Chapter 484: Familiar Look

“Young Master Jiang, I’m afraid I can’t accept this price.”

After some deliberation, the old man raised his head, his expression resolute.

Lin Dong slowly stood up. If he was only a half-businessman, then the old man was barely a quarter of one—his tactics of feigning reluctance were even worse than those of street vendors. Even if he couldn’t avoid giving away his intentions, at the very least, he should have made a decision sooner to make his resolve seem more genuine. Hesitating for so long before saying he couldn’t accept it clearly meant his previous offer, even if below expectations, wasn’t much lower. Otherwise, there would be no need for hesitation.

“In that case, I shall take my leave,” Lin Dong said, bowing to the old man.

“Is this really the highest price Young Master Jiang can offer?” The old man called out to him before Lin Dong could even turn around.

“If it’s other types of spiritual materials, I can offer three or three plants of the eighth rank,” Lin Dong replied.

“Well…” The old man gritted his teeth and declared firmly, “Alright, then ten Wanhong Fruits. When does Young Master Jiang want the land deed?”

“I already have the Wanhong Fruits with me. If Senior Huang has the land deed, we can conduct the transaction now. As for changing the land deed, I can handle it myself,” Lin Dong said with a smile.

“Agreed!” The old man nodded.

Without hesitation, Lin Dong took out a wooden box made from a Wanhong Tree branch. Lifting the lid, rows of Wanhong Fruits were neatly arranged on the fiery red silk inside.

“This wooden box…” The old man hesitated.

“A top-grade seventh-rank spiritual artifact—Senior Huang shouldn’t object, right?” Lin Dong asked with a smile.

“Sure!” This time, the old man was particularly generous, his voice much louder. The value of this wooden box, made from a Wanhong Tree branch, was comparable to that of the Wanhong Fruits themselves—indeed, even higher. After all, removing Wanhong Fruits had no effect on the tree, but breaking off a branch could very likely kill it. Moreover, the Wanhong Fruits would run out once consumed, whereas a Wanhong Tree branch had a slim chance of growing into another tree.

The sect behind the old man was itself a crafting sect. Although a top-grade seventh-rank spiritual artifact was also extremely valuable, it was definitely a good deal. With this wooden box, the Wanhong Fruits could be preserved indefinitely, serving as rewards for the fastest-growing disciples. This would surely motivate them to train harder, further strengthening the sect’s strength.

He took out the land deed and placed it on the table. After Lin Dong glanced at it and nodded, the old man reached for the box and said, “Young Master Jiang, I don’t have any high-quality seventh-tier spiritual artifacts at hand. I was wondering if you could wait a while? I can use other spiritual artifacts from the shop as collateral.”

“Of course!” Lin Dong folded the land deed and put it into the mobile counter, feeling greatly relieved. Next, he just needed to go to the government office to update the land deed. Normally, the original owner had to be present for such changes, but since the owner of the shop was a secret, Lin Dong didn’t plan to use his own registration details to make the change. He also hadn’t found anyone to take over yet, so he could only wait until he had the necessary registration details and then use some silver to make the change.

“Young Master Jiang, shall I go prepare the spiritual artifacts for collateral now?” the old man asked eagerly. Transferring the shop for ten Wanhong Fruits was already a great achievement, and now with the box of Wanhong trees, it meant making a huge contribution to the revival of the sect. Coupled with his strength being almost on par with the standards, and with many elders of the sect lost, this was enough for him to rise to the rank of elder based on his merits.

Lin Dong was also pleased, but much calmer than the old man. He shook his head and smiled, “Elder Huang, there’s no rush. How about we discuss some business?”

“Business?” The old man was puzzled.

Lin Dong nodded. This idea came to him after seeing the old man’s hesitation earlier. The sect behind the artifact shop was in urgent need of high-level spiritual materials for cultivation, while the alchemy sect had things that Lin’s Inn lacked.

“I wonder what other business Young Master Jiang wants to discuss?” Seeing Lin Dong nod in confirmation, the old man became very enthusiastic. If he could help the sect achieve another great feat, he might even rise to become an influential elder.

“Do you know if your sect is willing to sell spiritual techniques?” Lin Dong asked.

“Sell spiritual techniques?” The old man looked displeased. Which sect would sell their spiritual techniques? Only a destroyed sect would do that.

“Yes, high-level alchemy spiritual techniques,” Lin Dong nodded, ignoring the old man’s expression.

The old man suddenly stood up, intending to explode in anger. But seeing Lin Dong’s calm and confident demeanor, he remembered his own strength.

Sighing, the old man suppressed his anger and said solemnly, “Since Young Master Jiang is also a sect disciple, you should understand that a sect would never sell its high-level spiritual techniques.”

“What if I use them in exchange for something else?” Lin Dong asked with a smile.

“Well, I’m afraid I can’t decide that…” The old man hesitated. Spiritual techniques were the foundation of a sect, and high-level and auxiliary spiritual techniques were the very core of that foundation. This was a matter beyond his authority.

