Chapter 11: Having Money Makes Things Easier
The troops moved without stopping, leaving the Golden Snake Valley in less than a day and still not daring to rest. They kept running at full speed, without any rest during the night. By the next morning, they had traveled over five hundred miles out of the Golden Snake Valley and entered the territory controlled by the Shaman City. Even if the Golden Snake Army was bold, they would not dare to act recklessly here. The troops took a short break and set off again towards the Shaman City. Although this area was relatively safer, it was still impossible to rule out the presence of a few desperate bandits who would stop at nothing for money. This was a common occurrence, and the troops did not dare to linger for too long.
Shen Biyao rode on the camel at the front, Duan Tianyi and Yang Mufeng followed closely behind, and then there were the wounded and the goods, while the two leaders of the third-level Yuanwei experts were at the rear.
"Miss, do you think there is something strange about the arrival of the Golden Snake Army?"
"Captain Wild Wolf, please speak," said Shen Biyao coldly.
"Firstly, the itinerary of this caravan is absolutely confidential. Only the general manager and several respected elders of the trading company know about it; secondly, the Golden Snake Army has dispatched a thousand troops and four major commanders, and it was led by the Silver Snake Lord himself. This basically represents one-fifth of the combat strength of the Golden Snake Army. In my impression, the Golden Snake Army has never had such a significant event in the past twenty years of its establishment."
"What do you mean?"
"I think this is very likely a premeditated matter, and I feel that the Golden Snake Army seems to have something to rely on. Otherwise, they would not have easily angered a second-level Yuanxue expert. The rage of a Yuanxue expert is unimaginable."
"There is something to rely on. Does that mean Lord Golden Snake has already broken through the Yuanxue level? But even if he has, compared to my father, he is still no match. My father has reached the peak of the second-level Yuanxue and is about to break through to the third level. There is only one possibility, this is a conspiracy."
Wild Wolf shivered in his heart. "Conspiracy? Do they have found a great Yuanshi master who can counter the general manager? Are they planning to attack the Shaman City?"
Shen Biyao was also startled. "Move quickly."
Duan Tianyi and Yang Mufeng were puzzled in their hearts. Why did Wild Wolf whisper something in Shen Biyao's ear for a while and then become so anxious? Was something going to happen again?
Yang Mufeng chuckled and showed a row of white teeth, smiling at Wild Wolf. "Captain Wild Wolf, when will we reach the Shaman City?"
Wild Wolf slowed down and rode side by side with the two on camels. "We can arrive before sunset. Just now, thanks to your efforts, brothers, to fight off the enemies, after returning to the city, I will surely report to the general manager. The general manager will surely offer you a generous reward."
"No need to thank me. Just brothers, I want to ask some questions. Do you think it's convenient for Wild Wolf to tell?"
"Both of you have saved my family's trading company. I will definitely not hide anything that can be said."
"Then thank Wild Wolf for your trust. Actually, it's nothing. It's just that we don't understand why your trading company has so many senior Yuanwei experts."
"Tell the truth. We Shen Family Trading Company is a member of the largest trading association in Yunmeng Kingdom, mainly dealing with some goods from the Moro Empire. The journey from the Moro Empire is full of dangers, that's why we hired so many senior Yuanwei experts."
"Now I understand. Captain Wild Wolf, do you know the distribution of the strength of the Shaman City now?"
"Haha... It seems that you two brothers want to join a certain power group. With your cultivation level, you can easily become an inner disciple of any sect you enter."
"Ha ha... Captain Wild Wolf, you're too generous. I didn't mean that. I just want to know. In case we accidentally offend someone when doing things, we wouldn't know how to die."
"That makes sense. The largest strength in the Shaman City now is the Iron Eagle Mercenary Group. Their leader, Mo, is also a second-level Yuanxue expert. His strength is not below our general manager. Some people even say that he has broken through to the third level Yuanxue. However, this person always acts in a low-key manner, so everyone respects our general manager as the first Yuanxue master of the Shaman City." Not only that, he also has four senior elders under him, all of whom are first-level Yuan Shu-level experts. There are over thirty Yuan Shi-level masters with above Yuan Wei-level cultivation. The second largest force is the Nan Meng Mercenary Corps. It is an organization formed by self-organized wandering cultivators. They usually go on expeditions to the Shen Xing Desert together and also take on tasks. This mercenary corps was organized by a first-level Yuan Shu-level master named Nan Ge, so it was named Nan Meng. The third largest force is our Shen Family Trading House. If we talk about real power, we are only slightly inferior to the Iron Eagle Mercenary Corps. This is because our Shen Family Trading House mainly focuses on business, so our power is only ranked third. Besides these three major forces, there are some minor forces in the Shamal City. You will understand after entering the city.
"Big Brother Wild Wolf, this time we also want to purchase some things in Yun Meng Kingdom. But I don't know where in Shamal City we can buy good things."
"Haha... seeing what you want to buy, our Shen Family Trading House can get anything. Among them, the magic crystal stones and the magical weapons are among the best in Yun Meng Kingdom. Even many Yuan Shi-level masters in the capital Yun Meng City come to our trading house to purchase."
"So powerful. I think Yun Meng City must be far from Shamal City. Coming here shows that the Shen Family Trading House really has many good goods."
