Chapter 55: The Tan Brothers

“You have excellent taste, brother! This *Netherworld Scripture* is a top-tier foundation cultivation technique for the Water Element!”

The stall owner was a short, stout man who looked to be in his thirties or forties. Without Qin Sang needing to ask, he began promoting the item with infectious enthusiasm. “Among Water Element foundation techniques, the *Netherworld Scripture* is absolutely peerless. Once practiced, it can greatly temper the physical body and strengthen the five senses, far surpassing other techniques. It gives you a massive advantage when facing enemies. I’m selling it to you for fifteen spirit stones; it’s definitely not overpriced.”

Qin Sang flipped through a few pages. His own copy had cut off at the sixth layer, but this one continued past the sixth. As he flipped further, he realized it was the complete version, containing all thirteen layers!

The *Netherworld Scripture* indeed corresponded one-to-one with the stages of the Qi Refining realm.

Qin Sang remained composed. Along his journey, he had seen many vendors selling foundation techniques, most of which topped out at five or six spirit stones. It was clear that such techniques were not rare in the cultivation world, yet this *Netherworld Scripture* was priced at fifteen.

His Water-Condensing Barrier Talisman was only worth eight, and he still had to supplement the cost with spirit stones; he certainly wasn't going to waste money like this. Just as he was about to begin bargaining, someone nearby suddenly shouted loudly.

“You rogue merchant! It’s one thing to use false words to deceive people, but for the sake of a few spirit stones, you actually dare to trick people into switching to the *Netherworld Scripture*? Has your conscience been eaten by a dog?!”

Startled, Qin Sang turned to look at the speaker. He saw two youths who had been shopping at the adjacent stall standing up. One of them was burly with rugged features and a full beard, glaring furiously at the stall owner.

The other youth was much thinner and more frail; he was anxiously pulling at his companion's arm, offering apologetic smiles to both Qin Sang and the stall owner with a distressed expression.

Judging by his tone, did the *Netherworld Scripture* have some sort of flaw?

Qin Sang’s brow furrowed deeply.

With his business suddenly interrupted, the stall owner glared at the burly youth in anger and cursed, “One person wants to buy, and one person wants to sell. No one is forcing anyone. What business is it of yours? Why are you sticking your nose in!”

The burly youth snorted, shook off his companion's grasp, and stepped forward. With wide, indignant eyes, he cried out, “You rogue! The *Netherworld Scripture* is one of the most difficult foundation techniques to practice. The cultivation speed is incredibly slow, and the difficulty of breaking through bottlenecks is much higher than other techniques. Those meager benefits aren't worth the drawbacks! No one would take it for five spirit stones, yet you dare to sell it for fifteen! Furthermore, you only mentioned the benefits and omitted the flaws. Tricking people into practicing the *Netherworld Scripture* misleads their cultivation path—if you aren't a rogue merchant, what are you?!”

Qin Sang was struck with surprise. He had been cultivating all this time, and aside from encountering a bottleneck when breaking through to the third layer, he hadn't found it particularly difficult.

Moreover, according to Zhen Ming, some cultivators never even reach the tenth layer of Qi Refining in their entire lives, yet he had reached the fifth layer in less than five years. That speed couldn't be considered slow, could it?

A thought struck Qin Sang, and he flipped through a few more pages. Sure enough, he made a discovery.

There was not a single word regarding the Yama Banner in this copy of the *Netherworld Scripture*!

The youth's voice was loud, drawing the attention of everyone nearby.

The stall owner's face turned bright red, looking as if he wanted to strike the burly youth down with a sword. However, first, fighting was prohibited in the market, and second, the burly youth's cultivation level did not seem weaker than his own.

Unable to win a fight, the stall owner argued heatedly, “I hadn't even finished my introduction! I was just getting to the drawbacks when you jumped out! Besides, this *Netherworld Scripture* isn't just the complete technique; it also includes many water-element incantations that I have carefully selected. Selling it for fifteen spirit stones is absolutely worth it. If you don't understand, don't interfere!”

Qin Sang nodded. “There are indeed some, though they are all very common incantations.”

He had noticed a column of incantations at the end of the book just now. Among them were *Object Manipulation* and *Qi Observation*, followed by incantations that sounded quite powerful, such as *Mist Locking the River* and *Ten Thousand Mile Ice Freeze*.

Whether it was the technique or the incantations, they were both things he urgently needed right now.

“Big Brother, stop!”

“Senior, please forgive us, my brother acted on impulse...”

The thin youth desperately held onto his companion, apologizing repeatedly to both Qin Sang and the stall owner. Only after whispering a few words into the burly youth's ear did he manage to pull the huffing youth away.

Qin Sang hadn't expected to find such a sense of justice in the cultivation world. They had saved him the trouble of bargaining. Seeing them about to leave, he hurriedly set down the manual, blocked their path, and cupped his hands. “I am Qin Sang. Greetings to you both. May I ask how you should be addressed?”

The thin youth seemed a bit shy, lowering his head slightly. “Tan Jie greets Brother Qin. This is my elder brother, Tan Hao. My brother acted impulsively and caused trouble for you; I hope you won't hold it against him.”

These two shared no resemblance at all, yet they were brothers?

Qin Sang was secretly surprised, thinking to himself, *Why would I hold it against you? I should be thanking you.*

“Brother Tan, what are you saying? I should be thanking you both for your guidance, otherwise, I might have strayed onto the wrong path. Meeting is fate, and moreover, you two Tan brothers have done me a great service. There is a Drunken Immortal Pavilion ahead; I shall ask the proprietor to prepare some light wine so I may chat with you both to express my gratitude. Would you do me the honor?”

He didn't know the background of the restaurants on the Bluestone Street and didn't dare enter them, but for the restaurants outside, silver would suffice.

Unexpectedly, Tan Hao showed no gratitude at all. He said coldly, “I simply couldn't stand seeing that rogue merchant deceive people. It would be the same with anyone else. There is no need for thanks, and I have no time for your wine. Move!”

“Big Brother!”

Tan Jie looked distressed and cupped his hands toward Qin Sang. “Brother Qin, please don't mind him, my brother just has this temperament... We truly have urgent matters to attend to. Perhaps we can share a drink when the opportunity arises in the future.”

The Tan brothers left in a hurry. Qin Sang scratched his head; he hadn't expected to encounter such a hotheaded person among cultivators. However, since they had helped him significantly, Qin Sang wouldn't dwell on such a small matter.

Qin Sang glanced at the stall owner and turned to leave.

“Brother! Brother Qin! Please stay!”

The stall owner hurriedly stepped forward, caught Qin Sang, and said with righteous gravity, “Brother Qin, please do not be misled by that brat. The choice of a technique depends entirely on whether it suits oneself; how can one be influenced by the words of others? Besides, I have more than just the *Netherworld Scripture*. Why not take a closer look? The price is negotiable.”

Having heard Tan Hao's words and the surrounding discussions, Qin Sang knew that very few people bought the *Netherworld Scripture*. This fat man had likely been displaying it for quite some time, and having finally caught an interested customer, he certainly wouldn't give up easily. That was why he was feigning a departure.

He had guessed correctly.

Qin Sang played along, acting reluctant as he was pulled back. He said hesitantly, “To be honest with you, I do not lack cultivation techniques. I simply have never seen the *Netherworld Scripture* before and thought of buying it to compare it with my own. Since it is so difficult to practice, I fear it may be of little use to me, and the price is so high...”