The Taixuan Sect market was established by the sect itself. Initially, its purpose was exclusively for the transactions of Taixuan Sect's internal disciples. However, with the continuous development of the market, disciples from other major sects and rogue cultivators are now also able to enter and trade there.
Within the Seeking Dragon Mountains cultivation world, its scale is second only to the "Seeking Dragon Market" jointly built by the Taiji Sect and the Taicang Sect. In fact, several centuries ago, the Taixuan Sect market was the largest of all; but with the decline of the Taixuan Sect, its business was naturally and rightfully snatched away by the other two major sects.
Even so, the Taixuan Sect market still possesses a vast array of rare treasures and exotic items for sale, with as many as several thousand cultivators coming and going every day.
Yelin had long been eager to visit the Taixuan Sect market for a stroll, but he had no money, and due to the limited activity area for probationary handyman disciples, he could not wander around the sect as he pleased. Now, he barely had a small nest egg and finally possessed the confidence to go "shopping."
"Junior Brother, entering the market requires a Spirit Stone and identity registration!" A inner sect disciple guarding the market entrance said kindly and with a smile to Yelin.
Why would the Taixuan Sect maintain a market? It was certainly because there was money to be made.
Yelin had long heard of this rule. Feeling a slight pang of heartache, he handed over a Spirit Stone and his identity jade token.
After inspecting Yelin's identity jade token, the inner sect disciple said, "Junior Brother Yelin, you may go in. By the way, this must be your first time coming to the market. Senior Brother will give you a tip: try to buy or sell treasures at reputable, large shops. Small shops or roadside stalls might sometimes look like a bargain, but if your experience is lacking, you will basically end up losing big while trying to save a little."
Another inner sect disciple smiled and said, "Senior Brother here also sells masks that can conceal one's aura, sold exclusively to our own sect's disciples. Under the effect of the market's grand formation, wearing this mask prevents cultivators below the Golden Core stage from detecting your true identity. This mask also has a very good effect in the outside world; divine sense cannot penetrate it for cultivators below the Foundation Establishment stage. It's only eight hundred Spirit Stones, no cheating the young or old!"
Yelin cupped his fists slightly to show his gratitude.
"Thank you, Senior Brother. Junior Brother understands."
He completely ignored that inner sect senior brother who was hawking the aura-concealing mask...
Eight hundred Spirit Stones—just hearing the price was enough to make most inner sect disciples look utterly hopeless.
With that, carrying an excited heart, Yelin stepped into the Taixuan Sect market area.
His main purpose for coming this time was to buy seeds for spirit herbs and spirit plants, and then place them into the space of the Ancient Ring Space to cultivate them, so as to see how spirit herbs and spirit plants would grow inside the Ancient Ring Space.
This was a matter of vital importance to Yelin. If the experiment failed or the spirit plants grew too slowly, he would have to kiss the "Five Elements Hunyuan Manual" he had just received goodbye.
Stepping into the market, Yelin first saw two tall and magnificent buildings flanking a wide stone-paved path. One was called the Treasure Pavilion, and the other was the marvelous Pill Hall.
Outside both the Treasure Pavilion and the marvelous Pill Hall, female cultivators with outstanding looks and figures stood smilingly on standby.
Upon sensing the cultivation levels of the two female cultivators, Yelin couldn't help but feel slightly startled. Both of them were actually Qi Condensation 5th Layer cultivators, considered top-tier among outer sect disciples, and far more powerful than he currently was.
Yet even so, they were merely receptionists here, greeting every passing cultivator with a smile.
Yelin noticed that the plaques of both shops bore the inscription "Directly Affiliated Reputable Shop of the Taixuan Sect," which meant that these two shops were businesses belonging to the Taixuan Sect itself.
Just as Yelin was about to walk into the Treasure Pavilion, a smiling female cultivator blocked his path.
"Little Junior Brother, entering our Treasure Pavilion requires a minimum cultivation of the Qi Condensation 3rd Layer."
