Chapter 15: Purchasing Medicinal Materials

Under the scorching sun, the earth was like a steamer, with waves of heat rolling and the intense heat unbearable. Yet, in such weather, two figures were constantly crossing and colliding in the woods; every collision sent the surrounding dead leaves flying in all directions.

"Bang!" The two figures collided fiercely once more. This time, both sides put their full strength into the impact, and the resulting air currents formed a powerful shockwave. Leaves drifted down one after another, the tree trunks trembled, and even the soil on the ground was stirred into ripples.

"Brother Xiao Yan's strength has improved too quickly; he's already at the seventh stage of Dou Qi. He has even practiced 'Dou Zhuan Xing Yi' to the third level, while I have only reached the second. Plus, with Brother Xiao Yan's terrifying defense and power, my ninth-stage Dou Qi strength can no longer gain any advantage," Xun Er wiped the sweat from her face and body, saying with a smile.

Xun Er's small hands waved up and down, creating a faint breeze that brushed against her cheeks; only in this way could she feel slightly cooler in this sweltering summer.

Seeing Xun Er's clothes soaked with sweat, clinging tightly to her skin, making her look even more exquisite and alluring, Xiao Yan felt his body grow even hotter. He took off his long robe to wipe the sweat from his face, then used the robe as a towel to wipe the sweat from his body.

"Hehe, that's because you weren't using your full strength, Xun Er. This damn weather is just too hot!" Xiao Yan looked up at the sky, feeling that the sun in the sky seemed much larger than usual. The scorching sunlight shone on him, making him feel even more restless. He helplessly walked to a stone stool beside a large tree and sat down, taking a large gulp of the plum juice Xun Er had prepared in advance, only then feeling slightly better.

"I really did my best, Brother Xiao Yan. But you seem to have gotten much darker!" Xun Er walked up to Xiao Yan, took a sip of the plum juice from his hand, and sat on the stone stool to enjoy the shade, taking out a fan from somewhere to fan him.

"I was just afraid you'd get sunburnt, after all, the weather is so hot." Xiao Yan took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the sweat from Xun Er's face.

Could he really keep borrowing from Xun Er? Would he still have any face left? How could he keep asking her for money! It seemed he needed to earn money himself.

Xiao Yan picked up the monster core and examined it, finding that it was indeed a wood-attribute monster core. Although it was stained with some blood, it could not block the refreshing fragrance emanating from the core; just smelling it made one feel relaxed and happy.

Seeing Xiao Yan being so thoughtful, Xun Er's small face revealed cute dimples, and she happily pulled Xiao Yan toward the main gate.

A cool breeze blew by, and Xiao Yan felt the heat on his body disappear quite a bit. He gently took the fan from Xun Er's hand and began to fan her. Xun Er's originally delicate face had also darkened quite a bit. She should have been like a young lady, reading books in a cool study, but now she was here under the scorching sun, sparring with a big man like him.

Seeing Xiao Yan helping her wipe sweat so thoughtfully, Xun Er's small face flushed slightly, and she lowered her head. However, she immediately became excited, pointing ahead and saying happily, "Brother Xiao Yan, there are people setting up stalls ahead again. I see that person has taken out quite a few monster cores; I reckon there are some Brother Xiao Yan needs."

Walking out of the Xiao family and onto the streets of Wutan City, since it was noon, the hottest time of the day, most people were eating at home, and there weren't many people on the street. Naturally, the two wouldn't go shopping at this time; Xiao Yan led Xun Er toward a restaurant they often frequented.

Gently stroking Xun Er's cheek, he said with heartache, "It's been hard on you these five months, Xun Er, even your little face has been tanned."

"Yes! Yes! Yes! And I just obtained it not long ago." The vendor hurriedly rummaged through his pack and took out a blood-stained monster core, handing it to Xiao Yan.

Seeing Xun Er's intense reaction, Xiao Yan was slightly stunned. Every time he mentioned it to her, Xun Er was like this. This left Xiao Yan very puzzled; it was just sparring, did it need to be this frequent?

Feeling Xiao Yan's pained gaze and the faint cool breeze blowing, Xun Er lowered her head and murmured in a low voice, "This is all what I should do. Brother Xiao Yan has it harder, not only having to spar with me but also undergoing devilish training."

Upon entering the restaurant, one immediately felt a bit cooler. Although there were no things like air conditioning in this world, it couldn't stump these merchants; getting some ice cubes to lower the temperature was quite easy. After all, this world had the existence of ice-attribute Dou Qi, so making ice cubes was a breeze, and there were merchants on the street who specialized in selling ice.

Xiao Yan led Xun Er to this newly opened stall and squatted down to carefully examine the various goods on it. However, after looking for a long time, he only found earth-attribute or water-attribute monster cores, but no wood-attribute ones, and a look of disappointment appeared on Xiao Yan's small face.

Seeing that Yao Lao had agreed, Xiao Yan also prepared to go down the mountain. However, having learned how long a girl's "a moment" actually was, Xiao Yan's pace was naturally slow and leisurely, not in the least bit anxious. Returning to his room to take a bath and change into clean clothes, he practiced on the bed for a while before Xun Er knocked on the door to call him out.

Opening the door to see Xun Er's light blue gauze dress fluttering in the wind, dressed like a fairy waiting for him at the door, Xiao Yan immediately perked up and teased, "Which fairy has descended to the mortal world?"

