"You have an excellent eye, brother. This Nether Scripture is top-notch among water-attribute foundational cultivation methods!"
The stall owner was a short, plump man who looked to be in his thirties or forties. Without waiting for Qin Sang to ask, he launched enthusiastically into a sales pitch. "Among water-attribute foundational methods, the Nether Scripture is second to none! Cultivating it tempers the physical body to an extraordinary degree and sharpens the five senses far beyond what other arts can offer, giving you every advantage in combat. At just fifteen spirit stones, I'm practically giving it away!"
Qin Sang flipped through several pages. His own copy ended after the sixth layer, but this manual continued past that point. Flipping further back, he found all thirteen layers complete!
The Nether Scripture indeed corresponded one-to-one with the tiers of the Qi Refinement stage.
Qin Sang maintained an impassive expression. Walking along earlier, he had seen many stalls selling foundational methods, most fetching five or six spirit stones at most. Clearly, foundational cultivation methods were nothing rare in the cultivation world, yet this Nether Scripture was being offered for fifteen spirit stones.
His Water-Congealing Barrier talisman was only worth eight spirit stones, so he would have to make up the difference with his own stones. He naturally had no intention of throwing money away and was just about to haggle when someone nearby suddenly shouted.
"It's bad enough that you cheat people with your deceitful lies, you crooked merchant! But to dupe someone into switching to the Nether Scripture just for a few spirit stones—has a dog eaten your conscience?!"
Startled, Qin Sang turned toward the speaker. Two youths who had just been browsing at a nearby stall had stood up. One of them was burly and ruggedly featured, with a full beard, and was glaring furiously at the vendor.
The other youth was far frailer. He anxiously tugged at his companion's arm while offering strained, apologetic smiles to Qin Sang and the stall owner.
From his tone, could there be some drawback to the Nether Scripture?
Qin Sang's brows furrowed deeply.
With good business suddenly disrupted, the vendor glared furiously at the burly youth and cursed, "One's willing to sell and the other's willing to buy—nobody's forcing anyone! What the hell has it got to do with you? Who asked you to butt in?!"
The burly youth snorted, shook off his companion's grip, and strode over. With wide, ox-like eyes full of righteous indignation, he declared, "You swindler! The Nether Scripture is one of the hardest foundational methods to cultivate! Progress is painfully slow, and breaking through bottlenecks is far more difficult than with other methods. Compared to its flaws, those minor benefits aren't even worth mentioning! Nobody would want it even for five spirit stones, yet you dare ask for fifteen! On top of that, you only mentioned the benefits and concealed the drawbacks, tricking someone into switching to the Nether Scripture and ruining their path of cultivation. If you're not a crooked merchant, what are you?!"
Qin Sang was taken aback. As he had cultivated it all this way, aside from the bottleneck he faced when breaking through to the third layer, he had never felt it was particularly difficult.
Furthermore, according to Zhen Ming, some cultivators could never reach the tenth layer of Qi Refinement in their entire lives. He had reached the fifth layer in under five years—surely that could not be considered slow?
Something stirred in Qin Sang's mind. He flipped a few more pages back and indeed noticed something.
In this copy of the Nether Scripture, there was not a single mention of the Yanluo Banner!
The youth spoke loudly, drawing the attention of everyone nearby.
The vendor's face flushed crimson. He wished he could slash the burly youth down with a sword, but fighting was forbidden in the cultivation market, and the burly youth's cultivation seemed no weaker than his own.
Unable to best him in a fight, the vendor fumed in frustration, arguing indignantly, "I hadn't even finished introducing it! I was just about to get to its drawbacks when you jumped out! Besides, this Nether Scripture of mine isn't just the complete text—it also includes many water-attribute incantations I personally handpicked at the back. It's well worth fifteen spirit stones! If you don't know what you're talking about, stay out of it!"
Qin Sang nodded. "There are indeed a few, but they are all very common incantations."
He had noticed a list of incantations at the very end of the book earlier. The Object Manipulation Technique and Qi-Watching Technique were prominently featured, followed by names that sounded exceedingly formidable, like Mist Locks the Broad River and Frozen Across Ten Thousand Li.
Both the cultivation method and the incantations were things he urgently needed right now.
"Brother, stop talking!"
"Senior, please forgive us. My brother just acted on impulse..."
The frail youth pulled at his companion with all his might, repeatedly apologizing to Qin Sang and the vendor. Only after whispering a few persuasive words in the burly youth's ear did he manage to drag the huffing youth away.
Qin Sang had not expected to find someone with such a strong sense of justice in the cultivation world. It had spared him the trouble of haggling. Seeing them about to leave, he quickly set down the manual, stepped forward to stop them, and cupped his hands. "I am Qin Sang. Greetings, brothers. May I ask your names?"
The frail youth seemed somewhat shy. Lowering his head slightly, he said, "Tan Jie greets Brother Qin. This is my elder brother, Tan Hao. He acted on impulse and caused Brother Qin trouble. I hope Brother Qin won't take offense."
The two looked nothing alike, yet they were actually brothers?
Qin Sang was secretly surprised. *Why would I blame you? I can hardly thank you enough.*
"Second Brother Tan is too polite. I must thank both of you for your guidance; otherwise, I might have strayed onto the wrong path. Fate has brought us together, not to mention the great kindness you two have shown me. There is a Drunken Immortal Pavilion just ahead. I would gladly have the establishment prepare some modest wine so we may sit down and chat, as a small token of my gratitude. Would you do me the honor?"
He did not know the background of the restaurants on the bluestone street and did not dare enter them, but the taverns outside accepted silver.
To his surprise, Tan Hao did not appreciate the gesture at all. He said coldly, "I just couldn't stand watching a swindler cheat someone. I would have done the same for anyone else. There's no need for your thanks, and I have no time to drink your wine. Out of the way!"
"Brother!"
Tan Jie grimaced and cupped his hands to Qin Sang. "Brother Qin, please don't take it to heart. That's just my brother's temper... We truly do have urgent business to attend to. If the opportunity arises in the future, we would be glad to share a drink and chat with Brother Qin."
The Tan brothers hurried off. Qin Sang scratched his head in amusement. To think there were such hotheaded, reckless youths even among cultivators. Still, they had done him a great favor, so Qin Sang didn't mind such minor matters.
Qin Sang glanced at the stall owner and turned to leave.
"Brother! Brother Qin! Please wait!"
The vendor hastily stepped out, catching hold of Qin Sang, and said with righteous conviction, "Brother Qin, you mustn't be misled by that rash brat! Choosing a cultivation method depends entirely on whether it suits you—how could you let someone else's words sway you? Besides, the Nether Scripture isn't the only manual I have here. Why don't you take another close look? We can negotiate the price!"
Hearing Tan Hao's remarks and the murmurs from the crowd earlier, Qin Sang had realized that hardly anyone ever bought the Nether Scripture. Who knew how long the fat vendor had had it on display? Having finally snagged an interested customer, he certainly would not let him go easily. That was why Qin Sang had pretended to leave.
His guess had proven right.
Allowing himself to be pulled back with feigned reluctance, Qin Sang said hesitatingly, "To tell the truth, brother, I'm not lacking in cultivation methods. I simply had never seen the Nether Scripture before and thought to buy it to cross-reference with my own method. But since it's so difficult to cultivate, it probably won't be of much use to me, and the price is so steep..."
Chapter 55