Chapter 1384: Market Close

Lu Ye had somewhat forgotten when he last replenished his talent tree's fuel. Ever since the talent tree stopped generating new spirit patterns, he hadn't paid much attention to it. However, it was foreseeable that as his cultivation level increased, the consumption of talent tree fuel would also grow. This was because, given the same amount of time, he would be able to refine a greater quantity of cultivation resources.

To ensure his future cultivation, replenishing the talent tree's fuel had become an urgent matter.

Repairing the Pan Mountain Saber and gathering intelligence on the Jade Snail were two tasks that absolutely had to be done at the Myriad Manifestation Merchant Association. However, replenishing the talent tree's fuel was not strictly necessary to do there.

With limited spirit jades on hand, he naturally had to be as thrifty as possible.

He walked out of the merchant association, shot into the sky, and flew directly in one direction.

Half an hour later, he arrived at an open area near the edge of Myriad Manifestation Island. This place had no crisscrossing streets; it seemed to be a separately designated area.

Trade on Myriad Manifestation Island was naturally dominated by the Myriad Manifestation Merchant Association, which was perpetually bustling with people. Following that were the numerous shops lining the island's various streets. The forces behind these shops originated from different realms, and much of the merchandise within them consisted of specialties from those diverse regions.

However, Myriad Manifestation Island had clearly considered what to do if unattached cultivators wanted to sell goods. Since some preferred to conduct their own business rather than sell to the Myriad Manifestation Merchant Association, a special area was specifically designated for cultivators without shops to set up stalls and trade.

It was the Loose Market!

Lu Ye had inadvertently stumbled upon this place while strolling yesterday, so returning now felt familiar.

Without much investigation, he walked directly to a stall and picked up a fist-sized, irregularly shaped crystal. The crystal was fiery red, resembling a fire crystal. When Lu Ye subtly activated the power of his talent tree, he could clearly sense the immense fiery energy contained within it.

The quality of this item was far superior to Earth Core Fire and similar materials found in Kyushu. Lu Ye had visited this stall yesterday and, being very interested in the crystal, had asked the vendor its name, learning it was called Dragon's Breath Crystal. However, at that time, he had only inquired without revealing any intention to purchase, primarily because he didn't know the price.

Today, he was prepared and now had a clear idea of the item's price range. "Friend," the vendor said, "if you like it, take it. It's not expensive, only eight hundred spirit jades per piece!"

Lu Ye casually asked, "How did this come into being?"

The vendor replied, "Since it's called Dragon's Breath Crystal, it naturally relates to dragons. To be honest, friend, about a thousand years ago, a fire elemental giant dragon appeared in my realm. It settled in a tranquil place, and its dragon's breath, expelled during its slumber, fused with nearby minerals. Over a thousand years, the Dragon's Breath Crystals gradually formed."

Lu Ye nodded slightly. The vendor's explanation was consistent with the information recorded in the jade slip Cao Xiang had given him; it seemed he wasn't lying.

The jade slip Cao Xiang had given him was remarkably detailed, recording not only the prices of various fire-elemental treasures but also their origins and potential sources. This information also made Lu Ye realize that Dragon's Breath Crystals, when found, didn't appear as single pieces but in large quantities.

In other words, the vendor definitely had a large stock of Dragon's Breath Crystals on hand.

In front of him, Lu Ye took out the jade slip Cao Xiang had given him. "Dragon's Breath Crystals only cost eight hundred at the Myriad Manifestation Merchant Association," he said. "Why are you selling them for eight hundred too?"

Normally, items sold in the Loose Market should be slightly cheaper than those at the Myriad Manifestation Merchant Association to be competitive. Otherwise, if prices were the same, no one would bother coming to the Loose Market to buy anything.

The vendor glanced at Lu Ye, then at the jade slip in his hand, and chuckled. "So, friend, you came prepared," he said. "In that case, I'll give you a discount of ten spirit jades." He showed no embarrassment; that's simply how business worked. There was no sentimentality involved: if a customer didn't know the price, you sold for more; if they did, you sold for less.

Without batting an eyelid, Lu Ye ruthlessly slashed the price. "Five hundred!"

The vendor was dumbfounded. "Friend," he exclaimed, "you can't bargain like that!"

"I need a lot!" Lu Ye said, looking at him calmly.

The vendor replied, "No matter how many you want, I can't sell them for five hundred. These aren't my personal goods; they're merchandise from my realm, and the spirit jades from the sale have to be taken back and distributed among many people. I truly cannot offer that price. If you insist on five hundred, perhaps you should look elsewhere."

"Five hundred fifty!"

"Friend, I advise you to be kinder," the vendor warned. "If you act like this, you'll be cut down once you leave the Myriad Manifestation Sea."

"Six hundred! If you sell, I'll take them. If not, I'll leave!"

The vendor extended his hand, motioning for Lu Ye to do as he pleased.

Of course, Lu Ye wouldn't actually leave. Bargaining required a thick skin and a ruthless approach; if he succeeded, he'd be happy, and if not, there was no loss.

"Give me your lowest price!" Lu Ye said, looking at the vendor. The main reason he was interested in these Dragon's Breath Crystals was the large quantity available. If he bought other fire-elemental treasures, he might have to purchase many different kinds, bargain for each one, and potentially even suffer losses.

