Gu Changhuan gave a light laugh, thinking that his Fourth Brother was an absolute chatterbox through and through.
“Greetings, Fourth Brother.
I am Gu Changhuan, seventeenth in our generation.” “Changhuan is here at the market for the first time.
Take him around for a tour!” Gu Wanhao said.
Although Gu Changde was a chatterbox, he was very warm-hearted and extremely knowledgeable about the market, making him the best candidate as a guide.
Hearing this, Gu Changde’s eyes lit up.
Who wouldn’t want to slack off while on the clock?
Gu Changhuan stiffened.
He could already imagine the relentless verbal assault ahead.
Sure enough, ever since they stepped out of the main door of the Wanbao Pill Pavilion, Gu Changde’s mouth hadn’t stopped.
He gave a detailed explanation for every single shop the two passed by: who owned the shop, what the attendants were like, what they mainly dealt in, how their recent business was doing, and so on.
The thoroughness of his understanding made Gu Changhuan marvel.
His Fourth Brother was truly underutilized working as an attendant at the Wanbao Pill Pavilion.
Such a person was most suited for gathering intelligence for the clan.
Working at the pill pavilion was somewhat a waste of his talent.
The two walked from the market’s East Street to West Street.
East Street consisted entirely of shops operated by clans and sects, while West Street was the territory of Rogue Cultivators.
There were no proper shops here, only individual ground stalls.
Although there were many stalls on West Street, customers were pitifully few.
Along the entire street, the number of cultivators seen coming here to buy things was barely over ten.
Gu Changde led Gu Changhuan into West Street.
On both sides of the road were small stalls, and behind each small stall sat a cultivator.
When they saw someone enter West Street, they first craned their necks to look, but upon recognizing the newcomer as Gu Changde, one by one they all pulled their heads back.
This kid from the Gu Clan was too talkative, and moreover, a total miser.
There probably wasn’t much profit to be squeezed from him.
Better to save their energy and wait for some fresh-faced newcomers who had just entered the cultivation world!
The vendors were all thinking much the same thing.
Seeing the stall owners on West Street acting so cold and indifferent, Gu Changhuan secretly wondered: Are these Rogue Cultivators so aloof they don’t even try to solicit business?
They really don’t know how to do business, do they?
Most of the vendors, though, had endured Gu Changde’s endless chatter before.
Worse, he usually walked away afterward without buying a thing.
Gu Changde didn’t mind the Rogue Cultivators’ coldness in the slightest.
He continued his torrent of speech unabated.
“West Street belongs to the rogue cultivators.
Pay a fee in spirit stones and you can set up a stall; clan members come here sometimes too.
Prices are lower than on East Street, but genuine goods are scarce.
Some things look strange and impressive but are really nothing special.
“Finding anything worthwhile takes a good eye and some luck.
Most rogue cultivators are shrewd, and fraud is common.
You’re new here, Seventeenth Brother.
Don’t let anyone cheat you.” Gu Changde whispered.
He clearly didn’t have a great impression of the Rogue Cultivators on West Street, only introducing a few small stalls and skipping over most of them.
The stalls Gu Changde introduced were the ones where you could actually buy genuine goods!
Gu Changhuan thought to himself: Strange and impressive?
Faking things?
As if!
With the brocade map, who could fool him?
Thinking this, he suddenly froze as if rooted to the spot!
“Seventeenth Brother?
What’s wrong?” Seeing Gu Changhuan completely stop, Gu Changde asked with concern.
“Nothing.
Just thank you for the advice, Fourth Brother.” Gu Changhuan held back a smile as he looked around, elated.
From now on, not a single spiritual object could escape his eyes!
He could hardly contain his eagerness.
Keeping up his end of the conversation, he looked inward and studied the brocade in his sea of consciousness.
Indeed, the Brocade Cloth displayed several green dot markers.
Under each marker was the name of a spiritual object.
After giving it a cursory look, he withdrew from his Sea of Consciousness.
Now was not the time.
He would come back some other day.
Gu Changhuan told himself inwardly that he must be steady, not impatient.
The two spent most of the day touring the entire market.
Returning to the rear courtyard of the Wanbao Pill Pavilion, Gu Changhuan collapsed onto the bed without any regard for appearance.
For the first time, he realized that shopping could be such a tiring affair.
And next time, he would keep clear of Fourth Brother.
How could anyone talk for an entire day?
Even the famously long-winded monk Tang Sanzang could not have kept up!
After zoning out for a while, Gu Changhuan began planning how to quietly acquire the spiritual objects without attracting attention.
