Chapter 35 – The Price of Knowledge

“Aren’t you giving me too much?” Lynn Naya had known Yun Xian wasn’t a stingy person ever since the first time YunXian had given her a spirit stone during a meal. But a full 10 percent of the shares was a bit much.

She had planned to give 50 percent of the 70 percent to the Dao Palace and have Yun Xian keep 20 percent for herself. If Yun Xian gave her 10 percent, wouldn’t that mean she was giving up half of her share to her?

I’m just a normal person. How can I deserve this?

“It’s not too much,” Yun Xian said, beaming. “Senior Brother told me to keep all the shares that Scarface Qing gave me and said that this market is now under my control. Since I have so much money now, why wouldn’t I give you a share?”

She then praised Scarface Qing. “Well, birds of a feather flock together. Your neighbor’s sharp—he made his move before anyone else and even latched onto the strongest backer. Saved me a ton of hassle. If I’m away, I can trust him to run the market without worry.”

“He is indeed very capable,” Lynn Naya agreed. Then, as if casually, she asked, “Are you very busy? Why wouldn’t you be around?”

“I have to go out and see some blood, don’t I?”

“Oh, I see,” Lynn Naya said, realizing her meaning. “Killing beasts?”

“No, evil cultivators,” Yun Xian said with a malicious grin. “Beasts don’t have much to offer. They’re only good for their meat. The truly wealthy ones are the evil cultivators. Those people are everywhere. They’ve found so many loopholes. If we’re going to slaughter anyone, it should be those treacherous bastards.”

Lynn Naya fell silent. From what Yun Xian said, evil cultivators weren’t just those who practiced evil cultivation methods. It seemed that those who practiced righteous cultivation methods but were deceitful and committed all sorts of crimes also counted.

“That sounds very dangerous.” she said.

“Don’t worry. I won’t die,” Yun Xian said, her spiritual artifacts twinkling. “You have no idea how powerful I am.”

I really have no idea how powerful… your parents were.

Seeing her so confident, Lynn Naya didn’t try to persuade her otherwise. “Where are these evil cultivators? Are they far?”

“It’s a bit of a journey. It’s in the old Qinghe Mountain, near Eastfall City. Eastfall City has become a den of demons. I heard there are Foundation Establishment cultivators there, so we won’t go there yet. We’ll just be fighting around the area to get some practice in.” Yun Xian said.

Lynn Naya knew Eastfall City. It was one of the thirty-six cities under the Dao Palace’s rule and the closest one to it. The Qinghe Mountain Yun Xian mentioned and the ape that had held the Qu family captive were both between the Dao Palace and Eastfall City.

Lynn Naya wouldn’t get involved in any of the fighting. She wouldn’t leave the Dao Palace easily until she could kill with a single strike. So, she could only wish her friend a safe journey. “When you come back, I’ll treat you to more wine.”

It had been over five months since their last drink. The grapes in her courtyard had been hit by frost, and their flavor was getting better every day. She would be able to brew more wine soon.

“Fine, fine. If I get the chance, I’ll bring you some other grain seeds from outside. Grape wine is too soft. It’s not very exciting to drink. Senior Brother said that strong alcohol is more comfortable and burns your throat. I want that.” YunXian said.

When she heard Yun Xian mention seeds, Lynn Naya got excited. “Then you might as well get me some chili, ginger, and garlic seeds.” For the past few years, all she had eaten was salt. The wild green onions in the fields were only a seasonal thing. She desperately needed chili to improve her diet.

“I’ll get them all for you.” Yun Xian said. She had something to do and left in a hurry without even finishing her meal.

After Yun Xian left, Lynn Naya gave her new shares to Scarface Qing and asked him to use all the profits to get her beast blood, herbs, and beast hides. If he could get spirit stones, that would be even better. But as far as she knew, there were no spirit stones on the market yet, but they would probably be soon.

In the past six months, the mortal area at the foot of the mountain hadn’t been the same.

The increase in strength had caused the once-uniform mortal area to be divided into different social classes. Mortal cultivators formed groups and lived in large houses with gates and courtyards.

The contrast between the large houses and the shanties was too obvious. The gap between people was immediately apparent because of the difference in their homes.

This change was very human, so it wasn’t surprising. What truly felt like a huge change to Lynn Naya was the farmland at the foot of the mountain.

