Gou Zai Qingluo Cave Heaven Cultivation

Zhou Baoqing looked down at the little guy in the bucket.

The Xuan Shui Ling Turtle is no bigger than a baby's fist. Its shell is a deep dark blue-green color. When it is lifted up, you can see a piece of unabsorbed yolk on its soft belly. Its limbs paddle futilely in mid-air, making it look adorably clumsy.

Don't let its cute appearance fool you, this is a genuine Tier 1, Rank 2 spirit beast cub, usually worth around 200 spirit crystals on the market.

You should know that the blue-scaled fish raised in their own fishpond are only first-grade, first-level fish.

The difference between a single grade can be enormous, with seedling prices varying by as much as fifty times.

It's no wonder the fat stall owner felt the pinch.

Zhou Changping, watching from the sidelines, had his eyes shining. He gave a thumbs-up and exclaimed, "It has to be Brother Bao! When he strikes, it's a fatal blow!"

Zhou Baoqing smiled, but his gaze seemed to drift towards the guard Qian standing to the side.

At this moment, Brother Qian was touching his nose, his eyes darting around, looking somewhat guilty.

Zhou Baoqing had been wondering why he, who had not yet entered the Qi realm, could perceive the fat stall owner's tricks with his clear spiritual sense, while Brother Qian, a body-refining cultivator, seemed completely unaffected.

Seeing the other party's reaction now, what else is there to not understand?

Clearly, the other party was well aware of these petty tricks and swindles in the marketplace, but didn't want to disturb their young master's enjoyment of his outing, adopting a "better safe than sorry" attitude.

Zhou Baoqing smiled knowingly at the guard, not intending to "reveal" his little scheme.

The martial arts world isn't just about fighting and killing; the right way is to see through things but not say anything.

Zhou Changping came over and teased the little turtle a couple of times. Seeing that it was frightened and had huddled in its shell, motionless like a little black stone, he started to get bored: "Brother Bao, why do you have to put this cowardly turtle in your shell?"

Both the fluffy red fox and the lively green-feathered chicks on the stall were much more interesting than this dark, black turtle.

"Don't underestimate this Xuan Shui turtle; if you raise it properly..."

Zhou Baoqing deliberately kept Zhou Changping in suspense until he had successfully piqued Zhou Changping's curiosity, then chuckled and said, "I can even take care of you in your old age and see you off when you die!"

"Hahaha!"

Zhou Changping was stunned for a moment, then realized what he meant and burst into laughter, "Brother Bao, your mouth is so sharp!"

Seeing this, Qian Youzheng couldn't help but grin.

He stepped forward and offered, "Young Master Baoqing, let me hold this Xuan Shui Turtle for you."

He was grateful for Zhou Baoqing's "hands-off" attitude. After all, this matter was neither a big deal nor a small one. It wouldn't cause any major problems, but it wouldn't be good if the young master found out.

Zhou Baoqing did not refuse.

The market was crowded and the walk was bumpy. Holding the bucket in my own hands was not as stable as holding Brother Qian's sturdy hands. I thanked him and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Brother Qian."

The three continued strolling around.

Zhou Baoqing was thinking about planting spiritual plants in the cave, so he headed towards the "spiritual plant market".

In front of each stall owner, there were all sorts of spiritual plants, including seeds, seedlings, and even mature spiritual herbs.

First-grade, first-level mature spiritual herbs are fine, but first-grade, second-level spiritual herbs are quite expensive, usually costing around one low-grade spirit stone.

Zhou Baoqing naturally couldn't afford it, so he looked at the stalls selling seedlings and finally chose a stall owner who looked honest and simple, like an old farmer.

These kinds of stall owners aren't middlemen, which makes people feel more at ease.

The monk sat on a tattered mat, with several kinds of spiritual plants piled up in front of him.

The medicinal plants on the stall were clearly divided into two halves.

The spiritual plants on the left side were clearly carefully tended, either placed in a specially made spiritual wood box or carefully wrapped in spiritual cattail grass that contained moisture.

For example, that "Azure Star Grass" seedling with its leaves flowing with starlight, is a first-tier, second-grade plant, and is clearly priced at two hundred spirit crystals per plant.

There were also small ginseng called "Purple Water Ginseng" that emitted a faint fragrance, carefully tied with a red string and marked with a high price of three hundred spirit crystals.

A single low-grade spirit stone cannot buy even a few of these premium seedlings.

Zhou Baoqing blinked and looked in the other direction.

The situation on the right side was appalling, with a large number of withered and broken spiritual plants with their roots tightly intertwined, making it seem as if even basic survival was not guaranteed.

Although these plants look terrible, they come in a variety of types and are priced at only half the price of those on the left.

