73: Chapter 73 Even between brothers, accounts should be settled clearly.

The farmers of Liushu Ao could not recognize a single character.

The people of Li Family Hollow had some knowledge, but Xia Shaoxin did not live in Li Family Hollow; when he occasionally entered the city and listened to people chatting, they only spoke of local matters.

After leaving Li Family Hollow and walking in the Jianghu, there were very few people who talked about such distant matters.

He only knew he was a person of the Yue Kingdom, and after traveling for over half a year, he had not yet crossed the borders of the Yue Kingdom.

After arriving at the Chiyan Sect, he only cared about whether he could practice Qi Gathering, so who would bother attending geography classes?

"Simply put, the world we know is divided into the Highlands and the Lowlands," Senior Brother Shao Junwei said. "There are a dozen or so kingdoms in the Lowlands, and as for the Highlands, I haven't been there, but I hear it's much the same."

Xia Shaoxin understood this point; the place was too vast, and everyone preferred to hunker down in places with Spiritual Veins and did not like traveling so far away.

"No, between the Lowlands and the Highlands lies a continuous range of mountains even more poisonous than toxic miasma. Mortals can pass through, but Disciples who cultivate the Dao of Purity cannot," Senior Brother Liang Ruoran corrected his thinking.

Oh!

Xia Shaoxin was greatly surprised, but he understood instantly.

Sect Disciples didn't even want Dawu Mountain; naturally, they would never set foot in a place even more poisonous than toxic miasma.

"The connection between the Highlands and the Lowlands relies on Mortal merchants transporting goods between the two sides."

This was also easy to understand, just like the Bug Catchers; a small number of Mortals could endure toxic miasma, but Cultivators could not touch it at all.

"In this era, let alone Nascent Soul, there isn't even a Golden Core in the entire Lowlands. If the Tang Kingdom produces a few Foundation Establishment Cultivators, they would be above everyone else," Senior Brother Shao Junwei said.

Senior Brother Liang Ruoran added, "I heard there are no Nascent Soul Cultivators in the Highlands either."

"Why? Are there too few Geniuses in recent years?" Xia Shaoxin asked curiously.

"No, it's that the Spiritual Veins of our entire world have weakened and cannot provide enough Spiritual Qi, so it's impossible to produce great Cultivators," Senior Brother Liang Ruoran said.

Senior Brother Shao Junwei laughed, "Isn't that pretty good? If Geniuses were everywhere, the likes of us wouldn't even be qualified to be Inner Sect Disciples."

Senior Brother Liang Ruoran said bitterly, "What's good about that? If it were an era of abundant Spiritual Qi, I would be confident in achieving a Foundation Establishment Breakthrough and living another hundred years—wouldn't that be wonderful!"

Senior Brother Shao Junwei waved his sleeve, "Forget it, let's not talk about such boring topics."

The two warned Xia Shaoxin to keep a low profile these days to avoid trouble, and they would inquire about the situation for him.

Xia Shaoxin had long since harbored the intention to leave.

However, it wouldn't be bad if he could stay a little longer.

"Senior Brother Shao, I see you often go to Baotong Tower to sell the Magical Artifacts you make. If you have any good items, you can give them to me."

After saying this, he took out twenty Spirit Stones.

"See if you can make up this amount."

The two were stunned, dumbfounded.

"Where did you get so many Spirit Stones?"

Xia Shaoxin smiled slightly, "Of course, I exchanged them for qi gathering pills I refined."

Senior Brother Liang Ruoran shook his shoulders vigorously, "You are a madman! Alchemy takes a heavy toll on the body; do you want money more than your life? You are damaging your health to earn Spirit Stones, and even eating Medicinal Pills yourself won't be enough to recover."

Senior Brother Shao Junwei laughed, "This is also his fortune; he lost so much cultivation, but it was replenished by Elder Qian, and he even achieved a Breakthrough. But I advise you not to do this again in the future."

Xia Shaoxin was afraid they would probe deeper.

Fortunately, he traded with different people who were not familiar with each other; otherwise, his secret would really be exposed.

Senior Brother Shao Junwei immediately took out a small pouch about the size of half a palm.

"This is a Python Gold-Thread Pouch, equivalent to twenty large sacks."

Xia Shaoxin picked it up and weighed it, liking it very much.

A Storage Pouch was the most favorite portable item for Cultivators; no matter what it was, once put inside, it became as light as nothing, and one could just pick it up and leave.

"How much is this worth?" Senior Brother Liang Ruoran asked with a smile.

"Eight...een Spirit Stones." Senior Brother Shao Junwei felt a bit embarrassed.

