A white colt flashes past a crack-three days passed in the blink of an eye.
In the faint morning light, the early dawn after the rain still carried a trace of chill. Gu An tightened his green robe, locked the courtyard gate, and sighed inwardly: "This time I leave for three years. I wonder what scenes will greet me upon my return."
His cloud-treading shoes broke through the morning light, splashing specks of mud from the bluestone path as he rushed toward Qingyun Peak.
Only when he reached the Spirit Beast Garden did Gu An stop. Gazing at the green stone gate of the garden, he strode inside.
A young man also dressed in a green robe approached, asking with a smile, "This Junior Brother, have you come to select a spirit beast?"
Gu An slightly cupped his hands. "Senior Brother, this Junior Brother has accepted a sect departure mission. I came today to purchase a swift horse. Might Senior Brother have any recommendations?"
"When traveling outside, it is indeed necessary to buy a fast horse. Maintaining one's condition while on the road is very important. Using a spirit horse for travel saves magic power and does not delay the journey."
"Junior Brother seems experienced."
The green-robed Senior Brother was somewhat surprised. Generally speaking, this was knowledge that only veterans would know. New disciples who hadn't suffered a few losses would find it hard to appreciate.
Looking at this Junior Brother's youthful face, he couldn't have been frequently executing missions. It must have been guidance from elders in his family.
Thinking this, a smile spread across his face, and his attitude improved.
"Let me introduce them to Junior Brother."
"Our sect's Spirit Beast Garden has a First-Grade Lower-Tier spirit horse, the Cloud-Chasing Horse. When this horse runs, mist forms between its hooves. It has excellent endurance and can travel a thousand li in a day."
"There is also the First-Grade Lower-Tier Wind-Neighing Horse, with its green mane neighing in the wind. Its burst speed is extremely fast, covering eight hundred li in a day."
"The First-Grade Middle-Tier Fire Cloud Colt can..."
The green-robed Senior Brother spoke endlessly, appearing very enthusiastic.
In truth, he was indeed enthusiastic. Cultivators in the Spirit Beast Garden received spirit stone rewards for selling spirit beasts-that was the reason for his eagerness.
"Uh." Gu An awkwardly interrupted the Senior Brother's words. "Senior Brother, I want to buy an ordinary horse or a half-spirit horse. This Junior Brother is truly short on funds."
The green-robed Senior Brother was a bit confused. Had this Junior Brother's elders not given him spirit stones for his mission? Or had he guessed wrong? Still, he didn't insist and instead began introducing half-spirit horses.
"Junior Brother, for half-spirit horses, I recommend the Black-Scale Horse. Its speed is among the best of half-spirit horses, and its endurance is also good. Our sect can now breed them stably, so the price is not high-only two spirit stones. Truly good value for money."
"Might Senior Brother take me to see one?" Gu An asked.
"Of course! Follow me." The green-robed Senior Brother led Gu An about a hundred paces into the valley, stopping at the first beast shed.
Without needing further introduction, Gu An knew this was the Black-Scale Horse. The horse was entirely covered in black scales, its mane flowing in the wind, its limbs knotted with muscle, its scales clanging-majestic beyond compare!
Just looking at it made his thighs ache. Truly a horse worthy of its name!
"Ahem, might Senior Brother gift me a saddle?" Gu An asked with a shameless grin.
Fortunately, the Senior Brother was generous and agreed to a saddle. Gu An selected a tall, sturdy horse that pleased his eye, fitted it with the saddle, paid the spirit stones, mounted the Black-Scale Horse, and galloped away, leaving a trail of dust.
This Black-Scale Horse could travel five hundred li in a day, so he would arrive in three and a half days. Gu An planned to go to Qingyuan Immortal City first to make some purchases.
Qingyuan Immortal City was built entirely by the Qingyuan Sect, a tool for harvesting resources from rogue cultivators. It was not far from the Qingyuan Sect, and Gu An arrived in half an hour.
By then, the mist had dispersed. Morning dew seeped from the bluestone city walls. Gu An heard a sound of breaking air overhead-a cultivator flew over the city gate on a flying sword, drawing envious glances from those around.
