Chapter 41: Nanxi Market

Nanxi Market.

As one of the larger cultivation markets in the southern part of Yun Country, one of the nineteen countries in the Eastern Wasteland, it has always had a steady flow of visitors.

So when Chen Mobai stepped into the market, he did not attract much attention. Only two first-stage Qi Practitioners approached him. They glanced at each other as they stood up, and one of them stepped back, leaving the business to the one in hemp clothing.

"Senior, do you need a guide? I am familiar with all the shops here, even the items sold at today's stalls."

Chen Mobai looked at the person in front of him, who was about his age, and felt puzzled.

[Why is his cultivation so low?]

If this were in a sect, someone of his age at only the first stage of Qi Practice would not even make it to high school and would be expelled directly.

Moreover, the spiritual energy level in this market was not low, reaching the middle-grade first stage.

However, he definitely would not ask this question. Instead, he asked a different one, somewhat hesitantly.

"Is there a fee?"

"Ten gold coins a day."

Hearing this, Chen Mobai thought of the dozen or so gold coins he had obtained from the old man's package. He realized this was also the currency unit for cultivators, but he did not know how many gold coins could be exchanged for one spirit stone.

He wanted to ask more but was afraid of exposing himself by asking such basic questions, so he shook his head and refused.

"Senior, please consider it. I also know some channels for fencing goods in this market."

Seeing Chen Mobai's refusal, the hemp-clothed youth became a bit anxious and said something that made Chen Mobai blush.

Is it really so lawless here?

Can such things be said in broad daylight?

However, he was truly short of money and could only refuse again, then quickly left.

The hemp-clothed youth looked at his back with disappointment.

"Brother Liu, this person looks unfamiliar, but he seems to be in the later stages of Qi Practice. Moreover, his clothes are finely stitched and extremely neat, suggesting he might be from a significant background."

The other first-stage Qi Practitioner who had stepped back earlier walked over. He had been observing Chen Mobai and carefully examined the ancient-style outfit he had ordered online, marveling at the neat stitching done by a machine, which only major cultivation families would pay such attention to in their attire.

"He doesn't have the natural disdain that cultivation families have for us independent cultivators. He might be a disciple of one of the seven major sects."

Liu, the hemp-clothed youth, shook his head after a few exchanges with Chen Mobai and compared him to the cultivators from major families he had dealt with before, concluding what he believed to be correct.

"If he's from one of the seven major sects, why would he come to our Yun Country? Could it be that they think we are paying too little tribute and have sent someone to investigate?"

"Forget it. It's best not to know. If the sky falls, we independent cultivators will just run away and hide in the mundane world."

The youth nodded at this.

The Eastern Wasteland has always been chaotic. Killing for treasures and seizing opportunities are common.

Even the major sects above have conflicts every few decades, fighting fiercely. Independent cultivators are long accustomed to this.

Unfortunately, these newcomers who have barely entered the cultivation world, thinking they have a chance at immortality, find themselves in a more struggling world, unable to even afford a complete Qi Practice manual.

Chen Mobai, of course, did not know that his industrially produced ancient-style outfit had led him to be mistaken for a disciple of a major sect in the Eastern Wasteland.

From the ledger of Bi Bo Lake, he learned about Nanxi Market.

Liu Lingpei, a disciple of the Five Elements Sect, had operated here for twenty years and had many dealings with the local cultivation forces. He recorded these matters in a book to pass on to future generations when he went to the sect for Foundation Establishment.

However, something unknown happened fifty years ago, causing him to leave Bi Bo Lake and never return.

Chen Mobai read through all the books in the side hall and found this book that recorded the local forces and specialties. He had been planning to go out and explore, but it wasn't until today that he finally decided to follow the map and come here.

He was originally worried that things might have changed over fifty years, but to his surprise, this market, built by local cultivation families and small sects, still existed and was thriving.

He walked down the main street of the market, where on both sides were shops selling cultivation pills, magical artifacts, as well as many restaurants and inns, and even a store selling array flags and array disks.

He wanted to go in and see the world, but the shops had few customers. To avoid drawing attention and because he had no money, he decided to go to the stalls first to understand the market conditions.

Besides the twenty or so prime shops on this street, there were stalls scattered throughout the corners of the market, selling all sorts of strange items.

Although Chen Mobai had no gold or spirit stones, he was still excited to walk around and understand the price standards of this world.

It turned out that among low-stage Qi Practitioners, gold was the primary currency, and spirit stones were extremely precious to them.

The exchange rate between gold and spirit stones was typically 10,000 gold coins for one spirit stone.

However, if a real exchange were to happen, spirit stones would be more valuable and would have a premium.

At the stalls, most transactions were in gold, and only a few items for cultivators at the fourth stage and above involved spirit stones.

Chen Mobai saw a stall selling books, where a complete Qi Practice manual was sold in three volumes.

He thought this was already quite strange, but then he saw another stall selling the same Qi Practice manual in layers.

Nine layers, nine volumes.

One volume for one spirit stone, and the business was good, with most independent cultivators only able to afford one volume.

Chen Mobai was very tempted. He could easily download a thousand or so Qi Practice manuals, but he did not dare to resell them. After all, each download was accompanied by a small vow, and if he passed them on to others for cultivation, he would face heart demons in the future, which would be troublesome.

However, he did have one manual that was not downloaded from a sect.

*Black Water Technique*!

He walked around the stalls and found that this manual was also for sale, and it was not cheap.

Priced at 8 spirit stones.

And this was just the price of the manual. If you wanted the accompanying spells, you would need to pay additional spirit stones.

*Water Control Spell* for 2 spirit stones, *Water Elemental Shield* for 3 spirit stones, and *Ice Spell* was not available, as the stall owner only had an incomplete version that could be cultivated up to the seventh stage of Qi Practice.

Chen Mobai took a deep breath to calm himself.

He recalled that among his initial spoils, there were a few bottles of pills.

He did not recognize these pills and did not dare to take them, but if he sold them at the stalls, there might be someone who could recognize their value.

Where did he put those bottles of pills?

They seemed to be in the bottom drawer of his bedside table. He would bring them back this time.

Chen Mobai also walked around the stalls selling magical artifacts. Without needing to ask the prices, he stood for a while, and many cultivators haggled with the stall owners. He silently noted the prices and compared them with the needle box he had obtained.

A similar-grade magical artifact was worth 30 spirit stones.