Jin Sidao of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, as well as the four Mahayana-tier antiques of the Taixu Sect, were aware of many secrets.
All of them hence began to give their respective inputs, and soon told Jiang He all they knew about the Green Hill Foxes.
“They are enigmatic and unfathomable, as well as possess a long history. Even so, they rarely interact with various immortal sects or demonic sects, and had not much dealings with the Holy Grounds of other daemon cultivators either. That being said, nobody would dare to belittle them!”
“While it is known for sure that they boast a force of six Mahayana Foxes… one could be sure that it definitely was not their full force!”
“Oh, right!”
Jin Sidao’s tone changed then as he lowered his voice and said quietly, “What keeps people most wary about the Green Hill Foxes is not the fact that they possess a real immortal item… but because they have the fully preserved corpse of an Immortal Daemon!”
“Eh?”
Jiang He face’s twitched in slight surprise, and he soon frowned to ask in confusion, “No matter how rare an Immortal Daemon’s corpse could be, it is still a corpse. What is there to be wary about? It’s dead, or are they going to revive the corpse to fight me?”
“The corpse naturally wouldn’t fight you, but what if it is controlled by someone else?”
Jin Sidao appeared somber as he said, “The complete corpse of an Immortal Daemon means that the Immortal Dao within has yet to fade, or has never once faded. Once charged, the immortal power of the corpse would burst forth, and the corpse could be used to wield immortal items and every power it contains. When that happens, even real immortals would have to keep their distance.”
“The Immortal Dao…”
As the thought crossed Jiang He’s mind and he measured that against his own current combat ability… he realized that he might not win!
“No, I absolutely wouldn’t win… unless my ability improves to the next level up or to full-fledged Mahayana, where I would be infinitely close to becoming immortal, I might be able to hold my own with the Mosquito Cutter and the Sword Array of Ten Realms and Infinity!”
“Still… I would have to improve the Three Thousand Calamites to the seventh fold if I want to cultivate up to full-fledged Mahayana.”
“But doing that would cost me a billion Farm Points!”
One billion…
That was no small number.
“Should I go to a few more sects to borrow some spirit stones?”
“If I could borrow a hundred thousand mediocre-grade spirit stones and ten thousand superior-grade spirit stones, I would get that one billion Farm Points.”
The thought occurred to Jiang He then.
Still, he eventually shook his head.
It was not like he had been acquainted with those sects, so it was just not right to loan spirit stones…
“If a few more daemon cultivators like the Green Fox King bother me, the hundred thousand mediocre-grade spirit stones I need might be ready soon.”
As Jiang He sighed, Jin Sidao and the Taixu Sect Mahayana elites felt their lips twitching.
What?
What are you even saying?
Judging from how you put it, are you trying to fake some incidents here?
Still, after facing two incidents where the Penglai Sect was wiped out and the Foxes of Mount Changbai were forced to submit, it was most likely that no immortal sect, demonic sect, nor ancient daemon cultivator would be so foolish that they would provoke Jiang He, would they?
“A hundred thousand mediocre-grade spirit stones?” Jin Sidao and the others asked, perplexed.
“I’m just convinced that I could improve my cultivation to Mahayana with that many spirits stones,” Jiang He answered. “By the way, does how many spirits stones do your sects have in store?”
When he saw the drastic change of expression in their faces, Jiang He quickly said, “Don’t worry, I won’t take your spirit stones without offering anything in return. I would be exchanging them with mediocre-grade spirit stones… how about a rate of 1:1.5? I could exchange superior-grade spirit stones too at the same rate.”
Nonetheless, Jin Sidao started bawling right then. “Brother Jiang He, the Ten Thousand Swords Sect don’t even have a thousand mediocre-grade spirit stones in store, and there are less than a hundred superior-grade spirit stones… Otherwise, we would be willing to give you one and a half spirit stones for each spirit stone you have, or give you thousands of spirit stones for free.”
Jiang He was speechless.
What are you talking about? Giving me one and a half spirit stones for each spirit stone I have?
When I said 1:15, I meant that I would be giving you one and a half spirit stones for each spirit stone you have, alright?
After making himself clear, Jin Sidao was left doing a double take. He then asked uncertainly, “Brother Jiang He… What do you intend with doing this?”
“Moreover, why would you exchange the spirit stones you have?”
Was that not completely unnecessary?
Of course, Jin Sidao did not say it.
At the same time, Jiang He was not offering an explanation. He cannot tell the others that the few hundred thousand mediocre-grade spirit stones he had could not be used as seeds, surely?
He simply smiled. “1:15. If you could gather a thousand mediocre-grade spirit stones, I’ll give you 1,500 mediocre-grade spirit stones. Likewise, I would give you 150 superior-grade spirit stones if you could gather a hundred of those.”
“Jin Sidao, would you accept this trade?”
“Yes, yes!”
