Chapter 66 - 66 Baishou Garden i
The markets were teeming with people.
Wang Ba took another look at the agreed meeting place, but there was still no sign of Ye Lingyu.
However, having obtained the Spiritual Root Talisman and a cultivation method, he was already extremely satisfied. His priority was to quickly purchase a high-quality Spirit Chicken for Ye Lingyu and then make his way back.
So he firmly clutched the items in his arms and set out earnestly to find the Wanbao Pavilion.
Before long, he hadn’t found the Wanbao Pavilion, but he did stumble upon a place called ‘Baishou Garden’.
He pondered for a moment, then decided to go in and see if they had high-quality Spirit Chickens.
Honestly, having raised chickens for a year, he had never seen a high-quality Spirit Chicken, and he was naturally curious.
Upon entering the shop, Wang Ba discovered that while the entrance to Baishou Garden wasn’t large, the interior was incredibly spacious.
At the entrance, there were two majestic Lion Beasts, one on each side.
The Lion Beasts were strong and intimidating, each sitting on a stone stool, much like the stone lions from the mortal world.
When Wang Ba entered, the lions lazily glanced at his menial attire, then turned their heads away, seemingly indifferent.
When another cultivator dressed as an outer disciple entered,
The two Lion Beasts immediately straightened their bodies, rolled over playfully, and behaved cutely. They even stood upright and saluted the cultivator with their paws.
“It seems that dogs aren’t the only animals that look down on people. Lions are no exception,” Wang Ba quietly mocked inside his mind.
He didn’t care much and took it as an interesting new experience.
Upon entering the main hall, he saw various Spirit Beasts in a myriad of shapes, either lying down, sound asleep, or lowly growling. Each one was placed in a separate cage.
Next to each cage was an inscribed plaque with detailed information about the corresponding Spirit Beast.
Although Wang Ba came to find a high-quality Spirit Chicken, he wasn’t immune to the allure of so many novel Spirit Beasts. He couldn’t help but leisurely take in the sights.
There was a Three-tailed Long-armed Ape, each of its tails as powerful as a lower grade magic sword;
A Glow Badger with double pupils, which could launch a Soul Attack;
A Dawn Chicken, a type of Spirit Chicken with the ability to suppress evil;
A fierce Alligator and Black Turtle with barbed spines on its back…
These Spirit Beasts had either unique talents and abilities, or they were of high grade with astonishing combat power.
Coincidentally, the prices of these Spirit Beasts were also quite high.
At a quick glance, none cost less than a hundred Spirit Stones.
Especially those of high grade, their prices started from two or three hundred Spirit Stones.
After all, as long as these Spirit Beasts were well trained, they could be a great help even for a high-level Qi Refining cultivator.
Although two or three hundred Spirit Stones was no small amount, it wasn’t too much for high-level Qi Refining Cultivators.
As Wang Ba was looking around, he stopped in front of a certain Spirit Beast.
[Armored Giant-head Turtle: It can reach Class I middle grade at maturity. It has no offensive abilities but its defense is amazing. It’s extremely difficult for any cultivator below Qi Refining Stage VII to break its defense.]
[Price: Four hundred Spirit Stones]
Unlike the other Spirit Beasts that were grouped together, there was only one of this kind in this particular cage.
The turtle was as big as a millstone, pitch black, and covered in a tough armor-like shell. Just looking at it gave a sense of security.
Most importantly, its characteristics fit perfectly with Wang Ba’s Divine Skill ‘Scapegoat’!
Given the defensive power of the Armored Giant-head Turtle, what might be a fatal injury for Wang Ba might not be so dangerous for the turtle.
This could completely transform his Scapegoat Divine Skill, which requires him to expend lifespan to bind every time it’s used, into a heaven-defying skill where he wouldn’t die as long as the Armored Giant-head Turtle wasn’t killed.
The only downside was that the turtle did not seem mature, so the defense it provided might not be as effective.
And the biggest problem… four hundred Spirit Stones… he couldn’t afford it.
“Why is a middle-grade Spirit Beast so expensive…”
Wang Ba felt both helpless and puzzled.
Not until he saw the fine print on the plaque did he realize…
[Regular consumption can enhance body parts, nourish the foundation, strengthen the essence, and improve the physique…]
“No wonder there’s only this one left.”
Wang Ba was somewhat distressed. Such a good Spirit Beast was treated as a kind of special supplement, and judging by the looks of it, it seemed to be in high demand, hence the high price.
But he also found it unfathomable. They were cultivators after all, so why were they still indulging in such primitive pleasures!
Those who could afford it were probably powerful Qi Refining cultivators.
However, he suddenly remembered the book he had seen earlier called ‘The Loftiest Bliss’, which seemed to contain some unspeakable cultivation methods…
Now he kind of understood.
Regretfully shaking his head, Wang Ba had to reluctantly say goodbye to the Armored Giant-head Turtle.
