Fang Qingyuan walked into a shop specializing in Talismans and asked directly,
"Does your shop purchase demon beast hides?"
Upon hearing this, the shop owner gave Fang Qingyuan a once-over before replying,
"Of course we do. What tier are the demon beast hides, and what's their condition?"
Fang Qingyuan smiled faintly, took two hides from his storage bag, and handed them to the owner for inspection.
The owner took them, a green light flashing in his eyes as he examined the two hides. After just a few moments, he said,
"One Moonlight Rabbit Fur, I'll count it as eight Spirit Stones. One Xiangshe Deer Hide, I'll count that as nine. How does that price sound?"
Fang Qingyuan was a little surprised by the offer. The two hides weren't particularly high quality; he had originally acquired the deer hide for only five Spirit Stones, and the rabbit fur for even less—just three.
'I can't believe the price has more than doubled. Why the sudden spike?'
Seeing Fang Qingyuan's silence, the Shopkeeper added,
"This is already a good price. If it weren't for the recent shortage of hides for talismans, I wouldn't normally bother buying this quality of hide myself."
'A shortage of hides for talismans?'
The words immediately clicked for Fang Qingyuan. It seemed that in the month he had been away, the situation here had grown even more tense.
In the Cultivation Realm, Talismans were never cheap. Aside from the difficulty of crafting them, the cost of materials was a major factor.
In addition to the commonly used Cinnabar Xuan Paper, demon beast hides were also an excellent material for crafting talismans, with some hides even suitable for creating High-Tier Talismans.
Talismans were convenient for both combat and healing, and some High-Tier Talismans were even essential strategic assets for Battle Arrays.
Take the Five Elements Beast Talisman, for example. A single talisman could summon a Foundation Establishment Stage Primordial Spirit Demon Beast for its user to command. At a critical moment, such a Talisman could mean the difference between life and death.
The current price hike for raw hides meant that Talismans were in high demand, with someone on the market buying them up in massive quantities.
Connecting this to the Wei Family's recent forced conscription of the surrounding Cultivator Clans, Fang Qingyuan understood that the Wei Family was preparing to make a big move.
He just didn't know who their opponent was. Fang Qingyuan mentally reviewed all the powers around Celestial Gate Mountain but couldn't identify any faction that could be a match for the Wei Family.
'Ah, well. No point dwelling on what I can't figure out,' Fang Qingyuan decided. 'This sort of thing has little to do with me. I'm just an Inner Sect Disciple, after all.'
And so, Fang Qingyuan nodded and said,
"I'll take that price. I have a few more here, though. Why don't you take a look at them too, Shopkeeper?"
A long while later, the shop owner's eyes were dry and bloodshot—a clear sign of overusing a Pupil Technique.
Seeing this, Fang Qingyuan grew a little concerned and quietly advised,
"Why don't we call it a day? I can bring the rest back tomorrow."
The shop owner quickly waved him off. This was a prime opportunity to make a profit; how could he waste it over such a trivial matter?
In the end, Fang Qingyuan walked out of the shop, satisfied, with nine Middle-grade Spirit Stones tucked away, leaving the dazed-looking owner behind.
After Fang Qingyuan left, an assistant in the shop approached the owner and said in a low voice,
"Should we get some people and take those Spirit Stones back? I saw that kid is by himself and his cultivation isn't high. We could take him down easily."
Hearing this, the shop owner's eyes shot wide. His bloodshot gaze was terrifying as he snapped,
"You need to drop those White Mountain habits of yours! This is the Southern Border. Besides, a kid who can produce that many hides at once—do you think he's an easy target?
And another thing, did you catch a whiff of that scent on him?"
The assistant sniffed the air hard, as if trying to catch Fang Qingyuan's lingering scent. However, he smelled nothing and could only ask in confusion,
"What scent?"
"The mixed scent of Spirit Beasts. To be able to produce so many hides at a time like this, he must be from the Beast Taming Sect."
"So what if he's from the Beast Taming Sect? Back on White Mountain, we wouldn't hesitate to rob someone even if they were an ancestor from the mountain itself, let alone some sect member."
The shop owner sighed at his words. If it weren't for the sake of his deceased wife, he would have crippled this brother-in-law himself long ago to prevent the fool from implicating him.
"If you want to go, go by yourself. Don't drag me into it. And if you die, don't expect me to come collect your body."
With that, the shop owner returned to the inner chamber to meditate and regulate his breathing. The assistant outside stared resentfully in the direction Fang Qingyuan had gone, but in the end, he didn't leave the shop.
...
After selling all the demon beast hides, Fang Qingyuan immediately mounted his Humpbacked Ray and flew back to his sect.
After its advancement, the Humpbacked Ray's flight speed was even more astonishing. Now, even a Late-stage Qi Cultivation Cultivator couldn't catch up to it.
This wasn't even the Humpbacked Ray's top speed. Because it had just advanced, the silver trim had yet to appear on its back. Once the silver trim covered its entire body, the Humpbacked Ray would be as fast as lightning, able to leap a thousand zhang with a single flap of its bat-like wings.
Back at his home, Fang Qingyuan took stock of his current wealth. Huo Hu had given him eight Middle-grade Spirit Stones, five of which he had used to purchase the demon beast hides. Upon his return, he had given one to Zhang Yuan to thank him.
Now, by selling off all the hides and seizing the opportunity of the price hike, his initial investment of five Middle-grade Spirit Stones had turned into nine.
Adding the two he had left over, he now possessed a total of eleven Middle-grade Spirit Stones. This was undoubtedly a huge sum, but it was still a far cry from the three thousand required to purchase the Humpbacked Ray.
'Sigh... old friend, why are you so expensive?'
'If I really can't scrape the money together, then there's nothing to be done. I can't delay my own cultivation just for the sake of a Humpbacked Ray, after all.'
The next day, Fang Qingyuan went to the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall and found the Steward in charge of assignments to ask where he might be posted as an Inner Sect Disciple.
"The Spiritual Medicine garden on Return Peak to the west needs a Steward to watch over it. Are you interested, Junior Brother?"
'A garden Steward? That's not a bad option,' he thought. 'I'd only need to manage the Spirit Plant Cultivators without having to personally tend to the plants. Zhang Yuan was a guard there for three months before, too.'
The only thing was, while this guard didn't have to tend to the Spiritual Medicine, they had to deal with the demon beasts and Spirit Beasts that came to steal it.
'The medicines are precious. If I'm careless and a demon beast eats some, I'll have to pay a huge price. Besides, my combat abilities are weak. If I can't defeat the beasts, I'll become the laughingstock of the whole sect.'
As Fang Qingyuan considered this, his expression became hesitant. Seeing this, the Steward offered another option,
"Caring for the turtle-type Spirit Beasts at River Crow Pool to the south. That's an easy one. How about it, Junior Brother?"
River Crow Pool was home to a flock of turtle-type Spirit Beasts that required very little management, making for a very carefree and relaxed job. However, the pool had been carved out of the Black River, and the river's foul, black mist was an omnipresent miasma.
Cultivating in such an environment for an extended period would be problematic. Stagnant cultivation would be a minor issue; if one were poisoned by the mist and couldn't eradicate it, it could destroy their entire foundation.
Fang Qingyuan's expression soured. 'How can these be the only jobs left? Hated by gods and ghosts alike,' he thought. 'Isn't there a single post with little work, good pay, and close to the sect?'
Sensing Fang Qingyuan's dissatisfaction, the Steward gave a faint smile and said languidly,
"Since you're not satisfied with either, very well. In half a month, you can take your Humpbacked Ray on a mission. That will count as your completed assignment for the year. How does that sound?"