Born with immortal seed

Chapter 158 The Reconstructed Market
"Hou Kehai pays his respects to Elder Bai, wishing you eternal prosperity on the path to enlightenment!"

Hou Kehai was the last to enter. He had already learned the rules from the departing spirit plant master and knew that everyone had benefited greatly, so he felt a little more expectant.

"Sixth level of Qi Refining, cultivating earth-based basic techniques, solid foundation, breaking through shouldn't be a problem... Hmm, you broke your left leg once?"

Bai Zichen recognized the name; this person was one of the two or three people with the best farming skills among the second-tier spirit plant masters.

The second-tier spirit fields that I was responsible for managing grew the best and never suffered from pests.

"Yes, when I was thirteen, I fell from a tree while playing and broke my left leg. I was bedridden for three whole months before I could walk again."

Hou Kehai was a little puzzled by Elder Bai's question, but he still answered truthfully.

“That’s right. You think your bones have healed long ago, but there are still a few cracks deep in your leg bones. And the earth-based cultivation method you practice focuses on the meridians of your legs. I reckon it’s a cultivation method that emphasizes the use of earth energy.”

Bai Zichen noticed something amiss as soon as he looked at the human meridian diagram: several cracks on the left leg bone were affecting the operation of the cultivation technique.

"Go and learn a body-refining technique as a side practice, something that strengthens bones. It doesn't need to be too high-level; just pick one from the second floor of the Transmission Hall."

"At most a year and a half, by strengthening the bones through body-refining techniques and repairing this hidden injury, the breakthrough will naturally come."

"So Easy?"

Hou Kehai's eyes widened. Had all the Breakthrough Pills he had purchased and the cultivation essence he had obtained by exchanging sect contributions gone to waste?

"The Mengchun Gong I practice is best at utilizing the energy of mountains and rivers, emphasizing the rising of earth energy, harmony between heaven and earth, and the sprouting of plants... I haven't received much feedback from earth energy, and I thought it was because my practice wasn't up to par. It turns out it was because of my leg injury!"

"Thank you for your guidance. If I succeed in body refinement and am fortunate enough to break through to the late stage of Qi Refining, I will return to help the elders farm."

Hou Kehai bowed deeply. He was going to refine his body and then prepare for a closed-door cultivation to break through to the late stage of Qi Refining. He definitely wouldn't be able to continue taking care of the spirit field for a while.

"It's alright, your own cultivation is the most important thing... Judging from your foundation, you will definitely be able to break through this realm successfully this time."

Bai Zichen offered his blessings, saying that this person had a very high chance of becoming a second-tier spirit plant master.

If they are truly willing to join my ranks, then I'll have someone to look after the sacred fields in the future.

The spiritual fields contracted by Feiyue Lake are for a maximum of thirty years, after which they will be taken back by the sect.

However, given the vastness of Black Mountain, there are quite a few sacred sites suitable for cultivation into sacred fields.

Since Bai Zichen has declared his intention to establish ten new third-tier spiritual veins, he will definitely choose the best one as his own cave dwelling.

At that time, the spiritual fields belonging to individuals will be at least in the tens of thousands of acres, requiring a large number of people to manage them.

After answering questions about cultivation in the morning, the afternoon's work was equally easy.

He was instructing a group of disciples who thought they were quite talented in kendo, but in reality they were incredibly dull-witted, many of whom hadn't even mastered the basics of kendo.

Most people don't even have flying swords; they only have a common longsword and have learned a set of sword moves.

Bai Zichen watched as his disciples practiced swordsmanship in front of him, eagerly awaiting their critique. His lips twitched, unsure of what to say.

After thinking for a moment, he took out a set of the most basic Flowing Cloud Thirteen Forms from the Wuzhen Sword Manual and demonstrated it to the disciples.

This sword technique doesn't have any complicated moves; its only principle is how to attack the opponent with a flying sword in the fastest and quickest way.

Anyone who can master the Thirteen Forms of Flowing Clouds can be considered a skilled swordsman in the Black Mountain region.

Of all the disciples who sought instruction in swordsmanship, only one named Cha Chengsun left a slight impression on Bai Zichen.

This person was at the seventh level of Qi Refining, possessed a black bamboo sword purchased from the Bai family, and had taught himself the way of flying swords through the few sword manuals in the Transmission Hall.

According to the swordsmanship classification method in Liang Kingdom, he could be considered to have entered the second realm of swordsmanship.

Besides demonstrating the Thirteen Forms of Flowing Clouds to this person, Bai Zichen also patiently answered several questions.

He taught several tips for controlling flying swords during the Qi Refining stage, mainly about how to unleash as many sword strikes as possible with limited mana.

Cha Chengsun listened with rapt attention and immediately knelt down to perform the disciple's rites.

Bai Zichen used his magic to prevent Cha Chengsun from kneeling down.

Instructing on swordsmanship is fine, but formally accepting disciples is out of the question.

Old Man Tong presented such a generous gift, even though his beloved grandson was only a nominal disciple and had not yet been formally accepted into the inner circle.

……

Qingfengmen Market is quite different from what it was a few years ago.

The scattered repair stalls that used to be everywhere on the square outside the market have all disappeared, replaced by small shops.

The market formation expanded its range, encompassing the entire square.

The elders had previously discussed and proposed separating the market into a separate hall, but this proposal was not approved.

However, the elders of the faction who were interested in promoting this plan did a lot of work behind the scenes.

One aspect of this is formally bringing the square, which was previously left to individual repairmen and vendors, under the jurisdiction of the market.

Eighty-eight new small shops have been added, available for rent only, with lease terms ranging from ten to thirty years.

In the first month after it was released to the public, it was all rented out. This alone can bring in 200,000 spirit stones for the sect every year.