Jin Sidao quickly nodded. Though still a doubtful, he asked Jiang He again to confirm it, after which he promptly took out his jade charm to contact a supreme venerable elder of his sect. “Brother Jiang He, I had already contacted the elites of my sect and they will deliver the spirit stones in around an hour.”
“Have them bring them to my house.”
Jiang He said, “We’ll wait there.”
Beside them, when the four Mahayana elites of the Taixu Sect saw that Jiang He was not joking around, one of them quickly took out their jade charm to contact their Sect, and asked them to deliver every mediocre-grade spirit stone and superior-grade spirit stone that could be moved to Jiang He’s house.
After that, everyone returned to Jiang He house.
Soon, the spirit stones arrived as well.
The Ten Thousand Swords Sect had delivered 1,300 mediocre-grade spirit stones and 100 superior-grade spirit stones, which Jiang He received. After that, he immediately gave Jin Sidao the 1,950 mediocre-grade spirit stones and 150 superior-grade spirit stones.
On the other hand, the Taixu Sect delivered 8,000 mediocre-grade spirit stones and 650 superior-grade spirit stones.
After Earth’s Dragon Vein had been sealed, the Orirock veins slowly withered as Spirit Qi slowly dried up across the world. The spirit stones each sect possessed were therefore accumulated stores.
In fact, they had not excavated spirit stones to replenish their stock over the last 2000 years. Even if they had been holding back on their usage, not many was left.
“8,000… So I should pay you with 1,200 mediocre-grade spirit stones, and 975 superior-grade spirit stones for the 650 you gave.”
Jiang He settled the trade with the Taixu Sect.
Indeed, Jin Sidao’s eyes were flashing after he made a profit, and he suddenly rose to his feet and said, “Brother Jiang He, how many more mediocre-grade spirit stones and superior-grade spirit stones would you need? I have friends among cultivators and I could buy theirs for you if you need them.”
“No limits, and the more the better.”
“However, remember that you must not trade with the spirits stones you got from me.”
Jiang He smiled, while Jin Sidao left in a swish and a fist-palm salute.
The Taixu Sect’s four Mahayana elites came to their senses then as well, and one of them stood up and said, “Brother Jiang He, we, the Taixu Sect, have some contacts as well. We would purchase theirs for you as well.”
While they were puzzled as to why Jiang He would do all that, but since there was no problem with the spirit stones they received, who cares?
If they could borrow loads of spirit stones from the other sects, there would definitely be those willing to give if they paid them back with hundreds more.
Moreover, if they stuck to the 1:1.5 ratio when they traded with Jiang He, did that not mean they would be earning a big pile of spirit stones out of nothing?
Being the middleman is so delightful.
At the same time, for the other three Mahayana elites, with knowledge that one person alone would not get that many spirit stones, all of them stood up, bade Jiang He farewell, and left.
It was only after they were gone that Jiang He headed inside his farm and planted every spirit stone he had received. After that, he left his yard and went to the Thunder Talisman Daoist’s mystical boat.
The Thunder Talisman Daoist was somberly crafting Nine Retribution Talismans right then. Jiang He stood in a corner and watched since he should not bother him.
The Daoist’s mystic energy was bursting. Using daemon blood as ink, he was sketching away fervently with his brush which was imbued with power from thunderbolts of retribution. Then, around fifteen minutes later, the inscription on the talisman was completed!
There was a look of delight on the Thunder Talisman Daoist’s face. After feeling it carefully, he exclaimed, “It’s done!”
He handed the talisman to Jiang He and said, “I imbued a thunderbolt with the power equal to a seven-retribution thunderbolt. Once charged, it would have the power of a full-power thunderbolt at such level!”
“Just seven-retribution?”
Jiang He was rather disappointed, and he could not help asking, “Aren’t you a master of talismans? How did you only end up with something like this after refining for an entire day and night?”
The Thunder Talisman Daoist was left annoyed.
It’s seven retribution!
Is that so insignificant in your perspective?
Wait…
That actually seemed to be the case.
Hence, not daring to debate the issue with Jiang He, he said with much grief, “I have already crafted four Nine Retribution Talismans, two of which were five retribution, the other two being six and seven retribution. I’ve only just finished this seven-retribution talisman, and if you are in a hurry to use them, I could work overtime to make you a batch right away.”
Jiang He put away the four Nine Retribution Talismans, ready to try planting them. “I would use the talismans in one or two days,” he said. “So, I would be troubling you at this time… make as many as you can.”
After all…
He had already set a grudge between himself and the Green Hill Foxes, and conflict was inevitable. To avoid long nights and bad dreams, he must resolve the matter as soon as possible.
When that happened, he would be all by himself as he challenged a major faction of that scale. It was unbearable to even think how weak he was alone.
Therefore, several dozen thunder talismans were necessary.
Even if there would not be dozens of those, there would at least be a dozen, right?
