NOVEL NEXT Chapter 130: To Give or Not to Give
Chapter 130: To Give or Not to Give
Looking at the dazzling array of cultivation resources, Xu Lian only recognized three: Earth Flesh, Stone Marrow, and Condensation Pill.
Earth Flesh and Stone Marrow were specialty spiritual items of Pingyang County, which was controlled by the Yi Sect. How could they be sold here?
He guessed that some people from the Yi Sect had secretly sold them, allowing them to circulate here.
Could the Quarry Patrol Inspectors like White Fox be involved in smuggling Earth Flesh? Xu Lian wondered. He then asked Jiang Xianyu, “Which one is the Nightbloom Flower?”
Jiang Xianyu pointed to a stall, “That one over there.”
Xu Lian looked and saw something resembling a Trumpet Flower, but it was black and emitted a faint black mist.
“How much for the Nightbloom Flower?” he asked as he walked over with Jiang Xianyu.
The stall owner was a kind looking old man. “One thousand and fifty Spirit Stones.”
Xu Lian wasn’t familiar with the exact price of Nightbloom Flowers, so he glanced at Jiang Xianyu for confirmation.
Jiang Xianyu said, “That’s a bit expensive. The usual market price is around one thousand thirty.”
The old man shook his head, “The market price fluctuates. Recently, the various sects and demons have been fighting fiercely, making Nightbloom Flower more difficult to obtain. That’s why the price has gone up a bit.”
“Let’s check out other stalls,” Xu Lian said, not entirely convinced by the old man’s explanation. He took Jiang Xianyu’s hand and prepared to leave.
The old man shouted, “Other stalls will have the same price.”
Xu Lian glanced at him, “Whether it’s the same or not, we’ll still look around. It’s always good to compare prices.”
The old man called out again, “Wait, we can negotiate.”
Xu Lian asked, “Are you willing to lower the price?”
The old man said, “One thousand thirty, then.”
From the old man’s attitude, Xu Lian felt that the price could be lowered further. “It’s still too expensive.”
The old man frowned, “That’s already a very low price.”
Xu Lian said, “You have dozens of Nightbloom Flowers on your stall. I’ll take them all for one thousand Spirit Stones each. How about that?”
The old man replied, “I have more than just what’s on the stall. I have more in my storage bag.”
Xu Lian thought that it might be convenient to buy everything here in one go. Buying in bulk might lead to a better deal. “How many do you have in total?”
The old man smiled, “I have as many as you need.”
That’s impressive… Xu Lian thought for a moment, then said, “Nine hundred and ninety spirit stones each. I’ll take three hundred.”
“Husband, why do you need so many?” Jiang Xianyu was shocked.
Even though Nightbloom Flowers were cultivation resources for the Dark Strength Rank, even advancing from Dark Strength Rank 1 to Rank 9 wouldn’t require so many.
Of course, she didn’t know that for Xu Lian, this wasn’t even half of what he needed…
Xu Lian explained, “I’ll use some of it myself and sell the rest to earn some Spirit Stones.”
The old man’s eyes flickered, “Young friend, since you need Nightbloom Flowers, it seems you’ve reached the Dark Strength Rank. To have such strength at such a young age, your talent is truly remarkable.”
Xu Lian said, “Nine hundred and ninety Spirit Stones. Will you sell them or not? Give me a straight answer.”
“Sell, of course I’ll sell. It’s rare to meet someone as generous as you, young friend.”
The old man waved his hand over the stall, and the dozens of Nightbloom Flowers suddenly increased to three hundred.
Xu Lian asked Jiang Xianyu to check if there were any problems with the Nightbloom Flowers. He could only appraise skills and items, not raw materials, unless he directly added the materials here.
Jiang Xianyu carefully examined each Nightbloom Flower one by one. “There’s no problem with them.”
Xu Lian made a quick calculation. Three hundred Nightbloom Flowers would cost 297,000 Spirit Stones. He had just over 291,000 Spirit Stones on hand, which left him 6,000 short. Feeling a bit awkward, he had no choice but to borrow from Jiang Xianyu.
Jiang Xianyu took out 6,000 Spirit Stones, bringing the total to 297,000.
