I Cultivate Immortality With Scientific Thinking

Chapter 9: Transaction

"I wonder, Fellow Daoist, what price do you have in mind?" Back in the room at the Baibao Tower, Fang Mingyuan brewed a cup of spiritual tea and sat down slowly, smiling as he spoke.

"With your discerning eye, what do you think this magic trick is worth?" Lin Chen didn't answer, but kicked the ball back.

"Well..." Fang Mingyuan pondered for a moment, "Although its power is decent among Qi Refining Stage magic tricks, it also has many limitations. So, how about one thousand spirit stones? What does Fellow Daoist think?"

"One thousand spirit stones?!" Lin Chen's face suddenly changed, and he shouted sternly, "Is Manager Fang trying to deceive me?! Offering this price, are you mocking me, Zhang Mou? In that case, I won't sell this magic trick!"

After saying that, seemingly furious, Lin Chen brushed his robe and stood up, ready to leave.

"Hey hey hey, it's my old confusion. I said some nonsense. Fellow Daoist, please don't take it to heart!" Fang Mingyuan quickly stood up to stop him, persuading him to stay.

Lin Chen stared at Fang Mingyuan for a while, then snorted coldly before reluctantly sitting back down.

In fact, Lin Chen didn't know the market price of the improved magic trick, as it was extremely precious and hardly anyone would put it up for sale. Therefore, Lin Chen had no past experience to refer to.

But not knowing the value didn't matter. What mattered was expressing dissatisfaction, because only then could he continuously raise the price.

As long as the other party desperately lowered the price, he would desperately raise it. Although Lin Chen couldn't negotiate the price, who couldn't bluff?

Moreover, although this magic trick was the most rubbish among his many improved magic tricks, it was also the crystallization of his hard work!

He had painstakingly improved it for three days and nights.

So the price could only go up, not down!!!

"Fellow Daoist, I absolutely didn't mean that," Fang Mingyuan quickly reassured, afraid that he would sell the magic trick to another store. "As long as Fellow Daoist is willing, the price can still be negotiated."

"Ten thousand spirit stones, in addition to ten portions of [Pulse Guarding Pill], [Spirit Condensing Liquid], and [Spirit Shedding Powder], as well as ten [Hundred Herbs Rejuvenation Pill]. Let me also freely imprint ten Foundation Building Stage level spiritual arts from the Baibao Tower, and one hundred Qi Refining Stage magic tricks." Lin Chen said calmly.

"What?!" Fang Mingyuan's face changed when he heard this.

Not to mention imprinting magic tricks and spiritual arts, he was asking for ten portions and one hundred portions, respectively.

Just looking at the ten thousand spirit stones, it was equivalent to the annual earnings of an ordinary Foundation Building Stage cultivator, comparable to the annual profit of the Baibao Tower!

Not to mention the requirements for the elixirs, which made Fang Mingyuan unable to accept it.

The three elixirs that Lin Chen needed. The [Pulse Guarding Pill] could protect the meridians, preventing them from being injured, ensuring the smooth advancement of the Qi Refining Stage, or allowing cultivators who failed to break through the Foundation Building Stage to survive.

After taking the [Soul Shedding Powder], cultivators can quickly condense their spiritual power within a short period of time, in order to better liquefy the True Qi in their dantian.

The [Spirit Condensing Liquid] is even better at promoting the liquefaction of True Qi within cultivators.

When the effects of the three are combined, they are enough to achieve the three effects of the Foundation Building Pill!

Therefore, for Independent Cultivators who do not have enough financial resources to purchase Foundation Building Pills, they are known as the three treasures of Foundation Building!

The [Hundred Herbs Revitalizing Pill] is made by collecting the essence of a hundred herbs and refining it with precious Spirit Medicine. It is a famous healing pill in the Qi Refining Stage, and even has a significant effect on the Foundation Building Stage.

So these kinds of pills have always been expensive, and often have no market value.

