Chapter 51: Chapter 51: Mysterious Enemy, Make a Small Profit

Hongya Marketplace.

Having been assigned to gather information, Zhou Chun could now openly leave the shop to stroll places like the street markets.

Therefore, for the next half-month, he would spend most of his days outside, sourcing for discussions about the Red Shine Iron Mine within the marketplace and keeping an eye out for any Spiritual Medicine that might appear at the stalls.

Over this half a month, not only had he sent all the intelligence he gathered back to his family, but he had also acquired several decent Spiritual Medicines from the stalls.

Based on the chatter in the marketplace, the Loose Cultivators didn’t much care whether the Red Shine Iron Mine belonged to the top five cultivating families or some other power, as it was unlikely to end up in the hands of such independent practitioners.

So, for the most part, these Loose Cultivators were watching the situation with a spectator’s interest, eagerly hoping that the other factions and the five major families would clash, and preferably suffer heavy casualties on both sides.

This was actually a good thing for the five major cultivating families.

At least they didn’t have to worry about these Loose Cultivator groups causing trouble over this matter.

But what Zhou Chun hadn’t expected was that, only a few days after he sent the intelligence back to his family, a power made a covert move against the five major cultivating families.

To be precise, they targeted the Zhou Family!

Without warning, Loose Cultivators who were heading to the Zhou Family for cultivation suddenly fell into an ambush by a mysterious force, resulting in many deaths and injuries.

As a result, the Loose Cultivators who had been regularly coming to the Zhou Family for their cultivation were now too afraid to continue doing so.

Their retreat not only meant a decrease in the Spirit Coins earned by the Zhou Family but also had a larger impact on the task of manning the Spirit Cleansing Pavilion.

With the help of these Loose Cultivators, the Zhou Family only needed to assign two of their own to stand guard at the Spirit Cleansing Pavilion, which allowed many Zhou Family Cultivators to spend time on other matters.

Now, with the Loose Cultivators too scared to go to the Zhou Family for cultivation, the Spirit Cleansing Pavilion no longer had their help, and most of the Zhou Family Cultivators were now tied up guarding the pavilion, unable to attend to other matters.

“The enemy is fierce, it seems that all the Loose Cultivators in Lanzhou have received a warning, none dare to come to our Zhou Family for cultivation anymore!”

“The Clan Leader has ordered the entire clan to prepare for battle and has temporarily forbidden clan members from leaving the mountain, so as not to give the enemy an opportunity to exploit.”

“Here at the shop, the eagle messages will also be suspended for now, we will only follow the verbal instructions of the Clan Leader and the Elders.”

In the Spirit Beast Restaurant, Zhou Jiasheng conveyed the familial intelligence to Zhou Chun with a somber face.

The Zhou Family at Jiufeng Ridge was just starting to get back on track, hoping to leverage the newly discovered Red Shine Iron Mine to make a significant impact.

But they were suddenly hit with this huge setback.

For an old family member like Zhou Jiasheng, there was no way he would take this well.

Zhou Chun was also in a bad mood, but he still asked, “Do we still not know who the enemy is? A force capable of issuing a warning to all Loose Cultivators in Lanzhou and deterring them from associations with our Zhou Family must be no trivial entity, right?”

“The Clan Leader did not specify, presumably still investigating.”

Zhou Jiasheng shook his head and then clenched his teeth and said, “However, a fox can’t hide its tail forever, they won’t be able to hide for long!”

Zhou Chun agreed with this point.

If the enemy had already made a move against the Zhou Family, it surely wouldn’t end with simply stopping the Loose Cultivators from coming to the Zhou Family for cultivation; there would definitely be other moves to come.

Eventually, their identity could no longer remain hidden.

He then changed the topic and asked, “Has the Clan Leader given any instructions for our side then?”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jiasheng immediately answered, “The Clan Leader has asked us to temporarily cease the acquisition of common Spiritual Objects and to only purchase Hundred-Year Spirit Herbs and the like, using the earned Spirit Coins to buy Talismans and Magic Artifacts to enhance the family’s reserves for military preparation!”

After finishing, he looked at Zhou Chun and said, “I will need to handle this matter personally. In the meantime, you will take charge of the shop to serve customers who come to shop. Gently dissuade those who come to sell their goods!”

“Understood,” Zhou Chun nodded, his heart a mix of anxiety and anticipation as he agreed to take on the task.

Afterward, Zhou Jiapeng took away more than ninety percent of the Spirit Coins from the shop’s accounts and set out to peruse through the various shops to slowly purchase Talismans, Magic Artifacts, and other treasures.

