Chapter 20: Penniless

Xu Daoyan walked side by side with Young Master Shi, while the black-clad middle-aged man could only follow behind. He couldn't figure out who Xu Daoyan was. Despite his shabby appearance, Young Master Shi seemed to admire him greatly!

"Where are you from, young brother?" Young Master Shi was quite talkative, speaking calmly. A typical twelve-year-old couldn't achieve what he had, clearly indicating he was no ordinary person. It was hard to gauge his strength.

Xu Daoyan didn't use the Immortal Wood Appraiser to probe his strength. After all, the man had helped him, and doing so would be disrespectful.

"Shiliu Village." Xu Daoyan didn't hide it.

"Shiliu Village? Isn't that a village under Shiyun Town, right next to the battlefield? It's ten thousand miles from Shiliu Village to Shilong City. How did you get here?" Young Master Shi was somewhat surprised.

"My master grabbed me, and in the blink of an eye, we were here. Now he's sleeping, and after I buy what I need, he'll take me away!" Xu Daoyan was straightforward, with no ulterior motives.

"What? Ten thousand miles in an instant!" Young Master Shi was also shocked. Shilong City was heavily guarded. Even if someone could travel ten thousand miles in an instant, bringing a person into Shilong City without being detected by the experts stationed there would be terrifying.

Young Master Shi gave a signal to the burly man behind him, and the man stepped back.

"Ten thousand miles in an instant? I guess so." Xu Daoyan nodded, as if such things happening to the old beggar were not unusual.

"It seems you are a disciple of a great master." Young Master Shi smiled. "What are you here to buy?"

"Horses." Xu Daoyan's eyes were filled with longing.

"Horses? What for?" Young Master Shi was puzzled.

"To eat!"

Upon hearing this, Young Master Shi was stunned. He looked at Xu Daoyan and asked, puzzled, "Eat horses? What's the point?"

"After I started cultivating, my appetite grew significantly. I need to eat three horses a day, and soon it will be four or five. So I need to buy them to eat." Xu Daoyan said matter-of-factly.

"Wouldn't it be better to buy Human Essence Pills?" Young Master Shi was exasperated and confused.

"Human Essence Pills? What are they?" Xu Daoyan was taken aback.

"You don't even know about Human Essence Pills?" Young Master Shi held his forehead. This made him even more curious about Xu Daoyan's background. How could a disciple of a great master not know about Human Essence Pills?

But from what Xu Daoyan had said, it didn't seem like he was lying.

"Human Essence Pills can supplement the nutrients the body needs. They are made by infusing pure heavenly energy into various medicinal essences. Any strong cultivator would choose to buy Human Essence Pills. Eating three or four horses a day means you have to defecate three or four times. The process from preparation to consumption and defecation wastes a lot of time. Human Essence Pills have fewer impurities, so you don't need to defecate as often, saving time for cultivation. With your current need for Human Essence Pills, one pill every two or three days would be enough." Young Master Shi patiently explained to Xu Daoyan.

"So useful? They must be very expensive, right?" Although he had taken a lot of money from the yellow-robed Daoist, the Human Essence Pills sounded very expensive from Young Master Shi's description.

"Not really. After all, they are just Human Essence Pills. One pill costs one hundred gold pieces." Young Master Shi said casually.

Xu Daoyan's mouth twitched. A large horse could be bought for a few silver pieces, not gold. Seeing Xu Daoyan's pained expression, Young Master Shi smiled. "In the world of cultivation, time is the most important. Eating too much horse meat will leave many impurities in your body, which can be fatal. Most people prefer Human Essence Pills. Long-term consumption can even extend your lifespan. Of course, if you eat celestial horses or dragon horses, that's a different story."

"Oh? Celestial horses, dragon horses? How much do they cost?" Xu Daoyan asked.

"Gold can't buy them. You need to exchange them with magical artifacts, rare materials, scriptures, or other rare items. Or you can trade with other immortal beasts." Young Master Shi explained.

Xu Daoyan's eyes twitched. After some consideration, he sighed, "Forget it, I'll buy Human Essence Pills!"

Indeed, even if he bought a thousand ordinary horses, he couldn't carry them all. Human Essence Pills were much more convenient to carry.

As they talked, the man who had been following behind Young Master Shi reappeared and whispered something in his ear. Young Master Shi looked at Xu Daoyan and smiled.

"Since I'm a VIP at the Shilong Chamber of Commerce, buying with me will be cheaper. If you have anything else you want to sell, they will buy it at a reasonable price."

Xu Daoyan thought Young Master Shi was a good person and didn't hesitate. He exchanged all the gold, silver, and jewels in his spatial ring for gold.

Through Young Master Shi, the three-foot sword sold for ten thousand gold pieces.

