For the sake of Wang Ping's safety, "Black Shark Drifter" did not take the spiritual incense in front of everyone. Instead, he told Wang Ping to wait and make the trade when the temporary market dispersed.
Wang Ping was, of course, more than happy to do so.
Furthermore, thanks to the agreement, he could forgo his risky plan of openly asking "Black Shark Drifter '' to take Lin Xiao'e as his disciple in front of everyone else.
In the following period of time, Wang Ping could no longer pay attention to anyone and anything else. He was fully focused on thinking about what he should ask for during the transaction.
He naturally lacked spiritual stones, but his purpose for wanting them was to use them to purchase Dharma artifacts and elixirs.
Therefore, he eliminated this option.
He had also eliminated the remaining option of spiritual talismans. This single-use item was not something he could afford at the moment.
In the end, he was left with the options of Dharma artifacts and elixirs, hesitating between the two.
Dharma artifacts were naturally what he wanted the most. With them, his combat and survival abilities would greatly improve.
If he had a low-grade offensive Dharma artifact, Xiao Feng might be no match for him.
But elixirs were very useful as well.
If he could obtain those kinds of elixirs that could improve his cultivation, the time it would take for him to advance to the 4th level of Qi Refinement and make a breakthrough to the middle stage would be greatly shortened. He might even be able to succeed in doing so within a year or two.
"Dharma artifacts, I should go with Dharma artifacts!"
"If I have a low-grade offensive Dharma artifact in hand, Xiao Feng and I can work together to kill those low-grade tier-1 demon beasts. By that time, in less than a few years, I will be able to use this Dharma artifact to earn spiritual stones, which in turn can be used to buy elixirs!"
Thoughts ran through Wang Ping's mind, he ultimately decided to go with the Dharma artifact.
Compared to elixirs that did not guarantee immediate benefits, Dharma artifacts, which could be effective soon after obtaining them, were more suitable for him.
Midnight quickly passed. When the morning sun rose from the eastern sea, this month's temporary market was about to close.
As for the "Black Shark Drifter," he had already left more than two hours ago. No one knew where he went.
Seeing that the sky was turning bright, the itinerant cultivators, who had not slept a wink, were all preparing to leave.
At this moment, He Meng came over to Wang Ping and asked, "Brother Wang Ping, are you going back with me, or are you going back by yourself?"
When Wang Ping heard this, he gave a look of apology as he cupped his hands and replied, "I'm truly sorry. This little brother has already arranged for a place with the others to exchange cultivation methods, and it will take some time before we can return. Brother Meng, please return first."
Hearing this, He Meng looked over at Lin Xiao'e, who was sitting quietly in the basket on Wang Ping's back. He then nodded lightly and said, "Alright then, Little Brother, you have to be more careful as well. When making transactions, you have to be extra cautious."
"Brother Meng, I will remember your warning. I will be careful."
Wang Ping cupped his hands once again to express his gratitude.
After watching He Meng leave, he bid farewell to Li Yun and the rest. He then chose a path and left Black Stone Mountain at a leisurely pace.
When he was around five kilometers away from Black Stone Mountain, Wang Ping saw the gray-robed man, who was selling the mortal bird eggs, by a pool.
Earlier on, an hour before the closure of the market, Wang Ping had flicked a small piece of paper to him, asking him to meet here for a transaction. To Wang Ping's surprise, the man was even more anxious than him and was already waiting for him here.
Wang Ping walked over and stood a few meters away from the other party before hurriedly cupping his hands and saying, "I made Fellow Daoist Xu wait for too long. May I know if you can let me inspect the goods first before the transaction?"
"Of course, Fellow Daoist Wang, please go ahead."
The man surnamed Xu, gave a forthright nod, before taking down the basket on his back. He took out a bird egg wrapped in soft beast skin and placed it on the ground. Then, he retreated a hundred feet away and gestured for Wang Ping to come over.
The two of them didn't have any form of interaction together before, so they weren't familiar with each other. In such a situation where no one was around, some taboos had to be followed.
Wang Ping was very satisfied with Xu's kind gesture, taking out a pair of deerskin gloves and putting them on. Then, he held his breath and carefully picked up the gray egg to examine it.
After a series of inspections, Wang Ping confirmed that the egg was a living egg. He placed it back on the ground and returned to his original position. He nodded at Xu and said, "That's right, it's indeed a living egg. I want this."
With that, he took out a bag containing the tongues of the two Alligator-Tailed Toads from the basket on his back and threw it several meters ahead.
He originally had them stored inside the "Heaven and Earth Shell." On the way here, he had found an inconspicuous spot. There, he put the basket with Lin Xiao'e down from his back and made sure to avoid her line of sight as he retrieved what he needed.
When the man surnamed Xu saw this, he took a cautious step forward, poking the bag with a stick. After confirming that there was nothing alive inside, he opened the bag to check its contents.
He took the two rolled-up, half-dehydrated tongues out. After examining them one by one, he frowned and said to Wang Ping. "This is the tongue of a low-grade tier-1 demon beast, the Alligator-Tailed Toad, right? There are too many wounds on this tongue. It can't be considered a complete material!"
The wounded tongue was the one that was injured by Xiao Feng's tail.
Wang Ping, on the other hand, seemed to have already expected that he would say this. He smiled and replied, "Fellow Daoist Xu is a sensible man. Fellow Daoist couldn't sell any of the two bird eggs back at the market. Could it be that Fellow Daoist Xu will be able to bring these two bird eggs to the Li Clan to exchange for spiritual stones?"
Xu's face darkened upon hearing this, displeased by Wang Ping's teasing words.
However, he knew that although Wang Ping's words were harsh, they were true.
While he had dared to take the risk of bringing two mortal bird eggs to trade for spiritual items and materials with the other itinerant cultivators, he absolutely would not dare to trade them for spiritual stones with the Li Clan.
The people of the Li Clan were not as easy to persuade as the itinerant cultivators. They would give an extensive analysis of which was more important, the egg or a piece of low-grade tier-1 demon beast material.
Therefore, after a few changes in his expression, Xu swiftly made a decision and said, "Alright, on account of Fellow Daoist Wang's sincerity, Xu will accept the loss and let go of this flaw. The egg on the ground now belongs to Fellow Daoist Wang. Farewell!"
Then, carrying Wang Ping's bag, he quickly retreated while still facing Wang Ping. After he was sixty to seventy feet away without seeing Wang Ping move, he immediately turned around and ran with all his might. Soon, his figure disappeared into the luxuriant grass in the wilderness.
Wang Ping was left speechless seeing this, he could not help but laugh and mumble. "He's really cautious. People who don't know what's going on might think that I'm at the fourth level of Qi Refinement while he's at the third level!"
Despite that, he approved of Xu's cautious approach. Even Wang Ping had always been firm in doing that as well.
In this cultivation world of mutual deception, even friends who had known each other for many years had to take precautions against each other, let alone dealing with unfamiliar cultivators of similar strength in the wilderness without any protection or supervision.
After ascertaining that Xu had left, Wang Ping used a piece of beast skin to quickly wrap the bird egg before carrying it away.