Eternal Tale

She slowly walked forward and stopped Chen Xun: ”Fellow Daoist, may I have a word?”

”Feel free to speak.”

”Are you a rogue cultivator? If you’re planning to head to the sea, you can come to our Chengfeng Chamber of Commerce. The share of the sea beasts we hunt will depend on...”

”Fellow Daoist, we don’t have any such plans for now.” Chen Xun suddenly understood; she was here to recruit muscle. ”To be honest, we are not familiar with the Western Sea and have no intention of going out to sea for now.”

They hadn’t worked as hired hands for many years. Now they were their own bosses.

”Then I won’t bother you any further,” the woman in the green robe took a step back. ”If you ever consider it, I hope you’ll give our Chengfeng Chamber of Commerce a thought.”

”Of course.”

Chen Xun nodded with a smile, then left without looking back.

The woman in green only glanced at him twice before turning her attention back to the teleportation array, continuing her search for new ’muscle.’

On the wide street, a salty smell unique to the sea hit them in the face. All around were cultivators selling sea beasts, their loud shouts filling the air with a bustling, lively atmosphere.

”Blackscale Fish, a mid-Foundation Establishment sea beast, sold whole, with an intact demon core! The highest bidder wins!”

”A Blackscale Fish! That’s extremely beneficial for fellow Daoists cultivating their eyesight.”

”Heh, sharp eyes! This was a hard-earned catch, killed with the combined effort of several fellow Daoists.”

”I’ll take it! Don’t try to outbid me!”

The streets were crowded with cultivators, and Chen Xun and his group stood at the edge of the crowd, dazzled by the sights, and occasionally joining the cultivators in their exclamations.

These sea beasts were unlike anything they’d ever seen, even those depicted in the spirit beast manuals they had studied.

Their spiritual senses connected as one, and Little Red activated group chat mode.

”Brother Xun, Brother Ox, these sea beasts are completely different from the spirit beasts of the Tian Duan Plains.”

Little Red gulped down some saliva, feeling bolder. ”Who ever heard of Foundation Establishment spirit beasts having Golden Core beasts?”

”Moo!” The big black ox’s mouth was slightly open, dumbfounded by the sight.

”These are sea beasts, not spirit beasts! Sea beasts, as in the demons of the sea, not your regular spirit beasts!” Chen Xun acted like the expert, craning his neck to see more. ”Little Red, you’ve been stuck on the Tian Duan Plains; how could you know about these?”

”Heh.” Little Red smiled awkwardly, realizing it was indeed good to come out and see the world. Mostly, he felt safe staying close to his two big brothers. So far, they hadn’t encountered any danger.

”Moo!”

The big black ox nudged Chen Xun, its gaze fixed on a massive sea beast that had just arrived on the other side.

”Wow, a big one just came into the city!” Chen Xun exclaimed, placing Little Red onto the back of the big black ox. ”Old Ox, quick, let’s go watch the show!”

Little Red, standing on the big black ox, jumped up in excitement. ”Oh, my heavens, it’s huge! Brother Xun, does this mean the sea is even bigger than the Tian Duan Plains?!”

”Obviously! What did you expect?!”

”Moo!”

They quickly trotted over, filled with excitement and bantering with each other, their voices animated. The cultivators around them shook their heads at their naivety, wondering what they were so happy about.

The enormous sea beast was being transported to a platform in a pavilion, where it was put on display.

A middle-aged Golden Core stage cultivator stepped out from behind and cupped his hands toward the crowd.

”As many of you may have noticed, this is a Dibao Dolphin, a sea beast of the early Golden Core stage. It was killed by our Chengfeng Chamber of Commerce two days ago using a formation, and it was no easy task to capture!”

”Fellow Daoist, does the Dibao Dolphin’s demon core remain?”

”It has already been reserved and sold. What is being auctioned today is its flesh, bones, and tendons. Fellow Daoists, feel free to bid.”

Upon hearing this, several Golden Core cultivators in the crowd shook their heads in regret and left quietly.

The demon core of a Golden Core Sea beast was far more valuable than a human Golden Core, a top-tier treasure for refining pills or enhancing cultivation.

Even though those cultivators had left, the crowd below remained fervent. The Great Li Realm was never short of cultivators; what it lacked were rare treasures like this.

Chen Xun and his companions watched eagerly, picking up a lot of useful information, such as the fact that demon cores could be refined into pills and that the flesh of these beasts could help Qi Refinement stage cultivators breakthrough.

Upon hearing this, Chen Xun began to get a clearer picture in his mind. No wonder there were so many Foundation Establishment cultivators here; they were living off the sea. The resources for cultivation were incredibly abundant!

After watching for a while longer, they continued their stroll through the city, visiting several pill pavilions, eventually selecting the most impressive one.

In a private room...

”Fellow Daoist, you’re only offering two thousand mid-grade spirit stones for my Greenbud Night White Fungus?!”