As the top shop in the Moving Cloud Market, the Hundred Treasures Tower naturally has these pills, but it can't resist Lin Chen's request for ten times the quantity!

"Fellow Daoist, are you being too greedy? Although the improved trick is precious, it is definitely not worth this price!" Fang Mingyuan's face darkened and he directly refused.

What a joke!

If he agreed to this deal, he would have to leave the Hundred Treasures Tower the next day!

"Is that so?" Lin Chen said calmly, "With the rarity and uniqueness of this trick, it can be sold in the market for three to five times the price of ordinary tricks. If you buy the original, with the customer base of the Hundred Treasures Tower, I don't know how much profit you can make. In my opinion, I think I'm selling it cheap!"

"Fellow Daoist is joking," Fang Mingyuan retorted, "The principle of this trick is simply to explode the gun body of the Golden Spear, giving the tip of the gun more power and speed, and then adding a flame attack. It is easy to replicate. This trick is not that precious."

"You say that, but if this thing is so easy to replicate, the shopkeeper Fang wouldn't be bargaining with me here," Lin Chen said calmly, "Besides, how to ensure that the power generated by the explosion is transmitted to the tip of the gun without interfering with its trajectory is enough to ensure that this trick is not so easy to replicate..."

After a fierce negotiation, the price was finally settled under Fang Mingyuan's displeased expression.

Fang Mingyuan agreed to exempt the cost of the Spirit Weapon, and paid three thousand spirit stones, three portions of [Pulse Guarding Pill], [Spirit Condensing Liquid], and [Soul Shedding Powder], three Hundred Herbs Revitalizing Pills, one Foundation Building Stage spiritual technique, and ten Qi Refining Stage tricks to complete this transaction.

A slight smile appeared at the corner of Lin Chen's mouth, although not noticeable, it was enough to see his joy.

However, Fang Mingyuan's gaze was very gloomy. He glanced at Lin Chen lightly and lowered his eyelids slightly.

'Get it first, as for what happens next...'

Thinking like this, Fang Mingyuan stood up, walked back and forth, took out the items of the transaction, and handed them to Lin Chen.

"These are thirty [Qingyun Spirit Leaves], corresponding pills, and the corresponding spiritual technique templates. I hope Fellow Daoist will keep them safe." Fang Mingyuan placed the hundred green leaves that were dripping with a faint spiritual light in front of Lin Chen.

Although spirit stones are still the basic currency unit in the Immortal Cultivation World, they are different from coins and paper money in terms of volume.

If it's a small amount, it's fine, but once the quantity increases, it becomes difficult to carry. Even with a storage bag, the space is limited, and it's impossible to carry thousands of spirit stones on one's person.

Therefore, for the convenience of the cultivators, Azure Cloud Sect has uniquely refined a spiritual object called "Qingyun Spirit Leaf". It is not only convenient to carry, but also contains spiritual energy equivalent to one hundred low-grade spirit stones. In critical moments, it can even be used as a healing pill.

As for why we don't use middle-grade spirit stones, it's because middle-grade spirit stones can only circulate among cultivators at the Foundation Building Stage. Lin Chen has some speculations about the specific reasons, but he cannot be certain.

Lin Chen nodded, carefully inspected it, and confirmed that there were no problems before putting away the storage bag. Then he proceeded to unlock the restrictions in the jade slip.

"Thank you, Manager Fang. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave." After receiving the items, Lin Chen chatted for a few more moments before bidding farewell.

"I hope Fellow Daoist will visit again." Fang Mingyuan politely sent him off.

However, after Lin Chen left, Fang Mingyuan did not get up. Instead, he sat on the carved wooden chair, sipping his spiritual tea with a contemplative expression.

"Three thousand spirit stones, three defensive spirit weapons, three sets of Foundation Building treasures, three pills of Hundred Herbs Rejuvenation, plus improved spiritual art templates..." As his thoughts turned, a cold light gradually appeared in Fang Mingyuan's eyes.

