Chapter 74: A Moment of Leisure
In Ten Thousand Immortals Island, the unusual fluctuation in the price of Spirit Mist Grass had already caused quite a stir.
Upon a little inquiry, Li Fan understood the truth behind the matter.
As expected, someone set up a scheme and ruthlessly reaped profits from cultivators like He Zhenghao who wanted to take advantage of the situation.
The news of the island where Spirit Mist Grass was cultivated being destroyed was indeed true. After the news was confirmed, many people hurried to enter, hoping to make a fortune.
However, what they didn't know was that the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance had recently discovered a subworld that had been sealed for a thousand years.
It was said to be rich in wood-element spiritual energy and filled with various rare spirit plants.
Spirit Mist Grass was abundant there.
One step could crush several plants.
Previously, only the high-ranking members of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance knew about this.
It wasn't until people in the market shed blood and tears over Spirit Mist Grass that the news was suddenly released.
No wonder the price of Spirit Mist Grass plummeted suddenly later.
"It seems like there's no hope for He Zhenghao to recover his investment," Li Fan said with a smile and regret.
"However, this senior's methods are not very ethical."
Li Fan checked the transaction records in the Tianxuan Mirror.
Greenwood Rebirth Nascent Lord.
This person was the one who first raised the price of Spirit Mist Grass. Later, during the tug-of-war between buyers and sellers, he dealt the final blow, smashing the price of Spirit Mist Grass.
It was obvious that he was an insider who had known about the news in advance.
Li Fan muttered to himself.
However, with Nascent Soul-level involvement, those who suffered losses probably didn't have the courage to confront him.
They could only accept their losses.
Li Fan even speculated maliciously that the island where Spirit Mist Grass was cultivated might have been secretly destroyed by this Nascent Soul.
"The market is truly treacherous," Li Fan shook his head.
Just as Li Fan was gloating, news came from He Zhenghao.
"Friend, I have sold all the goods acquired for this trip to Lijie. I've received a total of 2342 contribution points. According to our previous agreement, we each get half."
Although He Zhenghao suffered heavy losses in this investment action, he did not embezzle Li Fan's rightful reward.
Upon receiving the 1171 contribution points given by He Zhenghao, added to the remaining 125 points from before, Li Fan's current contribution points reached 1296 points, which would last him for a while.
After some consideration, Li Fan chose not to enter closed-door cultivation immediately. Instead, he searched for information about Jiao Xiuyuan.
He had heard that this person could obtain a large number of Concealing Form Talisman from the Talisman Hall of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, indicating that he had good connections. While taking the opportunity to buy some spirit talismans, he hoped to gather information about Sikong Yi.
Ten Thousand Immortals Island was roughly divided into three main parts.
In the innermost core area were the official buildings of the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, such as the Council Chamber, Martial Hall, Medicine Hall, and Talisman Hall.
The middle area comprised individually developed cultivation abodes, where one could purchase one with sufficient contribution points. This was a step up from being confined to the small space allocated by the Tianxuan Mirror.
The facilities in these caves were comparable to those in the Tianxuan Mirror space.
The outermost area was a mix of commercial and residential zones.
The transmission square and Tianxuan Mirror were located at the border between this area and the cultivation abode region.
The residences here only provided the most basic lodging function, without an increase in spiritual energy or a connection to the Tianxuan Mirror. If one wanted to cultivate, one still had to return to the Tianxuan Mirror space.
As for the commercial zone, they were independent shops established by various cultivators outside the Tianxuan Mirror trading system.
The prices of the goods in these shops were often lower than those in the Tianxuan Mirror, but there was no guarantee of the same quality.
Jiao Xiuyuan had opened a shop here.
Following the information obtained from the Tianxuan Mirror, Li Fan arrived at the corresponding location.
Thousand Mile Hall.
Li Fan glanced at the slightly crooked signboard and walked in.
The shop was not large, and the floor was littered with various items. The voice of a man could be faintly heard.
"I'm telling you, these ten Concealing Form Talismans must be traded at the price we agreed upon earlier. I don't care how much the price has dropped now..."
"What? You're canceling the transaction? You don't even want the deposit?!"
Bang!
"Damn it! Another one! Do they think Jiao Xiuyuan is easy to bully?" A man with a stubbled face and dark skin slammed the table and roared in frustration.
But soon, he slumped down and muttered to himself, "It's over, it's over. I, Jiao Xiuyuan, never do losing deals, but now I'm stuck with a large batch of Concealing Form Talismans..."
At this moment, he noticed that a customer had entered the store.
However, he couldn't see the person's face; it was clear they were using a Concealing Form Talisman.
Having seen many such people, Jiao Xiuyuan didn't pay much attention.
"What do you want? Formation talismans, artifact pills, we have everything, and discounts for large quantities!" he lazily greeted.
"How much for a Concealing Form Talisman?" the other party asked.
Jiao Xiuyuan's eyes lit up, and he became energetic.
"10 contribution points per talisman. How many do you want? If you want more than ten, I'll give you a 20% discount. If you want more than a hundred, I'll give you a 50% discount!"
Li Fan smiled, "I don't need that many. Five or six will suffice."
After a pause, Li Fan continued, "And your price isn't right. Before coming here, I bought one in the Tianxuan Mirror. A Concealing Form Talisman that can shield Golden Core cultivators' scrutiny is now priced at only 20 points. Why are you selling these subpar ones at such a high price?"
Jiao Xiuyuan's face twitched at the words and quickly changed his tune, "8 points per talisman, I can't go any lower. You have to understand that making talismans also has its own costs!"
"Alright, give me six," Li Fan didn't haggle any further.
Afraid that Li Fan might change his mind, Jiao Xiuyuan quickly took out six Concealing Form Talismans.
"How would you like to trade?"
The Tianxuan Mirror didn't support anonymous transactions. If they directly exchanged contribution points, their identities would be exposed.
However, Li Fan had already prepared before coming.
"Spirit stones." He took out five medium-grade spirit stones from his storage ring and handed them over.
Standard spirit stones were manufactured jointly by the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance and the Five Elders Association. They had different grades and were equivalent to the official currency of the cultivation world, with a unique anti-counterfeiting prohibition.
The exchange ratio between top-grade, high-grade, medium-grade, and low-grade spirit stones was 10:1.
Within the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance, one low-grade spirit stone could be exchanged for one contribution point in the Tianxuan Mirror.
The five medium-grade spirit stones Li Fan handed over were equivalent to 50 contribution points.
"Don't bother making change for me."
Li Fan put away the Concealing Form Talisman and casually asked, "Do you accept business related to investigating cultivators?"
Jiao Xiuyuan immediately became cautious upon hearing this.
He examined Li Fan and after much deliberation, he gritted his teeth and said, "Yes, why wouldn't I? I'm already losing money in my business. If I don't take on some private jobs, I won't be able to survive!"
"What's the name and cultivation level?" Jiao Xiuyuan asked in a hushed tone.
"Sikong Yi, middle stage Qi Condensation."