Chapter 50, Late Qi Refining and Elation 

Translator: Raznick

 

Red Cliff Market, Spirit Beast Pavilion. 

 

Over a month had passed since the last visit, and the traffic at Spirit Beast Pavilion had significantly decreased.

 

Those who had already visited the shop would no longer come here to buy or sell items.

 

However, for those cultivators who had sold items at Spirit Beast Pavilion before, they knew that the prices offered by Spirit Beast Pavilion were often higher than other shops.

 

Therefore, when these cultivators obtained rare items during their adventures, they would always compare prices with several shops, including Spirit Beast Pavilion as one of their options.

 

This morning, a black-clothed middle-aged man with late Qi Refining cultivation strode into Spirit Beast Pavilion.

 

Upon entering the shop, he greeted familiarly towards the counter: “Fellow Daoist Zhou, I came to do business.”

 

Zhou Chun, who was reading a book behind the counter, immediately stood up and looked at the visitor.

 

Recognizing him, Zhou Chun smiled and cupped his hands in greeting: “Oh, it’s you, Fellow Daoist Lin. How can I assist you today?”

 

“Just some herbs I’ve collected,” replied the black-clothed man casually as he slapped his storage bag and placed three wooden boxes on the counter.

 

He then added nonchalantly: “Take a look at these items for me, Fellow Daoist Zhou, and let me know how much they’re worth in spirit coins.”

 

Zhou Chun nodded politely: “Please go ahead and let me see them.”

 

He opened the first box and took out a small ginseng-like herb about two inches long.

 

Carefully examining it, Zhou Chun turned the herb around several times to check for any damages or tampering.

 

Then he smelled it strongly to assess its fragrance and flavor.

 

After that, he pinched the herb between his fingers to test its texture.

 

Only after this thorough inspection—first looking, then smelling, and finally verifying—did Zhou Chun put the herb back in the box and address the black-clothed man: “This is a newly harvested yellow Ginseng, approximately fifty to seventy years old, with no visible damage or flaws. Our store is willing to offer seven spirit coins for it.”

 

Upon hearing this, the black-clothed man’s eyes flickered slightly, but he responded: “No need to be hasty. Let’s see the other two items first.”

 

Zhou Chun complied and proceeded to open the remaining boxes one by one.

 

After carefully examining each herb, he quoted prices as follows:

 

“A fresh Silver Orchid in perfect condition without any damage. Our store’s offer is five spirit coins for it.

 

“One fresh Candle Glame Grass, with slight damages but still usable. We are willing to pay eight spirit coins for it.”

 

After finishing his appraisals, Zhou Chun asked the black-clothed man: “Fellow Daoist Lin, do these prices satisfy you? Are you willing to sell them to us?”

 

“Your offers are indeed fair. It seems I will be visiting your shop more often in the future,” replied the black-clothed man with a smile.

 

He showed a satisfied expression.

 

Then he pushed the three wooden boxes towards Zhou Chun and left after taking the twenty spirit coins that Zhou Chun gave him.

 

After the black-clad man had left, Zhou Jiasheng, sitting on a chair in the store, stood up and walked to the counter. In front of Zhou Chun, he opened three wooden boxes and examined the herbs inside them once again.

 

Then he looked at Zhou Chun and said indifferently: “The yellow ginseng had been grown for more than sixty years, and the price of seven spirit coins is quite reasonable.

 

“The Silver Orchid has matured and is ready for medicinal use; five spirit coins would be a reasonable price.

 

“The rhizome of the Candle Flame Grass is slightly damaged, resulting in a loss of efficacy and making it difficult to preserve long-term. It’s worth no more than seven spirit coins.”

 

Saying this, he shook his head at Zhou Chun and said, “You’re still a bit young. You still need to learn and do more. That one spirit coin will be put on your account.”

 

“I understand.” Zhou Chun responded, then recorded this transaction in the ledger.

 

After finishing, he softly said, “I actually know that the Candle Fire Grass is not worth eight spirit coins. However, as for the other two herbs, the prices offered by various shops are generally consistent. Since this Fellow Daoist Lin came to us, it must be because he is dissatisfied with the acquisition price of the Candle Fire Grass at other shops.

 

“If that’s the case, in my humble opinion, if we can offer one spirit coin more, it would make him prioritize our shop when he sells items in the future. Spending that one spirit coin would be well worth it.”

 

Zhou Jiasheng’s gaze narrowed slightly as he looked at him with an expression of evident surprise.

 

After staring at Zhou Chun like this for quite some time, he finally let out a heavy sigh, his expression filled with a mix of emotions. “I don’t measure up to you.”

 

He followed with a self-deprecating smile: “It is truly ironic, is it not? I prided myself on its wisdom and experience for decades, yet today we find ourselves bested by a young upstart like you. How utterly amusing!”

 

His emotions at that moment formed an intricate web, difficult to express.

 

Zhou Chun, upon seeing this, hurriedly said, “Sixteenth Uncle, you’re being too harsh. Your actions in this matter are no different from what the shopkeepers and clerks of other stores do.”

 

After saying that, he faintly smiled bitterly and said, “My action, my nephew, is only a speculative trick. Perhaps Fellow Daoist Lin, upon his next visit, finding it unprofitable, will not come again in the future.