Yelin felt somewhat awkward for a moment. As it turned out, having money wasn't enough here; there was also a restriction on cultivation—though he didn't have much money anyway.
He had originally wanted to go in and just look around without buying anything to broaden his horizons, but now that wish was dashed. After feeling a slight sense of regret, Yelin walked on toward the depths of the market.
The pedestrians on the road were sparse and far from crowded. Most of them were cultivators wearing the Taoist robes of the Taixuan Sect. Judging by their cultivation levels, handyman disciples were few; the most numerous were the Taixuan Sect's outer and inner sect disciples.
Yelin also spotted quite a few cultivators wearing other attires: Taiji Sect cultivators in light white, elegant Taoist robes, and Taicang Sect cultivators in light yellow, luxurious Taoist robes.
The disciples of these two sects both wore arrogant expressions, seemingly not holding the Taixuan Sect cultivators in their eyes.
Yelin also saw several rogue cultivators wearing particularly luxurious robes. They were decked out in pearls and jades, looking extremely cool, but they only looked noble. Within the market, they mostly greeted disciples of the other major sects with smiles, not daring to cause the slightest offense.
The further in he went, the more shops Yelin saw, though none were as imposing or luxurious as the Taixuan Sect's official shops. Eventually, he arrived at the bustling and chaotic street stall area.
Here, as long as one paid a daily stall fee of ten Spirit Stones, one could set up a stall to sell goods. This was also the place with the most numerous and miscellaneous items, making it the best spot to broaden one's horizons.
The hawking cries of stall owners echoed endlessly around him.
"Freshly baked middle-grade flying swords with zero wear and tear, only one hundred Spirit Stones each..."
"Bah, don't believe him! His flying swords are all second-hand refurbishments. I bought a flying sword from him before to fight an enemy, and after just two moves, the sword snapped. Good thing I ran fast and escaped with my life; this guy is shameless and black-hearted to the extreme."
"You're spouting blood... Fellow daoists who are skilled in weapon-reforging and sword-casting are welcome to come and appraise them..."
"Fellow daoists, don't miss out as you pass by! All magical pills and elixirs are on a desperate ten percent off sale, hey! When traveling outside, you must always keep pills on hand; one more pill means one extra life."
"Coughing blood in a desperate clearance sale! Burial objects just recovered from an ancient cultivator's cavern dwelling, only thirty Spirit Stones each! Heaven-tier cultivation techniques, supreme Dao Instruments await your activation!"
"Clearance sale, clearance sale! Various styles of female cultivators' middle-grade magical garments for you to choose from—sexy, cute, noble, cold and aloof! Guaranteed to make every female cultivator's heart flutter at a single glance!"
Yelin walked all the way, looking around with curiosity and observing carefully. Along the way, he encountered quite a few treasures that he found novel or interesting, but he didn't dare to buy any of them.
Right now, his entire net worth consisted of just seventy Spirit Stones plus a slightly worn Blue Rainbow flying sword. Here, he truly looked strapped for cash and basically couldn't afford a thing.
Yelin couldn't help but sigh, "No wonder handyman disciples are extremely rare. With a handyman disciple's stipend, coming in here would mostly result in returning empty-handed while wasting a Spirit Stone for admission for nothing. The items they usually need must be exchanged using sect contributions."
As Yelin witnessed more and more things, his desire to make money grew even stronger.
As long as one had enough Spirit Stones, one could buy whatever one wanted. That kind of feeling couldn't be more comfortable.
Reluctantly leaving the stall area, Yelin came to a medium-sized shop called "Hundred Herb Hall." The person who received him was a white-haired, wrinkled Qi Condensation 5th Layer cultivator.
"Young man, what do you need? Our shop can acquire spirit herbs and elixirs at 80 percent of market value, and we also sell seeds for spirit herbs and elixirs, as well as spirit herbs over a century old. A shop of several hundred years, prices are fair to young and old alike!"
After inquiring about the prices of several types of five-element spirit herb seeds, Yelin did not linger long and turned to other shops selling spirit herb seeds.
