12dz Chapter 169 Exchanging Information
Chapter 169 Exchanging Information
Zhou Kai first chuckled, then his expression turned serious as he continued:
"To be honest, fellow Daoists, this is indeed cold iron, but it is impossible to forge a magic weapon using only this small piece of cold iron, because its weight is far from sufficient."
However, if the main component is refined iron, and this piece of cold iron is melted and mixed in, there is a considerable chance that a counterfeit magic weapon can be forged.
This counterfeit magical weapon won't be much worse than a real one. Plus, the piece of cold iron I have isn't cheap. Theoretically, if successfully forged, it should possess about 30% of the power of a genuine magical weapon.
There must be someone present who understands this, and Zhou Kai has no reason to hide it. Even if he doesn't say it, someone else will point it out later. It's better for him to say it himself. Zhou Kai naturally understands this simple principle.
Upon hearing this, the group of people, who had been looking on with burning passion, calmed down a bit and frowned as they fell into deep thought.
This sounds easy, but it's not actually the case.
There are very few cultivators who are proficient in the art of weapon crafting. Asking a weapon crafting master to craft an item is quite expensive, not to mention the issue of success rate.
If it were a genuine magical weapon, it would be worth risking everything. But to ask a master craftsman to work on a fake magical weapon is like trying to cut a fly with a big axe.
"Fellow Daoist Zhou, how do you intend to exchange this piece of cold iron?" The refined scholar's expression changed, and he suddenly smiled, cupping his hands in a gesture of respect to Zhou Kai as he asked.
"Oh? Fellow Daoist Li, are you perhaps interested in this piece of cold iron? If so, I certainly won't have come here for nothing. I'll exchange this one or two ounces of cold iron for a single Ginseng Qi Pill, instead of spirit stones."
Seeing the reactions of the cultivators below, Zhou Kai's face turned somewhat grim. He sighed inwardly and was about to take out another item when the refined scholar suddenly asked a question. He immediately perked up and spoke.
"Ginseng Qi Pill? Fellow Daoist Zhou is asking for too much. The market price of one Ginseng Qi Pill is around one hundred spirit stones. Even if cold iron is extremely rare to us, how much use can one tael of it have?"
"To forge a counterfeit magic weapon, it's not enough to just have the materials. Fellow Daoist Zhou must be well aware of the immense risks involved. To put it bluntly, this piece of cold iron is practically useless."
The refined scholar frowned and shook his head.
"Fellow Daoist Li, please don't be anxious. There's still room for negotiation. If you truly possess Ginseng Qi Pills and are willing to exchange them, I'm willing to add twenty spirit stones to this piece of cold iron. How about that?"
Zhou Kai didn't mind the scholar's tone at all; instead, he smiled slightly and said very politely.
"To be honest, Fellow Daoist Zhou, I do have a family heirloom Qi-refining pill here. However, I know I have no hope of advancing to the fifth level of the Qi Refining stage in this lifetime, so keeping it is useless. That's why I had the idea of exchanging it to enhance my own strength."
"Apart from this piece of cold iron, if Fellow Daoist Zhou could add another thirty spirit stones, then I will exchange it."
The refined scholar pondered for a moment, then his eyes flashed before he spoke.
"Add thirty spirit stones? It's a bit high, but I urgently need Qi-Boosting Pills for cultivation, so let's make the exchange." Zhou Kai's expression was solemn. After thinking for a moment, he smiled and said.
The transaction was completed in a short time.
"According to past practice, once one person successfully completes a transaction, the next cultivator must come up. Only after everyone has gone through the process can the second round of exchanges take place. Fellow Daoist Xiaoyue, it's your turn now."
After exchanging greetings with the refined scholar, Zhou Kai cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to those present and said this before walking into the crowd without saying another word.
The woman in the green dress moved gracefully to the center and stood there. She smiled sweetly before speaking in a soft voice:
"I don't have anything as good as Fellow Daoist Zhou's here, only a bottle of Qi Refining Pills, containing five pills. Each pill can be exchanged for a fire-attribute attack talisman. You can exchange them individually. I wonder if any of you fellow Daoists are interested?"
After the woman named Xiaoyue finished speaking, she didn't say anything more. She just stood quietly with a charming expression, a half-smile on her face, looking quite confident.
"Fellow Daoist Xiaoyue, I have a talisman here that meets your requirements. I'll exchange it for a Qi Refining Pill." A middle-aged man at the second level of the Qi Refining stage stepped forward and swiftly completed the first exchange with the woman.
In less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, four Qi Refining Pills in Xiaoyue's hand were exchanged for. The people who exchanged them were mostly cultivators at the third level of the Qi Refining stage. As for cultivators at the first and second levels of the Qi Refining stage, they could only watch helplessly.
