Ding!
“Congratulations, you’ve obtained one time emblem.”
A bronze-colored mahjong tile dropped in front of Sun Mo.
“Raise the level of my Immemorial Vairocana.”
Sun Mo had come up with a plan to raise his skills. As his other skills were sufficient and this divine skill’s proficiency index was too low, he chose to raise its level now.
The time emblem shattered straight away, turning into light spots and gushing into Sun Mo’s brain. As it was out in public, there weren’t any green lights encompassing Sun Mo this time around.
Ding!
“The Immemorial Vairocana has been raised to the grandmaster-grade.” “In a fight, not only can you designate and perform a certain technique that the target has, but you can also do it within 30 moves.” Sun Mo was very satisfied. This was the effect that he wanted.
In a battle, unless the difference in levels between both sides was immense, there’d definitely more than 30 moves exchanged. Moreover, an opponent that Sun Mo could crush easily wouldn’t have amazing cultivation arts anyway. Lu Zhiruo, who was following behind Sun Mo, suddenly whiffed and assessed Sun Mo perplexedly. She couldn’t help but mumble to Li Ziqi, “Eldest Martial Sister, I feel that Teacher seems to have become stronger again?” “Really?”
Li Ziqi frowned. (Teacher hasn’t done anything, so how is it possible that he has become stronger? Although I know that you’re Teacher’s fangirl, isn’t it too much of an exaggeration to be ‘infatuated’ to such a degree?)
Sun Mo heard this mumbling and couldn’t help but turn back to throw a glance at Lu Zhiruo. The papaya girl’s instincts were far too terrifying.
“Customers, what would you like to buy? We sell all sorts of plants. Regardless of whether they are plants with medicinal properties or just for decorative purposes, as long as they can be found in the Darkness Continent, you will be able to buy them here!”
A shop owner walked out from behind the counter, wearing an amiable smile that gave the guests a very comfortable feeling.
“En, I’m not sure about this young man, but that girl with a slim face and flatter chest is definitely very rich.”
Having been in business for over ten years, the shop owner had obtained a keen eye of judgment. With just a glance, he could tell how full the purses of these four people were.
By right, he should first observe the customer’s deportment and interest in purchasing things. However, the shop owner was unable to do this.
The girl who looked endearingly silly was clearly someone who had little experience in society and was easy to deceive. However, her chest was really big, and her school uniform was bulging up from that. It was as if two big papayas had been stuffed under her clothes, making one develop strong yearnings to touch them.
Even an old guy like the shop owner, who was past his fifties and whose prostate was already so weak that he couldn’t even pee well, couldn’t help but feel a little reager’.
“Should I go visit the Lichun Brothel tonight?”
The shop owner was stumped.
As Sun Mo had grasped the knowledge of 200 types of plants of the Darkness Continent, he threw a glance at the items displayed on the racks, realizing that he could identify over 120 of them. This made him feel both happy and a little disappointed.
He was happy that the skill given by the system was really reliable. It saved him the trouble of having to do the learning by himself. When he saw those plants, it felt as if he had grown them personally and had seen them blooming and withering. He was so familiar with them that he could even remember every print on each and every leaf clearly.
The reason for his disappointment was the fact that he could recognize so many of them. It meant that most of them didn’t have any value, being displayed in the open like this.
“Shop owner, can I purchase the medicinal plants here on credit?”
When Sun Mo said this, his face flushed up a little. He had never owed anyone anything before, including in his previous life. He’d always pay for the things on the spot. “On credit?”
The shop owner frowned.
Hearing Sun Mo’s words, Li Ziqi, who was shopping around leisurely in the shop, quickly came over. She tugged at his sleeves and said, “Teacher, I have spirit stones. You can use them first and return them to me later on.”
Li Ziqi wouldn’t mind giving Sun Mo the spirit stones, but she knew that he wouldn’t accept them.
“Are you here to make fun of me? You student has money, so why aren’t you using it?”
The shop owner was baffled.
“A teacher shouldn’t ask anything from their students.”
Sun Mo explained.
“Hehe!”
The shop owner wondered if he had encountered a scammer. But out of curiosity, he still asked, “What are you planning to do with the plants after you have them?”
“I will sell them!”
If it wasn’t because the shop owner had seen that Sun Mo was wearing the Central Province Academy’s teacher attire, he would curse. (Are you here to snatch my business? Why don’t you take a look at what my shop is selling?)
