Chapter 74 – Not a Moment’s Rest

Chapter 74 – Not a Moment’s Rest

On Ten Thousand Immortals Island, the abnormal price fluctuations of Spirit Mist Grass had long since caused a massive uproar.

With just a little inquiry, Li Fan understood the whole story.

As expected, someone had orchestrated a scheme, ruthlessly fleecing cultivators like He Zhenghao who had tried to profit from the opportunity.

The destruction of the island where Spirit Mist Grass was cultivated was real, so after the news was confirmed, many people decisively entered the market hoping to make a profit.

What they didn’t know, however, was that the Myriad Immortals Alliance had recently discovered a pocket realm that had been sealed for a thousand years.

Reportedly, the wood-attribute spiritual energy inside was abundant, and it was filled with all manner of rare spirit plants.

Spirit Mist Grass, in particular, was growing everywhere.

A single step could trample several stalks underfoot.

Previously, only the upper echelons of the Myriad Immortals Alliance had known about this.

It wasn’t until the market had devolved into a bloody free-for-all over Spirit Mist Grass that the news was suddenly released.

No wonder the price of Spirit Mist Grass had plummeted so dramatically afterward.

“It seems Fellow Daoist He has no hope of recouping his losses,” Li Fan said with a sympathetic laugh.

“Though, this big shot really doesn’t play fair.”

Li Fan examined the transaction records in the Celestial Mystery Mirror.

Sovereign Qingmu Huasheng.

It was precisely this person who had first driven the price of Spirit Mist Grass sky-high, and then, during the tug-of-war between bulls and bears, delivered the final killing blow that hammered the price into the ground.

Obviously an insider who’d known the news all along.

Li Fan silently grumbled to himself.

However, with a Nascent Soul sovereign making the move, those who’d taken losses probably wouldn’t dare go looking for trouble with him.

They could only swallow their broken teeth with blood and accept their bad luck.

Li Fan couldn’t help but speculate maliciously that even the island where the Spirit Mist Grass was cultivated might have been secretly destroyed by this very Nascent Soul sovereign.

“The market is truly treacherous,” Li Fan shook his head.

Just as Li Fan was taking pleasure in others’ misfortune, a message from He Zhenghao arrived.

“Fellow Daoist, I’ve sold all the materials acquired from the trip to the separated realm.” As if his very soul had been drained, He Zhenghao’s voice sounded utterly listless.

“The total came to 2,342 contribution points. As previously agreed, we split it evenly between us.”

Although He Zhenghao had suffered devastating losses in his investment venture, he hadn’t embezzled Li Fan’s rightful share.

Receiving the 1,171 contribution points from He Zhenghao, added to his remaining 125 points, Li Fan’s current balance came to 1,296 contribution points — barely enough to last him for a while.

After some thought, Li Fan decided not to immediately enter seclusion, but instead searched for information on Jiao Xiuyuan.

He’d previously heard that this man could obtain large batches of Form-Concealing Talismans from the Myriad Immortals Alliance’s Talisman Hall, so he clearly had good connections. Li Fan figured he could use the opportunity of buying some talismans to see if he could also dig up information about Si Kongyi from him.

Ten Thousand Immortals Island was roughly divided into three major zones from inside to out.

The innermost core area housed the Myriad Immortals Alliance’s official buildings.

Structures such as the Council Hall, the Martial Arts Hall, the Medicine Hall, the Talisman Hall, and so on.

The middle zone consisted of individually carved-out cave dwellings. With enough contribution points, one could purchase one here.

No more being crammed into the tiny space allocated by the Celestial Mystery Mirror.

The cave dwellings came fully equipped with all the necessary facilities — anything the Celestial Mystery Mirror space could do, a cave dwelling could do as well.

The outermost ring was a mixture of commercial and residential districts.

The Dao Transmission Plaza and the Celestial Mystery Mirror were also located here, at the boundary between this area and the central cave dwelling zone.

The residences here could only provide the most basic lodging. There was no spiritual energy amplification and no connection to the Celestial Mystery Mirror. If one wanted to cultivate, they still had to return to the Celestial Mystery Mirror space.

