Chapter 11: Mysterious Stone Tribe (1)

"I'll buy that realm stone from you." Jiang Sheng told the stall owner after he made up his mind. The decision came so abruptly that it left his team members speechless. They felt that Jiang Sheng was making a terrible decision, but they could do nothing since it wasn't their Contribution Point that was spent.

"One Contribution Point," the stall owner said. He also makes sure to add another sentence to go with the prices.

"There won't be any refund or exchange once the item is sold, so please make up your mind before you proceed with the payment." the stall owner added. At the end of his sentence, the owner put his hand out.

In the heart of his palm was the Shattered Jiao Continent Stone.

"Here," Jiang Sheng placed a Heaven Token on the owner's hand and took the Shattered Jiao Continent Stone with his other hand. Once the realm stone was safely resting in his hand, Jiang Sheng immediately inspected the treasure.

His sight was magnified by a thousandfold to observe the land ten kilometers from above. From a bird-eye perspective, Jiang Sheng could overlook the entire continent.

He immediately noticed the extent of damage dealt on this Jiao Continent. Furthermore, only a third of the realm stone retains a hint of life forces to sustain the living beings on the Jiao Continent.

As for the remaining two-thirds of the land, they were still there but had gone beyond rescue. Even if resuscitating the land was possible, it would surely come with an exorbitant cost.

While there are plenty of options to choose from to recover a realm stone's vitality, the fastest and easiest method is none other than using the vitality of another realm stone. This wasn't trying to sound discriminative, but the current condition of the Shattered Jiao Continent Stone is more likely to be used as the latter.

"How interesting..." Jiang Sheng's interest deepens after noticing that the Jiao Continent has no available water source.

This made him magnified his sight a little further until he could see the living creatures on the continent's surface. To his surprise, the creatures that thrive in this waterless ecosystem are actually a unique Stone Tribe.

"What a stubborn tenacity... No wonder these creature is still thriving despite the thinning Spiritual Force on this realm stone," Jiang Sheng whispered in his head. This shows that there's still hope for them.

Smiling happily as he placed the realm stone inside his mouth, Jiang Sheng gestured to the rest of his group members to continue shopping. However, it is obvious that Jiang Sheng was no longer interested in making another purchase.

About an hour later, Hu Lingfei's opportunity came.

They were lucky to come across a desperate seller with not two, not three, but four Body-Tempering related treasures in the Below-Immortal Grade. With only two Contribution Points spent, Hu Lingfei bought the goods at a bargain price, making all the wait and disappointment from before worth it.

The four returned to the 17th layer of the Spirit Vein that same evening. Before leaving, they also decided on a place to meet with Yi Xuanming until the latter found a place to stay.

For the next four days, Jiang Sheng and the others took turns delivering the Immortal Spirit Qi Crystals to Yi Xuanming. The latter also did not disappoint the member's expectations and quickly found an accommodation two days later.

It was just a small room with several furniture. But the rent was not cheap, at two Immortal Spirit Qi Crystals per day.

On the fourth day, Yi Xuanming shared a piece of good news with Jiang Sheng, who was responsible for delivering the Immortal Spirit Qi Crystals on the fourth day.

"I've found a way for us to earn some Contribution Points. It might be slow at first, but I have a feeling this would work if we manage it properly." Yi Xuanming shared after pouring a cup of tea for Jiang Sheng.

The sight of the tea leaves perplexed Jiang Sheng. And the taste was even more exquisite.

"Urgh! These tea leaves taste horrible. Where did you get them from? Cesspool?" Jiang Sheng said.

"Hey... These tea leaves cost us a single Immortal Spirit Qi Crystal. Don't you dare waste a single drop of my suffering," replied Yi Xuanming. There was a hint of different meaning hidden inside his words.

"Such a terrible quality tea leaves, why would you buy it? I think even your scholar-blood would taste better." Jiang Sheng jokes and finishes the rest of the tea in the cup.

"This is the taste of Contribution Points. If you don't want them, I'll take your portion out and return all your tokens from these few days." Yi Xuanming continued.

