Chapter 24: Earth-Level Lower Grade Blood Lingzhi

Shopkeeper Mengg sized him up. Seeing the anticipation and slight nervousness in the boy’s expression, he couldn’t help but feel cautious as well. He gently opened the bundle and squinted inside.

It was the size of a bowl and dark red. It looked like a mushroom or a Lingzhi. The shape was actually not bad, carrying the distinct flair of Heavenly and Earthly Treasures.

"COUGH... COUGH COUGH..." Shopkeeper Mengg couldn’t help but cough lightly a few times.

Yangx Kai looked at him nervously and asked softly, "What is this?"

Shopkeeper Mengg gave him an odd look. Instead of answering, he asked, "Where... did you find this?"

"In a cave. There was even a Level One Demon Beast guarding it. I ended up killing it, and only then was I able to pluck this out."

Shopkeeper Mengg’s heart skipped a beat. "You encountered a Demon Beast? Didn’t I tell you not to go too deep?"

"I didn’t go deep. I don’t know why it was at the outskirts of Black Wind Mountain either," Yangx Kai said, feeling somewhat wronged.

Shopkeeper Mengg sighed. He thought that this kid’s battered state was likely the result of a fight with that Demon Beast. With his level of strength, dealing with a Demon Beast—even just a Level One—was definitely not easy.

The poor kid had spent three grueling days in Black Wind Mountain at such a young age just to earn a meager sixteen Contribution Points. He had even fought a Level One Demon Beast and barely escaped with his life. If he knew that this thing... this thing... No, that wouldn’t do. It would be too cruel.

Whatever. It was rare for him to do a good deed, so he would just consider it accumulating good karma.

Seeing Shopkeeper Mengg’s solemn expression and continued silence, Yangx Kai couldn’t help but grow anxious. Just as he was about to ask again, Shopkeeper Mengg took a sip of tea, smacked his lips, and squeezed out a smile. "You’re quite lucky, kid!"

Hearing this answer, Yangx Kai’s hanging heart finally settled. He was truly worried that the item would be completely worthless, which would have made him a laughingstock.

"Shopkeeper Mengg, what exactly is it? How many Contribution Points is it worth?" Yangx Kai rubbed his hands together in immense anticipation.

"Hmm... this thing is called Blood Lingzhi! It’s a rare medicinal material, a Mortal..." Before Shopkeeper Mengg could finish, he saw a look of disappointment surface on Yangx Kai’s face. He hastily corrected himself, "No, no, no, it’s an Earth-Level Lower Grade item. Yes, Earth-Level Lower Grade! That’s right!"

His tone was so firm that Shopkeeper Mengg almost believed it himself.

"Earth-Level Lower Grade?" Yangx Kai was pleasantly surprised. "Shopkeeper Mengg, you’re not mistaken, are you?"

Shopkeeper Mengg’s face fell. "Nonsense. I have spent my entire life examining wom—AHEM, examining countless herbs. I have developed Eyes of Golden Flame, so how could I be mistaken?"

"Then how many Contribution Points can I exchange it for?" Yangx Kai was only interested in this.

"Let’s count it as twenty points."

"That little?" Yangx Kai felt a bit disappointed. He originally thought that since this thing was ranked at the Earth Level, it should at least be worth several dozen Contribution Points.

"That’s not a little, kid." Shopkeeper Mengg thought to himself that this was basically a free handout, so he couldn’t give too much. Vocally, however, he found an excuse. "Although this Blood Lingzhi you found is indeed Earth-Level Lower Grade, its size is small and its age is low, so it’s only worth twenty points."

"Oh." Yangx Kai didn’t argue and agreed readily, "Then twenty points it is."

Shopkeeper Mengg nodded and recorded it in the ledger.

On this trip into the mountains, aside from the Three-Leaf Soul Flowers and Desolate Dried Wood Grass he needed for himself, he had harvested a total of thirty-six Contribution Points. Counting what he had saved up previously, he now possessed forty-eight Contribution Points. Yangx Kai suddenly felt rather wealthy.

However, while going into the mountains to gather herbs for Contribution Points was profitable, it severely delayed his Cultivation time. It also relied heavily on luck, making it feel like he was putting the cart before the horse. Despite his enthusiasm, Yangx Kai decided that unless absolutely necessary, he would avoid doing this in the future.

The purpose of accumulating Contribution Points was for Cultivation. Yangx Kai could clearly distinguish the primary and secondary importance of the two, and he hadn’t let this harvest go to his head.

