https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-150-Establishing-a-Cave-Abode-an-Immortal-s-Abode-Part-1-/12549486/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-151-Intruders-in-the-Cave-Will-Be-Killed-Part-1-/12549494/
Chapter 150: Establishing a Cave Abode, an Immortal's Abode (Part 2)
Chapter 150: Establishing a Cave Abode, an Immortal's Abode (Part 2)
So, its value is entirely up to me to decide."
Chu Ning fell silent for a moment, considering her words. Then he asked, "What are your terms, Fellow Daoist Cen? I assume it's not as simple as exchanging spirit stones for this array."
Cen Ziqin let out a soft laugh. "You're perceptive, Fellow Daoist Chu. If it were just about spirit stones, I could easily find many wealthy cultivators in this region willing to pay a high price. But I have something else in mind for this array—a trade."
"A trade?" Chu Ning looked at her, puzzled.
"Indeed, a trade," Cen Ziqin affirmed with a slight nod. "If I'm not mistaken, the upper-grade primary level talismans you used during the competition were crafted by you, weren't they?"
Upon seeing Chu Ning's admission, Cen Ziqin continued, "The trade I propose is that I will gift this set of array flags to you, Fellow Daoist Chu, and in return, you will let our Cen Workshop sell the talismans you craft."
Hearing Cen Ziqin's proposal, Chu Ning asked curiously, "Fellow Daoist Cen, the arrays of your Cen Workshop are so renowned. In the short time I've been here, I've already seen many customers coming in to inquire. My talismans are not of extremely high quality and may not be as attractive as your arrays. Why would you want to sell my talismans here?"
Cen Ziqin replied without hesitation, "Fellow Daoist Chu, you may not have been in the Thousand Isles and Thousand Lakes region for long, but you should have heard that the six great families of the Thousand Isles Alliance have a cooperative yet competitive relationship. They work together when dealing with outsiders, but internally, each family strives to acquire more resources and strengthen their own power."
Chu Ning nodded, finding this reasonable. The structure of the Thousand Isles Alliance indeed fostered such dynamics.
Cen Ziqin continued, "While our Cen family has achieved prominence in the art of arrays, we are quite mediocre in other aspects. Whether it's talisman-making, pill refining, or artifact crafting, we lag far behind the other families. Therefore, when it comes to obtaining resources, we are at a significant disadvantage compared to the other five families. As you know, arrays are not something that cultivators need frequently; one might not need to purchase another set for decades. The reason you saw many customers in the shop earlier is because the Thousand Isles Competition just concluded, and some cultivators are looking to set up new arrays. Otherwise, we don't usually have this many visitors."
Upon hearing this, Chu Ning finally understood Cen Ziqin's intentions.
He asked, "Then, Fellow Daoist Cen, how do you propose we handle the sale of the talismans here? What would be the terms of our trade?"
"Fifty-fifty!" Cen Ziqin replied promptly.
However, Chu Ning shook his head and said bluntly, "Fellow Daoist Cen, why don't you tell me how much this array would cost in spirit stones instead?"
A fifty-fifty split was out of the question. He could easily find a shop in the marketplace, hire someone to help sell his talismans, and still make a profit far greater than fifty percent.
Cen Ziqin was taken aback by Chu Ning's outright refusal. She then smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist, there's no need to be so hasty. We can certainly negotiate the split. How about you take fifty-five percent, and we take forty-five percent?"
Chu Ning shook his head again and directly stated, "Let's not discuss that offer. Eighty-two percent for me, and we have a deal. If you agree, Fellow Daoist Cen, we can seal the deal right now."
Hearing Chu Ning's terms, a flash of anger appeared in Cen Ziqin's eyes, and she unconsciously released her aura as a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Chu Ning's heart trembled, but he remained calm and took a sip of the spirit tea while his other hand rested on his storage bag.
Noticing Chu Ning's movement, Cen Ziqin's eyes narrowed. She quickly dispersed her aura and spoke in a gentle, jesting tone, "Fellow Daoist, can't you show some sympathy for me? It's not easy for a woman like me to manage this Cen Workshop. Our family is under a lot of pressure."
Seeing that Cen Ziqin had withdrawn her aura, Chu Ning moved his hand away from his storage bag and smiled bitterly, "Fellow Daoist Cen, please don't joke with me. You're a Foundation Establishment cultivator with unparalleled talent in arrays. No one in your family would dare to give you any trouble."
Cen Ziqin's eyes sparkled as she noticed Chu Ning's cautious behavior. She then spoke seriously, "Fellow Daoist, eighty-two percent is out of the question. How about..."
Half a shichen later, Chu Ning walked out of the Cen Workshop with a calm expression.
