As they walked, Su Han and the others completely disregarded the vendors selling ordinary items, continuing their journey forward.
After walking about five hundred meters, they arrived at a stall surrounded by a large crowd.
The onlookers were discussing animatedly.
“Boss, are these cultivation techniques real?”
“They must be! If they are real, then let us see them.”
“…”
Su Han and his three companions pushed their way into the crowd. On a stall about a meter high, various items were displayed, including magic artifacts and spirit herbs. Magic artifacts were less powerful than magic treasures. As for the spirit herbs, the surrounding cultivators could sense the spiritual energy emanating from them, confirming they were indeed spirit herbs. However, what truly captivated attention were several jade slips laid out on the stall, containing cultivation techniques.
The stall owner was a disheveled old man.
The old man sat there leisurely. Facing the questions from the crowd, he finally responded after a long pause.
“If you want to know if they contain cultivation techniques, then buy them.”
One person asked, “If I buy one and it doesn’t have a cultivation technique, can I get a refund?”
The old man immediately retorted, “No refunds! They genuinely contain cultivation techniques. But they are all single-use. What if you buy it, obtain the technique, and then deny it? That won’t do. This old Daoist won’t do such things. Buy if you want to buy, and be quick about it.”
Su Han watched for a considerable time, but no one stepped forward to buy any of the items.
Su Han asked a bystander, “Has anyone bought these cultivation techniques yet?”
The bystander’s face showed impatience. Just as he was about to refuse, he noticed Su Han was accompanied by three others. In a cultivation world where strength reigned supreme, seeing Su Han’s apparent power, the bystander immediately quieted down.
The bystander said, “No one has bought them yet. These jade slips cost a thousand spirit stones each. Such a sum of spirit stones can only be afforded by a sect.”
A thousand spirit stones! The spirit stones they had confiscated from the Dragon Country were only enough to buy three such stones. And there were twenty jade slips displayed on the stall. If Su Han had hundreds of thousands of spirit stones, he would surely buy all of them.
Su Han observed the stall owner. Although his hair was messy, his eyes were sharp, indicating that the old man was also a cultivator.
At the same time, Su Han couldn’t sense the old man’s cultivation level. However, the fact that he dared to set up a stall on a cultivator’s street suggested he had some skills.
Su Han pondered for a moment and decided to buy one jade slip to test it out.
Su Han stepped forward and reached out to touch the jade slips.
Just as his hand was halfway there, the stall owner stopped him, saying, “If you’re not buying, don’t touch. It’ll be troublesome if you learn the cultivation technique inside.”
Su Han stopped his hand and asked, “Daoist, are all these jade slips a thousand spirit stones each?”
“That’s right, all of them are a thousand spirit stones.”
“Then, are the cultivation techniques inside these jade slips the same or different?”
“Each jade slip contains a different cultivation technique.”
“Which jade slip contains the most powerful cultivation technique?”
“A cultivation technique is most powerful in the hands of the suitable person. If unsuitable, it can lead to qi deviation.”
“Then which technique am I suited for?”
The old Daoist at the stall said, “Dao follows nature. Guest, you should choose for yourself! Tell me which one you want, and I’ll give it to you.”
Hmm, he wants me to choose.
Su Han said, “Daoist, can you make it cheaper? Will you sell it for a hundred spirit stones?”
“Not for sale, not for sale! Each jade slip is one thousand spirit stones.”
The stall owner knew Su Han was interested in buying, which was why he was willing to talk to him.
Su Han said, “A hundred spirit stones won’t do. Will you sell it for two hundred spirit stones?”
“One thousand spirit stones.”
“Will you sell it for three hundred spirit stones?”
“One thousand spirit stones. If you haggle further, I will get angry.”
Su Han still didn’t give up. Su Han said, “Since you won’t lower the price, Daoist, can you give me some freebies? Buy one, get five free. If I buy one jade slip, you give me five more.”
“Impossible, impossible. Kid, you have quite the imagination.”
“Daoist, look, I’m the first person to come to your stall to buy a jade slip. You should at least give me some freebies to start things off right.”
The stall owner said, “Alright, enough nonsense. Then I’ll give you some freebies. But you have to buy more. Buy ten, get one free.”
“Can’t I get one free for every one I buy?”
“No, no. Then I’ll offer a little more. Buy nine, get one free.”
Meanwhile, in the crowd, many were watching Su Han and the stall owner haggle.
Among the onlookers, a young man in fine clothing bet with the old man beside him, “Elder Zeng, how much do you think this bargaining will result in, freebies included?”
Elder Zeng said, “Hmm, it should be eight for one free.”
The young man in fine clothing smiled, “I think it’ll be seven for one free. But this young man has so many spirit stones, he must be a wealthy person from some sect.”
Su Han, still at the stall, continued to haggle with the old Daoist.
“No, no, no, Daoist, that’s not fair. Nine for one free isn’t good either. One for nine would be better. I already offered one for five. Let me be a bit more generous this time. One for four.”
“Eight for one!”
“…”
After a round of haggling, the stall owner’s offer became buy five, get one free.
Su Han’s offer became buy one, get two free.
Su Han decided to add one last push, saying, “That won’t do, Daoist. This price is still not acceptable. I’m the first person to buy a jade slip here. Once I buy it, others will come in droves to buy. Then you’ll make a fortune. Alright. Let’s be more generous this time. I’ll skip two levels. Dare you also skip two levels as I suggested? Buy two, get one free! If that’s still not acceptable, then I’ll give up on buying. It all depends on your generosity, Daoist. After all, you said Dao follows nature.”
The stall owner, provoked by Su Han’s words, immediately retorted, “Of course I’m generous. Then I’ll also skip two levels. Buy three, get one free.”
“Good!” Su Han waved his hand, and three thousand spirit stones appeared on the stall.
“Daoist, I’ll take them myself.”
The stall owner’s face showed a look of regret, “Damn it, I lost, I lost. I fell into your trap, you brat. You only have three thousand spirit stones.”
Su Han ignored the stall owner and reached out, using his intuition to grab four jade slips.
Su Han looked at the jade slips on the stall, wishing he could buy all of them. But alas, he was short on spirit stones.
After obtaining the four jade slips, Su Han placed them into his storage space and left.
After Su Han left, the stall owner revealed a smile and shouted, “The remaining jade slips will all have their prices increased by one hundred spirit stones. One thousand one hundred spirit stones per jade slip!”
The onlookers grumbled, “What? The price has increased?”