Purchases

"Five spirit stones, five Baiyuan fruits, and ninety jin of spirit rice." Li Tongya counted the belongings on his person. Baiyuan fruits served as an auxiliary ingredient in most pills; without an alchemy heritage in the family yet, he could sell them first. As for the spirit rice, it was rich in spiritual energy and could be saved for eating back home. "I still owe Xiao Yuansi ten spirit stones." Li Tongya suddenly felt a headache coming on, thinking to himself, *Xiao Yuansi also looked like he knew he wouldn't get it back anytime soon, and that emissary left long ago. I'll just owe him for now... We can talk about it in a few years.* He wandered back and forth along the street for two rounds, seeing all kinds of spells and spiritual objects, but not once did he find any heritage for the arts of immortal cultivation. Li Tongya squatted down and rummaged through a stall before him. The vendor, veiled in black gauze, spoke up: "What is Fellow Daoist looking for?" The voice was soft and melodious—unexpectedly, a woman. Li Tongya smiled wryly and asked, "Does Fellow Daoist have any heritage for the arts of immortal cultivation?" "This must be your first time visiting a market," the woman chuckled and said. "Indeed." "The talismans, pills, and formations around Lixia Commandery come from nothing more than three sources: the Qingchi Sect, the aristocratic families, and rogue cultivators." The female cultivator smiled, her eyes brightly fixed on Li Tongya as she explained, "The Qingchi Sect is the largest supplier. In order to continuously harvest cheap raw materials and process them into finished goods to sell back to us, the Qingchi Sect has always forbidden any market under its rule from selling heritages of the cultivation arts. "As for the prominent clans and great families, who would put their family's rice bowl up for sale? They and the Qingchi Sect have an unspoken tacit understanding to lock down the circulation of these cultivation arts together, ensuring each gets a share of the pie." Li Tongya could not help nodding as he listened. Glancing up at the female cultivator, he asked with some confusion, "Are there really so many rogue cultivators in Lixia Commandery?" The female cultivator shook her head, leaning in slightly, and explained, "The State of Yue has tens of millions of people, and a single commandery has six to seven hundred thousand. Across the five commanderies ruled by Qingchi, one can certainly gather three to four thousand who possess spirit apertures, not to mention the enduring bloodlines of the great families. Cultivators likely number five thousand or more." "Fellow Daoist truly sees things clearly." Li Tongya glanced over the stall. The few talismans there were of little use, and he was reluctant to spend on them. "Three talismans for one spirit stone." Hearing this, Li Tongya quickly shifted his gaze away from the talismans, resting it upon a pale blue dharma sword before him. "Forged from Zhanyan stone and quenched in the freezing chill of snowy plains. Not only does it strike with lightning speed, but attacking an enemy also carries a biting frost." The female cultivator became noticeably more enthusiastic, saying with a smile, "This sword is wonderful to wield. If I hadn't recently acquired another dharma artifact, I wouldn't bear to sell it. It's yours for just ten spirit stones." With his purse truly empty, Li Tongya reluctantly cast his eyes across the stall. Seeing that the sky was about to turn dark, he picked up a dark-colored bow and arrow from the stall and said, "How about this bow?" "Oho! Forged from green ebony and strung with the sinew of a Qingyuan Wheel monster beast. Infuse it with magic power, and you can imbue the arrows with a sharp aura. I'll let you have it for four spirit stones." Li Tongya chuckled and replied, "Two spirit stones." "Not enough," the female cultivator shook her head. Li Tongya pointed at the bowstring and said, "Anyone can see this bow of yours has seen extensive use. Two spirit stones plus five Baiyuan fruits, equivalent to two and a half spirit stones, and sell it to me." The female cultivator gritted her teeth, looked at the fading light in the sky, and finally answered, "Deal." Li Tongya handed the spirit stones and spiritual fruit to the female cultivator, gathered the bow in his arms, and stood up. He tightened his grip on the three remaining spirit stones in his pouch. Seeing that some of