Chapter 14: Remember to Pay Back the Money

Dahexiang Market is located at the farthest edge of the Yuding Region, bordering the vast Eastern Wasteland.

According to a travelogue written by a Foundation Establishment cultivator a few years ago, due to its location on a first-grade spirit vein, this place is home to over ten thousand cultivators all year round.

Most of them are itinerant cultivators, and those from major sects do not stay for long periods. They only remain here to take care of business.

Moreover, the management of the shops in the inner city changes every few years.

Therefore, the entire market is mostly dominated by the spontaneous activities of itinerant cultivators.

Just like the itinerant cultivator market, there are large and small fairs.

The large fair happens once a month, while the small fair takes place on the 1st, 4th, and 7th of every month.

Of course, even when there is no fair, there are still cultivators setting up stalls, but the foot traffic is not as high.

It has been ten days since the last small fair.

A plump figure rushed into the market early in the morning.

Zeng Wen's luck was good this time. He didn't stay in the mountains for long and managed to hunt a first-grade beast, obtaining over a thousand pounds of beast meat!

His storage bag had a small capacity, only one cubic meter, and could barely hold it all.

So, when his harvest was about right, he wisely retreated from the mountains.

Ten pounds of first-grade beast meat can be sold for one low-grade spirit stone, and the bones of the beast are also a type of spirit material. Therefore, this harvest was just enough to let him indulge for a while.

After returning home yesterday, he found a familiar butcher to process the meat and then eagerly ran to Tianxiang Tower to indulge.

The process, however, was a bit hard to describe.

The beauties were excellent, and his performance was as stable and efficient as always.

But compared to the last time when he was so impressive, this time was a bit disappointing.

So, early in the morning, he mustered the will to tear himself away from the "hero's grave" to do some business with the young brother he had met before.

When he arrived at the market in the southern part of the city, some vendors were already setting up their stalls, and the old Taoist Chen was sitting leisurely on a small stool.

"Is Fellow Daoist Xiao Luo not here yet?"

"No, he's probably at home refining pills!"

"Will he come to the market today?"

"Usually, if he hasn't shown up by this time, he won't come to the small fair today."

Disappointment was evident on his face.

Zeng Wen was quite disappointed and chatted with Old Taoist Chen about his experiences in the mountains.

When he saw a customer approaching, he decided to take his leave.

However, before leaving, he saw Old Taoist Chen carefully pulling a dissatisfied customer.

"Fellow Daoist, are you interested in the Divine Concealment Charm?"

"What is that? It conceals one's aura?"

"You know the Venerable Lingyin of the Divine Talisman Sect, let me tell you..."

Zeng Wen's expression was a bit strange. He felt that those words sounded familiar.

After walking far away from the market, he suddenly realized.

Wasn't that just a copy of what Fellow Daoist Xiao Luo had said before?

"Damn, the old man has learned to be bad!"

He didn't think Luo Chen had deceived him. When Luo Chen promoted the Zhongmiao Pills, he never used definite words, only ambiguous ones.

Moreover, the effects of the Zhongmiao Pills were exactly as Luo Chen had described.

He could only conclude that Old Taoist Chen had plagiarized Luo Chen's sales pitch.

At that moment, the victim, Luo Chen, was at home, wearing an apron and worshipping Guan Gong.

"The first few batches failed, but I've laid the groundwork. I should be able to produce something today!"

"Lord Guan, I've offered incense to you today, please bless me!"

Muttering to himself, he kept adding ingredients to the pot.

The processed Fire Dog's penis emitted a natural stench, which, when mixed with the fragrance of various spirit herbs, produced a peculiar and indescribable smell.

The process of boiling the medicine lasted from morning to afternoon.

After lifting the lid, he looked at the deep red medicinal paste and inhaled the refreshing aroma, clenching his fist tightly.

"Great, this time the sixth batch was successful, a significant improvement!"

"Lord Guan, I knew you had me in your heart, even in this world of transmigration, you still protect me."

"Let's do better tomorrow!"

Half a month later, Luo Chen looked contentedly at the fifty small jade bottles on the table.

This was the result of nearly a month of hard work.

