Chapter 77

In the following days, Liu Ming practiced meditation on the fog boat, and no one else came to bother him.

However, upon closer observation, he found that the fog boat seemed to be gradually fading over time, although the process was extremely slow.

Five days later, the fog boat finally arrived at the destination, a vast valley near Wei Prefecture, which was a hub of activity.

The valley was about ten miles in diameter. From a high vantage point, one could vaguely see numerous buildings neatly arranged inside, with many black dots of people moving in and out of the buildings.

With a "puff," the large boat landed on an open ground several miles away from the valley and then vanished into thin air.

At this moment, Senior Sister Qian calmly gathered everyone together and said in a calm tone:

"Listen carefully. The Wei Prefecture market is one of the three major markets jointly established by various sects in our country. Therefore, disciples from any sect have no special privileges here and must not violate the market rules. The most important rule is that no one is allowed to fight or use flying techniques within ten miles of the market, including the use of various flying tools. Violators will be apprehended and punished severely. By the way, each sect will send a Spirit Master to take turns overseeing the market, so don't even think about getting away with anything. The Spirit Master representing our sect here is Senior Uncle Liu from the Mystic Talisman lineage. You might have a chance to meet him. Many of you are visiting a public market for the first time, so it will be a great opportunity to broaden your horizons. However, if you really want to buy or sell something, you need to be extra cautious. This place is a mix of all sorts, with many cultivators being independent practitioners, and some from neighboring countries. Most of them are Spirit Apprentices, but occasionally, Spirit Masters will appear. If you fall for a scam due to a lack of discernment, our sect won't be able to help you. That's all I have to say. In three days, I will return here to take you back to the sect. For now, you can act on your own."

After saying this, Senior Sister Qian led the green-robed girl, Cuier, and walked gracefully toward the entrance of the valley.

The others exchanged glances. Some of the more impatient ones immediately followed, while others gathered in small groups to chat.

Lei Zhen and the petite woman conversed for a moment before heading in the direction of the valley.

Liu Ming had planned to act alone from the beginning, so he didn't linger. After a brief wait, he set off unhurriedly.

After about the time it takes to eat a meal, Liu Ming arrived at the entrance of the valley, where a bustling noise could be heard from a distance.

His eyes flickered, and without stopping, he soon walked onto a clean stone street.

On both sides of the street were buildings made of bluestone, ranging from tall pavilions over a dozen zhang high to single-story houses just a few zhang tall. They all appeared to be shops run by cultivators.

Many cultivators with different appearances and auras were walking on the street or entering and exiting the buildings.

The few disciples from his sect, whom he had seen earlier, had vanished, probably off to different places.

With this, Liu Ming became even less anxious. He slowly walked down the street, his eyes constantly scanning the shops on both sides.

After a short while, he began to understand the layout.

Although there were many shops, they could be roughly divided into a few categories.

Some specialized in selling and purchasing various materials, others in selling finished elixirs or talismans, and some in selling or customizing various talismans. However, the larger shops generally did all kinds of business, and one even had a sign advertising the sale of spirit weapons, which made Liu Ming pause and then leave with a bitter smile.

He knew without asking that spirit weapons sold in such places were either problematic or priced exorbitantly, far beyond his reach.

Liu Ming continued to browse the shops, occasionally entering a few to inquire about the prices of certain items.

After finishing this street, he turned to another nearby street.

More than two hours later, when Liu Ming emerged from the end of a street, he found himself in front of a square several acres in size. Many people were setting up stalls, much like the gray market of the Savage Ghost Sect.

Surprised, Liu Ming casually wandered around the stalls and found many good items for sale. However, after inquiring about the prices, he could only shake his head and walk away.

However, when he came to a middle-aged man with a sickly appearance, he was drawn to a leather-bound book on the man's stall. He picked it up and flipped through it casually before asking:

"How much is this 'Comprehensive Guide to Alchemy'?"

"This book not only introduces the basics of alchemy but also includes several basic elixir formulas. It costs fifty spirit stones, no negotiation," the middle-aged man said lazily, glancing at Liu Ming.

"Fifty spirit stones?"