Among them were even a few first-tier, second-grade precious plants, but they were all in poor condition and on the verge of death.

However, Zhou Baoqing believed that with the blessing of the Azure Snail Cave Heaven and the nourishment of its spiritual waters, he might be able to bring these withered trees back to life.

He squatted down and picked through the mud, focusing on aquatic spiritual plants, some of which were first-grade and second-grade. He quickly gathered them into a small pile.

"Boss, how much are these?" Zhou Baoqing asked, pointing to the pile of withered leaves he had picked out.

Seeing that Zhou Baoqing was buying a large quantity of these junk items, the stall owner enthusiastically said, "Young master has good taste. These spiritual plants may look wilted, but if you take them back and put them in the spiritual water pool, they might still survive. How about five hundred spirit crystals if you take them all?"

"Boss, how about we compromise? I'll pay you one low-grade spirit stone, and you can give me five hundred spirit crystals in change, but..."

Zhou Baoqing pointed to a few inconspicuous pieces of "rotten wood" at the edge of the mud pile next to him, and said, "You can give me this piece of withered grass as a bonus."

That was a section of a first-grade, second-level lotus root. It looked rotten, but it was actually the easiest to cultivate.

The stall owner was initially somewhat reluctant, but upon taking the spirit stone from Zhou Baoqing, he saw that the stone was perfectly round, with a restrained spiritual light, and of excellent quality.

In the world of cultivation, a single low-grade spirit stone of excellent quality can often be exchanged for 1,100 or even more spirit crystals, making it far more valuable than scattered spirit crystals.

The stall owner immediately beamed with joy, nodding repeatedly and saying, "Alright, alright, young master is a straightforward person, please take it!"

After carefully storing the spiritual plant, Zhou Baoqing was in a great mood.

Suddenly, the surrounding noise gradually intensified, and a wide stall in front of them was surrounded by people, with round raw stones of different sizes placed in the center.

The surrounding crowd was chattering amongst themselves, talking about how so-and-so had found a top-grade water spirit jade here the day before yesterday and became rich overnight.

The sound stirred the blood of the independent cultivators around him who were dreaming of getting rich.

Just then, a shirtless man in the center of the crowd suddenly slapped his thigh. The stone he had chosen was cut open by the stone-cutting master, and a rich emerald green light instantly emanated from it.

"It's gone up! It's gone up a lot!"

The audience gasped in astonishment, erupting in a deafening chorus of gasps and envious exclamations.

In an instant, the scene was bustling with activity, with countless people waving spirit stones, eager to buy the raw stones.

Zhou Changping watched from the side, clicking his tongue a couple of times, then secretly pulled Zhou Baoqing aside and whispered:

"Brother Bao, you absolutely must not touch these things. They are all scams, like honey traps. Nine out of ten gambling games are fraudulent!"

Most of those stones that were cut and expanded were actually "skin-covered green" stones that had been manipulated; they looked shiny, but inside they were full of rubbish.

Those who seem to find good deals are mostly shills they've hired to scam fools who dream of getting rich quick!

Upon hearing this, Zhou Baoqing couldn't help but look at the chubby boy with newfound respect.

Judging from how enthusiastic he was at the ring toss stall, I thought this kid was also a gambler who was easily carried away.

Unexpectedly, he was extremely knowledgeable about the jade gambling business and had such a clear mind!

Just as Zhou Baoqing was about to praise him, his gaze suddenly sharpened, piercing through the crowd to spot a somewhat familiar figure from behind.

The man clenched his fists tightly, his whole body trembling with excitement.

However, as the outer layer of stone fell away, the inside was a grayish-white color.

The man instantly looked as if he had lost his parents, angrily waving his arms and smashing the scrap stone in his hand on the ground while cursing.

When the man finished cursing and turned half his face to look at him, Zhou Baoqing was stunned.

It really was someone I knew!

That man was none other than Zhao Qiang, the biological father of his cousin Zhao Fanghua and cousin Zhao Yuanqiu, and his own uncle!

But didn't Aunt Zhou Yulan say that Zhao Qiang had already gone to work at the Ling Mine in the north?

Why would someone be so greedy and throwing money around in this jade gambling market in Qinglinfang?

You should know that my aunt's family lives with the Zhou family and they are very frugal, spending less than two or three spirit crystals a week!

My cousin, who has spiritual roots, can't even afford the tuition to attend the clan school!

He was filled with doubt and was about to step forward to investigate when the crowd in front of him suddenly erupted into a frenzy as another piece of raw stone was cut open.

The crowd surged forward like waves, and Zhao Qiang's figure was completely swallowed up by the throng, leaving no trace.