the vendors at nearby stalls were already packing their belongings, he quickened his pace to browse through the market. The shops ahead all sold items for the Qi Refinement stage, which Li Tongya could not afford anyway, so he did not bother looking inside, keeping his head down as he searched through the stalls. After just a few steps, Li Tongya saw a youth dressed in hemp garments and an animal-skin vest standing by the roadside. Beside him stood a large iron cage holding over a dozen fluffy canine beasts. "Would Fellow Daoist care to look at these Suolin beasts?" The youth had been standing with a worried frown, but seeing Li Tongya stop to look at the canine beasts, he was overjoyed and hastened to explain, "These canine beasts are mild-tempered. Upon reaching adulthood, they possess the cultivation of the Chengming Wheel, the second wheel of Embryonic Breathing. With sharp teeth, they come and go like the wind. Tearing down dozens of mortals is no problem at all, and they only need a bit of spirit rice for daily feed..." Hearing this, Li Tongya immediately understood that this boy had likely not made a single sale all day. He said in a deep voice, "What use is tearing down mortals?" "This! This... These canine beasts are very clever. They can track scents on the wind and discern demonic qi..." "How much?" "One spirit stone each..." Li Tongya turned on his heel to leave. Startled, the youth's face flushed crimson, and he tugged at Li Tongya's hem, blurting out, "One spirit stone for two! Two!" Li Tongya had no choice but to stop, shaking his head helplessly as he explained, "These canine beasts look decent enough, but if they truly ran into a cultivator, a few spells from afar would finish them off. What's more, doesn't feeding them require spirit rice and monster meat? I don't even have enough of these cultivation resources for my own family, so how could I use them to feed these beasts..." The youth was taken aback, nodding thoughtfully, and pouted, "Fellow Daoist, please wait a moment. I have other things here." Only then did he retrieve a small silver box from his robes, saying with a look of anticipation, "This creature is called the Wuzuo worm. It can produce Wuzuo spirit silk. You only need to feed it spirit bran or other things containing spiritual energy. These worms have sharp teeth and aren't picky eaters; they eat spirit rice leaves or stalks. If you truly have no spiritual materials, a bit of lean animal meat can keep them alive so they won't starve." Hearing this, Li Tongya's interest was piqued. Taking the silver box, he saw several small, greenish-gray worms crawling about with bobbing heads, cushioned by a few mulberry leaves underneath. "What use is this Wuzuo spirit silk?" "It can be woven into spirit robes and silk fabrics, hard to harm with ordinary blades or spears, or it can be sold." Remembering that the family still had several batches of spirit leaves and stalks stored away, Li Tongya was tempted, yet he put on a troubled look and said, "I fear I won't be able to keep them alive..." "If Fellow Daoist is willing, I'll add an insect manual containing all the key secrets of rearing them, sold together with these spirit worms for only two spirit stones!" the youth gritted his teeth and pleaded eagerly. "Agreed," Li Tongya replied after pondering for a few breaths. Putting away the silver box and the wooden slip handed over by the youth, Li Tongya saw that the sky had completely darkened. He bade farewell to the boy and strolled over to the carriage. The coachman was dozing on the seat; Li Tongya chuckled softly and waited in silence. Wan Yuankai arrived looking wind-swept and travel-worn, a touch of joy hanging on his face. Seeing Li Tongya leaning against the carriage with the bow in his arms, he smiled and said, "What treasure did you get, Brother Tongya?" "Just a bow at the Embryonic Breathing level, hardly worth calling a treasure." Li Tongya smiled, boarded the carriage with him, and passed the bow over to Wan Yuankai. Seeing him test the string, Li Tongya asked, "How is it?" "It's green ebony and ox sinew." Wan Yuankai plucked the string, furrowing his brows as he examined it repeatedly, then replied, "At most three spirit stones. Any more, and you overpaid." Li Tongya chuckled and nodded upon hearing this. The two chatted for a few moments, each harboring their own thoughts beneath the murky night, and soon fell asleep in the swaying carriage.