Chapter 291 - 277: Yunyuan Immortal City

Chapter 291: Chapter 277: Yunyuan Immortal City

So in reality, even with its large population of Cultivators, the security in the Outer City wasn’t bad.

The biggest differences between the Outer City and the Inner City were that the former didn’t benefit from the Immortal City’s Spirit Vein and Spiritual Qi, and it wasn’t protected by the city’s great defensive formation.

When Jiang Zuo arrived in the Outer City, he found an inn to stay at without much trouble.

Compared to the Inner City, the prices were much cheaper.

For the next few days, Jiang Zuo wandered between the Inner City and the Outer City, familiarizing himself with the Immortal City.

「One week later, in the Inner City’s Wanbao Auction House.」

"This Talisman is incredibly profound. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life."

"Unfortunately, you broke the jade box’s seal over a year ago. In at most four years, the Talisman’s effectiveness will start to decline rapidly year by year."

"In ten years at most, this Talisman will only be able to block an attack from a Dao Fruit Realm Cultivator."

"Because of this, the Talisman’s value is greatly diminished. We can only auction it off quickly. If it could be preserved for longer and sold at the decennial Wanbao Auction, it could fetch at least ten times the price."

The old man in charge of appraisals lamented as he looked at the ancient Talisman in the jade box.

He also understood why this person had come to Wanbao Auction House.

There were three major auction houses in Yunyuan Immortal City. Each one typically held a small auction annually and a large one every ten years.

Over the years, the three auction houses had developed a tacit understanding to stagger their auction dates.

The next auction to be held was at Wanbao Auction House.

"You have a discerning eye, Master."

Jiang Zuo said.

"In that case, please complete the handover procedures, Fellow Daoist Gu. The auction will be held within half a month. We will contact you again after it concludes."

The old man nodded and called a female Cultivator inside.

The female Cultivator led Jiang Zuo to sign the auction contract.

Jiang Zuo then became a VIP client of the Wanbao Trading Company.

He was only the lowest-tier VIP, but it still entitled him to a five percent discount on most items.

Half a month later, the Wanbao Trading Company contacted Jiang Zuo.

The Talisman had sold for over 2.3 million Spirit Stones. After Wanbao Auction House took its 5% commission, Jiang Zuo received about 2.2 million.

During this time, Jiang Zuo rented a stall in the Outer City and started a business helping people with various Spirit Beast problems.

In addition to healing Spirit Beasts, Jiang Zuo now also offered a service to help people tame them.

’Raising a Spirit Beast is too difficult. Raising one from scratch to sell takes too long.’

’But helping someone else tame a Spirit Beast is much faster.’

With Jiang Zuo’s current abilities, taming a tier-four or lower Spirit Beast was no problem at all.

Jiang Zuo had previously made a bit of a name for himself near the Beast God Tree Forbidden Land, but the Forbidden Land was too far from Yunyuan Immortal City. Here, almost no one knew him; it was practically a fresh start.

Over the next ten days or so, the surrounding vendors gradually learned of Jiang Zuo’s skill in healing Spirit Beasts.

However, his Spirit Beast taming service still had no customers.

After all, it sounded too far-fetched. No matter how you looked at it, he seemed like a scammer.

But Jiang Zuo wasn’t worried. ’The more anxious you are, the more you beg people to believe you, the more they’ll think you’re a scammer.’

’For now, I just need to let people know this service exists.’

「Half a year passed in the blink of an eye.」

"Fellow Daoist Gu, do you really have the ability to help people tame Spirit Beasts?"

That day, Jiang Zuo was at his stall again, engrossed in a book of miscellaneous records.

An old man at the next stall suddenly leaned over and asked in a hushed voice.

"Of course. If you need my help, I can give you a discount."

Jiang Zuo glanced at him.

This old man was named Xu Wang, a mid-stage Three Flowers Realm Cultivator.

Although his Cultivation wasn’t low, he was old and had no hope of advancing on his Dao path. He now made a living in Yunyuan Immortal City by refining and selling medicinal pills, occasionally visiting the Red Dust Immortal Tower for a night of revelry.

"It’s not for me. I have a client with a Spirit Bird. If you really have the skill, I can make an introduction."

Xu Wang said after a moment of thought.

Over the past six months, he had often set up his stall next to Jiang Zuo’s and knew firsthand that Jiang Zuo’s ability to heal Spirit Beasts was genuine.

’Of all the Spirit Beast Doctors I know, none can compare to Jiang Zuo.’

"If she’s willing, tell her to come over. I can’t make any guarantees without seeing the beast first."

Jiang Zuo said casually.

’I already have other plans, so it doesn’t really matter to me whether a customer shows up or not.’

But Jiang Zuo’s indifferent attitude made Xu Wang even more suspicious.

