150: Chapter 150 Equivalent Exchange

In Private Room A-3, sandalwood incense curled in the air.

Grand Deacon Shang Buhuan set down the piece of refined red copper, his gaze lingering for a moment on Gu Shen's bronze half-mask before he withdrew it and skillfully took out a jade counting rod.

"Fellow Daoist Iron-Face, let's speak plainly. This piece of refined red copper contains not a shred of residual earth-fire poison, nor even a trace of impure Spiritual Qi. For an Artifact Refiner, such pure spiritual material can save months of arduous 'embryo cleansing' work."

Grand Deacon Shang Buhuan clicked the counting rod, the jade beads colliding with a crisp sound. "On the market, ordinary refined red copper goes for five Low-Grade Spirit Stones per catty. For this batch of yours, the Wanxiang Merchant Alliance is willing to offer ten Spirit Stones per catty. Forty-five catties, totaling four hundred and fifty Spirit Stones."

"As for the one hundred and sixty catties of hundred-refined fine iron, we will also count it at a premium, at two Spirit Stones per catty, totaling three hundred and twenty. The ten catties of common gold will be treated as a bonus. That brings the total to seven hundred and seventy Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

After stating the price, Grand Deacon Shang Buhuan picked up his teacup and waited quietly for Gu Shen's reaction.

Seven hundred and seventy Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

In the Great Yu Cultivation World, this was enough to empty the savings of a medium-sized Cultivator Family for several years, and was a massive sum that a low-level Loose Cultivator would never see in several lifetimes. But in Gu Shen's eyes, this was merely the amount of work produced by those three simple Puppets in the Wasteland over a period of time.

Deep within his brow, the AI Crystal operated silently.

One thread rapidly retrieved the memory of prices in Yunze Immortal City, while another thread established a trade risk control model with the Wanxiang Merchant Alliance.

Three breaths later.

"The price is fair." Gu Shen's voice was low, carrying a metallic texture. He waved his hand, and with a faint shimmer from his Storage Ring, heavy metal ingots piled up into a small hill on the floor of the private room.

A flash of joy crossed Grand Deacon Shang Buhuan's eyes. He swept his sleeve, collecting all the metal on the floor, and then pushed a heavy bag of Spirit Stones to the center of the table.

"You are straightforward, Fellow Daoist. Now that you have the capital, let's discuss the items you requested."

Grand Deacon Shang Buhuan produced a blank Jade Slip, held it to his brow to record for a moment, and then handed it to Gu Shen.

"First, a high-level underwater Formation map. This is the complete set of Formation Flags and Formation Plate for the Xuanming Heavy Water Array. Once deployed, this Formation can draw upon a hundred zhang of water pressure to form a wall of water. It can not only block Divine Sense probes from those below the Middle Stage of the Golden Core, but can also withstand heavy attacks. It is priced at four hundred Spirit Stones."

"Second, the skeleton of a peak second-tier Yao Beast. The Merchant Alliance's treasury happens to have a batch of remains dismantled from a 'Sea-Splitting Profound Whale'. Its texture is harder than fine steel and it naturally resists water-based techniques. Fifteen complete skeletons are priced at three hundred Spirit Stones."

"Third, intelligence regarding the plant Essence Spirits deep within the Yunmeng Great Swamp. This Jade Slip contains a distribution map of Yao Cultivator forces within a thirty-thousand-li radius of the swamp's periphery, and includes a complimentary copy of 'Strange Records of Swamp Flora'. It is priced at fifty Spirit Stones."

Grand Deacon Shang Buhuan's abacus clicked and clacked. "A total of seven hundred and fifty Spirit Stones. After selling your batch of goods, you will even be owed twenty Spirit Stones back."

Gu Shen took the Jade Slip and scanned it with his Divine Sense; the AI Crystal in his mind instantly recorded the Formation data and map information into his Sea of Consciousness.

"Agreed."

Gu Shen nodded and was about to put away the Formation Plate and Yao Beast bones on the table.

Grand Deacon Shang Buhuan suddenly raised his hand, pressing down on the Spirit Stone bag, the smile on his face becoming meaningful.

"Fellow Daoist Iron-Face, wait a moment."

Grand Deacon Shang Buhuan's gaze was profound. "You present yourself as a Body Cultivator, yet you purchase a large quantity of high-level Yao bones. If I am not mistaken, you must be proficient in some form of Puppet technique. While Dual Cultivation of body and technique certainly yields impressive combat power, the Qi on your person seems to still be stuck at the Great Perfection of the Qi Refining Stage."