Even though he had never bought anything before, he still understood the principle of not making hasty decisions and shopping around.
After asking at seven or eight shops, Yelin found the cheapest one. He spent a total of thirty Spirit Stones and bought five hundred five-element spirit herb seeds, with one hundred seeds for each attribute.
Having bought the seeds, Yelin no longer loitered in the market and headed straight back to his probationary handyman dormitory.
He did not rush to take out the jade slips of the "Five Elements Hunyuan Manual" and the "Five Elements Vajra Skill" to read them. Instead, with a thought, he awakened Xiaobai and Xiaoqiang, who were slumbering within the space of the Ancient Ring Space.
Since Yelin could not enter the space of the Ancient Ring Space, tasks like planting spirit herbs could only be accomplished by Xiaobai and Xiaoqiang.
Unlike that initial barren desert space, a month ago, he had only tossed in a single grass root, but now, weeds could be seen everywhere within the space, and the desert had transformed into an oasis.
This was also the basis for Yelin's belief that spirit plants could grow faster inside.
Xiaobai's python body could still be seen as a bit of white shadow amidst the weeds, while Xiaoqiang's body was completely covered by the weeds.
With a thought in Yelin's mind, all the weeds rapidly withered and collapsed onto the ground, subsequently turning into a part of the sand.
He was the master of the Ancient Ring Space and could easily use the many functions of this mysterious space. He could let these weeds cover the entire space, or he could leave the entire space completely barren.
Next, he was going to plant spirit herbs, and he could not let these weeds sap the nutrients from the spirit herbs.
What he wanted was a space filled with various precious and valuable spirit herbs.
Soon, the five bags of spirit herb seeds were placed into the space by him. Xiaoqiang excitedly took the bags and, following Yelin's instructions, used its huge pincers to dig out large pits one after another in the sandy ground.
Then, under the manipulation of Xiaobai's spiritual power, the spirit herb seeds flew out of the bags one after another, falling into the large pits, and the soil automatically covered the spirit herb seeds.
Cultivators farming were naturally much more efficient than mortals.
One hundred planted per row, across five rows in total—it took less than a quarter of an hour to complete everything.
Xiaoqiang said, "I'm so looking forward to the seeds quickly taking root and sprouting! Afterward, I'll be able to lie down and sleep in the medicine field, and whenever I'm hungry and wake up, I can eat the fruits of the spirit herbs."
Xiaobai said, "However, if we want these spirit plants to grow up fast, we might need a lot of Spirit Stones. The growth speed of the spirit herbs will depend on how much money Master has."
With a heart full of anguish, Yelin sent ten Spirit Stones into the Ancient Ring Space.
"Let's test twenty Spirit Stones first... Hopefully, we won't run at a loss."
As soon as his voice fell, the ten Spirit Stones transformed into ten wisps of light blue mist that rapidly dispersed throughout the space. Both Xiaobai and Xiaoqiang revealed the intoxicated feeling of feasting on Yelin's blood.
Xiaobai said in pleasant surprise, "Master, the spiritual Qi here has become unusually dense... It seems what just melted isn't just ten Spirit Stones, but a hundred, or even a thousand!"
As soon as its voice fell, tender green sprouts could be seen emerging from the desert. In the blink of an eye, the sprouts actually grew an inch long, and stalks and leaves stretched out one by one...
"Master, they've grown out, they've grown out!" Xiaoqiang waved its huge pincers in high spirits and shouted excitedly.
Today's Xiaoqiang, although still unable to articulate speech outside this space, could easily communicate mentally with Yelin while inside the space.
Yelin's heart was likewise incomparably excited.
What he had bought were spirit herb seeds after all. If they were placed in the spirit-Qi-rich spirit fields of the Taixuan Sect, it would take two or three months for them to sprout; if they were in the wild where spiritual Qi was insufficient, it might take ten or twenty years for them to sprout.
