'The second animal companion is finally in my hands!'
'I've not only obtained a Li-Fire Crow with the Golden Crow bloodline!'
'But I also got a Spirit Taming Bag!'
Qi Ping's joy was beyond words. First, a Li-Fire Crow with even a trace of Golden Crow bloodline had a market value of over 3,000 spirit stones. According to the muscular man, this crow's bloodline was quite dense; at full strength, it could sell for four or five thousand.
Qi Ping had his [Plant Growth] skill to nurture Fire-attribute spirit herbs. As long as he restored the crow to its peak, he would have a spirit beast worth five thousand spirit stones! That was three times the value of the spider and more than double the fox! Market price didn't lie about strength and rarity.
Once he shared a talent from the crow, its power would be tied to the crow's bloodline density. As the crow's bloodline strengthened, Qi Ping's own shared talent would grow more powerful! This meant the crow would grow stronger, and so would he. His cultivation speed would increase, and his foundation would become more stable.
Furthermore, the complimentary Spirit Taming Bag was a pleasant surprise. After branding it with his soul, he checked and found it had a small space of one cubic meter—more than enough for his swarm and the crow. The problem of carrying his bees, which had been bothering him for so long, was finally solved. He no longer had to worry about the logistics of moving his swarm!
In short, Qi Ping had one feeling: Awesome!
However, he suppressed his excitement and bid farewell to the artifact refiner. Through this interaction, he had a good impression of the man.
'This tower-like fellow seems decent.'
'Once I've contracted the crow, I can ask it about his character. If he's good, I should look for an opportunity to build a friendship.'
The man's behavior today had given Qi Ping the idea of establishing a connection. The path to immortality required techniques, knowledge, treasures, and powerful beasts—all things held by major sects. If he had a friend in the Qingyuan Sect, buying, selling, and gathering information would be much easier.
This man was a late-stage Qi Refinement artifact refiner and a sect disciple; his connections were bound to be vast. Qi Ping could use the crow as a bridge to establish a partnership of mutual interest.
'Especially when the Brewer Pot-bellied Bees can stably produce honey for sale, I can use his connection to sell them.'
A rogue cultivator selling such valuable items would draw disaster, but a Qingyuan Sect disciple doing so was unremarkable. With the name of an inner disciple behind the business, few would dare to move against it, especially against a specialist like an artifact refiner.
'But the prerequisite is to confirm his character with the Li-Fire Crow. That is the basis of any partnership.'
A person wouldn't bother acting in front of a pet they were about to sell. If the crow said he was fine, and based on today's events, it was likely true. At the very least, it was enough to start a collaboration. Most importantly, at the late stage of Qi Refinement, Qi Ping had the strength to hold his own. If the man had ill intentions, Qi Ping could either kill him or transform into a bee and escape.
'Having a trustworthy partner is better. Even if I earn a bit less, it's safer than showing my own face.'
Finding a potential channel for his future development made him even happier. Returning to Boss Gao's Zhiyuan Merchant Guild:
"Boss Gao, I truly cannot thank you enough for this!" Qi Ping cupped his fists in sincere gratitude. Without Boss Gao's channels, even if he had scoured the entire market, he would never have found this crow or that man.
"I should be the one thanking you, Brother Qi. This time, I indirectly helped fulfill a small wish for Lord Meng Yan. To me, that is more important than anything else..."
Boss Gao was beaming, his joy nearly as great as Qi Ping's. One could see how happy he was.
"Lord Meng Yan?"
"Yes. Do you know his identity?"
"Wasn't he an artifact refiner and an inner disciple of the Qingyuan Sect?"
"That's just the surface. He has another identity: he is the disciple of the Qingyuan Sect's Refining Elder!"
"The Refining Elder!?"
Qi Ping was stunned. Anyone titled "Refining Elder" was almost certainly a Core Formation cultivator. Having lived in this world for five years, he knew exactly what that status meant. To put it simply: the three great families of Bluestone County could crush a rogue cultivator like an ant, but a Core Formation Elder of the Qingyuan Sect could crush the heads of those three families like ants. The gap was immeasurable.
Qi Ping hadn't expected Meng Yan to have such a background. No wonder Boss Gao was so excited.
"Exactly! Now you know why I'm happy? Hehe, so many people want to work under Lord Meng Yan and never get the chance!" By latching onto this connection, Boss Gao's business in Bluestone County would only thrive.
"Then I truly must congratulate you, Boss Gao!"
"It was all thanks to you, Brother Qi!"
After their pleasantries, Qi Ping asked, "Boss Gao, does the market have any live Fire Spirit Grass or seeds?"
"Fire Spirit Grass? There should be. Do you want to buy some?"
"Yes, I need to buy quite a few seeds as well. As you know, I just bought a Li-Fire Crow, so I need to prepare Fire-attribute spirit medicine. See how many spirit stones these are worth..."
Qi Ping pulled out the demon insect corpses from his storage ring—excluding the black-robed man's Blood Grudge Mosquitoes and Putrid Water Flies. The mid-grade artifact saber he had found with Sister Nan had already been sold to Boss Gao to make up the difference for the crow.
As for the items from the black-robed rogue cultivator, Qi Ping didn't dare touch a single one. Since the woman in blue was frantically searching for him, Qi Ping didn't want to expose anything related to him.
Boss Gao was stunned by the massive amount of insect corpses! He had no idea what Qi Ping had been doing to get so many. However, he didn't ask. He silently accepted the corpses and quickly bought two live stalks of Fire Spirit Grass and five seeds. His efficiency was staggering. To Boss Gao, as long as he could make money, he didn't care about anything else—that was his way of business.
When everything was handed over to Qi Ping, there were still 186 spirit stones remaining. The recent insect plague had indeed brought Qi Ping a small fortune.
At this point, Qi Ping had less than two hundred spirit stones left. But in exchange, he had acquired the Li-Fire Crow, the Spirit Taming Bag, and the Fire Spirit Grass and seeds. This trip to the market was a complete success.
With his business concluded, he left the market and rushed back toward the Cloud-Mist Mountain Range. Perhaps because he was cautious enough, he encountered no rogue cultivators or insects on the way. Nor was there any cliché of being followed after a big purchase. He returned smoothly to Peak No. 7.
Upon his return, he immediately summoned the swarm to high alert. He himself could not wait to begin the contract ritual with the Li-Fire Crow...