A Mortal's Start in the Spirit Beast Mountain

Chapter 136 Firewood

Jin Qing interjected with a smile at the right moment, breaking the slightly tense atmosphere: "Haha, Brother Lu, there's no need to be anxious. Now that you've joined my Jin family, we'll naturally keep an eye on the Crimson Sun Fire Jade for you. Come, let me introduce you to the other fellow Daoists."

He pointed to the three Core Formation cultivators and said, "This is Fellow Daoist Cao Yunfeng, a rogue cultivator who lives in Tianxing City year-round and has a wide circle of friends." A middle-aged man with a ruddy complexion and a gentle demeanor smiled and cupped his hands in greeting to Luo Ming.

"This is Fairy Liu Su, from the Liu family of Red Sand Island. She is a renowned weapon-refining family in our Chaotic Star Sea, and she is also a master weapon refiner. If you have any questions about refining magic weapons in the future, Brother Wang, you can consult Fairy Liu." The beautiful female cultivator in a light green dress gave a graceful bow, her gaze lingering on Luo Ming with a hint of curiosity.

As a master craftsman, she knew the difficulty of crafting a complete set of magical artifacts. The fact that the other party could craft them on their own showed that they had considerable talent in crafting.

"This last one is Fellow Daoist Yuan Gang. His great-uncle was a Nascent Soul Elder of my Star Palace, and Fellow Daoist Yuan himself is also exceptionally talented." The last young man, with a cold expression and sharp eyes, simply nodded slightly to Luo Ming as a greeting.

Luo Ming returned the greetings one by one, understanding in his heart that these people were either quite strong or had impressive backgrounds. In particular, that Fairy Liu was actually from the Liu family of Red Sand Island, and he had heard of the Liu family's weapon-refining techniques.

After Jin Qing finished his introduction, everyone sat down again, and a waiter served spiritual tea.

Jin Qing, as the host, spoke first: "I invited you all here today for three reasons. First, it's been a long time since we've seen each other, so it's nice to have a get-together. Second, everyone has their own confusions and difficulties on their cultivation paths, so we can perhaps find common ground and inspiration in each other. Third, as is customary, if you have any items that you don't need but are reluctant to throw away, feel free to take them out and have a look. Perhaps someone else urgently needs them. Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone could take what they need?"

Cao Yunfeng clapped his hands and laughed, "Brother Jin has made excellent arrangements. We are mostly independent cultivators who explore on our own, so it is a great honor to have the opportunity to sit down and discuss the Dao with you fellow Daoists."

Liu Su also chimed in softly, "That's right. I've been practicing a sonic spell recently, and I'm having some questions about the subtle details of spiritual energy vibrations. I'll ask you all for guidance later."

Although Yuan Gang did not speak, he nodded slightly in agreement.

Lu Yan was still immersed in the previous conversation. He picked up his spiritual tea, took a sip, and looked at Luo Ming. His tone was much warmer than before: "Fellow Daoist Wang, now that you have refined a water-attribute magic weapon, you must have some experience in the crafting of magic weapons. I must learn from you later."

Luo Ming humbly replied, "I wouldn't presume to ask for your guidance; it's merely an exchange of ideas. I, Wang, am also a first-timer in refining, and my experience is limited, so it may not be entirely comprehensive."

The atmosphere gradually warmed up, and a small exchange meeting for Core Formation cultivators slowly unfolded amidst the fragrance of spiritual tea and increasingly in-depth discussions. While participating in the discussion about cultivation insights, Luo Ming secretly observed everyone present, pondering which ones he could become close friends with and which ones he could only deal with superficially.

For cultivators, the concept of time is much more blurred than for mortals. They would first chat about interesting things happening around them, but once they started discussing cultivation, they would often become engrossed in it, and three days would pass in the blink of an eye.

Although the discussions didn't go too deep, Luo Ming benefited greatly from the three days and felt the trip was worthwhile.

Seeing that everyone had finished their discussion, Jin Qing clapped his hands and laughed, "Some things are useless to discuss. Fellow Daoists can try them out for yourselves later to know whether they are right or wrong. Next, let's begin the final resource exchange session. So, I'll start first, just to throw out a brick to start the jade."

