World of Cultivation - Volume 01 - Money Grubbing Madman

by Fang Xiang

  With great pain, he rented a mini-room. Zuo Mo set up a shop.

  Zuo Mo had been to the Free Market many times but it was the first time that he was selling something. He didn’t think about earning a profit, he would be grateful if he could just earn back the eight pieces of third-grade jingshi. He put out a price of half a third-grade jingshi for each yin bead. He was very worried. He thought about how Pu Yao had boasted how good this thing was, at the very least it must be worth half a third-grade jingshi.

  Of course, Pu Yao was full of disdain towards Zuo Mo’s conduct. He snorted coldly, “The honored yin bead……” The meaning was implicit.

  After six hours had passed. The last golden rays of sunlight shone on Zuo Mo’s face.

  “This is the jingshi rolling in? This is the thing you said was good? This is getting back profits along with cost? Honored yin bead!” Zuo Mo was grieving as he demanded answers from Pu Yao. A whole entire afternoon, no one had even stopped in front of his mini-room. Up until now, Zuo Mo hadn’t even sold one yin bead. He still had to pay the rent for the mini-room as well.

  Pu Yao also stared blanky. He muttered for a while, not knowing what to say.

  After a long time, his face was full of disbelief. He suddenly threw his hands up in exasperation, “How is that possible? This is the yin bead! Yin bead! After three thousand years, how can people not even want a yin bead?”

  Seeing Pu Yao lose his composure, Zuo Mo didn’t feel the heartache as much anymore. He had already started to accept this cruel reality. He snorted coldly, “In the future, stop posturing like a Sky Yao. Look at the era, Sky Yao! Three thousand years, your things, they are relics, they have become obsolete! Understand? You made me excited for nothing. Hmm. After a while, ge will give it to the children to use as marbles,”

  Pu Yao’s expression was subdued. It was clear that this incident had dealt a harsh blow to him.

  At this time, a little girl passed by Zuo Mo’s mini-room and suddenly stopped. Zuo Mo, who had been preparing to start criticizing Pu Yao again, suddenly stopped talking, and enthusiastically said, “Miss, do you want to buy? This is a good thing, yin bead, completely formed from pure yin energy. Can be taken anywhere. Cool in the summer, and has the effect of beautifying the complexion……”

  The little girl looked like a maid. Hearing this, she laughed lightly, “You really know how to advertise,” Her brow suddenly creased, “But these beads are too ugly. If it was rainbow colored, Miss Huang [ii]would definitely like it,”

  [tl: [ii] = 黄:huang also means yellow. ]

  “Miss, don’t just look at the outward appearance. The quality is very fine, look how round and heavy it is……” In order to make his very first transaction, Zuo Mo completely had no shame.

  Seeing Zuo Mo actually promoting the yin beads like marbles, Pu Yao stared with a wide mouth, his gaze dull.

  “Ha, since you’ve said so much. I’ll buy one,” The little girl covered her mouth and laughed. She took out the jingshi and bought one. Before she left, she urged him kindly, “I see you are a honest person. In the future, you should sell reliable things. These grey beads, no one would buy them,”

  Finishing, she turned and left.

  Zuo Mo collapsed to the ground. He had finally sold one, and it wasn’t easy. Compared to him, Pu Yao’s soul had been mortally wounded. His expression was dull, his complexion was grey.

  Seeing Pu Yao’s state, Zuo Mo couldn’t help but urge, “It’s nothing. Just business. Next time, we’ll sell something else. At the least, making golden crow pills isn’t bad. Three thousand years have passed, you need to adapt,”

  One person and one yao snuck back to the mountain.

  ——–

  In a small yard in Dong Fu Hall.

  “Miss, I’m back,” A cheerful voice passed out from the door. Yun Xia xianzi’s little yellow bird flew up and rushed at the door.

