Chapter 25 Trade

"Fellow, please wait!"

Li Shiming was strolling towards the official boat when he heard a voice calling out from behind.

If it weren't for the fact that this was a government-operated dock, surrounded by officials and soldiers, upon hearing the call he almost took out the 'white phosphorus grenade' from the room's space to fire at whoever was behind him.

In the Cultivation World, hearing such familiar words made him feel extremely uneasy.

He turned his head to see who had spoken.

It was a man in his thirties wearing a blue robe, with a round face.

Li Shiming's gaze swept across the round-faced man's waist, and he immediately understood why the man had called him 'fellow'; he could see a storage bag at the man's waist.

To his surprise, the round-faced man turned out to be a cultivator; the cultivators he imagined certainly wouldn't take an ordinary boat.

Cultivators, if not able to fly through the skies, should at least be able to move as fast as the wind and would not fancy slow official boats.

"May I ask what this is about?" he asked, without calling the other man 'fellow.' Si Qin and Mo Yan, as well as the four guards, were not far away, making the appellation 'fellow' too strange to use.

"I've forgotten to introduce myself, I am Fan Yiyang. As fate has brought us together on this boat, I just wanted to greet you," the round-faced man replied with a smile, his eyes holding a curious look.

Of course, Fan Yiyang found it strange; Li Shiming was clearly wearing a lower-grade defensive robe and had a lower-grade longsword magic artifact at his waist, with what appeared to be a storage bag bulging at his lower back.

Such attire surely screamed that he was a cultivator, did it not?

Besides, Li Shiming did not even try to conceal the spiritual power fluctuations emanating from his body.

Why then did he seem afraid of revealing his identity as a cultivator? Fan Yiyang couldn't understand.

"Li Shiming has seen Mr. Fan. Since fate has brought us together, how about we have some tea?" Li Shiming saw that the other's attitude was good and, since they were going to be on the same boat, he also revealed his name.

This was his first interaction with a fellow cultivator since he had achieved some success in Qi Refinement, and he was very willing to exchange with Fan Yiyang.

"Haha, I am honored," Fan Yiyang, who intended just that, replied with a laugh.

The two boarded the official boat and proceeded to the third deck, half of which would be Li Shiming's living quarters for the following ten plus days, and the other half belonged to Fan Yiyang.

This alone indicated that Fan Yiyang's identity was far from ordinary.

The two sat down, and Li Shiming did not call for Si Qin and Mo Yan to serve them. He took out tea leaves from his storage bag and poured into the kettle the 'Spring Breeze and Rain Skill' rainwater he had saved earlier.

Fan Yiyang remained silent, watching Li Shiming's actions with a clear look of pleasure on his face.

Li Shiming placed a cup of tea in front of Fan Yiyang and gestured for him to drink.

"This tea is quite exquisite, even among worldly things!" Fan Yiyang remarked with enjoyment after sipping it lightly.

During his days in the secular world, Fan Yiyang had long since finished all the spirit food in his storage bag and was now relying on High-level Grain Avoidance Pills for sustenance.

These pills could satisfy hunger but were somewhat expensive for an early-stage Qi Refining cultivator.

In the Cultivation World, this tea was nothing to speak of, not even comparable to Spiritual Tea, but in the secular world, having a cup of tea imbued with spiritual energy, especially made with water that also contained spiritual energy, was indeed a rarity.

"Mr. Li, forgive my boldness, but I sensed the scent of Spirit Rice from you. I wonder if I could buy some from you?" Fan Yiyang didn't shy away from expressing his wish outright.

Li Shiming heard his words and paused slightly, he sniffed himself but did not detect any special odor.

"I have cultivated a spell related to scents, and I am very sensitive to odors. Mr. Li, please rest assured, I will buy at the market price and will not let you suffer any loss!" Seeing his reaction, Fan Yiyang smiled and explained.

"I do have some Spirit Rice, how much does fellow need?" Li Shiming's consciousness entered the machine room space, and he prepared the 'white phosphorus grenade,' ready to strike at the first sign of trouble. On the surface, he showed no signs of anything amiss and inquired.

None of the cultivators he had met before were easy to get along with; almost none of them took mortals seriously, and even among cultivators, encounters usually led to killings.

This made him extremely wary of the Cultivation World.

"Does fellow have a hundred catties?" Fan Yiyang's eyes lit up as he hurriedly asked.

The reason he took the initiative to greet Li Shiming was that he knew Li Shiming carried with him the scent of Spirit Rice.

He didn't harbor any thoughts of robbery, as this related to his own strength.

From the fluctuations of spiritual power emanating from Li Shiming, he could tell that Li Shiming's strength was at the Qi Refining Second Level.

Fan Yiyang himself was also at the Qi Refining Second Level of strength. Additionally, considering the defensive and offensive magic artifacts on Li Shiming, as well as his age, it was clear that Li Shiming had backing. He did not want to fight to the death over some Spirit Rice.

"That is possible, but I have a request as well. Fellow, please tell me about the affairs of the Cultivation World!" Li Shiming considered briefly before agreeing and made an additional request.

"Haha, just as well, the journey is boring. I accept!" Upon hearing this condition, Fan Yiyang couldn't help but laugh and respond.

Li Shiming channeled spiritual energy onto his storage bag, which contained only Spirit Rice, along with a small amount of spirit water and tea leaves.

He no longer consumed mundane substances, drinking only spirit water and eating Spirit Rice.

Though he had given up the pleasures of the palate, compared to the contamination of the body, it was all worth it.

A rice bag appeared on the table. Fortunately, they were on the third floor, and no third person was present. Otherwise, the sudden appearance of the rice bag might have shocked ordinary people.

Fan Yiyang did not need to inspect it; the spiritual energy emanating from the rice bag was enough to determine that the quality of this Spirit Rice was quite good.

"Mr. Li, I won't stand on ceremony. I've been out for a while and have long run out of provisions!" said Fan Yiyang with a smile as he packed up the rice bag.

With a wave of his hand, a hundred glowing stones appeared on the table, and then he placed a book on the table as well.

"I did not expect fellow's Spirit Rice to be of such good quality. One Spirit Stone per catty is a steal for me. I'll gift this 'Concealing Breath Skill' to you!" he said with a smile.

He didn't randomly select the Concealing Breath Skill to give away.

Li Shiming's spiritual power fluctuated openly, indicating he hadn't learned the Concealing Breath Skill yet.

While the Concealing Breath Skill was not considered important in the Cultivation World and most sect cultivators would learn it,

Fan Yiyang's copy of the "Concealing Breath Skill" was not acquired from a sect, but was an unexpected gain, which he used to sell a favor.

"Fellow is generous!" Li Shiming suppressed his quickening heartbeat and praised with a smile.

He recognized the hundred glowing stones; they were of the same kind as those depleted of spiritual energy on the Gathering Spirit Plate.

So these were Spirit Stones; it seemed that in the Cultivation World, they were used as currency.

The Concealing Breath Skill was an unexpected gain. No wonder he had seen no signs of spiritual power on Fan Yiyang; turns out he had cultivated such a spell.