The farmland at the foot of Mount Yu was now divided into two areas. The outer area was the same as before, but the inner area was often visited by cultivators from the Dao Palace who would cast spirit-gathering formations to turn it into spirit fields full of spiritual energy.

According to the spiritual plant manual in her first storage bag, spirit fields could be planted all year round as long as there was enough spiritual energy. A harvest was possible every season, but a small spiritual rain technique had to be cast on them every day.

A single Qi Condensation cultivator would take at least half a day to cast a spiritual rain technique. If they had to cast it every day, they would be wasting a quarter of their time on it.

In the past, the Dao Palace didn’t have so many cultivators, and the cultivators didn’t have so much time to waste. But now, after the last half-year, the mortal cultivators with a desire to kill were being taken out on patrols, and those without a desire to kill were gradually filling the void of spiritual plant workers. The Dao Palace now had a source of spiritual rice.

It was obvious that the spirit fields were just the beginning. In the future, there would be spirit herb fields, spirit ore mines, and so on.

Looking at it from this perspective, perhaps the moment the beast cores appeared, the mortal cultivators at the foot of the mountain became a part of the Dao Palace’s cultivation resources.

Those old geezers from the Dao Palace are really playing a big game of chess.

Lynn Naya didn’t think being used was a bad thing. While the word “used” sounded terrible, the mortals had truly benefited from the process.

In the past, everyone was starving and too weak to even have children. Now, they could at least eat their fill. Those with a bit of talent could even eat five meals a day, and those with even more talent could cross the class divide.

In this environment, having another option for a different kind of life was already a huge step forward.

“Why do you want these, too?” Scarface Qing’s voice pulled Lynn Naya out of her thoughts. “Lady Yun also specifically told me to collect these from the market if they ever appeared.”

“Oh really?” Lynn Naya wasn’t surprised. “That makes things even easier. You can collect them under her name and secretly save some for me. As for what to do with them, you know, ‘scarce goods’.”

Hoarding and reselling was just an excuse for Lynn Naya. In reality, her talisman-making materials were running out. Gaining proficiency in making talismans required a lot of materials, and the market could fill that gap for her. As for processing the materials, she could do that herself.

“Just start collecting them for now.” As for the next steps, no one could help her. She had to do it herself.

Three days later, six groups of Dao Palace disciples flew past her in the air on their swords. Lynn Naya knew Yun Xian was among them. She could only watch as their figures disappeared into the distance.

That night, Lynn Naya used a Shapeshifting Technique to turn herself into a woman with no distinguishing features, and slipped into the cultivators’ marketplace.

She was now in the fourth layer of Qi Condensation. Since her spirit stones had run out, her experience bar, which used to go up by one point every five days, now went up by one point every fifteen days. It would take her another six months to enter the fifth layer of Qi Condensation.

A cultivator in the middle stage of Qi Condensation was considered a core member of the Dao Palace. With most of the disciples out, her cultivation level was more than enough to go to the market without any trouble.

This was Lynn Naya’s first time in the cultivator market. It was quite lively, with about forty to fifty stalls scattered around. There were a few hundred people here, most of them cultivators. Only a few were normal people who had come to watch the fun.

Lynn Naya first walked around the stalls and saw that most of them were selling ordinary mountain herbs and medicinal herbs. She then went to the steward and used her contribution points to get a token. She found a spot on the edge of the stalls and set up her own.

She didn’t have many things to sell, just some hemostatic medicine, detox pills, and a few ordinary herbs to make her stall look presentable. In the middle of all these things, she deliberately placed a slightly damaged jade slip.

She had intentionally made the jade slip look old. It contained some basic talisman-making techniques.

After setting up her things, Lynn Naya calmly sat and waited for her destined person.

The jade slip was quite eye-catching among all the herbs and pills. Soon, someone came over and asked, “What’s in this jade slip?”

“I don’t know,” Lynn Naya said with a bitter smile and shook her head. “I can’t see what’s inside, or I wouldn’t have put it up for sale.”

“Oh, can I take a look?” the person asked.

“No,” Lynn Naya refused. “If you look at it and don’t buy it, wouldn’t I lose money? It’s for sale only, no viewing.”

“What are you selling if you don’t even let people look?” The person got a little angry and walked away.

Lynn Naya didn’t care and continued to wait for the next person.

The next person came quickly, but he also left when he wasn’t allowed to look at the content.

