Chapter 8: The Three Life-Saving Treasures
Time flew by, in the blink of an eye, ten years had passed.
In these ten years, the Lin family had experienced many stories. Lin Batian's thirty-fifth child had been born. After Lin Die, two other members of the Lin family, Lin He (the second oldest) and Lin Ying (the tenth oldest), had advanced to the Foundation Building Stage. However, the eldest brother, Lin Shan, has failed in his efforts and was still stuck at the tenth level of Qi Refining.
In these ten years, Lin Batian had stopped expanding the Lin family's territory and focused on stabilizing the existing land. As a result, the Lin family had prospered even more. The number of Lin family cultivators had exceeded fifty, and they had become a rising star family in the southwest of Yun State.
Finally, Lin Jiang had reached the third level of Qi Refining at the age of 36. This was not remarkable in the Lin family, nor was it remarkable anywhere else. It was considered a poor achievement.
But Lin Jiang was very happy. The progress in his cultivation had brought him enhanced power, giving him a pleasurable feeling.
There had also been significant changes at the Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa. The number of tenants had increased from over a hundred to almost two hundred households. With more manpower, Lin Jiang could better manage the villa. He had also raised more Silver Light Fish, Silver Arrow Fish, Colorful Pigs, and Iron-backed Pigs. The annual income of the Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa had now exceeded five hundred spirit stones.
Lin Baohua, who lived at the Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa, seemed to have accepted his fate and no longer obsessed over refining the Wisdom Arousing Pill to awaken his Spiritual Root. Instead, he had gotten married and had children at the villa. He helped Lin Jiang manage the estate and placed his hopes for cultivation in the next generation.
······
"Feels so good!"
In the sky, Lin Jiang grabbed Lin Ying's shoulder and shouted loudly as they flew on their sword, it seemed like a wonderful thing.
But this made Lin Ying roll her eyes in annoyance. She could fly on her own sword with her four levels of Qi Refining, but her brother only had three levels. Now she had to carry him, how embarrassing.
Lin Die on the side shook her head in disbelief and decided not to look at her embarrassing little brother. She just focused on the journey ahead.
Yun State's Anhua City was about thousands of miles away from Lin family's territory. It took about two days for a cultivator at the Foundation Building Stage to travel there. Currently, Lin Die and Lin Ying were taking Lin Jiang to Anhua City.
These years, Lin Jiang had been staying in one place, and Lin Ying and Lin Die have became tired of the many delicious foods. They had gradually reduced their visits to the Spiritual Peach Mountain Villa. Lin Jiang also wanted to go out and explore, so he begged Lin Ying to take him along. Otherwise, with Lin Jiang's cultivation, it would take him at least half a month to get there, and there may be many dangers along the way. It was akin to sending a little shrimp at the level 3 of Qi Refining out to the bandits.
After enduring two days of sleeping outdoors, the three finally arrived at the famous Anhua City. Lin Jiang looked at the city, which resembled a giant dragon lying on the ground, and he felt amazed. Such a huge city is rare, even in modern society.
"It's amazing, isn't it? I was also amazed when I first came here. There are as many cultivators here as there are grains of rice."
"Qi Refining is everywhere, while Building Foundation is as common as dogs."
"Phew, phew, phew, you're the dog, should be walking everywhere with a Building Foundation, not worth a penny compared to a dog in Qi Refining."
Lin Ying was so angry that she wanted to throw Lin Jiang down; how dare he spoke like that, calling her sister worse than a dog?
Lin Jiang smirked without retorting, because it was true. In Anhua City, the Foundation Building Stage was not valuable, there were more people than dogs, and there were more people in the Qi Refining Stage than in the Foundation Building Stage. Wasn't that just the same as being worse than a dog in the Foundation Building Stage?
Flying was not allowed in Anhua City. The three of them landed outside the city and each paid a spirit stone as an entrance fee. They walked into Anhua City.
Lin Die had been to Anhua City many times before, so she led the two of them to the Lin family's business in Anhua City, which was a small shop.