After a lengthy negotiation, the two of them finally reached an agreement that satisfied them both. Chu Ning had agreed to a sixty-forty split in the end.
The most important reason he had accepted this split was because of the Cen family's status. They were, after all, the leading family of the Thousand Isles Alliance.
Although Chu Ning had initially appeared unyielding, he had been observing Cen Ziqin's every move.
This Cen Xianzi, despite her high cultivation, seemed to lack depth in her schemes. Her actions and intentions were still readable to Chu Ning.
If he had been dealing with an older and more cunning opponent, Chu Ning wouldn't have dared to be so bold. He was also mindful of his position as a guest in their territory and would have been more cautious if Cen Ziqin had truly tried to force him into a deal.
Fortunately, she hadn't resorted to such tactics.
However, Chu Ning also knew when to stop pushing. Another crucial reason he had agreed to the sixty-forty split was because of the set of array flags in Cen Ziqin's possession.
Such a valuable item couldn't be easily purchased with spirit stones.
Even with this split, he wasn't at a disadvantage.
Moreover, Chu Ning had one more condition: his identity as the talisman maker must not be revealed.
Chu Ning anticipated that if the Cen family could produce a batch of high-quality talismans and Cen Ziqin promoted them effectively, their talisman business would undoubtedly thrive. This would inevitably encroach on the business of the other five families.
If the other families found out that the talismans were crafted by him, it would be akin to offending them indirectly, which was something Chu Ning wanted to avoid at all costs.
He just wanted to cultivate peacefully.
Initially, Cen Ziqin hadn't agreed to this condition. Her original plan had been to use Chu Ning's talismans as a selling point to launch their talisman business.
Chu Ning had one more condition for the deal: his identity as the talisman maker must remain a secret. He anticipated that if the Cen family could produce a batch of high-quality talismans and promote them effectively, it would inevitably encroach on the business of the other five families. He wanted to avoid any potential backlash from them at all costs.
On the third day, Chu Ning returned to the Cen Workshop and received the complete set of array deployment items from Cen Ziqin. In exchange, he gave her a thousand talismans and a portrait, explaining that a man named Liu Ping would be responsible for future talisman transactions. He also requested that the meeting place for these transactions be moved to the bustling Caiwu Island instead of Qianhuan Island.
Cen Ziqin agreed to these terms, albeit with a slight smile at Chu Ning's cautiousness.
With everything settled, Chu Ning hurried back to Yifeng Peak on Fei Hong Island. He took out the array plates and flags and began studying them, referring to the detailed instructions and diagram that Cen Ziqin had provided.
It was a tedious process, and Chu Ning had to adjust the placement of the flags multiple times to get them just right. Additionally, he wanted separate restrictions for the cave rooms, spirit beast chambers, herb garden, and spirit fields, which meant even more flags.
By the time he finished setting up the array, half a day had passed. Chu Ning activated the array with an incantation, and immediately, spiritual energy surged from the spirit vein, converging onto the array plate.
A miraculous scene unfolded as the entire Yifeng Peak was enveloped in a layer of white mist. From outside, it would appear as if the mountain had vanished into thin air. But the mist soon dissipated, revealing a mountain that looked exactly like the original Yifeng Peak.
Curious, Chu Ning exited the array to observe the illusion from the outside. He released his puppet bird, which flew towards the peak, only to lose contact with it as soon as it reached the summit. The bird fell from the sky, its connection to Chu Ning severed by the array's restrictions.
Chu Ning tried to sense the puppet bird with his spiritual sense, but it was blocked by the array as well. He shot a pillar of fire at the array, but it easily dispersed the attack without any sign of disturbance.
"This array is indeed impressive, and it doesn't even have a name yet," Chu Ning thought, satisfied. He considered giving it a name but eventually decided against it. As long as the array worked, a name was unnecessary.
Returning inside the array, Chu Ning continued with the latter half of establishing his cave abode. With the help of the Iron Rock Beast, he dug out the excess soil from the spirit fields and herb garden, shaping the mountain to his liking.
The cave abode was now complete. The rooms facing the lake were for cultivation, resting, and receiving guests, with a comfortable view of the water. Higher up the mountain, he created a hot spring room, infusing the air with a fiery heat using two Fire Spirit Crystals.
Exiting the cave chambers, Chu Ning was greeted by a vast herb garden.
This herb garden was still within the scope of the high-grade spirit vein.
Therefore, both the quality of the spirit soil and the density of spiritual energy could barely compare to the cave abode Chu Ning had briefly stayed in for two months at Qingxi Sect.
As Chu Ning had yet to plant all the spirit herbs, the garden was still just one large open area.