Just as the woman smiled contentedly and was about to leave, a hesitant voice suddenly came from the crowd:
"Fellow Daoist Xiaoyue, I don't have any offensive talismans here, but I do have three Swiftness Talismans. Would you like them?"
"I do need the Swiftness Talisman, but it's only worth three spirit stones on the market. If you exchange it like this, I'll be at a disadvantage. But... never mind, I don't need this pill anymore anyway, so I'll give it to you."
Xiaoyue first glanced at the cultivators present and, finding that no one else intended to exchange with her, then looked at the person, blinked her beautiful eyes, and said in a deliberately generous manner.
After the transaction was completed, the woman turned her attention to Du Fan, who had remained silent.
Du Fan suddenly realized that the order of appearance at this exchange meeting was based on the cultivation level of the cultivators in this area.
However, the situation was still unclear. Du Fan could not yet determine the general financial resources of these rogue cultivators, nor their focus on cultivation resources. Making a hasty move would not be a wise move.
Seeing the woman in the green dress looking at him, Du Fan spoke first before she could speak, saying, "I don't have much on me, just things I need. As for what I'll use to exchange, I need to think about it some more. Fellow Daoists, please continue."
Xiaoyue didn't say anything more after seeing this. She gave Du Fan a bright smile and then walked away.
Next, a beautiful young woman at the fourth level of Qi Refining took out a somewhat incomplete low-level earth-attribute spell, exchanged it for a five-year-old spiritual herb, and then left with a satisfied expression.
And so, with the constant exchange of cultivators, the time it takes for an incense stick to burn quickly passed. Now, only Du Fan and the two disciples of the Cold Mountain Sect remained who had not yet taken the stage.
Having observed these rogue cultivators from the sidelines, Du Fan had already roughly determined their financial resources.
The items exchanged by the first few people were acceptable, but starting with the cultivators at the third level of Qi Refining, the items they brought out for exchange were simply unbearable to Du Fan. Even a single power talisman could attract a scramble among these low-level cultivators.
Some people even offered talismans and refined iron in exchange; frankly speaking, these kinds of things could be bought with gold and silver in the mortal world...
The poverty and hardship of this group of rogue cultivators seemed to exceed Du Fan's original expectations. Upon discovering this, Du Fan couldn't help but feel a little fortunate. If it weren't for the Seven Star Merchant Alliance, he would probably be in the same situation now...
While sighing, Du Fan also realized that if he were to do something like that here, he would probably not survive more than half a month if he did it even once. He was used to throwing away hundreds of spirit stones at a time.
Du Fan naturally wouldn't do something that would needlessly attract hatred. In short, if you're a rogue cultivator, the poorer and less noticeable you appear to others, the longer you can live.
After a quick thought, Du Fan made a decision, took a deep breath, and stepped forward.
"I have two Qi Refining Pills here, left over from my cultivation days. I wish to exchange them for some information. If any fellow cultivator knows anything about them, I am willing to trade one of the Qi Refining Pills."
Du Fan cupped his hands in greeting to the assembled cultivators and spoke calmly.
Upon hearing this, the people below couldn't help but exchange bewildered glances. They had never encountered such a unique situation in any of the exchange meetings they had participated in. Among those present, only Zhou Kai and Xiao Yue remained unmoved.
When the two monks from the Cold Mountain Sect saw that Du Fan had only taken out two Qi Refining Pills, they subconsciously exchanged glances, their brows furrowing slightly and their expressions showing some displeasure.
However, after their eyes darted around, those cultivators at the first level of Qi Refining revealed a hint of anticipation.
For these people, the gains from the exchange meeting are extremely limited. To put it bluntly, the exchange meeting is just an exchange of equivalent items, but what good things could the lowest-level rogue cultivators like them have? This destined them to leave disappointed.
However, the information exchange proposed by Du Fan is different. If someone is lucky enough to obtain some information that the other party wants to know, it would be an exaggeration to say that they have gotten something for nothing.
"If Fellow Daoist Du wants to know something, just say it," Zhou Kai said with a slight smile.
"Very well, about a month ago, a battle between two Golden Core cultivators took place in this area. I am quite fascinated by this epic battle. I wonder if any fellow Daoist has personally witnessed it?"
Du Fan first nodded to Zhou Kai, then glanced at the other cultivators and spoke directly.
"Fellow Daoist Du, your requirement is that you must witness it yourself. Doesn't hearsay count?" After a moment of silence, a man in yellow robes at the second level of Qi Refining spoke up.
"That's right. I want to know the specific details, so only those who have experienced it firsthand are worth continuing this conversation with," Du Fan said calmly and expressionlessly.
Upon hearing this, all the cultivators present couldn't help but shake their heads, and those who had initially shown hope began to feel greatly disappointed.