Liu Ming shook his head and put the book back. His eyes then fell on another pile of items on the stall, and he asked:

"What about these?"

"A set of low-grade alchemy tools, three hundred spirit stones," the middle-aged man replied, looking at the pile of items, which included a small cauldron, a mortar, and a pestle.

"I'll take this set if you throw in the book for free," Liu Ming said decisively.

The same set had been priced at five hundred spirit stones in a previous shop. From the faint medicinal aroma, these were genuine alchemy tools.

"Free? Alright, since you're my first customer today, I'll give you a discount," the middle-aged man said, somewhat surprised, and then smiled.

Liu Ming was delighted and took out three clear spirit stones from his sleeve, handing them over.

The middle-aged man accepted them, checked their quality, and nodded.

Liu Ming then took the book and the alchemy tools and left the square.

The entire market was vast, almost the size of a medium-sized town.

It took Liu Ming a whole day to see only half of the shops.

So, when it grew dark, he found an inn in the market to rest for the night and continued exploring the remaining streets the next day.

Although many shops sold power-enhancing elixirs, he only had a limited number of spirit stones and planned to sell some items. Therefore, he intended to find shops with the best value and good reputation before making any purchases.

By noon, after finishing the last shop, he had made his decision.

Half an hour later, he entered a two-story pavilion with a sign that read "Hundred Treasures Hall."

This shop was of medium size in the valley, with several wooden racks displaying various items. Two clerks were introducing the goods to customers, and an elderly shopkeeper sat behind the counter.

The pavilion seemed to be doing exceptionally well, with a steady stream of cultivators entering and exiting.

After waiting for a while, Liu Ming finally found an opportunity to approach the counter and placed a box on it, saying to the elderly man:

"Please appraise the value of the items in this box in spirit stones, and then we can discuss further."

The elderly man, far from being surprised, nodded with a smile and said:

"Of course, please wait a moment while I take a look." He opened the jade box and peered inside, his expression immediately changing.

"Such a strong aura, this is...?" The elderly man, surprised, picked up a small, white, bean-sized object from the jade box, which was a bone fragment left by the green-furred giant rat.

"May I ask, what kind of demon beast did this come from?" the elderly man, who was indeed the shopkeeper, asked, recognizing the item.

"It's from a giant rat demon beast," Liu Ming said frankly, without hiding anything.

"A giant rat demon beast? That's quite unusual. Generally, rat demon beasts rarely advance to higher levels. Please wait a moment while I measure the true strength of this item," the elderly man said, looking puzzled.

Liu Ming naturally had no objections; he was also curious about the realm of the green-furred giant rat.

The elderly man bent down, took out a palm-sized silver disk, placed the bone fragment on it, and made a hand seal.

The next moment, the disk hummed, and unknown runes appeared, changing continuously.

"Late-stage Condensation of Liquid, fully mature!" The elderly man gasped, seemingly unable to believe his eyes. He quickly repeated the process, but the runes on the disk remained the same.

"Please wait a moment. These items are of great value, and I need to consult the owner. Please put the items away and wait in the VIP room," the elderly man said, taking a deep breath.

"Alright, I'll wait," Liu Ming said, equally shocked by the "late-stage Condensation of Liquid, fully mature" assessment.

He had initially estimated the highest possible realm to be early-stage Condensation of Liquid. This meant the green-furred giant rat was a high-level demon beast, not far from the Crystal Formation stage.

The difference of two stages made the value of the bone fragments vastly different. No wonder the giant rat's flesh had such a significant effect, even without being refined into an elixir, pushing his cultivation to the mid-stage Spirit Apprentice level.

The woman named Ye Tianmei, who had easily slain the demon, must be a Crystal Formation stage expert, a senior of the same generation as the sect's granduncle.

Thinking of the woman's beautiful face, Liu Ming felt a strange sensation in his heart.

(Weiyu's WeChat platform has been established. To join the platform, you can scan the QR code on my Tencent Weibo or click on "Contacts" in the WeChat platform, then click the "+" at the top, enter "Find Public Accounts," and search for "Weiyu" or the WeChat ID "wang-yu." Please make sure to look for the golden verification mark after the name.)

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