As for the commercial district, it consisted of shops independently operated by individual cultivators, separate from the Celestial Mystery Mirror’s trading system.

The prices in these shops were often lower than those in the Celestial Mystery Mirror, but likewise, there were no quality guarantees.

Jiao Xiuyuan had opened a shop right here.

Following the information he’d found in the Celestial Mystery Mirror, Li Fan arrived at the corresponding location.

Thousand Miles Hall.

Glancing up at the slightly crooked signboard, Li Fan walked inside.

The shop was small, with miscellaneous items piled everywhere on the floor. A man’s voice could be faintly heard.

“I’m telling you, these ten Form-Concealing Talismans are absolutely going to be traded at the price we agreed on before. I don’t care what the price has dropped to now…”

“What? You’re canceling the deal? You don’t even want the deposit back!”

Bang!

“Damn it! Another one! Do people think Jiao Xiuyuan is easy to push around?!” A dark-skinned man with a face full of stubble slammed his fist on the table and roared furiously.

But immediately, he deflated, muttering under his breath, “It’s over, it’s over. I, Jiao Xiuyuan, have never done a losing deal, yet now I’m stuck with this huge batch of Form-Concealing Talismans…”

Only then did he notice a customer had entered the shop.

But he couldn’t make out their features — clearly, they were using a Form-Concealing Talisman.

He’d seen plenty of such people. Jiao Xiuyuan didn’t think much of it.

“What can I get you? Formation talismans, magical artifacts, pills — we’ve got everything, and bulk discounts available!” he called out lazily.

“How much for the Form-Concealing Talismans?” the customer asked.

Jiao Xiuyuan’s eyes lit up instantly, his spirits rising.

“Ten contribution points each. How many would you like? If you buy more than ten, I’ll give you a twenty percent discount. More than a hundred? Fifty percent off!”

Li Fan smiled. “What would I need that many for? Five or six will do.”

After a pause, Li Fan added, “Besides, your pricing is off. Before coming here, I bought one through the Celestial Mystery Mirror. A Form-Concealing Talisman that can block inspection by Golden Core cultivators is only twenty points now. And you’re charging this much for these inferior ones?”

Jiao Xiuyuan’s face twitched at this, and he hastily corrected himself. “Eight points each — can’t go any lower. You have to understand, there are costs involved in crafting talismans!”

“Fine, give me six.” Li Fan didn’t bother haggling further.

Afraid Li Fan might change his mind, Jiao Xiuyuan hurriedly produced six Form-Concealing Talismans.

“How would you like to pay?”

The Celestial Mystery Mirror didn’t support anonymous transactions. If they traded directly through contribution points, it would inevitably reveal his identity.

But Li Fan had already prepared for this before coming.

“Spirit stones.” He promptly pulled five medium-grade spirit stones from his storage ring and handed them over.

Standard spirit stones were jointly manufactured by the Myriad Immortals Alliance and the Five Elders Society. They came in different grades and served as the legal currency of the cultivation world, complete with unique anti-counterfeiting restrictions.

The exchange rate between supreme-grade, high-grade, medium-grade, and low-grade spirit stones was consistently 10:1.

Within the Myriad Immortals Alliance, one low-grade spirit stone could be exchanged at par for one contribution point through the Celestial Mystery Mirror.

The five medium-grade spirit stones Li Fan had just handed over were therefore equivalent to 500 contribution points.

“Keep the change.”

Li Fan put away the Form-Concealing Talismans, then casually asked, “Do you take jobs investigating information about other cultivators?”

Jiao Xiuyuan immediately became wary.

He sized up Li Fan, deliberated for a long while, and finally gritted his teeth. “Sure, why not? My regular business has already lost me everything but the shirt on my back. If I don’t take on some side work, I won’t even be able to get by!”

“What’s the name? What cultivation level?” Jiao Xiuyuan asked in a low voice.

“Si Kongyi. Mid Qi Refining stage.”