Chapter 55: Guyuan Market

Chen Lin glanced at the storage bag on the young man's waist and said, "I am Lin San, here to attend the trade fair. I heard from the townspeople that the cultivation market was located here, so I came to take a look first. May I ask your esteemed name? Are you a local cultivator?"

He made up a random name on the spot and cupped his hands in greeting.

"Haha, fair enough! I am He Xiao of the Mountain Reliance Sect. I have been invited by the Zhao Clan Merchant House to handle security for this trade fair. You've arrived a bit early, Fellow Daoist, though there are likely others who arrived ahead of schedule. Let us go in together!"

"So you are a Fellow Daoist from the Mountain Reliance Sect. In that case, I shall not stand on ceremony!"

Chen Lin cupped his fists and followed the other man toward the gatehouse, a subtle, imperceptible flash of surprise crossing his eyes.

He hadn't expected such a coincidence; this person was actually a disciple of the Mountain Reliance Sect, and he couldn't see through his cultivation level—he was likely a late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator.

He wondered what the relationship was between this man and that Li Ziqing, and whether Li Ziqing would also be here.

However, since he had changed his appearance, it wouldn't matter even if they met; he could simply pretend not to know him.

As he was pondering, the two arrived at the city gatehouse.

He Xiao reached out and brushed his hand against a large stone at the entrance. The white mist at the gate cleared instantly, and the sudden roar of clamor rushed into their ears.

Seeing the look of wonder on Chen Lin's face, He Xiao asked with a smile, "Is this your first time at the Guyuan Market, Fellow Daoist Lin?"

Chen Lin nodded. "To be honest with you, Fellow Daoist He, I have only just broken through to the mid-stage of Qi Refinement. I have been cultivating at home and rarely venture out."

"That explains it. This stone is a Sensing Stone, primarily used to identify whether newcomers are cultivators. By channeling a small amount of spiritual power, you can open the market gates; otherwise, entering the white mist will teleport you elsewhere."

"Of course, this is merely a low-level illusion array. One could see through it using Clairvoyance, and a mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator could easily force their way in, but that would be quite unfriendly and would make you a target for the market guards," He Xiao explained patiently.

Chen Lin hurriedly cupped his hands in thanks. "I see. Thank you, Fellow Daoist He, for clearing my doubts."

He Xiao waved it off nonchalantly. "No matter. We are all fellow practitioners. I will be within the market from now until the end of the trade fair, so you can find me if you need anything. Well then, feel free to explore on your own; I must head to the Zhao Clan Merchant House first."

"Ah, please, go ahead, Fellow Daoist He."

Chen Lin cupped his hands and watched the man depart before beginning to survey the market.

The market covered a significant area, but there were few buildings—only about a dozen—while the rest consisted of street stalls.

The most luxurious building was located in the middle of the street, hanging a gold-leafed plaque that read: *Zhao Clan Merchant House*.

At this moment, there weren't many cultivators at the stalls, making the place seem somewhat desolate.

As Chen Lin walked and observed, he found that the goods being sold were quite low-end, mostly consisting of talisman paper, common herbs, or low-grade minerals. There was almost nothing of higher quality.

After looking through all the scattered stalls, he couldn't help but feel deeply disappointed.

The goods here were inferior even to the shantytowns of Kaiyuan City, let alone the inner city.

Losing interest in wandering the stalls, he casually stepped into a shop.

The shop was called the Ruyi Workshop. Although it wasn't as large as the Zhao Clan Merchant House, it was still sizable and brightly decorated.

Upon entering, he found the shop quite quiet. Aside from himself, there was only one elderly cultivator browsing behind the counter.

"What would this Fellow Daoist like to buy?"

A young female cultivator at the first level of Qi Refinement approached him, though her appearance was quite ordinary.

"Oh, I'm just looking around."

Chen Lin waved his hand, signaling her not to mind him, and approached the counter to inspect the items one by one.

After looking for a while, his brow furrowed.

There were too few items, and they were too low-grade.

While they were better than the street stalls, they weren't much better.

He didn't even see a single spiritual herb, let alone finished pills or pill recipes.

"Shopkeeper, is this all you have?"

