Chapter 76

Shen Xiang looked a bit handsome, but he was dressed very simply, and he did not wear any ornaments that could show his wealth, so he looked quite shabby.

"Do you know how much it costs to enter the Taiwu Sect? You were defeated in just one year," Zhu Rong said with a sneer, but he suddenly heard a "crack" sound, as if someone was eating fruit.

Zhu Rong, who loved to eat, immediately turned his head and saw Shen Xiang holding a purple fruit, biting it piece by piece, and spitting out some of the skin.

Zhu Rong was instantly stunned, then he shouted, "Idiot, is this how you use the Purple Spirit Fruit? Stop eating it right now! Damn it, the skin is so valuable, and you're actually spitting it out..."

The Purple Spirit Fruit is the main ingredient for refining True Qi Pills, and eating it like a fruit is a waste. Zhu Rong was so angry that he wanted to slap Shen Xiang. In his view, eating the Purple Spirit Fruit directly was a desecration of the fruit!

Shen Xiang didn't care: "The taste of the Purple Spirit Fruit is very good, sweet, and after eating it, a lot of True Qi appears in the body."

Zhu Rong's fat face turned red with anger. Although the Purple Spirit Fruit wasn't his, he felt a deep pain in his heart.

"Stop eating it, I'll buy it from you," Zhu Rong hurriedly said. Just as he finished speaking, Shen Xiang swallowed it in a few bites. Zhu Rong wanted to rush over and knock Shen Xiang's jaw off!

"How much does it cost to enter the Taiwu Sect for a year?" Shen Xiang asked with a smile.

Zhu Rong stomped his foot and said angrily, "A guy like you will never enter the Taiwu Sect." Although he didn't know Shen Xiang's identity, he was sure that Shen Xiang was extremely wealthy, otherwise he wouldn't casually eat a Purple Spirit Fruit.

"Then forget it, I'll ask someone else." Shen Xiang said, and took out another Purple Spirit Fruit, preparing to eat it.

"An outer sect disciple costs 3,000 medium-grade spirit stones per year," Zhu Rong quickly said, then took out a few blue stones the size of his thumb and handed them to Shen Xiang: "Ten medium-grade spirit stones for your Purple Spirit Fruit."

Spirit stones, like spirit coins, are a type of mineral containing spirit energy. However, spirit stones contain more compressed, pure spirit energy, making them better than spirit coins.

Shen Xiang learned from Su Mei Yao that in this world, medium-grade spirit stones are mainly used as currency. One medium-grade spirit stone is equivalent to 1,000 large spirit stones, and ten of them are equivalent to 10,000 large spirit coins.

To buy a Purple Spirit Fruit for 10,000 large spirit coins, this fat guy was clearly trying to rip Shen Xiang off.

"Brother Zhu, do you think I'm a pig? This is the main ingredient for refining True Qi Pills, is it worth only this much? I might as well eat it myself," Shen Xiang said with a sneer.

"Thirty!" Zhu Rong said without changing his expression.

Shen Xiang shook his head and walked forward. Zhu Rong quickly followed and shouted, "Fifty!"

Shen Xiang ignored him.

"Sixty!"

"One hundred!"

"One hundred and fifty!"

"..."

"Two hundred!"

Shen Xiang turned around and smiled, "Just now you wanted to buy it for ten spirit stones, now it's many times more. You're really a swindler." Shen Xiang handed over the Purple Spirit Fruit and took the pile of spirit stones.

"You don't know, our Zhu family is a famous merchant family in Taiwu State. We've been in the money business since we were little, there's nothing we can do about it," Zhu Rong said frankly, looking at the Purple Spirit Fruit. "The price of Purple Spirit Fruit is artificially inflated by merchants."

Shen Xiang suddenly felt he might have lost out, but 200,000 large spirit coins was his bottom line.

