Chapter 102 - 101: Women’s World, Spirit Crystal

Hearing Liu Sisi’s confession, Li Jing’s face darkened instantly.

People say that men are liars, acting like curmudgeons.

But are women any better?

They had promised not to mess around, and yet it was starting all over again.

At the counter, Xu Jiayi met Liu Sisi’s words with a chuckle.

As the daughter of a merchant, her discernment was particularly sharp.

It wouldn’t be swindled by any random comments.

From the moment Liu Sisi entered, she noticed these two weren’t a couple.

True.

Liu Sisi behaved like a small bird depending on Li Jing, giving him the sense of being her dependence, but it hasn’t achieved the state of intimate lovers.

Moreover, looking at their expression, it wasn’t anything like it.

Not to mention Li Jing’s exasperated demeanor, Liu Sisi’s expression seemed as if she genuinely thought there was something going on, obviously wanting others to misunderstand something.

If forced to say, the pair could possibly have a foundation to be a couple.

Compared to Liu Sisi, Ji Qing seemed more like a girlfriend.

Her sticking to Li Jing was genuinely sticky, intimate with him.

It gave people the impression that when Li Jing lifted his hand, Ji Qing would proactively rest her head for him to pat.

This sort of intimate relationship that’s akin to a domestic pet needed a few years of "long-distance running" with Li Jing’s indulgence; it’s not necessarily nurtured.

Because of this, Xu Jiayi mistook them earlier.

"Hello, I am Xu Jiayi."

Xu Jiayi spoke up, extending a friendly hand.

"Miss Liu, you’re probably a few years older than me. Should I call you Sister Sisi?"

Liu Sisi was also a shrewd businesswoman.

Seeing Xu Jiayi’s chuckle just now, she knew that the latter wasn’t fooled, rather, she’d made a laughingstock of herself.

Annoyed, Liu Sisi nodded and extended a hand.

"Hello."

Li Jing watched the two women greet each other with a grin, and then gave Liu Sisi a look.

He didn’t understand the "psychological game" the two women experienced.

However, he could tell Liu Sisi’s mischievous behavior didn’t work on Xu Jiayi, and she ended up being at a disadvantage.

He did not insist on explaining at the moment.

If no misunderstanding occurred, there’s no need to explain.

As Liu Sisi was at a disadvantage, if he exposed her, he feared he would suffer the consequences afterwards.

Seeing that the two women now "know each other" after a "face-off", Li Jing wanted to explain why he brought Liu Sisi over.

Before he had a chance to speak, Xu Jiayi gave him a subtle look and teased with a smile.

"Sister Sisi, if you want to tie this guy by your side, you have to hurry up. Not long ago he brought a girl over, they seemed very close."

"..."

Li Jing.

Xu Jiayi’s sudden backstab caught him off guard.

What shocked him was that this girl also had a wicked side.

Seeing Xu Jiayi’s words, Liu Sisi was surprised at first and then raised her eyebrows with an expression of discovering a new world.

The teasing part in Xu Jiayi’s speech, naturally couldn’t shake her.

But him previously taking a girl to the Spirit Item Trading Market and appearing quite intimate, that intrigued her.

She doesn’t dare to say about others.

But she knew about Li Jing.

This introvert, had almost no contact with other women besides her.

Shopping with his sister, what a rare occurrence!

Could it be Li Jing has come to senses?

Looking at Xu Jiayi with excitement, Liu Sisi asked.

"What does the girl look like? Is she pretty?"

"I can’t describe it precisely, it has been a while."

Xu Jiayi chuckled, saying.

"If I had to describe, perhaps blooming like a flower?"

"Hiss!"

Liu Sisi sucked in a breath, and not knowing what image her mind formed, she nudged Li Jing with her elbow.

"Li Jing, you’re quite something! This big of a matter and you hid it from me?"

"..."

Li Jing silent, muttered.

"She’s just a casual friend, Sister Sisi, don’t misunderstand."

"Just a friend?"

Liu Sisi frowned and immediately lost interest.

Considering Li Jing’s personality, if he says it’s only friendship, then there definitely wouldn’t be any complications.

Seeing a certain someone’s weary face, Liu Sisi didn’t mess around anymore, and smiled at Xu Jiayi instead.

"Sister Jiayi, I came here with Li Jing this time to buy some spirit items necessary for the Second Stage of Cultivation, and buy some objects with gathering spirit effects. We both aren’t very familiar with the spirit material market, do you have any good recommendations?"

Xu Jiayi originally wanted to add insult to injury to Li Jing, a small reprisal for his various scene-wrecking antics.

After hearing Liu Sisi’s words, Xu Jiayi instantly became energetic.

"Sister Sisi, what you’re talking about, we sell in our upstairs shop. If you don’t mind, I can take you up to see later?"

"Ah? You have everything I want?"

Liu Sisi was taken aback, then also became energetic.

"That’s great! Why let the water of one’s own mill flow to others? Since we know each other and can be considered friends, I’ll definitely buy from you."

