Chapter 216: Dream Stones and Spirit Beasts (Seeking Subscriptions)

Although he shifted his attention to other categories, before swiping away with his divine sense, Du En still casually checked the high-grade cultivation methods.

Then.

"Hm? Why can't I exchange for high-grade cultivation methods?"

"It is like this: since mid-grade cultivation methods are sufficient to reach the Nascent Soul perfection, therefore, unless one is on the front lines of the battlefield or core personnel of this sect, one cannot be taught high-grade methods in advance. One requires sufficient merit and sufficient qualifications—that is to say, merit must be continuously accumulated, and the mid-grade methods must be fully mastered; only then can one be taught, and only one technique will be granted, after which the window will be closed."

For Du En, who had not yet gone to the Scripture Depository to cram on basic knowledge, the old servant outside the door, Yang Feng, provided a very timely and thoughtful explanation at this moment.

So, it was actually because Du En happened to meet the latter requirement that Meng Changqing was able to find plenty of room to maneuver without violating his own principles.

Simply put, as long as he contributed a little extra merit, he could select a technique for Du En that he considered the most suitable.

It was just a bit too suitable...

Recalling the incredibly abstruse Green-Yellow Canon, which was sparse in words but deep in meaning, and crucially, not short in length, Du En couldn't help but think this.

Without overthinking it, since he had already casually checked the high-grade cultivation methods, he then took the opportunity to check the top-grade spells, only to find that this side was even more thorough: they could not be exchanged for during the Golden Core stage; they didn't even provide a window.

Thus, it was finally time for the next item.

Dharma treasures, or rather, materials.

He needed to replace the Dharma treasure cookware used for cooking; a third-grade mid-grade one would be quite suitable.

However, for him, the best approach was naturally to buy the materials and refine them himself, which would reduce costs while also accumulating refining attempts and building up proficiency.

It was also because of this that when Meng Changqing had run quite far away last night and suddenly remembered he needed to fulfill his previous promise, returning to say this, Du En had decisively refused.

Of course, he didn't let this quasi-True Lord run back for nothing; he took the opportunity to ask him to help check on the situation of two people.

After the other party truly left, Du En personally took action, using the fur materials of the Forest Shadow Leopard to re-refine the Lacquer Shadow Dharma Robe, bringing it to third-grade low-grade, barely managing to maintain the cultivation bonus.

But even so, this Dharma robe would be hard to use for much longer; he estimated that with any further breakthrough, it would become something as useless as a chicken rib, so he was now in great need of materials in this regard.

Thus, according to his needs, he began to search patiently and meticulously through the vast sea of spiritual material exchange lists.

Then.

"Eh, there is actually a wonder item, Dream Stone? One piece only costs eighty high-grade spirit stones, nine pieces would be seven hundred and twenty... in that case..."

While flipping through, he happened to come across this wonder item.

Nine Dream Stones, three Fire Flame Flowers, a wisp of Thousand-Change Micro-Light, and one piece of Azure Sky Leaf.

These were the types of wonder items required for his natal Dharma treasure; one could say each was rarer and more precious than the last!

So Du En immediately fell into contemplation and decision-making.

He should buy them as soon as possible to avoid any accidents, but if he did that, he would have to find another way for the Dharma treasure materials...

Du En suddenly had a flash of inspiration, feeling there was a path he could utilize.

He would ask Yang Feng later; as for now, before buying the Dream Stones, he would first look at another item he had long planned for, which actually had a higher priority, even higher than the Dream Stones.

Third-grade spirit beasts.

Alive ones!

After returning yesterday, he finally had some free time and suitable spiritual objects—namely, a third-grade spiritual wood obtained from Tang Yiping—to attempt to bury it into the Divine Ability Dead Land.

The result was a failure; it was of no use at all.

This forced him to re-examine the original Evergreen Wood, and while lost in thought, he quickly set his sights on the third-grade spirit beasts, which were definitely useful.

In the inner city of Nanmo City, such spirit beasts were kept for the purpose of harvesting materials.

So now, on the exchange list, it was very natural to find the category of live spirit beasts.

The asking price wasn't expensive; two third-grade early-stage spirit beasts only cost five high-grade spirit stones.

Looking at the description, they were basically the size and tonnage of ordinary elephants, no wonder they were so cheap.

If they were wild third-grade demonic beasts, normally speaking, their tonnage would have soared to the level of hundreds of thousands or even a million catties.

Checking carefully, he discovered that the price of five for two was actually the price for local spirit beasts.

As for spirit beasts raised in other cities, one would have to go to the corresponding city to exchange for them at such a price; buying them here would require an additional teleportation fee.

Adding five high-grade spirit stones per beast was enough to buy two more; it was simply too expensive, and he couldn't make such a deal with such poor cost-effectiveness.

Anyway, he would be traveling everywhere next.

"Finally, there is a quantity limit for purchasing live spirit beasts; one can only buy five of a kind in a short period. There are twenty types here in Nanmo, meaning I can buy one hundred; in that case, it would cost two hundred and fifty high-grade spirit stones..."

The spirit stones seemed insufficient.

Thus, Du En thought for a moment, turned his head to look at Yang Feng, and asked a question he already knew the answer to: "City Lord Yang, why is there a quantity limit on purchasing live spirit beasts?"

"Because we are afraid of delaying or affecting the various local productions. But, Traveler Du, what do you need spirit beasts for?"

Yang Feng answered immediately, sensed the intention here, and proactively brought up the topic.

"Cooking."

"In that case, I wonder if you would accept individuals that are being culled due to old age or illness?"

"That shouldn't be a problem."

"Then it's simple; we can go through the city's trading channels to buy the culled individuals at a compliant, low price."

Yang Feng tried to dig more relevant details out of his mind, but because he hadn't managed affairs for a long time, he really couldn't come up with much, so he had to apologize first: "I will go and inquire about this now; Traveler Du, please wait a moment."

"No problem, I happen to be looking at other things anyway."

Du En turned back and continued looking.

With the City Lord making an urgent inquiry, the people below naturally dared not show the slightest negligence or concealment; they quickly summarized the situation and reported it truthfully with trepidation.

The transmission report arrived quickly.

"Traveler Du, the situation has been clarified. There are currently two hundred and three third-grade spirit beasts in the city that are to be culled: one hundred are sick or damaged beyond recovery, and one hundred and three are old and dying. According to the regulations, each one only costs one high-grade spirit stone. Tsk, how did these guys manage things? How could there be so many?"

When he said this at the end, he couldn't help but complain a little.

Although he had almost forgotten the various details, he still roughly remembered a number.

The number culled each year was usually around twenty or thirty, at most fifty. After all, they were third-grade spirit beasts, and those in the inner city responsible for harvesting materials were only at the Foundation Establishment stage; generally speaking, it was difficult to cause damage to their vitality that would require rapid culling and replacement.

In other words, was this Gao Feng's doing?

Thinking of this, Yang Feng immediately stopped speaking, feeling as though he had dug a pit only to fill it with himself.

Because without his previous indulgence, could Gao Feng have reached this point?

(End of chapter)