Xiao Yan looked in the direction Xun Er was pointing and saw that there was indeed a merchant dressed like a mercenary, with a slightly chubby body, who had laid out a cloth on the ground and was continuously taking various goods out of his pack, among which were monster cores for sale.

Although the results of these six months of training were very gratifying, the expenses were truly not small, consuming one portion of medicinal materials every month. And each portion of medicinal materials cost one hundred thousand gold coins; so far, the six hundred thousand gold coins Xun Er had given him were all spent. If it weren't for his father, Xiao Zhan, sponsoring another fifty thousand gold coins, he would have become completely penniless, but fifty thousand gold coins couldn't even buy one portion of medicinal materials.

"Brother Xiao Yan, are we still sparring this afternoon?" Xun Er pursed her small lips and asked softly.

"No, I need to go buy some medicinal materials this afternoon!" Xiao Yan said with a toothache-like expression.

"I need a wood-attribute monster core, do you have any for sale?" Xiao Yan stated his requirement directly.

"How about you don't spar with me anymore, Xun Er? The weather is too hot, I'll just practice by myself," Xiao Yan said indifferently.

Seeing Xun Er walk away, Xiao Yan then said to Yao Lao, "Teacher, I want to make some Foundation Establishment Spiritual Liquid to sell."

Arriving deep in the market, Xiao Yan casually bought five portions of lower-year Purple Leaf Orchid Grass and Bone-Washing Flower; after all, it wasn't for his own use, so he wasn't that particular. However, monster cores didn't have the concept of age, and even after walking for a long time, the two only managed to buy four wood-attribute monster cores.

"With pleasure!" Xiao Yan hooked his left arm into Xun Er's and held up a parasol with his right hand.

After the two finished lunch, they bought a few popsicles on the street and walked toward the depths of the market while eating, because only there could they find the medicinal materials needed to refine Foundation Establishment Spiritual Liquid.

"Then Brother Xiao Yan go back and wait for Xun Er for a moment, Xun Er will go back to change clothes, and once changed, I'll come find you." Hearing that Xiao Yan was going to take her to the street for delicious food, Xun Er immediately ran off excitedly to change clothes.

When the two went out this time, they met clansmen, and the clansmen all came forward to greet them cordially. Because of the competition a few months ago, the young man had once again become a cultivation genius in the eyes of the clansmen.

"Suit yourself! The subsequent training will still cost a significant amount of gold coins; always borrowing money is indeed not appropriate!" Yao Lao said indifferently.

Hearing the vendor's introduction, Xiao Yan smiled and said, "Although this kind of magical beast has powerful defense, its attack power is quite average. As long as you are willing to spend more time, I think killing it is not difficult."

"Why not continue asking that little girl to borrow money? After all, that little girl has plenty of money." Yao Lao's voice sounded in Xiao Yan's heart.

However, Xiao Yan only responded politely; now, whether it was contempt or praise, it could not cause the slightest ripple in his heart.

"Is Brother Xiao Yan going to the street to buy things? Xun Er wants to go too!" Hearing that Xiao Yan was going to the street, Xun Er immediately perked up.

"How can I keep asking a girl for money! Do I still want my face or not!" Xiao Yan rolled his eyes.

"Brother Xiao Yan, don't be anxious, we can just stroll for a while longer, it's still early anyway." Seeing Xiao Yan was a bit anxious, Xun Er comforted him.

"Then let's go together! I'll take you to eat something delicious while we're at it." Xiao Yan said with a smile.

"No!" Xun Er refused flatly. If she didn't spar with Xiao Yan, Xiao Yan would have to undergo cruel training, and she didn't want Xiao Yan to suffer so much.

Hearing Xiao Yan's praise, Xun Er beamed with joy, walked up to hook his arm, and said with a smile, "Then is Brother Xiao Yan willing to accompany this fairy to go shopping?"

Moreover, after sparring for so long, his strength had improved rapidly, and he had already mastered five layers of force in 'Eight Extremes Collapse'. A single palm strike of 'Cloud-Parting Palm' could produce five layers of force, like waves, one higher than the other; it was just that he hadn't used it on Xun Er, so sparring a little less didn't matter. However, seeing Xun Er's opposition, Xiao Yan had no choice.

"This is a monster core from a Tier 1 magical beast, the Green Lizard. This magical beast has tough skin and a hard shell, specializing in defense and counterattacks; even compared to a Tier 2 magical beast, it is not inferior. Our mercenary group also paid a huge price to luckily hunt it, and even lost the lives of several team members because of it. If you want it, give me eight hundred gold coins!" The vendor introduced it to Xiao Yan. When mentioning the loss of several team members' lives, he even squeezed a few tears from his eyes.

Seeing Xiao Yan's extraordinary attire, clearly a big client, the shrewd vendor immediately greeted him enthusiastically, "If the guest needs anything, just tell me directly. I have plenty more in this pack, I guarantee I have what you need."

Being exposed by Xiao Yan, the vendor didn't feel embarrassed; instead, he smiled cheekily again and said, "Hehe, this young master is truly knowledgeable. However, this kind of magical beast is indeed top-tier among Tier 1 magical beasts. How about six hundred and fifty gold coins? After all, we have to eat too."

"Hmm, forget it, I'll take a small loss! Actually, this monster core is only worth six hundred gold coins, but who told me this damn weather is just too hot!" Xiao Yan said with a hint of helplessness.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 16 =====