Although Zhu Rong was a small swindler, Shen Xiang got along well with him and learned more about this world. The place where he was now is called "Taiwu State," a vast area under the jurisdiction of the Taiwu Sect. All the forces in this area must pay tribute to the Taiwu Sect, and the Taiwu Sect maintains the safety of this land.

"Brother Shen, don't do something as stupid as eating a Purple Spirit Fruit in the future. If the alchemists see you, they'll beat you up," Zhu Rong warned, still feeling a deep pain in his heart when he thought about Shen Xiang eating one.

Shen Xiang didn't care; he had the Dragon Saliva Art, and if the Purple Spirit Fruit ran out, he could quickly cultivate more.

"Old Zhu, do you think I have a chance to enter the Taiwu Sect now?" Shen Xiang asked with a smile.

Zhu Rong grinned, "If you sell me a dozen more Purple Spirit Fruits, you might have a chance. But you have to pass the Taiwu Sect's examination to truly enter, which is a requirement for every sect."

Shen Xiang followed Zhu Rong to a city called Tianmen City, which is the closest to the Taiwu Sect and a place where many people who want to enter the Taiwu Sect often stay.

As soon as they arrived, Zhu Rong said goodbye to Shen Xiang, saying he had to return to his sect, and that other people couldn't enter the Taiwu Sect casually.

"Is this the entrance to the Taiwu Sect?" Shen Xiang stood under the city gate, looking at the powerful characters above.

Just passing through this city, one could see a straight, wide road. At the end of the road was a huge, luxurious building complex, which was the Taiwu Sect!

"Sir, this is a sixth-grade mundane weapon, on sale, only 999 spirit stones!" A big man standing at the shop entrance waved to Shen Xiang. People like Shen Xiang, who look around as soon as they enter the city, are mostly newcomers, easy to fool.

Weapons and some defensive equipment can be divided into mundane, spirit, and treasure grades, each with nine levels. Mundane weapons are the lowest grade, with the most basic materials and forging techniques. However, a sixth-grade mundane weapon is not bad, close to the highest ninth grade.

"Sir, do you want to buy elixirs? Superior-grade Great Yuan Pills, only 55 spirit stones each, two for 100," an old man from another elixir shop shouted.

Shen Xiang saw that elixir shops were everywhere in Taiwu State, and he was surprised. He walked over and asked, "Do you sell Purple Spirit Fruits?"

"Of course, 300 spirit stones!" the old man said.

Shen Xiang's lips twitched slightly. He was indeed ripped off by the fat guy, who initially only wanted to give him ten spirit stones. Now Shen Xiang knew that elixirs were more expensive in this world, much more expensive than in his Southern Wu Kingdom.

This was good for him because he was an alchemist! He could already see many white spirit stones. He then learned that one True Qi Pill costs 500 spirit stones and is limited in quantity.

Shen Xiang walked around Tianmen City, sold a few True Qi Pills, and quickly gathered 3,000 spirit stones, which was the tuition fee to enter the Taiwu Sect. Although he had the inheritance from Su Mei Yao and Bai You You, entering a sect would allow him to learn more, more martial arts, and participate in various competitions as a sect disciple, with the chance to win rewards.

Shen Xiang walked toward the distant gate, which was open, with many people entering and exiting. These days were the time when the Taiwu Sect opened its gates to recruit disciples, so many people came, but most were just trying their luck.

Shen Xiang passed through the gate and walked on a straight, wide stone road. In the distance was the Taiwu Sect, surrounded by a wall over twenty feet high. Shen Xiang had previously thought the Taiwu Sect was built on some high mountains.

Shen Xiang stood in front of the huge gate, looking at the majestic characters "Taiwu Sect," feeling a surge of heroism in his heart. The gate was closed, but a small door was open.

In front of the small door, a long queue was formed. They were all testing their spirit veins. Only those with qualified spirit veins could enter the outer sect, of course, provided they had enough spirit stones.

The method for testing spirit veins was to stand on a round platform. The platform had an array that could detect the spirit veins in the body, then different lights would appear, along with corresponding values.