First, he needed to understand the bargaining rules for transactions with Rogue Cultivators.
On this point, Fourth Brother could help him.
Second, he needed to grasp the psychology of Rogue Cultivators.
Finally, he needed to ensure his actions didn’t arouse suspicion.
The favorite customers of Rogue Cultivators were wealthy rookies who had just entered the world.
As the grandson of a Foundation Establishment elder, he could easily play the wealthy novice and pretend to lose out once or twice.
But he could not keep using that trick; it would not be safe.
Clan cultivators had elders to guide them.
Unlike solitary novices, they could not plausibly keep falling for the same tricks.
However, the Nine Perches Market wasn’t very large, so there probably weren’t many opportunities for picking up bargains.
The real question was how to keep finding overlooked treasures in the future without attracting suspicion.
Gu Changhuan rubbed his chin, and suddenly an inspiration flashed in his mind.
He could use a disguise!
Disguise was the most commonly used method in the cultivation world.
Some overly cautious individuals rarely showed their true faces in markets.
Combined with the Jade Jue the patriarch had given him, which blocked probing divine sense, a disguise would conceal both his cultivation and his face from ordinary Qi Condensation cultivators.
Foundation Establishment experts could still see through it.
Thinking this, Gu Changhuan happily jumped straight up from the bed!
Then he sighed.
He would have to endure Fourth Brother talking his ear off a few more times.
Speaking of which, he should give the Brocade Cloth a name!
What should he call it?
This Brocade Cloth could display surrounding objects, just like a map…
Gu Changhuan’s brow gradually furrowed.
Suddenly, he clapped his hands: The Tongxian Map—a map to open the way to immortality.
That had a good ring to it!
He once again peered into his Sea of Consciousness at the Tongxian Map, thinking: I hope this Tongxian Map can truly pave my path to immortality!
Over the next period, Gu Changhuan’s daily routine consisted of cultivation and subtly pumping Fourth Brother Gu Changde for information.
However, Gu Changde’s thinking was too scattered.
He would often veer off topic after just two sentences.
Gu Changhuan couldn’t be too obvious about it, so he could only listen with a smile.
It couldn’t be helped.
His cultivation was too low now, and his experience was limited.
Most Rogue Cultivators on West Street had higher cultivation than him.
Whatever extra knowledge he could gain might prove very useful when bargain-hunting.
Seven days later, Gu Changhuan completed all his preparations.
He dressed in robes bearing the Gu Clan emblem, hung a flashy but useless jade pendant at his waist, and put on gold-threaded python-skin boots.
There: a sheltered young master who knew nothing of the cultivation world’s hardships.
Gu Changhuan quietly slipped out of the rear courtyard and headed toward West Street.
When the Rogue Cultivators on West Street spotted a cultivator appearing at the West Street entrance, they all craned their necks.
Upon seeing it was a child, they inwardly felt disappointed.
What Spirit Stones could a child possibly have?
A sharp-eyed one noticed Gu Changhuan’s attire fitting that of a young master from a prominent family and enthusiastically called out.
“Young friend, come take a look!
This is a refining material even a Purple Mansion Realm expert would covet!
Don’t miss this opportunity as you pass by!” The Rogue Cultivator nearest to Gu Changhuan picked up a yellow stone from his stall, enthusiastically trying to sell his wares to Gu Changhuan.
“That worthless stone has sat there for a year without a buyer, and you call it treasure?
Young friend, look here instead.
Seeds of a fourth-tier spirit herb!
Bring these back to your clan and you’ll earn a great deal of credit!” The Rogue Cultivator next to him in hemp clothes exposed his neighbor’s bluff, then began introducing the items on his own stall to Gu Changhuan.
The exposed Rogue Cultivator’s expression turned unpleasant.
He was just about to say something when the hemp-clad cultivator suppressed him with his aura.
His cultivation was inferior to the hemp-clad cultivator, so he just snorted and let it be.
It seemed the relationship between these two Rogue Cultivators wasn’t very good.
The other Rogue Cultivators also noticed Gu Changhuan’s attire and began to stir restlessly.
The boy must have at least a few dozen spirit stones.
Lucky old fellow, landing such an easy mark as his first customer!
Gu Changhuan deliberately looked doubtful.
“Fourth-tier spirit herb seeds?
Are you trying to fool me because I’m young?
If they were fourth-tier seeds, why hasn’t anyone wanted them?
They have no spiritual qi at all.
Even if they really are fourth-tier, surely they’re dead?”