txolops Chapter 9: Success!
Chapter 9: Success!
Chapter 9: Success!
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Huangfeng Valley Market is located on the northeastern edge of the Taiyue Mountains, about thirty miles away from the sect.
As Lin Chuan flew along, he indeed sensed several powerful divine senses sweeping through the mountains and forests below. They must have been patrolling disciples sent by the sect, which put him at ease.
An hour later, a cluster of buildings built against the mountain came into view.
The market is not large in scale, but it is well-planned.
A main street made of bluestone runs east to west, lined with shops on both sides, with banners fluttering and words such as "Hundred Herbs Pavilion", "Treasure Shop" and "Talisman Studio" written on it. These shops are all opened by Huangfeng Valley or cultivation families with close ties to sects.
Many alleys extend from both sides of the main street, which are gathering places for independent vendors and stalls, making the area noisy and lively.
The air was filled with various scents: the fragrance of spiritual herbs, the rich aroma of elixirs, the fishy smell of demonic beast materials, and the mixed spiritual energy fluctuations emanating from the cultivators.
Lin Chuan landed at the entrance of the market, paid an entrance fee of one spirit stone, and followed the flow of people inside.
Based on the divination results, Zhang Hu was a rogue cultivator.
Lin Chuan walked unhurriedly toward the western part of the market.
The western area is a typical free trade zone with scattered stalls. The ground is rammed earth, and the stalls are haphazardly arranged.
The monks would lay a cloth on the ground or set up a simple wooden frame and then place the goods on it.
Shouts and bargaining filled the air as all sorts of things were being sold: incomplete jade slips, unknown ores, low-grade talismans, spiritual herbs that were not old enough, and even ordinary swords and antiques—a mixed bag indeed.
Lin Chuan concealed his aura, seemingly casually browsing the stalls, but in reality, he was secretly paying attention.
He discreetly inquired with several independent cultivators who seemed to frequently set up stalls there, and soon obtained the information.
"Zhang Hu? Look, go straight ahead, turn right at the third intersection, it's the stall at the very back with a few broken ore stones and animal hides. He's new here, a greenhorn, Qi Refining Level 5, nothing good." An old cultivator selling talismans said with a sneer.
Lin Chuan thanked him and followed the directions.
Turning into the depths of the alley, I indeed saw a simple stall.
The stall owner was a dark-skinned, thin young man in his early twenties. His face was honest but a little reserved. As he said, his cultivation level was only at the fifth level of Qi Refining, and his spiritual power was weak. He had obviously just entered the world of cultivation and his skills were rudimentary.
The stall was sparsely furnished with a few pieces of low-quality iron ore, one or two roughly processed first-level monster hides, and a few ordinary herbs that were less than ten years old.
In one corner of the stall, there lay an inconspicuous object about the size of a palm.
It was that tortoise shell!
The tortoise shell is a dark grayish-brown with worn edges. The surface is engraved with some blurry lines that look like natural patterns or simple runes. It is covered with a layer of gray and has no spiritual energy. It looks like an ordinary shell that has naturally fallen off from an old tortoise and has been played with for a long time.
Lin Chuan's heart pounded. Suppressing his excitement, he calmly walked over, casually flipping through the iron ore pieces before asking, "How much for this black iron ore?"
Upon seeing a guest arrive, Zhang Hu quickly put on a smile: "Fellow Daoist, these are all top-quality black iron ore, only two spirit stones per piece!"
This price is slightly higher than the market price, and the purity of the ore is clearly insufficient.
Lin Chuan shook his head and pointed to the animal hides: "Red Hare hide? The processing was too rough, most of the spiritual energy was lost, it's worthless."
Zhang Hu's smile froze, and he looked somewhat embarrassed.
Lin Chuan seemed to have just noticed the tortoise shell, casually picked it up and weighed it in his hand: "This shell is quite heavy. What kind of tortoise is it? It looks quite old."
