Chapter 88: Trading in Progress

Yeah, using this incense alone seems like courting death.

Shuigu Tang imagined all the wild monsters within ten kilometers rushing at her, instantly lost interest, and directly handed the Soul-Attracting Incense to the Si Snake beside her.

After reading the introduction to the Soul-Attracting Incense, Si Snake said hesitantly, "Shuigu Tang is right; the guild's demand for this incense should be greater, but we can use it in a team, and multiple people sharing one incense can also save some money."

Just as he finished speaking, he realized something was off and quickly apologized to Chen Shicheng with a contrite face, "Sorry, Zishu, I didn't mean that."

"It's fine, I wasn't counting on making money with this either."

Chen Shicheng waved his hand, indicating that he should relax, then tapped the table to draw everyone's attention to himself, "I don't have many incenses here; if you're interested, you can provide the materials and I'll help you process and make them."

"Question: is it free?" Shuigu Tang raised her hand before he finished speaking and asked.

"Free."

Chen Shicheng fell silent.

Making incense differs from refining Elixirs; it lacks such cumbersome steps. Aside from the bizarre variety of required materials, the production process is very simple for him—just needing some time to grind everything into powder.

Compared with the modest income from selling these incenses, he prefers to maintain his high‑profile image, retain control of the trading gathering, not to mention he can keep a certain percentage of the finished products as payment.

Thus, "free" seems like a great hook; both the substance and the face value can be grasped tightly.

"These incenses function almost the same as Elixirs, and their production must be difficult, so don't trouble Zishu," Mao Tu said, seeing Chen Shicheng fall silent, and quickly tried to smooth things over.

"That's not really the case."

Chen Shicheng shook his head, took out paper and pen, wrote down all the materials needed for each incense, and pushed it to the center of the table, "These are the types of incenses and their required materials; if you can gather them, I can make them for you free of charge."

"Also, you can collect the materials at the bottom; I have a great use for them."

"What incense are these materials for? You didn't write it down." Shuigu Tang focused on the bottom, "Gloomy wood of a locust tree or aged yin‑attribute tree spirit material, Tongling Old Turtle's Turtle Shell, the higher the grade the better, okay?"

She pointed at the last material and asked, "What the heck is this spiritual wine? Don't tell me you have to drink wine before making incense?"

"Drink, you big‑head ghost."

Chen Shicheng glared at her irritably, "Why ask so many questions? Anyway I have a use for it; if you can collect it, I might give you a surprise."

After the Zhi Xiang Skill was completed, his understanding of the Yin‑walking Incense had already surpassed the original owner of that handwritten book,

Of course, there was no problem with the production process of the Yin‑walking Incense, but the materials used seemed rigid and inflexible to him.

The book repeatedly emphasized that making Yin‑walking Incense must use locust wood, the older the better, and the blending must also use those several special waters.

But with a brief calculation he discovered that, besides locust wood and the assorted waters, other yin‑attribute materials could also be used to make Yin‑walking Incense, and the effect would be even more pronounced.

Especially the spiritual wine that replaces those waters, its effect is almost the same as adding Tai Sui's Blood during Elixir production, greatly enhancing the Yin‑walking Incense's potency.

If he has sufficiently high‑grade materials and spiritual wine, he could even create a Yin‑walking Incense that allows free teleportation within the Great Yu Realm.

Thinking of this, Chen Shicheng quickly added, "Of course I'm not letting you search in vain; if you can find those final materials, I'll trade you Spiritual Medicine that boosts Attributes—higher quality yields more Spiritual Medicine, with no upper limit!"

"Sss!"

The words instantly provoked a chorus of inhalations.

Having the previous trading experience, the group wasn't surprised that Chen Shicheng could produce Spiritual Medicine that boosts Attributes, but the phrase "no upper limit" shocked everyone.

One must know that supplying such Spiritual Medicine within national organizations is very difficult; unlimited quantities are only conceivable for a few heavily cultivated talents, and others wouldn't even think of it.

Yet this Zishu, a lone wanderer, spoke more boldly than the national bodies, declaring "no upper limit," and his confidence in making such a promise shows he definitely has a massive stock, supplying everyone present is certainly not an issue.

Thinking of this, the crowd couldn't help but sigh: a big shot is a big shot; what others dream of is as commonplace here as a cabbage.

Seeing everyone's reaction, Chen Shicheng smiled faintly, completely unconcerned about losing money.

At level 6 he dared to confront players over ten levels higher, let alone now at level 13; he hasn't even met the first batch of players, so he doesn't know their exact strength or whether he could be outmatched.

But the second‑batch players before him are no longer an insurmountable peak, especially after obtaining the Golden Light Divine Spell.

The shock didn't last long; the group quickly calmed down and began formal trading.

