NOVEL WEB Chapter 533: 533 Harvest
Qi Wen was drawn by the shout. The little girl was so small, squatting on the ground; Tan Shaoting had to protect her.
The two boys watched their sister squat down, so they squatted down together.
The stall had a lot of stuff. There were pebbles, fresh spiritual medicines, and some withered ones. There were also talismans and elixirs.
Although it seemed unprofessional, since the children were squatting down to look, Tan Shaoting stayed behind to watch over them.
Qi Wen picked up a small stone. "Uncle, what is this?"
The stall owner looked at the adorable little girl smiling at him. The boastful words he had were not spoken.
"Little girl, even uncle doesn't know what this is. But it really is from a secret realm."
"Sister, it's just a stone. What's so special about it."
The stall owner did not retort, considering that they were just children.
"Uncle, how much to buy this stone?"
"Little girl, this thing isn't sold for money but for Spirit Stones. Oh well, since I like you, if you like it, you can pick two stones from this pile for one Spirit Stone."
"Thank you, uncle, but I have two brothers."
"Alright, alright, I'm in a generous mood today. For one Spirit Stone, you three can each pick a stone."
"Thank you, uncle. Big brother, second brother, hurry and choose a stone. I think they're quite fun."
Qi Yan and Qi Hong also squatted down and earnestly picked out a stone each based on their intuition.
Tan Shaoting handed over a Spirit Stone from behind. The three children clutched their stones in their hands and left together.
Then Tan Shaoting found a stall selling cloth. This wasn't ordinary cloth; it was woven with spiritual silk, which in the previous realms was impervious to blades and arrows. After all, they were dealing with ordinary weapons.
"Dad, are you going to make clothes for us?"
"Yes, you each have one vestment robe; I'll prepare another set for you."
This stall was managed by a middle-aged woman. Seeing the father and his three sons approaching, she knew they wanted to prepare vestment robes for the children.
"Fellow cultivator, these fabrics were all refined by our household chief.
You can order vestment robes for your children here. Our chief can also engrave simple arrays on the robes.
They can withstand attacks below Qi Cultivation Fifth Level."
"Fellow cultivator, can the vestment robes be made to automatically adjust their size?"
"Of course. Each vestment robe has that feature.
So, how much Spirit Stone does it take to make a vestment robe?"
"Ninety Spirit Stones."
"Alright, help us make one set, and we'll see how it turns out. If it's good, we'll order more."
Neither he nor the children had any clothes. If his wife knew about this, she'd surely be heartbroken.
"What about the inner garments?"
"I'll include the inner garments with the vestment robe order."
Tan Shaoting generously gave fifty Spirit Stones, ordering to pick it up in three days.
The four of them continued to wander, "Dad, look at that old grandpa."
Following Qi Yan's pointing, Tan Shaoting saw a scruffy old man half lying on the ground, playing with an ordinary bracelet.
"What's wrong?" There didn't seem to be anything special.
"Dad, why isn't he calling people to buy stuff?"
"Maybe it's because he doesn't care if he sells anything or not?"
"Dad, look at all the books over there."
"Let's go take a look."
There was no one in front of this stall, so all four squatted down.
Tan Shaoting looked at these books, all introductory cultivation books, just right for the three children to read.
"Fellow cultivator, how much for these books?"
"One Spirit Stone per book."
Tan Shaoting picked out three copies of each, knowing it was expensive, planning to ask for a discount.
There were six types of books, eighteen in total. "Fellow cultivator, how about ten Spirit Stones for these?"
The old man glanced, nodded, "Alright, take them. You can take a look at the Jade Scrolls over there; there are good things, but nobody ever recognizes them."
After paying the Spirit Stones and collecting the books, Tan Shaoting casually picked up a Jade Scroll. This was a book of strange and unusual stories, which he put aside as the books purchased were introductory to cultivation, while the Jade Scroll was a beginner's textbook on the Four Arts.
"Fellow cultivator, how much are the Jade Scrolls?"
"Five Spirit Stones each."
"Can you lower the price? I need many."
"You want all of them?"
"Yes, I want them all."
"Seems like you recognize quality. Some people think a book for one Spirit Stone contains all they need, so they are unwilling to spend on Jade Scrolls, but there's a reason why it's inscribed onto a Jade Scroll.
For ten, give me forty Spirit Stones, and I'll sell you that wooden sword for five Spirit Stones."
The three children were already intently looking at the wooden sword once they squatted down.
Tan Shaoting nodded, "You can each choose a sword you like."
The Spirit Stones were paid, the items were collected, and the four of them continued shopping.
Tan Shaoting intended for today to be a rest day, planning to start letting the three children train tomorrow. Yesterday when he changed their water, he realized their Washing Marrow process had been successful. With such good Spirit Roots, it's still better to cultivate. The future is uncertain, but having greater strength offers some assurance when they return home.
Tan Shaoting also bought talisman paper and vermillion Beast Blood.
He learned some simple talismans and would try them at home. After all, the four of them would still need to live in the future.
The Spirit Stones in hand were truly running low, unable even to buy a decent Magic Artifact.
"Dad, shall we go back? We're hungry."
Tan Shaoting nodded, picked up Qi Wen, and the four of them headed home.
While the children napped, he cultivated for a while. Perhaps because it was rebuilding, Tan Shaoting felt he could soon advance again.
But he must arrange properly for the children. Making them leave their mom, he must take good care of them.
That entire afternoon, Tan Shaoting began teaching them how to read.
Although they were still young, their memory was excellent, so Tan Shaoting simply moved to teaching them the words in the Cultivation Techniques, explaining their meanings.
This way was faster, mainly because the children learned very quickly.
Thus, Tan Shaoting spent the day with the children, cultivating when they slept, and continued cultivating throughout the night.
Three days later, he effortlessly broke through to the Qi Refining Eighth Layer.
Over these three days, the three children had already learned the first layer of the Cultivation Technique, but Tan Shaoting was not in a hurry, prioritizing their literacy first.
Only a week later did the formal cultivation begin.
Qi Yan and the other two understood they had to work hard; if they wanted to go back to their mom, they needed to put in effort. So, during their studies, they did not become weary, and all three studied seriously.
Tan Shaoting understood the proverb 'Children without a mother mature early,' and indeed, they matured significantly.
Tan Shaoting also instructed the three, each prepared a portion of Spiritual Spring Water, and used the Spirit Gathering Array as well. When it came to the children, he never held back.