  Yun Xia xianzi was embroidering a handkerchief and made a sound of acknowledgement, her head not raising from her work, “You brat, we just arrived and you instantly disappeared,”

  “Haha,” A figure rushed in. It was the smiling and adorable little girl. The yellow bird flew around the little girl, chirping. The little girl said with a face full of helplessness to the yellow bird, “Okay okay, Miss Yellow (Huang) , I got you something good to eat,”

  If Zuo Mo heard this, he would definitely have spat up blood. The “Miss Huang” was really just a bird… …

  Finishing, she took out a large pile of things and narrated, “There is the five flower cake from the Food Pavilion, the lotus and lily crisps, thirteen flavored sweets. This is the famous Old Wang liquor. Don’t drink too much, otherwise Miss will discipline you again……,”

  The yellow bird’s eyes were gleaming. Suddenly, it saw a grey bead. Like an arrow, it rushed into the pile and picked up the grey bead.

  “Huh, you like this bead?” The little girl was very surprised.

  The yellow bird picked up the bead with its beak and flew ito Yun Xia xianzi, placing the bead onto her handkerchief.

  When Yun Xia xianzi’s eyes spotted on the bead, she exclaimed in surprise and she stopped what she was doing. Picking up the bead for a closer inspection, her expression couldn’t help but change slightly, “Xiao Yuan, where did the bead come from?”

  Chapter 71: A New Experiment

  “Bought … … bought it,” Yun Xia xianzi’s grave tone scared Xiao Huan. She stammered, “I bought it for half a third-grade jingshi. At the free market. I felt the seller was very pitiful and bought one.”

  “Pitiful?” Yun Xia xianzi’s brow furrowed, “Half a third grade jingshi?”

  “Yes,” Xiao Huan hurriedly nodded her head, “That person was so sad. A whole afternoon and he didn’t even sell one. When he was promoting it to me, he really was so pitiful so I bought one for Miss Yellow to play with. Miss, what is it?”

  “This is a yin bead.” Yun Xia xianzi’s face was grave as she explained, “Yin beads are made from yin energy and are very rare. The method to form yin beads is very unique. It has been lost for a long time. There are many uses for this yin bead. I know of one method to forge this into a yin thunder bead. It would be very powerful.”

  “That strong?” Xiao Huan almost couldn’t believe it, “But I felt that person was very sad. If yin beads are that powerful, why couldn’t he sell it for half a third-grade of jingshi.”

  “Haha. Therefore, you got a bargain,” Yun Xia xianzi said, “In this world, there are always some eccentric people that enjoyed tricking the world for amusement,” but her tone was not confident.

  “Miss, why don’t you go with me to find the person again? I remember where he was!” Xiao Huan hurriedly said, “This way, Miss might be able to request the method to form the yin bead. If not, you could still buy all the yin beads!”

  “En!” hearing this, Yun Xia xianzi quickly stood.

  ———

  After returning to the mountain, Zuo Mo started his dan-making job once again. The yin bead was just a little detour. He just mourned the loss of eight pieces of third-grade jingshi for a while. But the effect of this incident was even greater to Pu Yao. Pu Yao was silent for quite a few days, but he didn’t have a solution. After three thousand years, things would have changed. At least, that was what Zuo Mo thought.

  Zuo Mo temporarily didn’t have time to investigate the use of the yin beads. He had too many things he needed to do. The sales of the Golden Crow pills was very good, but that also meant he needed to spend more time on dan-making. Especially in this situation where he needed jingshi. Even more, the temptation of the fourth-grade fire seed wasn’t just for others. It was a temptation even for him as well.

  But after swallowing fifty Golden Crow pills, Zuo Mo didn’t form Golden Crow fire. Each time, he could feel a sliver of heat absorbed into his body, and just as quickly, the heat was like melting ice, gone in the blink of an eye.

  This made him very suspicious of the effectiveness of the Golden Crow pill. Even though
it was a lingdan that he made, but about its effectiveness, he wasn’t confident at all.

  Fifty Golden Crow pills. Converting that to jingshi, it wasn’t a small amount. His heart hurt slightly and he was puzzled.

  Was it that the sun essence inside the Golden Crow pill too little?

  The reason that the Golden Crow pill had been judged to be able to form Golden Crow fire was that it contained essence of the sun, but the amount was extremely small. If he wanted to rely on the pill to form Golden Crow fire, he didn’t know how many he had to use.

  Suddenly, he was reminded of an idea he once had when he had been making the Golden Crow pills.

  If he used [Art Of Crimson Flame] as the primary and the li fire seal formation as the auxiliary, what would the lingdan he made be like? At the time, he had three different choices. This had been one of them.

