BXBX NOVEL Chapter 224 - 129: Changes in Ancient Plains,
Translator: 549690339
“There’s a small black market in each direction – north, south, east, and west!”
This really surprised Luo Chen.
Notably, one of these black markets is organized by their own Broken Mountain Gang, often used to auction off resources beneficial for those at the Middle Stage of Qi Refinement.
For a while, the Medium Grade Jade Marrow Pill that Luo Chen crafted was a sought-after treasure there.
“No way, was that thing really popular?”
“We sold them separately!” Dong Fangliang, who used to guard the black market before becoming Luo Chen’s bodyguard, explained.
Yep, just like that Wang surname cultivator who gave Luo Chen advice at Zhenlong Black Market.
His main appeal was his big, strong body – which was quite a selling point!
“Additionally, they’re often auctioned together with other resources.”
“Hall Master, you might not know this, but during the time we regularly auctioned off your Jade Marrow Pills, it garnered significant attention. The prices weren’t high, but we attracted quite a crowd. The Broken Mountain Black Market was at the top of the charts for participation among all the black markets in the Outer City area.”
Luo Chen’s eyebrows twitched, only now realizing why his fame as “Dan Chenzi” had been growing.
It turned out that the gang had been promoting him informally!
Moreover, having a stable supply of pills from a Pill Refiner for auction in a black market could indeed attract a lot of attention.
Conversing and meandering, they soon arrived at the foot of Qinghe Mountain.
From afar, he saw a young man with a cold temperament and face like jade, shirtless, displaying his muscular build as he hammered away at an iron bar, stroke after stroke.
What a wonderful sight!
“Xiao Duan, you seem busy!”
Duan Feng looked up, his mouth twitching. Wasn’t that obvious?
Luo Chen waved his hand, “Come, you five, line up behind him straight!”
The bodyguards were a bit stunned but obediently lined up under the flagpole.
“Next, after I shout a sentence, you repeat it loudly.”
With Duan Feng’s pupils shaking, Luo Chen laughingly started, “Wind is blowing, rain is falling, don’t be afraid if your magic tool is broken.”
Zhou Yuanli, with his mouth agape, repeated the sentence under his breath.
So did the others – all barely above a whisper.
However, Luo Chen’s shouted rebuke followed.
“Haven’t you eaten?”
“All of you, shout louder!”
Zhou Yuanli’s face turned red. He swore, even in his most desperate times, he had never done anything like this before.
Just as he hesitated, Dong Fangliang’s loud shout next to him had already erupted.
“Wind is blowing, rain is falling, don’t be afraid if your magic tool is broken!”
“Huh?”
Luo Chen glared at Zhou Yuanli. This old man hadn’t put his back into it!
“Let’s try again, and don’t let me catch you slacking off, or you can roll back to Gang Leader Mi. I, Luo Chen, cannot afford to support useless people who can’t open their mouths.”
“Listen now! A few Spirit Stones might seem expensive, but Feng Sea Smithy offers the best value!”
Zhou Yuanli clenched his teeth, straining his neck, closed his eyes tight at the next moment.
“A few Spirit Stones might seem expensive, but Feng Sea Smithy offers the best value!”
All five Late Stage Qi Refinement Cultivators shouted out the sentence simultaneously with Spirit Power.
The loud sound soared to the skies, startling the cloud cranes.
All nearby cultivators couldn’t help but look in their direction.
‘This is so embarrassing, folks!’ – Zhou Yuanli.
He dared not mute his shout, Luo Chen was watching him, and if he really were to be returned to Meter Uncle Hua, his fate would be worse than simply being embarrassed.
Next, Luo Chen improvised a few more catchy phrases on the spot to promote the Magic Tool shop.
Only when Duan Feng began to give him pleading looks did he stop, though he still seemed not satisfied.
With a wave of his hand.
“Go stand further away, look at your sorry faces, you can’t even be enthusiastic about a chant. How can I count on you if we meet any Calamity Cultivators.”
Zhou Yuanli and Liu Qiang, like frightened sparrows, fled far from the scene.
This was genuinely too embarrassing.
Generally, they were not obscure cultivators, and there were many cultivators in The Great River District who recognized them.
After the group moved away, Luo Chen’s face turned solemn.
“How are the recent earnings?”
Duan Feng sighed.
This made Luo Chen a bit nervous.
However, Duan Feng’s following words did make him sigh with relief.
“I was too arrogant before, I didn’t listen to your advice.”
