Chapter 33: Flying Sword
Ji Yuan had no idea how much this Bone-Corroding Flower was truly worth, so over the past month, he had saved up quite a few spirit stones.
Day and night, he had drawn talismans without rest, advanced the Fish Pond’s Semi-Spiritual Fish, and even sold some Spiritual Eggs... Even after spending money to buy a Red-Crested Chicken, he had still managed to save over a hundred lower-grade spirit stones.
That day, the sky was clear and bright.
Ji Yuan once again arrived at Shop No. A-18.
It seemed that all the cultivators in Shop No. A-18 wore identical black robes.
There were three compartments inside.
Last time, he had entered the one in the middle.
This time, he entered the one on the right, but the furnishings inside were exactly the same as before.
Including the black robe worn by the cultivator.
"What do you want to buy?"
The voice from beneath the black robe was no longer hoarse; instead, it sounded somewhat sharp... like a woman’s voice being deliberately raised.
It wasn’t the same person as last time.
Ji Yuan sat down on the bamboo chair opposite her and spoke softly, "I came here last month and paid a deposit for the Bone-Corroding Flower."
"Oh? So you’re the one who wanted the Bone-Corroding Flower?"
The voice from under the black robe sounded a bit surprised.
The woman then lifted her head.
Ji Yuan saw a rather beautiful woman’s face, especially those peach blossom eyes that looked tender even when staring at a dog—they left a deep impression on him.
The female cultivator glanced at him, momentarily stunned, seemingly not expecting Ji Yuan to look like this. But she quickly lowered her head again.
"That’s right."
Ji Yuan nodded.
"That person isn’t willing to trade for spirit stones. He wants to meet with you and negotiate a barter instead." As she spoke, the woman brushed her right hand across her waist, pulling out a slip of paper and pressing it onto the table, pushing it toward him.
"The location is written here. If you’re willing to proceed, take the address, but the deposit won’t be refunded."
"If you’re not willing, I’ll return your deposit, and the deal is off."
Judging by this, the transaction still seemed fairly straightforward, not particularly unreasonable... Ji Yuan’s thoughts flickered. Regardless of whether he decided to meet or not, he had to secure this lead first.
So, after a brief moment of contemplation, he took the slip of paper from the table.
"Deal."
A sharp voice came from under the black robe. "Pleasure doing business. Welcome again next time."
After stepping out, Ji Yuan glanced at the slip of paper, then casually burned it to ashes.
There was only a simple line written on the slip:
[December 6th, Yunyu Marshlands, Locust Tree Island]
Ji Yuan didn’t hurry home but wandered aimlessly around Zengtou Market.
The question of whether to attend the meeting was no longer something he was considering.
He was definitely going.
Given that even Shop No. A-18 had only managed to find this one source, it was likely that this was the only place in all of Yunyu Marshlands that had the Bone-Corroding Flower.
This might be his only chance. If he missed it, there might never be another opportunity.
So, there was no reason not to go.
The question was whether to bring the spirit stones along or use them to strengthen himself first before going?
As for improving his cultivation, that was impossible in such a short time. So, the only way to boost his strength was through external items... After a brief consideration, Ji Yuan made his decision.
He would spend the spirit stones first.
As for acquiring the Bone-Corroding Flower, he would wait and see what terms the other party proposed.
With that in mind, Ji Yuan turned and headed toward Hundred Treasure Pavilion.
Just as he was about to reach the entrance, he suddenly heard a soft voice calling him from the side.
"Ji Yuan."
The familiar voice caught Ji Yuan’s attention. "Sister Lu."
Over the past few months, Ji Yuan had run into Lu Wan several times, and each time it had been in a different place.
Compared to before, Lu Wan looked much more worn out now.
There was even a trace of worry between her brows. But judging by her eyes... she looked free.
Ji Yuan had noticed this the first time he saw her selling goods on the street.
She had probably wanted to break away from the Wu family long ago.
In Zengtou Market, Lu Wan was a rare, living person who had not succumbed to intimidation but had bravely chosen to be herself... even if it meant death.
So Ji Yuan had a rather favorable impression of her.
"You’ve been..."