  At the beginning, he had abandoned this plan of action because it changed the relationship between the primary and auxiliary fires which would affect many other things. But now, he had enough time to think about resolving the problems. Also, after making Golden Crow pills all this while, he had accumulated rich experience. If he used that method to make lingdan, the amount of essence of the sun definitely wouldn’t be small!

  He decided to try even though the chance of failure was very large. The creation of the first Golden Crow pill had been accidental. In the middle, he had experienced numerous failures, but the Golden Crow pill had also given him enormous profits. He had gotten a good taste.

  Deciding to move immediately, he went back into his dan room.

  Without any doubt, his first time was a failure. Zuo Mo once again smelt the familiar burnt smell. He wasn’t downcast. Failure was within his expectations. And compared to last time, he was much richer. The ingredients of the fasting pill were all open for him to access.

  To use [Art of Crimson Flame] as the primary flame and the li fire seal formation as the auxiliary flame. It appeared to be a simple change but it resulted in extremely complicated changes. First, the balance in strength of [Art of Crimson Flame] and li fire seal formation had to be adjusted. Also, it was unknown if the ingredients of the original recipe were strong enough to tolerate a larger amount of sun essence.

  Of the two, he was more concerned about the second point. How to pair ingredients and the ratios was a field of extremely deep study. Even his master didn’t have a good grasp. He was worried that if the ratio had to be changed and it required higher level ling grasses, then would he be able to support it. Even with his steadily increasing wealth, if he went to buy the ingredients for dan-making, especially those high level ingredients, then he could only be able to window-shop.

  He began his dull experiments. He had a jade scroll by his hands that recorded down the general conditions of each of his attempts. He knew that he didn’t have as much knowledge and experiences as his Master. The only thing he could do was advance little by little, trying again and again.

  In the eyes of many others, this was certainly the dumbest method, but it was the only choice Zuo Mo had.

  Just as Zuo Mo was trying to make a new lingdan, Yun Xia xianzi and her maid, Xiao Huan were scouring the free market daily, trying to find that waxy-faced man who was selling “marbles.”

  ———

  In the following days, Zuo Mo didn’t make any progress. Pu Yao suddenly, of his own accord, said to Zuo Mo, “I’ll teach you to use the yin beads to forge something. Go sell it, it would definitely sell for a good price!”

  “What?” Zuo Mo asked inattentively. Right now, his head was entirely filled with how to make a new lingdan.

  “Yin Thunder Bead!” Pu Yao said confidently, “People may not recognize yin beads but yin thunder beads, people would definitely recognize it.”

  “Pu!” Zuo Mo decided to communicate with Pu Yao, “Three thousand years. Your things, are the things from three thousand years ago! No one knows of them now! If they don’t know then they won’t buy it, and no one buying it means no jingshi.”

  Pu Yao said, unsatisfied, “Do you think everyone is as ignorant and shut off as you? And have you not heard of yin thunder beads before?”

  Looking at the stubborn Pu Yao who still wasn’t accepting reality, Zuo Mo shook his head, “Don’t waste my time.”

  Pu Yao raged, “I……”

  “Stop!” Zuo Mo turned around, “Don’t say you’re a Sky Yao!”

  Pu Yao almost choked on air.

  Looking at Pu Yao’s depressed expression, for some reason, Zuo Mo felt good. The tiredness of the last few days seemed to have disappeared. He was smug as he went back into the dan room and started a new round of experiments. After going to the sword cave once, Zuo Mo’s fear of Pu Yao seemed to have flown away in the span of one night. This kind of joke, he wouldn’t have dared to make it before.

  After the sect assessment, Zuo Mo seemed to have spent all his time on making Golden Crow pills. This directly caused the skill of his [Art of Crimson Flame] to have increased dramatically. It was a pity that without the jade scrolls of the next level, he still couldn’t breakthrough to the next level. Right now, he was able to easily manipulate the strength of the [Art of Crimson Flame].

  As the reputation of the Golden Crow pill increased in Dong Fu, it quickly became the trademark lingdan of Wu Kong Sword Sect. To help Zuo Mo in making Golden Crow pills, Yan Le Shibo had specially bought a second-grade dan cauldron for Zuo Mo. He was the envy of many other people.

