Chapter 22: Deal!
Shengong Linfang only smiled when he saw the cautious Fang Yuan. He was about to stand up and leave but stopped after seeing a hesitating expression on the latter's face.
It wasn't Fang Yuan acting, but he was seriously considering the high grade tree. It was useless to him at the moment, but the money it could be exchanged for was needed.
"Do you have something to tell me or request?" Shengong Linfang asked, sitting back.
Fang Yuan decided to go with it since Shengong Linfang had already taken an oath not to harm him directly or indirectly.
"Senior, I have a complete high grade Crimson wood tree-"
"What?"
Shengong Linfang suddenly cut Fang Yuan's sentence midway and exclaimed in shock. There was only a sub-level difference between middle and high-grade first level Crimson Wood, but with the hint of the laws of fire the tree contained, even that little difference was like a chasm.
The former noticed that he had lost his calm, so he immediately took a deep breath and calmed down. He then apologized to Fang Yuan and asked him if he was telling the truth to make sure.
Fang Yuan nodded, and a hint of excitement rose in his heart upon seeing the change in Shengong Linfang's expression.
"Do you want to sell the tree in spirit coins, or do you have other requests?"
Since the two sides were there to trade, Shengong Linfang asked. If Fang Yuan had talked about the tree, he was willing to sell it, and Shengong was willing to splurge for it.
"Senior, I don't have any special requests. I only want items that could help me in my cultivation," Fang Yuan replied.
Shengong Linfang nodded since he could see that Fang Yuan would be having the entrance the following year, and he would need to reach the 3rd level of Qi Refining if he wanted to get into any of the good local sects in Yellow Peach or nearby cities.
The next moment, Shengong Linfang pondered over what item to use for the tree. He saw Fang Yuan in a different light since the value he brought had grown severalfold. There was a world of difference between the first-grade and second-grade talismans. He would be far closer to his goal if he had high-grade crimson wood material worth hundreds of trees.
Considering that Shengong Linfang had an idea to give something of high value to Fang Yuan, the relationship between the two parties would further warm up. The thought of snatching the secret realm from the latter also rose in his heart, but he immediately dispelled it after his intuitions crazily warned him.
His consciousness hadn't grown that much stronger to warn him of the danger beforehand, but since the oath was directed at heaven, the warning came from that.
A few minutes later, Shengong Linfang gritted his teeth and decided to exchange the tree with a bottle of low-grade spiritual liquid. The energy in a drop of low-grade spiritual liquid was equal to a low spirit stone, but the former was rarer and more valuable than the latter due to its purity and absorbing effect.
The spiritual liquid was gentle and was easily absorbed by the cultivators. Looking at Fang Yuan's cultivation, ten to twenty drops of low-grade spiritual liquid were enough for him to have a successful breakthrough to the 3rd level of Qi Refining.
The bottle contained one hundred drops of low-grade spiritual liquid. Even with its value, it wasn't enough to exchange the tree, so Shengong Linfang decided to use spirit stones to match that.
Fang Yuan's eyes immediately lightened up in surprise After he heard that. A hundred drops of low-grade spiritual liquid would not only allow him to complete his breakthrough but take him close to the next level. It would further help him during the entrance next year.
After a long discussion, the price of the tree was set at 1450 Spirit coins per kilogram. Even though Shengong Linfang showed some resentment on the outside at that price, he was excited in his heart.
He hadn't seen the tree yet, but looking at the quality of the medium-grade tree, he was confident that he had made a profit. Fang Yuan also looked excited since that sum was huge to him.
Since the weight of the tree was 548 kilograms, Shengong Linfang would need to pay 794 low spirit stones and six hundred spirit coins. Fang Yuan almost knocked himself unconscious since that sum of money was something that wasn't the combined assets of many families.
Even his friend Li Haoping's family wasn't that rich, and he just made their family's wealth from a single tree.
Since one drop of low-grade spiritual liquid had a market price of 5 low spirit stones, Shengong Linfang would still need to pay him a sum of 294 low spirit stones.
Shengong Linfang didn't bring the spiritual liquid with him, so he would give it to Fang Yuan once he brought the tree. Even though Fang Yuan could take out the tree anytime he wanted, he couldn't since he didn't want to reveal the existence of the storage space.
***
After leaving the evening market, Fang Yuan's destination was Martial Street. As its name suggested, the area housed several martial gyms. Some were local, while some were branches of famous gyms spread across the continent.
It was several miles away from the market, so Fang Yuan had to take the bus.
While waiting for the bus, Fang Yuan was thinking of his schedule since he would now have spiritual liquid to cultivate.
"What are you doing here?"
A condescending voice rang in Fang Yuan's ears, and a heavy hand patted his shoulder. Fang Yuan felt his shoulders sink, and at the same time, an ugly expression appeared on his face.
The voice was too familiar to him since it hadn't been very long since he met the owner of the voice. His heart sank when he confirmed the identity of the voice owner.
It was one of the two boys who had beaten him the day before yesterday after he jumped to save Li Haoping. His swelling had healed the next day, as it was only a minor injury. However, he still remembered the panicked and concerned looks of his family.
Even though Fang Yuan was angry with the boy, he still knew the strength gap, so he smiled and greeted the boy.
(Chapter End.)
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A/N: Please do comment on what you think of the chapter and what I can do to improve the story.