Chapter 11

Compared to his disdain for other haggling cultivators, the cold arrogance of the black-robed cultivator had long dissipated when facing Yang Tiangang. He even showed a hint of flattery, smiling softly and saying, "Senior is right, but it wasn't easy for this junior to obtain these pills. This place is not a large county town, and I have to bear many risks. I hope Senior can understand!"

Yang Junshan secretly sneered, thinking the black-robed cultivator was cunning. Although he did not claim to be an alchemist, he did not deny that the pills were his, clearly misleading Yang Tiangang into believing he was an alchemist to boost his own status. However, today was destined to make this pill vendor suffer a loss.

Yang Tiangang, apparently believing the person before him was an alchemist, did not want to make things too difficult and thought about dissuading Yang Junshan from buying the pills.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, Yang Junshan tugged at Yang Tiangang's sleeve, pleading, "Father, can we buy this box of pills?"

His son rarely begged him like this. When Yang Tiangang looked down, he saw Yang Junshan's eyes darting, clearly giving him hints. Yang Tiangang was taken aback, wondering if there was something more to this.

Holding the wooden box in his hand, Yang Tiangang carefully inspected each pill, seemingly checking their quality. In the end, he sighed, seemingly reluctant due to Yang Junshan's plea, and said, "Four jade coins, how about that? If not, I have no choice; I'm really short on money."

The black-robed cultivator was secretly delighted. These boxes of pills were obtained by chance, costing him little. Selling a box of Spirit-Calling Pills for four jade coins was a huge profit. However, he still put on a difficult expression and said, "Alright, I'll give Senior a face. If I come to this town again, I hope Senior will take care of my business."

"Definitely!" Yang Tiangang took out four jade coins from the brocade bag tied to his tobacco pipe and threw them to the black-robed cultivator. The father and son, each leading a riding beast, left the market.

"Tell me, how did you discover that this box of pills contains three Spirit Pills?"

Yang Tiangang, after all, was a martial realm expert and had the knowledge and discernment. He was initially deceived by the similarity of the pills, but with Yang Junshan's hint, he could easily spot the difference.

Yang Junshan was well-prepared and said with a smile, "Father, have you forgotten the family book about spirit herbs and pills? I discovered the difference between these three Spirit Pills and the Spirit-Calling Pills based on the information in the book. I was just taking a gamble, but it turned out I had good luck."

Yang Tiangang laughed and scolded, "When did you become interested in the pill spectrum? But this time, you really found a treasure. With these three Spirit Pills, the four jade coins were well spent."

Although Yang Junshan knew the details of these three Spirit Pills, he pretended to be delighted and asked, "Father, what are these three Spirit Pills called?"

Yang Tiangang took out a small brocade box from his storage bag, carefully picked out the three Spirit Pills, and placed them in the box. He said with a hint of joy, "These three Spirit Pills look very similar to the Spirit-Calling Pills, but they are actually called Dharma Profound Pills, which are very helpful for cultivators at the fourth and fifth levels of the Mortal Realm."

Yang Junshan was delighted and said, "Does that mean these three Spirit Pills will significantly boost Mother's cultivation?"

Yang Tiangang could not hide his excitement and nodded, "Yes, with these three Spirit Pills, it will take about half a year to push Mother's cultivation to the peak of the Mortal Realm. Then we will consider opening the dantian and advancing to the Martial Realm."

"Great!" Yang Junshan naturally understood the significance of having another Martial Realm cultivator in the family. This would greatly improve their situation in Tuqiu Village and strengthen their control over the village.

Yang Tiangang threw the wooden box containing the remaining seven Spirit-Calling Pills to Yang Junshan and said, "Alright, the rest are yours. Focus on your cultivation. In two days, I'll take you to Baique Mountain. By the way, what else did you buy in the market besides the two pots of Iron Feather Arrows?"

Yang Junshan smiled proudly and took out the heart-protecting mirror from his chest.

Yang Tiangang looked at the fist mark on the mirror, his expression first stiffening, then he was surprised by the green and red light flashing on the mark. He asked uncertainly, "Green and Red Steel?"

Yang Junshan nodded excitedly, "Exactly! One hundred and sixty-nine stone coins, isn't that a good deal?"

Yang Tiangang carefully examined the heart-protecting mirror and said, "It is indeed Green and Red Steel. Even though the magic array is damaged, the quality of the Green and Red Steel can withstand a hit from a cultivator below the fifth level of the Mortal Realm. Just for that, this heart-protecting mirror is worth four to five jade coins."

"Not just that!" Yang Junshan, under his father's puzzled gaze, took out a fist-sized stone, the red-rusted raw stone, and said, "This stone is a bonus with the heart-protecting mirror. Father, why don't you try to cut it open? Maybe I'll have good luck today and find something surprising in it!"

Yang Tiangang took the red-rusted raw stone, his expression slightly reproachful, and said, "Gambling on stones?"