"Come in." As he spoke, the door opened and Wang Ping walked in.

"How confident are you?" Fang Mingyuan said something that puzzled Wang Ping.

But Wang Ping quickly understood what he meant.

It is said that there is no business without deceit, and no profit without investment. Fang Mingyuan has also done such deals before!

"I don't know," Wang Ping paused for a moment and said.

"Hmm?" Fang Mingyuan frowned, "You are at the Qi Refining Late Stage, and he is at the Qi Refining Mid Stage. Not only have you experienced countless battles, but you also have the assistance of the Spirit Weapon talismans provided by our Baibao Tower. In such a situation, how can you not know if you can kill him?!"

"In a life-and-death battle among peers, it tests not only strength and trump cards, but also the ability to react on the spot and control the battlefield," Wang Ping said calmly.

"In the absence of certain information about the opponent, I cannot judge the chances of victory based solely on aura. Moreover, during the magic experiment just now, I could sense the bloody killing intent emanating from him. The opponent is not simple."

"I see..." Fang Mingyuan furrowed his brow deeply.

He knew Wang Ping's strength. He was the strongest cultivator in Baibao Tower. He had once fought against three Qi Refining Late Stage Demonic Cultivators and killed them all.

If even he says so, it seems that this Zhang Daoist is not as easy to deal with as imagined.

The room fell into silence for a while.

After a while, Fang Mingyuan suddenly spoke, "If I remember correctly, a group of Independent Cultivators specializing in killing for treasures has recently arrived near the market."

"That's right," Wang Ping nodded.

"How did the contact go?"

"The other party is unwilling to cooperate," Wang Ping said expressionlessly, shocking the cultivators in the market.

Who would have thought that the major shops in the market would have secret connections with the Independent Cultivators who specialize in killing and robbing treasures!

But upon careful consideration, it is not entirely impossible. After all, all kinds of transactions take place within the shops, and the visitors in the market are almost uniformly dressed in black. In this situation, how do those Independent Cultivators who kill and rob treasures determine who are the poor and who are the fat sheep?

"Isn't that perfect?" Fang Mingyuan sneered coldly. "Accidentally reveal the transaction worth nearly ten thousand spirit stones in the shop today, understand?"

He deliberately emphasized the three words 'accidentally'.

"Understood."

"Remember," Fang Mingyuan stared into his eyes. "Remember, if there is a chance, capture them alive. If there is no chance, do not leave any survivors, understand?"

"Understood," Wang Ping immediately understood his meaning.

If the other party is valuable, then capture them alive as much as possible. But if there is no opportunity, then go all out to kill them and prevent the news from leaking.

"But... Manager, if the other party has a powerful background, will our actions..." Wang Ping hesitated, as if thinking of something.

"If the other party really has a Foundation Building Stage cultivator behind them, why bother selling this improved trick?" Fang Mingyuan shook his head.

Then, a cold smile appeared on his face. "Besides, this matter was done by those Independent Cultivators who specialize in robbing merchants. What does it have to do with our Bai Bao Tower?"

"If something really happens, we can take this opportunity to legitimately deal with them. Wouldn't that be a win-win situation in terms of reputation and benefits? By then, those customers might even be grateful to us!"

In Fang Mingyuan's opinion, a true businessman should strive for the greatest benefits while receiving the most gratitude!

As for the bloodshed and cruelty behind it, what does it have to do with him?

As long as the superficial work is done well, he will always be that conscientious merchant!

"You have taught me well, Manager." Wang Ping showed a hint of admiration on his face, bowed deeply, and then retreated.

Not long after, a figure hurriedly left through the back door of Bai Bao Tower.

Then, the spies lurking in various places in the Moving Cloud Market, 'accidentally', transmitted Lin Chen's transaction details and travel route to certain individuals.

Driven by greed, trouble was stirred up, and a murder was committed... The darkness and cruelty of the Immortal Cultivation World has just revealed the tip of the iceberg!

(End of this chapter)