“Two hours later, I’ll pay you double the price that I owe you.”
Sun Mo offered.
“I’m sorry, I won’t be taking on this business.”
The shop owner’s countenance turned cold.
“Alright!”
Sun Mo didn’t mind. He left and went to the other shop that was selling medicinal plants
Just like how there’d be a street selling flowers, birds, fish, and bugs, over ten shops were selling medicinal plants here. They liked to crowd around together as well. Sun Mo would just have to take a little more time. He didn’t believe that no one would agree to this.
He was then refused by five consecutive shops. “Teacher!”
Seeing that Sun Mo was rejected, Li Ziqi couldn’t bear to see this continue. “You’ve given me guidance for so long, but I haven’t given you any present to show my respect to you. It’s normal for me to be giving you some spirit stones!”
Receiving gifts from their students was logical and lawful in this era. Even Zhang Qianlin wouldn’t be able to say anything about it.
“I understand your sentiments, but I won’t accept things from my students.”
Sun Mo rejected her.
“What is this guy up to?”
“Judging from his attire, he should be from the Central Province Academy, right?”
“Azure-colored teacher attire and the school emblem on his chest is one of a kite shield, with a battle hammer and longsword crossing each other. It is also embellished by wheat ears all-around. He’s definitely from the Central Province Academy.”
All the shop owners came out and assessed Sun Mo and the group. Most of the shops here had mediocre earnings. They were usually providing the students with specimens for identification.
When they came out from the sixth shop, Lu Zhiruo and Ying Baiwu each carried a pot on each of their hands.
The boss, whose surname was Yao, even sent Sun Mo out personally.
Seeing the four of them departing, Boss Qian, who was the owner of the first shop, couldn’t help but ask, “Why did you agree to let him purchase on credit?”
“My shop is going to be closed down anyway, so I’ll just be taking this as clearing my stocks. It’s fine even if he were to lie to me.”
Boss Yao didn’t wish to continue the business anymore. It was too difficult to earn a living in Spiritwind City. He wanted to go home.
“He is just a foolish guy who has wishful thinking. Our medicinal plants have been sold at this price level for seven to eight years, and the profit margin is very low. He’ll suffer great losses to be trying to resell them for
profit.”
“Could it be that the few pots of medicinal plants he has bought have some special characteristics that haven’t been discovered yet?”
A shop owner suddenly spoke up, causing everyone to be stumped.
The understanding that people from Middle-Earth had of the Darkness Continent was slowly built up from nothingness. No one would dare to say that they knew everything about the Darkness Continent. There would often be cases where herbalists found new characteristics of a certain plant when conducting experiments and thus became rich overnight.
Could it be that this guy was an amazing herbalist?
“It can’t be. The ones that he bought were some of the most commonly seen.”
After a shop owner said this, everyone chuckled and then went off their own ways. They entered their own shops, looked for the few potted plants that were the same as what Sun Mo’s group had purchased, and started studying them.
On the streets, Sun Mo brought the three girls and went on their way, carrying the potted plants. They eventually stopped in front of a spirit rune shop.
“It’ll be here!”
Sun Mo stopped and started setting up a roadside stall.
“Teacher…”
Li Ziqi felt a little embarrassed, but Ying Baiwu and Lu Zhiruo were both excited.
There were other roadside stalls on both sides of the road as well. These people weren’t merchants but cultivators. After coming back from their adventures, due to a variety of reasons, they didn’t wish to sell their items to the acquisition merchants. Therefore, they just started their own roadside stalls to sell their own goods.
Seeing that Sun Mo had taken up an empty spot, having only brought along six potted plants that were commonly seen, everyone looked stunned. (What are you selling? It can’t be that three girls next to you, right?)
Sun Mo sat down on the floor. After getting some ink onto the weasel bristle brush, he started to draw spirit-gathering runes onto a purple-leafed luo’s leaves.
The purple-leafed luo had big roots and thick stems with dense leaves. They liked to grow in places with strong spirit qi. The reason why Sun Mo had chosen it was because its ability to absorb spirit qi was very strong. Therefore, the spirit-gathering runes drawn on it would have a better effect.
Sun Mo didn’t have much free time, so he didn’t choose to take his time to draw the complete version. He chose a simplified version instead.