"Alright."

Xu Jiayi replied, smiling brilliantly.

"Sister Sisi, since you consider me a friend, I should make a gesture. So, whatever you set your eyes on later, I’ll give you the highest discount as on Double Eleven."

"Oh my, how can I accept this?"

Liu Sisi laughed, full of life.

"It’s rare that Jiayi you’re so sincere, I’ll buy more when I’m upstairs and add to your shop’s sales."

"Settled!"

Xu Jiayi nodded, accepting readily.

"Once Li Jing’s Soul Devouring Crystal’s appraisal report is ready, we’ll go upstairs."

Li Jing stood aside watching the two women naturally grow close within minutes and was honestly a little dazed.

He truly couldn’t understand women’s world.

But even though he didn’t understand, he realized to some degree that he probably became a "stepping stone" for the two to get along seamlessly.

...

Once they got to know each other, Liu Sisi and Xu Jiayi quickly hit it off.

Li Jing stood at the counter, looking very redundant.

His only use might be to act as a human post.

To give Liu Sisi an arm to cling onto, so she could hang on to him without standing so tiredly.

The key issue was Li Jing couldn’t get a word in on the topics between the two women.

Within a few minutes, the two women had gone from shopping upstairs to chatting about which cosmetics were recently on a big discount.

How could a rough guy like him possibly get a word in such a topic?

Luckily, the Soul Devouring Crystal’s appraisal didn’t take much time.

Just about ten minutes, the sales clerk who took the Soul Devouring Crystal for appraisal came out from the shop’s side door, plausibly handed over a report along with placing the Soul Devouring Crystal on the counter.

"Sir, this is your appraisal report."

"Thank you."

Li Jing took the appraisal report and gave it a glance, ignoring all values and directly checked the estimated price.

5.56 million.

The price was slightly more than he anticipated.

Looking at Xu Jiayi, who was in the middle of an enthusiastic conversation with Liu Sisi, Li Jing handed over the appraisal report.

"Jiayi, would you help me purchase this Soul Devouring Crystal?"

If it was other Artefact Refining materials, Li Jing would’ve sold them to Xiang Minghui.

After all, Xiang Minghui had already promised that he would buy any materials he wanted to sell for a price 10% higher than the shop’s acquisition price.

However, Xiang Minghui had no use for the Soul Devouring Crystal.

Every profession has its own specialization.

While they are all Artefact Refiners, each refiner has their own specialty items that they excel in making.

Only experienced veteran high-level Artefact Refiners dare claim they can make everything efficiently.

Soul Devouring Crystal is a material used to create sound attack Precious Items, which are usually musical instruments.

Xiang Minghui was on the path of refining flying swords. Given that he was currently just a student who had yet to fully master the creation of flying swords, the realm of musical instruments would not come into play for him in the foreseeable future.

Cutting off her conversation with Liu Sisi reluctantly, Xu Jiayi took the appraisal report from Li Jing’s hand upon hearing his request to purchase the Soul Devouring Crystal.

"The estimated value is 5.56 million, I can only give you 5.5 million at most, otherwise this deal will be unprofitable."

"Okay."

Li Jing nodded as he responded.

"Your business is so large, you must have some Spirit Crystal reserves. After deducting an appraisal fee of 100,000, can you help me exchange the rest into Spirit Crystals?"

"No problem."

Xu Jiayi gave a nod to this proposal and turned her head to motion to a clerk nearby.

Spotting her gesture, the clerk promptly took out a pile of transparent crystals from the storage space and placed them on the counter before saying.

"These are 540 Spirit Crystals, sir. Please take care of them."

"Okay."

Li Jing nodded and picked up a Spirit Crystal to examine it.

Spirit Crystals are a special byproduct of the daily operations of the Spiritual Energy Station.

During the conversion process of naturally occurring Heavenly and Earthly Spiritual Qi at the Spiritual Energy Station, some Qi may fail to convert effectively due to its high concentration. This results in Spirit Crystals after they have been crystallized.

Because Spirit Crystals are the crystallized byproduct of high concentration Spiritual Qi, they have a wide range of uses.

In day-to-day Cultivation, Spirit Crystals can be used as a source of high concentration Spiritual Qi. This is convenient for cultivators above the Four Realm to practice Qi refining.

Cultivators above the Four Realm have a very high refining efficiency.

The naturally existing Heavenly and Earthly Spiritual Qi cannot meet their daily refining needs. To gather enough Spiritual Qi using objects with gathering spirit effects is very challenging.

The gathering spirit only conglomerates surrounding Heavenly and Earth Qi; the Qi quantity is finite.

Once it’s used up, it’s gone. One would have to wait for a while for the region’s Heavenly and Earthly Spiritual Qi to slowly replenish over time.

Waiting for the Heavenly and Earthly Spiritual Qi to replenish is too slow for cultivators above the Four Realm.

