Chapter 35: Day Off

Inside a wooden hut within the Spirit Stone Vein Canyon.

Cheng Buzheng placed all his belongings into a storage bag. Within the one-zhang space, various miscellaneous items lay scattered about; only twenty-four spirit stones remained, faintly glowing with spiritual light.

"I wonder if these twenty-four spirit stones will be enough to buy everything I need?" Cheng Buzheng thought with some concern.

He then considered that, at this moment, he didn't even know where the nearest cultivator market was located.

Thinking of this, he immediately stood up and went out to wander around, looking to see if any cultivators were preparing to head to a market.

If he still couldn't find out, he would have only one option left: asking an unfamiliar senior brother for information.

The senior brothers who had seen him knew his cultivation level. In just one short year, he had progressed from the second layer of Qi Refinement to the third. Although there was a reasonable explanation, it was hard to say there wouldn't be suspicious senior brothers, which would lead to trouble!

Before long, Cheng Buzheng began wandering aimlessly through the residential area. Whenever he saw groups of two or three cultivators conversing, he would slow his pace to eavesdrop on their talk.

After wandering for a long time, he still failed to find any miners heading out to restock supplies, which left him somewhat disappointed.

Seeing this, Cheng Buzheng had no choice but to set his sights on senior brothers he had never met before. However, most of the senior brothers in the valley had already seen him, making it difficult to find suitable candidates.

His gaze instinctively swept across the canyon.

Suddenly, his eyes paused, coming to a rest on the octagonal pavilions. He had absolutely never seen the senior brothers stationed in the four octagonal pavilions.

The pavilions were built halfway up the mountainside. Although one could climb up with some effort, doing so would seem too conspicuous.

Cheng Buzheng planned to wander while waiting for the senior brothers stationed in the pavilions to come down. If he still didn't obtain a definite location today, he intended to tail any cultivators leaving the canyon.

Most cultivators went out to exchange for supplies, but it was inevitable that a few might go out to attend to private matters.

If he was unlucky and encountered a miner out on private business, he could simply ask them directly in the wild, avoiding situations like being robbed or ambushed.

Having made his decision, he began to stroll through the canyon with a relaxed mindset. Although he saw many cultivators leaving in small groups, he continued to wait.

Unsurprisingly, the day passed without success.

The next day.

Cheng Buzheng went to the entrance of the Spirit Stone Vein, found the young guard brother who led people into the formation, reported his departure, and then left the Spirit Stone Vein.

He only stopped once he was far from the formation entrance, out of the sight of the guard. Then, a flash of yellow spiritual light appeared.

Instantly, Cheng Buzheng merged into the earth, sinking a full six zhang underground before returning to the vicinity of the formation entrance.

A short while later, the formation at the entrance flashed with light.

Three cultivators—two middle-aged men and one elderly-looking cultivator—successively walked out of the formation entrance.

The three of them walked toward the distance, chatting and laughing.

Such a group was somewhat unusual; most departing cultivators moved with haste. Judging by their demeanor, these three were preparing to find a place to eat and drink.

Such a group could not help but catch his attention. Seeing them, Cheng Buzheng, hidden underground, immediately decided to follow them stealthily.

Meanwhile, the three oblivious individuals continued to chat and laugh, yet the speed of their pace did not slow down in the slightest.

Half a day later.

The three arrived before a stone wall and walked directly into it, disappearing instantly.

Seeing this, Cheng Buzheng did not act immediately but waited for a while. He still couldn't be certain.

While there was a high probability that this was the cultivators' market, he decided to wait a bit longer just to be safe.

He wasn't in a hurry; he prioritized being "steady" in all things.

Before long, Cheng Buzheng saw another cultivator walk into the same stone wall, and after that, cultivators began entering and exiting from time to time.

Finally, he was certain that this was indeed a market; otherwise, such a scene would not exist.

He scanned the surroundings with his divine sense. Seeing no one nearby, a flash of yellow light appeared, and a figure materialized out of thin air.

Cheng Buzheng glanced at the distant stone wall and realized it was merely a low-level illusion. Any cultivator could see through it at a glance; such an arrangement was meant to prevent interference from mortals.

Cheng Buzheng also feigned the same behavior as the previous cultivators, walking directly into the stone wall.

Upon entering the formation, he found a stone gatehouse ahead. Carved above the gate were three large characters: "Spirit Stone Market."

Walking into the gatehouse, he realized that this place was completely different from the outside.

The Spirit Stone Market was crowded with cultivators, but most were like him—early-stage Qi Refinement cultivators, primarily at the first or second layer. Mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivators were rare, and there were only a few at the late stage.

As Cheng Buzheng walked down the street, he noticed that the Spirit Stone Market consisted of two parts: one was shops, and the other was street stalls. Whether a cultivator had spirit stones or not, it was easy to tell just by standing in the street.

He then silently walked toward the stall area. Without spirit stones, he couldn't act high and mighty; the stalls were better, offering affordable prices and the chance to find bargains.

He looked around as he walked, passing by a stall selling talismans. The stall displayed "Fireball Talismans," "Vajra Shields," "Entangling Talismans," and so on.

After inquiring about the prices, he walked away silently. Although he wanted them dearly, the spirit stones in his storage bag told him he was not yet qualified to be extravagant.

When he passed a stall selling medicinal pills, he felt the true meaning of poverty.

The porcelain bottles on that stall contained "Qi-Absorbing Pills," "Qi-Nurturing Pills," "Qi-Gathering Pills," and more.

The "Qi-Nurturing Pills," in particular, were used to advance through the early stages of Qi Refinement, making him quite envious.

When he asked the price again and the stall owner told him it was two spirit stones per pill, his desire to spend was completely extinguished.

Cheng Buzheng only had twenty-four spirit stones, which were the result of a year of hard labor. He had to be meticulous and ensure every single spirit stone was spent where it truly mattered.

Afterward, he saw all sorts of things for sale, from magical tools to spiritual herbs. Although he couldn't afford the expensive items, he still approached the stall owners to engage in friendly conversation.

After wandering for a full hour, Cheng Buzheng had a general idea of the prices here; they were roughly similar to the small markets in front of the Fengyun Pavilion within his sect.

While wandering, he suddenly noticed a stall not far away that displayed a significant number of jade slips.

Seeing this, Cheng Buzheng did not rush. Instead, he moved unhurriedly from one stall to another.

He was afraid that walking straight over would reveal his eagerness. He did not dare to be careless when facing other cultivators, as every cultivator was capable of observing all directions and listening to everything around them.

Before long, Cheng Buzheng arrived at the jade slip stall. He leaned down and casually picked up a jade slip to examine it. The slip contained the first-grade, low-rank, common-quality spell, "Fire Sword Technique."

One could only see the general details of the spell within this jade slip; the full contents were not visible.

Afterward, Cheng Buzheng casually placed the jade slip back where it was.

The stall owner sat quietly in meditation, making no attempt to interact with him. Cheng Buzheng had learned long ago that if you treat others like fools, you will eventually realize that you are the only fool.

Cheng Buzheng quietly examined the jade slips on the stall. After finishing, he said nothing and silently picked up the next one.

Before long, he had roughly finished inspecting all the jade slips on the stall and then set down the last one.