"Such people usually keep their goods with partners. They don't dare to carry the goods on themselves. And as soon as they find a suitable buyer, they begin to negotiate the price. However, even if they act cautiously, troubles sometimes still arise, and the poor wretches attract many gazes."
Noticing that Niu You Dao seemed to not understand what was happening, and looking at the inscrutable Yuan Fang, Black Peony couldn't help but inwardly wonder if she had made the right choice.
Following behind them, Lei Zong Kang, Wu San Liang, and Duan Hu also exchanged glances.
Lei Zong Kang furrowed his brow, wanting to say something, but remained silent.
"You also used to do that?" Niu You Dao asked.
"It didn't work out very well. These shops greatly lowered their prices, so there wasn't much profit to be made from trading here..." Black Peony spoke awkwardly. Then, looking around, she changed the subject:
"There are quite a few shops here, and only sects backed by a powerful sect can open them. Weak and small sects won't be able to open a shop here. On the other hand, don't just look at how many shops there are. Most of them sell similar items, so their profits aren't particularly high. The main flow of people here usually buys things on their way to work. Few people specifically come here for shopping."
"Besides the regular shops, there are also specialized ones. For example: the Ling Sect. Because their sect is focused on pill refinement, they are the best in this regard in the cultivation world; their shop here sells pills.
Or for example, the Qiyun Sect. They are the best at crafting ritual vessels. Here, they also sell ritual vessels. The Myriad Beasts Sect, they primarily tame beasts. Also, the Phenomena Sect, they focus on setting up formations. In their shop, you can buy many amulets and talismans. These kinds of specialized shops truly earn a lot of money here. And many cultivators specifically come here to them."
Niu You Dao had read about these sects in the records of the Supreme Purity Sect. Hearing about them this time, his interest was piqued. He wanted to learn more about this world and its sects.
He even involuntarily uttered:
"Let's go take a look."
Black Peony and the others naturally led them there.
As Black Peony had said, these shops were indeed focused on specialized goods. In terms of size, these shops clearly stood out in the ancient city.
The first on their path was the Phenomena Sect's shop. A peculiar atmosphere permeated it, as if it were a place of the departed. In reality, such Qi emanated from various engraved amulets. Above, within this shop, hung a price list indicating the costs of these amulets.
The various kinds of amulets and talismans greatly delighted Niu You Dao.
He was astonished that they could contain energy within themselves. It was as if various kinds and quantities of energy had been sealed within them. How many methods must be used to craft amulets like this? And how many cultivators can do so? After all, often, to create an amulet, a cultivator's own energy, and sometimes even their life, is required.
For example: the Doctrine-Transmitting Amulet that Niu You Dao possessed. Dong Guo Hao Ran had precisely used his life force to create those amulets for Niu You Dao.
Usually, no cultivator desires to use such methods.
And as stated in the Supreme Purity records, the Phenomena Sect had precisely made a breakthrough in this area. They knew how to accumulate energy in other objects, creating amulets and talismans.
For example: a horse cannot constantly gallop with all its might and will need to stop and rest. However, the Phenomena Sect has an amulet that allows a horse to gallop continuously, at full speed for an entire day. Only when the amulet's effect ceases might the horse drop dead. Therefore, such amulets are rarely used.
They also had evil-repelling talismans. These could be placed in a home, and the talismans would then release magical power. This would lead various kinds of evil spirits, shapeshifters, and beasts to believe that cultivators were present in the house, and they would not dare to enter.
There were also talismans containing energy. When a person was on the brink, they could dramatically increase their strength.
However, many amulets could only be used once, and the price for such an amulet was quite high. One could say that by buying it, you were simply throwing money to the wind. An ordinary person wouldn't buy it, nor would they likely be able to use it.
Therefore, when Niu You Dao entered the shop, he simply observed and broadened his horizons. He bought nothing. Besides, he didn't have enough money to buy such items.
As soon as they left the shop, they entered the Qiyun Sect's shop. There, they could purchase various types of tools and weapons.
Of course, everyone came to the Qiyun shop because of its unique method of crafting weaponry.
For example: an ordinary sword. When fighting with an ordinary sword, it can be easily broken. Even if it's in a cultivator's hands. However, a sword produced by the Qiyun Sect would be much stronger. And naturally, the higher the price, the better the sword.
Niu You Dao strolled through the shop and thought that Yuan Gang needed a dagger. And Yuan Fang would also need another weapon. However, he didn't yet have enough money to buy weapons.
