Chapter 90

**Chapter: Desperately Wanting the Monkey Tail Sword**

Thank you for reading the paid chapter, Mantou will write better and better!

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"72 seeds of the Gangti Treasure Lotus, in hand!" Ding Hao's eyes shot out a gleam of surprise.

After all, this meant he was about to refine the ancient grand completion, the innate supreme, which was unparalleled in the Nine States world. How could he not be eagerly anticipating it? At that time, not to mention the young prince Chai, even many geniuses in the Nine States Academy would be like clay chickens and straw dogs!

Ding Hao took out all the small green gourds and the remaining thirty bottles of Eye-Washing Spirit Powder. After a final calculation, he still had over forty spirit stones left.

Ding Hao really wanted to buy the Monkey Tail Sword, a weapon nearly as powerful as a flying sword, which he had wanted to purchase since his first visit to the Earth City.

However, he feared he could not buy it now.

First, if he bought the Monkey Tail Sword, Shang Yun would likely guess that he was at the innate level. Then, the merchants might have ulterior motives. Second, if he bought the Monkey Tail Sword today, the Tang family would surely get the news, and he would be suspected by them!

Therefore, he had to give up the idea of buying the Monkey Tail Sword and any other weapons.

"Monkey Tail Sword, hah..." Jiu Nu was still very refined and did not say anything mocking, but from his "hah," one could sense his disdain for the Monkey Tail Sword.

After all, someone who had once stood so high would naturally look down on the Monkey Tail Sword, an innate ordinary treasure.

Jiu Nu continued, "For a cultivator, the most important thing is cultivation and one's own strength! Although weapons and spirit treasures are good, improving one's own strength is even more important! The Spirit Yuan Fruit downstairs is quite good; buy one to try it."

"Alright." Ding Hao took out twenty spirit stones and said, "Manager Shang Yun, please get two more Spirit Yuan Fruits."

Like the Gangti Treasure Lotus, the Spirit Yuan Fruit could only be eaten one at a time; eating more was ineffective.

The Spirit Yuan Fruit was also selling well recently, with the fruits on the tree almost all picked.

This was because the fruit greatly enhanced mental power, meaning it could increase the chances of entering the Qi Condensation stage during the imperial examination! So it was selling very well now!

When Ding Hao was going downstairs, he also saw the steward of the Chai family. Clearly, Young Prince Chai had not obtained the Bi Bo Pill, which was hard to find, so the Chai family had to buy Spirit Yuan Fruits for Young Prince Chai.

"Manager Shang Pei, Manager Shang Yun, no need to see me off, see you next time!" At the door, Ding Hao turned and bowed before leaving.

Shang Yun said from behind, "Senior, when you make your next move, be sure to come to our merchant house; the prices can be negotiated."

"Understood." Ding Hao turned and bowed again, then did not look back, heading straight for the city gate.

He was carrying 72 seeds of the Gangti Treasure Lotus, two Spirit Yuan Fruits, and over twenty spirit stones. Such wealth would even make a late-stage Qi Condensation stage Immortal Master greedy; how could he dare to linger for a moment?

After leaving the Earth City, he followed the yellow earth road to the edge of the forest, then used the Beast Shadow Technique to flash into the forest.

Then, a nondescript stone appeared on the ground, and Ding Hao hid inside the stone.

Inside the stone, Ding Hao's heart was still pounding.

The 800 spirit stone transaction was completed!

This was the biggest and most risky thing he had ever done in this life and his past life!

800 spirit stones were a number that could make even the four major merchant houses greedy! For the Immortal Masters of the orthodox and demonic paths, this could drive them mad!

In the face of money, all truths would be silent! Even the most upright Immortal Master would be greedy when faced with 800 spirit stones.

How could Ding Hao not be nervous?

After hiding in the Star Absorption Stone and looking outside for half an hour without seeing any movement, Ding Hao finally felt a great relief, "It seems the merchants really value business, they didn't send anyone to follow me! I found the right person this time!"

Actually, the merchants did not send anyone to follow him mainly because he appeared quite mature, and they could not figure out his background, so they did not dare to act rashly! If they knew he was just a small flea at the innate stage, who knows what the merchants might have done!

This was a cold and cruel world, where good people were rare.

Sighing with relief, Ding Hao happily took out the Spirit Yuan Fruits.

The last time he went to the merchant house, he could only stand outside and exclaim, "One Spirit Yuan Fruit costs ten billion silver taels," but now, he had already obtained the Spirit Yuan Fruits, and even two of them.

"Grass dog, one for you." Ding Hao threw one to Da Huang.

"Mine too!" Da Huang's dog eyes immediately turned into human eyes, his paws holding the fruit, and he said, "It really smells good..."

Ding Hao said, "Of course, you, a grass dog, have never eaten anything so good."

Da Huang retorted, "Damn, you, a living person, have never eaten anything so good either."

Seeing the two of them happily holding the fruits, Jiu Nu in the Blood Cloud sneered, "Eat quickly, what's the big deal, it's just a low-grade spirit fruit? When you go to the upper realm, all kinds of good things, top-grade spirit fruits, immortal fruits, and imperial-grade immortal fruits, those are the good things!"

At this moment, the Xuan Yun Purple Ape also smelled the scent and roared, its eyes turning red, ready to rush over and snatch the fruit.

Seeing this, Ding Hao thought it was better not to provoke the ape and quickly put the Spirit Yuan Fruit in his mouth.

