Mountains and giant beasts, cabins in the woods

Without saying a word, the man took the beast tooth knife from his waist and made a cut on his hand.

Helpless, Liu Xingmo opened the medicine jar, scooped out the powder with a silver spoon, and sprinkled it on the man's wound.

The gushing blood mixed with pale yellow medicinal powder quickly coagulated into a scab, completely covering the wound.

The skin in that area quickly turned red, and the man's eyebrows twitched as he felt a tingling and painful sensation.

After a while, the blood tomato, like a dried-up yellow leaf, wobbled and fell off. It left no scars, and the new skin was as pink and tender as ever.

The man looked up and shouted, "Excellent healing medicine, no problem with its effectiveness!"

"Hmm." The mammoth responded, its trunk lifting a cargo ship from its back and gently placing it on the ground. "The divine medicine, I want it all."

"Understood!" The man in animal skin led the way towards the warehouse. "Human, follow me."

It was a rather rough house, but exceptionally sturdy. A section of tree trunk had been carved out into three layers, which were then stuffed full of things.

After Liu Xingmo went inside, he saw all sorts of blood-path spiritual herbs.

In addition to common fish roe, insect eggs, and bird eggs, there were also unknown dried meat, as well as the nails and hair of wild animals.

The man led Liu Xingmo to the top floor, browsed through all the goods, and asked, "Human, what do you want?"

"Those bird eggs look pretty good. Tell me more about them."

"These are five bat eggs, currently hatching. They will be Tier 5 Blood Path Beasts upon birth."

"Huh!?" Liu Xingmo stared at the eggs in surprise. "Aren't bats viviparous? Where did these eggs come from?"

"You didn't know?" The man asked, somewhat surprised. "When one cultivates the Blood Path to a high level, one can transform blood into human form. These eggs were made by fifth-tier bats, specifically to act as spies and gather intelligence from the air."

"Oh, is that so?" Liu Xingmo appeared calm on the surface, but was inwardly shocked.

Legend has it that Black Dragon Village suffered several great calamities, resulting in significant population losses, but it was always able to quickly replenish its ranks. Could this be true? Are there clones among my ancestors?

"How much are these eggs?"

"One egg is worth 3 spirit stones."

Spirit stones are the common currency for transactions among major powers. A spirit stone the size of a finger can be exchanged for 10 Black Dragon Village gold coins, which is worth 1 yuan.

At 3 per Blood Path Bat, the price is much higher than that of wild-caught mythical beasts, mainly due to the rare flying ability of the beast race.

Liu Xingmo was somewhat tempted, after all, blood-path beasts held a different significance for blood-path cultivators.

He asked, "What defects does this manufactured creature have?"

"They are inherently weak, making advancement difficult and limiting their future potential. If you consume one to advance to the third tier, your subsequent cultivation will also become more challenging."

"Never mind then, tell me more about that piece of jerky. Could it be dragon meat?"

……

The goods here are incredibly diverse, including products from beastmen all over the world, which is quite an eye-opener.

After all, elephants, especially mammoths, are the big brother of the beastmen, and one of the very few giants that can rival dinosaurs.

The sheer size of this caravan demonstrates the immense power of the Mammoth Kingdom.

……

After discussing it for a long time, Liu Xingmo still couldn't make up his mind.

The goods here aren't good value for money; they're not as good as what's produced in the village itself. These medicinal herbs weren't originally intended for someone of his second-tier strength.

Every elixir has a usage limit; consuming too much renders it ineffective. The veteran experts of Black Dragon Stronghold have consumed all the native elixirs and require imported ones.

Nowadays, Liu Xingmo doesn't need imported products.

The man in the animal skins, seeing that his sales pitch was ineffective, didn't get angry. He peeled back the layers of goods and took out a brown lump from a shrunken stomach.

A strange smell permeated the air, neither fragrant nor foul, and it was hard to describe.

The moment Liu Xingmo inhaled the air through his nose, his heartbeat suddenly slowed, and his brain felt dizzy.

He covered his mouth and nose and quickly asked, "What is this?"

"Ambergris, a mid-grade earth-level spiritual herb, produced by a sperm whale. This piece is worth one spirit stone." The man wrapped the item up. "It can put bloodline cultivators into a deep sleep, allowing their bodies to recover rapidly and resume cultivation."

Liu Xingmo's eyes lit up. This was a great product for those with low-level strength!

When an ordinary person cultivates for a period of time, their blood and qi become turbulent and their meridians swell and ache. At this point, they can only stop and resume cultivation after a while. Only as their strength increases can they gradually increase the amount of time they spend cultivating each day.

I didn't expect there to be a spiritual elixir that could increase cultivation time; I must obtain it.

"How much of this ambergris do you have? I'll exchange all my divine medicine for it!"

"No, I can only give you one." The man handed over a crumpled stomach bag. "This is a spare sample; the rest of the goods were ordered by other powerful individuals."

"All right."

"Do you want to order next year's ambergris now? Or can we deliver it at this time of year?"

"Okay, I'll take 5 servings!"

"You need to pay a deposit for the price. If you don't come to buy the goods when the caravan arrives next year, you will have to refund the deposit to me; if I don't receive the goods and deliver them to you, I will refund you two deposits."

"That's reasonable, let's do it this way."

"Including the piece you have, and two portions of ambergris, that's a total of 2 spirit stones."

"Deal!" Liu Xingmo replied.

Let's do the math. I spent 2 yuan. The cure for all diseases I have is worth 3 yuan, the Qi Sword and Mang Pill is worth 3 yuan, and I still have 4 yuan left to purchase.

Liu Xingmo rubbed his hands together and asked, "Brother, could you show me some other goods? I'd like some refining elixirs and luck-enhancing elixirs."

Step out of the wooden house.

"Thump!" Another cargo building was placed on the ground by the elephant's trunk.

Enter the building.

There were far fewer items here, all packaged in grass leaves, wooden buckets, and earthenware jars, looking more refined; these were elixirs for refining the Dao.

"The Dao of Refining forces are different from others; they have their own channels for trading high-end goods," the man in animal skin explained. "The medicines here may look low-quality, but they are actually all finished products. With the same spiritual energy content, they are easier to absorb. Therefore, they also have excellent effects, and the price is not cheap."

"Oh~" Liu Xingmo looked around, noticing a large earthenware vat in the corner that seemed unfathomable. "What's that?"

The man lifted the lid of the earthenware jar and held out a worm the size of a head with both hands.

This yellowish-brown insect is covered in mud and has two small claws and a straw-like mouthpart.

It is a cicada, also known as a cicada nymph. It is still alive and is wriggling incessantly.

Liu Xingmo was completely baffled: "What's wrong with this insect? It has a strong spiritual energy inside it, but it doesn't seem like a strange beast."

"People in the Central Plains often use fire refining methods, and the finished medicines are all pills." The man held the large cicada by the waist and showed it to the customer. "This medicinal cicada is the culmination of insect refining methods. It absorbs various medicinal materials and perfectly integrates them into its flesh and blood, making it extremely easy to digest and absorb."

"Oh, the method of insect refining! You can do it like this?" Liu Xingmo looked left and right, the insects baring their fangs and claws.

He rubbed his chin and tentatively asked, "Could this be deep-fried until crispy before eating?"