“Alright, you can enter the market now. Remember, do not cause trouble!”
After collecting the Spirit Stone, the guard tossed him a temporary token. Even as he stepped aside to let him through, he did not forget to coldly deliver a warning.
From the foot of the mountain all the way to the mountainside, Fang Ping politely declined several Rogue Cultivators harboring ill intentions who invited him to travel together, and arrived at the true entrance of the market.
Luoyun Market was not small in area; it was comparable to a small city.
Its main body was laid out in an intersecting grid pattern. Everywhere one could see antique pavilions and towers, and Cultivators dressed in all manner of clothing walked among them.
Observing the auras they inadvertently revealed, most were at the early to mid Qi Condensation stage. Late Qi Condensation Cultivators were rarely seen.
Occasionally, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator with a powerful aura would pass by, and everyone on the road would proactively make way, their expressions filled with awe.
Having transmigrated, Fang Ping was visiting this place in person for the first time, so he could not help but look around a bit longer, feeling as though his eyes had been opened to a wider world.
After strolling around and following the flow of people, he gained a more detailed understanding of the market’s layout.
If one wanted to buy fine Magical Artifacts, Pills, or cultivation techniques, one could visit the old, established shops in the center of the market, or go to major forces like the Treasure Pavilion and the Heavenly Crafting Workshop.
Apart from these, some powerful Rogue Cultivators or private shops opened by Cultivator families occasionally held good items waiting to be found.
The rest consisted of the market’s trading area.
Most Rogue Cultivators would rent a temporary stall here, setting up shop and trading much like a mortal marketplace, making the area extremely lively.
Fang Ping did not have many Spirit Stones on him. What he wanted to buy was merely a basic Dao of Alchemy inheritance, so there was no need to visit grand establishments like the Treasure Pavilion.
In the end, he chose a shop called the Pill Cauldron Workshop.
Fang Ping knew a little about this shop’s background—it belonged to the Jiang Cultivator family.
This family, which had passed down its legacy for several generations and currently had two Foundation Establishment Cultivators overseeing it, was one of the Luoyang Sect’s affiliated forces. They possessed some inheritance in the Dao of Alchemy, and the family also owned quite a few spirit medicine fields. They specialized in Dao of Alchemy-related businesses, and the quality of their goods was well reputed.
He had barely stepped into the shop when a female Cultivator at the Qi Condensation stage, possessing a gentle appearance and dressed in pretty clothes, came up to him with a smile.
“This humble one is Jiang Li, an attendant at the Pill Cauldron Workshop. May I ask what Fellow Daoist needs? Our shop specializes in goods related to the Dao of Alchemy. Common Pills and Spirit Grass are all well-stocked.”
Fang Ping sized her up for a few moments, then said, “I want to buy some gifts for the juniors in my family. I don’t suppose you have basic Dao of Alchemy texts like the Basic Understanding of the Dao of Alchemy?”
Jiang Li said, “Since it is related to the Dao of Alchemy, our shop naturally carries it. The price is twenty Spirit Stones.”
Twenty Spirit Stones?
This price was actually slightly cheaper than Fang Ping had expected.
After all, the Basic Understanding of the Dao of Alchemy was merely the most fundamental text for the Dao of Alchemy, not a true first-tier alchemist inheritance.
This kind of introductory manual was widely circulated in the Cultivation world. Even some Rogue Cultivators possessed it.
But owning it was of little use, because the threshold of the Dao of Alchemy had never lain within the introductory texts, but rather in the massive amount of Spirit Grass resources burned away during pill refinement! This chapter is updated first at g.com.
“Give me a copy.”
Fang Ping made his decision on the spot.
Soon, Jiang Li had a shop assistant present a jade slip.
After paying twenty Spirit Stones and receiving the jade slip, Fang Ping pressed it to his forehead.
Immediately, a great deal of Dao of Alchemy theory and Spirit Grass-related information surfaced in his mind, including illustrations of common Spirit Grass that looked vividly lifelike.
At the very end of this Basic Understanding of the Dao of Alchemy, three basic pill formulas were appended. The content was extremely detailed and perfectly suited for newly initiated Dao of Alchemy apprentices.
“Twenty Spirit Stones well spent. It looks quite worth the price!”
Fang Ping nodded in satisfaction and put the jade slip into his Storage Bag.
These were the few Spirit Stones the original owner of this body had painstakingly accumulated. He had originally planned that if he could advance to Qi Condensation Layer Three within five years of joining the sect, he would keep saving to buy a Low Grade Magical Artifact; if not, he would spend everything on Spirit Pills to accelerate his cultivation before being expelled.