Zhou Chun, meanwhile, manned the shop, responsible for selling goods to recoup funds.

One day, as Zhou Chun was watching over the shop by himself, a man in blue garb, who appeared to be middle-aged, walked in.

Upon seeing him, Zhou Chun habitually wanted to check the man’s cultivation level first.

Just as his divine sense was about to make contact, it was blocked by a much stronger divine sense.

A cultivator of the Foundation Establishment Stage!

Zhou Chun was startled and quickly bowed in respectful apology, “Junior acted rashly and offended senior, please forgive me.”

The man in blue did not seem to mind and instead, with a frown, turned to him and asked, “Young one, are you the shopkeeper of this establishment?”

“Senior sees clearly, junior is not the shopkeeper, but merely a shop assistant,” Zhou Chun honestly answered, maintaining a respectful demeanor.

Before the man in blue could say anything further, Zhou Chun quickly added, “However, this store belongs to junior’s family and in the absence of the shopkeeper, junior does have the authority to manage all affairs within the shop.”

“Is that so? Does your shop have any Snake Coiling Branches with a medicinal age of over a hundred years for sale?”

The man in blue scanned Zhou Chun and stated his purpose in a deep voice.

He wasn’t here for the ordinary goods in the shop but was looking to buy Spiritual Medicine.

Upon hearing his words, Zhou Chun knew that he must urgently need Snake Coiling Branches with a medicinal age of over a hundred years for his concoctions, which is why he was using this crude method of going from shop to shop to inquire and purchase.

To Zhou Chun’s delight, he had just recently acquired a segment of a Snake Coiling Branch over a hundred years old from the Hongya Marketplace.

He immediately said with a smile, “Then senior has really come at the right time, our shop does indeed have a segment of Snake Coiling Branch over one hundred and fifty years old, and it has already been purified!”

“Really? Bring it out for Yang to see at once!”

The man in blue, showing a hint of joy, eagerly extended his hand towards Zhou Chun, urging him to bring out the item.

Zhou Chun, seeing this, did not dare to delay, hurriedly tapped his storage pouch and took out the wooden box containing the Snake Coiling Branch.

Slap!

The man in blue, unable to wait, instantly flipped open the wooden box, took out the nearly two-foot-long bluish-black branch, and began examining it closely.

After scrutinizing it for a moment, he nodded in satisfaction, “Indeed, it is a Snake Coiling Branch of over one hundred and fifty years.”

He then looked at Zhou Chun and said, “Name your price, Yang will take it.”

“Senior sees clearly, ordinarily Snake Coiling Branches are not considered precious Spiritual Medicine, but they are quite rare and hard to find, they shouldn’t be sold at too high a price!”

“However, rarity makes them valuable, and their complex growing conditions often mean they could be destroyed or overlooked by cultivators who fail to recognize them, making it incredibly difficult to find such aged Snake Coiling Branches.”

“Therefore, the price set by our shop for this item is one hundred and twenty Spirit Coins, and we will not sell for less than that!”

Zhou Chun said as much, then carefully looked up at the man in blue and quickly added, “Of course, senior, if you find the price too steep, you can wait for our shopkeeper to return and discuss further, he might give you a discount.”

“No need for a discount. It’s a bit expensive at one hundred and twenty Spirit Coins, but Yang is not so poor that he cannot afford that amount,” the man in blue glanced at him, promptly picked up the wooden box and stored it in his storage pouch, then took out one hundred and twenty Spirit Coins and threw them on the counter.

“Count the Spirit Coins, and if there are no issues, Yang will take his leave.”

Zhou Chun was not about to be polite, immediately unleashed his divine sense to scan the Spirit Coins, and with a beaming smile, said, “There is no problem with the Spirit Coins, senior, please go ahead.”

Once the man in blue left, Zhou Chun swiftly gathered all the Spirit Coins into his own storage pouch, his face bursting with joy.

He had made a major profit this time!

That Snake Coiling Branch had cost him merely twenty-five Spirit Coins.

Now, with this single transaction, he had made several times that in profit!

Indeed, he had not misjudged; the Purification Stone Pot was his own Treasure Basin, capable of amassing wealth for him continuously.

And this would certainly not be a one-time event.

As long as he stayed in the Marketplace and in the Zhou Family shop, he was sure to encounter more opportunities like this.

Perhaps, in the future, even without his family’s assistance, he could earn enough Spirit Coins to buy those Spiritual Objects that aid in Foundation Establishment!