Chapter 321 - 316: A Bountiful Harvest

Chapter 321: Chapter 316: A Bountiful Harvest

All the Cultivators present looked at Zhang Chi, certain he would be rejected.

After all, the Nascent Soul True Monarch needed Snake Hide, not compensation in Spirit Stones or a bottle of Tier Four Spirit Pills. Even the Cultivator who had offered the Python Hide was full of confidence.

"Take out your Tier Four Elixir and let me see it." But the next moment, that was what the Nascent Soul Cultivator said.

"Of course, Senior."

Zhang Chi immediately waved his hand, taking out the Cyan Scale Fruit and a white Jade Bottle.

The bottle contained twenty Spirit Pills. These were the ones he had obtained after killing the True Demon Sect’s Nascent Soul Cultivator. Although they were ordinary Elixirs, they were still Tier Four Low Grade and thus quite valuable.

At the very least, there would be no problem using them to sweeten the deal, especially since the current situation seemed rather unique.

Zhang Chi even suspected that the other party might have agreed to the trade even without the extra incentive.

"Deal."

The Nascent Soul True Monarch made a grabbing motion from afar, taking the Pill Bottle. He opened it, inspected the contents, and gave a slight nod before taking the Cyan Scale Fruit as well.

Then, he finally took out a small black flower that emanated a cold, sinister aura. He used his Magical Power to levitate it over to Zhang Chi.

"Thank you, Senior."

Overjoyed, Zhang Chi immediately put the small black flower away.

This small black flower was precisely the sixth additional Nascent Soul Spiritual Object he needed.

Now, all he needed to get was a Nascent Soul Pill.

At the same time, however, he grew inwardly vigilant.

’There’s a high probability something is wrong with that man,’ he thought. ’Under normal circumstances, he should have prioritized trading for the Python Hide.’

’Besides, the fact that he found this place and just happened to run into me can’t be a coincidence.’

’It’s highly likely that the Hundred Flowers Palace cultivators found a true expert to perform a divination, which is how they knew I’d be at this black market.’

’Of course, it’s also possible I’m just being overly cautious.’

’But a little caution is never a bad thing.’

At the same time, he circulated his Divine Thought to carefully inspect his body. He immediately discovered a Spiritual Mark on himself. What’s more, the number was continuously increasing, soon reaching over a dozen.

Clearly, he was being targeted.

But he knew this was perfectly normal.

’After all, Nascent Soul Spiritual Objects are incredibly valuable. The cultivators here are bound to get ideas. Even if they don’t end up making a move, there’s no harm in leaving a Spiritual Mark first.’

It was just a shame for them that they didn’t know Zhang Chi’s Divine Sense far surpassed their own, allowing him to discover these marks immediately.

’If I can’t trade for a Nascent Soul Pill or its main refining ingredients later,’ he thought, ’perhaps I can start with these cultivators!’

But Zhang Chi was not the least bit afraid; in fact, he was rather looking forward to it.

Meanwhile, the trade meet continued.

The cultivator who had offered the Python Hide was quite disappointed, but he didn’t give up. Instead, he proposed trading with the Nascent Soul Cultivator for the Cyan Scale Fruit.

Apparently, he was also likely in need of a Cyan Scale Fruit.

However, the Nascent Soul Cultivator rejected him outright.

Thus, he could only give up, shooting Zhang Chi a deep look.

Zhang Chi, on the other hand, immediately received several Divine Thought transmissions. They were all from people wanting his Tongyou Flower, but Zhang Chi ignored them.

Of course, these cultivators could have just proposed a trade directly instead of asking via transmission.

But according to the rules of the trade meet, it wasn’t Zhang Chi’s turn yet, so they had acted this way out of impatience.

Seeing that the Nascent Soul Cultivator had no other needs, the next cultivator finally took out a Tier Four Spirit Medicine and stated their request. As it turned out, they also wanted to trade for a Nascent Soul Spiritual Object.

He even promised to add some Spirit Stones, but unfortunately, no one paid him any mind. In the end, he could only trade the Spirit Medicine with a Nascent Soul Cultivator for a Tier Four Life-saving Talisman.

