Chapter 33

Finding the market area was not difficult, but it was quite a distance from the entrance where Lin Haoming had descended. It took him two hours to fly there.

Upon arriving, Lin Haoming felt a powerful divine sense sweep over him. The strength of this divine sense seemed to be on par with that of the old ancestor from his memories, indicating that it was likely a Golden Core elder who had inspected him.

In fact, the sect's market area had only three locations. The fourth level was where the Golden Core elders resided, and very few people had the qualifications to go there, so it was naturally unsuitable for market operations. This place could be considered the largest trading venue within the Blood Refinement Sect.

Lin Haoming was actually quite familiar with this place from his memories. The entire market area was structured in a grid pattern. Unlike the simple market area on the first level, there were no stalls along the roads here; all the buildings were at least three stories tall.

Some shops specialized in a particular trade, such as those that exclusively made and sold talismans, or those that specialized in refining and selling magical weapons. Of course, there were also shops that covered a wide range of trades, but the most attractive place was a place called the Treasure Gathering Pavilion.

The Treasure Gathering Pavilion was not a property of the Blood Refinement Sect but was a trading venue set up by an external force within the sect.

The fact that an external force could establish a trading venue within the Blood Refinement Sect, a demonic sect, already indicated that the Treasure Gathering Pavilion was no ordinary place. Lin Haoming had heard multiple times that the Treasure Gathering Pavilion had a powerful backing that even the Blood Refinement Sect and many other major sects dared not offend. It only did business and never got involved in conflicts between sects, thus enjoying a unique and transcendent status.

Since it was called the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, it naturally possessed many treasures. Golden Core elders and even Nascent Soul elders from the sect were regular visitors here. In the past, when the old ancestor was still alive, he seemed to have visited here multiple times to address the issue of enhancing the spiritual root quality of his descendants, but there was no result until his demise.

Lin Haoming's target this time was also the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, as it was the safest place to sell items or exchange a large amount of spirit stones.

The only drawback was that the Treasure Gathering Pavilion in the Blood Refinement Sect's market area did not sell special elixirs like the Foundation Establishment Pill, and it would not accept items that involved sect affairs.

The Treasure Gathering Pavilion looked like a seven-story building from the outside, but in reality, once inside, it was more like a palace.

The building was just the outer form; it was actually a spatial magical treasure crafted by an extremely skilled alchemist, worth no less than a million spirit stones.

Upon entering the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, the scene inside resembled some malls on Earth, with various counters and signs indicating what business was conducted at each location.

The women responsible for operating the counters were all around twenty years old, beautiful, and cultivators. They were all at the late Qi Condensation stage, some even surpassing Lin Haoming's current cultivation level, but there were no Foundation Establishment cultivators in sight.

In fact, this level was specifically designed to serve Qi Condensation cultivators. Although it was the third level, inner sect disciples could easily come down, so there were quite a few people here.

Lin Haoming went straight to the counter selling talismans. Here, he saw many familiar talismans, and the prices were similar to what he had set, some even slightly cheaper, but not by much.

Lin Haoming had brought over five thousand spirit stones this time, which was all he could afford. After all, his cultivation required spirit stones to set up the Five Elements Spirit Gathering Array and to continuously consume elixirs. Even with the Spirit Gathering Pearl producing spirit stones and his help in selling items for Xie Ruolan, plus a few trips to the Red Leaf Mountain, he had only managed to save this much. That's why he was so surprised to learn that a Foundation Establishment Pill from the sect cost twenty thousand spirit stones.

"Excuse me, Daoist friend, what do you need?" A petite and delicate young girl, noticing that he had stopped at the talisman counter, approached and asked.

Lin Haoming glanced at the girl. If she were on Earth, she would be a rare and adorable girl, but here, she was just an ordinary, low-ranking disciple of the Treasure Gathering Pavilion.

If he had just arrived in this world, he might have taken a few more looks and said a few more words upon seeing such a girl smiling at him. However, after experiencing life and death struggles and bloodshed, many things no longer mattered as much.

At this moment, Lin Haoming merely glanced at her and asked, "Do you have any better talismans here?"

"Better talismans?" The girl was somewhat surprised by Lin Haoming's question, but after being specially trained, she quickly smiled and said, "Daoist friend, our Treasure Gathering Pavilion has all kinds of talismans. Just tell me what you need, and I will fetch them for you immediately!"

"Can I see some low-grade supreme talismans?" Lin Haoming asked.

Hearing that he wanted low-grade supreme talismans, the girl was genuinely surprised. After sizing him up, she asked, "Daoist friend, supreme talismans are only sold on the second floor. Are you sure you want them?"

Lin Haoming, who had come here for this purpose, nodded and said, "Of course!"

Seeing Lin Haoming's affirmative response, the girl thought for a moment and said, "Let me check. If it's possible, I will take you to the second floor."

Lin Haoming trusted the Treasure Gathering Pavilion, so he nodded and let the girl leave.

After a short while, the girl returned and said, "Daoist friend, a senior from our Treasure Gathering Pavilion has agreed to let you go to the second floor. Please follow me."

Lin Haoming immediately nodded and followed the delicate girl up the stairs to the second floor.

At the entrance to the stairs, two Foundation Establishment cultivators were guarding. Clearly, he would not have been able to go up without the girl's guidance.

The second floor of the Treasure Gathering Pavilion was completely different from the first. It was filled with private rooms, some of which emitted the glow of magical arrays, indicating that people were conducting business inside. The arrays also served to block sound and divine sense, ensuring that the discussions would not be overheard.

Each private room had a nameplate. The girl led Lin Haoming for a while and stopped in front of a room marked "Kun Jia." She knocked on the door and then pushed it open.

Lin Haoming paid no attention to the opulence of the room, as his gaze was immediately drawn to a beautiful woman sitting at an eight-person table inside.

After his rebirth, especially after working in the market area, Lin Haoming had seen many beautiful women, but none could compare to Xie Ruolan, not even close. However, the woman before him was a beauty who could genuinely rival Xie Ruolan.

The woman was dressed in white palace attire, with a head of black hair that flowed like a beautiful silk ribbon, tied with a white silk band and hanging down her back. Her skin was as smooth as congealed fat, her eyebrows and eyes were beautifully drawn, and her red lips, especially, stood out vividly against her snow-white skin, making Lin Haoming feel an urge to taste them. Her slightly melancholic gaze also gave him the impulse to embrace her and comfort her.