Chapter 136 136. CATALYST
Noah had been in many sticky situations ever since he got to Creagar. Most times he didn't really have to lie, but instead say something close to the truth. This time around things were different; he had not only lied, but had also been caught in the lie.
Multiple thoughts flowed through Noah's mind in the instant his lie was exposed. He felt unsure of what to do, as the situation was only embarrassing to say least, but it could also turn violent
Noah wasn't totally sure how well he would do against a peak lower-stage cultivator since his instincts felt a bit of danger from the man's presence, but not too much, so he felt confident in his power. Heck he could literally remove the village from the map if he wanted to.
'I didn't think I'd have to do this on my first ten minutes of arriving in a settlement,' Noah sighed inwardly as he prepared himself to fight if things went south.
".....But frankly I don't care," Jon suddenly announced, his aura vanishing while he fell on his seat with a tired expression.
Noah almost fell off his chair at the man's words, his face showing a weird expression, and Jon didn't hesitate to address it.
"What? did you expect me to get angry over that," Jon raised an eyebrow, "We are cultivators. So what you killed the party of six? What do I care. It's your choice. I don't know what conspired so it isn't any of my concern actually. I'm not going to give you a moral speech, since I'm not exactly clean myself," Jon explained with a blank expression.
Noah felt a bit embarrassed again. All that the man said was true, and he had actually gotten ready to fight over something that happened everywhere.
'It seems i haven't gotten over Earth yet,' Noah sighed inwardly, but on the outside he had a smile.
A soft silence befell the duo at that point, as both individuals had many things going through their minds.
"Though I do have something I want from you," Jon broke the silence instantly grabbing Noah's attention, who immediately responded to those words.
"I'll pass please," Noah stated, "I told your trainees that i'd answer to your invitation as long as it didn't take me long," Noah said standing up.
"I'll pay you for you for it. Just hear me out," Jon replied without getting up from his chair.
"What exactly can a run down village with low tier cultivators offer me?," Noah arced his eyebrow.
A wide grin appeared on Jon's face immediately Noah finished his words. It seemed he had expected that question
"Quite a bit actually. As run-down as my village may look, we were valuable enough to get placed on the map, and not the other villages around us," Jon explained.
Noah felt really curios at that point. "Explain," he announced, sitting down.
Not minding the nigh-order tone, Jon began his explanation.
"You see Mr Will, my village produces a special plant that is very valuable to cultivation that even the royal family acknowledged it, and unfortunately, so did other villages."
"Although it can only be utilized after a few requirements are met, as if they aren't it could actually hurt the user. This is one of the reasons why the power level of the village isn't something to write home about," Jon sighed.
"On to the main topic of why I need you-," Jon was cut short by Noah's words.
"You still didn't tell me what the plants can do," Noah stared at the man blankly.
"I wish you wouldn't be so hasty," Jon replied, "I'll tell you after I'm done with the explanation," Jon tried to bargain.
"No. I won't waste minutes of my time to find out that it isn't really useful to me," Noah shook head, as he threathened to leave.
Another sigh escaped Jon's mouth at that point. "It's actually a plant that improves every aspect of the users cultivation process. The only down-side, is that you'll need to utilize large quantities to see good results," Jon explained, his mind sensing Noah's rapidly waning interest. "But it can be sold at high prices due to its usefulness," Jon promptly added.
"How much?," Noah asked narrowing his eyes. "Up to 20 to 50 medium sized silver coins per bundle. And a bundle is just 30 plants," Jon explained with a proud expression.
"How am I sure you even have up to that," Noah suddenly asked, and Jon understood what he really meant.
"Come, let me show you. It's not really much of a secret to begin with," Jon announced standing up, and walking toward a red door that led somewhere behind the building, where Noah couldn't see.
The door opened immediately Jon touched it, and a dark passage entered their sights.
"The reason why your couldn't see past this building is because there are many protections placed around that area," Jon pointed out, when suddenly, inscriptions of multiple colors popped up in the dark passage, lighting it up.
The duo walked in silence for a few minutes, Noah simply Inspecting those shining lines, and he surprisingly understood their functions just by looking at them, and they ranged from mental blockage, invisible walls, attack formations and a few more.
The passage eventually ended and the sun's radiance struck Noah's eyes, but he didn't flinch since his focus was fixed on the massive farm in front of him, and the weird aura that permeated the entire place.
For hundreds of meters as far as his eyes could see; rows upon rows of grey coloured flowers that grew only two feet from the ground, spread out
The aura that Noah felt wasn't one that belonged to something he had ever felt, and that gave the scene a magical vibe.
[You have found special farm]
[Low grade Nindiom plant farm]
[Nindiom plant: A magical plant able to increase cultivation speed of all vessels of power. Can only be utilized after being refined by an alchemist]
[Difficulty of refining: Medium]
[Analyzing number of plants present...]
[Analyzing complete]
[Plants present: 389,276]
"I see...," Noah muttered in wonder.
"Beautiful isn't it," Jon's voice rang out beside Noah, who raised an eyebrow while glancing at the expert.
"I guess....," Noah furrowed his brows in slight confusion. "Now that you've seen it, we can leave," Jon announced after a few seconds.
The duo eventually walked back Into the room, but this time Noah had his full attention on the cultivator.
Although he wasn't sure the plants could do anything for him in terms of cultivation, it could bag a lot of money.
"Before you begin your explanation on whatever you need me for. I want to know why the villagers didn't utilize the plants since it's that much," Noah asked.
"Oh. That's very simple. We don't have anyone with the knowledge of an alchemists. Which is where the royal family comes in," Jon started.
"We sell the plants to them in exchange for a few things, with protection being on of them. As i told you earlier we aren't the only ones around here, and they want what we have," Jon stopped.
"Then why didn't they just continue to cultivate or just move somewhere else. You already have the help of the royal family?," Noah spoke.
Jon's expression flickered at those words, then a sigh escaped his mouth.
"For the first point; the villagers being sentimental didn't want to leave, as this land belonged to their deceased ancestors. And they also couldn't just cultivate since the plants siphon a lot of mana from the environment causing their cultivation speed to be slower than normal. So, they simply opted to continue farming to have something give the royals," Jon explained.
"But recently even that went wrong," Jon suddenly added.
Feeling the explanation hit its climax Noah couldn't help but voice out another question, "What do you mean by went wrong?."
"Around a week ago, a massive object fell from the sky, apparently destroying a slightly important town. The royal soldiers posted here were then called to help over there, as worry about a potential civil war spread. Which in essence left my village uprotected, and our rivaling villages are preparing to raid us to loot as much as they can, before a war breaks out. This Is actually why i need your help," Jon explained while shaking his head in wonder.
Noah could only show a totally blank face after the experts explanation. A bit of pity spread in his mind for the Jon after a few milliseconds of reflection, after all he was the catalyst of his village's trouble.