Chapter 391: Caravan's Journey
After successfully refining the new Flying Boat, Wang Hong took the initiative to approach Gu Yuan and Sloppy Old Daoist to discuss their next steps.
With the consent of the two Golden Core Elders, the East Zhou Trading Company could dispatch a caravan, ensuring the security of their defenses, to engage in trade with other stationed cultivators along the third defense line.
Due to their previous trading experiences, the two Golden Core Elders did not oppose Wang Hong's proposal.
Furthermore, Wang Hong's actions could be seen as a favorable move in defending against the Demon Clan.
Once they obtained approval, Yin Ze led a group of individuals from the trading company, including Alchemists, Refining Masters, Talisman Makers, Spirit Meal Masters, and others, to set out on a Flying Boat.
The items they brought for trade this time were crafted from materials obtained from Demonic Beasts on the battlefield. Additionally, they could gather local resources wherever they went.
Several miles away at a campsite, some Immortal Cultivators suddenly noticed a Flying Boat approaching their location.
Then, two formidable figures emerged from the campsite, heading towards the Flying Boat.
"Who goes there? Halt at once!"
As the guardians of the campsite, they would not allow unrelated individuals to come and go freely. Who could be certain whether the newcomers were friend or foe?At this moment, Yin Ze stepped out of the Flying Boat and stood on the deck. After paying his respects, he spoke, "We are a caravan from the East Zhou Trading Company, dispatched by Elder Gu of the Qingxu Sect and Elder Chu, to trade with stationed cultivators all along the defense line and provide some conveniences. Here are tokens from the two elders; please examine them."
Yin Ze presented two tokens, which he held up using Spiritual Power, to the two Golden Core cultivators.
The two accepted the tokens and carefully inspected them. The tokens emitted the unmistakable Spiritual Power aura of the two Golden Core cultivators, making them impossible to counterfeit.
"These are indeed tokens from the two elders. What is the purpose of your visit?" one of the Golden Core cultivators inquired with a somewhat eased expression as he returned the tokens to Yin Ze.
"Respected seniors, our purpose in coming here is to bring a substantial amount of strategic resources for trade, and we will patrol along the entire defense line. Additionally, we will provide services such as repairing Magical Weapons for the stationed cultivators."
Upon hearing this, the two Golden Core cultivators became more amiable.
Resources in their stationed area had become scarce, even though the Qingxu Sect still sent some supplies; they were barely enough to make a difference. Many cultivators' weapons were damaged, some beyond repair, and some in need of repair. With their daily battle duties, they didn't have enough manpower to handle these tasks.
The arrival of this caravan was like a long-awaited rain in a drought.
The two Golden Core cultivators were unaware of how Gu Yuan managed to spare the manpower for this endeavor, but that was not their immediate concern. Right now, they desperately needed these resources.
However, they did not let their guard down. Both of them boarded the Flying Boat and carefully inspected it before allowing it to land in the campsite.
News of the caravan's arrival quickly spread among the cultivators, and those who had the time hurried to the docking area for the Flying Boat.
Yin Ze organized his team and had just started unloading the cargo from the hold of the ship when they were quickly surrounded by a crowd.
"Everyone, please form a queue! Form a queue! No pushing, everyone will have a chance to make a purchase!" Yin Ze shouted loudly.
However, his shouts went unheard as the people scrambled over one another, fearing they might miss out on buying what they needed. They resembled a group of hungry individuals who, upon seeing a feast, could see nothing else and hear nothing else.
In the end, it was a stationed Golden Core cultivator who couldn't bear it any longer. He shouted loudly, releasing his Golden Core pressure, which finally calmed the chaotic crowd.
With the caravan's guidance, everyone was organized into several queues based on the type of items they wished to purchase.
The variety of items available for sale was not extensive; there were only a few major categories.
Among these categories, only Spirit Meal was refined from Demonic Beast meat, and the raw materials were abundant and could be supplied without limitation.
On the other hand, items like Talismans, Magical Weapons, Spiritual Weapons, and Pills were also refined using Demonic Beast materials, but the quantity of these materials was limited, so they could only be supplied in limited quantities.
Otherwise, items like Talismans and Pills, which were consumable Spiritual Objects, would likely be sold out quickly.
Additionally, the caravan would also purchase some Demonic Beast materials from the stationed cultivators.
"Why won't you take my fire crow claws when you're accepting those useless Demonic Beast carcasses? These can be used as refining tool materials!" A dissatisfied cultivator asked, having been rejected.
"Fellow Daoist, we purchase these Demonic Beast carcasses based on weight, at a rate of ten thousand jin for one low-grade Spirit Stone. If you're willing to sell your fire crow claws at this price, we would be happy to buy them."
"Can these two be compared? My fire crow claws can be refined into Magical Weapons, whereas the useful parts on those beast carcasses have already been taken by others. You can easily find them lying around beneath the city walls," the cultivator argued persistently.
"Fellow Daoist, you are welcome to pick up materials beneath the city walls. We will buy everything as listed. However, I must be honest with you; even if you were to give me these fire crow claws for free, I wouldn't take them. There is currently an oversupply of low-tier refining tool materials, and even if they are refined into Magical Weapons, they cannot be sold."
The cultivator had no choice but to give up. His items were not in demand, and he lacked the power to force a sale. Those waiting in line behind him were already growing impatient.
The caravan stayed at this campsite for over ten days, during which they processed the collected materials. They transformed animal skins into Talismans, inscribed Talismans, refined demon cores into Pills, and prepared some edible Demonic Beast meat into Spirit Meals.
Once everything was ready, the caravan, loaded with goods, continued its journey to the next stationed campsite.
A month after the caravan's departure, Wang Hong received dozens of mature Spiritual Herbs from Gu Yuan. These Spiritual Herbs were specifically used for refining Golden Cores, and Wang Hong was surprised that the sect had actually given them to him in their mature form.
He brought these Spiritual Herbs into his Space, but there was no available space in the garden to plant them. Thus, he had to invest over a million Spirit Stones to expand his Space by another ten acres.
Currently, his Space covered a total of 305 acres, and time inside flowed 334 times faster than in the outside world.
Wang Hong used the additional ten acres to plant several Spiritual Herbs for refining Golden Cores, consolidating the ones he had collected earlier in one place for easier management.
Upon counting them, he realized that he was still missing two main herbs to complete a full recipe.
He subtly inquired Sloppy Old Daoist about it, but the sect had not planted these two main herbs as they lacked suitable growth conditions within the sect.
Wang Hong could only think of a solution for this issue later. Searching for these two herbs would require venturing through the Demon Beast blockade, which was not an easy task.
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