The first to speak was Chen Long, seated to Chen Shicheng's left; he took a jade tablet from his storage and placed it on the table, saying regretfully, "I checked the inventory and couldn't find the skill Zishu needs, only a 'Draw Circle as Prison' skill that can mark a circle, preventing those inside from leaving. It can be used as a control skill or a defensive skill; anyone interested can take a look."

The skill Chen Long presented has major limitations: the confinement only covers a certain height above the ground; underground and sky can freely enter and exit, making it a completely useless skill.

After the group perused it, everyone shook their heads; no one wanted to trade for it.

"I knew it," Chen Long sneered, trying to take the jade tablet back.

"Wait, I'll exchange this skill," Chen Shicheng said suddenly.

To others, this skill only protects the head and not the rear, but for him it's different; the 'Ground-to-Steel' skill can fully compensate for the ground's inability to block entry and exit.

Moreover, he can use one stone to polish another; both skills are Earth Attribute and very similar in type. He wants to see if he can complete Ground-to-Steel, since he feels the fragmentary 'Thirty‑Six Heavenly Stems' is not simple and cannot merely harden the ground.

Chen Long, who had expected to return empty‑handed, brightened, and quickly placed the jade tablet in front of Chen Shicheng.

"Must I exchange it? Can I buy it instead? With in‑game currency," Chen Shicheng said, looking at the jade tablet with some difficulty.

The skill's value is neither high nor low, and precisely because of that, it puts him in a very awkward spot.

He has items of higher value, such as Spiritual Medicine that boosts Attributes or Tai Sui's Blood, and items of lower value, like various incenses or monster‑drop materials.

But Spiritual Medicine cannot be split, so it cannot be exchanged.

Taking out Tai Sui's Blood is equivalent to self‑destruction, so it cannot be exchanged.

Incense is scarce and he needs it, so it cannot be exchanged.

Low‑grade materials dropped by monsters can be skipped.

Thus only in‑game gold remains for exchange; fast leveling doesn't mean much, his short time in the game leaves his foundation lacking. "In‑game money? Of course, 150 gold ingots—no, 120 will do!" Chen Long said with some delight.

"120 gold ingots?" Chen Shicheng glanced secretly at Shuigu Tang, saw her nod slightly, and then generously took out gold to exchange for the skill.

After Chen Long finished the exchange, it was Yin Hu's turn next.

However, as a newcomer he has little stock, and in the past three days he rushed to finish that Task, fulfilling his agreement with Chen Shicheng, leaving no time to acquire other skills, so he had to skip with regret.

Seated after Yin Hu was Wei Yang; as a veteran of two years in the game, she still has some good items, and like Chen Long, she directly took out a jade tablet for everyone to peruse.

"My skill is a defensive skill called Wood Armor Technique; I intended to trade it with Zishu if Yin Hu failed the Task, but it's not my turn now."

The skill is solid; after use it generates a wooden armor on the body, with Defense Power comparable to heavy armor yet weighing almost as little as wood, not hindering agility while enhancing defense—ideal for melee cultivators.

However, as she said, Chen Shicheng, after acquiring the Golden Light Divine Spell, had no interest in this skill, and it was ultimately taken by Chen Long in exchange for a few Spiritual Medicines used to refine healing Elixirs.

Next, the remaining people all brought out the items they wanted to trade, but unfortunately, with Yinhu's jewels shown first, the defensive Skills and movement Skills that these people deliberately offered were all shattered, and Chen Shicheng didn't take any.

Only the newcomer Mao Tu, perhaps backed by someone or just extremely lucky, produced a Qi Refining movement Skill that made Chen Shicheng's eyes light up, prompting him to abandon Eight‑Step Chase Cicada and trade it for Spiritual Medicine.

【Plum Blossom Triple Technique: a small‑range rolling movement Skill, not good at long‑range assaults, can borrow force from thin air three times, causing brief suspension in the air.】

Sure enough, the more people, the greater the strength.

If Chen Shicheng had to find them himself, in the distant future he probably still couldn't gather these two Skills.

Although Plum Blossom Triple Technique cannot compare with Golden Light Divine Spell, it at least filled his last weak point, and since he also has the perfect‑level Skill Eight‑Step Chase Cicada, it can fully complement the Plum Blossom Triple Technique, which is not good at long‑range assaults.

The Trading reached this point and was basically concluded; next came the time for mutual exchange.

However, compared with the last time, the information exchanged this time was somewhat lacking in novelty, and Chen Shicheng lost interest after listening for a while.

The others seemed the same; in less than ten minutes, the chatter of exchange gradually ceased, and this Trading gathering also reached its end. After agreeing on the time and place for the next meeting, it was time to part.

"See you next time!"

"See you next time!"

(End of Chapter)