Big Data Cultivation
Chapter 783 - Chapter 783 Chapter 783 Picking Up the Slack Plan (First

Chapter 783: Chapter 783: Picking Up the Slack Plan (First Release) Chapter 783: Chapter 783: Picking Up the Slack Plan (First Release) For Feng Jun, what he lacked wasn’t just the 25,000 Spirit Stones; the “Heavenly Luo Edge” manual was also worth 18,000 Spirit Stones. The total cost for both Cultivation Techniques amounted to 43,000 Spirit Stones.

Even this was at a discount from Chairman Huang Fu, which just goes to show how expensive cultivation can be.

However, it’s precisely the cost of these main Cultivation Techniques that takes up the lion’s share in cultivation expenses. Once that’s taken care of, the other costs can trickle down slowly, allowing for more careful and long-term financial planning.

Feng Jun had previously obtained a “Qingmu Technique” manual from the secret vault of the Wonderful Hand Pavilion’s Eastern Sub-rudder, which he later entrusted to Gu Jiahui for her cultivation. Now that he thought about it, murder and plunder really were the fastest ways to make money.

He pondered for a moment before speaking, “To avoid troubling you too much, let me ask directly, can you purchase my treasures at a fair price?”

The moment Huang Fu Wuxia heard this, her eyes lit up, “Of course, the Tiantong Commercial Alliance always emphasizes fair trade.”

Feng Jun gave her a half-smiling, half-serious glance, “Fair? Ha, what was your initial offer for my Nether Bead again?”

“Ahem,” Huang Fu Wuxia coughed lightly and defended herself in a vague manner, “Without you naming a price, it’s not like I could not name one… Alright then, what treasures are you planning to sell?”

Feng Jun stroked his chin, “That… I’m not quite sure yet.”

Huang Fu Wuxia guessed that he had many valuable items in his possession and was eager to see them, but… what does he mean by ‘not quite sure’?

The next moment she understood, as Feng Jun turned his head to look at Mi Yunshan and instructed, “Go to the free market.”

The Fang Market was well-differentiated into various functional zones for established merchants, but for those small traders and peddlers without storefronts, they could only go to the free market. It was similar to the marketplace on Earth where they would set up their stalls.

Huang Fu Wuxia instantly realized what Feng Jun was planning to do–he intended to use his appraising skills to find underpriced items.

Thinking that he didn’t plan to sell his own treasures, she felt slightly disappointed, but her mood quickly picked up again; she was curious to see what he could find.

She asked with a smile, “You don’t mind if I follow you, do you?”

“Of course… I do mind!” Feng Jun paused and then looked at her suspiciously, “After all, you possess the Treasure-Appraising Eye. If I walk with you, do you think… I could possibly buy anything at a bargain?”

Huang Fu Wuxia rolled her eyes helplessly, thinking this guy really wasn’t lacking in business acumen.

Just as Feng Jun had thought, she too had picked up bargains in the Fang Market before, reaping substantial rewards. Backed by the Huang Fu Clan and not facing significant financial pressures, she wasn’t worried about sellers reneging on deals, so she didn’t control the spread of information after finding bargains.

On the contrary, she was quite happy to show off her eye for treasure–she was young then and craved others’ approval.

As a result, her reputation began to spread, and prices went up whenever she shopped at the stalls.

Indeed, she gained approval, but basically, her chances of finding bargains were gone.

Using her Treasure-Appraising Eye had certain costs, and there were signs during its use. With careful observation, others could somewhat figure out what she was up to.

For Huang Fu Wuxia, as things stood, the cost of browsing for goods had become too high, and it wasn’t as though she couldn’t make a living without doing so; if she persisted despite all difficulties… the Huang Fu Clan couldn’t afford to lose face like that.

Applying her Treasure-Appraising Eye to the items of the Tiantong Commercial Alliance was the best way to maximize the benefit of her skill.

It had been a long time since she actively looked for bargains. If not for Feng Jun’s reminder, she hadn’t really thought about how her presence could increase his purchase costs.

In any case, she had to admit he made a lot of sense; she admired such foresight and precaution.

Feng Jun and his group spread out, strolling through the free market under umbrellas. Since they were aiming to pick up bargains, the seven divided into three groups, pretending not to know each other, casually glancing here and there, and even occasionally asking prices, but they hardly ever made a purchase.

Since it was always Feng Jun who inquired about the prices, the small traders would restrain their dissatisfaction, as the man before them was entitled to the “near-Ascendant Realm” treatment.

Such free markets were not unique within the Fang Market; there were three in total. One predominantly sold daily necessities, one focused on various materials and information, and the last one mainly dealt in antiques.

These markets weren’t completely exclusive to one another, but each did have a strong bias. Those who sold antiques could still go to the daily necessities market to sell, but it wouldn’t be as easy.

The first market they visited was the one selling materials. It wasn’t small by any means–covering an area of around sixty to seventy acres and bustling with people.

They spent roughly an hour there, giving the place a cursory look.

After leaving the market, Feng Jun called Chen Junsheng over and whispered a couple of instructions to him.

After listening, Chen Junsheng contemplated with drooping eyelids for a while, and ultimately nodded.

He then reentered the free market with Jing Qingyang and Yun Buyao.

This was a materials market, so not all the traders were small scale; some could sell Golden Essence in bulk.