"Of course. Our Shen Family Trading House has the highest-level magic crystal stones in Yun Meng Kingdom, and high-level magical weapons for sale. Sometimes even the magic crystal stones of the celestial beasts and the celestial-level magical weapons are auctioned."
"Auction? That must be very expensive. I wonder how much the magic staff of Lady Shen's can be auctioned for?"
"Expensive, that's for sure. How much can the magic staff of Lady Shen be auctioned for?"
"It must be very expensive. Lady Shen's magic staff is called the Green Jade Staff. It is inlaid with a magic crystal stone of a wood attribute beast, reaching the level of a divine artifact. If based on the auction price, the minimum reserve price would be at least one million stones."
"One million? My goodness!"
Both of them were startled and their jaws nearly dropped.
"Yes, for those of us without background as Yuan Shu-level masters, our annual income is only about four to five ten thousand stones. After deducting some normal training expenses, we basically have very little left. So we usually don't have any magical weapons equipped."
"Big Brother Wild Wolf, you really don't have any magical weapons equipped?"
Wild Wolf blushed a little embarrassedly. He really couldn't afford it. Besides training or working in the trading house, his life was very boring. So, low-level Yuan Shu-level masters like us would often go to the Windy Pavilion to have some fun. Yuan stones would naturally not be saved much, so we couldn't afford magical weapons either.
"Windy Pavilion? Fun?"
Both of them were stunned. They seemed not to understand what it meant.
The wild wolf had spent some time with the two of them and had basically understood that they were just like the naive young men who were just starting out in life. Seeing their good behavior, the wild wolf would always patiently explain things to them for a long time.
"Haha... Well, it's basically about finding a female master and doing that. Got it? That's it."
Seeing the two of them suddenly understand, the wild wolf smiled slightly and felt a bit embarrassed.
"Wild Wolf Brother, actually you've basically figured it out. We're just novice masters who have just started practicing. We got some benefits by chance, which gave us some abilities. But we still envy the master-level masters like you. Their every move can unleash powerful attacks. We really yearn for that. This time, when we arrived in the Shaman City, we decided to buy two sets of cultivation techniques. We just don't know which merchant house can offer better ones?"
"Haha... So that's what it is. Actually, the Shen Family Merchant House also sells cultivation techniques. But the grades aren't very high. Cultivation techniques, like spells and artifacts, are divided into six grades: divine, holy, heaven, earth, esoteric, and yellow. Each grade can be divided into three levels: upper, middle, and lower. Our Shen Family Merchant House occasionally has one or two lower-grade techniques or spells at the earth grade, but there's a merchant house called Wanbao Pavilion in the Shaman City that often has high-grade cultivation techniques and spells. If you two brothers have enough yuan stones, you can try your luck and see if you can get a few."
The two of them chuckled and the wild wolf seemed to understand their meaning.
"Actually, cultivation techniques are very important for a master. They directly affect the strength of the yuan pearl when it is condensed. You two have such abilities without having practiced any cultivation techniques before. If you combine them with one or two high-grade cultivation techniques, your abilities will definitely improve. But the prices of high-grade cultivation techniques are extremely high. Techniques above the esoteric grade often need to be auctioned, and the minimum starting price is at least ten thousand yuan stones. Because only techniques of this level are more beneficial for condensing the yuan pearl in the future. As for techniques and spells of the esoteric middle grade and below, they can be bought from any merchant house. The prices won't be very high, but the effects won't be very good. Generally, masters with poor will think that they won't be able to break through the yuan school through further cultivation and will choose lower-grade cultivation techniques. As for some masters with a certain amount of but no yuan stones, they usually go treasure hunting. In the Yuan Heaven World, there are many ancient master's caves in many places. If you're lucky, you might find a few high-grade cultivation techniques or artifacts, and then you'll be completely transformed."
The two of them were silent for a while. They never expected that this Yuan Heaven World was so complex. Fortunately, they still had a lot of yuan spirit stones on them. These yuan spirit stones were their starting capital in this strange world.
Yang Mufeng smiled slightly, "Yuan stones are not a problem. We still have some yuan spirit, which should be enough to buy one or two high-grade cultivation techniques."
The wild wolf was stunned, "Do you two brothers have any yuan spirit that you want to sell?"
"Yes. I wonder if Wild Wolf Brother would be willing to help us think of a way to sell it. As for the benefits, they will definitely not be lacking for Wild Wolf Brother you."
The wild wolf laughed loudly, "Brother, you don't need to be so formal about yuan stones. But I remind you both that these yuan spirit stones are extremely rare treasures that can only be encountered. They are extremely beneficial for the cultivation of masters, especially for those below the Yuan Xiang grade. They even have some effect on Yuan Xiang-level masters. Masters who obtain yuan spirit stones usually immediately consume them. The crime of having precious stones is that once it is known, people will kill and steal. "
The two of them knew the value of the yuan spirit stones, but they never expected it to be so valuable.
"Anyway, since we can't condense them now, it's better to exchange for some yuan stones for practicality."
The wild wolf shook his head and sighed, "Alright, since you two brothers have such a plan, I won't try to dissuade you anymore." "Well, since you all are going to sell the Yuanjing Stones anyway, it would be better to sell them to our Shen Family Trading Company rather than to someone else. And the price will definitely not be lower than that of the auction."
"Brother Wild Wolf's character we can trust. So, please, Wild Wolf, take us to meet Lady Shen."
It's the same in any world. "Money makes things easier." The two sighed.