Secular Immortal of the Nine Realms - Chapter 218

Chapter 218: Nine Tributions Cinnabar

“I am fond of drawing talismans, so I’d like to buy some talisman spirit materials. Other than that… I have been wandering around for several years now, so I’d like to bring some gifts back for my juniors. Artifacts should do, but probably not too high grade ones,” Fang Chen replied.

Song Yu’s smile widened. I’m right! This person is indeed not an unaffiliated cultivator like us but a proper cultivator who has inherited a legacy!

“Young friend, the largest store in our Dragonback Lane is the Dragonback Merchant Guild. Let me bring you there to take a look.”

“Elder, I’ll be troubling you,” Fang Chen politely replied.

Song Yu waved his hands. “Don’t call me elder. I’m only at ninth stage Ki Refinement, whereas you’re already at eighth stage Ki Refinement. Consider us equals.”

After exchanging pleasantries, Song Yu brought Fang Chen to the Dragonback Merchant Guild.

“What esteemed guests!” The boss of Dragonback Merchant Guild warmly welcomed them.

“Young friend, this is Boss You, a veteran of our Dragonback Lane. He owns the Dragonback Merchant Guild. Their You Clan is an established merchant clan, and they have stores in many markets. Their items are also top-notch in terms of quality,” Song Yu introduced with a smile.

Merchant clan? Is he from a cultivator clan, given how he’s dealing with cultivator goods?

Fang Chen smiled at Boss You and said, “Boss You, I’d like to purchase some talisman spirit materials and artifacts. May I know if you have those in your store?”

“Of course, of course. Shall we move to the lounge first?” Boss You politely invited.

The few of them moved over to the lounge. Without further ado, Boss You took out a couple of talisman spirit materials from his storage ring.

“Daoist Fang, these are my most valuable talisman spirit materials. I rarely show them since unaffiliated cultivators can’t afford them,” Boss You excitedly introduced.

“Look at these three brushes. Their handles contain at least a tael of real celestial bluestone. Do you see the fine fur used for the brush tip? They are acquired from pinnacle Ki Refinement beasts. There might not even be a single pinnacle Ki Refinement beast here. These brushes are imported from grade-6 states.”

“Old You, I’m disappointed in you. Why have you never shown such treasures to me before?” Song Yu remarked merrily.

Boss You replied with a laugh, “Well, you know what they say about flaunting one’s wealth. Chief Song, you don’t specialize in talismans, so it’s meaningless even if I show them to you.”

“Fine, I’ll take that.” Song Yu shook his head. “Drawing talismans is a hassle, and they take up precious cultivation time. I don’t have that much free time to squander.”

Fang Chen took the three brushes and inspected them. He tried channeling his spirit ki through them, and he found that his spirit ki was extremely stable. Such a brush would be of great help to his talisman drawing.

“Boss You, how much do these three brushes cost?” Fang Chen asked.

Boss You pondered for seconds before replying, “I shan’t be too black-hearted since you were brought here by Chief Song. I’ll offer you a fair price—100 low-grade ki stones for each brush.”

“Boss Song, aren’t you being too greedy? You can buy a 10 daosoul imprint artifact with 100 low-grade ki stones!” Song Yu frowned. “How can a mere talisman brush be so pricey?”

“Chief Song, you don’t know how popular these talisman brushes are out there. A talisman master can easily recoup his losses by drawing a dozen talismans or so. In contrast, artifacts can’t be used for drawing talismans,” Boss Yu explained with a sigh.

“It’s indeed a reasonable price. I’ll buy it.” Fang Chen took out 300 low-grade ki stones with a smile before towing away the three talisman brushes.

Talisman drawing consumed not only talisman papers and cinnabar, but talisman brushes too. Talisman brushes often had a short lifespan due to accumulated damage from channeling spirit ki. In fact, even the three brushes he had just acquired were unlikely to last long.

Even so, they were necessary for drawing high-grade Purple Lightning Talismans.

“Decisive!” Boss You shot a thumbs up before stowing away the ki stones. He proceeded to introduce the other spirit materials. “Daoist Fang, these talisman papers are from a grade-6 state too. They are made out of Thunderjolt Wood. They are highly conducive for drawing fire element talismans.”

At this point, Boss You heaved a sigh before adding, “Admittedly, these talisman papers are best for drawing lightning element talismans, but there are very few cultivators who know how to draw lightning element talismans, so these talisman papers are relatively cheaper.”

Thunderjolt Wood?

Fang Chen took one of the talisman papers and inspected it. He could sense a tinge of lightning energy in it, a sign that it was superior spirit material for drawing the Purple Lightning Talisman.

“Boss You, I’m not familiar with fire and lightning element talismans, but I concede that it won’t be easy to find talisman papers of comparable quality. How much do you charge?” Fang Chen put down the talisman papers, looking not too enthusiastic about them.

Boss You was anxious. He had struggled to sell these talisman papers due to their exorbitant price. It wasn’t easy to stumble upon a powerful cultivator who was interested in talismans and had the financial means to splurge. He didn’t want to miss this rare chance to sell it off.

He thought hard about it before offering, “How about a low-grade ki stone each?”

“How about you rob a bank instead?” Song Yu harrumphed. “You’re saying this scrap paper is worth a low-grade ki stone each? Young friend, let’s get some ordinary talisman papers instead. You can buy an entire stack of talisman papers for a low-grade ki stone.”

“Chief Song, you clearly don’t understand talismans! Do you know how much 50 grams of Thunderjolt Wood cost?” Boss You raised all his fingers up for emphasis. “100 low-grade ki stones! And that’s if you’re lucky to stumble upon it at all!

“You can only make 70 to 80 talisman papers with 50 grams of Thunderjolt Wood. I’m already making a loss with this sales. If I’m dealing with another cultivator who can put these talisman papers to good use, I’d have sold them for 2 low-grade ki stones each!”

“It’s indeed pricey.” Fang Chen shook his head.

He turned his attention from the talisman papers to a bottle of cinnabar that Boss You had taken out.

Its lid was open, and there looked to be around 200 to 250 grams of fine purple cinnabar inside the bottle. Every cinnabar grain was around the same size, a sign that it was well processed.

Boss You was disappointed to see that Fang Chen wasn’t interested in the talisman papers, but he perked up to introduce the cinnabar. “Daoist Fang, there is 250 grams of cinnabar inside the bottle. I’m selling 50 grams for 30 low-grade ki stones.”

“Why don’t you…”

Song Yu was just about to interject when Boss You glared at him and harrumphed. “Boss Song, this cinnabar of mine is a treasure!

“Seven years ago, a powerful cultivator underwent the first lightning tribulation of the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations. The terrifying power of the lightning tribulation reduced that powerful cultivator into cinders, but the sand he sat on absorbed the power of the lightning tribulation and transformed into the Nine Tribulations Cinnabar.

“As soon as the lightning tribulation ended, different sects swooped in and split the Nine Tribulations Cinnabar among themselves. Our You Clan bought it from others at a hefty price. Surely we have to make a profit too?”

“Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations?” Yu Song turned grim.

He dared not imagine how powerful a cultivator undergoing the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations was.