After a while, Zhang Chi discovered that at least seven or eight out of every ten Golden Core Cultivators here needed Nascent Soul Spiritual Objects, but the number who successfully traded for them was pitifully small.

This couldn’t help but put him under considerable pressure.

"I have some Tier Four Demon Beast Materials here, and I’d like to trade for a Nascent Soul Pill or other additional Spiritual Objects," another Golden Core Cultivator said.

As he spoke, he waved his hand, and three materials instantly appeared before him, each one exuding a faint pressure.

One of them made Zhang Chi’s eyes light up.

It was a Tier Four Low Grade demon turtle’s shell.

Zhang Chi’s Turtle Shell Divination Skill had long ago reached the Tier Three Peak, but he hadn’t been able to advance it due to a lack of materials.

Even his Great Dream Heart Scripture was useless in this regard.

Since he had never seen a Tier Four Turtle Shell before, he naturally couldn’t manifest one directly.

There were some descriptions in the Rare Treasures Record, but they were ultimately not specific enough.

It seemed that in the eyes of the Rare Treasures Record’s author, a Tier Four Turtle Shell was just an ordinary material, not worthy of a detailed description.

And as expected, no one paid any attention to the cultivator.

"Fellow Daoist, I have a demon beast’s claw here. How about I trade it for that turtle shell?"

The cultivator was very disappointed when Zhang Chi suddenly spoke up.

As he spoke, he took out a black claw, the very one from the True Demon Sect’s Nascent Soul Cultivator he had dealt with before.

"Not trading."

But the cultivator clearly wasn’t interested.

"I can add 300,000 Low Grade Spirit Stones. If you could be so accommodating, Fellow Daoist, I would be immensely grateful," Zhang Chi said, not giving up.

"Five hundred thousand," the cultivator countered.

"Alright."

Zhang Chi was ecstatic but feigned hesitation, nodding in agreement only after a long moment. The two of them then completed the transaction on the spot.

In truth, even without buying the turtle shell, he could have used his Divine Thought to examine the material in detail and successfully manifest it in the Dream Space.

But for his Turtle Shell Divination Skill to officially reach Tier Four, he had to successfully perform it for real at least once.

Moreover, divining with a Tier Four Turtle Shell was more accurate than with a Tier Three one, so it would surely be of greater help to him.

However, after this transaction was complete, Zhang Chi immediately noticed that there were even more Spiritual Marks on his body.

In addition to the Spiritual Marks, some other tracking methods had even appeared, but under his powerful Divine Thought, they had nowhere to hide.

Time continued to pass. All sorts of good things appeared one after another, including a Tier Three Longevity Fruit.

But Zhang Chi did not make a move.

Firstly, participating in trades too frequently would draw too much attention.

It was one thing for ordinary cultivators to target him, but it would be bad if the Elder from the Celestial Secret Pavilion also got ideas about him.

Secondly, while the Longevity Fruit was excellent, it wasn’t a necessity.

And then, it was finally Zhang Chi’s turn.

Gritting his teeth, Zhang Chi waved his hand and took out two Tier Three Peak Puppets, along with an Upper Grade Magical Treasure Long Saber that flickered with lightning.

"I would like to trade these items for one Nascent Soul Pill, or the two main ingredients used for refining it," Zhang Chi said reluctantly.

"I only have one portion of Moonlight Dew. How about I trade it for your Magical Treasure Long Saber plus one of the puppets?"

A cultivator spoke up immediately—it was the same Nascent Soul True Monarch with the silver mask from before.

"I have a Nine-Curves Ginseng and am interested in trading for your remaining puppet and the Tongyou Flower from earlier. You might want to consider it, Fellow Daoist," the cultivator who had previously offered the Python Hide added.

"I have a Seven-leaf Golden Ganoderma and am also interested in trading for your Tongyou Flower."

"I have three Tier Four Spirit Talismans here..."

"A low-quality Nascent Soul Pill, would you trade it for your Tongyou Flower?"

The moment the Tongyou Flower was mentioned, several other cultivators immediately voiced their own trade requests.

