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Chapter 90: Wind Gorge Hamlet
Chapter 90: Wind Gorge Hamlet
Leaving Little Spirit White to its own devices in the backyard, Chu Ning returned inside to cook some spirit rice.
After all, he hadn't eaten a proper meal during the day, so he should at least have a decent dinner.
"I should take the opportunity to buy some Pills of Fasting from Sister Gu when I get the chance. It'll be more convenient to have some in stock."
Chu Ning muttered to himself as he scooped out some spirit rice from his storage bag.
As he cooked the rice, he paused and added a little extra.
He wanted to see if Little Spirit White would eat spirit rice.
After all, while he had some spirit stones, he wasn't exactly wealthy enough to feed the little spirit beast Yulan fruits and Golden Yuan fruits on a daily basis.
As he cooked the rice, Chu Ning's curiosity about the little spirit beast's origins kept nagging at him.
The collection of strange tales that Zhuang Yunde had given him previously included some introductions to spirit beasts as well.
However, no matter how much Chu Ning racked his brains, he couldn't recall anything about a little creature like this.
"It's a pity that the jade slip Master He gave me only had information about spirit plants and herbs, and nothing about spirit beasts."
He figured that Luo Yipin and his group probably had some materials on spirit beasts, but Chu Ning naturally had no interest in seeking them out.
At that moment, Chu Ning suddenly recalled what Lin Changqing had mentioned before about the recent beast disaster.
Apparently, it was caused by a third-rank demon beast emerging from the Green Gorge Mountains, which had startled the lower-rank demon beasts.
Little Spirit White was certainly not a third-rank demon beast, or else it wouldn't have been so easily trapped by him.
However, could the appearance of this third-rank demon beast be related to this little guy in some way?
As this thought occurred to Chu Ning, he felt that his speculation might actually hold some truth.
"If that's the case, then Little Spirit White probably has a significant background.
Having it with me might cause some inconvenience, and I should probably prepare a spirit beast bag to carry it around discreetly when I go out."
Chu Ning made up his mind.
After a while, the spirit rice was cooked, and Chu Ning prepared two side dishes before calling Little Spirit White over.
Little Spirit White hesitated at the sight of the spirit rice but eventually started eating it.
However, it completely ignored the two side dishes, not even sparing them a glance.
Seeing Little Spirit White finish a bowl of spirit rice, Chu Ning finally felt relieved.
Ignoring everything else, at least he could provide enough food for it.
It wouldn't be a problem to cook a little extra spirit rice, and it was still affordable for him.
"I can't give it too many treats for now. Otherwise, if it gets used to the good food, I won't be able to afford to keep it."
Chu Ning made up his mind and instructed Little Spirit White to return to the backyard.
After tidying up, he resumed his talisman-making and cultivation.
The next day was market day, and early in the morning, Chu Ning went to a shop in the market square to buy a spirit beast bag.
What left him speechless was that when he took out the spirit beast bag and tried to put Little Spirit White into it, the little guy kept shaking its head and refused to go in.
Since they hadn't established any contract, Chu Ning couldn't force it into the bag either.
After thinking about it, he could only give up for the time being and instructed Little Spirit White to stay in the backyard.
The little guy was obedient at this moment and immediately fell asleep in the backyard.
After interacting with Little Spirit White for most of the day, Chu Ning discovered that the spirit beast truly loved to sleep.
Aside from eating and occasional activities, it spent most of its time sleeping.
Chu Ning sold some talisman paper, but not a large quantity. As the afternoon drew near and the market was about to close, a sound-transmitting talisman landed outside his door. It was Lin Changqing, who informed him that he would take him to Wind Gorge Hamlet the next day.
Early the next morning, Chu Ning said, "Little White, I'm going out today, so stay in the backyard and don't go anywhere.
Whatever you do, don't wander off. Everyone out there has trapping talismans like the one I used on you.
They're all ruthless people, and if you fall into their hands..."
After a thorough scare, Little Spirit White nodded its little head vigorously.
It seemed that even if they wanted to take it out, they would have to put in some effort to convince it.
Chu Ning left the yard and walked out to the front of the shop after seeing that Little Spirit White had agreed to stay in the backyard.
Soon after, Lin Changqing arrived, piloting a spirit boat to pick up Chu Ning, and they soared into the sky.
"Was your spirit field damaged?" Lin Changqing asked shortly after they left Yanji Hamlet.
Initially, Chu Ning had intended to report some losses, but after discovering Little Spirit White, he abandoned that plan.
If Lin Changqing inquired further, he wouldn't know how to explain himself.
So, he shook his head, "There were protective restrictions in place, so the spirit plants inside weren't damaged.
But I lost a few days, and the growth of the spirit plants has slowed down a bit."
Lin Changqing nodded slightly after hearing this, and then suddenly said, "So it was still affected. Don't bother with the monthly payment for this month, then."
Chu Ning was momentarily taken aback when he heard this.
But he quickly reacted and said, "Thank you, Executive Lin."
As he spoke, Chu Ning took out fifty spirit stones from his storage bag and handed them to Lin Changqing.
"I'm not very familiar with Wind Gorge Hamlet, so please give me some guidance, Senior Lin."
"Of course. Feel free to join me more often when you don't have anything else going on."
Lin Changqing was very satisfied to see Chu Ning being so accommodating and nodded his head in approval.
With a casual wave of his hand, the fifty spirit stones that Chu Ning had offered vanished into his storage bag.
Seeing this, Chu Ning didn't feel annoyed but instead felt relieved.
The information provided by Zhuang Yunde was indeed valuable. This Executive Lin might have a cold exterior, but he was similar to Zhuang Yunde in that they were both men who could be bribed.