“This Magic Tool business, indeed, earns considerably more than me working myself to death.”
Under Luo Chen’s gaze, he revealed a number.
Two thousand!
Luo Chen’s eyes widened, it has only been less than half a month since the Feng Sea Duan Family’s store had opened!
And they’ve earned this much?
It was only after Duan Feng’s explanation that he had an epiphany.
The spirit stones earned from repairing magic tools were just a few hundred.
Primarily because this work was very time-consuming.
What really earned spirit stones was the recycling and high-priced selling of second-hand magic tools.
A lot of those second-hand magic tools seemed heavily damaged, but in reality it was just that the cultivators didn’t understand the business.
Duan Feng would buy them at a low price and just a slight repair would restore eighty to ninety percent of its power.
And then sell them at a high price.
The Ancient Plains Mountain Range was the place in The Great River District where the wear and tear of magic tools was the most severe.
Now with escalating conflicts, it was even more widespread.
In a short time, Duan Feng constantly bought low and sold high. The profits generated from the price difference between the two were enough to cause a stir.
“I still have several heavily damaged medium-grade magical tools, the purchase price is just two or three hundred.”
“Give me some time to fix them, and I can sell each one for a high price of seven to eight hundred.”
“The only thing that holds me back is the lack of manpower.”
Duan Feng pointed at the iron ingot in front of him, “Just like hammering this fine iron material, it’s the most basic task but it consumes a lot of manpower and time. In fact, even a mid-stage Qi Refinement Cultivator or an early-stage cultivator could do it.”
“If sufficient time is saved, I can study several arrays in my hand, and I might even be able to repair ascendant-grade magic tools in the future.”
Luo Chen had never seen Duan Feng speak so much at once.
But Luo Chen listened very carefully, because this was the field Duan Feng excelled at.
Midway through listening, Luo Chen realized what kind of dilemma Duan Feng was facing.
Simply put, it was just like when he used to refine pills.
Some simple tasks didn’t need any technical content.
But without someone to help, it was very time-consuming.
However, this problem was easy to solve!
People?
They were always the most abundant expendable resource.
Even in the Immortal Cultivation World, there were plenty of lower-order rogue cultivators who could be utilized!
“This will be easy to handle, I…”
Just as Luo Chen was about to offer to help solve the problem, his speech involuntarily paused.
He and Duan Feng together, looked towards Qinghe Mountain.
A large number of cultivators were frantically fleeing down the huge mountain path hidden under ancient trees.
There were over a hundred of them, a mountain of people, a sea of people!
At first glance, the fleeing cultivators appeared as if they were being pursued by ferocious demon beasts.
The cultivators outside the mountain all stopped what they were doing and looked at the fleeing rogue cultivators in bewilderment.
Each of them had clothes that were full of blood and claw marks.
It was as if they had been through a fierce life and death struggle.
They’re close! They’re close!
Soon, the vanguard started to escape to the foot of their mountain.
Luo Chen didn’t hesitate, and sent Liu Qiang to catch a mid-stage Qi Refinement rogue cultivator.
“What’s happened? Why the panic!”
That rogue cultivator was originally focusing on running for his life, and was initially furious when someone grabbed him.
But after seeing the cultivators in front of him, he couldn’t help but shudder.
“Senior, demon beasts are rampaging in the mountain, indiscriminately attacking humans.”
Demon beasts are rampaging?
Luo Chen’s brow furrowed, and he directly asked:
“Where are the head Foundation Establishment cultivators?”
The rogue cultivator said in fear: “A few days ago, the Heavenly Craft Qi Snatching Array suddenly contracted, throwing all rogue cultivators below the Foundation Establishment level out. We don’t know the current situation of those Foundation Establishment cultivators!”
The Array is contracting?
Duan Feng, lost in his thoughts, said softly: “This usually happens when the big array’s energy is insufficient. To protect the core area, this phenomenon would occur.”
Luo Chen’s brow raised.
It seemed that the struggle for the Golden Core remains had come to the most critical moment.
After letting go of the rogue cultivator, Luo Chen looked far into the distance.
With his Double Spirit Vision Technique, he could see much farther than any other Qi Refinement Stage Cultivator. It was not an overstatement to call it a minor Thousand Mile Vision.
Where his eyes reached, agile figures were darting around amidst the towering ancient trees.
In the forest, there were even giants over a dozen meters tall, brutally chasing after the rogue cultivators.
“Let’s go, let’s head back!”
Luo Chen said calmly, a gentleman does not stand beneath a dangerous wall!