All four had bought books that suited their tastes. Driven by an interest in history, Man Gu purchased a copy of *Unofficial History of Great Xia*.
It contained a great many stories so scandalous and wild that even Meng Jingzhou—an insider privy to royal gossip—found them quite unhinged.
Regardless, the four were thoroughly satisfied.
As they strolled on, they noticed fewer and fewer mortals around them while the number of cultivators grew, as though an invisible force was separating mortals from practitioners.
Lan Ting sent a voice transmission to the other three: "An expulsion array has been laid nearby. Mortals are unconsciously nudged to stay away, while cultivators remain unaffected."
Realization dawned upon Meng Jingzhou, and he recalled a rumor he had picked up during his idle wanderings. "It's the monthly cultivator market. It must have opened ahead of schedule because of the Spring-Plucking Festival."
The Spring-Plucking Festival drew not only mortals, but cultivators as well.
This was an orderly, legitimate market rather than the kind of black market where killings and robberies frequently occurred; the four could even spot constables patrolling the area.
Even so, many within the market still chose to conceal their identities with veils, black cloaks, and similar disguises.
This was quite common. Some cultivators lived among ordinary mortals under the guise of commoners; wouldn't their cover be blown if they showed their true faces here?
Lu Yang and his companions were no exception.
The four had different methods of concealing themselves: Meng Jingzhou and Man Gu chose to don black cloaks, thinking it set the right mood, and Meng Jingzhou even let out a few villainous chuckles.
Lan Ting took off her transformation talisman, revealing a face as stunning and pure as a lotus blooming from clear water. She had used her real appearance all along while investigating demonic cult leads across Yanjiang Commandery.
Lu Yang conferred with Meng Jingzhou: "How about I perform a set of Imitation Fist and turn into you?"
His suggestion was answered by Meng Jingzhou slapping the tofu mask straight onto his face.
Lu Yang put on the tofu mask.
The interior of the market was brimming with an atmosphere unique to the cultivation world. An immense protective barrier enveloped the entire grounds, radiating soft light that starkly contrasted with the world outside. Cultivators who hadn't seen each other in ages sipped drinks at roadside taverns, chatting merrily about their recent adventures; cultivators haggled fiercely over prices with vendors, each trying to squeeze a few extra spirit stones out of the other; the local magistrate had even erected dueling stages where practitioners eager to test their spells could spar to their hearts' content.
"Come take a look! Step right up! Vigor Pills refined with an ancestral secret recipe! Swallow a single pill and possess infinite strength!"
Finding it amusing, Lu Yang followed the shout and found that it came from an apothecary.
Evidently, this apothecary was run by cultivators, though whether the hawker was an apprentice or an alchemist remained unclear.
"How many spirit stones for a pill?"
The alchemist apprentice replied, "Ten spirit stones a pill! Buy three, get one free; buy five, get two free!"
The modest price indicated that the pill wasn't intended for someone at the Foundation Establishment stage like Lu Yang, but rather for those in Qi Refinement.
Lu Yang thought about buying a couple as souvenirs. This was the first time he had seen pills refined by someone outside the Dao Seeking Sect. "What are the effects?"
"It boosts strength for a short period. Once the power fades, you fall into a weakened state for half a day."
Lu Yang bought one and was about to leave when a constable walked in. Lu Yang recognized him—his surname was Sun, and he was Constable Wei's aide.
"I've received a report claiming your Vigor Pills involve false advertising."
The apprentice froze. False advertising?
Constable Sun explained earnestly, "According to the law, commercial advertisements are strictly forbidden from using superlative or absolute terms like 'most' or 'infinite.'"
"Our investigation revealed that your Vigor Pills are only suitable for cultivators at the third layer of Qi Refinement or below, and they possess no such effect as 'infinite strength.' Consider this a warning; we expect you to rectify it immediately."
The apprentice nodded meekly. As Lu Yang stepped out, he heard a new call carry from the shop:
"Come take a look! Step right up! Vigor Pills refined with an ancestral secret recipe! Swallow a single pill and possess limited strength!"
It suddenly struck Lu Yang that the Ten-Ox-Strength Pills refined by Senior Brother Wu Ming were truly beyond reproach—they didn't even have the problem of false advertising so rampant in the pill trade.
Meng Jingzhou had seen his fair share of the world and had respectable alchemists back home, so run-of-the-mill trinkets held little interest for him.
"What on earth is this?"
Meng Jingzhou picked up an oddity from a street stall—two wooden sticks glued together at right angles. "A batter spreader for jianbing? They're selling this in a cultivator market?"
The stall owner was a bearded, middle-aged man with a solemn, aloof demeanor. He had his eyes closed in repose, only deigning to open them when Meng Jingzhou spoke. He carried the unmistakable air of a grand artifact-crafting master.
"This object is called the Skyflight Stick. Place it atop your head, activate it with spiritual energy, and it will spin and lift you into the sky. It can be operated with merely the seventh layer of Qi Refinement."
Meng Jingzhou was taken aback. This little market truly had hidden dragons and crouching tigers to house such an artifact-crafting master.
Under normal circumstances, only Golden Core stage cultivators could fly through the air. Any exceptions required special techniques—like Lu Yang riding a flying sword while still in the Foundation Establishment stage, or using Imitation Fist to transform into a crane.
Whether through normal or unconventional means, the bare minimum threshold was Foundation Establishment.
Meng Jingzhou had never heard of anyone taking to the sky at the seventh layer of Qi Refinement.
A cultivator at the seventh layer possessed meager magic power, far too little to drive a flight-type spiritual treasure.
"I see you don't believe me. No matter; allow me to demonstrate." Full of confidence, the bearded man produced a wooden puppet.
He strapped the Skyflight Stick to the puppet, caused a wisp of spiritual qi to emerge from his fingertip, and struck the stick.
As if jolting awake, the Skyflight Stick began to spin slowly, picking up speed until it was nothing more than a blur.
The stick lifted into the air, carrying the puppet aloft with it. Everything appeared completely flawless.
If one insisted on finding a flaw, it was that the spinning stick forced the wooden puppet to whirl along with it. Centered on its head, the puppet's entire body revolved at high speed, perfectly matching the frequency of the stick!
If a person were beneath that Skyflight Stick, their brains would have been churned into mush.
"See? What did I say about our puppets' quality? It spins so fast, yet doesn't fall apart at all! I'm not boasting—even against a Foundation Establishment cultivator, this puppet of mine could hold its own in a fight! The price is a steal: a flat eight hundred!"
"Get out of here!" Meng Jingzhou finally caught on. The man wasn't selling the Skyflight Stick at all—he was using it as a gimmick to peddle his puppet!
Clearly, this market was rife with tricks and deceit. Sincere folk like Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou were rare finds indeed.
The four prepared to head over to the Falling Coin Chamber of Commerce's section. Things were more formal there, and none of these absurdities would occur.
"Honored guests, would you care for a divination?"
A voice called out beside them. Lu Yang turned to look and saw a fortune teller with an Eight Trigrams banner hanging behind him, which read: *Divining heaven and earth is not as useful as divining men.* His stall looked desolate, devoid of any customers.
Seeing that the four had noticed him, the fortune teller added, "No charge if it isn't accurate! Care to give it a try?"
Lu Yang noticed the assortment of tools spread across his table: an Eight Trigrams plate, dice, the Four Treasures of the Study, nine copper coins, a crystal ball...
Literally every divination tool imaginable was laid out.
Was this man reliable?
And why was there a crystal ball?
Chapter 92