Hongyu coral grass, a valuable medicinal herb, fetches no less than three million on the market. Its actual worth might not be that high, but it's incredibly scarce, and scarcity drives up value.
Moreover, sellers often prefer to trade Hongyu coral grass for spirit stones instead of money.
For many cultivators, and even some top-tier herbal shops, spirit stones are the true currency.
While money can't easily procure spirit stones, it's simple to exchange spirit stones for cash, sometimes even at a premium. For instance, a regular-sized low-grade spirit stone could yield 1.03 million, 1.05 million, or even 1.1 million RMB, a surplus of 3%, 5%, or 10%!
Of course, if someone has spirit stones and urgently needs cash, they might sell them at a discount, depending on the seller's needs.
However, under normal circumstances, spirit stones are the hard currency. As long as one isn't in a hurry, a single stone can fetch at least a million.
"Buddy, shouldn't there be a first come, first served principle?" Yang Feilong turned to face the newcomers. It wasn't just one person, but five or six. The one speaking was a young master type, around twenty-three years old. Yang Feilong immediately recognized him as a cultivator, and a powerful one at that – a peak cultivator in the fourth level of the Spiritual Martial Realm, on the verge of breaking through to the Origin Martial Realm.
"You want it, I want it, so let's compete fairly!" the young master sneered at Yang Feilong.
"Haha, trying to compete with Brother Yang? That's like lighting a lamp in a latrine – seeking your own doom!" a man beside the young master guffawed.
"What kind of family does Brother Yang have, and what kind does this kid have? Telling them would probably scare him to death!"
"Heh heh, who can argue with that?"
"Yang surname?" Yang Feilong's eyebrows flickered slightly. To be honest, he had encountered many cultivators since leaving the mountains. In the past, besides himself, he hadn't met anyone with the surname Yang, which he found strange considering it's a common surname.
Today, he finally encountered one, but the meeting was far from pleasant, as they immediately clashed. This gave Yang Feilong the uncanny feeling of stepping in dog excrement.
Furthermore, he noticed that the cultivation levels of the people around the Yang-surnamed man were not low. The weakest were in the Spiritual Martial Realm, and the strongest had reached the Origin Martial Realm. Logically, these individuals shouldn't defer to the Yang-surnamed man, yet they were fawning over him. This indicated that the Yang-surnamed man likely came from an extraordinary family background!
Otherwise, there would be no reason for them to curry favor and flatter him so much!
"I never expected this Yang-surnamed cultivator to be from a prominent family!" Yang Feilong mused inwardly.
"Young Master Zhenyun, since you've taken a liking to our shop's medicinal herb, the Hongyu coral grass..." At this moment, a middle-aged man, clearly the shop owner, addressed Yang Zhenyun with a fawning smile.
"I was here first!" Yang Feilong's gaze narrowed slightly as he interrupted the owner, looking at him coldly.
"You were here first, but I don't want to sell to you. I want to give it to this young master," the shop owner said with an annoyed glance at Yang Feilong, then turned to Yang Zhenyun with a deferential expression.
This differential treatment actually made Yang Feilong laugh with indignation.
Should he beat this guy up?
While it would be satisfying, it would escalate the situation. He wasn't afraid of trouble, but accumulating too many enemies wasn't a good thing, so he decided to leave.
Seeing Yang Feilong's stifled frustration, Yang Zhenyun and his companions couldn't help but chuckle. They hadn't expected the owner to recognize Yang Zhenyun. If he recognized Yang Zhenyun, then gifting him a herb worth millions was understandable; it was a matter of knowing where one's interests lay.
Moreover, given Yang Zhenyun's personality, he wouldn't mistreat the shop owner.
But just then, a clear and melodious voice rang out, "Boss Huang, since when has my family conducted business so unreasonably? Are you treating my family's business as your own?"
Following the voice, Yang Feilong looked over and saw a beautiful woman with a ponytail. Beside her were a young man and a middle-aged man.
"It's her?" Yang Feilong was quite surprised the moment he saw the woman.
He never imagined that this shop belonged to her family!
Yes, Yang Feilong knew this woman well, and she was even close to Mia, a relative and best friend. He vaguely recalled her name was Xiao Jingwen, a woman with a quiet name but a fiery personality. She had called him several times recently, asking to meet, but he had declined each time.
He truly hadn't expected the shop that caused him such trouble to be hers.
Xiao Jingwen was already beautiful, and she seemed to have blossomed recently. Perhaps she had fully matured, surpassing her appearance when he first met her. When he first met her and Mia, they were roughly on the same level of beauty. Now, both had ascended to the top tier!
While there was still a slight gap compared to Li Yufei and Yang Qingqing, the difference was minimal, placing them in the same category of stunning beauties!
"Miss, that... this is Young Master Yang Zhenyun!" Boss Huang's face stiffened, and he said with an awkward smile, pointing to Yang Zhenyun.
"I know he is Yang Zhenyun!" Xiao Jingwen said coldly, "From today onwards, you are fired!"
Boss Huang was astonished and stunned: "......"
"Miss, I..."
"Didn't you hear me clearly? Do you want me to repeat myself?" Xiao Jingwen sneered.
"Jingwen, Boss Huang giving me the herb was indeed inappropriate, and I wasn't planning to take it for free. I'm willing to purchase it for five million or five low-grade spirit stones! I hope you'll give me face and not fire Boss Huang!" Yang Zhenyun looked at Xiao Jingwen, a hint of infatuation flashing across his face, and spoke with a smile.
Why was he here? Naturally, it wasn't just to buy the Hongyu coral grass. If he wanted it, he could have sent a few people to acquire it. He had heard that Xiao Jingwen was coming to inspect the shops in the medicinal herb market, and he had come to "accidentally" meet her. Yes, he was fond of Xiao Jingwen. He had been deeply attracted to her forthrightness and fiery spirit after meeting her at a banquet not long ago.
He had been trying to pursue her ever since!
When he arrived here, Xiao Jingwen hadn't yet appeared. He happened to spot the Hongyu coral grass, which would be of some help to his cultivation, and decided to purchase it.
Hearing Yang Zhenyun speak, Boss Huang was genuinely touched. Indeed, his fawning hadn't been in vain. "Thank you, Young Master Yang, for speaking up for me."
"Why should I give you face?" Xiao Jingwen dismissed Yang Zhenyun's words with a snort.
"......"
Everyone present stiffened.
Even after Yang Zhenyun had spoken so, Xiao Jingwen refused to give him any face?
Yang Zhenyun rubbed his nose, feeling incredibly awkward, but he dared not be angry with Yang Feilong. He could only glare fiercely at Yang Feilong, feeling that it was all Yang Feilong's fault. If he hadn't been so unreasonable, none of this would have happened. What happened next made him even more embarrassed and furious.
"Brother Feilong, why didn't you tell me you wanted the herb! My family's business is selling medicinal herbs." Xiao Jingwen, holding the Hongyu coral grass and its box, came over to Yang Feilong with a smile. She took Yang Feilong's hand and placed the item into his palm. "Here, it's yours! If you need anything else, just tell me. Consider this shop your own."
Yang Feilong: "......"
Boss Huang: "......"
Yang Zhenyun: "......"
Others: "......"