Chu Ning still had some array flags, which he could use to arbitrarily divide and restrict the area once the spirit herbs were planted.
Beyond the herb garden was a massive spirit field spanning hundreds of mu (approximately 70 acres).
The density of spiritual energy and the quality of the spirit soil here were no less than that of the twenty mu spirit field outside Yanjifang.
However, while this vast spirit field was also enveloped by the array, the outer defenses were inevitably weaker.
The main protective restrictions of the array were focused on the edges of the herb garden.
After all, the spirit herbs with higher value would be planted there, and naturally, the quality of the spirit plants in the field would be a notch lower.
After taking Ling Xiaobai and the Iron Rock Beast on a tour, Chu Ning nodded in satisfaction.
Then he turned to the two little guys and instructed them:
"From now on, I'll be planting spirit herbs and plants here, so you two must not run around and trample on them."
"Whine!"
Ling Xiaobai nodded intelligently.
The next moment, he sent a telepathic message.
"Can I eat them after they're grown?"
"You can, but you have to help speed up the ripening process," Chu Ning replied with a smile.
"Whine!" Ling Xiaobai whined plaintively, as if to say that he knew it would come to this.
Chu Ning smiled and explained to them where they could and couldn't go, then shooed the two little guys back into their chambers.
He then took out items from his storage bag.
The first thing Chu Ning retrieved was the jade box containing the Flamewood Twinfruit saplings.
He had obtained these saplings several months ago but hadn't found a suitable place to plant them until now.
As a result, they had been kept in his storage bag.
Not only had these saplings not been planted, but because Chu Ning had been refining his magic power, he also hadn't consumed the Flamewood Twinfruit or the Green Wood Primal Yang Pill.
However, Chu Ning wasn't in a hurry to take them now. He wanted to deal with these spirit herbs and plants first.
At this moment, he opened the jade box and inspected the saplings. They had been preserved fairly well.
Chu Ning promptly took out the saplings and began planting them in the herb garden.
After planting over thirty of them, he started to cast spells.
Chu Ning cast the Green Wood Eternal Spring Art, as he had not yet cultivated the Mysterious Green Spring Art.
Since the Flamewood Twinfruit was so precious, he didn't want to experiment with it lightly.
After casting the Green Wood Eternal Spring Art for a while, Chu Ning proceeded to plant the other saplings.
By the time he finished, half a shichen (one hour) had passed.
Chu Ning returned to the area where he had planted the Flamewood Twinfruit and carefully sensed its condition.
He could clearly perceive strands of spiritual energy converging toward the Flamewood Twinfruit.
However, his eyebrows furrowed slightly as he noticed that the wood-attributed spiritual energy was more abundant, while the fire-attributed spiritual energy was lacking.
This was naturally due to the Green Wood Eternal Spring Art being biased toward wood-attributed magic.
It didn't matter for ordinary spirit plants, but the Flamewood Twinfruit required a very balanced mix of wood and fire attributes.
Otherwise, even if it bore fruit, the quality would be greatly diminished.
Nevertheless, Chu Ning had expected this.
He took out three larger Fire Spirit Crystals from his storage bag and buried them in several locations within the herb garden.
At the same time, he also took out several array flags from his storage bag and planted them in specific spots.
Instantly, an invisible restriction separated this small herb garden from the rest of the area.
This was precisely the effect Chu Ning had insisted on when purchasing the array—the ability to gather spiritual energy.
Otherwise, it would be a huge waste for the fire-attributed spiritual energy within the Fire Spirit Crystals to dissipate.
Subsequently, Chu Ning went to the other herb gardens and cast the Sweet Dew Art and the Green Wood Eternal Spring Art.
Only then did he move on to the spirit field outside and plant the Iron Stem Orchids and other items from his storage bag.
He also planted some Golden Origin Fruits and some Purple Crystal Bamboo, which he hadn't cultivated for a while.
Chu Ning also took out some bamboo rice to plant several mu worth, ensuring self-sufficiency.
In just half a day, the area outside Chu Ning's cave abode was filled with various spirit herbs and plants, giving it a vibrant and lively feel.
Then, Chu Ning went straight to the area where he had planted the Iron Stem Orchids.
First, he recalled the Mysterious Green Spring Art from the jade slip of the Mysterious Green Art in his mind.
Then, after performing several hand seals, he cast a spell on the Iron Stem Orchids.
Since this Mysterious Green Spring Art was recorded in the upper-grade profound art, he wanted to see if it lived up to its reputation.
And as soon as he cast the spell, Chu Ning was slightly taken aback.
At that moment, a very mysterious sensation surged within him.
(Note: This chapter's title is incorrect; it should be Chapter 149, so there is no missing content.)
(End of Chapter)
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