Seeing his interest in the tortoise shell, Zhang Hu quickly said, "Fellow Daoist has a keen eye! I acquired this from an old hunter, who said it came from a tortoise that had lived for over a hundred years in a deep pool. It's incredibly hard, impervious to ordinary swords and blades! I've tried it; even infused with spiritual power, it couldn't be cut an inch! It's absolutely perfect as an auxiliary material for crafting defensive magical artifacts! Only... only five spirit stones!"
As he spoke, he picked up a rusty dagger from the stall, channeled his meager spiritual power, and slashed at the edge of the tortoise shell, leaving only a white mark.
Lin Chuan chuckled inwardly; this rogue cultivator really didn't know what he was talking about.
How could the spiritual power of a Qi Refining stage cultivator damage the material of a magical artifact?
As for the claim that it came from a hunter, he didn't believe it at all.
He examined the tortoise shell with feigned skepticism, then pinched it with his fingernail, deliberately criticizing, "It's hard, but the patterns are a mess, not natural spirit patterns, and it doesn't have much spiritual energy. It's too impure even as a material for refining weapons. At most... it's worth three spirit stones."
"Three pieces?" Zhang Hu hesitated. "Fellow Daoist, that's far too low. I wouldn't even get it for that price..."
"Then forget it." Lin Chuan pretended to put the tortoise shell down. "This kind of lifeless thing can only be used as a toy if we buy it."
"Hey, no!"
Zhang Hu panicked. His stall might only open once a day, and seeing his business about to fail, he quickly said, "Three yuan it is! Deal!"
Lin Chuan was secretly delighted, but his expression remained indifferent. He took out three low-grade spirit stones from his storage bag and handed them over, then casually put the tortoise shell into his pocket.
The moment you touch it, you feel a very subtle, cool, and lingering sensation on your fingertips, unlike any ordinary tortoise shell.
Although no spiritual energy could be sensed, its heavy texture subtly revealed an extraordinary quality.
The transaction was completed, and Zhang Hu happily put away the spirit stones, while Lin Chuan did not linger. He turned around and merged into the crowd, quickly leaving the West District.
After acquiring the tortoise shell, Lin Chuan did not rush to leave the market and return to Xuankun Mountain.
He suppressed his inner turmoil, took steady steps and turned into a quiet alley. He quickly took out a gray hooded cloak from his storage bag and put it on. The wide brim of the hood hung down, covering most of his face.
Although this cloak is not a magical artifact, it is made of a special fabric that can slightly interfere with the spiritual sense detection of low-level cultivators. It is a common item used to conceal one's identity when walking through markets.
After getting dressed, Lin Chuan determined the direction and headed towards "Yaowangzhai," a well-regarded restaurant in the market.
Yaowangzhai is a three-story pavilion with flying eaves and brackets, a grand facade, and the air is filled with the lingering fragrance of herbs.
As soon as Lin Chuan stepped inside, a waiter in blue robes immediately greeted him.
He didn't say much, but instead enveloped his voice with spiritual power, saying in a slightly hoarse voice, "I'm offering a three-hundred-year-old fire-attribute spiritual herb for you to see, shopkeeper."
Seeing his attire, the waiter knew he was a guest who did not want to show his face, so he dared not neglect him and quickly led him to a private room on the second floor.
A moment later, an elderly man with a kind face but shrewd eyes pushed open the door and entered. He was the manager of Yaowangzhai.
"Fellow Daoist, please have a seat."
The shopkeeper smiled amiably, his gaze lingering briefly on Lin Chuan's cloak before shifting away. "I wonder what kind of miraculous medicine it is that requires my personal inspection?"
Without wasting any words, Lin Chuan placed the jade box containing the Crimson Flame Fruit on the table and opened the lid.
Instantly, a pure, fiery spiritual energy, accompanied by a refreshing fragrance, spread out, and on the surface of the longan-sized, crimson fruit in the jade box, flame patterns flowed.