Chapter 2: The Way of Taking

  The Dongzhou continent has a total of 99 large sects, more than 1,000 medium-sized sects, and countless small sects.

  The Yuanyuan Sword Sect where Yuan Tian is located is a standard small sect, and small sects should not be underestimated. After all, it is a cultivation sect, not something that can be compared to a Jianghu sect.

  Which great hero dares not to obey, no matter if you are practicing knife or sword. Even if you can beat ten with one, a flame talisman will pass by, guaranteeing that even your own mother won't recognize you after being burned.

  The paper boat creaked and groaned as it moved along, finally arriving at the village market.

  A slender Yuantian Duan sat on a paper boat, next to which was an eight-hundred-jin heavy, flower-patterned fat pig. What a beautiful landscape line this is.

  I'll paint a flat boat on a page, who can sail with me? The yellow millet hasn't changed, the heroic spirit remains, it's better to be free and wild with nature.

  Sitting on the flying law instrument, riding the wind and wandering. It's the dream of many refining true disciples, Yuan Tian's paper boat is old and broken, but it makes many fellow disciples envy.

  The contrast between the fat and thin of Yuan Tian and Hua Wen Zhu attracted many people in the market to stop and watch, pointing and commenting.

  Yuán Tiān took out his signature smile at this time, and bowed to everyone. Although he looked thin and his cultivation was not high, this demeanor really seemed like the real deal.

  A boat with a canopy flew over from above, its huge volume blocking the sunlight and casting a shadow below.

  Those who were pointing at Yuan Tian earlier are now hastily looking up at the giant painting boat.

  The painting boat is made of thousand-year-old peach wood, with intricate patterns carved on it. The entire boat is painted in crimson, and the sound of guqin and singing can be heard from time to time.

  "This is what a flying machine should be like. Looking at my own little paper plane again, sigh... people can't compare to people, goods can't compare to goods."

  Let's be more realistic and sell the Flower Patterned Pig for Spirit Stones first, then see if there's enough money to buy a copy of the Spirit Rain Sword Technique.

  A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. A small trickle of water eventually becomes a mighty ocean. Meals are eaten mouthful by mouthful, and wealth is accumulated coin by coin.

  The sky flashed with seven-colored light, and the people below almost couldn't open their eyes. Squinting and looking up, it turned out that the colorful patterns carved on the painting boat emitted dazzling seven-colored light.

  Apart from the sound of the guqin and the singing voices of many female cultivators, a loud laughter of a male cultivator also echoed out.

  The extravagance of Zhen Yu's words was truly enough to make Yuan Tian secretly scold him in his heart.

  It's useless to just envy others, as they approached the store, Yuan Tian quickly got down from the paper boat and called out to his apprentices to unload the goods.

  This fellow was stripped to the waist, his muscles bulging in great lumps on his body, as sturdy as an iron tower. Old Tie, who raised cattle, was strong enough, but this fellow was even stronger than Old Tie.

  "Take this pig in and weigh it, let the boss give a price." Yuan Tian gestured like an old man, putting his hand behind him and pointing.

  "Alright, you're welcome!" The robust shop assistant easily lifted the 800-catty flower-patterned pig and walked into the store.

  Looking at his robust physique, Yuan Tian couldn't help but feel envious. A practitioner's physique is truly impressive, and this little guy can lift an 800-jin pig with ease.

  Look at your own arm, it's about as thick as someone else's thumb, and your waist is not even as sturdy as their arm.

  Qigong practitioners don't compare their physical strength with others, I comfort myself from the source of heaven.

  "How much?" Yuan Tian smiled at the shop owner, with a smile on his face but vigilance in his heart. He must not be cheated, or he wouldn't do it even if you paid him half a piece of spirit stone less.

  The shop owner looked at this smiling, slender old customer and thought: This gentleman is not easy to cheat, Old Huang's people are first-rate in their meticulous calculations.

  Don't look at this shop owner being wealthy and having a cultivation of Qi Refining Seventh Layer, he still doesn't dare to offend Yuan Tian who is as thin as a reed and has a cultivation of Qi Refining Third Layer.

  The entire market is within the power range of Tianyuan Sword Sect, and even the miscellaneous disciples are also disciples. If you really want to go to the sect to report a case, it's guaranteed that he won't be able to leave with his head held high.

  The shop owner made a face and drove the shop assistant out.

  "The flower-patterned pig weighs eight hundred and ten catties, which can be exchanged for eighty-one low-grade spirit stones." The shop owner reported the number truthfully, even including a single spirit stone's decimal place.

  En. Yuan Tian pretended to be deep in thought, but his heart was actually very happy.

  In the past, Huang Lao was really strict. The flower-patterned pig could be raised to at most 600 jin in a year. The sect's rules stipulated that it must be raised to at least 500 jin to complete the task and receive the sect's reward of five low-grade spiritual stones.

  Huang Lao's meticulous care had raised a pig to 600 catties, which could earn him a reward of six low-grade spiritual stones from the sect. With ten pigs, he could get sixty low-grade spiritual stones as rewards, and his income looked pretty good.