When the third person came to ask, he was a little better. He asked for the price.

“Spirit stones. Give me five spirit stones and it’s yours.” Mortal cultivators didn’t have spirit stones yet, but those who had contact with Dao Palace disciples knew what they were.

“Five spirit stones?” The third person looked at her as if she was crazy. “I think you’ve gone mad from wanting spirit stones.”

“No one knows what’s in this jade slip. What if it’s a top-tier cultivation method or martial art? Even if you can’t practice it, you can sell it for more than that,” Lynn Naya said in a harsh tone. “I wouldn’t sell it if I wasn’t desperate for money. Are you going to buy it or not? If not, move along. Don’t block my business.”

“Hey,” the third person got angry. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll just wait and see who the sucker is that falls for your scam.”

If this person hadn’t been there, it might have been fine. But with him standing there, he would add fuel to the fire and tell everyone how Lynn Naya was asking for a ridiculous price. Thanks to his “advertising” it wasn’t long before the entire market knew about the crazy woman selling a sky-high-priced jade slip.

This commotion even attracted Scarface Qing. The young man was a little tempted when he saw the jade slip, but Lynn Naya wouldn’t let him ruin her plan. She quoted him a price in spirit stones and scared him off.

There are all kinds of people in the world, and Lynn Naya didn’t expect to sell the jade slip on the first night. But because of the bigmouth next to her, she met her “destined person” just before closing time.

“Five spirit stones is too expensive. How about one?” the last person asked, haggling.

Lynn Naya had already checked with her spiritual sense and found that he had two spirit stones on him. She didn’t know where he got them from, but every one counted. “Four.”

“No, just one.”

“Three. If you don’t want to buy, don’t talk.”

“Let’s meet in the middle. Two. If you don’t agree, I’m leaving now.”

Lynn Naya stopped talking.

When the man was about to leave, she sighed and waved. “Fine, fine. I’ll sell it to you cheap. If I wasn’t so desperate, I wouldn’t sell this jade slip. You’re getting a good deal.”

The transaction was quickly completed. After the spirit stones were safely in her pocket, Lynn Naya quickly packed up her things and left the cultivator market, ignoring the surprised looks she was getting.

She sensed someone following her. She remembered their appearance, but since it was not a good night for trouble, Lynn Naya quickly sprinted and disappeared into the night.

To be safe, she circled the outskirts of the mortal area twice to make sure no one had noticed her before she quietly returned home.

The next day, a big thing happened at the cultivator market: the person who had bought the unknown jade slip for two spirit stones yesterday had made a fortune because when he checked it, he found out that it was a talisman-making technique.

Good heavens. This news caused a thousand ripples. Many people had already gone to him, asking if he would sell it for double the price.

Scarface Qing, who told Lynn Naya this, was filled with regret. “I should have just bought it. I heard that it costs ten spirit stones to get a copy on the mountain. That lucky guy made a killing.”

“Maybe his luck just came in.” Lynn Naya said nonchalantly.

Three days later, Lynn Naya, wearing another disguise, went to the market again. This time, she directly shouted on the street that she was selling talisman-making techniques for eight spirit stones a piece, and they were first come, first served.

This immediately attracted a crowd. The talisman-making technique was tempting, but the price of eight spirit stones was too high. Fortunately, after everyone “pleaded” with her, Lynn Naya finally agreed to lower the price.

They went back and forth, and in the end, a jade slip was sold for five spirit stones. She only sold two copies, and the buyers weren’t even two individuals, but two groups of people. At this time, no one had spirit stones yet. Having one or two was already a sign of great luck. They could only chip in to buy a jade slip.

Lynn Naya knew this was not a rush. Her main goal was to promote the talisman-making technique. Spirit stones were just a bonus.

If she wanted to sell talismans, she couldn’t be the only one. That would be too conspicuous. She had to let other people learn it, and then she could blend in with them. After all, the safety of being the “only talisman master” and a “nameless person among a bunch of talisman masters” was not on the same level.

And just like that, after that day, there were people selling talisman-making techniques at the market every day.

At first, it was just Lynn Naya. But later, others who had bought the technique felt that everyone would eventually buy it anyway, so they might as well make a quick profit.

The number of sellers grew, and by the time Yun Xian and the other Dao Palace disciples returned three months later, the talisman-making technique was everywhere.