Chapter 218: Dispute

The Five Elements Primordial Qi Spirit Peaches were exceedingly rare; how would Huangfu Qi dare to consume them privately? This batch of spirit peaches had been specifically designated by Gu Tongshan and needed to be turned over entirely to the headquarters.

Gu Qingzhao once again felt immense admiration for Qin Ming's spirit planting skills.

Even the spirit planters of the Shennong Valley had been helpless against such delicate spirit plants, yet in Qin Ming's hands, cultivating them successfully was as simple as eating and drinking.

"Fellow Daoist Qin has truly given me a surprise; with this transaction concluded, from now on, the spirit peach trees belong to Fellow Daoist Qin," said Gu Qingzhao as she stored the spirit peaches before her, her heart filled with joy.

The value of this batch of spirit peaches was immeasurable; she had never expected that Qin Ming would cultivate so many spirit peaches in the very first harvest.

Originally, Gu Tongshan and she had anticipated that harvesting five or six pieces would already be the limit.

They had not expected the harvest to far exceed their expectations.

Amidst the clinking of cups and exchange of pleasantries, the few of them exchanged intelligence for a while longer, and Qin Ming learned quite a bit of the latest news from Gu Qingzhao.

Having chatted enough, Qin Ming opened his mouth to ask, "I am in need of a decent spirit beast bag; I wonder if your pavilion has any for sale?"

"I did not expect Fellow Daoist Qin to also dabble in the path of beast taming, hehe," Gu Qingzhao said, a trace of surprise flashing in her eyes.

Qin Ming smiled and said, "It cannot be called mastery; I was simply idle on the island and occasionally cultivated them for fun."

Gu Qingzhao smiled gently, then took out several high-grade spirit beast bags from her storage bag and placed them on the table.

"The demand for spirit beast bags in Canghai Xiancheng is not particularly high, so our pavilion's reserves are also relatively small."

"Currently, only these few are of good quality; please see if they suit Fellow Daoist Qin's needs?"

Qin Ming picked up a spirit beast bag to examine it, finally selecting a blue one; the space inside was several times larger than the one Qin Ming currently used, more than sufficient to hold his three spirit beasts.

"I'll take this one; how many spirit stones?"

Gu Qingzhao smiled gently, "It is merely a spirit beast bag; let it be a gift to Fellow Daoist Qin."

"Fellow Daoist Qin has brought such a large quantity of Five Elements Primordial Qi Spirit Peaches; I do not even know how to repay you."

Hearing this, Qin Ming did not stand on ceremony and simply stored the spirit beast bag away.

They had exchanged information inside the Mirror Jing Xue Ge for half a day.

Having obtained the items he needed, Qin Ming bid farewell to the few of them and left the Mirror Jing Xue Ge.

Half a cup of tea later.

Just as he walked off the main road, preparing to head to the Alchemy Pavilion in the core district to purchase some materials, and passed by the Feng family's talisman shop once again.

He saw that the front of the Feng family's shop was surrounded by cultivators, from which a clamor arose.

Qin Ming halted his steps, merely extending his divine sense to probe the situation, wanting to see exactly what had happened.

But in the next instant, a familiar figure caused him considerable surprise as well.

"Why is Lu Wanjun here too?"

At the entrance of the Feng family's talisman shop, members of the Feng family were confronting a group of sect cultivators from the opposite side.

Lu Wanjun seemed to be helping Feng Sihai resolve the predicament.

That group of sect cultivators was not from the State of Wei, but wore the attire of the Spirit Sword Mountain of the State of Jin.

Qin Ming had also heard of this sect; it was a first-rate power in the Immortal Realm of the State of Jin, with a False Dan Old Ancestor stationed within the sect to oversee its affairs.

He listened secretly for a while and understood the cause and effect of the matter.

The cause of the incident was that a Qi Condensation disciple of Spirit Sword Mountain had discovered an item at a stall in the inner city and was preparing to snap up a bargain, but alas, he did not have enough spirit stones on him; thus, he asked the stall owner to hold it for him, then returned to the Spirit Sword Mountain residence to borrow spirit stones from fellow disciples.

But who could have expected that when he retrieved the spirit stones and returned to that stall, he found that the item had already been intercepted by Feng Sihai at a higher price.

He questioned the stall owner, but the stall owner naturally sold to whoever offered the spirit stones first, leaving that disciple half dead from anger.

