togophonebook Chapter 8 The Rise of the Market
Chapter 8 The Rise of the Market
Name: Jiang Chuan (20 years old)
[Remaining lifespan: 15 years]
【灵根：金3、木10、水2、火5、土2、风1、雷1、光1、时1、空1（可投入寿命进行演化）】
[Cultivation Level: Qi Refining Level 6 (Can be evolved using lifespan)]
[Taoist Techniques: Evergreen Skill: Great Success, Fireball Technique: Perfection, Healing Technique: Perfection, Concealing Qi Technique: Perfection... (Can be evolved by investing in lifespan)]
[Lifespan Barrier: 1 acre (Tier 1, Low Grade, can be evolved using lifespan)]
Jiang Chuan looked at the system panel, and the pride he had felt just now because of his breakthrough in cultivation and the birth of his spiritual consciousness immediately vanished without a trace.
He was, after all, just an ordinary, low-level rogue cultivator.
Their spiritual roots, cultivation methods, spells, and so on are all of the lowest grade. They don't even have a single low-grade magic weapon. There's really nothing to be proud of.
"What I lack most right now is spirit stones. This year of seclusion for cultivation, without going out to sell books, has left me with very few spirit stones. I've even almost finished the dragon blood rice I produced..."
"Continuing to just farm isn't an option; seeds, fertilizer, and daily food all need to be purchased from outside..."
"Most importantly, I only leased this acre of spirit land for three years, and two years have already passed. I have to go out and earn spirit stones to renew the lease..."
Jiang Chuan felt quite helpless. He hadn't wanted to go out and have fun; he wanted to stay hidden until the end of time and become a Nascent Soul Celestial Lord...
But due to the circumstances, he had no choice but to go out and earn spirit stones.
"Another year has passed. Are Old Man Wang and Wang Yuyan still holding out for me?"
He used the Concealing Qi Technique to hide his cultivation level at the second level of Qi Refining, pretending that he had just broken through. Then he packed up the books he had written over the past year, preparing to sell them at the market to earn some spirit stones.
Just went out,
Jiang Chuan happened to run into Zhang Hao again, who was promoting the "Basic Training in Spirit Plant Cultivation" to a young couple.
"This manual for cultivating spirit plants is a compilation and summary of my work. It is of great benefit to cultivating spirit plants and only requires 5 spirit fragments."
The young couple hesitated before speaking.
"Elder Zhang, my wife and I are short of money. Would three coins be alright?"
"make a deal!"
Jiang Chuan, who witnessed this scene firsthand, immediately fell silent...
After successfully making the sale, Zhang Hao happily put away the shattered spirit, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jiang Chuan looking at him with a complicated expression.
He smiled nonchalantly, glanced at Jiang Chuan's cultivation level, and said with a hint of surprise,
"Fellow Daoist Jiang, you've broken through?"
Jiang Chuan nodded. "A lucky breakthrough!"
Zhang Hao was slightly surprised: "...Tsk tsk, it's truly remarkable that you can break through at your age."
"By the way, Fellow Daoist Jiang, during the year you were in seclusion, those two people came looking for you several times, seemingly to discuss important matters, but I stopped them each time."
"...Heh, so you haven't given up after all?"
Jiang Chuan felt a chill run down his spine. He didn't need to ask; he knew who had come to find him.
"Thank you, Elder Zhang!"
"Hehe, it's nothing." Zhang Hao stroked his beard and looked at Jiang Chuan: "Fellow Daoist Jiang, I remember your spirit field has a three-year lease, right?"
Jiang Chuan nodded, looking at the other person with a puzzled expression.
Zhang Hao didn't keep them in suspense and explained:
"...It's normal that you don't know this since you've been in seclusion cultivating. This year has been quite turbulent in Taihu Market. Many people have died due to the monster riots... As a result, the rent for spirit fields in the market has increased significantly. If you have enough spirit stones, it would be best to renew your lease in advance..."
Jiang Chuan was startled and quickly asked, "Elder Zhang, what's causing this monster rampage?"
When the topic of the monster uprising came up, Zhang Hao's expression became more serious.
