Chapter 140: Surprisingly Cheap

Chapter 140: Chapter 140: Surprisingly Cheap

Before entering Fire Dragon Valley, everyone had seen from afar that Yang Haichen was acting as a Guardian for a junior brother. Back then, they all knew that was the Second Grade Spirit Chef from Purple Bamboo Peak.

But because he was clearly engrossed in studying something, and with Yang Haichen standing guard, no one dared to rashly approach and disturb him.

As Yang Haichen’s trio, who were quite openly following Liu Chen, appeared, the hazy image in the minds of the Purple Cloud Valley disciples gradually merged with the figure of Liu Chen as he meandered along.

Soon, his status as the disciple of Purple Bamboo Peak’s acting Peak Master and a Second Grade Spirit Chef became firmly attached to him.

"Junior Brother, see something you like? I’ll sell it to you at cost."

And so, at the stall where Liu Chen had stopped, the Inner Sect Disciple immediately stood up. ’If I can win the favor of a Second Grade Spirit Chef at the cost of a few hundred Spirit Stones, won’t it be much easier to buy Spiritual Cuisine from him later?’

"How many Spirit Stones for this Fire Lotus Technique?"

Liu Chen glanced at the disciple hesitantly but ultimately decided to ask. ’The Lamp Burning Technique is focused on igniting, not on being a proper Fire Attribute Magic. When used for cooking, the amount of Spiritual Power it consumes is disproportionate to the results.’

According to the basic description on the wooden plank, this Fire Lotus Technique could create a burning Fire Lotus. It might be rather useless for combat, but as a cooktop flame, its output would be stable. It was the best technique for his purposes that Liu Chen had seen so far.

’Even if there were no other techniques to learn, I wouldn’t just choose a few at random to get by. I’ll buy something if it can either round out my combat abilities or improve the efficiency of my Spiritual Cuisine. But I won’t be a sucker and buy a technique that’s useless to me.’

"For anyone else, it would be eight hundred Spirit Stones. But for you, Junior Brother, five hundred is enough."

The stall owner said with a smile. Liu Chen gave him a stunned look, then pulled five hundred Spirit Stones from his Storage Ring without a second thought.

"Thank you, Senior Brother."

After buying the Fire Lotus Technique, Liu Chen continued on his way. ’I have a stove now. To complete my set of techniques for making Spiritual Cuisine, I still need something to replace the iron wok.’

He had been using the Artifact Manipulation Technique, but it had the same old problem: the Spiritual Power consumption was completely disproportionate to its efficiency, making it a huge waste. Since he had time now and learning Basic Magic Techniques was relatively quick, Liu Chen hoped to resolve this issue as soon as possible.

’Once I get back to Purple Bamboo Peak, my master and his wife will definitely teach me new techniques, and I’ll have to practice my Swordsmanship too. I probably won’t have much free time then.’

Unfortunately, after looking around for a while, he didn’t find the technique he wanted, nor did he come across any others that even piqued his interest.

So, Liu Chen left that area and headed toward the giant hot spring in Fire Dragon Valley. It was the activation point for another hidden pillar of light, and also where disciples from the Three Immortal Sects and the great families had set up a temporary Marketplace.

"What exactly is Junior Brother Liu looking for?"

Xie Xichen, who was following a short distance away, couldn’t help but ask. Liu Chen certainly knew they were there—they were close enough to be seen with the naked eye—but since he hadn’t said anything, all they could do was guess.

"Probably just browsing. It was the same when he went to the Black Market."

Yang Haichen said nonchalantly. He wasn’t worried about Liu Chen’s safety, but rather that someone might fail to recognize a great person and end up offending Junior Brother Liu. As for any real danger to his life, that was completely out of the question.

"And just happened to buy the Xiao Family’s Patriarch’s Token?"

Ren Xunchun couldn’t resist glancing at Yang Haichen. If he hadn’t heard the whole story from Yang Haichen himself, he never would have believed the incident was such a coincidence.

"So what if he bought it? Who would dare say a word?"

Yang Haichen shook his head. With Liu Chen’s status, forget about agreeing to sell it back to the Xiao Family; even if he refused and used it openly, the Xiao Family would have no choice but to grit their teeth and accept it.

They would even have to protect Junior Brother Liu around the clock to ensure nothing happened to him. If anything did, the Xiao Family would be the first ones to get a visit.

"Be that as it may, it’s still a hassle."

Xie Xichen nodded. Liu Chen had a very quiet disposition. If he weren’t so normal when talking with them, Xie Xichen would have suspected his junior brother was antisocial. But now, it seemed he simply preferred the quiet.

Compared to the scattered stalls from before, this temporary Marketplace was much livelier. Liu Chen had just arrived when he found himself in front of a stall, sizing up the most expensive technique on display.

"Middle Grade Celestial Thunder Skill, four thousand Spirit Stones."

Nangong Ye looked at the Purple Cloud Valley disciple before him and spoke listlessly. He would have definitely kept the Celestial Thunder Technique as a trump card before, but there was no need for that now. The Loose Cultivator who had saved his life had already obtained the technique. Had it been sold to a disciple from one of the Three Immortal Sects or a major family, the Celestial Thunder Technique might have remained relatively rare for a while longer.

But with a Loose Cultivator having taken it, it would likely become widespread before long. Even if few Cultivators mastered it, it would surely be studied. It was no longer suitable as a trump card, so he might as well take the opportunity to recoup some of his losses.

"That’s pretty cheap."

Liu Chen nodded and, without hesitation, pulled four thousand Spirit Stones from his Storage Ring, piling them on Nangong Ye’s stall. ’This is an unexpected but welcome surprise. Even though it’s an unplanned expense of four thousand Spirit Stones, it means I can use the Celestial Thunder Technique without any reservations from now on.’

’Besides, if I remember correctly, Nangong Ye has bought several portions of Spiritual Cuisine from me. No matter how you look at it, I’m definitely not losing out on this deal.’

Nangong Ye’s stall was suddenly buried in Spirit Stones. He gave the buyer a stunned look. ’He’s not even going to haggle?’

This wasn’t an exclusive sale, after all; he could still sell copies of the Celestial Thunder Technique. A Middle Grade Technique like this would normally go for about two thousand Spirit Stones. And while prices in Fire Dragon Valley were generally double those outside, the markup on techniques was the lowest, since you couldn’t possibly learn and use one immediately after purchase.

He had been expecting to get three thousand Spirit Stones, but this person didn’t even try to negotiate.

Though confused, Nangong Ye put the Spirit Stones away and handed the technique over. After getting the Celestial Thunder Technique, Liu Chen immediately left the stall and headed deeper into the Marketplace.

Just as Nangong Ye was lost in thought, he saw Xie Xichen slowly walking toward him.

"You’ve got a lot of free time, I see..."

Xie Xichen shook his head as he looked at Nangong Ye. He didn’t particularly care what Liu Chen had purchased, but seeing Nangong Ye—the disciple who had secured the first victory for Qingxu Hall—casually running a stall here had caught him off guard.

"For you to be following him so discreetly... that must mean the person who was just here was Purple Cloud Valley’s Second Grade Spirit Chef, Liu Chen."

Nangong Ye smiled at him. Xie Xichen was one of the top disciples in Purple Cloud Valley, yet here he was, following an Inner Sect Disciple who was still in the Body Tempering Realm. The other person’s identity was obvious.

"That was indeed Junior Brother Liu. And no matter how much you marked up the price, the Spirit Stones you just earned are only a fraction of the premium you paid for his Spiritual Cuisine."

Xie Xichen watched him with a smile. Nangong Ye, who had been in a relatively good mood, froze, at a loss for words.