As soon as they had seen everything, they left the shop.
At that moment, a man stood at the crossroads, constantly glancing around. And as soon as he saw Black Peony and the others, he gazed intently at Niu You Dao.
And when they walked past him, he cautiously followed them.
Not long after, the group entered the Ling Sect's shop. However, that person did not follow them in, but simply remained outside.
Inside the Ling Sect shop, Niu You Dao examined many pills. He understood that he couldn't afford good pills yet, especially not in large quantities. In principle, he didn't need pills for now, but Yuan Fang did. If they only bought a few pills, it would simply make others laugh. And so as not to increase the suspicions of Black Peony and the others, he spent 1000 gold to buy some Shang pills.
As soon as they exited the shop, they re-entered the Myriad Beasts Sect's shop.
The Myriad Beasts Sect was quite interesting. After all, it housed various kinds of beasts and birds. One could truly broaden their horizons here. Many birds and beasts were in cages. They had already been tamed. And if you purchased them, the Myriad Beasts Sect would teach you how to control them.
Different beasts had different prices. The Bird King was a relatively inexpensive bird, which made it the most popular.
More expensive beasts were located in the inner rooms. These were larger beasts. There were even birds one zhang tall. (1 zhang = 3.3 meters)
One could even fly on such birds. However, it would be difficult for an ordinary person to fly on them. Although the birds were large, they found it hard to carry heavy loads in flight. Cultivators, on the other hand, could use their Qi wings. Therefore, by using these birds, they could cover much greater distances in a single journey. This was far more convenient for cultivators.
But now, very few such enormous birds remained. They had either been captured or killed. And breeding such birds was quite difficult. Their chicks did not hatch often, and caring for them was not easy. However, the Myriad Beasts Sect was skilled in this regard. That is why their shop sold such beasts.
Such flying birds were quite expensive. Their price soared into the millions of gold. Few could afford such a luxury.
"Sold once in three years, and you live off that for three years!" Niu You Dao muttered, gazing at the enormous sum.
After leaving their shop, he strolled further through the city. Then, all of them returned to the inn.
Near the courtyard, some people stood whispering again, ever since Black Peony and the others had disappeared into the inn.
Then the man who had been following Niu You Dao appeared. He approached the rogue cultivators and said:
"What are you chattering about here?"
"Ah, Sir Huang?" Several people turned their heads and immediately greeted the Liuxiang Sect disciple respectfully.
This person was Huang En Gui. He was a disciple of the Liuxiang Sect who worked in the Liuxiang Sect's shop. Although he appeared to be a mere shop employee, these rogue cultivators dared not offend him.
Huang En Gui nodded towards the inn:
"Who were you watching?"
One person spoke with annoyance:
"Sir Huang doesn't know everything. Are you familiar with Black Peony? The girl who often hangs around the city. She has dark skin."
Huang En Gui nodded: "I know. What about her?"
That person said, annoyed:
"She'll probably be able to open her own sect soon. I don't know what methods that girl used. But one can imagine how she convinced a high-ranking master to help her. Most likely, she just dropped her pants, and all the persuasion was done. No need for extra words."
Huang En Gui smiled. He heard the cultivator's sour tone, but it didn't interest him. Smiling, he said:
"You seem envious? By the way, who is this high-ranking master? From which sect?"
That person shook his head:
"He looks young. But I don't know which sect he's from. His name is registered at the Yaoyue Inn. Only, they don't disclose their guests."
"Ah, no need to be so envious. Better to busy yourselves with something useful." Huang En Gui patted his shoulder, glanced at the inn, and then turned and left.
That person called out:
"Sir Huang, could you perhaps put in a good word for me at the Liuxiang Sect?"
Without turning, Huang En Gui waved his hand and said:
"I'm not the master there. You'd better wait here for a suitable opportunity!"
Even so, several people still spoke to him politely:
"Sir Huang, please be careful."
As soon as Huang En Gui entered the Liuxiang Sect's shop, which was mostly empty, he quickly went behind the counter and said to the landlord sitting cross-legged:
"Uncle, give me the portrait."
The landlord opened his eyes: "Which portrait?"
Huang En Gui: "You told us to stand at the crossroads and look out for the person whose portrait the Song family sent us. Niu You Dao. It seems I've seen him."
"Really?" The landlord stood up. He immediately took out a roll of paper and spread it on the counter, showing it to Huang En Gui.