Chapter 391: Heavenly Snake Stone

One day passed.

When Yan Buji went downstairs to prepare to stroll the market again, She Junshu of the Snake People came over.

She looked at Yan Buji with a resentful expression and asked, "Daoist Yan, didn't we agree to have a small drink?"

Yan Buji staggered, looking apologetic, and said, "Sorry, I was a bit tired yesterday."

She Junshu looked at Yan Buji and smiled, "Then let's stroll around now."

"There's no problem with that."

Although it wasn't clear what matter the other party had in mind by bringing up yesterday's scene, Yan Buji indeed had some things he wanted to find out about.

"I've long heard that the Dragon People have avoided the world for many years; Daoist Yan, your arrival this time—are you planning to join the alliance?"

"That's right; the Dragon People have emerged, and within this Frigid Winter Ocean we still need to pay respects to a mountain lord." Yan Buji said.

She Junshu nodded: "The Snow People have a powerful expert holding the fort, unlike us cultivators who face myriad difficulties. Besides, doesn't the Dragon People have a fatal weakness?"

Hmm?

That was put rather bluntly.

You want to test the Dragon People's details?

Revealing a little wouldn't hurt.

Yan Buji looked around, smiled, squatted down, and picked up a blood-red stone: "Daoist, how much for this ore?"

"This ore is stained red with Great Peng's essence blood and contains plenty of Great Peng's essence qi; I'll charge you ten thousand spiritual stones."

"Too expensive."

Yan Buji shook his head, put the stone down, rose, and left.

"If you're not buying, why ask the price?"

"Isn't that She Junshu of the Snake People over there? And that strangely looking fellow is...."

"The Dragon Person who came yesterday?!"

The surrounding outsiders saw this scene and raised their eyebrows.

She Junshu also realized this, smiling and said, "Daoist, are you preparing to refine an Accumulation Device?"

"I'm lacking some materials, but they're too expensive, so there's nothing to be done." Yan Buji said with a smile.

She Junshu realized that the Dragon People might truly have lifted the Bloodline Forbidden Curse set by the sages; thus they would have no fatal flaw, could also dive underwater, and their bodies would be stronger than those of ordinary foreign tribes.

Apart from being unable to fly by nature, they have few rivals on land or sea.

However, this is merely judging by racial superiority and inferiority; the cultivation world itself still values personal strength above all.

Just as the Snow People, even with only three Nascent Soul cultivators and one Spirit Transformation expert, as long as a Unity with Dao Realm elder ancestor holds the fort, no one dares to look down on them, and they even need to seek protection.

She Junshu looked at Yan Buji, feeling increasingly incredulous.

How exactly did they lift the Bloodline Forbidden Curse?

Are the sages' methods really that easy to break?

"By the way, Daoist She," Yan Buji continued walking and asked, "Do the Snake People abundantly produce a fourfold transformation spiritual medicine called 'Python Sparrow'?"

"Indeed there is; Daoist Yan, are you looking to purchase a batch?"

"I have that idea, but I don't know how the Snake People allocate it."

She Junshu thought: "The annual yield of Python Sparrow is low, at most three hundred catties; after subtracting the tribe's own needs, only one hundred catties can be sold externally, but they've all been bought up by the Snow People, leaving no surplus."

"That's a bit regrettable."

She Junshu chuckled: "If Daoist Yan needs it, I still have a little here."

"If Daoist She doesn't mind, we can make a trade."

After some haggling, Yan Buji obtained a stalk of Python Sparrow.

This fourfold transformation spiritual medicine is not like ordinary spiritual material; rather, it is a substance with extremely heavy turbidity, resembling a sparrow perched on a snake's body, looking somewhat odd—if one isn't careful, it could be mistaken for a living creature.

But in fact, this fourfold transformation spiritual medicine is truly cultivated in the manner of a living being, so its turbidity is profound, making it utterly unsuitable for pure-nature cultivators.

Yan Buji is preparing to refine a very potent Nourishing Origin Pill and needs this material; after all, his mana cultivation has been stuck at the early Foundation Establishment stage for too long, and relying solely on stockpiling Seven-Leaf Dark Orchid to gather spiritual qi is still too slow.

If possible, he would naturally want more Python Sparrow, but his relationship with the Snake People isn't good enough for that, so he naturally couldn't obtain any.

She Junshu looked at Yan Buji, puzzled, and asked, "Daoist Yan, since you intend to join the alliance, what terms have the Snow People offered you?"

"Terms... we have to deliver resources each month and also help them cultivate some spiritual material. However, the harvest is split eighty-twenty, and the Snow People don't seem to be throwing their weight around." Yan Buji blurted out.

They probably are also curious about what price the Dragon People would pay to join the alliance; although it was just an offhand question, Yan Buji couldn't afford to appear unsociable.

This person does not worry about scarcity but about inequality; if he knew the Snow People weren't making them pay tribute, he'd probably still have no idea what he was thinking.

She Junshu nodded; these matters were indeed just her offhand questions, and she wouldn't dig into the details.

"So, what resources does the Dragon People side have that could be exchanged? Besides Python Sparrow, the Snake People also have many spiritual material and mineral trades." She Junshu stated the purpose of this trip.

Yan Buji thought: "The Dragon People's resources? For a while we've been in the Boundless Sea Trench, so we only have stockpiled monster beast materials from there, and really nothing else."

Oh, also right.

She Junshu realized: although she doesn't know where the Dragon People currently reside, they came from the Boundless Sea Trench, and it's said that place has nothing, dirt poor.

She Junshu wore a strange expression, adopting an indifferent attitude, and smiled: "What kind of material is that?"

"Some monster beast bones and hides, that sort of thing. However, there are also some ores excavated from within the Boundless Sea Trench."

Yan Buji took out the prepared display items; anyway, the Dragon People don't value these ore resources much, the Boundless Sea Trench has plenty of ore resources, but utilizing them is quite troublesome because few Dragon People know smithing techniques.

Moreover, these ores are quite niche; the ones Yan Buji can recognize are only a few types with a single use, unsuitable as material for refining an Accumulation Device; some ores are of no benefit to the Dragon People and even contain substances harmful to them.

However, Yan Buji thought that perhaps some outsiders in the alliance would recognize these ores and make use of them; if a price were truly agreed upon, he could arrange for people to go mine them upon returning.

Yan Buji quickly took out some ores and monster beast materials; She Junshu glanced at them a few times.

As for those monster beast materials, needless to say, although they're rare, the outside world does have substitutes.

The key is that bluish, pebble-like ore in Yan Buji's palm; She Junshu immediately sensed something abnormal!

"This is...."

"Oh? Fellow cultivator She, do you know what this ore is? Previously, we accidentally discovered a kind of ore while mining spiritual stone ore; it retains some spiritual energy, but we tried many methods and couldn't refine it."

"She Junshu was taken aback, then suddenly took out a book from the Storage Accumulation Device, flipped through it carefully for a long while, and exclaimed in realization: 'No wonder it looks so familiar—this isn't Heaven Snake Stone, is it?!'"

"Heaven Snake Stone?"

"Yan Buji looked completely clueless; he really hadn't heard of this kind of ore before."

"She Junshu happily said: 'How many Heaven Snake Stones do the Dragon People have?!'"

"I'm not sure about that, but I know there are still quite a few in that mine shaft; if we dig deeper, there might be...."

"I want them all!"

"Yan Buji smiled: 'Fellow cultivator She, there's no need to rush; where does this thing come from?'"