Seeing Ding Hao eat, Da Huang also opened his mouth and swallowed it in one bite.

After the two of them finished eating, Da Huang asked, "What does it taste like? I ate too fast."

Ding Hao said, "Pigsy eating the Ginseng Fruit, I think you're Huang Pigsy."

Da Huang said, "What? I don't understand."

Jiu Nu couldn't help but laugh and said, "Alright, Da Huang, after you eat, sit in meditation to let the power of the Spirit Yuan Fruit enhance your mental power. If you can enter the innate grand completion, that would be best!"

"Really, Da Huang is also going to enter the innate grand completion?" Ding Hao was pleasantly surprised.

After all, it was much harder for beasts to cultivate than humans. It was normal for them to take hundreds of years to reach the innate grand completion. Da Huang's speed was already considered exceptional among beasts.

Da Huang immediately sat in meditation, but since he was a dog, his posture was a bit peculiar, looking quite funny.

Ding Hao asked, "What about me?"

Jiu Nu said, "You don't need to meditate. Don't let the power of the Spirit Yuan Fruit enhance you too much, or you might accidentally enter the Qi Condensation stage and won't be able to participate in the imperial examination."

Ding Hao nodded, "Right, I need to get the 3rd level Ascension Rank! I wonder what it's for?"

Jiu Nu couldn't answer this question. Even the boastful Jiu Nu didn't know what the Ascension Rank was for. This was also why Ding Hao was skeptical of Jiu Nu's boasting. The Ascension Rank was such an important thing, and you, Jiu Nu, don't know what it's for, yet you act so arrogant?

Ding Hao then took out the remaining few spirit stones to play with. This was the first time he had so freely played with spirit stones. Each one was worth ten billion silver taels, a value that was terrifying!

However, he also felt quite sentimental. So much powder and spirit liquid had been exchanged for 800 spirit stones, and in the end, only twenty or so were left, making him feel like money was spent like water.

Finally, he took out the lotus pod of the Treasure Lotus.

Jiu Nu said, "I told you to take the whole lotus pod, this is a good deal. Don't underestimate this lotus pod; others think it's useless, but with the Star Absorption Magic Technique, the spiritual power in the lotus pod can be used by you. This lotus pod is at least worth two seeds!"

"Really?" Ding Hao was pleasantly surprised and said, "If I had known, I would have just bought the used lotus pods from others, wouldn't that have been a great deal?"

Jiu Nu said, "Alright, take a little advantage, but you can't live by taking advantage."

"Taking advantage when you can is not a waste," Ding Hao said shamelessly.

Jiu Nu could only feel awkward about Ding Hao's character.

Jiu Nu then asked, "Do you plan to refine the Iron Enclosure Mountain here or return to the Heavenly Will? This refinement process is time-consuming and labor-intensive, I suggest you return to the Heavenly Will, as it is safer for you!"

"Then I'll go back."

Since he had encountered danger a few times, Ling Yunxiao was very worried about him. If he didn't return for a month, Ling Yunxiao would be very worried.

Not long after, a young man in a green robe was walking back to the Border Village.

Now, he released his innate eighth-stage cultivation, which was considered late-stage innate, so no one dared to provoke him.

He safely returned to the Border Village, and unexpectedly, he saw Xu Yuan Kun and others from the Iron Hoof Eighty Riders.

Xu Yuan Kun smiled bitterly, "Young Master, why did you go to the outer domain without a word? When City Lord Ling found out you were out, he was afraid something might happen to you and kept sending us to look for you."

Ding Hao was prepared and took out a prepared Iron Armor Rhino, "Please reassure City Lord Ling. After breaking through to the innate eighth stage, I went out to test my strength and hunted two fresh Iron Armor Rhinos. I'll roast the spirit meat for everyone to taste."

Under the Iron Armor Rhino's belly was a palm-sized piece of meat, known as spirit meat, which was exceptionally delicious. It was usually simply roasted without any seasoning, just a bit of salt, and it was very tasty.

However, the spirit meat had to be fresh; after half an hour, the freshness would diminish, and after an hour, the spiritual power would be greatly reduced. After two hours, it would be no different from ordinary meat.

Xu Yuan Kun and the others had a good relationship with Ding Hao and immediately smiled, "Great, I know a good barbecue place, let's all go for a feast."

Soon, the four of them were sitting in a barbecue restaurant in the Border Village, roasting meat and chatting. The soldiers of the Iron Hoof Eighty Riders were all at the first or second stage of Qi Condensation, and they were all former candidates who had been eliminated from the Nine States Academy.

Xu Yuan Kun said, "Young Master Ding, when you go to the Nine States Academy, you must stand up for Wuzhou. In recent years, there have been few geniuses from Wuzhou, and they have been suppressed in the Nine States Academy!"

Another soldier said, "Yes, the most arrogant in the Nine States Academy are the geniuses from Tangzhou, Qinzhao, and Bazhou. They rely on the power of the Tang, Qin, and Zhou emperors to bully other disciples. They are all young masters, and we are all grandsons! If it weren't for the Tangzhou gang stealing the academy's distributed pills, I should have been able to enter the third stage of Qi Condensation! Then I would have had a chance to stay in the academy and enter the inner gate!"

"Yes, they are too arrogant, completely looking down on others!"

Ding Hao nodded. He had also seen the actions of Tang Yuanhao and Piaoling Gongzi, knowing that these people were extremely arrogant. He ate a piece of meat and said, "General Xu, could you help me buy something in the Earth City?"