Chapter 27: Today’s Outing Was to Buy Fishing Bait

Xie Jiuniang took her Fourth Sister to the bustling central plaza market and rented a temporary stall from the market manager. The prime location came at a steep price—one spirit stone per hour. Of course, Xie Siniang paid the rent.

By now, Xie Siniang had finally realized that a certain someone was so broke that she couldn’t even take out a single spirit stone and had to resort to selling items at the market for money.

Xie Jiuniang set up her stall, proudly displaying an array of her handcrafted wares—medicinal pills, talismans, magical tools, and formation discs, all tailored for those in the Qi Refining stage. Her storage pouch still held a sizable cache of items, mostly talismans.

“Come one, come all! Don’t miss this golden opportunity! New stall opening, 10% off, buy ten get one free! The more you buy, the merrier!” Xie Jiuniang’s enthusiastic shouts drew the attention of nearby vendors and curious onlookers.

Under the curious gazes of the surrounding vendors, she paused and blinked innocently. “Dear seniors, am I not allowed to shout?” she inquired with a hint of mischief.

“Hahaha…” Someone couldn’t help but burst into laughter at her antics.

Xie Siniang’s face flushed with embarrassment at her sister’s shameless promotion. Today was the most humiliating day ever, but Xiao Jiu acted as if nothing had happened and struck up a friendly conversation with the neighboring vendors.

To her left was an uncle with graying hair at the temples. He glanced over Xie Jiuniang’s goods and remarked, “Young Daoist, your offerings are quite comprehensive.”

“Not at all, Uncle. Are you interested in making a purchase? I’ll give you an extra 10% off,” Xie Jiuniang replied, eager to exchange her wares for precious spirit stones.

“Really? That would be a 20% discount,” the man chuckled.

“That’s right, 20% off,” Xie Jiuniang affirmed, her eyes sparkling at the prospect of a sale. “If you want to buy, you’d better hurry. I’m only selling for a short while.”

Xie Siniang chimed in, “Yes, yes, we only rented the stall for an hour.”

Xie Jiuniang: “…”

Well, an hour could be considered a short while for cultivators.

“My surname is Wang. How should I address you, young Daoist?” Uncle Wang approached, genuinely interested.

Xie Jiuniang politely replied, “My surname is Xie. Uncle, feel free to choose whatever you’d like to buy.”

Uncle Wang began selecting items with a keen eye, specifically targeting the pricier pieces. He took all ten formation discs—three protective formations and seven spirit-gathering formations. For talismans, he only chose the second-grade ones, and for medicinal pills, he selected only the finest twenty bottles. He didn’t seem interested in the magical tools.

With a broad smile, Uncle Wang asked, “So, how many spirit stones does this add up to?”

“Uncle Wang has a discerning eye,” Xie Jiuniang acknowledged respectfully. “Ten first-grade formation discs; three protective formations and seven spirit-gathering formations. The market price is slightly over 200 each, but I’ll offer them to you for 200 spirit stones per disc. With the 20% discount, that’s 160 per disc, totaling 1,600 spirit stones for all ten…”

Uncle Wang reminded her, “Buy ten, get one free.”

Xie Jiuniang inwardly cursed her oversight. That was almost equivalent to a 30% discount.

Fortunately, these were formation discs she had crafted herself. With no choice, Xie Jiuniang took out an additional protective formation disc from her storage pouch and added it to Uncle Wang’s purchases.

Uncle Wang asked, “Do you have any spirit-gathering formations?”

Spirit-gathering formations were indeed easier to sell than protective formations.

Xie Jiuniang shook her head. “You’ve bought them all.”

The talismans and medicinal pills were worth 513 spirit stones at the discounted price.

Xie Jiuniang generously said, “Let’s round it down, Uncle Wang. You only need to pay 2,100 spirit stones in total for everything.”

Uncle Wang readily paid and asked, “Since I’m buying so much, young Daoist, could you throw in something extra?”

“Uncle Wang, you’ll make much more profit than me when you resell these items.” Although she was doing business without any initial cost, she was not about to let herself be taken advantage of.

“Hahaha, then how about some Hemostatic Powder?” 

“Alright.” Xie Jiuniang added a large pack of Hemostatic Powder, which was only worth a few hundred spirit pearls.

Satisfied, Uncle Wang returned to his stall and began displaying the items he had just purchased. He loudly proclaimed, “Spirit-gathering formation discs, first-grade, top-quality! 300 spirit stones each, first come, first served!”

“Spirit-gathering formations? On sale at the market? Quick, let’s go!”

“I want one!” 

In the blink of an eye, a dozen eager customers swarmed Uncle Wang’s stall. At 300 spirit stones each, he swiftly sold seven spirit-gathering formation discs, along with all the talismans and medicinal pills he had purchased from Xie Jiuniang.

Uncle Wang had made a killing.

The other vendors were filled with regret. They had missed the opportunity to make a big profit when the chance was right in front of them.

Xie Jiuniang was amazed by what she had just witnessed.

Xie Siniang’s eyes widened in disbelief as she watched the scene unfold before her. This kind of operation was also possible?