Yang Junshan knew his father was a straightforward person who disliked gambling. However, to keep the secret of the red-rusted raw stone, he had to smile awkwardly and say, "It was just a bonus I got. Don't waste a good opportunity. I won't learn this kind of thing."

Yang Tiangang snorted, "Ten out of ten gamblers are cheats. This time, I'll let it slide, but in the future, don't get involved with such things. Cultivation is a step-by-step process. Thinking of shortcuts will only harm yourself in the end."

Yang Junshan immediately said obediently, "I understand, Father, you can rest assured!"

Seeing Yang Tiangang's expression soften, Yang Junshan quickly said with a pleading look, "Father, if, I mean if, you really find something good in this stone, don't forget to share some of the benefits with me!"

Yang Tiangang glared and raised his tobacco pipe as if to hit him. Yang Junshan immediately fled, and Yang Tiangang scolded, "You brat, daring to make a deal with your father!"

However, Yang Tiangang still said, "I'm not good at cutting stones, so it might take some time. But don't get your hopes up. Even if there's something good inside, you probably won't be able to use it."

How could he not use it? That's a spirit jade overflowing with spirit energy!

But Yang Junshan could only think this to himself. However, the disappointment on his face this time seemed a bit more genuine.

"Father, what did you exchange at the gathering of Martial Realm cultivators in town this time?"

Despite his past life's experience, Yang Junshan still looked at Yang Tiangang with some anticipation.

This trip to the market was mainly to prepare for Yang Junshan's trip to Baique Mountain. For this, Yang Tiangang even brought two stones of spirit grains. The spirit grains on the riding beasts were now gone, clearly used for exchanges.

Seeing his son's expectant expression, Yang Tiangang felt very satisfied and scolded, "You brat, this time I spent a lot on you!"

Saying this, Yang Tiangang first took out three silver arrowheads carved with runes from the brocade bag.

Yang Junshan's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, "Are these talisman arrows?"

Yang Tiangang "hmm"ed and said, "Your skills have improved recently. It seems you've read a lot of cultivation manuals I've collected!"

Yang Junshan felt embarrassed but said proudly, "Of course, since I'm going to Baique Mountain, I had to prepare beforehand."

Yang Tiangang placed the three talisman arrowheads in his hand and said, "These three talisman arrowheads are engraved with low-level magic runes. One is an Explosive Arrow, which explodes upon hitting the target with considerable power; one is a Frost Poison Arrow, which releases frost poison upon hitting, even high-level fierce beasts will suffer; the last one is a Retractable Arrow, which is not for attacking but for escaping."

Yang Tiangang paused, seeing that Yang Junshan remained calm and showed no dissatisfaction, his satisfaction increased. He continued, "This talisman arrow, when shot, will create a spiritual line between the arrow and the bow, which will quickly contract and pull the shooter away. This is a life-saving tool, so use it carefully."

Yang Junshan took the three arrowheads with a hint of excitement. In his past life, Yang Tiangang had also obtained these three talisman arrows for him, but Yang Junshan, in his youthful enthusiasm, used them up early in Baique Mountain without finding satisfactory spoils, wasting these hard-earned treasures.

Seeing Yang Junshan happily playing with the three talisman arrows, Yang Tiangang reminded him, "Although these three talisman arrows are engraved with low-level runes, with the little bit of spirit energy you have in your body, you can probably only barely activate one. So use them carefully."

Yang Junshan nodded, but Yang Tiangang didn't know that the spirit technique Yang Junshan was currently cultivating, the Earth Spirit Technique, was quite different from the family's Earth Spirit Technique. Although the spirit energy in his body was compressed due to the former, it was much more refined, so the amount of spirit energy needed to activate the runes was actually much less.

Even so, it was still a bit difficult for Yang Junshan to activate two talisman arrows with the spirit energy in his body, but there were still two days before the Baique Mountain hunting ground opened.

Yang Junshan touched the seven Spirit-Calling Pills in his pocket and thought about the two medium-grade yellow jade fruits at home. In these two days, he could use this opportunity to greatly increase the spirit energy in his body, and then activating two talisman arrows would be no problem.

However, the preparations Yang Tiangang made for Yang Junshan were not limited to these. After giving him the three talisman arrows, Yang Tiangang took out two finger-sized talisman stones from the brocade bag.

Yang Junshan's eyes flickered when he saw the two talisman stones but did not reveal his knowledge, instead asking, "Father, are these talisman stones?"

"Exactly!" Yang Tiangang looked at him and said, "One of these talisman stones is engraved with a Stone Wall Spell. When used, just use spirit energy as a trigger and smash it into the ground, and a wall of earth will rise in front of you to block the enemy. The other one is sealed with a Quicksand Spell. When smashed into the ground, it will turn into a pool of quicksand to block the enemy, ..."

These were all life-saving tools. Combined with the retractable arrow, although Yang Tiangang did not stop Yang Junshan from going to Baique Mountain, the life-saving tools he prepared for him revealed his inner worries.