C
“What is this guy doing? He can’t be thinking that he’d be able to sell the purple-leafed luo after writing a few words on it, right?”
“I don’t know!”
“There are too many fools in this world. Are they all not enough?”
The roadside merchants all looked over curiously. As for the passersby, they weren’t interested at all.
Sun Mo’s Spirit-Gathering Rune Depiction Technique was close to the ancestor-grade. Moreover, he had been drawing spirit-gathering runes for the last few months and also had to explain it to the students in class every day. He had become so familiar with it that he’d be able to draw it even with his eyes closed.
Five minutes later, a simplified version was completed.
Boom!
The spirit qi in the surroundings erupted and started gushing toward the purple-leafed luo in front of Sun Mo, forming a spirit qi tornado.
“What the hell?” The roadside merchants were all shocked and they looked at Sun Mo with eyes and mouth wide open. So this potted plant wasn’t a purple-leafed luo?
“Tsk, a plant that can absorb spirit qi? This guy is going to strike it rich!”
Someone said enviously.
“Are you an idiot? That’s a spirit qi tornado. It’s a unique phenomenon that will only take place when an advanced spirit rune is completed.”
A merchant with mediocre looks but knew of the study of spirit runes said in contempt.
“You’re the fool. Who would be able to draw spirit-gathering runes on the leaves of plants?”
The one who spoke was someone uglier but was also one who knew his stuff. However, it was because of this that he understood how difficult it was to be drawing spirit runes onto the leaves of plants.
“That’s true!”
The ordinary-looking merchant smiled in self-ridicule. A person at the ancestor-grade might be able to do this, but could this guy be at the ancestor-grade? It was clearly impossible, as this guy was only 21 or 22 years old at most. His hair below was still soft, and he didn’t even have the right to hold the shoes for someone at the ancestor-grade.
Some passersby noticed the situation here and gathered over.
Sun Mo was unmoved and continued drawing.
“What is he doing?”
Just as everyone was still perplexed about what was happening, another spirit qi tornado was produced.
“This…”
The uglier and ordinary-looking merchant exchanged a glance, gradually showing perplexity in their gaze. This was really like the phenomenon that would take place when an advanced spirit rune was completed.
Both of them abandoned their roadside stall and came over as well.
In the few minutes of their hesitation, the third tornado was formed. The two of them took a closer look and were instantly surprised.
“My god… This… This is possible?”
Although the image on the purple-leafed luo’s leaf wasn’t a regular one and could even be said to be ugly, it was a spirit rune! “My god, that’s so amazing!”
A young man who was wearing a warrior attire immediately came running over, squatted in front of the pot, and couldn’t help but open his eyes bigger to observe.
“Excellent, there’s finally one who knows his stuff.”
Li Ziqi revealed a consoled smile. Teacher’s performance had finally received a real audience. However, the person’s next line almost caused her to cough up blood.
“Hey, what is it that you’re drawing?”
The boy asked.
Li Ziqi was speechless. (Turns out that you know nothing at all?)
Ying Baiwu stared at this boy, looking displeased. It wasn’t only because of his impolite address toward Teacher, but also because of the warrior attire he was wearing. It was a light gold color, and under the sunlight, it flashed with a brilliant and luxurious glow.
This attire was woven from the silk of the golden silkworm. While being as light as a feather, it was extremely sturdy at the same time, making it impenetrable to blades and spears.
Due to these characteristics, the golden silk was extremely expensive and could only be purchased using spirit stones. Moreover, as there wasn’t a lot of it around, most people would just use it for inner wear to protect critical parts like their hearts. However, this young man had actually used the golden silk to make outerwear. It could only be said that he was bold, really bold!
Although Ying Baiwu was poor, she didn’t abhor the rich. However, after looking at this young man who was shiny and shimmery, she suddenly had an urge to bash him up. “This young girl, have you fallen in love with me?”
The golden shimmery guy raised his head and revealed his white teeth as he displayed a handsome smile. He even ran his hand through his hair. “It’s a pity that I already have someone I like. I’m sorry I can’t accept your love!”
Li Ziqi heard the sound of Ying Baiwu gritting her teeth. She felt that if this golden shimmery guy were to say one more word, the stubborn young girl’s steel fist would definitely smash down on his face.