To maximize their refining efficiency, they have to rely on extracting and absorbing the high concentration Spiritual Qi compressed inside Spirit Crystals.

Besides meeting the needs of the cultivation of those above the Four Realm, Spirit Crystals are also indispensable consumables for high-level Artefact Refining, pill refining, Talisman Method crafting, and so on.

Spirit Crystals, with their high concentration Spiritual Qi, can effectively improve the efficiency of refining. To a certain extent, they can be used as additives to enhance the quality of the final product.

Its varied applications and high consumption make Spirit Crystals a valuable asset to high-level cultivators.

Spirit Crystals are often used to make up the difference when bartering.

To a certain extent, Spirit Crystals have become a default currency amongst high-level cultivators.

However, few high-level cultivators would accept large amounts of Spirit Crystals all at once, unless they have a particular use for them.

As long as the quantity of Spirit Crystals is sufficient for daily consumption, it’s enough.

Considering bartering, they certainly would prefer items that they need.

Moreover, the price of Spirit Crystals is completely fixed and does not fluctuate.

11,000 per crystal, universally recognized, no deception.

An excess of Spirit Crystals would become large denominations of currency in the hands of high-level cultivators that couldn’t be spent, affecting their capital turnover.

For regular life use, those low-level Cultivators wouldn’t want this.

Having it in hand with no use only to look at, it wouldn’t be as practical as money.

As for Li Jing himself, he did not have any use for Spirit Crystals either.

Deprived of cultivation methods, he could not refine his qi like regular people, and even more so could not master any advanced skills such as artifact refinement, pill making or talismanic construction.

The spirit crystal in his hand was as useless as a worthless stone.

But considering he was not short on money at the moment, he thought it would be a good idea to save some just in case.

After all, when the need arises to barter with people, they will inevitably come in handy.

After examining the spirit crystal in his hand for a moment, Li Jing collected all 540 spirit crystals from the counter into his storage space, leaned in, and lowered his voice to Xu Jiayi.

"I have a piece of private news for you. After a while, a large number of soul-devouring crystals will flood the market, which will likely cause an impact on their price. If your family has extra stock of soul-devouring crystals, it’s best to dispose of them within a week."

Hearing such news, Xu Jiayi frowned.

"Is this news reliable?"

The secret realm!

Li Jing conveyed it with his lip movements.

Upon seeing his lip movements, Xu Jiayi’s eyes lit up.

The appearance of a secret realm on the eastern coast of North City has already been publicly revealed.

With news of the Disaster Management Bureau’s failed exploration of the secret realm spreading, not only Jianghai City, but almost the entire eyes of Hua Country were focused on this small secret realm.

The most anxious were merchants like Xu Jiayi.

Things produced from the secret realm tend to be in high volume.

For these business people, the yield from a secret realm is an unmissable business opportunity.

At the same time, it is also a risk that must be faced.

When a certain type of commodity is overproduced, the market suffers a severe impact.

If not handled well, it could lead to substantial losses.

Li Jing’s news was of great use to Xu Jiayi.

The Soul Devouring Crystal could not remain in her possession.

The items related to the parasite insect, the sole producer of soul-devouring crystals, needed to be disposed of as soon as possible.

Without uttering a sound, Xu Jiayi made a zipping motion against her lips to signal that she would keep tight-lipped.

Xu Jiayi also seemed to understand.

Such important news was certainly not something that Li Jing was dishing out lightly.

Otherwise, she would definitely have to retaliate.

At the same time she realized how sensitive this information was, casually revealing it could lead to big trouble.

Liu Sisi, standing beside them, was deeply confused by their whispering and silent interaction, but she didn’t pay much attention to it.

Seeing that the two of them had finished their conversation, Liu Sisi could not help but speak up.

"Jiayi, if you have nothing else to do, shall we go upstairs now?"

"Sure, let’s head upstairs."

Xu Jiayi smiled and walked out from behind the counter.

...

Soon, the three of them took the elevator to the top floor of the Spirit Item Trading Market.

After exiting the elevator, Xu Jiayi led the two to a shop with a sign that read "Xu’s Rare Items".

"This is our family’s specialty store for strange items. You should be able to find the spirit-gathering items you want here, Sisi."

Xu Jiayi stopped and made a "please" gesture, saying,

"Let’s go in and take a look first. If you see something you like, just let me know."

What could be called a strange item is usually something with a limited function but unique characteristics.

Compared to the highly versatile and multifunctional spiritual objects and materials, strange items are much cheaper.

Gathering spirits is one of the common functions of strange items.

Apart from that, strange items often have unique effects like attracting good luck, avoiding bad luck or calming one’s mind.

Even from the doorway, Liu Sisi could already see the shop filled with all sorts of interesting items that ignited her shopping spirit.

Hearing Xu Jiayi’s words, Liu Sisi immediately responded with a "yes" and rushed into the shop dragging a certain someone along.

Such was her strength that it surprised Li Jing.

When a woman enters a shopping mall, an explosion of enthusiasm is always the norm...