Chapter 90

Zheng Fa received his life token and, following Han Qi, walked out of the Affairs Hall toward the Scripture Pavilion.

He looked at Han Qi, whose expression remained complex, and wore a puzzled look.

Ever since hearing that Zheng Fa received one hundred talisman papers and two blocks of spirit ink every month, this person had been acting strangely.

He seemed to feel that this extra reward was too generous.

"Zheng Shidi, you probably haven't truly grasped what I mean when I say spirit materials are expensive," Han Qi explained, as if understanding what he wanted to ask.

Zheng Fa nodded.

"In our Jiushan Sect, one block of spirit ink costs at least one spirit stone, and one hundred talisman papers cost roughly one spirit stone as well."

Zheng Fa did the math: the materials he received monthly were worth three spirit stones—three times his monthly salary.

"How much gold is one spirit stone worth?" Zheng Fa asked.

"The Affairs Hall buys spirit stones at a rate of two hundred taels of gold per spirit stone..."

Zheng Fa calculated quickly.

The things he received in a month were worth about four spirit stones, eight hundred taels of gold.

Was he actually this rich?

"The Affairs Hall is fooling idiots! Two hundred taels of gold was the price a thousand years ago; now in the market, whether you can get one spirit stone for four hundred taels of gold depends on luck!" Han Qi sneered.

"That expensive?"

Zheng Fa, who came from poverty, admitted he was shocked by these prices.

"They'll only get more expensive! Spirit stones in the market have always been in short supply," Han Qi explained. "Any slightly high-end spirit material or treasure can almost only be bought with spirit stones; gold is merely a helpless choice for us lower-level cultivators because there aren't enough spirit stones."

Zheng Fa processed this and understood Han Qi's meaning.

The prices in this immortal sect sounded like a dual-currency system—

The sect probably used only spirit stones for transactions before, but due to the decline of spiritual energy, spirit stones could no longer be produced in large quantities, causing a shortage of currency in the market, so gold had to be used to make up the difference.

But spirit materials were also scarce—how coincidental!

So the prices of spirit stones and spirit materials soared hand in hand; whether the disciples in the sect could afford them was none of their concern.

Nowadays, high-end spirit materials in the sect still only accept spirit stones.

Gold can buy only limited things, and since spirit stones are becoming scarcer, the exchange rate between the two has become increasingly outrageous.

The Scripture Pavilion was not far from the Affairs Hall; the two arrived in half a stick of incense time.

This place was a bit plainer than Zheng Fa had imagined—a three-story small building, neither tall nor magnificent, and dull gray.

However, there were quite a few people coming and going.

"Take out your life token," Han Qi instructed Zheng Fa. "With an outer disciple's life token, you can claim one cultivation technique for the Qi Condensation stage for free."

Zheng Fa's spirits lifted, and he followed Han Qi into the small building.

At the entrance on the first floor stood a wooden table, behind which sat a man in his twenties or thirties; seeing the two enter, he was quite enthusiastic.

"New disciple?" He stepped out from behind the wooden table and said, "Here to claim a cultivation technique?"

"Yes," Zheng Fa replied.

"I can tell at a glance that Junior Brother, your talent is extraordinary and your bone structure excellent; with a good cultivation technique, you will surely become a pillar of our Jiushan Sect in the future!"

This senior brother looked at Zheng Fa, his brows and eyes full of admiration.

"Senior brother overstates it..."

Zheng Fa always felt this person was looking at him like a fat sheep.

"However..." This senior brother frowned, as if worried for Zheng Fa: "Our Jiushan Sect has countless cultivation techniques; if you fail to find a suitable one, it might affect your path to the Dao!"

"So what does Senior Brother mean?"

"I have worked in this Scripture Pavilion for over three years and know the characteristics of the techniques inside like the back of my hand... As long as Junior Brother is willing to befriend me, I will definitely find the most suitable cultivation technique for you!"