"Hey! You've grown some hair now, huh? Where's the respectful little brother Yi of mine had gone to? You're an imposter, right?" Jiang Sheng grits his teeth and acts like he is about to throw the cup at Yi Xuanming.

"Don't! One Contribution Point if broken! Don't do it!" Yi Xuanming panicked.

The two then laughed together, unsure if it was funny or speechless about their situation.

Minutes later, Yi Xuanming started sharing the idea he had in mind. He would start it small by operating as a Quota Agent. Since the Contribution Pavilion only recognizes the Immortal Spirit Qi Crystal, negotiating with them using other resources found in this Western Spirit Vein is pointless.

Therefore, instead of competing with the Contribution Pavilion, it would be more profitable for Yi Xuanming to cooperate with them. He would be a fool if he couldn't make a small profit out of the pavilion's Heaven Token stash.

The idea would be to supply Immortal Spirit Qi Crystal to needy people to achieve their daily quota. He would then make a small profit in between, creating a triple-win situation between the pavilion, the miner, and him.

Through Yi Xuanming's few days of observation, he learned a few unspoken secrets within the Contribution Pavilion, namely the six minor departments. Similar to their circumstances, the six minor departments apparently had their own day-to-day quotas to fulfill.

Hence, the miner's quota they gave out varies from one department to another. This part is also where Yi Xuanming found a gap to wriggle across and profit from both sides by acting as a middleman.

By taking up a position as a Quota Agent, he could start small by charging a small price to those who arrive at the entrance without having enough Immortal Spirit Qi Crystals for the ever-changing daily quota.

At the same time, he could search for the best-paying quota given out by the six departments on that particular day.

Yi Xuanming cited their slow starting point due to the lack of Immortal Spirit Qi Crystal and Heaven Token. But it would likely change once they got onto the right track and capital.

"My business skills are not as good as yours. Hence, I will not suggest anything that will ruin your plan. You will have full control over this plan as long it goes properly." Jiang Sheng said after he listened to Yi Xuanming's plan.

"Is there anything I should take note or let the others know?" Jiang Sheng asked. Since he has already finished listening to Yi Xuanming's plan and delivered the Qi Crystals, there's no reason for him to loiter here any longer.

It would be more productive if he returned to the 17th layer of the Spirit Vein to continue mining or cultivating.

Although diligently cultivating was not something for them to focus on at this stage, a hairbreadth stronger is a little better.

After all, the ascended in this Western Spirit Vein had the same starting point. Their talent, effort, and luck are the only factors differentiating them further. And with everyone's mastery of the High Heaven Immortal Foundation getting deeper each day, some people will eventually be left behind in this race.

The most noticeable changes to those with potential can be seen from the time they took to access the storage space within the Devil's Mark. From using an hour to collect enough Immortal Qi, it only takes them half of the time nowadays.

That wasn't all.

With sufficient proficiency on the High Heaven Immortal Foundation, their mining speed and hitting strength would also have a qualitative boost, which will greatly help them in their progress.

But at the same time, this was also the start of Jiang Sheng's personal dilemma.

Since the version of his High Heaven Immortal Foundation was tinkered through his expertise, Jiang Sheng's improvement speed would gradually lose out to the others due to an invisible "wall."

His simplified version of the High Heaven Immortal Foundation might be more stable than what the others practicing, but that was the only positive part. And without the subsequent part of the same Cultivation Technique available for him to study, his cultivation progress would likely stop here.

It was unfortunate, but for Jiang Sheng, he only had two choices to make here.

His first choice was to search for or exchange for the subsequent part of the High Heaven Immortal Foundation or something with a similar grade. This method would surely cost him a hefty fortune and Contribution Points. But that's the quickest path available.

The other option would be to focus on stability and awaiting the correct opportunity. But unfortunately, stability is no different from being slow in a race that focuses only on speed. Furthermore, this option was greatly dependent on luck, and it was one that most of them lacked right now.

"Hmm..." These thoughts made Jiang Sheng ponder alone in a corner, with his eyes concentrating on the Shattered Jiao Continent Stone in his hand.

"What if..." an idea emerged in Jiang Sheng's head...