He lowered his voice, his tone laced with temptation: "You are carrying a massive sum, do you not wish to advance further?"

Gu Shen paused slightly, looking at the other person from behind his bronze mask: "Does Head Deacon Shang have some advice?"

"Since my Wanxiang Merchant Alliance claims to encompass all things, we naturally possess the foundation to help people break through their realm."

Grand Deacon Shang Buhuan produced two palm-sized jade boxes from his robes and gently pushed them toward Gu Shen.

The first jade box was half-open, with a strange crystal inside that emitted a hazy, earthy-yellow halo; the second jade box contained an ancient-looking Cultivation Technique Jade Slip.

"This crystal is called 'Earth Yellow Marrow', a Low Grade exotic earthly item. Using this to achieve Foundation Establishment can forge a Thick Earth Dao Foundation, allowing your magic power to flow endlessly."

"This Jade Slip is an ancient Legacy pointing directly to the Golden Core Dao, the 'Thousand-Jun Sea-Suppressing Art'. This Cultivation Technique has no Sect Karma attached to it; it is clean and is most suitable for a reclusive Cultivator like yourself."

Grand Deacon Shang Buhuan's eyes burned. "Fellow Daoist, you only need to sign a confidentiality contract, and these two items will be priced at one thousand Spirit Stones. Since you do not have enough Spirit Stones on you, my Wanxiang Merchant Alliance can lend them to you first; in the future, you only need to repay us with that pure metal."

Temptation.

This was a supreme Opportunity sufficient to make any Loose Cultivator at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining turn green with envy and go mad in an instant.

Exotic items of heaven and earth and a Golden Core Cultivation Technique directly paved the way to Foundation Establishment, and they even offered a loan.

But Gu Shen sat in his chair, his eyes as cold and indifferent as ten-thousand-year-old ice.

The AI Crystal's logical deduction unfolded rapidly in his mind.

"Clean? A clean Legacy has never existed in the Cultivation World. As long as a Cultivation Technique is born from this world, it will carry the brand of this world, and the trajectory of one's cultivation will be easily captured by those with ulterior motives."

"Exotic items of heaven and earth are traps set by the Heavenly Dao. Swallowing a so-called earthly exotic item into one's Dantian to forge a Dao Foundation appears to be obtaining the power of heaven and earth, but in reality, it is handing over control of one's Divine Soul to this Heavenly Dao."

"When Wei Lingfeng self-destructed, the Heavenly Dao manifested an omen to announce his death. That was not mourning; that was a farmer counting the harvested crops!"

"If I want to fuse the annihilation nuclear energy of the Wasteland with the vitality of the Cultivation World to forge a unique Dao Foundation, I must never be tainted by even a shred of the Great Yu Heavenly Dao's Law-based exotic items!"

Gu Shen's brain was absolutely clear, devoid of even a shred of greed.

He did not look at the two jade boxes, but instead reached out and collected his Xuanming Heavy Water Array, the fifteen Sea-Splitting Profound Whale skeletons, and the twenty Low-Grade Spirit Stones into his Storage Ring.

"Many thanks for your kind offer, Head Deacon Shang."

Gu Shen stood up, his gray cloak covering his burly frame, his voice beneath the bronze mask devoid of any ripples.

"But I am a person who never takes on debt. I do not borrow debt, whether it is from a Cultivator or from a Merchant Alliance."

Hearing this, the smile on Grand Deacon Shang Buhuan's face stiffened slightly, and his outstretched hand froze in mid-air.

He watched the back of Gu Shen as he turned and left, a flash of undisguisable astonishment crossing his eyes. In this Cultivation World, he had seen countless madmen who would kill their fathers and brothers or sell themselves for glory for the sake of a Foundation Establishment Opportunity, but this was the first time he had seen a low-level Cultivator who was unmoved by exotic items of heaven and earth, and who even avoided them.

"This Iron-Face... what exactly is his background? That indifference, treating exotic items of heaven and earth like mere weeds, is definitely not faked."

Grand Deacon Shang Buhuan put away the jade boxes, staring at the empty doorway of the private room, his brows furrowed tightly.

...

Walking out of the Wanxiang Merchant Alliance's Mirage Ship, the miasma surged back in.

Gu Shen did not linger in the water market; following the waterway he had come by, he silently slipped deeper into the Yunmeng Great Swamp.