"Third sister, sixth brother, tenth brother."
Second brother Lin He saw the three of them and immediately showed a smile. It was rare to see someone from the Lin family in Anhua City, so he was very happy, as it was like meeting an acquaintance from his hometown.
"second elder brother"
"Hello, second elder brother."
Three people greeted each other. Lin He had been in Anhua City for many years. The Lin family's business in Anhua City was an important base. They sold resources produced by the Lin family and bought things that the Lin family needed, playing an irreplaceable role.
Lin He asked the three people what they were here for. Lin Die and Lin Ying were here to buy medicine. The medicine for those in the Qi Refining Stage was called Qi Gathering Pill, which could be bought in the Lin family's market. However, the medicine for those in the Foundation Building Stage called True Spirit Pill was hard to find in the market, and the quality was poor. It had too many impurities, which was not good for cultivators. So, Lin Die would come to Anhua City to buy medicine from time to time.
As for Lin Jiang, he came to broaden his horizons. This was the first time the inexperienced Lin Jiang had left the Lin family's territory.
Lin He enthusiastically introduced Lin Jiang to the many shops in Anhua City. There were many resources needed by cultivators, and each shop had its own specialty. People who didn't know would have no idea how to shop.
The front and back of the Lin family's shop was spacious. The trio decided to stay there and save money on an inn. After settling in, they made a plan to go shopping together.
Anhua City was packed with people. The streets were bustling with crowds, and the shops lined up one after another. There were medicine stores, spiritual herb stores, spiritual talisman stores, clothing stores, restaurants, and inns, offering everything you could imagine.
"This is the grand marketplace where you can eat, drink, and have fun. But little brother, don't buy cultivation items from the stalls or hope for a bargain. The cultivators here are all experienced and have a keen eye. They won't give you a chance for a bargain. Anything that seems like a deal is definitely a scam."
Lin Die pointed at the roadside stalls, where many cultivators spread out a piece of cloth to set up their stalls. They sold all kinds of medicine, spiritual talismans, spiritual herbs, and even broken magic weapons or incomplete treasure maps.
But most of these items are junk, trash, or scams. Skilled alchemists wouldn't set up stalls here. They were treated as honored guests in various shops. Precious spiritual herbs wouldn't be left for ordinary cultivators to find. As for treasure maps and the like, if you really went searching for them, you might end up being robbed by ruthless bandits.
"Third Sister, I'm not a beginner, why would I believe this?"
Lin Jiang was immediately convinced by Lin Die's words and put away his main character halo, even though it seemed like he didn't have one.
Lin Die, as the oldest of the three, introduced Lin Jiang and Lin Ying to many aspects of Anhua City, including various unbelievable scams. She advised them to stay true to themselves and not be greedy, so they could avoid more than ninety percent of the scams.
There were too many vendors at the big market, selling all kinds of things, including various snacks. Lin Jiang was never stingy when it came to food. After walking down the street, the three of them had dozens of different kinds of snacks in their hands, and Lin Ying's mouth never stopped.
"My brother is always the best to me."
Lin Ying said happily. Even though she had already reached the Foundation Building Stage, she would always be the little sister in Lin Jiang's eyes.
Lin Die felt a bit sad about this. Her own older brother was Lin Shan, but they were over twenty years apart. They didn't have the typical sibling bond and their relationship was similar to that of ordinary siblings. She admired Lin Ying for that because whenever it was, Lin Jiang would always dote on her.
The next morning, Lin Die took the two of them to familiar shops to buy things. Lin Die told them that when she came to Anhua City, she mostly relied on familiar shops, not for cheaper prices but for reliability. If they went to unfamiliar shops rashly, they could easily be deceived, and some shops even had thieves hidden behind them. Once they left the city, they would be easily ambushed and killed.
"Greetings to Senior Lin."
They entered a shop called Duobao Pavilion. The shop assistant saw Lin Die and immediately smiled. He led the three people to a private room and treated them like important guests.
