Huh? Isn't this an adventure kingdom building game?!-Chapter 752 - 728: Shijintao
Yuan Man had just held the Treasure Mirror and examined it carefully; it was indeed more spiritually abundant than when she first acquired it. With its assistance, Cloud City would soon be back on track, letting her focus on rejuvenation.
Nowadays, longevity was no longer a worry, but constantly feeling sluggish from lack of energy was also problematic.
Before she could praise the other for their miraculous skills, the sudden scent of an invigorating wine wafted in!
"What a fragrant wine!" Though not fond of alcohol, the enticing aroma and the tempting description from the just-opened jar made Yuan Man eager to try it.
After her Life Origin was taken, she often felt dazed, and even slight concern made her feel utterly exhausted.
For this reason, after eliminating a large group of traitors from the underground cave a few days ago, Yuan Man entrusted the heavy task to her confidants working with Miss Hu Jiu, occasionally capturing one or two more culprits, while she herself stayed in the City Lord’s Mansion, ready to rest at any moment.
If this Spiritual Wine was just as described and could nourish her heart and alleviate fatigue, it was exactly what she needed now.
"Tonight, the stars shine bright; it’s a perfect time to taste fine wine. Mr. Jiang, please." With a wave of her hand, two exquisite cups appeared on the stone table in the courtyard, "I’ve been fasting for ages, not tasting mortal smoke and fire, so there’s no side dish to accompany the wine. I hope you don’t mind."
Jiang Yuan, with a probing intention, took out from his Storage Bag spicy stir-fried dragon segments and a bowl of meat soup made with Flood Dragon meat, "Luckily, I prepared some side dishes. I’m just not sure if they suit your taste."
As a Tribulation Crossing Realm expert, Yuan Man had long since abstained from worldly foods and wouldn’t be tempted by mundane objects.
However, when the hot dish and soup were served, they not only emitted a rich fragrance but also carried a vast and gentle Spiritual Power, with mist enshrouding the dishes.
She was overjoyed, an Immortal Chef’s craft!
She had no idea what ingredients were used to create this never-before-smelled enchanting aroma.
"Hmm! What meat is this?" Picking up a piece with her chopsticks, it was crispy on the outside, tender inside, spicy but not irritating, and savory with a sweet aftertaste, leaving Yuan Man unable to identify the ingredients at first bite.
As she chewed and swallowed, gentle Spiritual Power spread throughout her body, feeling smoother and more comfortable than ingesting an Elixir; she couldn’t help but squint in savoring it while running her Cultivation Technique to absorb the copious Spiritual Power.
Jiang Yuan didn’t answer directly but joked, "I usually enjoy making my own meals, experimenting with interesting dishes. If you find it palatable, City Lord Yuan, you’re welcome to visit my little courtyard sometime to taste various flavors."
"Mr. Jiang indeed is a fascinating person; I shall visit someday when time allows. Please!" Yuan Man stopped inquiring further and raised her cup to toast him.
Aha, the fish is hooked!
She’s a bona fide Tribulation Crossing Realm master and also called the Daughter of Fortune by the system.
Building a good rapport, often dropping by the courtyard for a meal, advising the courtyard members, and calling for help during trouble—maintaining this connection is immensely beneficial.
[Physical Strength +500; Life +1000]
He drank it down in one gulp, his vision filled with large plus signs indicating health and mana regeneration, fully replenishing the previously depleted mana bar;
Meanwhile, Yuan Man, whose red and blue bars were both less than a third, also saw a sharp increase after downing a cup.
"Mr. Jiang’s Immortal Drunkenness indeed lives up to its name!" After swallowing the sweet and slightly aromatic cup of wine, she felt an unusual energy rush to the top of her head.
She instantly shivered, like leaping into a clear spring on a sweltering summer day, thoroughly waking up and feeling rejuvenated and refreshed!
This is not merely Spiritual Wine; it’s practically a Spirit Elixir!