“It’s fine. Senior Huang can send someone to the sect for guidance. Exchanging your sect’s advanced spirit techniques related to artifact crafting for those from other sects means joining more sects, but you can also gain another type of advanced combat-related spirit technique, which will surely greatly enhance your sect’s strength. Considering your sect is already severely weakened, this deal isn’t just beneficial—it’s a profit,” Lin Dong said calmly. “Besides that, I can also provide your sect with three more eighth-tier spirit materials for cultivation: Snow Red Grass.”

“Snow Red Grass? You have Snow Red Grass?” the old man exclaimed in shock. The incident of the spirit material shop auctioning Snow Red Grass had still not faded from memory as a mysterious case and a huge scam. Who would have thought three more plants would appear here?

Lin Dong nodded and said calmly, “Isn’t this price quite good?”

“Does Young Master Jiang have any more? If so, we’re willing to exchange them for advanced spirit artifacts,” the old man hurriedly asked. Right now, what his sect lacked the most were spirit materials for cultivation. More of them meant greater strength.

“Apart from what’s needed by the sect’s disciples, there isn’t much left. If your sect wants them, no need for spirit artifacts. We’re also an artifact-crafting sect, so we can exchange them for spirit minerals.”

Lin Dong wanted advanced spirit techniques for artifact crafting because Yun Lan had hit a bottleneck in her research on integrating spirit artifacts and spirit arrays and needed to change her approach. As for Feng Yue, having no sect to belong to and still being an eighth-tier artifact craftsman even after reaching the peak of strength was because the spirit technique he learned was only sixth-tier. If he were given an advanced spirit technique for artifact crafting, it might help him rise to a ninth-tier craftsman. This would not only ensure they had advanced spirit artifacts for the inn in the future but also greatly assist Yun Lan’s research.

That’s why Lin Dong proposed the exchange. There were hundreds of advanced combat-related spirit techniques available from Wuyou Cave, so giving away one or two wouldn’t matter.

With an advanced artifact craftsman around, Lin Dong naturally wouldn’t want spirit artifacts. Using them to exchange for more spirit minerals would allow him to craft more advanced artifacts and boost Feng Yue’s crafting experience—undoubtedly the best choice.

If it weren’t for the fact that advanced spirit materials for cultivation couldn’t showcase too many varieties or large quantities, Lin Dong would have offered as many spirit minerals as possible in exchange. Fortunately, Tianfeng Street was filled with numerous sects, each controlling the best resources in their respective mountain ranges. As long as transactions were handled carefully—some sects exchanging spirit materials and others exchanging spirit minerals—it wouldn’t be hard to obtain sufficient materials.

Hearing that there was not much left, the old man was somewhat disappointed but also extremely excited. Not much left meant there was still some left after all. Judging from the situation, he casually took out three plants; perhaps the so-called “not much” actually amounted to a dozen or so.

If there really were a dozen or so, with the help of other elders in refining them, it would surely allow two elders to easily advance a rank. For elders of a major sect, advancing a rank was as difficult as climbing to the sky.

After quick consideration, the old man asked, “Young Master Jiang, may I ask where you reside?”

“I will return to the sect in a few days. This place will be taken care of by my disciples. Senior Huang can go see them,” Lin Dong replied.

“Very well! I’ll go back to the sect and ask personally,” the old man declared firmly.

“In that case, I shall take my leave,” Lin Dong said with a bow.

The old man laughed heartily. “Actually, it should be me who takes leave. This place now belongs to your sect.”

Lin Dong smiled. That made perfect sense. This pottery shop now belonged to him—how could the owner ask the guest to leave?

“Senior Huang, may I ask when we can come back in a few days?” Lin Dong asked.

“This afternoon will do!” the old man said confidently. He didn’t want to delay for days, letting Lin Dong think their sect was inefficient, which could harm future transactions.

“Alright, I’ll send someone over this afternoon. See you again, Senior Huang,” Lin Dong said with a bow.

“See you again,” the old man replied energetically. The gloom he had felt over the past few days had vanished thanks to Lin Dong’s arrival.

Lin Dong turned and left the shop. He found a quiet, deserted spot, bent his legs slightly, and let his spiritual energy surge forth, propelling him into the air. With a light touch on a rooftop, he was instantly on another rooftop dozens of meters away.

In just a short while, Lin Dong reached the prominent rooftop of the Lin’s Inn. With a leap, he appeared in the backyard the next moment. Then, with another leap, he returned to the top of the five-story building. The reason was simple—he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye that half a five-story building had also been erected next door.

It was called “half” because it wasn’t finished yet; only a framework had been built. It was completely empty—there were no walls, let alone decorations, aside from the floor slabs.

Numerous carpenters were working tirelessly on this half-built structure. From a distance above, they looked like ants climbing on bare tree trunks. Lin Dong roughly estimated there were no less than two hundred of them, and that was only what he could see.

In just two or three days, the old house was demolished and a five-story building frame was erected—such speed was truly remarkable. However, what really made Lin Dong return to the backyard and come back again was that the frame and footprint of this building looked all too familiar. Extremely familiar!