Money could solve problems, and that was a good thing.
It saved him a lot of trouble.
Wind Gorge Hamlet was not close to Yanji Hamlet, but fortunately, Lin Changqing piloted the spirit boat at a swift pace.
After more than an hour, the two of them arrived at a bustling market town.
Due to its trade dealings with the sects on both sides and the surrounding cultivator families and solitary cultivators, this market town was much larger than Qinghe Market Town near Qingxi Sect.
And compared to Yanji Market Town, there was simply no comparison.
Moreover, as soon as Chu Ning entered Wind Gorge Market Town, he noticed that there were far fewer mortals here than in Yanji or Qinghe Market Towns.
Whether this was because it was further away from mortal cities or some other reason was unclear.
"Senior Lin, are we going directly to the Cloud Sea Pavilion?" Chu Ning asked as he noticed that Lin Changqing had no intention of lingering after entering the market town, but was instead heading straight for the town center.
This change in address from Executive to Senior was something Lin Changqing had requested on the way here.
He'd explained that it would be inconvenient to address him as Executive while they were out and about.
Hearing Chu Ning's question, Lin Changqing nodded.
"Cloud Sea Pavilion does have a good reputation, and there happens to be an auction there today. Let's go take a look."
"An auction?" Chu Ning was, of course, no stranger to the auctions held by Cloud Sea Pavilion.
Back in Qinghe Market Town, he had witnessed one as an onlooker.
It was there that he learned of the high value of the Seven Star Spirit Fruit.
And it was also on that day that Qi Chongmao discovered the Seven Star Spirit Fruit in his backyard, setting off a chain of events.
Chu Ning never expected that on his first day in Wind Gorge Market Town, he would once again be attending an auction held by Cloud Sea Pavilion.
But this time, with Lin Changqing by his side, things would be different...
With this in mind, Chu Ning immediately asked, "Senior Lin, do you intend for me to purchase a flight artifact at the auction?"
Lin Changqing nodded. "You can't handle anything too advanced yet; your cultivation is insufficient. The artifacts used by cultivators at your stage are usually of better quality at auctions than if you were to buy them directly."
"If there aren't any at the auction, we can always buy one from them later."
Hearing Lin Changqing's words, Chu Ning nodded slightly.
Without further ado, he followed Lin Changqing straight to the Cloud Sea Pavilion.
After all, while this market town was more prosperous than the ones he had visited before, there wasn't much along the way that piqued his interest.
Soon, they reached the town center, where two taller buildings stood.
One was the Cloud Sea Pavilion, and the other was the Wind Gorge Pavilion, presumably named after the nearby gorge.
The two men headed straight for the Cloud Sea Pavilion, and upon entering, a waiter saw that Lin Changqing was at the Foundation Establishment stage and immediately came forward to greet him, leading them upstairs.
As they climbed the stairs to the second floor, the waiter paused and asked Lin Changqing, "Would you like to go to the second or third floor, Senior?"
"I'll go to the third floor." Lin Changqing pointed to Chu Ning as he spoke. "This is my junior martial nephew. He wants to see if there's anything suitable for him on the second floor."
The waiter smiled and said, "Of course, Senior. Please head up, and I'll show this gentleman to a room on the second floor."
Chu Ning was slightly taken aback. So, the third floor also had auctions? Previously, when he attended the Cloud Sea Pavilion auction in Qinghe Market Town, he had assumed that the auction was the main event.
Lin Changqing turned back to glance at Chu Ning.
"The items on the second floor aren't of any use to me. You go ahead and take a look. If you find something suitable, bid for it, and then meet me downstairs afterward."
"Yes, Senior Lin." Chu Ning knew that Lin Changqing was usually taciturn, so he didn't ask any further questions.
Once Lin Changqing had gone upstairs, the waiter gestured to Chu Ning.
"Please follow me, sir."
As Chu Ning followed the waiter, he used his Aura Viewing Technique to take a quick glance at the man, only to find that his cultivation was actually higher than his own; he was a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator.
'Even a mere waiter at Cloud Sea Pavilion, the first major merchant sect, is a late-stage Qi Refiner, and he doesn't show any neglect despite seeing how low my cultivation is. This sect is indeed extraordinary,' he thought.
With these thoughts in mind, he couldn't help but ask, "Senior Brother, may I ask if the third floor also has auctions?"
The waiter turned to look at Chu Ning and explained, "Yes, the third floor has a smaller auction that is only open to Foundation Establishment cultivators. The items traded there are also of a higher grade than those on the second floor."
Chu Ning nodded. He then recalled that there had been Foundation Establishment cultivators participating in the auction of the Seven Star Spirit Fruit in Qinghe Market Town, so he asked curiously, "Are there no Foundation Establishment cultivators on the second floor?"
"There are, but they're quite rare," the waiter replied. "Most of the bidders on the second floor are late-stage or peak Qi Refining cultivators. However, if Foundation Establishment cultivators learn of specific items that would benefit them, they may also participate in the second-floor auctions."
Chu Ning finally understood.
During the auction of the Seven Star Spirit Fruit in Qinghe Market Town, Foundation Establishment cultivators had probably participated because the fruit was also beneficial to cultivators at their stage who were refining their bodies.
After all, from what he had learned about body refinement, most modern body refiners no longer followed ancient methods like the Nine Transformations Body Refining Technique.
Instead, they used external forces to temper their bodies.
This meant that their bottlenecks were not as difficult to overcome as his own, hence the appeal of the Seven Star Spirit Fruit to Foundation Establishment cultivators.
As these thoughts flashed through Chu Ning's mind, the waiter had already led him to Room 22.
(End of Chapter)
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