The shop assistant served tea and soon a steward came over. The steward exchanged pleasantries with Lin Die and then asked her what she needed this time. Lin Die listed the things she needed.
Lin Die needed True Spirit Pills for her training, a few second-level spiritual talismans, and some healing and energy-replenishing pills. She spent over four thousand spirit stones like this.
"Tenth Sister, if you need anything, you can buy it here. I'm familiar with Duobao Pavilion, and I have a Duobao Token, which gives me a certain discount."
Lin Die told Lin Ying that Duobao Pavilion was one of the top businesses in Anhua City and had a great reputation in Yun State. It was safer to buy things here.
Lin Ying nodded and also listed the things she needed, mostly True Spirit Pills. She also bought a flying sword and spent a few thousand spirit stones.
"What about you, Sixth Brother?"
"Of course I'm also going to buy something."
"What do you need?"
"A soft armor, a flying sword that focuses on speed, a set of silver needles used for techniques."
"Why did you buy these? It would be better to concentrate our resources and buy some Qi Gathering Pills. The Qi Gathering Pills from Duobao Pavilion are very famous, with a better quality than those in the Lin family market by about 30-40%."
Lin Die was dumbfounded, wondering why Sixth Brother had such a strange request. Why not buy some elixirs to improve their cultivation?
"Buying these is for self-preservation. We should also buy some elixirs. Just buy some at random."
Lin Jiang said firmly, "Of course we are thinking about self-preservation. I researched all night yesterday and finally decided on these three life-saving items."
The soft armor could be worn for strong defense. It was for protection. The flying sword that focused on speed was for escaping. The silver needles were used for sneaky attacks. In summary, they were all for survival in dangerous situations.
"Self-preservation? You stay in the mountain villa all year round. What do you need to preserve?"
Lin Die was dumbfounded. With your nature as a shut-in, do you really need to think about preserving yourself?
"Who knows? Maybe I'll get excited one day and go out to have some fun. There are so many people killing and stealing treasures out there. We must have some means of self-preservation, Third Sister. It's decided."
Lin Jiang said in a careless manner, "What does it mean to stay in the villa? I am like a hidden dragon in the abyss, in hiding. Besides, is it safe at home? What if there are robbers who are reckless?"
"Shopkeeper, could you please bring out the corresponding treasures to have a look at?"
"Sure."
The steward of Duobao Pavilion also smiled silently. This little taoist friend valued his life a lot. He already knew the importance of self-preservation at the third level of Qi Refining.
Soon, the shop assistant brought out the corresponding treasures. There was a soft armor made of silk from silkworms, a medium-grade magical weapon, capable of withstanding three full-force attacks from a cultivator at the sixth level of Qi Refining. There was also a silver flying sword, slender in its blade, which could increase speed by thirty percent compared to others with the same cultivation level. Lastly, there was also a set of silver needle magical weapons, as thin as cow hair, with the ability to shield one's divine consciousness. They were best suited for stealthy sneak attacks.
"The discount price for the soft armor is 4,500 spirit stones, 2,000 spirit stones for the flying sword, and 1,500 spirit stones for the silver needle magical weapons. With Taoist Friend Lin Die's Duobao Token, the total amount is 4,500 spirit stones."
"Here are 5,000 spirit stones. Keep the remaining 500 spirit stones and exchange them for Qi Gathering Pills for me."
Lin Jiang took out 5,000 spirit stones, which were his savings for many years. Besides the monthly salary from his family, only a few spirit stones were left. Plus, the money his mother saved and gave him each year, it all ended up here.
"Lin Ying, don't you want to persuade your brother?"
"I don't need to persuade, I think my older brother is doing the right thing. As long as he can save his life, he doesn't need to fight or kill others, and I don't want to come either."
Lin Ying shook her head. She knew her brother's talent. Eating more Qi Gathering Pills wouldn't be of much use. It would be better to spend money to arm himself and prioritize his own life when faced with danger.
Lin Die was speechless when she heard this. If the siblings didn't take spirit stones seriously, why should she be concerned about them?