Yet within the space of the Ancient Ring Space, it had only taken a few breaths of time for all five hundred of his spirit herb seeds to sprout and grow. This was simply a miracle!
Yelin once again felt the power and mystery of the Ancient Ring Space.
However, they didn't get to be excited for long. When all the spirit herbs grew to two inches above the ground, every single spirit herb simultaneously stopped growing, or rather, their growth speed could no longer be observed with the naked eye.
"What's going on? Why aren't they growing anymore? I thought Master could harvest five hundred spirit herbs over a hundred years old in a single day! That would have made us super rich!" Xiaoqiang said, feeling depressed.
Xiaobai said, "I sensed the density of the surrounding spiritual Qi dropping rapidly. Master needs more Spirit Stones to make them grow up."
Yelin felt somewhat depressed as well. He had originally thought he was about to make a huge fortune, but now he understood that things weren't that easy. If all five hundred of these spirit herbs were cultivated to the century-old grade, selling them off would yield at least several hundred Spirit Stones, whereas his cost was merely thirty Spirit Stones for the seed money and ten Spirit Stones for the growth-boosting investment.
But now, his hopes of getting violently rich were basically dashed.
"Xiaobai, how many Spirit Stones do you estimate it would take to get all these five hundred spirit herbs to fully grow to the century-old grade and reach a stage where they can be used for medicine?"
Xiaobai said with some dejection and lack of optimism, "They've only just sprouted a tender shoot now; it would take at least several thousand Spirit Stones to cultivate all of them to that degree..."
Yelin's mindset collapsed.
Even if they were successfully cultivated, selling them all wouldn't fetch a thousand Spirit Stones, yet it would require thousands of Spirit Stones in costs from him. Wasn't this pure extortion?
The only advantage was that they grew fast. As long as there were Spirit Stones, a batch of fresh spirit herbs could be obtained in minutes. But if he really had that many Spirit Stones, wouldn't it be better to buy them from outside shops? Why choose to take a bloody loss in this space...
With this, his mood plummeted to rock bottom. If the space of the Ancient Ring Space could not cultivate a large quantity of five-element spirit plants at low cost, there would be no way for him to rapidly practice the "Five Elements Hunyuan Manual" and the "Five Elements Vajra Skill."
It would be equivalent to making a wasted trip to the Scripture Pavilion.
Just as a bitter smile appeared on his face, Xiaobai's gentle voice entered Yelin's mind once again.
"Master shouldn't be too discouraged either. The Ancient Ring Space is a sacred treasure passed down by Master's family; its functions shouldn't be this simple. This space is very mysterious and requires us to slowly explore it."
Hearing Xiaobai's gentle and considerate comforting voice, Yelin's mood improved a bit.
"Indeed so. Perhaps this space itself is meant for you spirit insects to live in and comprehend secret techniques; it was never suited for cultivating spirit plants in the first place. After all, our Lin family is an ancient insect-taming clan, not an ancient alchemy clan."
No matter what, however, he was currently facing a huge loss of forty Spirit Stones.
His entire net worth was only seventy Spirit Stones.
Those spirit herb seedlings were worth quite a bit of money, but Yelin, who had always been cautious, could not possibly sell them off in large quantities.
Interested parties would quickly figure out that he had just bought seeds a few days ago, and was now selling a large number of spirit plant seedlings every couple of days. They would likely suspect that he possessed a supreme treasure, thereby exposing the secret of the Ancient Ring Space.
No matter what method he used to make money, he had to minimize the possibility of exposing the Ancient Ring Space. Even his original idea was just to cultivate a large number of spirit plants to boost his cultivation progress for his techniques, rather than selling them off in massive batches.
Just as Yelin was at his wit's end, with his heart bleeding for the massive losses caused by this attempt, Xiaobai's voice came through once more.
"Master, Master, what you said just now actually reminded me. Master belongs to an ancient insect-taming clan, so everything about the Ancient Ring Space must be related to insect-taming. Then, could these spirit herbs that have grown out also be related to insect-taming?"