The gap between his expectations and reality was too large, prompting Chen Lin to ask in confusion.

The shopkeeper was a plump, middle-aged man at the third level of Qi Refinement. Hearing the question, he walked over and said, "There hasn't been much good stock lately. It's mainly because everyone is waiting for the trade fair; we can't collect high-quality materials right now. If there is something specific you are looking for, tell me, and I'll see if I have any in storage."

The man's words made Chen Lin realize something.

He had overlooked this point.

The annual trade fair was about to begin; anyone with good items would save them to sell then, and these shops were likely the same.

No wonder Bai Yunyue couldn't buy Red-Pattern Ginseng and had to go searching for it in the Duanmeng Mountains himself.

He felt he should also refine more Primordial Essence Pills or make more talismans, lest he find something he wants later but have nothing to trade.

Additionally, he needed to refine some Thunderbolt Beads, specifically a Thunderbolt No. 4, as it was currently his strongest available method.

With this in mind, he immediately listed several materials.

It turned out quite well; he managed to buy some materials for Thunderbolt Beads and quite a lot for Fireball and Strength Talismans.

However, he only managed to find one type of material for the Primordial Essence Pills.

Most importantly, the prices of spiritual herbs here were much higher than in Kaiyuan City!

If the shopkeeper hadn't sworn emphatically that his prices weren't higher than the other shops, Chen Lin would have turned and left immediately!

Next, Chen Lin visited several more shops, even visiting the Zhao Clan Merchant House, until he had finally purchased most of the materials for the Thunderbolt Beads and talisman making, with quantities sufficient for his needs.

He also bought two spell manuals: the Clairvoyance technique He Xiao had mentioned earlier, and a Water Arrow technique.

At this point, he noticed that aside from spiritual herbs, other materials were much cheaper than in Kaiyuan City. Especially items like spiritual rice and spiritual wine—compared to Kaiyuan City, they were practically dirt cheap.

This phenomenon surprised him greatly.

After thinking for a while, he considered a few possibilities: Kaiyuan City was deep in the mountains, making the collection of spiritual herbs relatively easy, and there were many cultivators there.

However, because Kaiyuan City was a place one could enter but not leave, and was restricted by that strange boundary, no one would go to plant spiritual rice or anything similar. Similarly, mining for blacksmithing ores was limited to a certain area, making those materials very expensive.

This was a price difference caused by regional variations.

Once he figured this out, he felt immense regret. If he had known, he would have stockpiled more spiritual herbs to make a small profit.

Unfortunately, it was too late. Now, with his current materials plus his previous reserves, he only had enough for ten doses of Primordial Essence Pills, and he had only managed to find two types of materials for the Enlightenment Pills.

This left him very frustrated.

His Primordial Essence and Enlightenment Pills did not follow standard recipes; they used very low-grade spiritual herbs, yet even so, he couldn't gather enough. This market was far too meager.

After some thought, Chen Lin decided the timing was simply wrong; these profiteers were holding onto the good stuff to sell at high prices during the trade fair!

Fortunately, the fair was imminent, and he should be able to buy everything he needs then.

His immediate priority was to buy some restorative pills like Spirit Recovery Pills, or perhaps some natural treasures containing pure spiritual energy, so he could re-condense his nameless sword qi.

He didn't have much Blood Qi Pill left; he had to get rid of the Black Essence Insects.

After another loop through the market, Chen Lin walked out.

Just as he stepped out of the gatehouse, he saw a group of several cultivators walking toward him, both men and women.

He glanced at them, and his eyes suddenly froze.

But he immediately masked his surprise and hurried past them.

Only after walking a long distance did he look back, finding that the group had already entered the market.

"Could it be her?"

Chen Lin was certain he hadn't misseen. One of the young female cultivators in that group seemed to be Han Lingyue of the Han Clan, one of the five great families!

She had been quite famous in Kaiyuan City, reaching the late stage of Qi Refinement by the age of eighteen. Furthermore, her appearance and temperament were top-tier, making her a star figure in Kaiyuan City.

In the original owner's memories, there had even been fantasies about this woman—though, of course, they were merely fantasies.