At this moment, Xie Jiuniang remembered that the sect was recruiting new disciples. Everyone was desperately cultivating, and the market demand for spirit-gathering formations and medicinal pills far exceeded the supply.

The female vendor to her right said, “Little girl, do you have any more of those items? I’d like to purchase some as well.”

“If I had more, I’d sell them myself,” Xie Jiuniang replied with a knowing look, realizing the woman intended to resell the goods at an even higher markup.

The female vendor understood the implication. “How about you give me a better discount on the remaining items, and I’ll take them all off your hands? What do you say?”

Xie Jiuniang took stock of her remaining inventory. “I’ll give you a rock-bottom price—100 spirit stones for the lot.”

“How about 80?” the woman countered, attempting to bargain further.

“Senior, these items are worth at least 160 at market price,” Xie Jiuniang pointed out, feigning reluctance to accept a lower offer.

The female vendor persisted in her efforts to haggle. 

In the end, they settled on 99 spirit stones.

Xie Jiuniang noticed her Fourth Sister’s eager reaction to the lively haggling. She was usually carefree and simple-minded at home, but now that she was exposed to the outside world, it was understandable that she was a bit thin-skinned. With time and experience, she would naturally become more thick-skinned for such dealings.

Xie Jiuniang’s storage pouch still held many more items, including spirit-gathering formation discs, but she wouldn’t sell any more. Earning a modest sum was acceptable, but too much would easily attract unwanted attention.

With the stall closed, Xie Jiuniang pointed to the eastern market and said magnanimously, “Fourth Sister, let’s go! I’ll cover all of today’s expenses. There’s a vendor selling roasted meat over there. I’ve tried it before, and it’s super delicious!”

“Then let’s hurry!” Xie Siniang exclaimed, her earlier eagerness reignited at the prospect of a tasty treat.

The two sisters scampered off hand in hand once again, leaving the market behind.

After they left, the female vendor remarked sarcastically, “Old Wang, you’ve truly struck it rich today.” 

“You wicked woman, didn’t I leave some soup for you?” Uncle Wang replied smugly. “Those two little girls are clearly from a prominent family clan, here for the Tianxu Sect’s recruitment. They probably set up a stall just for fun today and might not be familiar with market prices. If you don’t seize such an opportunity, you’d be a fool…”

*Cough, cough, cough!*

Not making a move at an opportune time would indeed be foolish, but saying it so blatantly risked offending a group of people.

Several neighboring vendors were staring at him with ill intentions, their gazes sharp enough to cut through stone.

Uncle Wang had no choice but to backpedal, “Drinks are on me! Come to my house for a drink tonight, my treat!”

“You’d better keep your word, old friend!” the vendors chuckled, their moods appeased by the offer.

They all set up stalls together every day and were old acquaintances. Who didn’t know the true nature of their jovial banter?

Xie Jiuniang and Xie Siniang spent an entire pleasant afternoon exploring the vibrant city. Along the way, they encountered a few disciples from their clan. While Xie Siniang was familiar with them, Xie Jiuniang couldn’t even recall their names. Thus, Xie Siniang did most of the conversing, and Xie Jiuniang played the role of her little follower, content to observe.

As they were about to head back, Xie Jiuniang suddenly wandered over to a secondhand stall and spent ten spirit pearls on an unassuming wooden hairpin.

Xie Siniang was puzzled by the peculiar purchase. “Why did you buy a plain wooden hairpin?”

Xie Jiuniang gave her a mysterious smile. “Guess?”

What could it be for?

Fishing bait, of course! 

The main reason for today’s outing was to buy fishing bait.

---

The process of recruiting new disciples at the Tianxu Sect changed slightly every year, but two things remained constant.

First, those above the age of five, below the age of fifteen, and possessing dual spiritual roots or higher could be exempt from the assessment.

Second, all those who wished to join the sect had to be no older than twenty years old based on their bone age. After passing the sect’s examination and being confirmed eligible for the assessment, they had to set out from a distance of ten miles outside Xian City and reach the mountain gate of the Tianxu Sect within a month.

Those who arrived within the specified time would qualify, while those who failed to arrive would be considered to have failed the assessment and would be escorted back to Xian City by the sect’s disciples.

The mountain range occupied by the Tianxu Sect was vast, its true expanse unknown to the outside world.

Xian City was merely a city on the outskirts of the Tianxu Sect, serving as its public face. There were eight such cities in different directions, each acting as a gateway. The recruitment of new disciples, held once every ten years, always took place in Xian City, mainly because the journey from there to the sect was relatively safe for the fledgling cultivators.

The long-awaited day had finally arrived!

As the sky began to brighten with the first rays of dawn, people gradually gathered in the central plaza of the city, their anticipation palpable in the crisp morning air.

Xie Jiuniang got up early. Xie Shen and Mo Lan sent their daughter to join the group of clan disciples, with their clansmen, intending for her to participate alongside them. They thought this would allow the young cultivators to look out for one another during the arduous journey. 

However, Xie Jiuniang knew better. Once they left the safety of Xian City, there would inevitably be various incidents that would separate the team members along the way.

But since her parents wanted peace of mind, Xie Jiuniang went along with their wishes and walked over to her Fourth Sister’s side.

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