Xu Lian waved his hand and stored all the Nightbloom Flowers from the stall into his storage bag.
He asked Jiang Xianyu if she needed to buy any cultivation resources.
Jiang Xianyu said that she didn’t need anything.
So they didn’t look any further. Xu Lian took Jiang Xianyu’s hand and left the market.
Not far from the market, Jiang Xianyu’s expression changed. She whispered, “I think we’re being followed.”
Xu Lian also sensed it, and his expression darkened. “The aura feels familiar. It seems to be the old man who sold us the Nightbloom Flowers earlier. No wonder he had so many. He sells them with one hand and takes them back with the other”.
Realizing that they had been discovered, the old man stepped out of the shadows with a smile. “Will you hand them over willingly, or should I take them from your corpse?”
Jiang Xianyu said coldly, “The underground market is under the jurisdiction of the Mian Pavilion. Aren’t you afraid of violating their rules and facing their wrath?”
The old man’s smile didn’t falter. “Of course, I know the rules of the underground market. I didn’t make a move inside the market. Now that we are outside, the Mian Pavilion will not interfere.”
Jiang Xianyu had no choice but to take out the Jiang family banner. “I’m from the Jiang family of Taizhou Prefecture. If you dare to harm us, the Jiang family will never let you go.”
The old man looked at the banner, paused for a moment, and then said indifferently, “I don’t care. Just return my Nightbloom Flowers.”
With a clang, Xu Lian’s 3-star longsword was drawn. The moment it was drawn, a cold light flashed, illuminating the eyes of all three of them.
Xu Lian charged at the old man.
Boom!…
A brilliant sword aura imbued with lightning shot towards the old man.
“Bright Strength 9th Stage with a 3-star weapon. Not bad, not bad,” the old man sneered.
He reached out and grabbed it.
Hum!…
A claw-shaped surge of energy tore through the air with a sharp whistle!
Boom!…
The lightning scattered, scorching the surroundings and leaving numerous pits and craters.
Crack!…
The sword aura was shattered!
The claw-shaped energy pierced through and directly hit Xu Lian’s 3-star longsword.
Xu Lian’s tiger mouth (the area between his thumb and index finger) split open, and he nearly lost his grip on the sword.
He was also hit by a tremendous force and staggered backwards. A sweet taste filled his mouth, and he couldn’t help but cough up blood. Obviously, this old man was a senior expert at the Dark Strength Rank, not just a level 1 or 2 expert. Otherwise, with Xu Lian’s Bright Strength 9th Stage and a 3-star weapon, he wouldn’t have been so overwhelmed. The old man was probably at Dark Strength 3rd Stage.
“How dare you!” Jiang Xianyu shouted, drawing the large sword from her back and slashing at the old man.
The old man casually swatted his hand.
Clang!…
The old man’s palm struck the large sword directly, sparks flying as the sword was sent flying!
Jiang Xianyu was also sent flying, blood spurting from her mouth and her face turning pale.
No doubt, the difference in strength was too great to overcome.
Xu Lian caught Jiang Xianyu and immediately turned to flee, heading towards the Laifu Inn at top speed.
The old man saw through his intention and quickly gave chase. “Spending nearly 300,000 Spirit Stones on 300 Nightbloom Flowers in one go is such an extravagance.
Young friend, you must be from a powerful family like Miss Jiang’s. Why would you risk your life like that? If you lose the Nightbloom Flowers, you can always ask your family for more Spirit Stones and buy them again.”
When he felt the old man coming up behind him, Xu Lian’s heart sank. The old man was much faster, and it seemed unlikely that they would make it back to Laifu Inn in time.
Without hesitation, Xu Lian took out a handful of Nightbloom Flowers and silently chanted: Add Ingredients!
In an instant, one Nightbloom Flower turned to ash!
At the same time, the energy within his body surged, and he advanced from Bright Strength 9th Stage to Dark Strength 1st Stage!
“Add points to rank!” Xu Lian thought.
[Rank points successfully added. Add two Nightbloom Flowers to advance to Dark Strength Stage 2].
“Add ingredients!”
Two Nightbloom Flowers turned to ash, and he advanced to Dark Strength 2nd Stage.