The pile of gold, silver, and jewels sold for another seven thousand gold pieces, giving Xu Daoyan a total of twenty thousand gold pieces.

Xu Daoyan then took out the jade bottle given by the old beggar, which unexpectedly sold for five hundred thousand gold pieces.

"How could it sell for so much?" Xu Daoyan was surprised and asked Young Master Shi.

"Didn't you know? This jade bottle is made from immortal jade. It can store liquids like medicinal solutions, elixirs, and fine wines, preserving their potency. It can even be nurtured, and the space inside can store a lot." Young Master Shi understood the significance of the jade bottle, indicating that Xu Daoyan had a powerful mentor.

"Alright, if it's sold, it's sold." Xu Daoyan felt the jade bottle was useless to him.

With Young Master Shi's help and the VIP discount, Xu Daoyan spent eight thousand gold pieces to buy one hundred Human Essence Pills, enough to meet his short-term needs.

After buying them, Xu Daoyan thanked Young Master Shi and was about to leave.

"Brother, I don't even know your name yet." Young Master Shi smiled.

"My name is Xu Daoyan. What about you?"

"My name is Shi Yun. You have a lot of money. I think you should buy something useful to speed up your cultivation. Otherwise, this trip would be a waste." Young Master Shi noticed that Xu Daoyan didn't understand many things and added a few words.

"Hmm? What else can I buy? Can you help me look?" Xu Daoyan saw that it was still early and thought it would be a pity to leave without buying more.

"Ha, sure." Young Master Shi agreed and took Xu Daoyan to a higher floor of the Shilong Chamber of Commerce.

As they walked, Shi Yun learned about the scriptures and techniques Xu Daoyan was cultivating.

Xu Daoyan only mentioned that he was cultivating wood and fire elements. As they talked, Shi Yun suddenly realized that Xu Daoyan, despite his abilities, knew very little about other things.

"Brother Xu, don't you want to buy a protective magical artifact? It can save your life in critical moments." Shi Yun asked.

"How much does a protective magical artifact cost?" Xu Daoyan was clueless.

"It depends on the grade. A high-grade human artifact costs about one to two thousand gold pieces. A high-grade earth artifact costs about ten thousand to one hundred thousand gold pieces. A high-grade heavenly artifact can cost millions, and sometimes you can't even buy one." Shi Yun briefly explained.

Xu Daoyan now understood that magical artifacts were graded: human, earth, and heavenly.

"Forget it, I don't fight with others. I'll buy something to speed up my cultivation instead." Xu Daoyan felt a headache at the prices. Although he was now wealthy, he realized his money wasn't enough to buy much in the Shilong Chamber of Commerce.

"You can buy some wood spirit stones and fire spirit stones. The price varies depending on their purity." Shi Yun took Xu Daoyan to the spirit stone floor.

Low-grade spirit stones cost one hundred gold pieces per pound.

Mid-grade spirit stones cost one thousand gold pieces per pound.

High-grade spirit stones cost ten thousand gold pieces per pound.

When Xu Daoyan saw the array of spirit stones, each emitting pure energy naturally formed by heaven and earth, he realized that these stones would help him avoid the process of extracting spring and summer energies from the natural world to nourish his liver and heart. He could directly use the spirit stones to refine his internal organs, greatly accelerating his cultivation and ensuring better quality and quantity.

Xu Daoyan's greatest wish was to become stronger and avoid being bullied.

So he gritted his teeth, bit his lip, and spent the remaining 512,000 gold pieces to buy thirty pounds each of high-grade wood spirit stones and high-grade fire spirit stones. This was thanks to Shi Yun's help, which made the prices much cheaper.

After buying them, Xu Daoyan found himself penniless again, with only a few silver pieces left. "Brother Shi, thank you for teaching me so much. I've bought what I need and should take my leave."

"Hehe, I feel a connection with Brother Xu. Here is a token from the Shilong City General's Residence. If you need any help, come to the Shilong City General's Residence. You are always welcome." Shi Yun handed Xu Daoyan a token made of fine iron.

Xu Daoyan took the token, bowed in gratitude, and left the Shilong Chamber of Commerce.

The man beside Shi Yun smiled and said, "Young Master, are you trying to cultivate your own confidant?"

"Of course. Xu Daoyan has great potential. He comes from Shiliu Village, which is clean and trustworthy. More importantly, he has a great mentor, which will be beneficial to me in the future!" Shi Yun smiled, not saying more. The man had returned to inform him that the experts in Shilong City hadn't detected anything, confirming that Xu Daoyan's master was indeed a great master.

After leaving the Shilong Chamber of Commerce, Xu Daoyan was grabbed by a black hand. Before he could react, he found himself on the back mountain of Shiliu Village.

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End of Chapter 20