  During the sect assessment, Zuo Mo’s reputation had increased with his spectacular performance. His opponent Luo Li, had been wounded too, but he didn’t have a master that could make dan. Shi Feng Rong was angry at Luo Li for going too far, and she treated him as though he was air. As a result, it took Luo Li’s wounds a month to heal.

  When the news that Eldest Shijie Gong Sun Qing, Xu Yi, and Xu Yi Xia went to see Zuo Mo passed into his ears, Luo Li almost spat blood. The energies became unbalanced and his recovery was delayed for ten days. During the time that Luo Li had been recuperating, other than the first few days, Hao Min didn’t visit him or ask about him.

  The sect leader had visited him once which had greatly moved Luo Li.

  After recovering, Luo Li instantly entered seclusion. He seemed to have suddenly disappeared. Everyone had discussed for a while before getting tired of it. Undoubtedly, other people’s impressions of zombie Zuo Mo Shixiong improved greatly.

  ———

  In Dong Fu Hall, everyone had gathered together. However, no one’s expression was good.

  Many days had passed but they still hadn’t found anything. There were very few traces left from the Stars in Daytime. They couldn’t detect the general location, and as time passed the traces that were left would decrease. Therefore, the chance that they would find the wounded yaomo would decrease as well.

  “Dong Fu is really too popular. There are too many energies that are moving through. The marks left from the event have dissipated,” Yuan Li grimaced.

  He was the individual most skilled with detecting energies in this group. Everyone had high hopes pinned on him. But up until now, he wasn’t able to even find a trace, and he felt embarrassed.

  Yun Xia xianzi comforted, “Mister Yuan, don’t rush. We are here to do our best and the rest is up to fate,”

  “Have you all noticed that, other than us, there seems to be another group that is trying to find the yaomo,” A silver-coroneted cultivator said.

  “Oh, has Wen Tie sanren found something?” Yun Xia xianzi couldn’t help ask.

  “I keep on feeling that someone is following us in the dark. Has anyone else felt it?” Wen Tie sanren said worriedly.

  “I have also had this feeling,” Yuan Li nodded.

  Yun Xia xianzi’s beautiful eyes scanned the surroundings. Seeing the assorted expressions, she couldn’t help but sigh inside. If the Jie Master was here, would they be like this? Everyone was about equal in their cultivation and they were all proud people. They usually cultivated alone. Coming here this t
ime, most people were doing it out of obligation. Without a strong person to lead, they were like a pile of sand.

  “Old He, can you not just stare at the lingdan, have you found anything?” Yun Xia xianzi said with a smile.

  “Found? No,” The one called Old He was an old man. His hair and beard were white, his skin wrinkled. He was skilled in the art of dan-making. He had been invited to come but he usually didn’t speak. However, he was of profound and unknown cultivation and no one dared to underestimate him. He suddenly sighed, “Dong Fu might be a small place but it still has some pearls. This Golden Crow pill, the maker was able to think of adding essence of the sun into the dan. This old one admires them,”

  “What’s the use?” Yun Li’s brows furrowed and he asked unconcernedly.

  “It may be possible to form fourth-grade Golden Crow fire,” Old He slowly drawled.

  Hearing this, everyone instantly quieted.

  Chapter 72: Seeing Guests

  “Fourth-grade Golden Crow fire?” Wen Tie sanren looked with disbelief at the little lingdan in Old He’s hands, “I see that there isn’t much ling energy in this lingdan. It can’t even enter second-grade. Can this really make Golden Crow fire?”

  The other people also had varying levels of disbelief on their faces.

  A first or second-grade lingdan that was able to create a fourth-grade Golden Crow fire sounded delusional. Fourth-grade Golden Crow fire was a rare fire seed that people dreamed of. Other than a few sects who had the methods of creating and capturing it, there basically was no other method of obtaining it. If a person could obtain fourth-grade Golden Crow fire through consuming just one kind of lingdan, even if this lingdan was fourth-grade, there would be countless people wanting to buy it.

  The people present were all jindan xiu. They knew very well that the gap between lower and higher grades wasn’t something overcome through sheer numbers. This was also why the price difference between lower and higher grade items was enormous.