He had originally planned to use this opportunity to get a kickback from Jiang Zuo, but Jiang Zuo’s "take it or leave it" attitude gave him a nagging feeling that he might actually possess the skill he claimed.

Two days later, Xu Wang actually brought a young female Cultivator to see Jiang Zuo.

"Can you really help people tame Spirit Beasts?"

Xia Ziyi scrutinized Jiang Zuo.

She was only at the Divine Body Realm, yet she showed no deference to Jiang Zuo, who was at the Three Flowers Realm. It was clear she came from an extraordinary background.

"Of course."

Jiang Zuo replied calmly.

"This Jade Moonbird—can you tame it for me?"

A birdcage appeared in Xia Ziyi’s hand. Inside was a small, emerald-green bird.

A Jade Moonbird, a tier-two Spirit Beast.

Its combat power was very weak, but its call was exceptionally crisp and pleasant to the ear.

A tamed Jade Moonbird could learn various melodies, and its singing was a delight to hear.

"I can. The taming fee is one hundred thousand low-grade Spirit Stones. It will take one month. If you’re not satisfied then, there’s no charge."

’One hundred thousand low-grade Spirit Stones?’

Xia Ziyi was furious. ’Does this guy see my background and think he can treat me like a fool to be fleeced?’

However, when she heard the "no satisfaction, no charge" part, an idea struck Xia Ziyi, and she suppressed her anger.

"Fine! I’ll leave it with you for now. I’ll be back in a month to pick it up!"

Xia Ziyi left the Jade Moonbird, turned, and departed, not at all worried that Jiang Zuo would skip town.

"Fellow Daoist Gu, if you’re going to rip someone off, you have to pick your targets! This woman is no ordinary person. She’s from the Xia Family of the Immortal City. They’re not people you or I can afford to offend."

After Xia Ziyi left, Xu Wang said to Jiang Zuo with a wry smile.

’It’s not like he hadn’t scammed his fair share of people.’

’How could you get rich if you didn’t?’

’But he always chose his targets carefully.’

’Not like Jiang Zuo, who seemed to specialize in ripping off people with powerful backgrounds.’

"Old Man Xu, listen to yourself. I’m not ripping her off. In fact, I’m only charging her this much as a favor to you."

But Xu Wang hadn’t expected Jiang Zuo to reply so earnestly.

Xu Wang was speechless for a moment.

’Charging one hundred thousand Spirit Stones to tame a single tier-two Spirit Beast... No wonder you have no customers!’

’His fees for healing Spirit Beasts are so reasonable, so why is taming one so expensive?’

’This guy... he’s not planning to just take the Jade Moonbird and run, is he?’

Xu Wang grew nervous.

If that happened, he, as the one who made the introduction, would inevitably be blamed by the Xia Family.

He couldn’t help but start secretly monitoring Jiang Zuo’s movements. If Jiang Zuo tried to flee, he would report him immediately to clear his own name.

Jiang Zuo noticed Old Man Xu’s actions but couldn’t be bothered with him. He simply kept the Jade Moonbird with him, training it whenever he had a spare moment.

Xu Wang watched, dumbfounded, as after just one week, the Jade Moonbird no longer needed to be kept in its cage.

When let out, it would only fly in circles around Jiang Zuo.

After half a month, it could already sing a few pleasant melodies.

「One month later.」

Xia Ziyi returned as promised.

She had already made up her mind: even if Jiang Zuo had managed to tame the Jade Moonbird, she would claim to be unsatisfied and refuse to pay him.

But when the Jade Moonbird was placed back in her hands a month later, her eyes widened in disbelief. She couldn’t believe this was her bird.

She even suspected that Jiang Zuo might have secretly swapped it for another one.

But that was impossible. She recognized at a glance that this Jade Moonbird was indeed hers.

The bird now obeyed her every command. Jiang Zuo even gave her a list of the Jade Moonbird’s preferences and favorite foods.

As long as she followed his instructions, raising the Jade Moonbird would be incredibly easy from now on.

Xia Ziyi was thoroughly impressed. With a grand wave of her hand, she willingly and wholeheartedly left behind the one hundred thousand Spirit Stones.

"Fellow Daoist Gu, what incredible skill!"

Xu Wang couldn’t help but say, his voice tinged with jealousy.

’That was a hundred thousand Spirit Stones! For Jiang Zuo to earn it so easily... Is there any justice in this world?’

"It was all thanks to Fellow Daoist Xu’s introduction. To show my gratitude, how about I treat you to a nice meal, Fellow Daoist Xu?"

"As long as it’s not some outrageously expensive place, you can choose where we go."

Jiang Zuo didn’t want to be resented, so he made the generous offer.

"Excellent! Then let’s go to the Red Dust Immortal Tower!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Wang’s eyes lit up, and he said excitedly.