Hum!…
At that moment, the old man caught up with him from behind, reaching out with a fierce, claw-shaped surge of energy that was sharp and unstoppable!
Xu Lian’s eyes turned cold. He spun around and slashed downward with his sword.
Now at Dark Strength 2nd Stage, with his 3-star sword amplifying his energy by 30% and the freezing power of a downward strike, his attack was devastating.
Boom!…
The claw-shaped energy was forcefully split, and the sword descended towards the old man’s head!
The old man’s expression drastically changed, and he hastily retreated. Even so, the tip of the sword left a bloody gash on his forehead, nearly splitting him in half!
The old man broke out in a cold sweat and stared at Xu Lian in shock and confusion. “What kind of secret technique is this? Can you directly use the Night Flower to boost your cultivation?”
“The kind that will end your life,” Xu Lian said coldly while silently chanting in his mind: Rank, add points!
Then, add ingredients!
Four Nightbloom Flowers turned to ash, and he advanced from Dark Strength Stage 2 to Stage 3!
When the old man felt Xu Lian’s energy surge again, he felt a sense of impending doom and turned to flee.
“Return my spirit stones,” Xu Lian said icily, carrying the unconscious Jiang Xianyu on one shoulder and holding the Nightbloom Flowers and the 3-Star Sword in the other as he pursued the old man.
Xu Lian chanted silently in his mind: Stage, add points! Add ingredients!
Eight nightbloom flowers turned to ash, and he advanced from Stage 3 of Dark Strength to Stage 4!
The old man was on the verge of tears when he felt the young man’s aura rising behind him once again. “Stop chasing me! I’ll give it back!”
The old man threw out a large pile of Spirit Stones.
Xu Lian waved his hand and stored them in his spatial bag. With a quick mental check, he estimated that there were about 300,000 spirit stones, roughly the amount he had spent on the Nightbloom Flowers earlier.
“You must still have some Nightbloom Flowers. Hand them over,” Xu Lian said coldly.
The old man, who was still running, threw out a handful of Nightbloom Flowers.
Xu Lian stored them in his spatial bag. “Not enough. Give me all of them.”
The old man trembled and threw out another batch. “This is all I have. I only had about 400 in total.”
“What about spirit stones?
Pills?
Secret manuals?
I want everything!
Hand them over!”
Xu Lian’s killing intent was palpable as he raised his 3-star sword, its blade glowing with a sword aura several feet long.
The old man shouted angrily, “You’re going too far!”
“You attacked me first, and now you say I’m going too far? How ridiculous.”
Xu Lian didn’t waste any more words. Seeing that the distance was close enough, he swung his sword with full force.
The desperate old man gritted his teeth and flung out everything he had. “All my years of accumulation – take it all if you want. It’s up to you.”
He threw a huge pile of spirit stones, along with various bottles and jars, directly at the sword.
Xu Lian hesitated for a moment. Wealth or life?
He quickly withdrew his sword and stored the spirit stones and bottles in his spatial bag.
In that brief moment of hesitation, the old man had already disappeared into a pile of ruins.
Boom!…
Xu Lian slashed at the ruins, creating a deep trench and sending dust flying.
Unfortunately, there was no trace of the old man. He must have escaped through a hidden passage underneath the ruins.
Following the principle of not pursuing a fleeing enemy, Xu Lian retrieved Jiang Xianyu’s large sword and carried her back to the Laifu Inn.
He laid Jiang Xianyu down on the bed, took out some healing pills, and fed them to her.
Then he began continuously adding points and advancing, consuming Nightbloom Flowers as ingredients.
After using up all his accumulated progression points and consuming over 200 Nightbloom Flowers, his status updated:
[Name: Xu Lian]
[Stage: Dark Strength Stage 7]
[Skills: Breaking Wind Sword Technique (Volumes 1-3), Seven Styles of Primal Gang (Complete), Short Fist – Shadow Pursuit]
[Item: 3-Star Longsword (Not Equipped)]
[Note: You currently have no usable progression points.]
Feeling the immense energy surging inside him, Xu Lian finally felt more at ease. Yanfu County was far too chaotic, and the stronger he became, the better he could handle any unexpected situations.