"..." Zheng Fa glanced at Han Qi, who was gazing at a white cloud in the sky outside the building, as if the cloud's shape was full of Daoic rhyme, suddenly giving him a sudden realization.

Understood, routine!

"Then what is the value of this friendship of yours, Senior Brother?"

"Fifty taels of gold."

"Pah!" Before Zheng Fa could speak, Han Qi, who had just been contemplating the Dao, jumped up in anger: "Do you have any sense of chivalry? Fifty taels? You dare ask that?"

"..." "Who is this?"

"Pretend I never worked in the Scripture Pavilion! It used to be only ten taels of gold, and now you want fifty? I thought my fifteen taels before was greedy, but I didn't expect someone even greedier!"

Zheng Fa looked at him.

"So it's Senior Brother!" Upon hearing this, the senior brother from the Scripture Pavilion understood; the smile on his face faded: "Ten taels was ancient history; Senior Brother surely understands the current prices!"

"Enough, we'll pick ourselves!"

Han Qi waved his hand and directly pulled Zheng Fa into the Scripture Pavilion.

"Thank you, Han Shixiong."

Zheng Fa had just realized that this person was unwilling to offend anyone—until the other party made an outrageous demand.

"Zhang Shijie asked me to take care of you; how could I let you suffer such a loss?" Han Qi snorted: "These newcomers are too greedy and have ruined the rules! The atmosphere in the sect is getting worse day by day!"

"?"

Wait... doesn't this atmosphere owe some credit to you?

To Zheng Fa's surprise, the first floor of the Scripture Pavilion contained only paper books, not jade slips; soon he understood: jade slips were unreadable for someone like him.

Previously, the Foundation Establishment method for talisman arts and the Spirit Mountain Method given by the Jiushan Patriarch were recorded in jade slips.

He had tried them, but there was no reaction.

"What is your spiritual root?"

"Fire and Wood dual spiritual roots."

"Then come over here." Han Qi led him to a row of bookshelves and said, "For Qi Condensation cultivation techniques, aside from those for special spiritual roots, most involve cultivating the Five Elements techniques. With your Fire and Wood dual roots, where Wood generates Fire, you rank among the superior tier of dual-rooted cultivators. It is best to cultivate a Fire-elemental Qi Condensation method."

"Does Senior Brother have any recommendations?"

"Our Jiushan Sect has many Fire-elemental cultivation techniques; it depends on what type you want." Han Qi seemed genuinely familiar with this Scripture Pavilion: "The most suitable for pill refining is the 'Blazing Sun Art,' the most suitable for artifact forging is the 'True Fire Refining Canon,' and the most suitable for combat is the 'True Fire Refining Magic Art.' This last technique possesses the greatest power and is chosen by extremely many people..."

He rattled off five or six titles, leaving Zheng Fa dizzy from listening.

"Senior Brother, I don't care about power... is there one that is both fast and safe to cultivate?"

"..."

Han Qi fell silent, staring at him.

"What is it?"

"... Your personality differs from Zhang Shijie's by a hundred thousand miles." Han Qi's expression showed bewilderment: "How could she possibly take a liking to you?"

Zheng Fa understood; he was being indirectly called a coward.

"... Is there one?"

"The 'Crimson Firmament Art'!"

Zheng Fa thought for a moment, then retrieved the several books Han Shixiong had just mentioned and skimmed through them, discovering that his descriptions were indeed very detailed.

These Fire-attribute cultivation techniques indeed each possessed their own unique characteristics.

Only the 'Crimson Firmament Art,' among all Fire-elemental techniques, was the most balanced and moderate; although it offered no additional bonuses, its standout feature was an extremely low probability of qi deviation.

Its cultivation speed was also rated above average.

"I'll take this one!"

Zheng Fa, satisfied, put away the 'Crimson Firmament Art.'

He rummaged in his robe, took out ten gold coins, and handed them to Han Qi standing nearby.

"What is this?"

"Standard practice!"

"Junior Brother, you truly are endearing!" Han Qi snatched up the ten taels of gold: "I submit to Zhang Shijie's taste!"