The swift effect of the Spiritual Wine struck her heart directly, making Yuan Man immediately express her gratitude for accepting the kind gesture.
[Side Quest: Daughter of Fortune]
[Mission 2: Brew a jar of Immortal Drunkenness for Yuan Man, completed. Reward: Building Duplication Card +1 issued]
Finally seeing the system pop-up message, Jiang Yuan was delighted, mission accomplished!
Which workshop should he duplicate this time to make it more worthwhile? Should he acquire another Treasure Forging Workshop?
Or should he wait for his courtyard to ascend to Level Seven before planning, or perhaps find an island for the third courtyard and duplicate a workshop over there instead...
He was contemplating in his mind; opposite him, Yuan Man also had concerns.
First the Demon Mirror was repaired; then, he gifted her much-needed Spiritual Wine, but currently, she had few Spirit Stones or Spirit Medicines—how could she reciprocate the gesture?
"Mr. Jiang, you know the difficulties Cloud City is facing now. If you need Spirit Medicine, we may have to record it on account for a while longer, as producing Spirit Medicine isn’t something that can be done overnight. You see..."
"There’s no need to account for it. There’s something I urgently need City Lord Yuan’s strong assistance with." Jiang Yuan got straight to the point, "I need a Protective Dharma Treasure that is easy to use, even by cultivators of a very low realm."
Generally, the higher the protection level of a treasure, the higher the Spiritual Power needed to activate it, so finding a high-level treasure usable by Hou Ze in a pinch is difficult.
But tonight, he would officially appear for the first trade, needing to prepare ahead of time.
Yuan Man thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "I don’t have a Magical Treasure, but I do have a protective artifact."
She spread out her left hand, and a deep green sprout suddenly emerged from her pale palm. The small sapling grew quickly in the wind, and in an instant, it had become a lush tree with gnarled branches. It was soon covered with green spherical fruits the size of balloons, filled with fine spikes.
"This is the Stone Peach Seed I cultivated with my lifeblood. Plant the seed within your body and nourish it with Spiritual Power. Whether facing a sneak attack or a direct confrontation, it can sense danger and protect its master when unable to cope..."
Yuan Man plucked a grape-sized black seed, moved her fingers, and demonstrated through an illusion—a hanging green spherical fruit expanded over three meters high, protecting its master within, while the spikes on its rind shot out like steel needles!
Layer after layer of dense spikes launched indiscriminately in all directions, releasing until all the spikes were exhausted, leaving behind a large sphere impervious to knives and axes.
"Actually, while the master is protected, a Teleportation Talisman can be used to leave leisurely, letting the outer excitement continue, leaving the husk to confuse the opponent.
By the time they evade the spike attack and attempt to cleave the fruit, the protected cultivator is already sipping tea miles away.
This seed can produce eighteen fruits, meaning it can withstand eighteen assaults beyond what its master can handle. If trapped in a confined place where escape with a Magical Treasure is impossible, I can sense it with this maternal tree nearby.
If needed, I can use the mother tree to sense and provide assistance, but direct intervention is limited to three times; I have numerous matters to handle and can’t spare too much time."
The opportunity to enlist the aid of a Tribulation Crossing Realm expert, even three times!
Jiang Yuan was delighted, even Protective Dharma Treasures experience wear and tear, some capable of substituting lethal strikes are one-time use, equivalent to multiple lives.
Acquiring this seed from a high-ranking expert capable of saving eighteen lives, with three times the expert’s presence, what a deal!
However, upon closely examining it, he found the system appraisal ending with the words—Unusable.
Well, equipping it for himself was impossible.
But the courtyard was filled with many eagerly awaiting pets! If they could all be outfitted with...
Jiang Yuan thought to himself, no wonder they call it "Stone Peach Seed," it truly is about making a swift escape, just run as fast as you can, the name really suits it!
"Seems Mr. Jiang is quite satisfied with this protective artifact of mine." Yuan Man noticed his fondness for the Stone Peach Seed and thought it was finally time to find a trading item other than Spirit Medicine!
