Chapter 18: The Mountain God’s Treasure, Bartering Goods

A low-grade sandalwood incense stick was placed in the incense burner and lit without fire. After kneeling on the cushion and kowtowing several times, threads of white smoke began to rise.

A low, buzzing voice echoed and rolled through the Mountain God Temple.

“One stick of low-grade sandalwood incense offered. Granted one Earth Deity Talisman. Considering you are the first worshipper of this temple, an additional favor is granted: one Black Dog Nail.”

A yellow-brown talisman and a black nail appeared on the copper plate before the Mountain God statue, lying quietly there.

Earth Deity Talisman!

Using this talisman, the player would be teleported to the nearest Main City. That was the function of the Earth Deity Talisman.

Ye Rong was overjoyed. Just this Earth Deity Talisman alone was worth the price. The reward for the quest to kill the Great Water Turtle was the same Earth Deity Talisman. With this talisman, even if he ultimately failed to kill the Great Water Turtle, he could still teleport to the Main City and not delay his plan to become a disciple.

Black Dog Nail, a first-tier Magic Treasure, no Level requirement. Could be nailed into an enemy’s body, dealing 20-24 Yin damage per second. Consumed ten True Qi points per second.

Long live the Earth God!

Ye Rong couldn’t help but want to sing praises to the Mountain God. It was truly a case of someone providing a pillow just when he was sleepy. Wasn’t this Black Dog Nail the perfect Magic Treasure for hunting Mountain Ghosts?

Before Level 20, players only had two Talisman Slots. Ye Rong currently had both slots filled. The Water Lord Talisman definitely could not be replaced, so he could only replace the Fire Talisman. Replacing a non-tier Magic Treasure with a first-tier one was only natural.

The Black Dog Nail dealt high damage and was a continuous special damage type. The only downside was that it consumed True Qi too fiercely.

It consumed ten True Qi points per second. Even with Ye Rong’s True Qi at full capacity, he could only sustain it for nineteen seconds. For quickly farming Mountain Ghosts, this amount of True Qi was somewhat insufficient. It would be best to acquire two more pieces of equipment that increased True Qi or accelerated True Qi recovery speed.

Ye Rong had no money, but that didn’t matter. He had the Fire Talisman he had just replaced.

With this item, he was confident he could trade for enough money.

In the Starter Village, most players set up their stalls around the village chief. Several main NPCs were located nearby, and there was an open area, making it very suitable in all aspects.

Ye Rong browsed quickly, walking and looking as he went. He didn’t pay attention to the equipment attributes or the prices quoted; he only checked if the items were useful to him.

Whenever he found equipment related to True Qi, he memorized it silently, keeping it in mind. He planned to check all the equipment first and then decide which pieces would be more suitable to purchase.

Although there was a lot of equipment for sale, very little of it caught Ye Rong’s eye. Some players treated trash equipment as treasures, pricing them exorbitantly. This was typical in the early stages of the game, where prices were not yet fixed, and transaction prices fluctuated greatly, depending entirely on individual judgment.

“Huh, this equipment is still here?”

After browsing around, Ye Rong noticed that the Five Feather Brocade Robe he had seen yesterday was still on sale at a stall. Probably, the asking price was too high, and no one could afford it.

Five Feather Brocade Robe, Defense 50, True Qi +80.

“Friend, if you’re genuinely interested, I can lower the price a bit. This robe’s attributes are among the best in the entire village.”

The owner of the Five Feather Brocade Robe was a burly man with a stubbly beard, large and stout, very robust. He saw Ye Rong lingering at the stall for a long time and quickly began enthusiastically promoting his goods.

“The attributes are good, but at this price, no one would be willing to pay for it within a week.”

The burly man had priced the Five Feather Brocade Robe at eight taels of silver. Even if he could lower it slightly, it was unlikely anyone would spend such a large amount on a clothing-type equipment.

“Hey, hey, friend, don’t rush off. We can still discuss.”

Seeing Ye Rong about to leave, the burly man quickly stopped him. Throughout the day, there had been many onlookers, but not a single player actually wanted to buy.

“If you have any equipment that suits me, we can discuss it. Bartering is also possible.”

Ye Rong flicked his wrist, and the recently replaced Fire Talisman appeared in his palm. He chose to display the Magic Treasure’s attributes, fully revealing them to the burly man.

“Hiss!”

The burly man gasped sharply, quickly picked up the Five Feather Brocade Robe, and hurriedly pushed it into Ye Rong’s hands.

“Deal, deal!”

In Ye Rong’s eyes, the Fire Talisman, a non-tier Magic Treasure, was already somewhat obsolete. But for other players, it was an unparalleled leveling tool. It was a Magic Treasure capable of continuous long-range attacks, first-rate equipment for low-Level players. Trading it for a robe with decent attributes was naturally effortless.

“Wait! If I take this Fire Talisman to the market to sell, it would be far more popular than your Five Feather Brocade Robe. If you want to trade, either add money or include additional equipment.”

Ye Rong raised his hand to stop him and spoke calmly. Now it was his turn to make demands. Seeing the burly man’s covetous and envious expression toward the Fire Talisman, he knew he couldn’t resist taking the bait.

“Brother, you know money is hard to come by in this game. I’ve saved up until now and only have a few copper coins.”

The burly man’s face was more bitter than a bitter melon, his thick eyebrows knitted together, almost forming a single line.

“Then you must have other equipment, right? This Fire Talisman of mine is a Magic Treasure; it’s not on the same level as your clothing-type equipment. Trading this for your item pains me greatly.”

“Brother, this is my last valuable item. If you don’t want it, I have nothing else.”

The burly man looked pained, as if someone had carved a piece of flesh from his heart. Hesitantly, he pulled out a pearl the size of a mung bean.

Lantian Pearl, round and smooth, translucent and flawless, no Level requirement, Poison Resistance +1, True Qi recovery speed +10%.

Seeing this Lantian Pearl, which occupied the earring slot, Ye Rong was inwardly delighted. Jewelry-type equipment was slightly more valuable than clothing-type equipment, and it was exactly what he urgently needed. However, he maintained a calm expression on the surface and haggled for a few more sentences before reluctantly agreeing to the trade—

trading his unused Fire Talisman for a Five Feather Brocade Robe and a Lantian Pearl.

“Brother, let’s add each other as friends. Maybe we’ll have chances to cooperate in the future.”

System: Player Yidao Liangduan requested to add you as a friend. Do you agree?

Ye Rong and Yidao Liangduan added each other as friends. This person was only Level 8, two Levels lower than him.

But being able to obtain two pieces of decent equipment so early in the game suggested that this person’s strength was fairly good. Making more friends would expand his network in the game later on.

Ye Rong had not participated in the Far Shore Closed Beta, so the people he knew were extremely limited. He didn’t belong to any guild either. In the future, if he needed to undertake large, complex quests, it would be difficult to find friends to assist him.

In Far Shore, there were many situations where one couldn’t rely solely on individual strength to dominate the world, especially after reaching higher Levels.