Lu Wan was just about to speak but seemed to think of something.
She quickly changed her words. "It’s nothing. You’d better go quickly."
"Hmm?"
Ji Yuan saw the urgency in her eyes. Although he was a bit puzzled, he still nodded. "Alright."
Ji Yuan headed straight into Hundred Treasure Pavilion.
Lu Wan glanced around but didn’t notice anything unusual.
Still, she didn’t dare to take the risk. She suspected that the Wu family still had eyes on her.
There were many things she wanted to say to Ji Yuan, but she was afraid of dragging him into trouble.
Calling out to him had been instinctual. Urging him to leave had been rational.
After waiting for a moment, Lu Wan packed up and left, worried about causing unnecessary trouble for Ji Yuan.
...
Ji Yuan stayed inside Hundred Treasure Pavilion for a full half hour before coming out.
He had spent nearly all of his one hundred-plus spirit stones.
He bought two top-grade first-tier talismans, enough to deal with late-stage Qi Refining cultivators.
These two alone had cost him fifty spirit stones.
One was a top-grade Water Escape Talisman for escaping, and the other was a Demon-Suppressing Talisman for offense.
He also bought a lower-grade defensive magic robe, the Xuan Earth Robe, which specialized in countering most water-type spells by dampening their effects.
This robe alone had cost him twenty-seven spirit stones.
In addition, he bought two Hundred Herb Pills for healing, costing ten spirit stones.
With the remaining spirit stones, he sold his lower-grade magic weapon, the Black Gold Blade, and added ten more spirit stones to purchase his first mid-grade magic weapon.
A flying sword named "White Water."
Its blade shone like rippling white water.
With these acquisitions, Ji Yuan left the pavilion but didn’t see Lu Wan again. He hurried home and began refining his two new magic items.
He then put on the Xuan Earth Robe, immediately feeling a heavy, grounding sensation.
The White Water Flying Sword danced freely around the courtyard, moving with his thoughts. Compared to the Black Gold Blade, the White Water Flying Sword felt much more agile and elegant.
It even consumed much less spiritual energy.
He should have made the switch long ago!
After several rounds of testing, although he didn’t have any specific flying sword techniques, just having this mid-grade magic weapon alone made Ji Yuan feel that his strength had increased by at least two levels.
In the cultivation world, a good magic weapon could drastically enhance one’s strength.
For instance, if two cultivators of the same level fought, and one used the Black Gold Blade while the other used the White Water Sword, the former would probably have their weapon broken within a few exchanges.
Ji Yuan estimated that even without using those two top-grade talismans, his strength wouldn’t be inferior to an average sixth-layer Qi Refining cultivator.
After all, both were mid-stage Qi Refining, and among them, Ji Yuan was now armed to the teeth.
Since that was the case, it was time to head out.
After three days of seclusion at home, having consumed all the remaining Spiritual Eggs, Ji Yuan felt he was in peak condition.
As for the location of Locust Tree Island, he had already scouted it out over the past few days. It was located in the shallow waters of Yunyu Marshlands, not in the deep-water region.
Ji Yuan felt a bit more at ease.
The fact that the meeting was arranged in the shallow waters suggested the other party also wanted to play it safe.
If they had ulterior motives, they might have arranged the meeting in the much more dangerous deep-water region.
That day, Ji Yuan locked the only uncontrollable spiritual beast, the Red-Crested Chicken, in the Chicken Coop.
As long as it stayed in the coop, it would be suppressed and behave itself, saving Ji Yuan some trouble.
He pushed open the door and happened to run into the early-rising Lin Hu and his wife.
Seeing Ji Yuan summoning his Dharma Boat, they were somewhat surprised.
"Brother Ji, are you going out on the boat today?"
Lin Hu already knew Ji Yuan was a Talisman Master, so he had long grown accustomed to Ji Yuan not going fishing.
Seeing Ji Yuan going out on the boat today actually surprised him a little.
"Yeah, the weather’s good today. Let’s see if I can catch a big fish."
Ji Yuan smiled, then leapt onto the Dharma Boat. His figure turned into a streak of white light as he sped off across the water.