He left the Black-Scale Horse at the beast shed outside the gate and walked slowly into the city. What met his eyes were stalls set up by rogue cultivators, with three or five items laid out on black cloth. Occasionally, spiritual light flickered, making one's heart itch.
But Gu An dared not seek treasures at these stalls. If he was cheated and tried to return, the seller would have already packed up and fled!
Every year, news came of Qingyuan Sect disciples being scammed. Gu An's ears were numb from hearing it!
Seeing Gu An hesitate, some guides-mostly mortals who made a living leading new customers-took notice. But when they saw the green cauldron emblem on Gu An's chest, they dispersed in disappointment.
Qingyuan Sect disciples didn't need their guidance!
Gu An didn't linger in the stall area. He strode deeper into the city.
After a moment, he stopped before a gray stone building. It was small, only two stories, but once inside, he found it surprisingly spacious.
A plump, bejeweled shopkeeper approached, his dark robe embroidered with dark gold cloud patterns. Smiling, he spoke, "This Fellow Daoist from the Qingyuan Sect, what might you need?"
"I want some Black Spirit Fish. Shopkeeper, you'd better give me a good price." Gu An cupped his hands in greeting.
"Easy, easy. But Black Spirit Fish aren't worth much. Might I ask..." The fat shopkeeper invited Gu An to sit and served tea.
Black Spirit Fish absorbed spiritual Qi quickly and had a short maturation period, but their taste was mediocre, so they couldn't fetch a high price. Only poor rogue cultivators would eat them.
As for having more spiritual Qi-ha! A spirit fish that remained at the first level of Qi Condensation for its entire life-who would eat it for that bit of spiritual Qi?
"Since when does the Hundred Spirits Pavilion ask about the purpose of goods before selling? What does the shopkeeper mean?" Gu An frowned but didn't touch the tea.
"My mistake. Please forgive me, Fellow Daoist. How about this: one spirit stone for five fry?" The fat shopkeeper still smiled.
Gu An's face darkened. This fat pig-was he mocking him for not knowing the market? One spirit stone for five was the same price as the sect. Why wouldn't he buy from the sect?
"Shopkeeper, don't toy with me. My elder told me your prices are much cheaper than our Qingyuan Sect's." Gu An lowered his eyelids and spoke in a deep voice.
"Oh my, so you have a referral! Why didn't you say so, young nephew? How about this: six fry per spirit stone? What do you think?" The fat shopkeeper, hearing Gu An bluff, was uncertain.
"How about this: twenty spirit stones for a hundred fry and a spirit beast pouch. If not, I'll leave." Gu An stated.
The fat shopkeeper hesitated. A spirit beast pouch cost five spirit stones. The remaining fifteen spirit stones would only buy ninety fry. One way or another, he'd lose two spirit stones.
But that wasn't how to calculate it. Both the fry and the spirit beast pouch had profit margins. Selling them meant thinner profits; not selling meant no profit at all!
This kid looked so young-why was he so hard to fool!
Forget it. Thin profits were better than none.
"Fellow Daoist really knows how to do business. I won't make a single spirit stone on this deal. You'll have to patronize me more in the future."
Gu An ignored the fat shopkeeper's endless complaints. If he didn't make a profit, that would be strange. But he didn't expose him, only saying flatly, "Shopkeeper jokes. But I have matters to attend to, so..."
"Wait a moment, Fellow Daoist." The shopkeeper went into the back room and soon returned with a small yellow pouch, handing it to Gu An.
Gu An took the spirit beast pouch and swept it with his divine sense. Seeing that the Black Spirit Fish were all lively, with no tricks played, he readily took out twenty spirit stones and handed them to the shopkeeper.
The transaction complete, Gu An took his leave.
Walking down the street, Gu An's mind was on the Black Spirit Fish.
These fish were his deliberate choice. They absorbed spiritual Qi quickly and matured fast. Though their economic value was somewhat low, they were very suitable for his Spirit Source Feedback. Moreover, the spiritual Qi supplied by a single First-Grade Middle-Tier spirit vein was more than enough to raise them.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOC97xCsDVo
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