Time for one cup of tea later, Chang Bao brought a middle-aged male cultivator inside.

“Fellow Daoist Wang, this seller is Brother Jiang Chao!”

“Fellow Daoist Jiang, please sit!”

Jiang Chao looked rather impatient. Before he even sat down, he urgently asked, “How many Spirit Stones can you offer?”

Wang Yanfeng exchanged a glance with Wang Hao, then extended five fingers, saying, “If the medicine has no problems, we’ll give this number!”

“Five hundred is too low. I want eight hundred! This is a main ingredient for the Foundation Establishment Pill!” Jiang Chao exclaimed excitedly. “Too low, I won’t sell!”

“But it’s only eighty years old. Maximum six hundred!”

Broker Chang Bao chimed in from the side, “Fellow Daoist Wang, Fellow Daoist Jiang also didn’t have it easy… add a bit more…”

Wang Yanfeng pondered for a moment, then said, “Alright, seven hundred. Cannot go any higher.”

Broker Chang turned to Jiang Chao. “Fellow Daoist Jiang, seven hundred isn’t a small amount. Even if you go elsewhere, you won’t get higher…”

Jiang Chao thought for a moment and finally agreed. “Day after tomorrow, morning. I’ll wait for you at the market entrance!”

With that, he bid farewell and left with Chang Bao.

From Chang Bao, they learned that such transactions required confirming the goods before payment. Thus, they needed Jiang Chao to lead them. Otherwise, rogue cultivators could casually make up a story and swindle hundreds of Spirit Stones, and chaos would ensue!

“It’s just as well I’m here this time. We’ll both go together. Later, when you manage the shop alone, you must be careful!”

“Mmm, Eighth Uncle, rest assured. I value my life very much…” Wang Hao thought inwardly, Besides for the Condensing Essence Fruit, I wouldn’t take such risks!

With the matter settled, the two began splitting up to prepare. To venture deep into the Duan Yuan Mountain Range, they had to prepare a large number of talismans and healing and detoxification pills. Pills like Spirit Recovery Pills, Clarity Pills, and Crimson Blood Pills were essential. It was better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them—or worse, run out. That would cost them their lives!

The pill shop had stock, so Wang Hao could just take them and record it in the ledger; if unused, they could be returned. Talismans, however, had to be purchased from outside. With the identity of the shop manager, he didn’t need to be timid anymore. He directly sold a batch of spirit herbs to the Qingyuan Pavilion and purchased one hundred talismans. Coupled with the high-grade magical instruments and Tier 2 Low-Grade spirit talismans won from the martial arts competition, he felt somewhat confident.

Two days later, they arrived as agreed. The three didn’t waste words and headed directly towards the Duan Yuan Mountain Range.

Stretching for millions of miles, the mountain range cut off communication between the Southern Sea cultivation world and the Profound Origin Continent, hence earning its name “Duan Yuan” (Severed Origin). The area near Qingniu Market was merely a small extension of its southern foothills. It was said that Tier 4 demonic beasts existed within, though they only moved near the edges of the deep range. Tier 2 demonic beasts were rarely encountered in the outskirts.

Before long, the three disappeared into the dense jungle. Wang Hao was cautious but not overly worried; he had already opened his “Wicked Map.” There were no skull markers indicating boss-level threats nearby.

However, as the three ventured deeper, the situation began to change. The vegetation became denser, and animals became more frequent. Although they were mostly ordinary beasts without rank that the map didn’t even display, their sheer numbers meant dealing with them inevitably caused a commotion. This would attract even more demonic beasts.

After slaughtering a pack of wolves, Wang Yanfeng asked, “Fellow Daoist Jiang, how much farther?”

Although Qi Refining cultivators couldn’t fly, their travel speed reached hundreds of miles per day. Traveling for a day and a half meant they must have ventured nearly a thousand miles deep.

Wang Yanfeng worriedly added, “If we go deeper than a thousand miles, I’m afraid there will be Tier 2 demonic beasts, right?”

Jiang Chao replied confidently, “Heh, Fellow Daoist Wang, isn’t that stating the obvious? If there weren’t such risks, that Borage plant would have been discovered by others long ago. Would it still be waiting for us? Rest assured, I’ve been here twice already and never encountered a Tier 2 demonic beast!”