"The so-called monster riot is when a large number of monsters emerge from the deep mountains to attack herb gatherers, monster hunters, and even go berserk and attack Taihu Market... Every time a monster riot occurs, a large number of people die. In this situation, only staying in the market can ensure safety, so..."
Jiang Chuan understood. Because of the monster riot, cultivators who went out to explore had no choice but to return to the market, which would lead to an increase in the rent of spirit fields.
There's no other way; farming is basically a guaranteed way to make a living regardless of drought or flood, and it doesn't pose any real danger to one's life!
Jiang Chuan clasped his hands in thanks: "Thank you for informing me, Elder!"
…………
Faced with the pressure of "rent renewal," Jiang Chuan left Lingtian in the Dingzi District with a somewhat heavy heart.
After leaving the spirit field, he immediately examined every corner of the surroundings carefully but found nothing unusual.
"Does this mean that Old Wang and the others have given up?"
Jiang Chuan thought to himself,
After breaking through to the sixth level of Qi Refining, both the total amount and quality of his mana were more than ten times stronger than those at the third level of Qi Refining.
The threat posed by Old Wang and his companion has been greatly reduced.
After entering the main street of the market, he clearly felt that there were many more cultivators on the road, and their conversations were all about the "monster uprising".
"Alas, I heard this is a once-in-a-decade monster riot. A large number of monsters have appeared in the Yunmeng Mountains, including several second-tier monsters. Our Taihu Market has suffered heavy casualties; even the renowned Three Heroes of Taihu have lost two and seriously injured one..."
"What? The Three Heroes of Taihu Lake have also met with misfortune? Aren't they all late-stage Qi Refining cultivators?"
"So what if you're in the late stage of Qi Refining? In a monster riot, you're nothing more than an ant trying to shake a tree, insignificant as a matter of fact. It's said that a third-tier demon king is instigating this monster riot..."
"A third-tier demon king is equivalent to a human Golden Core cultivator. Has such a powerful being intervened?"
"Who knows... I almost lost my life back then, luckily I ran fast. I don't plan to be a demon hunter anymore, living a life of constant danger. I might as well rent a few acres of spirit fields and live a peaceful life..."
As Jiang Chuan listened to the discussion among passersby, his expression grew even more serious.
As he walked along, he clearly felt that the talismans, magical artifacts, elixirs, and so on sold at various stalls were 30% more expensive than usual.
Jiang Chuan found a corner on the main street.
Jiang Chuan set up his book stall, took out books such as "A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality" and "Against the Gods," and started selling them as usual.
I wonder if it's because of the tense atmosphere of the monster riots,
There were very few people buying books today; after most of the day, we only sold three or four.
For more than half a month, the situation remained the same.
Frustrated, Jiang Chuan packed up his stall, his desire to find another way to make money growing stronger.
For cultivators, novels are merely a form of entertainment to relieve boredom in the world of immortals and heroes. Faced with immense pressure to survive, they would definitely prioritize talismans, elixirs, magical artifacts, formations, and so on over entertainment.
Writing and selling books is clearly unsustainable and won't earn you many spirit stones; you have to get into "real business"...
"Among the myriad arts of cultivation, alchemy, artifact crafting, talisman formations, and array formations are undoubtedly among the top four. Which one should one choose?"
Jiang Chuan frowned in thought. His lifespan was limited, so for the time being he could only choose a profession to develop in order to earn spirit stones.
"Alchemists are the most profitable and have the highest status, but they are also extremely difficult to get started, highly value talent, and require huge training costs... The same is true for weapon refiners and formation masters."
"Therefore, we can only choose the [Talisman Path]."
Jiang Chuan made up his mind. The way of talismans is also profound and extensive, belonging to a profession that is easy to learn but difficult to master.
Most talismans are disposable items. Although they are difficult to make, the learning cost is relatively low, making them the choice of most independent cultivators.
Old Wang, for example, often sets up a stall to sell talismans and can be considered a first-level talisman master.
After selling all the remaining Dragon Blood Rice and buying seeds and fertilizer, and sorting out the spirit stones I had, I only had 8 spirit stones left.
He needs to buy some books on talisman making.