Rising from Small Cloud Rain Technique

Chapter 208: Chapter 203: Curiosities

The old man grinned, showing a missing front tooth, and warmly said:

“Senior, this is a great item, twenty spirit stones.”

He didn’t recognize what it was, but if it could catch the attention of a sect cultivator, it must be extraordinary.

For a Foundation Establishment cultivator to take an interest, asking for twenty spirit stones wasn’t unreasonable.

At this moment, he put behind him all the fruitless attempts at selling it in sect shops.

Wei Shouqing sneered:

“A piece of broken rock, how could it be something good, here’s one spirit stone, we’ll take it.”

The old man’s expression stiffened, and he said stubbornly:

“If it weren’t good, would this senior be interested? Twenty spirit stones, not a single one less.”

Ji An felt a stream of energy entering his body through his fingertips, flowing through the Immortal Vein into his dantian.

His mind connected with the Stone Turtle, discovering that the Gen Spirit’s numbers were steadily increasing, slowly but surely.

“I want the item,” he stared at the other party and asked:

“Tell me where you got it, and I’ll pay the spirit stones immediately.”

He felt excited, uninterested in pretending not to care, so he got straight to the point.

The old man’s eyes darted around, revealing a sly glint:

“Senior, if you want to know where such treasures come from, there’s an additional price.”

He originally had marked up the price sky-high, but the other party didn’t haggle, what did that imply?

He had completely forgotten where he got the item, but he knew there would be no more similar items at the place where he found the rock.

Because he initially thought it was a peculiar seed when he collected it, if there were more ’seeds,’ he would have picked them up too.

In the past, when it couldn’t be sold, he tried planting it, but it never sprouted.

Ji An felt the energy flow weakening, and the speed of Spiritual Mechanism’s growth slowed down, so he placed the item down and said with a half-smile:

“Let me hear, what’s the price?”

In a short time, his Gen Spirit had increased by about ten points; he’d already reaped most of the benefits.

The old man extended his hand, his voice serious:

“Senior has good eyes, knowing the item’s value.

Just for a thousand spirit stones, I’ll hand over the treasure map to you.”

Being older, he planned to find a small place to retire, and originally intended to leave in a few days aboard a trading caravan’s flying ship.

If he could scam some spirit stones, he would leave immediately. A Foundation Establishment cultivator couldn’t keep an eye on a nobody like him at all times, and he was confident he could deceive Qi Refining cultivators and leave.

Ji An smirked, his mouth forming a sardonic grin:

“Alright, take me to that place. If I can’t find fifty rocks like this one, you know what’ll happen.”

His divine sense had just locked onto the other, sensing their irregularly fast heartbeat, most likely plotting something sinister.

“Uh, I can’t guarantee that, and additionally, I can’t guide you, but I can lower the price of the map.”

Wei Shouqing snorted coldly:

“Keep making up stories; a thousand spirit stones, eat shit for that.”

Ji An said calmly:

“The item has some use to me, but only when there are many.

Individually, it’s not very useful. I still offer twenty spirit stones for the item.”

If not for the Stone Turtle, he wouldn’t have noticed any mystical properties in such an item, and he guessed most Foundation Establishment cultivators wouldn’t either.

If the other party could get more, exchanging spirit stones for Spiritual Mechanism was well worth it.

The vendor picked up the stone, decisively shaking his head:

“I’ve decided to raise the price to fifty spirit stones.”

At first, he quoted twenty spirit stones, and when the other party agreed without hesitation, he figured he could raise it a bit more.

Selling the map seemed a lost cause, so he aimed to extract as many spirit stones as possible.

The deal hadn’t been sealed, and the pricing power was in his hands.

Though the other was a Foundation Establishment cultivator, no cultivator could act in Immortal City because it was a rule jointly set by the Three Sects.

There had been sect cultivators who acted rashly and were heavily punished and forced to compensate for their losses.

This was a key reason why loose cultivators came to Immortal City; the Three Sects maintained fairness, at least publicly.

“I’ve changed my mind; I don’t want the item.

If you get more similar stones, you can find me at Wei’s Talisman Shop on Vermilion Bird Street.

I’ll wait half a month. If you still only have this one, don’t bother coming.”

Ji An shook his head, walked away with his hands behind his back.

The Spiritual Mechanism in the stone was nearly depleted; he left without hesitation.

He initially wanted to give the other party a taste of profit since he had benefited.

But since the other was greedy, he wouldn’t indulge them.

Moreover, he believed if the other found more stones, they would come to him.

Wei Shouqing let out a cold snort, lowered his voice, and said:

“I’ll give you another chance, sell it to me for five spirit stones.”

His clan uncle had given him five hundred spirit stones for this transaction, and he could see that Ji An genuinely wanted the item initially.

The old man squinted his eyes slightly, shaking his head in refusal, believing they were trying to feign desire to negotiate.

Ji An didn’t continue browsing; it was getting late, time to return.

On the way, Wei Shouqing cautiously asked:

“Senior, what was that yellow-brown stone?”

He wanted to know in detail before deciding whether to endure the high price to buy it back.

“I don’t know either, but my intuition says it’s useful to me, so I wanted to buy it.”

Wei Shouqing forced a smile, thinking to himself:

’If you don’t want to say, then don’t, why be so dismissive.’

…

After dinner, Ji An and Wei Songnian chatted for a while before returning to their room.