  Sixty low-grade spirit stones spent in a year is actually very tight. Because the cost of feeding pigs is also included in the sect's rewards, just one flower-patterned pig eats away at least three low-grade spirit stones' worth of things in a year, and ten pigs eat away thirty spirit stones' worth of things.

  If we also subtract the maintenance of the pigpen and daily expenses, there's really nothing left.

  Thanks to Huang Lao Shi's own ability to plow and irrigate, he rented a piece of spiritual land to grow fodder grass, so after paying the rent, there was still some leftover.

  In the year of Huang Lao Shi's death, Yuan Tian's memory gradually recovered, and his pig-raising skills far surpassed those of Old Huang.

  How many times a day should the flower-patterned pig be fed, how much fodder is most suitable at one time, and how to mix and match. This knowledge suddenly emerged from my mind, not only remembering it, but also mastering it very well.

  In this way, the flower-patterned pig was actually raised by him to 810 catties.

  Eight hundred and ten catties, one head of pig can get the reward of eighty low-grade spirit stones from the sect, and ten heads of pigs are eighty low-grade spirit stones.

  This pig costs eighty-one low-grade spirit stones. If I only hand over eighty spirit stones, it would be great if I could pocket the remaining one spirit stone. The total amount is paid by the shop to the sect, and then the sect will distribute the rewards. I wonder if I can negotiate with the shop owner to just hand over eighty spirit stones.

  "Little friend, let's discuss something. What do you think?" The shop owner closed the door and looked at Yuan Tian with a keen eye.

  "What's going on, did he find out what I was thinking? He wants to split that one spirit stone with me. Yuan Tian quickly smiled and faced the shop owner: "We're old friends, everything can be negotiated."

  "The sect rules stipulate that the flower-patterned pig must be raised to over 500 catties, and Lao Huang has always raised it to 600 catties."

  "It's well known that over six hundred catties is a waste of fodder, and it would be a loss for the Ling Stone." The shop owner said, sizing up Yuan Tian.

  "Ah! Ah! It's all so well-known!!!!! I have no choice, I'm a newbie and accidentally fed too much, this time I've lost big time. If the sect only gives me eight spiritual stones as a reward for raising this Flower Pattern Pig, that's not even enough to buy fodder, let alone food for myself. What am I supposed to eat? I'm almost starving to death!"

  Yuán Tiān Mǎ immediately put on a pitiful look, and his thin arm seemed to be telling the boss about his hardships.

  The feed source is indeed a bit more, but only a little. The flower-patterned pig can grow so fat, mainly because the breeding technology is qualified. Especially in the middle of the night, the additional feed really made the pigs fat.

  The shop owner's eyes rolled around: "I think it's better to do this, and still report the door price according to 610 catties. Hand over 61 low-grade spirit stones, and I'll keep the remaining 20 spirit stones with my little friend..."

  The shop owner wanted to say something but stopped, and the next words didn't need to be said out loud, as Yuan Tian had already understood. He was thinking of embezzling the twenty low-grade spirit stones and splitting them five ways with his accomplice.

  "Oh dear! Boss, you're really a Bodhisattva who saves us from suffering and hardship. Now my meal is settled." Yuan Tian hurriedly cupped his hands in gratitude, then stretched out his hand to receive the ten low-grade spirit stones handed over by the shop owner, along with a transaction receipt.

  Before recovering his memories, Yuan Tian really didn't dare to do this. A small miscellaneous disciple, daring to dig at the corner of his master's wall, isn't that just asking for death? Now it's different, as he gradually recovers his memories, he understands the importance of money. In this world, without spirit stones, even after eight lifetimes, it would be hard to make a name for oneself.

  Yuanyang took a look at the transaction certificate, and the 610 catties were written clearly. With this certificate, he could go to the outer gate manager to receive six low-grade spirit stones.

  He stuffed the ten low-grade spirit stones into his pocket, and Yuan Tian couldn't help but feel his heart racing with excitement. Ten low-grade spirit stones, Huang Lao had really not expected it to be so easy to get them.

  Six hundred catties of flower-patterned pork were handed over, but only six low-grade spiritual stones were rewarded, and three spiritual stones had to be deducted for the cost of feed.

  Now, the 810-jin Flower Pattern Pig is being sold as a 610-jin one. With ease, I've earned ten low-grade spirit stones, and adding the six from the sect's reward, that makes sixteen low-grade spirit stones.

  With the knowledge in my head, raising a pig to 1,000 catties shouldn't be a big deal. Feeding time, feed ratio... I don't know why the school stipulates that exceeding 500 catties is qualified, it seems their breeding technology is not up to par.

  Find someone to reinforce the small paper boat, go back and raise the flower-patterned pig to be even fatter. One thousand catties can sell for one hundred low-grade spirit stones, sixty of which are given to the sect, leaving forty spirit stones. Divide twenty each with the shop owner, making money is not that difficult after all.

  I didn't expect it to be so easy to buy Lingyu Jue, and after cultivating Linggu and Lingliang, I can earn even more Lingshi. Sooner or later, I'll also buy a large painting studio and have a group of female cultivators sing and play the zither for me.

  A trademark smile bloomed on his face as Yuan Tian walked towards the Ling Die Bookstore with the Spirit Stone in hand.