Before long, he found the cage where the Spirit Chicken was kept.
To be precise, he had arrived at the area designated for edible Spirit Beasts.
At a glance, there were Spirit Pigs and Spirit Chickens, all meant to be consumed by cultivators.
The owner of Bai Beast Park was not too far away, and he was holding a Spirit Chicken, chatting with a bald cultivator. It seemed they were negotiating a price.
What excited Wang Ba was that the chicken in the owner’s hand, judging by its size and the fluctuation of spiritual power it emitted, was clearly much stronger than Jia 7. It was most likely an upper grade Spirit Chicken.
His gaze quickly scanned the cages nearby, and sure enough, he saw several roosters and hens that were noticeably taller than Jia 7.
The label read: ‘Upper Grade Spirit Chicken, hens for 230, roosters for 150 lower grade Spirit Stones’.
The price, however, was somewhat unexpected to Wang Ba. If it followed the increase in the price of lower-grade Spirit Chicken, according to Shopkeeper Lu’s previous price, a hen should cost at least 300 Spirit Stones.
But he quickly realized why it was so.
Because the price of lower-grade Spirit Chickens was relatively low, they had a broad audience. After all, there were more Qi refining cultivators at the lower levels.
So when the Precious Chicken epidemic hit, those who couldn’t afford Precious Chickens gritted their teeth and bought lower-grade Spirit Chickens instead.
The cultivation of lower-grade Spirit Chickens took time, and in the short term, the supply could not meet the high demand, resulting in the soaring price of lower-grade Spirit Chickens.
Upper grade Spirit Chickens, on the other hand, because of their incredibly high prices, always had few buyers. Those who couldn’t afford lower-grade Spirit Chickens certainly couldn’t afford upper-grade ones, so the price remained relatively stable.
However, this had nothing to do with Wang Ba. He just needed to inform Ye Lingyu about the availability of the upper-grade Spirit Chickens at the Bai Beast Park.
Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly noticed the bald cultivator leaving empty-handed.
Meanwhile, the owner of Bai Beast Park, with a displeased expression, activated his Spirit Beast Bag and put the unsold Spirit Chicken back into the bag.
Obviously, the two sides couldn’t agree on a price.
However, upon seeing the Spirit Beast Bag, Wang Ba’s eyes lit up.
He really needed that!
Although he hadn’t found anyone selling it, even if he wanted to buy it, he wouldn’t know where to go.
After some hesitation, he finally gathered his courage and took a few steps forward:
“Excuse me, Immortal… Can you sell this Spirit Beast Bag?”
“Spirit Beast Bag?”
The owner of Bai Beast Park frowned at Wang Ba. He had noticed Wang Ba as soon as he entered the shop, but dismissed him as a mere menial worker.
Upon hearing Wang Ba’s inquiry, although he didn’t feel like responding, he was, after all, in the business of serving customers. So he replied patiently:
“I don’t have many Spirit Beast Bags. If you want to buy one, it will cost at least seven or eight hundred Spirit Stones.”
In reality, Spirit Beast Bags weren’t that expensive, they were just hard to come by.
To make Wang Ba back off, he arbitrarily quoted a price,
Avoiding offending the cultivator behind this menial worker. You could say it was the caution gained from doing business for a long time.
On hearing this, Wang Ba couldn’t hide his disappointment and thanked him:
“Thank you, Immortal.”
Seven or eight hundred Spirit Stones. If he sold all the Spirit Chickens in Ding 87 Villa, he would have enough.
Unfortunately, only the Beisong Market of the four markets in the outer area remained. He didn’t dare to frequently peddle Spirit Chickens there.
He had only about forty or fifty Spirit Stones left on him, far from enough.
Seeing this, however, the owner of Bai Beast Park had an idea and suddenly said:
“However, if your master comes here to buy Spirit Beasts, as long as he spends ten middle-grade Spirit Stones, 1 can give you a Spirit Beast Bag.”
“Only, the Spirit Beast Bag is the work of an Artifact Refining apprentice, and its space is somewhat smaller.”
“What do you think?”
Wang Ba hesitated a bit.
He wasn’t sure if Ye Lingyu would come here to buy Spirit Chickens, and he also wasn’t sure if Ye Lingyu could afford to spend that much.
But if he missed this Spirit Beast Bag, he felt it would be quite a pity.
After some hesitation, he finally nodded:
“I can only give it a shot.”
He wanted to ask the owner if he could swap the Spirit Beast Bag for the Armored Giant-head Turtle, but considering the turtle’s enormous size and the inconvenience it would cause him, he gave up that thought.
Upon hearing Wang Ba’s response, the owner of Bai Beast Park wasn’t surprised. After all, he’d said it offhandedly without holding any expectations. Seeing another customer arrive, he went to greet them quickly.
Wang Ba also quickly left Bai Beast Park.
On his way out, he was disdainfully sneered at by the two Lion Beasts guarding the gate..