Now, Fang Ping had directly repurposed more than half of those savings.
“Also, give me fifty sets of materials for refining Inedia Pills.”
Fang Ping continued to spend his hard-earned wealth.
The Inedia Pill was a Low Grade basic Pill, suitable for newcomers just stepping into the Dao of Alchemy to refine. Taking a single pill allowed a Cultivator to go without food for two weeks. Whether traveling for adventures or entering Secluded Cultivation, it was highly convenient.
Among the three basic pill formulas appended at the end of the Basic Understanding of the Dao of Alchemy, one was the Inedia Pill.
This kind of Pill required the most common Spirit Grass, which could occasionally even be gathered in the mortal world, making the materials very cheap.
Five sets of materials sold for only one Spirit Stone.
However, Fang Ping wanted a slightly larger quantity, so he spent another ten Spirit Stones.
Still, with the Prime Cauldron’s time-reversal ability, Fang Ping remained deeply confident that he could earn Spirit Stones through the Dao of Alchemy.
“Farewell!”
Using the cover of his long robe’s sleeves, he stored package after package of medicinal materials into the Low Grade Storage Bag the sect had issued to outer sect disciples, then quickly took his leave.
He did not even take a single sip of the fragrant tea the Pill Cauldron Workshop had offered.
Because he had not bought anything truly valuable from beginning to end, and since order within Luoyun Market was indeed strictly maintained, Fang Ping did not bother with any extra concealment. After exchanging his pass for his deposit back at the entrance at the foot of the mountain, he walked straight out of the market.
As the saying went, if you were going to put on an act, you had to see it through to the end. This story is hosted at g.com.
He first made a detour to the northwest, acting as if he really hailed from the northern lands of the State of Liang.
After walking for a while, once he was certain no one was nearby, he shed his disguise and, with a quick shift, transformed back into a Luoyang Sect outer sect disciple. He activated a light-body technique and hurried back toward Tiandu Peak.
………
The journey was peaceful and uneventful.
Unexpectedly, just as Fang Ping was about to step into the outer sect courtyard, an incident occurred.
He came face to face with two ‘acquaintances.’
The leader was named Ming Yulou. He wore a white brocade robe, held a folding fan in his hand, and carried a dignified appearance with sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes. He did not look like a Cultivator at all, but rather like a noble young master from the mortal world, easily giving people a favorable impression.
The other was named Lu Shan. Compared to his companion, his appearance and bearing were far more mediocre.
His eyes slanted upward at the corners, his lips were thin and harsh, and his face carried a fierce, aggressive look.
The two did not seem to have expected to run into Fang Ping here either. They were momentarily stunned, but they quickly revealed ill-intentioned expressions.
Lu Shan stepped forward and blocked Fang Ping’s path. “Isn’t this Junior Brother Fang Ping? We haven’t seen you much lately. You’re not deliberately avoiding us, are you?”
Ming Yulou, dressed in his white brocade robe, gently fanned himself and spoke with a half-smile. “Never mind whether he’s deliberately avoiding us. Meeting is fate. Junior Brother Fang, the twenty Spirit Stones you owe us from before should be paid back now, right?”
As he spoke, he clapped his hands together, putting on the appearance of having just remembered something.
“Oh, I almost forgot. Twenty Spirit Stones is only the principal. You’ve dragged this out for so long, so we have to add five Spirit Stones of interest per month!”
Facing the two men blocking his way, Fang Ping’s expression darkened.
He let out a cold snort and said, “I was wondering why I heard crows cawing when I left today. So it was because of you two. Truly bad luck!”
Lu Shan was greatly enraged. “Who are you calling bad luck? You brat, you’re asking for a beating, aren’t you?”
He and Ming Yulou simultaneously activated their Qi Condensation Layer Three Spiritual Power, pressing their auras toward Fang Ping in a display of intimidation.
If they could frighten Fang Ping into striking first, that would be for the best.
However, the two men’s blustering could not frighten Fang Ping.
Ming Yulou and Lu Shan were at Qi Condensation Layer Three. Even one-on-one, he was no match for them. But the Luoyang Sect was ultimately a major sect, and its sect laws were exceedingly strict.
Under no circumstances were disciples permitted to seek private revenge.
Even for a spar, there had to be witnesses from Law Enforcement Hall Cultivators, or from stewards and Elders, and it had to be conducted publicly on the sect’s fighting platforms.
Otherwise, if the two dared to make a move, they would inevitably suffer severe punishment from the sect.