She pondered for a moment, then said, "How about this, I truly enjoy the Celestial Drunk that you brew. Let’s barter three jars of Celestial Drunk for one Stone Peach Seed, how does that sound?"
Reflecting carefully, the reason he could exchange for a seed this time was due to the reward from repairing the Demon Mirror and the Spiritual Wine.
Converted, three jars of Celestial Drunk was worthwhile, after all, the main ingredient, Yuan Yang Rice, was grown on his land, and as for the other ingredients, accumulating some points in the Mysterious Cave to exchange for a few large packs would suffice.
"Deal!" Jiang Yuan agreed, and, after staying for a moment, he rose to take his leave.
From the arrival of Wilderness at six in the evening to six in the morning, encompassing twelve full hours along with the daytime. But because most of the Demon Cultivators he contacted acted at night, he felt the time was pressing after Wilderness arrived.
Still with many tasks to attend to, he couldn’t linger anywhere too long.
He exchanged three cups of wine with Qu Luming for a set of treasures to protect the city; and used the Demon Mirror’s charge plus a jar of wine to exchange for a protective artifact, once everything was ready, Jiang Yuan had Hou Ze, who was once more waiting for instructions near Trapped Snake Island, contact Ruan Yanluo to arrange a trading schedule.
During previous contacts, the trade location was set at the bulk cargo trading area on the pier of Trapped Snake Island.
This was all the more convenient; after completing the trade for fire stones, Hou Ze could head over to the already found shop, make the transaction for the urgently needed items of the Furious Fire Bear Race directly, and proceed to Sand Hill City together.
......
"Miss, might there be a trap?" the leading giant beast of the caravan spoke softly, "In all these years of dealing fire stones, we’ve never heard of having to prepare our own shipping crates. It doesn’t seem like they’re very reliable."
Ruan Yanluo lay on its back, the gentle, blue long fur like a grassy terrain, a few pairs of exquisite, fan-like light purple wings fluttered leisurely, bringing a gentle breeze.
"This is the trading area on Trapped Snake Island, what trap could there be?" she turned over, comfortably lying on the beast’s back, smiling and said, "Many large goods transported from afar don’t even need to enter the city, completing transactions here to be shipped away. The Demon Realm Alliance opened this special area, arrays are complete and supervised, if we are unsatisfied with the goods, how could they openly rob us?"
The beast chuckled, "Not to that extent, I’m worried... about the origins of their goods, could it be dubious? I’ve never heard of this Sand Hill City, seems like something that lad made up."
"Who cares if the origins are dubious, young friend put it well—we do business and care not for the rights or wrongs behind the goods.
I only look at the goods, not the people. If the goods are good and fairly priced, even if they were stolen from the Xianhuo Merchant Association’s warehouse, it doesn’t concern us, it’s their sin to bear; if the goods are poor and the prices high, even if Manager Li of the firm comes personally, I wouldn’t take them!" Ruan Yanluo twirled the blue fur, chuckling, "I only delayed my return slightly, if I can truly trade for fire stones, this trip would be worthwhile!
Three years ago, Xianhuo Merchant Association pre-sold fire stones on a large scale, claiming prices were favorable, the more Immortal Jade deposited, the earlier the retrieval. What happened? I invested so much Immortal Jade, only to face repeated delays year after year. If it weren’t for the high demand and good sales of fire stones, I wouldn’t do business with Xianhuo Merchant Association at all.
Everyone knows Manager Li isn’t an honest businessman, without the family’s elder generation establishing connections and networks, how could he function on Trapped Snake Island with his demeanor? Ha! I’ve had a bellyful of frustrations, but under the eaves, one bows the head, they have channels and exclusive sales, can’t be helped.
I truly hope the young friend can bring some fire stones, even if stolen from the firm’s warehouse, doesn’t matter, send them back to fulfill the earlier promised good words and not breach faith."