He began to ponder the afternoon’s events; the appearance of a curiosity that directly increased Spiritual Mechanism meant an additional avenue for improving Spiritual Mechanism.

If there are curiosities that can enhance Gen Spirit, there should be ones for enhancing other Spiritual Mechanisms as well.

If he could understand the causes behind the formation of these curiosities, perhaps he could try to create them himself.

Even if he couldn’t, he could search for curiosities more purposefully.

He wondered if this was just an isolated case; if there were plenty of such curiosities, he would not hesitate to spend Spirit Stones to offer reward.

Next, it was up to that vendor’s move; if the vendor could obtain more curiosities, it would mean it’s not just an isolated case.

After clearing his thoughts, Ji An took out the Mutated Turtle Egg, nourishing it with magical power for half a quarter hour.

Putting away the Beast Egg, he unravelled the Small Cloud Rain Technique, and when the Spirit Rain fell, he executed the Water Control Technique to begin practicing magic spells.

…

Wei Shouqing sat upright, recounting the afternoon’s events in detail.

Wei Songnian frowned slightly, saying:

“Tomorrow you go find that vendor, offer twenty Spirit Stones to purchase the item.

Senior Brother Ji wants to buy it; he must have his reasons.”

In his impression, Ji An was an utter pragmatist, won’t spare a glance at unnecessary things, but would buy what he needed at any price.

“What if the vendor insists on raising the price?”

“Then let him keep the item and lay eggs!”

…

The next day.

Wei Songnian walked into the guest room with a smile, placing the small yellow-brown stone on the table.

Ji An put down the talisman brush, smiling:

“Thank you, Junior Brother. How much did it cost in Spirit Stones?”

He thought this item wasn’t much use anymore, but others’ kindness shouldn’t be disregarded.

Wei Songnian opened his hand with five fingers, laughing heartily:

“Five Spirit Stones. This morning, Shouqing found the vendor and directly asked if he would sell for three Spirit Stones.

After some bargaining, it ended up being sold for five Spirit Stones.

The vendor originally could get twenty Spirit Stones but ended up with only five; his expression was quite a spectacle.”

Ji An showed a polite smile, but sighed inwardly.

The vendor’s actions suggested this curiosity most likely was singular.

“That scoundrel dared to deceive me. Junior Brother, look out for him in the future.”

The audacity to demand a thousand Spirit Stones, a Qi Refining Cultivator had the nerve to attempt tricking a Foundation Establishment Cultivator; greed hath no limits.

Wei Songnian’s smile tightened, a cold look appeared on his face.

“Dare deceive Senior Brother, won’t let him off easy.

I’ll give orders later, and if the opportunity arises, he’ll be sure to receive a harsh lesson.”

“Don’t act while I’m in the Immortal City.”

Ji An still held a sliver of hope; if the vendor were lucky enough to find more curiosities, he’d be forgiving.

“Understood, Senior Brother. You carry on, I’ll send people to watch him.”

Wei Songnian took his leave to investigate the vendor.

Although it was likely the other party was just a regular loose cultivator, the forces in Immortal City were tangled; if connected to some major figure, it’d be difficult to handle.

Wei’s Shop had several competitors, any slip-up would lead to widespread gossip, necessitating caution.

Ji An picked up the curiosity, feeling tiny streams entering the Immortal Vein, merging into the Dantian, with Gen Spirit increasing once again.

After two quarter-hours, he still felt the intermittent flow into the Dantian being absorbed by the Stone Turtle, astonishing him inwardly.

Gen Spirit increased by five points, the effect of this curiosity far exceeded expectations; initially, he thought its Spiritual Mechanism was nearly depleted.

A quarter-hour later, despite long intervals, there were occasional increases in Gen Spirit.

Ji An’s mood shifted from surprise to delight, he fetched a red silk thread, securely tied the curiosity, crafting a pendant to hang around his neck, placing it close to his skin.

During lunch, Ji An said:

“Junior Brother Wei, keep an eye on that vendor, the stone is proving more useful than I thought.”

He doubted others would discover the mystery of the curiosity, at least Foundation Establishment cultivators wouldn’t have the capability.

His spiritual strength far surpassed his peers, comparable to the Ninth-Layer Foundation Establishment cultivators; without the Stone Turtle, he’d never uncover the stone’s enigma.

Wei Songnian bore a serious expression, nodding firmly:

“Rest assured, Senior Brother, I will handle it.”

…

Three days later.

Ji An was drawing a talisman when he heard heavy footsteps outside.

Wei Songnian entered the room with a bitter and embarrassed expression, gesturing to the maid.

The maid understood, quietly lifting her feet and vacating the room silently.

“Senior Brother, that vendor didn’t set up a stall today. My people investigated his residence, but found it was vacated, no idea where he went.

That person must possess excellent disguise techniques; otherwise, my men wouldn’t have lost track.”

Cultivators identified people mainly through spiritual soul fluctuations, unique to each, discernible only at close range; at distance, face recognition was relied upon.

Wei Songnian had three people watching in shifts, except during midnight to 5:00 AM when there was no watch.

Consequently, an error occurred, leaving him terribly embarrassed.

Ji An pondered, saying:

“Search in the city for a few more days; if we really can’t locate him, just let it be.”

He was thoroughly convinced that the vendor lacked the ability to find more curiosities; otherwise, he wouldn’t walk away from easy windfall profits.