to break through to the first level of Qi Refining. The Qi-Inducing Pills on my stall will definitely sell like hotcakes."
"Hehehe... I come here every year to make a fortune off him, doubling the price."
"I've been refining Qi-Inducing Pills for over twenty years, so the quality is definitely guaranteed. I feel a connection with you today, fellow Daoist."
"I'll sell it to you for 12 spirit stones each."
How many do you want?
Upon hearing the price, Su Qingyan frowned slightly. The Alchemy Manual mentioned Qi-Inducing Pills, but because Qi-Inducing Pills were a type of pill that did not enter a certain rank, the refining process was too simple (relatively speaking), and the raw materials used were all common medicinal herbs. Therefore, the author of the Alchemy Manual disdained to record the refining method of this kind of pill.
Whether considering the raw materials or the difficulty of refining, the Qi-Inducing Pill could not possibly sell for 12 spirit stones.
After all, the market price for a single Grade 1 Low-grade Crimson Sun Pill is only 10 spirit stones.
Regardless of the fact that the first-grade low-quality Crimson Sun Pill is the lowest quality among Crimson Sun Pills, the Crimson Sun Pill is an entry-level pill, which cannot be compared with the Qi-Inducing Pill, which is not an entry-level pill.
This old man is digging his own grave!
Su Qingyan had reached a conclusion.
Before he could even speak, a very upright voice rang out from the side, its tone high-pitched: "What did you say?!"
"You're selling a Qi-Inducing Pill for 12 spirit stones?"
"Why don't you just rob it?"
"These days, cultivators don't need to go out and risk being killed while waiting for easy prey. Instead, they can just set up a stall in the city, add a mouth full of wildly inflated prices, and 'steal' spirit stones under the guise of doing business, right?"
"Something that costs 5 spirit stones at the Jin Su Mountain market can be bought for 4 spirit stones with some bargaining, but you're selling it for 12 spirit stones now?"
The speaker became more and more excited as he spoke, and his spittle even splattered onto the porcelain bottle containing the Qi-inducing pills.
Su Qingyan turned his head and saw a middle-aged man dressed as a scholar. He was thin and had pale skin that looked sickly. When he spoke, he stared with wide eyes and his face was full of righteous indignation.
"Such righteous indignation, could this guy have been scammed like this before?" Su Qingyan thought to himself.
Shifting the gaze slightly backward, one can see a little boy with similarly pale, almost sickly skin standing beside the middle-aged man. He looks remarkably like the middle-aged man, as if they were cut from the same mold. In particular, he is also staring intently at the old man stall owner, just like the middle-aged man, with the same expression, which is quite amusing.
Judging by his age, he was about the same age as Su Yuanxian. Unsurprisingly, he was another rogue cultivator who brought his child to the Moon Shadow Sect's disciple recruitment event to test his spiritual roots.
When the old man saw the middle-aged man confronting him, he showed no fear or shame. Instead, he stood up and retorted loudly and aggressively, "You said it yourself, that was in Jin Su Shan Market."
"Where is this?"
"This is Jinshu County!"
"Even if I sell Qi-Inducing Pills for 30 spirit stones each after the Moon Shadow Sect's disciple recruitment ceremony, people will still buy them, and they'll be scrambling to buy them!"
"Is it any of your business?"
"You poor rogue cultivator, bringing your little pauper along, what are you glaring at me for? If you have no money, go home and farm, don't come here to browse the street stalls."
The old man selling goods spoke with such force that anyone who didn't know better would think he was the one who got ripped off.
Su Qingyan finally understood why the old man's stall had been deserted before he arrived.
Not only are they terrible people, but they also have terrible tempers.
Who would buy his stuff?
Let's try to scam some clueless newbie cultivators like Su Qingyan and see if there are any suckers out of it.
Seeing that the old stall owner was ripping people off and still dared to brazenly claim that he was poor, the middle-aged man couldn't stand it. If it weren't for the fact that fighting in Jin Su County would lead to being hunted down by the Zhou family cultivators from Jin Su Mountain, he would have wanted to fight this unscrupulous old merchant to the death and let strength decide the outcome.
Judging from the aura emanating from them, both were at the third level of Qi Refining, their cultivation levels were evenly matched, and neither was afraid of the other.
The rules prohibit me from taking action.
The middle-aged man pondered his words for a moment, preparing to unleash a torrent of abuse.
However, at that moment, the surrounding crowd suddenly began to stir, rushing towards the square in the center of Jinshu County.
The sudden turn of events interrupted the middle-aged man's thoughts. He glanced at the crowd several times, and when he turned back to continue criticizing the old man stall owner, he realized he had forgotten his lines.
The elderly stall owner abandoned his idea of arguing with the middle-aged man and stopped a hurried passerby, asking, "What's going on?"
Why are you all running that way?
"..."