Sun Mo didn’t reply but continued drawing. Five minutes later, another spirit qi tornado was formed.
“My… My god. It’s really spirit runes?”
The uglier merchant was astonished and his mouth was wide open until it was possible to see his red tonsils. En, this guy must have gotten tonsillitis recently.
Ding!
Favorable impression points from the uglier merchant +50, prestige connection initiated. Neutral (50/100).
“Young… young ancestor?”
The ordinary-looking merchant’s face had become twisted from overwhelming astonishment. It had become uglier than the uglier-looking man.
Ding!
Favorable impression points from the ordinary-looking merchant +50, prestige connection initiated. Neutral (50/100). The two of them rubbed their eyes and subconsciously wanted to squat down in front of the potted plant to admire it. However, when they saw the golden shimmery young man squatting there, they gave up on that thought. They weren’t people without a good eye for judgment. A young man who could afford to wear such clothes was definitely not an ordinary guy.
“Hey, is your potted plant for sale?”
The golden shimmery guy asked.
In another few days, it would be the birthday of the girl he liked. The golden shimmery guy wanted to give her a surprising birthday present and thus went around the streets looking for novel things. This potted plant looked quite interesting.
“Ten spirit stones!”
Li Ziqi stated a price.
Sun Mo was a spirit rune grandmaster, and it’d be below him to state a price himself. Therefore, she, as the disciple, should be the one to do this.
“Ten spirit stones? Why don’t you go rob someone?”
A young man with a bald forehead cried out. His voice sounded so sharp that it was as if a rod-shaped foreign object had been stuffed into his ass.
“Tsk, you really dare to quote this price!”
“If spirit stones were so easy to earn, everyone would have become wealthy long ago.”
“They must have gone crazy thinking of spirit stones.”
After hearing Li Ziqi’s price, the roadside merchants who came to crowd around immediately became rowdy. Some of them really felt that it was expensive, while the others were jealous and didn’t want to let Sun Mo get this business.
It hadn’t been half an hour since Sun Mo sat here, but he was asking for ten spirit stones after drawing something on a potted plant? Wasn’t this money earned too easily? It would be strange for people not to be jealous.
“Ten is too much. One spirit stone and I’ll take it!”
The bald guy tried to slash the price, but this offer still made the other roadside merchants envious. (Are you a fool? Why are you using a spirit stone to buy a potted plant?)
“May I be so presumptuous to ask? This is a purple-leafed luo, right? If I’m not mistaken, this thing can be found everywhere in Purple-leaf Canyon. One spirit stone should be enough to buy 100 of them.”
Someone felt perplexed and asked the bald guy.
“That’s right, it’s the purple-leafed luo. But his drawing isn’t bad and I admire it. The excess will be just tips!” The bald guy explained. The group of people crowding around exchanged glances and then looked at the drawings on the leaves. They wanted to curse. If they knew of Picasso, they’d definitely scold that Sun Mo’s drawing was so abstract that it looked worse than Picasso’s abstract oil painting. (How the hell did you think that it’s good? By looking at it with your butt?)
“One spirit stone. It can’t be any higher.”
The bald guy said this and started digging for money, not changing his expression. However, he felt despise in his heart. (These bunch of fools can’t even recognize spirit-gathering runes. They are really fools.)
(Sigh, it’s such an exquisite drawing technique, but to think that no one knows how to admire it. It’s really a waste. But it’s alright, I’m here now, so I won’t let this potted plant go undiscovered.)
(This young man is really amazing. To think that he can draw spirit-gathering runes on plants. Could he be the personal disciple of a spirit rune ancestor?)
The bald guy was reaching to the potted plant while assessing Sun Mo.
Ding!
Favorable impression points from Fei Tu +50. Neutral (50/100).
Wow, it was really sold?
The group of roadside merchants was jealous.
Pa!
Sun Mo grabbed Fei Tu’s hand after he heard the system’s notification ringing out by his ear. That was right, this was someone who knew his trade well.
“I’m telling you, I’m just doing this because I admire what you’ve drawn. If it was anyone else, you can forget about even getting any spirit stone scraps!”
Fei Tu was burning with eagerness, so he wanted to buy this potted plant back to study
it.
“Ten spirit stones, not a single less.”
Ying Baiwu insisted and hugged onto the potted plant.