"That's more like it. Before, it was a mess, with all sorts of swindlers mixed in. How could the market possibly improve?"

Bai Zichen let down his colorful white cloud-patterned robe, looked at the much-improved market, and nodded in satisfaction.

After seeing the Wanshou Market, he truly felt that his sect's market had many areas that needed improvement.

It's only thanks to the fact that Qingfeng Sect dominates the entire Black Mountain Prefecture, and other places can't form large-scale markets, otherwise the business would have been snatched up long ago.

Wanbao Pavilion.

As Bai Zichen entered the hall, a beautiful female cultivator with a graceful figure greeted him warmly.

"Has this senior visited Wanbaoge before?"

The beautiful female cultivator glanced at him and found that she couldn't tell the depth of his cultivation level at all, and his body was even more alluring.

"Just tell me what you need to buy, and I will guide you to see them one by one."

"Bring your manager over here. You can't make decisions about the business I want to do."

Bai Zichen recalled that when he first came to Wanbaoge, a beautiful woman in palace attire greeted him.

However, although the woman in palace attire was no less beautiful or well-proportioned, she was just a mortal, while the greeter in front of her had a cultivation level of the second stage of Qi Refining.

"Perhaps you would like to explain your situation first, so that I can report to the manager..."

"You may leave. I will personally receive Senior Bai!"

The beautiful female cultivator turned around and saw a tall, aloof woman in a red dress approaching. She quickly bowed her head and said, "Greetings, Pavilion Master."

"I was unaware of Senior Bai's presence; I apologize for any offense caused."

The aloof woman in the red dress waved for everyone else to step back, then bowed deeply in a curtsy.

"I am Qinghe, the Pavilion Master of the Black Mountain Branch of Wanbaoge. Please take a seat on the fifth floor, Senior Bai."

"Okay, lead the way."

Bai Zichen wasn't surprised that the other party recognized him immediately.

Even though Wanbaoge is a powerful foreign merchant firm, it still has to follow Qingfeng Sect's lead in the Black Mountain region.

They must have collected as much detailed information as possible about each elder of the Qingfeng Sect, which would help them in their interactions.

Moreover, upon entering, he sensed that Wanbaoge seemed to have set up its own warning array, presumably to send a notification to the pavilion master if a Foundation Establishment cultivator entered.

'To reach the Great Perfection of Qi Refining, and yet remain a woman as the head of a branch of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion, she must possess extraordinary abilities…'

Bai Zichen followed Qinghe and went straight up to the fifth floor, which is rarely open to the public.

Wanbaoge claims to have branches in all five prefectures and seventy-two counties of Liang Kingdom, and in recent years it has even extended its reach beyond Liang Kingdom.

If the freshly harvested Longya rice were placed in a market like Heishan County, it would probably take two or three years to sell all 9,000 jin of Longya rice.

If you want to monetize your assets as quickly as possible, Wanbaoge is the best channel.

The private room in the center of the fifth floor of Wanbaoge is equipped with a special array to prevent divine sense from probing it. It is said that even the divine sense of a Foundation Establishment cultivator at the peak of his cultivation cannot penetrate it.

Once the guests and hosts were seated, fine tea was served.

"Senior Bai is a rare guest. This is your first visit to our Wanbao Pavilion since you established your foundation... Whatever your needs, I will do my best to fulfill them."

Qinghe had only been transferred to Heishan from the Wanbaoge headquarters for two years, but she had long heard of Elder Bai of the Qingfeng Sect.

She understood that what these Foundation Establishment cultivators from sects were seeking from the Myriad Treasures Pavilion must be rare items.

Otherwise, the problem could be solved using Qingfeng Sect's own channels.

"If there is a temporary shortage in the branch, I will definitely report to the main branch and transfer personnel as quickly as possible."

This young Foundation Establishment cultivator is also a sword cultivator, and it is said that he has top-tier combat power.

Such a person is rare even at Wanbaoge headquarters, so Qinghe certainly dared not be negligent in the slightest.

“I remember Wanbaoge buys spirit rice… I have a batch of spirit rice here. Please give me a price after you’ve seen it.”

Bai Zichen grabbed a handful of Dragon Tooth Rice from his storage bag, and as soon as it was exposed to the air, a clear aroma of rice wafted out.

"Dragon Tooth Rice?"

Qinghe picked up the slender spirit rice with two fingers, each one about the length of her index finger, and examined it for a long time, even waving her hand to smell it.

"It really is second-tier top-grade Dragon Tooth Rice. The grains are plump and full of vitality. It must have been harvested not long ago. Unfortunately, this kind of spiritual rice only has two advantages: high yield and short growth cycle. Its effects are not outstanding among second-tier spiritual rice."

"I don't know how much Senior Bai needs. If it's not much, I'll take the liberty of buying it directly at the market price."

"Not much, not much... around seven thousand catties."

After deducting the thousand catties he handed over to Master Jiang for retail, and the gifts he needed to send to various places, Bai Zichen kept several hundred catties on him for emergencies.

"Seven thousand catties, are you sure?"

For the first time, Qinghe's cold and beautiful face showed another expression. Her red lips parted slightly, and thinking she had misheard, she asked again.

After confirming the quantity was correct, Qinghe forced an awkward smile: "With such a large quantity, according to the rules of Wanbaoge, we can't buy it at the market price... Dragon Tooth Rice may not be plentiful in Black Mountain, but Shennong Sect's shops in Wanlianfang have always been selling it, and the market price of all spirit rice is basically based on theirs."

"The latest price quote is 980 low-grade spirit stones for 100 catties of Dragon Tooth Rice. Senior Bai's 7,000 catties are worth 68,600 spirit stones on the market, but if our Wanbao Pavilion buys them all at once, we can only offer a maximum of 20% of that price."

(End of this chapter)