The vendor winced for a moment but, seeing Lu Ye was genuinely interested in buying, paused to consider. "To be honest, friend," he then said, "before I came out here, my elders in my realm set the lowest price for me at seven hundred fifty per piece. Seeing your sincerity, I'll make an exception and sell them to you for seven hundred sixty. Anything lower is absolutely impossible!"

"If the lowest price set for you was seven hundred fifty, why are you raising it for me?" Lu Ye pressed. The vendor was speechless. "I'm setting up a stall here to sell things; you have to let me earn a little for my hard work, right?" he pleaded. "It's not easy for any of us traveling far from home, friend; we should be considerate of each other! I've been running this stall for a long time. With this time, I could be searching for spirit jades in my own realm's star system, and whatever I found would be entirely mine."

"Alright..." Lu Ye reluctantly agreed. He saw that he couldn't bargain any further, and the vendor was right; people did need to earn something.

Each Dragon's Breath Crystal was forty spirit jades cheaper than at the Myriad Manifestation Merchant Association, which was quite a saving.

He counted his spirit jades, kept over five hundred for cultivation, and gave the rest to the vendor, ultimately acquiring twenty-four Dragon's Breath Crystals.

The bulk of the spirit jades he possessed still came from the spirit jade veins in the Grand Beginning Realm. Although he had spent some while exploring the starry sky outside Kyushu, he had also found some along the way. Overall, he hadn't incurred a loss and even had a small surplus.

Later, at Fangcun Mountain, he gave Nian Yuexian fifteen hundred spirit jades, leaving him with just over thirteen thousand.

However, recently, he had first obtained some spirit jades from Tang Jun's storage ring. Previously, he had also killed three bandits, but they were poor, yielding only a small amount. He wondered how long the energy contained in these twenty-four Dragon's Breath Crystals would last! Lu Ye suddenly realized that his comfortable days hadn't lasted long, and he was once again worrying about cultivation resources.

Back in Kyushu, when his cultivation was low, he constantly thought about earning merits, and later, battle merits. Now, however, he didn't need merits or battle merits; what he needed was spirit jades, and a large quantity of them.

The vendor, pleased after selling the Dragon's Breath Crystals, spoke up. "Friend," he said, "if you want more goods next time, just come find me!" It was clear he still had a good amount of stock.

"How long have you been running this stall?" Lu Ye casually asked.

The vendor looked wistful. "Almost three years!" he sighed. "Ah, never mind. But someone will come to take over from me soon. The stall location won't change, so you can just come here."

Finding a suitable stall in such a place was not easy, which is why many vendors took turns manning their stalls with companions from their own realm. This maintained the principle of changing people but not stalls, making it convenient for regular customers to find them.

If Kyushu could freely travel to the Myriad Manifestation Star System and had any specialties to sell, they would probably adopt this model. After all, given Kyushu's foundation, it wouldn't have the capital to occupy a storefront here.

Bidding farewell to the vendor, Lu Ye also felt a sense of melancholy.

When he arrived, he had some capital in his pocket, but it was almost entirely spent in just a few quick transactions.

Myriad Manifestation Island was bustling, yet for a moment, Lu Ye didn't know where to go. In ten days, he would retrieve his Pan Mountain Saber from the Myriad Manifestation Merchant Association. What should he do during this interim? While there were accommodations on the island, staying in such a place would clearly require a significant amount of spirit jades, and Lu Ye didn't want to spend money unnecessarily.

Simply waiting wasn't realistic. After thinking for a moment, he simply shot into the sky and flew out of the island. There were some things he wanted to verify and try.

A moment later, he exited Myriad Manifestation Island. The instant he left, Lu Ye heard a crisp sound from the pass hanging at his waist. Looking down, he saw the black token had split in half, clearly rendered useless.

This meant that in ten days, he would have to spend another five spirit jades to enter Myriad Manifestation Island.

He searched as he flew. He couldn't go too far from Myriad Manifestation Island at the moment, but being too close was also inconvenient. The closer he was to Myriad Manifestation Island, the more cultivators there were, and the busier it became.

A day later, Lu Ye finally found a suitable location and descended. A moment later, he landed on a rocky island about ten zhang in circumference.

It wasn't safe for someone to act alone like him. While private duels were forbidden on Myriad Manifestation Island and many large spirit islands, no one policed such matters on the Myriad Manifestation Sea. In other words, if someone decided to pick on Lu Ye now, no one would stand up for him.

Lu Ye clearly remembered seeing a spirit island being besieged on his way here.

But some things couldn't simply be left undone just because they were unsafe. How could cultivators ever act with absolute safety?

To be safe, Lu Ye still set up some protective spell formations on this rocky island. This way, if he truly encountered an attack, he would at least have time to react.

Only then did he sit down cross-legged, quietly sensing the surrounding environment.

The water of the Myriad Manifestation Sea was condensed from extremely dense cosmic energy. Although it was condensed and didn't disperse, it still had some effect on the surrounding cultivation environment, especially on the spirit islands above the sea surface.

Under Lu Ye's perception, he could sense that his current location contained more cosmic energy than a normal starry sky.

For Constellation cultivators, this cosmic energy was akin to the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for cultivators below the Constellation realm.