Chen Junsheng approached a vendor selling Sand Buried Wood. There were a dozen or so pieces of various sizes, looking somewhat like wooden stone sculptures, “How much for this Sand Buried Wood?”

The stall owner was a short and stocky middle-aged man, a Qi Refining Seventh Layer practitioner, with a companion beside him at the Third Level of Qi Refinement.

He glanced at the other party and noticed three novices, one at the fourth level of Mortal Shedding, an ugly little girl with no cultivation, and the only one who was somewhat decent was merely an Innate Expert.

So he answered with disinterest, “This isn’t ordinary Sand Buried Wood, it’s Aquatic Sandalwood Spikenard, two Spirit Stones per pound.”

Sand Buried Wood was already an extremely valuable timber, a fossil formed from ancient wood buried by sand and stones, heavy like a mix of wood and stone yet not considered a Five Elements material, and usable for crafting various magic artifacts.

Even without crafting magic artifacts, making furniture out of it was excellent; it could stabilize the mind and aid in cultivation.

Even a small piece of Sand Buried Wood, carved into a trinket and worn, could to some degree protect from the invasion of the Five Elements’ energy.

Such wood was worth at least five Spirit Stones per hundred pounds.

But Aquatic Sandalwood, which had sunk in water before being buried by sand and stones, must be exceedingly ancient, and the price would skyrocket over tenfold, with ten pounds being worth seven or eight Spirit Stones.

As for the original wood being spikenard, that was even rarer. To put it simply, if you were to craft furniture from these timbers, just the leftover corners and edges turned into incense sticks could settle the mind during cultivation and counteract inner demons.

However, such goods were not easy to sell, not just because they were a bit pricey, but those without discerning eyes couldn’t tell the difference. Sand Buried Wood was somewhat easier to identify, but spotting Aquatic Sandalwood required real insight.

As for Aquatic Sandalwood Spikenard? It had to take a half-expert to act, or even to take a small piece to burn for a test.

Yet, on the flip side, if a major buyer took interest and waved their hand, they might just buy the whole lot. Although these Sand Buried Woods appeared plentiful, they amounted to just over a cube, weighing probably around ten thousand pounds, amounting to a bit over twenty thousand Spirit Stones.

Because they were not cheap, two Qi Refinement Realm practitioners were tending the stall, and the stall owner himself was at the high tier of Qi Refinement.

However, it was obvious that the stall owner did not believe that Chen Junsheng and his two companions had the financial capacity to make a purchase, and thus he couldn’t be bothered to serve them properly.

Just then, Yun Buyao spoke, “Aquatic Sandalwood Spikenard… Can you take a piece and burn it for a test?”

This request was actually reasonable; even the lightest wood weighed nearly a hundred pounds, worth over a hundred Spirit Stones. Shaving off a tiny fraction, worth less than a shattered Spirit Stone, to burn for verification–many connoisseurs would ask for this.

But… this depended on who was making the request!

The stall owner looked disdainfully at the girl with scars all over her face and scoffed, “Can you afford it?”

It’s taboo in business to judge by appearances, but people from the Mobile Phone realm were relatively straightforward, and besides… he truly didn’t believe that such a trio could afford Aquatic Sandalwood Spikenard.

–Even if you have backers who indeed can afford it, but with something like this, it’s not your place to decide, is it?

Yun Buyao’s face darkened, “How am I to buy when I don’t know if it’s real? If you can prove it’s genuine, I’ll definitely make the purchase.”

No one knew which family she was from, her features wild and young, her clothes ill-fitting, but when speaking to a high-tier Qi Refinement practitioner, she, a common person, managed to maintain her assertiveness.

“Psh, you’ll definitely buy… Are you thinking of buying a pound or two?” the stall owner said with a sneer, “Little girl, be clear on this, my wood is not sold by the pound, but by the piece–it’s just that I convert the price into Spirit Stones by the pound.”

Chen Junsheng spoke firmly, “Then we’ll buy one piece… it’s not many Spirit Stones.”

Buying a smaller piece of Sand Buried Wood was indeed only a bit over a hundred Spirit Stones, not much at all.

The stall owner, of course, hoped to sell off the lot, but selling one piece wasn’t bad either. He sneered, “Then it’s settled. I’ll burn a bit, and if there’s no issue, you’ll buy one piece… I do not like to joke around.”

Yun Buyao was also irritated and pointed, “Go ahead and burn it, we’ll take that biggest one!”

The largest piece of wood, with a diameter of one foot and seven or eight inches and over two meters in length, almost half a cube, weighed close to three thousand pounds.

“Hold on, hold on,” the stall owner hastily gestured and said earnestly, “This piece is different, three Spirit Stones per pound.”

In all honesty, this price really wasn’t the same; the size of the timber also played a part in its cost, and larger timbers were definitely more expensive.

The stall owner also relied on this large piece of wood to attract other customers, similar to a treasure that draws attention to the stall.

It was now time for Jing Qingyang to step in. He cleared his throat, “Shopkeeper, I’m afraid that’s not quite appropriate, is it?”

An Innate Expert serving as a bodyguard in the Immortal Market was enough to prove their ability to fight and not be outmatched by a Qi Refinement practitioner.

When the stall owner saw him step forward, his eyebrows knitted slightly–among the three amateurs, this one was the hardest to deal with.

But well… it didn’t matter much.

(First update, calling for more monthly tickets.)

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