“Are you a fool? If I want to spend the time, I can get a bunch of purple-leafed luos from the Purple-leaf Canyon. Which idiot would spend ten spirit stones to buy one?”
The bald guy sneered. “I’ll buy it!”
The golden shimmery guy, who hadn’t had a chance to speak up all this while, took out ten spirit stones and handed them to Ying Baiwu. He then took the potted plant and turned to leave happily.
(Sister Bing will definitely like such a rare gift!)
The bald guy’s eyes and mouth were wide agape, so were the others. Damn, there was really such a fool?
“It’s really sold?”
Ying Baiwu touched the spirit stones, and she was astonished. Teacher was really amazing.
Ding!
Favorable impression points from Ying Baiwu +100. Friendly (900/1,000).
“Of course, Teacher is the best!”
Lu Zhiruo snorted proudly, sharing the pride.
“Hmmm? Wait, wait right now!”
After Fei Tu came back to his senses, he quickly shouted out.
“What is it?”
The golden shimmery guy turned his head, looking perplexed.
“I had my eye on this potted plant first.”
Fei Tu frowned.
“I thought you couldn’t afford it?”
The golden shimmery guy felt baffled.
(Damn, what he says really gives one the urge to beat him up.) Fei Tu felt gloom but explained patiently, “It’s not that I can’t afford it. I’m just negotiating the price!”
“Doesn’t that mean that you can’t afford it?”
The golden shimmery guy tilted his head. In his mind, people who bargained the price were people who couldn’t afford the item.
Fei Tu didn’t wish to continue talking with this guy. However, when his glance landed on the purple-leafed luo, he couldn’t bear to give up just like that. His study was primarily on the field of spirit runes and he could tell that the spirit runes on those leaves were all simplified versions of the spirit-gathering runes. This wasn’t commonly seen.
To speak the truth, such simplified spirit runes weren’t of much use to most people. However, to him, it might be able to stimulate his inspiration, helping him to open a brand new door in the study of spirit runes.
Fei Tu clenched his teeth and bore with the unwillingness before saying, “I came first, and we aren’t done with the negotiations. I can pay ten spirit stones as well.”
Sssss!
The moment Fei Tu said this, everyone gasped in surprise. This bald guy must be out of his mind. (Even if your spirit stones came out of nowhere, they shouldn’t be wasted like this.)
“Oh, then I’ll offer 11!”
After that, the golden shimmery guy gave Ying Baiwu another spirit stone and turned to leave.
Right now, everyone who was crowding around was cursing away in their hearts. (It must be true. This guy’s family must own an ore mine!)
Fei Tu was furious. (Damn, I’m only trying to buy a potted plant here. Why did I come across such a rich guy? Forget it, this young man still has potted plants by his side. Since he will continue to draw, then I’ll just buy the next one! But it’s not an option to continue to raise the price.)
“Young man, hold on.”
Sun Mo spoke up.
“What happened?”
The golden shimmery guy was perplexed. “Do you know how to use this potted plant?”
Sun Mo asked.
“Use? Isn’t it meant for admiring?”
The golden shimmery guy was surprised. Could it be some kind of special m*sturbating material? He looked toward the few leaves. Hmm, there weren’t any er*tic drawings.
Sun Mo pinched his forehead, feeling a little helpless. (Where did this buffoon come from? Have your aptitude points all been added to silliness?) “The drawings on those leaves are spirit-gathering runes. You don’t have to do anything to it and you’ll continue to be sustained in an environment with higher spirit qi density. It’s beneficial to the body. Once you channel in your spirit qi to stimulate the spirit runes, they’ll immediately create an environment that has a spirit qi density that is many times higher than usual. It’s very suitable for meditation and cultivation.”
Li Ziqi explained.
After she finished her words, everyone was speechless and turned their gaze unconsciously onto the potted plant that the golden shimmery guy was carrying. “There’s such a thing?”
Everyone’s expressions gradually turned into that of astonishment.
“It’s really so?”
Fei Tu had actually guessed this potted plant’s effects.
“So that’s how it is!”
The golden shimmery guy beamed in delight. (With this, Sister Bing will like this present even more.)
“Bring it over. You’re our first customer. I’ll give you an additional spirit rune for free!”
Sun Mo remained calm. This was very good. The plan was going on smoother than expected. Right now was the moment for him to unleash his skills.