Wang Hao was skeptical. The map displayed a green skull ahead, while Tier 1 demonic beasts were small white skulls. This indicated there was at least a Tier 2 demonic beast there. He didn’t know if this Jiang Chao was just lucky or if that beast happened to have moved there recently.

Wang Hao secretly noted that fortunately, Jiang Chao didn’t go straight but led the two on a detour. When passing a large river, they followed the river’s flow.

Jiang Chao reminded them, “Fellow Daoists, there are quite a few demonic beasts in this river. Be careful and try to restrain your aura!”

Saying this, he jumped directly into the river. Wang Hao and Wang Yanfeng exchanged a glance and followed him into the water.

The three swam along the riverbank for a while before emerging and using the Earth Escape Technique to travel. Wang Hao finally understood; this Jiang Chao was capable. By entering and exiting the water, he had successfully bypassed two small groups of demonic beasts. Rogue cultivators struggling for survival truly couldn’t be underestimated. Even with a real-time map in his brain, Wang Hao felt that if he were leading the team, he couldn’t have chosen a better route.

However, the deeper they went, the greater the number of demonic beasts. Moreover, these beasts were mobile. Sometimes, encounters were unavoidable, leading to unavoidable battles. The three fought with full force to avoid entanglement.

When they reached their destination, they were physically and mentally exhausted, with little Qi remaining.

Jiang Chao pointed to a green plant half the height of a person behind a giant boulder. “That is the Borage. Gentlemen, the way has been led. Can you give the Spirit Stones now?”

Wang Yanfeng signaled Wang Hao to go check the situation. Wang Hao cast a protective shield on himself while clutching a stack of talismans in his hand. Generally, heaven and earth spiritual objects were guarded by demonic beasts. Although the vicinity of this Borage showed nothing on the map, he still added a layer of insurance for himself.

He touched it lightly, and the farm icon lit up. Wang Hao smiled with relief. “Eighth Uncle, everything is normal!”

Receiving the response, Wang Yanfeng took out seven hundred Spirit Stones. “Fellow Daoist Jiang, happy cooperation. I hope if you have news of spirit medicines in the future, you will continue to contact us!”

Jiang Chao accepted the Spirit Stones and smiled. “As long as the Wang family gives a fair price, spirit medicines are easy to discuss! Please wait a moment, Fellow Daoist.”

Saying this, Wang Hao took out tools to prepare for transplanting the Borage.

Wait… Jiang Chao was maintaining a smile behind them. Something wasn’t right. Was it really going this smoothly?

After obtaining the Borage seeds in his system, Wang Hao suddenly realized something, and his heart pounded wildly.

“Come quickly to help transplant it, so we can leave this ghost place,” Wang Yanfeng said. He had already picked up a spirit shovel and started digging.

Wait, realizing it only now was too late!

“Formation, rise!”

Jiang Chao sneered ferociously from a distance. With a pinch of his hands forming a seal, a transparent yellow light dome instantly trapped the two of them inside.

My first time going out, and I encounter murder and treasure robbery?

Wang Hao cursed speechlessly, dropped the spirit shovel, and shouted angrily, “Fellow Daoist Jiang, we two have never offended you. Why do this? If you retract the formation now, I can guarantee we’ll pretend nothing happened!”

“Naive! Do you think I’ll stop now?”

“Fellow Daoist Jiang, you alone cannot deal with us, even with the help of a formation. Turn back early, and there is still a chance of survival. Otherwise…” Wang Yanfeng continued to stall with talk while signaling Wang Hao to quickly recover Qi for the upcoming battle.

“Hehe, then what if you add us?”

Before his voice faded, a woman in green and a black-faced burly man jumped out from behind.

“Daring to ambush us Wang family cultivators? You are courting death! The Wang family won’t let you go!” Wang Yanfeng shouted.

The burly man laughed. “After finishing this job, Laozi will naturally leave Qingniu Market. I won’t need Fellow Daoist to worry about me.”

Watching Wang Yanfeng engaging in a verbal war, Wang Hao wondered: Why do I feel like our side is looking more and more like the cannon fodder young masters, while the other side is the protagonist? This Eighth Uncle is really unreliable!