Chen Xun snorted coldly, immediately retrieving the medicine box. ”This is a thousand-year-old spirit herb, a treasure for Golden Core stage cultivators. Two thousand is way too low.”

”Moo!” The big black ox snorted angrily. Exactly! How could it only be worth two thousand?

”Woof~” Little Red, emboldened by the big ox, suddenly remembered something and barked, ”Woof! Woof woof!”

Sitting across from them was a man in fine robes who chuckled softly, ”Fellow Daoist, you may not know this, but the price for such herbs may be higher in other regions, but in the Western Sea region, it simply won’t fetch as much.”

Chen Xun’s tongue was tied as all the negotiation tactics he had prepared stuck in his throat. Damn it, he was right.

Having observed the local herbs and pill formulas, Chen Xun realized that they were indeed quite different from those of the broader cultivation world. The herbs here were unique to the sea or its islands, and the pill formulas were completely different.

”I’ll sell two stalks, both thousand-year-old Greenbud Night White Fungus. Five thousand mid-grade spirit stones, no less! If that’s unacceptable, we’re leaving!”

After speaking, Chen Xun stood up, and the big black ox and Little Red followed suit.

”Please, go ahead.” The robed man leisurely sipped his tea. It was as if they were treating his pill pavilion like a pushover, trying to gain an extra thousand mid-grade spirit stones.

Chen Xun frowned as he slowly walked out, his ears perked up.

”Brother Xun, let’s go! He was trying to scam us out of a thousand spirit stones!” Little Red asked, puzzled at why Chen Xun was walking so slowly. Spirit stones were so precious—he deeply understood this from his time on the Tian Duan Plains, where he had barely ever seen spirit stones.

”Moo~” The big black ox and Little Red exchanged glances. Big Brother was negotiating.

”Oh...” Little Red licked his lips. He hadn’t realized there was a strategy like this. He was learning.

Chen Xun walked nonchalantly, frowning slightly. How come no one called them back? They had almost reached... the street!

”What the heck, was that reverse psychology?!” Chen Xun angrily turned back, ”Old Ox, why didn’t he call us back?”

”Moo!” The big black ox nudged Chen Xun, its gaze fierce. Clearly, that guy thought he had them cornered.

”Pfft, let’s go. We’ll sell it at another pill pavilion.”

”Moo moo!”

”Exactly, Brother Xun, we can still make spirit stones elsewhere!”

As they chatted, they trotted off again, their laughter carrying a hint of mischief, whispering about who knew what.

Three days later, Chen Xun finally managed to gather enough travel expenses, even buying some incomplete maps. However, land-based herbs really did fetch low prices here.

After a lot of bargaining, which left Chen Xun with dry lips, they had earned just over twenty thousand mid-grade spirit stones. Chen Xun knew about spirit beast storage bags but had never brought them up before.

They squatted down again by the street, their eyes darting around as they sniffed the unique salty scent of the sea wafting through the city.

Chen Xun took a sip of herbal tea and gave some to the big black ox and Little Red.

”Brother Xun, what kind of treasure tea is this?” Little Red asked after a sip, feeling refreshed. ”It tastes even better than spirit herbs.”

”Old Ox, explain the effects of this health tea to Little Red. It’s a secret recipe from my master!”

”Moo!!” The big black ox lifted its head proudly and began explaining some mundane stories from the mortal world to Little Red.

Little Red occasionally let out low growls, his eyes widening as he listened, believing every word.

Chen Xun laughed heartily. The big black ox hadn’t stopped chatting since they began the journey, always conversing with Little Red. This made Chen Xun very happy.

”Little Red.”

”Yes, Brother Xun?”

”Moo?” The big black ox also looked at Chen Xun.

”Why have you never asked us for spirit herbs, nor mentioned the God-killing Stone?” Chen Xun asked quietly, pulling out a blank booklet. ”You should know we have plenty of spirit herbs, right?”

”Huh?” Little Red was taken aback and responded, ”Brother Xun, aren’t those yours and Brother Ox’s? I’m just here to accompany you and see the world; I’m not exactly interested in those things.”

”Don’t worry. We won’t leave you behind.” Chen Xun smiled knowingly and began writing in the booklet. The first line read, ”Beigong Red Lion.” ”You’re our little brother.”

”Moo moo!” The big black ox snorted, glancing at the dazed Little Red lying on its back.

”Brother Xun, Brother Ox, when are we going to the Western Sea?” Little Red took out a small sea chart from his storage bag and spread it open. ”This sea is enormous! It feels even bigger than the entire Great Li!”

The big black ox grew excited upon hearing this and nudged Chen Xun.

”We set off tomorrow!”

”Moo!!”

”Great!!”

Little Red was overjoyed, feeling braver than ever. The faint red mark on his forehead glimmered, and he began imagining the sea and the sea beasts that inhabited it.

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