"When Xiaobai got close to the tender spirit herb shoots, I sensed a trace of a very alluring aura. But it's probably because the spirit herbs haven't fully grown yet that this feeling is very faint. Can Xiaobai try eating a leaf?"
Yelin's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Of course you can!"
The spirit herb seeds Yelin bought were all non-toxic.
Xiaobai lowered its huge head, then gently bit off a tender green leaf of a metal-attribute spirit herb, chewed it slowly and carefully, and finally swallowed it into its belly.
Before long, Xiaobai said in pleasant surprise, "I... I think I've figured it out."
"The spirit plants and spirit herbs cultivated by the Ancient Ring Space will become more suitable for us to devour. The five-element Qi of the spirit herbs will become much more intense. After just swallowing the metal-attribute spirit herb, Xiaobai feels like my scales, teeth, and bones have all become tougher—though the effect is still very weak."
"In other words, this mysterious space only cultivates spirit herbs and elixirs that are better suited for spirit insects to devour."
Yelin's eyes lit up.
"So that's how it is, so that's how it is! Xiaobai, you really are smart!"
"Thank you for the praise, Master!" Xiaobai said with a hint of pride.
At this point, Yelin finally understood yet another function of the Ancient Ring Space. Wanting to cultivate all these spirit plants did cost a lot of money, but the effect of cultivating them was also enormous.
They were no longer spirit plants in the ordinary sense, but mutated, special spirit plants modified by the Ancient Ring Space.
Although this cut off any possibility of him wanting to use these spirit plants to make money in the future, Yelin wasn't overly disappointed. If they couldn't be sold, then at worst, he would consume what he produced.
Anyway, spirit herbs could nurture spirit insects and enhance the strength of Xiaobai and Xiaoqiang. At the same time, because they contained a richer five-element Qi, they could also be used to practice the "Five Elements Hunyuan Manual" and the "Five Elements Vajra Skill," with twice the result for half the effort.
At the same time, he also had a bold idea.
That was, instead of using his blood long-term to feed the spirit insects, he could also use spirit herbs and elixirs to nurture powerful spirit insects.
After all, his blood was extremely precious and could only feed a small fraction of spirit herbs—it couldn't be used for large-scale feeding. But these spirit herbs could be produced on a large scale!
Of course, the prerequisite was that he had to have a massive amount of Spirit Stones.
Thus, just like that, he was right back to the ultimate problem faced by everyone, mortal and cultivator alike:
How could one rapidly make a fortune and get rich? How to make big money?
Right now, he only had thirty Spirit Stones left in his pocket, plus a slightly worn Blue Rainbow Sword worth about twenty Spirit Stones, totaling fifty Spirit Stones. He would have to spend these sparingly.
Back in the mortal world, Yelin had thought that immortals lived in palaces built of gold and jade; he never would have guessed that even after becoming a true upper immortal, he still hadn't shaken off a state of "poverty."
At least he wasn't completely left with nothing, right?
Yelin adjusted his mindset and began to ponder how to reasonably utilize the Spirit Stones in his hands.
Wanting to cultivate all five hundred five-element spirit herbs was definitely out of the question; even if beaten to death, he couldn't cough up several thousand Spirit Stones.
Yelin said, "Xiaobai, Xiaoqiang, you two first dig up all the spirit herb seedlings, leaving only ten of each kind of spirit herb, so there will be fifty left in total."
"Understood, Master!" Xiaobai and Xiaoqiang said in unison.
Then Xiaoqiang, equipped with its huge pincers, began digging pits again, in a posture rather resembling a dung beetle tunneling, making an effort not to touch the tender spirit herb seedlings.
Meanwhile, Xiaobai began using its spiritual power to lift up the seedlings one by one, arranging them into five piles.
Within this space, these seedlings would not dehydrate and die. When Yelin needed them after some time, he could just plant them again and they would continue to grow.
Yelin dug them out from the ground because he didn't want them to sap the spiritual Qi within the space.
After another hour or so, Xiaobai and Xiaoqiang finished their work.