Thirty bottles contained Spirit Grain Pills, which he had hurriedly made in the past two days.

The remaining twenty bottles were all Zhongmiao Pills.

Unlike the Spirit Grain Pills, which had ten pills per bottle, the Zhongmiao Pills had one pill per bottle.

In other words, this time, the refinement of Zhongmiao Pills was only successful twice.

With nineteen sets of materials, only two batches were successful, which was not a high success rate. Moreover, the quality of the pills was only low-grade.

Low-grade pills have significant limitations; their effects are generally weak, and consuming too many can have strong side effects.

However, that was not his concern. He believed that fellow cultivators had strong self-control and would enjoy themselves in moderation, without overindulging.

"For now, this is the best I can do, but as long as I improve my skills, the situation will definitely improve!"

"The future is bright, keep it up, Luo Chen!"

Putting all the jade bottles in a bag, Luo Chen closed the door and rushed into the inner city of Dahexiang Market like the wind.

Today was the day of the large fair, and he had to sell this batch of goods well.

When he arrived at the market, it was still sparsely populated. Luo Chen had come too early.

Old Taoist Chen hadn't arrived yet, but the old acquaintance Wang Yuan was already sitting cross-legged on the ground.

"Young man, you don't take care of yourself. The ground is so cold!"

Muttering to himself, Luo Chen greeted Wang Yuan and naturally squatted down in front of his stall.

"Hey, you've got some new items!"

Compared to the last time, there were several more old books, and even a broken jade slip.

There were also four or five more magical artifacts, some of which had blackened bloodstains.

"Brother Wang, you've had some big deals recently!"

Wang Yuan's eyelids drooped, "Look, but don't touch."

Luo Chen looked enviously at a few old books: "Five Essential Techniques for the Qi Condensation Stage," "A Hundred Herbs," and "The Qi Condensation Chapter of the Eternal Spring Art."

He wanted them all, but he had no spirit stones!

If Wang Yuan sold all these items, plus the magical artifacts, he would make a fortune.

As far as he knew, a low-grade magical artifact would cost at least one hundred low-grade spirit stones, and middle and high-grade ones were even more expensive.

Killing and plundering was indeed the fastest way to make money in the cultivation world.

Unfortunately, he was not good at such things; he was just a simple cultivator who liked refining pills.

Sighing, he picked up the unsold "Six Regions' Scenery Record" and read it with great interest.

The Six Eastern Regions each had six major sects that had produced Nascent Soul Realms, such as the Yuding Sword Sect, the Hehuan Sect, the Divine Talisman Sect, and the Medicine King Sect.

However, in addition to these major sects, each large region also had numerous minor sects and cultivation families.

The vast territory and abundant resources had given rise to countless talented individuals.

Often, during each period, there would be strong cultivators rising to prominence.

In their rise, there were naturally many interesting stories.

The author of "Six Regions' Scenery Record" was a Ninth Layer Qi Condensation cultivator who, with no hope of reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, spent the rest of his life writing this book.

Limited by his realm and knowledge, much of the content was hearsay.

But Luo Chen could still use this book to glimpse a corner of the cultivation world.

Just those snippets made his heart flutter with admiration.

"Yuding True Man's sword sweeping through the mountains and rivers, stabilizing the region, what a magnificent sight!"

After a moment of reflection, Luo Chen reluctantly put down the book and prepared to set up his stall.

"Take it if you like. This travelogue has too many errors and hasn't sold for months."

Wang Yuan said indifferently, lifting his finger, and the book floated into Luo Chen's hands.

Luo Chen was surprised and then overjoyed.

"Thanks, Brother Wang, I'll return it after I finish reading."

Holding the book, he returned to his stone stall, and Old Taoist Chen eagerly approached.

Seeing the old face, Luo Chen smiled slightly, "Are you going to tell me how well your business is doing?"

"No, I'm here to remind you to pay back the money!"

"Uh!"

Luo Chen was greatly disappointed. He had just thought there were many good people in the cultivation world.

However, after he displayed his pills, Old Taoist Chen did give him some good news.

"Many fellow cultivators have been asking about the Zhongmiao Pills. You're going to make a fortune!"

(End of Chapter)