He now had quite a few Three-Leaf Soul Flowers. In the end, he had plucked thirty to forty stalks all at once in that cave. However, his stock of Desolate Dried Wood Grass was quite low, with only a meager five or six stalks. If he truly wanted to use them for Cultivation, it probably wouldn’t be enough. He needed to exchange for some more from the Contribution Hall, just to be safe.

Having made up his mind, Yangx Kai said, "Shopkeeper Mengg, give me ten stalks of Desolate Dried Wood Grass."

Elder Mengg glanced at him. Although he was puzzled about what the boy needed this for, he didn’t ask further. He simply looked at him leisurely and asked, "Ten stalks of Mortal-Level Lower Grade herbs for ten Contribution Points. Are you sure you want them?"

Yangx Kai furrowed his brows and asked suspiciously, "That’s not right. Didn’t you just say two stalks of herbs are exchanged for one Contribution Point?"

"The buying price is the buying price, and the selling price is the selling price. They aren’t the same." Shopkeeper Mengg smiled exceptionally brightly, exuding a strong aura of a profiteer.

Yangx Kai was furious. Pointing at Elder Mengg’s nose, he shouted, "You’re completely buying low and selling high to profit off the difference! This is too shameful. Was your conscience eaten by dogs?"

Elder Mengg waved his hand. "I’m not the one buying low and selling high; these are the prices set by the Sect. It has nothing to do with me. All goods in the Contribution Hall are clearly priced and fair to all. I’m just in charge of watching the place. Otherwise, how do you think the Sect manages to feed all three thousand of you disciples?"

Yangx Kai was stunned, but upon thinking about it, it made sense. Doing business was all about making money. Without some means of profit, how could a massive Sect like Lingxiao Pavilion support three thousand disciples? Although there was indeed a suspicion of profiteering from the price difference, no one was forcing anyone to buy or sell.

"So, do you still want the Desolate Dried Wood Grass or not?" Seeing Yangx Kai’s pained expression, Shopkeeper Mengg’s mood instantly improved.

"I want it." Yangx Kai gritted his teeth. He would need to use them sooner or later anyway, and since he didn’t want to go into the mountains to gather herbs, his only option was to buy them here.

Shopkeeper Mengg turned and went to the back hall. Before long, he brought out ten stalks of Desolate Dried Wood Grass. Yangx Kai counted them, and Shopkeeper Mengg recorded the transaction in the ledger.

"Hmph!" Having suffered a silent loss, Yangx Kai was rather displeased. He grabbed the herbs, turned around, and walked away.

"Come back often when you’re free!" Shopkeeper Mengg called out enthusiastically from behind.

Come back often just to get fleeced by you? Yangx Kai finally understood where the nickname ’Mengg Bapi’ came from.

Taking rapid strides, Yangx Kai rushed outside in a hurry. Just as he reached the doorway, a figure flashed in from the outside and nearly collided head-on with him.

Both of their reactions were quite fast. Yangx Kai stopped abruptly, and the other person also halted. A refreshing and fragrant breeze wafted right into his face.

Looking up, Yangx Kai saw a pair of eyes like bright moons staring at him, though he couldn’t see the person’s face clearly because they were actually wearing a veil.

It was a woman. While her true appearance was obscured, judging by the complexion of her skin, she shouldn’t be very old. He guessed she was a Senior Sister of his.

Yangx Kai nodded at her to express a slight apology, then stepped halfway aside, gesturing for her to enter first.

To his surprise, after a moment of stunned silence, the tips of her ears suddenly turned red, and her gaze began to dart around evasively as she looked at him.

Taking in this sight, Yangx Kai thought that this Senior Sister was quite shy. He quickly averted his gaze to avoid offending her.

Xia Ningshang was dying of embarrassment.

She never expected to run into Yangx Kai at the entrance of the Contribution Hall. The moment she saw his face, Xia Ningshang remembered her own... And then she remembered his...

In an instant, her face turned completely red. Her ears burned with heat as she hurriedly slipped into the room, not even daring to lift her head.

Yangx Kai found it somewhat amusing. It was rare to see a woman this timid. There were many female disciples in Lingxiao Pavilion, but martial arts practitioners were generally quite open-minded. Unlike her, who blushed just from being looked at once—no wonder she wore a veil.

This Senior Sister was rather cute. However, why did he feel that the fragrance on her was somewhat familiar, as if he had smelled it somewhere before?