That Spirit Sword Mountain disciple went back to report to his sect; originally, the Foundation Establishment cultivator of Spirit Sword Mountain had not taken it seriously—was it not just a piece of junk? It was not worth making a fuss over.

But when that disciple described the item to him in detail, the situation immediately became different.

"Senior Uncle Guan Mo, this disciple once saw spiritual runes exactly identical to those on the back of that item in an ancient text; it is highly likely to be a fragment of an ancient magical treasure!" "What?! A fragment of an ancient magical treasure? Are you certain?"

"This disciple dares not lie."

Upon learning it might be a fragment of a magical treasure, that Foundation Establishment cultivator of Spirit Sword Mountain could no longer sit still.

Thus, the scene before them occurred.

The leader of Spirit Sword Mountain was a middle-aged Foundation Establishment mid-stage cultivator with a square face; he was the Senior Uncle Guan Mo mentioned by that Qi Condensation disciple.

At this moment, he was speaking to Feng Sihai with an overbearing aura: "Junior! If you know what's good for you, hand over that item immediately."

"Otherwise... you had better think clearly about the consequences."

"Can a mere Qi Condensation family guard such a treasure?"

"Surely your clansmen cannot hide like turtles within Yunze Xiancheng forever without ever venturing out, can they?"

As he spoke, Guan Mo released the massive spiritual pressure of a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, intending to force Feng Sihai to submit obediently.

Feng Sihai was so intimidated by this Foundation Establishment spiritual pressure that his face turned pale, and he nearly lost his footing, while his back was already soaked with cold sweat.

Yet he still gritted his teeth and did not yield to the other party; just as he was hesitating whether to hand it over.

Lu Wanjun beside him waved her hand, blocking that spiritual pressure for him, and anger appeared on her pretty face: "Fellow Daoist of Spirit Sword Mountain, transactions of goods within Yunze Xiancheng have always been free; forced buying and selling are not permitted!"

"A mere messenger officer of the Xiancheng, why do you meddle so broadly? Could it be that you intend to affect the cooperation between our sect and the Xiancheng?" Guan Mo, seeing that Lu Wanjun was only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, did not give her a good look even though she was from Yunze Xiancheng.

"Furthermore, it is not that our State of Jin insisted on coming to Yunze Xiancheng; it was your True Person of Canghai who issued a call for aid, and only then did we come to provide support."

"You must consider the serious implications clearly; is it worth sticking your neck out for a mere Qi Condensation family!"

"Besides, that item was reserved in advance by a disciple under our sect; it was merely that he lacked enough spirit stones on him."

"You... you!" Lu Wanjun was rendered speechless by his words, and since her cultivation was a full major realm lower than the opponent's, her pretty face instantly flushed red then turned pale.

When Lu Liang was still alive, how had she ever suffered such humiliation? She had also remembered Lu Liang's words and would usually look after the Feng family from time to time.

She had not expected that today's matter would involve a sect from another country, making it difficult to handle.

Seeing this, Guan Mo became even more presumptuous and said coldly to Feng Sihai: "Junior, as long as you hand over the item, this seat will let bygones be bygones and treat this as if it never happened."

He clearly did not even intend to give the Feng family any spirit stones.

Feng Sihai sighed; as the head of the household, he understood the grave implications and had already prepared to sacrifice wealth to avert disaster, abandoning that item.

He then turned and, along with Lu Wanjun, expressed his gratitude: "Elder Lu, you have already cared for us exceedingly well in ordinary times; I cannot make things difficult for you."

Lu Wanjun's expression was complex, and she too sighed.

Thus, Feng Sihai drew a rust-spotted bronze mirror from his storage bag, preparing to hand it over.

In an instant.

Qin Ming swept his divine sense across that mirror and immediately revealed a startled expression.

'It truly is a fragment of a magical treasure!'

'Could this Feng Sihai have been born with a natural talent for picking up bargains and overlooked treasures?'

'First, a disciple under his clan retrieved Primordial Breath Soil from a wild cave dwelling.'

'Now he intercepts a fragment of a magical treasure; this is extraordinary!'

At this moment.

The Phantasmal Sky Rat King in his beast bag also stirred, transmitting a voice to Qin Ming in astonishment: 'This aura...'

'Master, this is extraordinary, truly extraordinary! I seem to smell the scent of some formidable treasure!'

(End of Chapter)