Chapter 70: Spirit Stones

"The quality of our 'Inedia Pill' is quite good, so it costs twenty Low-grade Spirit Stones each!"

The young shop assistant looked at Zhang Nuo with a beaming smile, inwardly guessing just how many this kid would buy.

"Twenty Low-grade Spirit Stones!"

Zhang Nuo exclaimed in his heart, but he did not show it on his face; to outsiders, he still appeared as calm as ever, as if he were calculating how many to buy.

However, Zhang Nuo knew exactly how many Spirit Stones he had on him; even if he took out all his possessions, he could buy at most six or seven 'Inedia Pills'.

"Oh, by the way, do you have Spirit Beast Bags here?"

Zhang Nuo mumbled vaguely, then asked immediately.

"Yes! Of course we do. We have all these common items in our shop! Fifty Low-grade Spirit Stones each!"

The young shop assistant jumped in, thinking to himself that it seemed this person wanted to buy quite a lot, and he might make a big profit.

Hearing this number, Zhang Nuo's heart skipped a beat again. He had previously heard Gao Dakuan say that a Storage Bag could only hold inanimate objects, such as Magic Treasures; if one wanted to keep living things like spirit insects, one had to use a Spirit Beast Bag.

If he put the 'Mysterious Heaven Gold-Devouring Insect' into a Storage Bag and sealed it, the air would be cut off, and wouldn't the spirit insect be suffocated to death? Carrying the 'Mysterious Heaven Gold-Devouring Insect' in his bosom all day wasn't a solution either; what if the guy flew out one day and caused a huge disaster?

Although not many people in this world recognized this insect, it was better to be safe than sorry! To avoid unnecessary trouble, Zhang Nuo decided to buy a Spirit Beast Bag.

Seeing Zhang Nuo standing there thinking for a long time without saying a word, the young shop assistant grew a bit anxious.

"This senior, I wonder how many 'Inedia Pills' you intend to buy?"

"First, give me one Spirit Beast Bag, and then three 'Inedia Pills'!"

Upon hearing the number Zhang Nuo said, the young shop assistant nearly fainted. He had waited for so long, only for Zhang Nuo to buy such a small amount of goods. It was a waste of all the smiling he had done.

However, knowing that Zhang Nuo was a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator, the shop assistant dared not be too presumptuous. He immediately went inside the counter to retrieve the items. Zhang Nuo counted out the Spirit Stones and paid the assistant before leaving the shop.

"Tch! A poor wretch!"

Watching Zhang Nuo's retreating back, the shop assistant cursed with disdain.

Reaching out to touch his nearly empty Storage Bag, Zhang Nuo gave a helpless, bitter smile. When he lived in the sect, he had never felt the importance of Spirit Stones. Now that he was alone outside, he discovered that without Spirit Stones, everything was difficult to handle; he couldn't even afford the pills needed for cultivation.

Without the help of pills, the speed of cultivation would be very slow; this was something Zhang Nuo had concluded from his years of cultivation. Even someone with great natural talent, without the aid of good pills, would stagnate after reaching a certain level.

Instead of returning to his Cave Abode immediately, Zhang Nuo scouted around the city. Only then did he learn that this city was named Guyan City, and the deep mountain where he had opened his Cave Abode was named Panlong Mountain!

The reason it was called 'Panlong Mountain' was that the entire mountain range resembled a giant dragon, with its head and tail connected, and in the center of Panlong Mountain was this Guyan City!

Both Panlong Mountain and Guyan City were located within a country called Dazhou, which was much larger than the original Nanchao Kingdom and Dibei Kingdom. Having inquired about everything, Zhang Nuo then walked out of the city.

After traveling more than ten miles, he found a cool, shady tree and sat down. He now had to find a way to get some Spirit Stones; without Spirit Stones, he couldn't buy pills, and seclusion without pills was half the work for twice the result.

Sitting under the tree for a long time, Zhang Nuo was at his wit's end. He had no idea how to earn Spirit Stones. In the Cultivation World, there were many people proficient in various crafts, such as talisman masters who could refine various Talismans and then trade them for Spirit Stones, or artifact refiners who could make various Dharma Treasures to trade for Spirit Stones. But what about Zhang Nuo? Let alone refining talismans, he hadn't even touched a Talisman to this day.

He let out a long sigh. Only at this moment did he truly feel how insignificant he was in the Cultivation World. Back when he had the protection of the sect, he didn't have to worry about anything, but now that he had become a Loose Cultivator, he had to do everything himself.

Just at this moment, a streak of light flew from the direction of Guyan City. Zhang Nuo's Divine Sense stirred, and he couldn't help but look up, seeing someone riding a Magic Treasure flying toward him.

Guyan City was the only city in Panlong Mountain, and it was extremely common to see cultivators flying on Magic Treasures in the vicinity, so Zhang Nuo didn't take it to heart at all.

However, the person flying on the Magic Treasure in the sky landed right in front of Zhang Nuo.

"This fellow Daoist, could you please save this young woman's life!"

The speaker was a woman who looked to be in her twenties, dressed in a white palace gown. She was quite attractive, but for some reason, her face showed an expression of extreme terror, and her partially covered bosom was heaving incessantly.

Zhang Nuo stood up and carefully sized up the young woman. A sweep of his Divine Sense revealed that, like him, she only had the cultivation of the Foundation Establishment Early Stage.

"Why is this fellow Daoist so panicked?"

As soon as the young woman saw Zhang Nuo answer, she felt a surge of joy, though her face still appeared extremely terrified.

"I am being hunted by an enemy. If you, fellow Daoist, can join forces with me to kill the enemy, I am willing to reward you with ten thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones!"

As she spoke, the woman took a Storage Bag from her waist and opened the mouth slightly. Zhang Nuo probed it with his Divine Sense, and his eyes immediately lit up; the bag was filled to the brim with Spirit Stones, totaling as many as ten thousand.

Seeing that Zhang Nuo was tempted, a cold smile that was hard to detect appeared at the corner of the woman's mouth.

"If you, fellow Daoist, still feel it is not enough, after we kill the enemy, you can do whatever you want!"

As she spoke, a flush of red appeared on the young woman's terrified face, and she didn't dare to look Zhang Nuo in the eye. Hearing this, Zhang Nuo was stunned for a moment, and then thoughts began to spin rapidly in his mind.

A woman being hunted in broad daylight—was there no one in Guyan City to manage this? Moreover, this woman was offering such a large sum of Spirit Stones as a reward; the matter seemed somewhat suspicious.

Seeing that Zhang Nuo remained silent, the woman added:

"Fellow Daoist, rest assured, the person hunting me is also only at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage. With our combined strength, we can definitely kill them!"

Zhang Nuo raised his eyebrows slightly, still unable to determine the truth of the matter! After all, he had heard Gao Dakuan say that the traps and snares in the Cultivation World were impossible to guard against, and countless Loose Cultivators had perished because of them.

There were people who specialized in targeting Loose Cultivators without any background, and there were too many cases of killing for treasure!

As for the woman before him, could she be setting a trap for him to jump into?