Jiang Chen stood atop the massive flying sword as it slowly drifted away from the Sword Pavilion.

Once the vessel reached a safe distance and altitude, the blade began to vibrate. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a streak of golden light, tearing through the sky for thousands of meters.

Screech!

Right at that moment, a sharp crane cry erupted from behind.

A heavy, oppressive pressure instantly descended upon everyone aboard the flying sword. Jiang Chen reacted in unison with the others, whipping his head around to look back.

A giant flying crane reflected in his pupils.

Its wingspan easily exceeded twenty meters. Concentric bubbles of water swirled around the beast, rippling through the air. Standing atop the crane’s back was a young man with a stern, frigid expression, dressed in the white everyday robes exclusive to formal disciples.

The flying crane transformed into a massive shadow, engulfing Jiang Chen and his companions.

“Isn’t that Lord Storm Crane 7?”

“Then the person on its back must be Long Ao!”

“Incredible! Its speed is actually faster than this massive flying sword, even with Spirit Stones and array enhancements!”

As the duo drew closer, everyone got a clear look at the man and the crane.

This was the seventh-ranked beast of Beast Mountain, respectfully addressed as Lord Storm Crane 7. It was a thousand-year-old spirit beast possessing terrifying strength. Naturally, the person it acknowledged as master was Long Ao, the top figure in Beast Mountain.

Fortunately, both Storm Crane 7 and Long Ao were merely passing through. They swept past with a single glance, having no business with the group.

It wasn’t until the man and crane vanished into the distance that the heavy, oppressive pressure finally faded. Everyone collectively exhaled, finally able to catch their breath.

“Truly worthy of a thousand-year-old spirit beast; that oppressive aura is suffocating,” Jiang Chen muttered, his expression shifting slightly.

He had once asked Jin Fugui about the rankings. In Beast Mountain, only powerful spirit beasts received numbers. The Cloud Crane 19 he had seen in the outer regions was ranked nineteenth. But Storm Crane 7, which had just flashed by, was a top-tier existence ranked within the top ten.

Thankfully, this was just a minor interlude. The rest of the journey passed without incident.

Two hours later, Green City and the colossal Green Tree appeared on the horizon.

This time, Jiang Chen avoided the Fragrance Pavilion, opting to check into a random inn instead. He removed his Cloud Sea Sect white robes and changed into ordinary black clothes.

Next, he applied a fake mustache, instantly transforming his appearance to seem more steady and mature. He looked like an older Loose Cultivator who had weathered years of hardship. Such individuals were commonplace throughout Green City, appearing utterly unremarkable.

Only then did Jiang Chen leave the inn.

Although he had arrived at the Loose Cultivator market district, he did not immediately notify the Sun family. Instead, he visited several Spirit Rice trading points to inquire about current market rates.

There wasn’t much difference from his last visit. Tier-2 Spirit Rice was still trading at a ratio of 1:1.3. One Low-grade Spirit Stone could be exchanged for 0.65 kg of high-quality Tier-2 Spirit Rice.

As for Tier-1 Spirit Rice, the ratio stood at 1:6. Converted, one Low-grade Spirit Stone could purchase 3 kg of high-quality Tier-1 Spirit Rice.

Whether Tier-1 or Tier-2, if the Spirit Rice reached ‘Supreme Grade’, it was basically priceless and unavailable on the open market.

Any Spirit Rice of Supreme Grade was effectively monopolized by the market district’s owner—Perfected Master Wang of the Golden Core realm—and rarely flowed outward.

For Loose Cultivators, the rarer the daily resources, the less willing they were to share. They lacked the confidence and reserves of top-tier immortal cultivation sects or wealthy families. To put it bluntly, Loose Cultivators tended to be petty. If they didn’t have enough for themselves, how could they possibly share with others?

From his last encounter where he eliminated Wang Hu and his crew, Jiang Chen had obtained 400 kg of Tier-1 Spirit Rice. All of it was ‘High Quality’.

