Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 185 - 178 Reciprocity

Chapter 185: Chapter 178 Reciprocity

"What are you painting?"

Atop the bamboo building, Pudu Sheng kneeled and sat before a wooden table, with two slender-waisted maids holding large silver fans, shaped like banana leaves, gently fanning behind him.

He wore a noble’s crown and pinched a jade-stone gold cup, looking at the table full of delicious food, while glancing sideways at Lin Xin, who stood in front of him with his back to him.

"To actually dare to come as promised, you do have some courage."

He toyed with the white jade cup, speaking in a frivolous tone, as if the previous defeat didn’t bother him at all.

Lin Xin held a brush in one hand and, on the drawing paper in front of him, he gently and continuously drew out lines of ink, some thick and others thin.

In just a moment, an ink painting of a beauty smiling with a fan half-covering her face appeared before the two men.

"Good painting!" Pudu Sheng’s eyes lit up, showing intense interest. "I didn’t expect you to have such skill."

Putting down his brush, Lin Xin came back to his senses and looked at the painting of the courtesan in front of him with some astonishment.

The woman in the painting actually resembled An Ying by three parts and Xiao Lingling by seven parts.

Perhaps even his own heart could not clearly determine who he truly loved more.

"I have come as promised. Have you brought the item?"

Lin Xin chose to ignore his casual remarks.

"What a killjoy, with such an autumn mood, wouldn’t it be better for us to sing over wine?" Pudu Sheng shook his head.

"You indulge in your elegance; I am here for the trade." Lin Xin said indifferently as he kneeled down and sat.

Pudu Sheng put down his cup, opened his palm, and a flicker of light flashed; a Demon Talisman Seed instantly appeared in his hand.

"I have found eight for you, which you need to trade for with eight pieces of Spirit Jade," he said through a voice transmission.

"Agreed," Lin Xin nodded. "Additionally, I need to learn your language and script."

"That can be arranged," Pudu Sheng nodded, "I will arrange a teacher for you. If you have any other requests, state them all at once."

Lin Xin pondered for a moment.

"I would also like to understand how much you know about us, the foreign beings. Or rather, I want to know about the circumstances of us foreigners, our distribution, strength, and any other kind of information."

"I cannot readily agree to that. Even if I did, it would only be a part," Pudu Sheng laughed, lifted his cup, and took a light sip.

"No problem, even a part is enough," Lin Xin replied.

"One piece," Pudu Sheng held up a finger.

"Too expensive," Lin Xin also took a sip from his own cup.

"Are you interested in knowing about the Red Leaf Sword Master?" Pudu Sheng suddenly chuckled.

Lin Xin fell silent.

"My own path, I will walk myself, it has nothing to do with the Red Leaf Sword Master."

"Red leaves and red flowers, if you really have no connection, who would believe?’" Pudu Sheng too was laughing, perhaps because he was confident that others around him attempting to eavesdrop would not understand the Ghost-Barbarian script, he seemed quite uninhibited.

"If you don’t believe what I said, there’s nothing I can do." Lin Xin replied indifferently, "If it’s one piece, then one piece it is. Besides Spirit Jade, what else do you need?"

"If you have Moon Silver Ore, I need that too, and the more, the better."

"Moon Silver Ore?"

Pudu Sheng turned and said a few words, and suddenly a shadow behind him vanished in a flash, as he also produced a small piece of silvery-white ore in his hand.

He handed it to Lin Xin.

"This is... Silver Blossom Iron, the accompanying ore to Nine Flower Iron..." Lin Xin was inwardly moved.

Out of a thousand pounds of Silver Blossom Iron, there would be one pound of Nine Flower Iron.

This type of Silver Blossom Iron, although not cheap above ground, was only considered one of the main materials for forging below the Innate realm. One piece of Spirit Jade could buy several dozen pounds without an issue.

"How much of this Moon Silver Ore do you have? Name your price. Don’t try to deceive me; I can either ask you or other foreigners," Pudu Sheng stated softly.

Lin Xin did some quick calculations in his mind.

One piece of Spirit Jade could buy eighty pounds, so eight hundred taels of Moon Silver Ore wouldn’t be a problem. In that case...

"One tael for one piece."

"That expensive!?" Pudu Sheng’s eyes suddenly widened as he stared at the expressionless Lin Xin, "Are you sure you’re not trying to swindle me?!"

But Lin Xin now had a tendency to have a poker face, so there seemed to be no sign of deceit,

"That’s the going rate," Lin Xin nodded.

"One pound equals ten taels, meaning, I need twenty pounds of iron, I would at least have to give you something worth the value of two hundred pieces of Spirit Jade!!" Pudu Sheng also forgot to drink his wine, his brows knitted together.

"If you don’t have enough Demon Talisman Seeds, you can use other possessions to offset the difference," Lin Xin said calmly.

"Too expensive," Pudu Sheng frowned, "Five taels per piece!" He extended his finger.

Lin Xin knew he was referring to the price of Demon Talisman Seeds. Since the Demon Talisman Seeds could be priced the same as Spirit Jade, they could indeed serve as the currency for the trade between the two.

"Too expensive!" he shook his head. "At least two taels apiece."

Pudu Sheng also found it too expensive.

"How about four taels each? We both take a step back."

Lin Xin gritted his teeth, showing an expression of apparent pain, and swiftly calculated his profits in his mind.