"Profiteer!" Senior Brother Liang Ruoran muttered.

Senior Brother Shao Junwei's face dropped instantly, "What do you know? My Materials are very expensive. This piece of python skin comes from the North Mountain and is from a Yao Beast; this small piece alone cost me two Spirit Stones!"

He took the Storage Pouch back from Xia Shaoxin's hand and pointed his finger at the gold thread on it, saying, "The gold thread was made by Daoist Dong of the Lexi Temple; it is extremely tough, and even a Foundation Establishment Cultivator cannot destroy it."

Senior Brother Liang Ruoran chuckled, "I was just joking; you took it seriously. Don't I know whether the item is good or not?"

Xia Shaoxin took the Python Gold-Thread Pouch.

"Fine, I'll take this."

Senior Brother Shao Junwei then took out a one-foot-long white hemp rope with a fingernail-sized hook at the end. He waved it in the wind, and it instantly turned into a large bundle of rope and hooks, with hooks larger than a palm.

Senior Brother Liang Ruoran praised, "This grappling hook is good. Climbing walls and trees, sneaking into deep mansions to take people's gold and silver—it's as easy as reaching into one's own pocket."

Senior Brother Shao Junwei rolled his eyes, "What do you know? This thing isn't needed usually, but when you want to use it, you can't find it anywhere."

Xia Shaoxin also packed it away, throwing it into the Storage Pouch; it didn't take up any space.

"Is this enough for twenty Spirit Stones?" Senior Brother Liang Ruoran asked with malicious intent.

Senior Brother Shao Junwei scratched his head, took out a small iron bean, and said very reluctantly, "This is a defensive Magical Artifact I kept for myself."

He solemnly placed it into Xia Shaoxin's hand.

"After using it, it will turn into a Thunder Fire Bomb; dealing with an opponent in the Lower Stage of Qi Refining is a breeze."

Xia Shaoxin gripped the iron bean with pleasant surprise; it really was the size of a bean, just much heavier.

He hadn't paid much attention to Magical Artifacts before because his focus was on Pill Formulas and Medicinal Pills.

Magical Artifacts were very expensive; there were no cheap ones.

In the future, when going out into the Jianghu, how could he be without some hard-hitting items?

"Can it be reused? Is it gone after one use?"

Senior Brother Shao Junwei snorted, "I am only at the Qi Gathering stage; the items I make are all small Magical Artifacts. Being able to use it once is already quite good."

Senior Brother Liang Ruoran laughed, "Magical Artifacts that can be used repeatedly can be called Magic Treasures; they contain more Spiritual Qi and are not something we can make."

Xia Shaoxin asked a tricky question, "The effects of Magical Artifacts are similar to Spirit Talismans; which one is better to use?"

"Each has its own merits; the two are not exactly the same," Senior Brother Shao Junwei said very seriously.

"Magical Artifacts are greatly influenced by Materials, while Spirit Talismans have a wider range of use. But if the effect of a Spirit Talisman is the same as that of a Magical Artifact, the Magical Artifact will be more powerful."

Xia Shaoxin understood; Spirit Talismans were simplified versions of Magical Artifacts.

After delivering a few Magical Artifacts, Senior Brother Shao Junwei clapped his hands lightly and revealed a happy smile, "Junior Brother Xia, the Spirit Stones you spent today were worth it; I practically gave them away at half price."

"Thank you, Senior Brother Shao."

Senior Brother Liang Ruoran, watching from the side, felt envious and swallowed hard, "Can I not earn any Spirit Stones from Junior Brother Xia?"

Senior Brother Shao Junwei laughed, "You two are in the same trade; you both refine Medicinal Pills to sell. What could you possibly sell to him?"

Xia Shaoxin's heart stirred, and he said, "Senior Brother Liang can sell Pill Formulas to me."

"I have indeed learned some useless Pill Formulas; do you want to learn them all?" Senior Brother Liang Ruoran asked seriously.

"I do."

"Haha, that's very easy to arrange."

Senior Brother Shao Junwei asked, "Why do you want to learn so many useless Pill Formulas?"

"Purely out of curiosity."

"Hehe."

Senior Brother Liang Ruoran sighed deeply, "When I was young, I was just like him—not caring about my body, desperately refining Medicinal Pills to make money, knowing nothing. The Senior Brother at the Danfang Pavilion was a wicked fellow and didn't offer any guidance."

The two turned their heads to look at Xia Shaoxin.

Isn't this exactly like Xia Shaoxin right now?

Xia Shaoxin smiled inwardly, 'I am not the same.'