With a flick of his sleeve, three items appeared on the jade table before him. If he could only read one fantasy novel in his life, it would probably be "A Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Starting at the Spirit Beast Mountain." They were a pale gold jade slip affixed with several restrictive talismans, a palm-sized gourd as red as fire, and a dark gray ore with a metallic luster and natural cloud-like patterns.

"This jade slip contains a 'Golden罡 Body Protection Technique' obtained in my early years. It is a decent defensive spell, especially suitable for fellow cultivators who practice metal-based techniques. This gourd contains seven 'Earth Lung Poison Fires,' which are quite powerful and can be used for refining weapons or fighting enemies. However, one must be careful to control the fire to avoid backlash. Finally, this piece of 'Cloud Pattern Iron Essence' is quite substantial and is an excellent auxiliary material for refining metal-based flying swords and magical treasures."

After Jin Qing finished his introduction, he looked at everyone and said, "What I want to exchange is a pill that can improve the mana of the Core Formation stage, or a spiritual item that can help break through the bottleneck of the early Core Formation stage. Of course, if there are rare metal-attribute spiritual materials, we can discuss it."

Everyone's eyes swept over the three items, and they each pondered.

Yuan Gang, who cultivated a metal-elemental technique, glanced at the cloud-patterned iron essence a couple more times, but upon hearing the exchange conditions, he shook his head slightly, clearly indicating that he didn't have anything suitable at the moment. Cao Yunfeng and Liu Su were somewhat interested in the jade slip and the poisonous fire, but they didn't speak up immediately.

Luo Ming's divine sense swept over the jade slip, and his heart stirred slightly. His Azure Nether Scripture cultivation technique had its own accompanying divine abilities, but this Golden罡 Body Protection Technique sounded quite extraordinary. If he could learn a thing or two from it, he might be able to enhance his own defensive capabilities.

Although he possessed pills to enhance his magical power, his cultivation of the Profound Water Condensation Technique had already slowed down his magical power condensation speed, making his need for pills even greater, and thus making it inconvenient to exchange them for the time being. As for spiritual items that could help him break through bottlenecks, they were even more rare and difficult to come by.

Seeing that no one answered immediately, Jin Qing didn't mind and smiled, gesturing for the next person.

Next up was Cao Yunfeng. He took out several items: a stack of high-level talismans gleaming with spiritual light, several jade bottles labeled "Azure Spirit Pills," and a piece of wood that was entirely crimson and emitted astonishing fire-attribute spiritual power.

"I am not wealthy, and only have these daily treasuries. The talismans are all practical items for offense and defense; the Jade Spirit Pill is of excellent quality and has a miraculous effect on external injuries of cultivators; this piece of Fire Paulownia wood was obtained by chance and contains amazing fire attribute spiritual power, which is somewhat useful for refining certain fire attribute magic treasures. I would like to exchange it for some spirit stones, or equivalent pills or spirit wine that can stably replenish mana."

Resources are hard to come by for independent cultivators, so the items Cao Yunfeng offered were more practical and readily available. Lu Yan glanced at the firewood, seemingly having some ideas, but after considering his primary needs, he held back.

Luo Ming looked at those things, and a thought stirred within him.

Although the talisman was quite powerful, it was not enough for a Core Formation cultivator. He had accumulated quite a few pills and was not currently lacking them, but the piece of firewood piqued his interest.

"I wonder how much this piece of paulownia wood is worth?" Luo Ming asked.

The reason he was interested in the firewood was mainly because he sensed a faint aura from it, similar to the flames of the Zhiyang Bird. Although it was very weak, the Zhiyang Bird had been by his side for so many years, so he couldn't be wrong.

Upon hearing that Luo Ming was interested in the firewood in his possession, Cao Yunfeng was overjoyed and quickly said, "If Fellow Daoist Wang wants it, it will only cost five thousand spirit stones."

"Five thousand spirit stones? Although this wood is rich in fire elemental energy, it's not really worth that much, is it?"

Upon hearing this, Cao Yunfeng's smile faltered slightly, but he quickly recovered and sighed, "Fellow Daoist Wang, you may not know this, but this Fire Paulownia Wood may seem ordinary, but its growth conditions are extremely demanding. It can only grow where the pure earth fire veins and abundant wood spirit energy meet."

Cao had gone through quite a bit of trouble to obtain it. But since you've spoken, fellow Daoist… four thousand five hundred spirit stones is the lowest price I can offer; any lower and I'd rather keep it for myself.”