"I’m sorry, but I only want a Nascent Soul Pill and its main ingredients. To this senior, it’s a deal. And to you, Fellow Daoist, I’ll take that Nine-Curves Ginseng of yours as well."

Gritting his teeth, Zhang Chi made his decision instantly.

’In any case, if the puppets are gone, I can just refine more.’

’It’s the same for the Upper Grade Magical Treasure.’

’Once I become a Nascent Soul Early Stage Cultivator and my Artifact Refining skills improve, I can just gather the materials and refine one myself.’

’Even the Tongyou Flower is just an additional Spiritual Object. Without it, I’m still confident I can succeed in my Nascent Soul Formation.’

’More importantly, these kinds of additional Spiritual Objects are relatively easy to collect.’

’Unlike the Nine-Curves Ginseng and Moonlight Dew, which are the two main ingredients for refining the Nascent Soul Pill and are undoubtedly much rarer.’

’Also, I’m confident I can refine two Nascent Soul Pills. The value of the extra pill will far exceed that of the Tongyou Flower.’

For these reasons, even though he knew the trade was a slight loss on the surface, he didn’t haggle.

"Good!"

The Nascent Soul Cultivator and the cultivator with the Python Hide were both overjoyed and immediately completed their trades with Zhang Chi.

The remaining cultivators could only give up with regret, but their attention on Zhang Chi intensified. Even the Elder from the Celestial Secret Pavilion gave him a few extra glances.

This made Zhang Chi feel a bit fortunate that he hadn’t taken out the Tier Four Earth Milk Spirit Liquid.

After all, to a Nascent Soul Cultivator, Tier Four Earth Milk Spirit Liquid was even more precious than an Upper Grade Magical Treasure; even a Nascent Soul Middle Stage Cultivator would find it useful.

Even when Zhang Chi had traded with Cai and Xiang, he had used the Tier Four Earth Milk Spirit Liquid to entice them into bringing out their Nascent Soul Materials. That was also because their cultivation was not high, and at the time, he had a greater need for an Upper Grade Magical Treasure.

Afterward, Zhang Chi remained a quiet observer, making no more moves until the trade meet ended.

Of course, this was also because one couldn’t leave the Celestial Secret Pavilion before the trade meet was over. Otherwise, he definitely would have left midway through.

After all, he had basically gathered all the materials he needed. The less trouble, the better.

The only thing he was missing was the Tongyou Flower, which he could either find another way to obtain or simply wait to buy at the next black market.

"Fellow Daoists, this trade meet has now concluded. Thank you all for your support. I look forward to seeing you all again next time."

"Oh, and by the way, a batch of Golden Core Female Cultivator Cauldrons will be available at the next auction. All of you are welcome to come and make your selections!"

At this point, the Celestial Secret Pavilion Elder stood up and said a few words. The doors to the fourth floor were finally opened.

"We’ll definitely be there next time!"

"We must also thank you, Senior, and the Celestial Secret Pavilion for giving us this opportunity to trade."

The cultivators returned the pleasantries one after another before leaving in an orderly fashion.

Zhang Chi noticed that while no one appeared to be following him on the surface, the various marks on his body had actually increased in number.

By the time he stepped out of the Celestial Secret Pavilion’s main gate, there were already forty-six of them.

’Don’t tell me everyone has their eyes on me now?’

Zhang Chi couldn’t help but feel a bit resigned.

He then left the black market directly, transforming into a streak of Escape Light and flying toward the horizon with incredible speed.

"Quick, don’t let him get away!"

And just as he left, numerous streaks of Escape Light appeared behind him, following him without any attempt at concealment.

BOOM!

He had barely flown a hundred li when four dazzling beams of light appeared ahead, blasting toward him with murderous intent.

The source of these four beams of light was four Middle Grade Magical Treasures.

This wasn’t because the cultivators behind him were faster at Flying Escape; it was because there were already Tribulation Cultivators lying in wait along the path.

Of course, it was also possible that someone among the pursuing cultivators had arranged for accomplices to wait for him outside in advance.