With one piece of Spirit Jade, he could purchase eighty jin of Silver Blossom Iron, and eighty jin of Silver Blossom Iron could be exchanged for the value of eight hundred Demon Talisman Seeds. Since one Demon Talisman Seed could be valued at one piece of Spirit Jade, this way, he could make an eight hundredfold profit on each transaction.

"Four taels each is fine—I’ll earn less, but I can grit my teeth and get through it. However, you’ll have to do me a favor," Lin Xin calculated—after all, he still stood to make a two hundredfold profit.

"What do you need? Just say it!" Pudu Sheng replied with great delight.

Seeing how overjoyed the other party was, Lin Xin felt a twinge of guilt. Was he being too much of a hustler? But without cunning, one cannot achieve great things in commerce.

"As outsiders, we’re compelled to engage in slaughter, as you know, to suppress illusions. So I hope that when it comes time to execute or deal with powerful individuals, I’ll be the one to do it."

Pudu Sheng pondered this for a moment.

"Agreed. Anything else?" It was a significant concession of wealth, so he felt a bit remorseful.

"Also, I want to purchase high-level materials. Minerals with the Fire Attribute and the like—do your best to find them for me. Formation and Talisman Techniques are also acceptable."

"Agreed."

Pudu Sheng readily consented.

"However, let me make it clear beforehand, our supply of Demon Talisman Seeds is actually quite limited and precious. These eight pieces were painstakingly collected for you, and I had to go through a lot of trouble to amend the record books to mark them as stolen or missing, so..."

"So later on, you can compensate me with other things, I don’t mind. Just try your best to find more," Lin Xin said firmly.

"Then it’s a pleasure doing business with you."

Pudu Sheng extended his hand.

Lin Xin also reached out, and their hands clasped together with a gentle slap.

*********************

Darker courtyard

Lin Xin looked down at the Demon Talisman Seeds arrayed before him.

Since his cultivation level had increased and no longer generated attribute points, his only means of acquiring attributes was through the Demon Talisman Seeds.

"The generation of attribute points upon cultivation advancement should result from the excess Inner Qi the body cannot fully absorb. My ability seems to collect this part of the energy that would normally go to waste and transform it into attribute points.

But now, the Red Flower Sword absorbs the portion of Inner Qi that the body cannot completely absorb, leaving no excess to spare. Thus, I can only rely on external means to generate attribute points."

Lin Xin frowned and set about building a bonfire.

As he worked, he contemplated the recent changes in his body; it seemed that the recitation of Buddhist Scriptures and the enhancement of his physical constitution had been successful in suppressing the spread of illusions, even reducing them.

"If the energy from Demon Talisman Seeds can generate attribute points, then the Essence Blood Cultivation contained within the Jade Blood Demoness Pearl might also be condensed into points. Also, if the energy feedback from Yin Mantuo’s consumption could form attributes..."

Once his train of thought started, it was hard for him to stop.

The bonfire slowly ignited, and he took five Demon Talisman Seeds from the eight, leaving three behind to combine with the two he had previously set aside.

"I should reserve some in case I can’t find any later. High consumption without them won’t be an issue for a while."

Five Demon Talisman Seeds were tossed directly into the fire.

He began to breathe in and out in a meditative pose, and wisps of red mist flew out, entering his nostrils.

A warmth flowed into his body. With his eyes closed, he watched as five points suddenly appeared in his Free Attributes section.

"Since I’ve boosted my Physique, illusions have been occurring less frequently. There must be some kind of resistance effect, so I’ll add two more points there."

"Then there’s damage. Both my Heart Eye Sword Technique and my Sword Dao increase in power the stronger I am, so the remaining three points are allocated with two added to Slaughter, and one saved up for Defense."

He now recognized the benefits of having strong defenses. Compared to the average cultivator, his body’s defense was much stronger. Without Magic Artifacts, an average cultivator was just slightly stronger than an ordinary person, but he was different. Even without the amplification of Magic Artifacts’ Spiritual Energy, his fourteen points of defense meant he was effectively sporting a Defensive Magic Artifact similar to a Spiritual Light Shield at all times, and without the need to expend Spiritual Energy.

After the changes, his attribute bar looked different.

’Slaughter — 16, Defense — 15, Dodge — 1, Physique — 7. Free Attributes 0.’

’Return to Origin Technique — Qi Refinement Realm Fifth Layer. (Completion 8%) (Slaughter +14, Physique +14), Additional Effects: Sword Qi, Spiritual Energy Embodiment.’

With a slap on the Red Flower Sword, a red streak shot out, circled around him, and then snapped back into the scabbard with a clang.

"It’s a bit faster than before, not much, but the difference can be distinctly felt."

He then tested his Physique.

He lightly ran the blade of the Spiritual Heart Sword across his arm.

With a hiss, it emitted a crisp sound, and tiny sparks scattered. Only a light scratch appeared.

Raising the blade, Lin Xin examined the scratch closely.

In about half an hour, the small cut slowly closed up, becoming a fine line, and then gradually disappeared.

"The recovery strength has significantly improved," Lin Xin gauged his internal organs with Spiritual Energy, and found the vitality of his five organs remarkably stronger than before.

Next, he was to engage in Sacrificial Refinement of the Jade Blood Demoness Pearl and sift through the plethora of exchanged Cultivation Techniques and scriptures obtained from Taoist Fish Lips; these were treasures that ordinary people outside would dream of obtaining. (To be continued. If you enjoy this series, please vote for it on Qidian, and your support will be my greatest motivation. Mobile users may read on m.qidian.com.)