Martial Arts: I Have a Wilderness World

Chapter 595: Chapter 309: Relic Items (3)

As for the remaining beast hides and books, there was no need to appraise them.

In terms of pure value, he had certainly lost out on the trade for the Array-Breaking Talisman. But the book’s high informational value still made it worthwhile.

As for the hide with the Foundation Establishment Pill recipe, Cheng Zongyang didn’t know how much money it could sell for.

He had Zhang Jinquan transcribe a copy, which he would then give to Luo Dingran to try and sell on consignment.

"Old Luo, take this map and ask everyone about it. See if anyone recognizes this remaining half," Cheng Zongyang said, also handing the Fragmented Map to Luo Dingran.

Luo Dingran took the map and examined it. It depicted simple mountains, terrain, river courses, and routes, but there were no place names or any other information. It was impossible to tell where the location was. Only someone extremely familiar with every corner of the Martial Arts Realm would be able to identify the place.

He rolled up the Fragmented Map and replied, "Alright. I will have my people attempt to identify it."

So, Cheng Zongyang took the book to Ding Xing’s Book Workshop and asked him to translate it for easier reading. After all, he didn’t recognize many of the characters, and having to ask about them would be too much of a hassle.

Leaving the small building in the marketplace, Cheng Zongyang went to the Commerce Association.

He would be leaving in a few days and needed to handle a few matters. At the very least, he had to be clear on what needed to be purchased.

Cheng Zongwen was already prepared for this.

He handed a procurement list to Cheng Zongyang, saying, "Brother, among all these supplies, the most in-demand item right now is Spirit Rice. During this period, we’ve loaned out over twenty thousand Spirit Stones, and the biggest expenses for people have been on Cultivation Techniques, followed by Spirit Rice. Therefore, you’ll need to bring back more next time you return."

Cheng Zongyang nodded as he looked over the list. "Alright. But are we really going through Spirit Testing Paper this quickly?"

Of the fifty thousand sheets of Spirit Testing Paper he had brought back, fewer than ten thousand remained.

This meant sales revenue of over four hundred thousand taels of silver. While this wasn’t a huge sum, the profit margin was extremely impressive.

Cheng Zongwen explained, "We underestimated the savings of the city’s residents. Over the past year, they’ve earned a fair amount by taking on various jobs. By also taking out loans from the Da Yi Commerce Association and our own, most have been able to afford it."

Cheng Zongyang understood.

Oath Contracts were only required for Spirit Stone loans; they weren’t necessary for gold and silver. The rich and powerful had no need for loans, so the borrowers were almost exclusively the lower-class residents of the Immortal City.

Cheng Zongyang wasn’t worried about them being unable to pay it back. As long as they properly reclaimed and planted Wilderness Rice or grew crops needed by the Commerce Association, most could pay off their debts within a year or two.

Take Zhang Chuchu’s family, for example. By cultivating Red Blood Mushrooms and then selling them to Cheng’s Medicine Shop, they had now amassed considerable savings.

As for ruffians and scoundrels, they didn’t exist in the Immortal City. People like that had long since been driven out of the Immortal City by the Celestial Break Gang. Why would they be allowed to remain here?

"By the way, have there been any results with the Red Blood Pills?" Cheng Zongyang asked.

He remembered that two months ago, the Commerce Association had publicly released the refinement method for the Red Blood Pill for free. The goal was to encourage Martial Artists to refine Red Blood Pills, thereby increasing the quantity the association could purchase.

Among the ingredients, the Red Jade Ganoderma was the most difficult to cultivate. Although the Commerce Association also sold Red Jade Ganoderma, only a portion of the factions could afford to buy and cultivate it.

As for the common folk, they were generally unable to perform the refinement. For one, they lacked the necessary Ability, and for another, they couldn’t afford the financial losses from repeated failures. This was intended to create a cycle: the commoners would provide the raw materials, the mid-tier factions would refine the Red Blood Pills, and the Commerce Association would buy the finished pills.

Cheng Zongwen shook his head. "Not yet. The cultivation progress for the core ingredient, the Red Jade Ganoderma, is slow. Even though we provided some cultivation methods, the family factions still need more time."

’This was a fundamental hurdle, and there was no way to rush it. Unlike him, they didn’t have large quantities of Exotic Beast Blood to use freely for cultivation.’

"Then we’ll just have to wait. Cultivating with animal blood is slow, but waiting is our only option. At least raising livestock and poultry will become more common in the future. I suppose that counts as a positive cycle."

"That makes sense." Cheng Zongwen nodded.

Afterward, the two continued their discussion about the purchases.