He sold the rice in batches across three different trading houses. In total, he netted 114 Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Afterward, he swaggered toward the auction house.

During his last visit, he had purchased the [ Greenwood Water-Parting Hoe ] here. He wondered if any new items had appeared over the last few months.

Upon entering, he discovered something new immediately.

One page of the Earth-rank technique, [ Dragon Shaking Art ].

Yes, just a single page.

Despite this, the starting bid had reached 50 Mid-grade Spirit Stones. Many Loose Cultivators had come specifically for this item.

“I bid 60 Mid-grade Spirit Stones!”

“This [ Dragon Shaking Art ] is an exclusive technique for earth-element cultivators. I bid 70 Mid-grade Spirit Stones!”

“100 Mid-grade Spirit Stones! I am Wang He from the Third Demon-Hunting Team! Please, give me some face!”

The price was quickly driven past one hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones in a frenzy. Yet, even at that price, many people continued to bid.

“People actually want just one page?” Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow.

If it were a fragmentary manual, he might be interested. With a damaged manual, he could rely on his System to deduce and restore the missing parts. But a single page without a beginning or end? Who knew if one could even begin to learn from it? It was essentially useless to him.

In the end, everyone yielded to Wang He’s status, allowing the Third Demon-Hunting Team member to secure the fragmentary page for 300 Mid-grade Spirit Stones.

At this point, the auctioneer presiding over the event spoke up. “I believe everyone remembers the five-hundred-year-old [ Land-Rolling Dragon ] that emerged from the underground in the Dark Forest several months ago?”

“Of course!” someone responded quickly.

Wang He’s expression turned particularly grave. His team had participated in that hunt and suffered heavy casualties.

Jiang Chen calculated the timeline; it seemed to align with his first visit to this Loose Cultivator market district.

The auctioneer continued, “This lot consists of five spirit plant seeds found undigested within that Land-Rolling Dragon’s stomach sac!”

Hearing this, ripples of surprise spread through the crowd.

Jiang Chen felt a sudden spark of intense interest. As a wood-element Spirit Root holder and a spiritual farmer, agriculture was his greatest passion.

Since these seeds had remained undigested inside a five-hundred-year-old Great Demon’s stomach, it indicated they possessed a terrifyingly tenacious life force.

“Five unidentified spirit plant seeds. The starting bid is 20 Mid-grade Spirit Stones! Minimum increment is 1 Mid-grade Spirit Stone!” The auctioneer announced the start of bidding.

A bidder stood up and asked, “Excuse me, host, has no one identified these seeds? Or were they appraised but their origin remains unknown?”

The auctioneer replied, “We sought out the most professional spiritual farmers for appraisal. However, because the seeds have suffered severe corrosion, no one knows what kind of spirit plant they belong to.”

Jiang Chen understood immediately.

If they were anything else, how could they possibly end up in a general auction house? Clearly, these five unidentified seeds were unwanted goods. The seller was dumping them here to mitigate risk.

If someone bought them, the seller wouldn’t lose out. If no one bought them, the seller wasn’t in a hurry to cultivate them anyway. It was a calculated move.

“If they are unidentified, the risk seems high.”

“But they weren’t digested even inside a Great Demon’s stomach; they definitely aren’t ordinary!”

“I’m somewhat interested in collecting them, though. 21 Mid-grade Spirit Stones!”

Immediately, scattered bids began to emerge.

However, compared to the earlier frenzy over the [ Dragon Shaking Art ] page, far fewer people participated. There were no more than ten bidders combined, and over half were bidding purely out of curiosity.

As the price climbed, the number of bidders dwindled.

Jiang Chen didn’t rush. He waited patiently.

Only after the bidding stalled at 31 Mid-grade Spirit Stones for quite some time did he finally speak up, his voice clear and loud.

“33 Mid-grade Spirit Stones!”