Chapter 246

Chapter 246: Nine Veins and Ten Markets on Blue Moon Island

Blue Moon Island has arrived, being the largest island in the nearby sea area. Compared to the previous Paifeng Island, it appeared as small as a mere rock.

As far as the eye could see, it felt like reaching land. Countless docks lined the shores, and occasionally, spiritual beasts flew overhead without stirring the waves. Everyone had clearly become accustomed to this.

Huo Qiniang stepped out briefly and quickly returned with news. “Young Master, I found out that they still trade using spiritual shells here. Although Blue Moon Island has nine mineral veins, they have sealed the veins to cultivate spiritual shells. It seems they have set up many Gathering Spirit formations in the veins, guarding their treasure trove for several thousand years. If any cultivators wish to rent spiritual rooms, they must pay with rare treasures as rent; they do not even accept spiritual shells.”

Qiniang took a breath and continued her introduction, “There are ten markets here, each focusing on different trades, selling books, medicinal herbs, artifacts, talismans, mechanisms, spiritual treasures, poisons, ores, servants, and sea boats. Businesses on the island team up to buy and sell. I’ve heard that they compress prices to purchase at extremely low rates, meaning goods are marked up significantly unless large bulk orders are made, which allows for some discounts.”

Li Hui frowned slightly. The merchants’ monopoly resembled a giant store bullying customers—buy if you like it, or roll if you don’t. It was possible to pay several times the price and still not find the desired items.

“Send the clever crew members out to investigate the markets, to get a clear idea of the goods and prices. They should report back to me before dawn tomorrow.”

“Understood,” Huo Qiniang replied as she took her leave.

Li Hui, feeling his energy diminished, needed some time to recover as he pondered, “How can I disrupt the Blue Moon Island business community? It’s hard to find a breakthrough coming here for the first time! Therefore, I can only take an unconventional approach: firstly, exploiting rare treasures, and secondly, underselling.”

“The so-called exploitation of rare treasures means having something exceptionally rare that one hardly encounters for decades. Today, if someone suddenly makes a move, even peers must bid competitively. Estimating the gold-guzzling capacity of Blue Moon Island, achieving this is very difficult.”

“As for underselling, one needs to hold a large amount of chips and consider various aspects; it’s quite challenging operationally. A small slip could plunge one into trouble. Loss is secondary; the fear is being targeted by significant cultivators as a fat lamb.”

On the first day on Blue Moon Island, Li Hui bided his time.

By the second day, after obtaining the price list of goods from the ten markets, he activated the Dragon Horn pattern to quickly skim through, thousands of names flashing in his mind as he rapidly summarized and organized the data, eliminating duplicates to find profitable opportunities. The results were disappointing.

“The details are truly airtight, interconnected like a web, leaving no loopholes.”

“No choice but to take an unconventional route!”

After searching again, Li Hui’s expression changed once more: “Indeed, with such a vast enterprise, they even have mushroom roots and Soul Nourishing Water for sale. They’ve even listed the heavenly marrow worm with a price tag. The great monk from Paifeng Island acts quickly; it seems there’s a Large Net in the ocean that conveys messages incredibly fast. Fitting, a merchant’s instincts are the sharpest.”

“Pureblood spiritual ears can be sold, and also the fruits of the Clear Spirit Cloud Tree and the leaves and branches of the Concentrating Peace Wood. The Ten-Thousand-Year Abyssal Wood is of a higher grade and should be sold at auction. We also need Guang Jin to produce a piece of Kasyapa Bodhi tree root, or we won’t even have the starting capital.”

Guang Jin poked his head in and said, “Young Master, what are you muttering about? I feel uneasy, as if something terrifying is about to happen!”

“Hmph! Why is it so difficult for you to fetch something?” Li Hui glared at him.

“No, that’s not what I meant.” Guang Jin, eager to avoid blame, added, “If you’re worried about money, I have an idea. The fur on Chongguang and Chonglin is getting longer; it’s growing between their scales and will affect their battle defenses later. We must trim it cleanly. These furs can be used for talisman brushes and even for refining tools or pills; their uses are numerous.”

“Can we make talisman brushes?” Li Hui’s eyes widened again. “Why didn’t you say this earlier? Using monster fur won’t raise suspicion, right? Wouldn’t that bring trouble from demonic energy?”

“Hey, that depends on my Guang Jin’s skills. With a gentle touch, I can eliminate all traces of demonic energy. It can be sold as the fur of the exotic golden hound and fierce lightning beast; I guarantee it’ll look identical, and no one will recognize the difference.”

“Alright, I’ll ask the fatty to shear them.” Li Hui didn’t blink as he shifted this arduous task onto Chef Zhao, hoping he could handle it under pressure.

In the end, Guang Jin couldn’t escape either. He begrudgingly pulled out a few branches and some leaves, clearly a character that only took but didn’t give in return.

Time was precious; two hours later, it was still before noon.

Huo Qiniang arrived at the market specializing in spiritual treasures, protected by five Concentrating Spirit stage cultivators, and randomly sought a shop to sell pureblood spiritual ears and heavenly marrow worms.

“This lady is here,” the shopkeeper said, glancing at them and cupping his fist politely. “Apologies, we used to sell pureblood spiritual ears, but the demand is specialized, and sales aren’t that good, so we rarely acquire them. As for heavenly marrow worms, we are taking orders for sale at the moment…”

“Less idle talk; this is a bulk transaction. Let’s first see the quantity we’re offering. Tell me how many spiritual shells at a fair price; I know all your shops have a consistent price here, and it’s the same at any store.” Huo Qiniang boldly declared after Li Hui’s advice, knowing she would take a hit but proceeding nonetheless.

“Ah, so it’s a big customer arriving. My apologies!” The shopkeeper opened the door for business; as long as there was substantial money to be earned, his smile was sincere.

Meanwhile, Chef Zhao sold off the fruits from the Clear Spirit Cloud Tree and the branches from the Concentrating Peace Wood, bringing forth a very small quantity and following the route of rare treasure exploitation.

After making a round, Chef Zhao and Huo Qiniang regrouped and brought the Ten-Thousand-Year Abyssal Wood and Kasyapa Bodhi tree roots to the auction. They chose to sell directly to the auction house rather than put them up for bidding.

Though the two exchanged for a large amount of spiritual shells, they also lost significant profit.

As for the fur of the exotic golden hound and the fierce lightning beast, that too followed the rare treasure route. The two unwittingly revealed some information, waiting for merchants to come knocking, and soon enough, the initial capital was sufficient, flipping the roles of buyers and sellers.

Quickly, word spread.

“What? Someone is buying Broken Artifacts and magic items? Even fragments?”

“Correct! Their ship is at Dock 5, and word is they have a limited quantity for purchase. If you go late, they might not accept it. The ship’s design shows they must be major players, maybe even from the Thousand Islands.”

“Great, I’ll go take a look.”

This trend rapidly spread across Blue Moon Island. Low-level cultivators at sea often dueled, and Artifact damage was a frequent occurrence. Initially, purchases were made with spiritual shells, but after several hours, too many people showed up, and they seemed to hesitate on further acquisitions, starting to offer Blood Ignition Talismans and low-level miscellaneous pills in exchange.

Li Hui sat in the cabin, making talismans. Even with the enhancement of the silver snake bracelet, his success rate for creating talismans was only at seventy percent, which was astonishingly low. Not to mention reaching one hundred percent, even eighty percent seemed a far-off dream…