Plant VS Cultivation

Chapter 24: Paper Crane

Being able to sell freshly harvested spirit rice from the current season made Gou Youyu reevaluate the power of the person backing Gu Mo. Such a figure was far beyond his reach, but Gu Mo, the errand disciple handling the transactions, was someone he could definitely get closer to.

After all, Gu Mo was the one selling on behalf of his benefactor, which meant he had the final say on whom to sell to.

"Brother Gu Mo, here are 330 spirit stones." Gou Youyu handed over a pouch filled with spirit stones, the agreed price for 100 catties of spirit rice. Then, he took out a bottle of wine and 30 additional spirit stones and presented them to Gu Mo. "This is a small token of my appreciation."

"Hmm?"

Gu Mo was momentarily stunned. Since when did selling goods come with extra gifts? But he quickly realized what was going on—Shopkeeper Gou had clearly misunderstood something.

Gu Mo had no intention of correcting this misunderstanding. Letting the other party believe he had a powerful background was beneficial—it would deter any ill intentions and bring tangible advantages. A win-win situation.

"In that case, many thanks, Brother Gou. Next time I have more spirit rice, I'll be sure to sell it to you." Having accepted the gift, Gu Mo made a promise. It was his spirit rice, after all, and he could sell it to whomever he pleased.

Hearing this, Gou Youyu was overjoyed. He had just secured a steady supply of high-quality spirit rice.

Leaving Gou Youyu's shop, Gu Mo considered whether to ask the shopkeeper—who had been in the marketplace for decades—to help find a technique for concealing his cultivation. With his extensive connections, the search would be far more efficient. Plus, since Gou Youyu now had a favor to ask of him, he would likely put in extra effort.

After some thought, Gu Mo decided against bringing it up for now. This was only their first meeting, after all. He would search on his own first, and if he found no leads, he could always ask during their next trade.

"First, I'll get a paper crane for transportation!"

Gu Mo squeezed the heavy pouch in his hand—360 spirit stones. This was a fortune for him. A year ago, when he had just become an errand disciple, he had only nine spirit stones in total, three of which were bartered from Yao Shifeng using medicinal pills.

Now that his wealth had skyrocketed, he couldn't keep ignoring essential tools like the paper crane, a common transportation talisman among cultivators.

Paper cranes were a type of talisman. If one wanted a paper crane, they had to visit a talisman shop. If they wanted a magical sword, they had to go to a shop that sold magical artifacts.

However, even the lowest-grade magical artifacts cost at least four-digit spirit stones, far beyond what Gu Mo could afford. The same applied to formation arrays—he needed one for his spirit fields, but they were expensive.

For now, he could only afford low-tier talismans and medicinal pills, but he had no urgent need for either.

Low-tier talismans were weaker than his own spirit farming techniques. His Geng Metal Sword Qi had grown more potent through repeated practice, making it more effective than any low-tier talisman.

That was the advantage of continuous training—the more he used a technique, the stronger it became.

Of course, if he had plenty of spirit stones, carrying a few talismans for emergencies wouldn't hurt. After all, activating a talisman consumed very little spiritual energy, whereas using Geng Metal Sword Qi drained a significant amount.

As for medicinal pills, they were even less useful to him. Cultivators prized pills that enhanced their cultivation, but Gu Mo found them unnecessary.

His cultivation advanced through absorbing the essence of the sun, not through pills. As long as he had enough solar essence, his cultivation would rise steadily. Moreover, pills had side effects if consumed too frequently, whereas solar essence showed no such drawbacks—at least, not yet.

Other types of pills, such as healing, detoxification, and energy-replenishing pills, could be useful, but only when he had an abundance of spirit stones. Right now, he didn't.

His most urgent need was a method to conceal his cultivation. Next was a formation array to safeguard his spirit field. His Sunflower Spirit Herb was currently disguised by similarly shaped spirit sunflowers, but adding a formation barrier would ensure absolute security.

After browsing the talisman shop, Gu Mo left with a paper crane, which had cost him eight spirit stones. He could have bought one from a rogue cultivator in the marketplace for about five spirit stones, but he chose the store instead.

This shop was run by the Talisman Peak of the sect, guaranteeing quality. The last thing he wanted was for the paper crane to fail mid-flight, sending him plummeting from the sky.

Now that he had sold his spirit rice and acquired a paper crane, his main objectives for this trip to the market were complete. But he had no intention of leaving just yet—he still wanted to explore the stalls of the rogue cultivators in the central square.

After all, countless legendary finds had emerged from there.

With anticipation, Gu Mo arrived at the bustling square. If it weren't for the occasional bursts of spiritual energy from the stall owners, he might have mistaken the place for an ordinary street market.

"This is seriously lacking in immortal elegance," he muttered to himself before diving in.

"This fellow Daoist, this is a treasure excavated from an ancient ruin. I can't discern its origins, but if you're interested, I can sell it to you for a great price!"

A burly man thrust a piece of rusty scrap metal toward Gu Mo with a sly grin.

Hearing this, Gu Mo quickened his pace and walked away. At that moment, he felt embarrassed for even entertaining the idea of striking a bargain here.

The rogue cultivators struggling at the bottom of the cultivation world were all seasoned veterans. They might not have vast knowledge, but hoping to outsmart them was nearly impossible—especially for a novice like Gu Mo.

If he tried to find a hidden treasure among these stalls, he would almost certainly be swindled out of his last spirit stone.

Gu Mo even doubted whether he could trust any manuals on cultivation concealment if he found them here. He didn't have the expertise to determine their authenticity.

After all, he had only been cultivating for a little over a year. Compared to those who had spent decades navigating the treacherous world of cultivation, he was just a fledgling.

Fortunately, searching the market for a concealment technique was only one option. He could also use his sect contributions to exchange for one, or turn to Gou Youyu for help in the future.

Right now, what he lacked wasn't the ability to spot fakes—it was spirit stones and sect contributions.

Setting aside the idea of bargain hunting, he focused on the real value of the goods before him. Despite the scams, there were still useful items to be found among these stalls.

At that moment, something at one of the stalls caught his eye.

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