 

“No, you don’t need to console me.”

 

Jiasheng Zhou shook his head, with a complex expression on his face as he gestured with his hand. “Although I may have had reservations about your methods before,” he said, “I am not blind—I certainly can see the facts right before me and distinguish clearly between good and bad!

 

“You spoke correctly just now. If we can make the guests feel cherished with these small gestures, more that other shops do, we will have a great chance to leave an impression. This would encourage them to prioritize our shop when selling next time and avoid giving others an excuse to cause trouble.”

 

“Speaking of which,” he said, convinced and respectful, “it’s no wonder Clan Leader insisted on you coming here for training. It seems he realized early on that you have an exceptional ability to perceive things and come up with innovative ideas!”

 

From that day on, Zhou Jiasheng’s attitude toward Zhou Chun improved significantly.

 

Even if he made mistakes in identifying some items later on, he would no longer scold him with a sour face but instead calmly explain where he went wrong and how to correct it.

 

Even in their spare time, he would also recount to Zhou Chun examples from their own past apprenticeship where he had been duped by crooks. These stories served to teach Zhou Chun how to recognize the tricks of seasoned swindlers.

 

But in that case, Zhou Chun’s plan to take the opportunity to secretly acquire herbs was temporarily put on hold.

 

Fortunately, he wasn’t particularly in a hurry about it; instead, he was studying these teachings calmly every day.

 

Under the passage of time, by the third month when Zhou Chun arrived at the market, his cultivation had finally broken through to the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining after consuming the tenth Jade Ginseng Pill, officially entering late Qi Refining.

 

Diverging from previous advancements within the mid Qi Refining Stage, this breakthrough into a new minor stage brought Zhou Chun significant benefits.

 

His spiritual power had suddenly increased by nearly sixty percent, allowing him to fully unleash the Shooting Moon Edge, a superior first-grade artifact, for over ten minutes during battle.

 

His Divine Sense was also greatly enhanced, with its detection range suddenly jumping to over two hundred meters. He could operate three or four artifacts simultaneously without feeling any strain.

 

Moreover, due to his breakthrough in cultivation and the two secret arts he had already mastered, especially Elemental Armor Art, had increased significantly.

 

Furthermore, good news came in pairs.

 

Soon after the news of Zhou Chun’s breakthrough in cultivation reached the clan, Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi promptly elevated him to core clan member and promoted Zhou Zhengyong to elite clan member.

 

As it turned out, after multiple rounds of bargaining and discussions, they could finally announce the mining operation on the Scarlet Glow Iron vein.

 

After extensive discussions, the Scarlet Glow Iron vein was jointly occupied and developed by the five major cultivating clans. Among them, the Zhou Clan secured a share because they were the discoverers of the vein. Additionally, they contributed Violet Palace Stage combat strength to deter potential thiefs. As a result, they were entitled to a third of the vein’s production profits.

 

Gold Maple Peak and Sun Clan, being closest to the mineral vein, offered to provide free rest and supply areas for cultivators engaged in mining. They were also willing to take on part of the mining tasks in exchange for a share of thirty percent.

 

Red Herb Valley’s Wang Clan possessed a Violet Palace Stage cultivator and had undertaken to purify and remove half of the Savage Qi within the Scarlet Glow Iron ore, thereby being able to obtain twenty percent.

 

The Green Cloud Mountains Mu Clan and the Bamboo Grove He Clan, only assumed responsibility for some purification tasks to remove Savage Qi from the Scarlet Glow Iron ore and providing martial force intimidation, thereby each receiving one-tenth.

 

The five major cultivating clans agreed on profit distribution before dispatching their representatives to Gold Maple Peak Sun Clan to station there and guard the mine.

 

At the same time, they were recruiting in large numbers low-level rogue cultivators to mine the ore.

 

And regarding the appearance of the Scarlet Glow Iron vein, it quickly spread in the market as well.

 

Suddenly, the entire Mist Province cultivation world was stirred due to this vein.

 

“Recently, because of that ore deposit affair, Mist Province’s cultivation sphere has stirred quite some commotion. The Clan Leader mentioned in the news he sent that we should also pay attention to collecting and noting the opinions of cultivators in the market regarding this matter.

 

“I’ll take charge of the shop; this task falls to you, Zhengchun.”

 

Inside the Beast Spirit Pavilion, after Jiasheng Zhou read the message sent by the clan through a messenger falcon, he explained the situation to Zhou Chun.

 

The Zhou Clan raised messenger falcons that could deliver messages over a thousand li round trip.

 

The falcon only took off and landed; they flew at heights exceeding a thousand meters, making it impossible to intercept them unless a Foundation Establishment cultivator or a flying demon beast intervened.

 

Therefore, at the market, they could exchange letters with their counterparts on Nine Peaks clan’s side, sharing some information that didn’t require much confidentiality every ten days.

 

And because the market had an array in place, falcons couldn’t enter. In the past, it was always Zhou Chun who temporarily left the market at specific times to head up to the nearby mountain peak and send signals to the circling falcons to land, delivering and collecting letters.

 

Upon hearing Zhou Jiasheng’s words, he was immediately moved and replied promptly, “I understand. Tne I’ll leave the shop in Sixteen Uncle’s able hands.”