Chapter 47: Buying Seeds

"Could you show me a few seeds from each?" Su Jin asked.

"Certainly." The female cultivator directly produced a checkered tray. It was a large, shallow tray covered in scrolling floral patterns, but the bottom was specially made with a cluster of circular small compartments. Each small compartment held seven to ten tiny seeds.

Su Jin looked at them one by one; whenever she encountered a small seed that interested her, she would specifically pinch one out to examine it closely.

The female cultivator watched the little one select with such seriousness, finding it amusing.

To be honest, she didn't think pinching a few times would be enough to pick out good seeds.

"Do you think you are a Spirit Plant Master?"

"What kind of seed is this? I feel it suits me better." Su Jin pinched a small seed, her face beaming with joy.

"These are seeds of the Yellow-Skinned Gourd. Are you sure you want them?" the female cultivator asked hurriedly.

"Yes, I am very sure," Su Jin said. "I want this gourd vine."

"Then wait a moment for me; I'll go get those seeds for you." The female cultivator soon returned carrying a large pottery jar. "These are all Yellow-Skinned Gourd seeds. Do you want to pick them yourself, or should I just hand you two hundred directly?"

"I want a thousand. I'll pick them myself."

"Very well, then come over and pick them yourself."

The female cultivator placed the pottery jar before Su Jin and even moved a small stool for her to sit on while picking.

Su Jin sat on the small stool with great delight, intending to show off her skills.

"Oh, by the way, Shopkeeper, I also want three First-Grade Golden-Thread Blueberries. Do you have them?"

"We also have Second-Grade ones. However, three First-Grade Golden-Thread Blueberries cost forty-five Spirit Stones; they are not cheap," the female shopkeeper said.

"I'll take them," Su Jin declared boldly.

"Very well, then I'll go fetch them for you." The female cultivator turned and went deeper into the shop.

Su Jin's seed picking was not slow.

With a single grab of her small hand, whenever she felt a suitable seed, those selected seeds would automatically jump into a wooden box prepared by the female shopkeeper for her.

By the time the female shopkeeper returned, Su Jin had already picked half of them.

The female shopkeeper looked at her in surprise.

She thought to herself, could it be that picking seeds for a young girl is this fast?

Just grabbing a handful counts as finishing the selection?

Seeing her return, Su Jin voluntarily slowed her pace.

However, she probably wouldn't need much more time to finish picking all the seeds.

Towards the end, Su Jin actually picked up a shriveled old gourd seed. This shriveled seed looked much like the surrounding Yellow-Skinned Gourd seeds, but it was slightly blacker. Moreover, it immediately appeared to possess an extraordinary sense of age.

Su Jin thought for a moment, and finally picked it into the box as well.

"Shopkeeper, I'm done picking."

The female shopkeeper looked at the seeds inside the wooden box; the quantity should be roughly a thousand.

"Very well, then take them. By the way, here are your Golden-Thread Blueberries." The female shopkeeper brought a second wooden box to Su Jin.

Su Jin opened the box to look. Inside were only three blueberry fruits the size of "her" fist; they were so small.

Just this small a fruit, and one costs fifteen Spirit Stones?

It's simply outrageous profiteering!!

"Shopkeeper, do you have Golden-Thread Blueberry seeds? I only need three." Su Jin felt she might as well grow some herself.

Hearing this, the female cultivator laughed heartily; the sound was crisp and pleasant, yet carried a slight mockery.

Su Jin couldn't help but frown. What's wrong? If others grow Golden-Thread Blueberries it's fine, but if I grow them I must be mocked?

"Little honored guest, you go to school every day now; where would you find the time to grow Golden-Thread Blueberries?"

The female cultivator noticed Su Jin's displeasure and hurriedly soothed her.

"Golden-Thread Blueberries bear fruit once every three years and require a dedicated Spirit Plant Master to nurture them to survive. You aren't a Spirit Plant Master yet, are you?"

This was a veiled attempt to dissuade her.

Su Jin heard this and remained silent.

"Of course, the most important thing is that one Golden-Thread Blueberry seed costs one hundred and fifty Spirit Stones.

Do you truly wish to purchase three?"

Su Jin immediately drew in a sharp breath of cold air.

Robbery.

"With seeds this expensive, who would be willing to buy them?" Su Jin couldn't help but ask.

"Of course, it is those honored Spirit Plant Masters," the female cultivator said. "They have so many Spirit Stones; what's wrong with buying a few seeds casually?"

Su Jin was stunned.

Do Spirit Plant Masters really have that many Spirit Stones?

"But your First-Grade Golden-Thread Blueberry Spirit Fruit is only fifteen Spirit Stones per fruit. Why are the seeds so expensive? Don't these Golden-Thread Blueberries contain seeds?" Su Jin asked, confused.

"They do have seeds. But they are false seeds. They are the kind that look exactly like real seeds, but no matter how you plant them, they will never sprout," the female cultivator said.

"Seeds can be real or false?" Su Jin looked at her in shock.

The seeds issued by the Clan School and the ones Mother brought back all sprouted when planted in the ground, didn't they?

"Of course they can," the female cultivator stated firmly.

Then she continued: "In the beginning, the seeds of wild Spirit Plants were all real, but even with real seeds, the vast majority of Spirit Plant seeds would not sprout when planted.

Later, to cultivate better Spirit Plants and allow more cultivators to eat Spirit Fruits, Spirit Plant Masters bred these varieties through multi-generational selective breeding, creating Spirit Fruits that could only produce false seeds or no seeds at all.

Through the selection and breeding by Spirit Plant Masters, the varieties of Spirit Plants became numerous, and the yield of Spirit Fruits multiplied several times.

However, the seed issue has always constrained the development of Spirit Plants.

Then, Spirit Plant Masters created the Secret Art of Seed Breeding."

To this day, for spiritual plants to bear true seeds, one can only rely on Spiritual Plant Masters employing seed-breeding secret arts.

So now, seeds are far more expensive than spiritual fruits."

"But the seeds of the yellow-skinned gourds you sold me were one Spirit Stone for two hundred grains, weren't they? Do those yellow-skinned gourd seeds not sprout either? But if they cannot sprout, what am I practicing the Entanglement Art for?"

"The ones I sold you are all spiritual seeds specially cultivated for practicing various Wood-element spells. These spiritual seeds have undergone special treatment; they can take root and sprout, and they can also bloom, but they cannot bear fruit. Even if they do bear fruit, they have no seeds."

"So that means, once I have exhausted this thousand grains of seeds, if I still wish to practice the Entanglement Art, I will need to continue coming to your place to buy seeds, is that right?" Su Jin heard this and immediately understood.

Without seeds, the profit is so high.

This must be a trap deliberately set by Spiritual Plant Masters, all for the sake of earning more Spirit Stones.

"Exactly," the female shopkeeper said with a smile.

"Then I understand. I still won't buy the Golden Silk Blueberry seeds; they are too expensive. Here is the money for the gourd seeds and the Golden Silk Blueberry fruits." Su Jin handed forty-eight Spirit Stones to the female shopkeeper, then took the two boxes and took her leave.

Not long after she left, a middle-aged male cultivator walked into the shop with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Father, you have arrived? I have already swept the shop clean." The young female cultivator looked at the middle-aged man with a beaming smile.