Purchase

Though they were mundane items, if used well, they could still produce excellent results. Lin Xuan had always been meticulous, leaving no drop of water unaccounted for. Although he had decided to approach the honest-looking young man in a deserted place to buy his Talismans, and the fellow appeared trustworthy enough, Lin Xuan still did not intend to trade with him in his true appearance, just in case.

This Disguise Mask could alter a person's appearance. Of course, such a petty trick could not fool the divine sense of a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, but that young man was clearly a Spirit Movement Stage disciple like himself. So long as he did not deliberately use a Spell to inspect him, it would be impossible for him to discover Lin Xuan's true face.

Moreover, deliberately using the "Reveal Technique" to examine another person was, by the rules of cultivators, an extremely discourteous act that could even be considered hostile. He was a major customer coming to the man's door; Lin Xuan believed that no matter how dull-witted that young man might be, he would not do something so rash and foolish.

After running through every possible scenario in his mind, Lin Xuan decided that nothing could go wrong and there were no flaws. He put on the Disguise Mask, and his appearance immediately changed completely. He became a burly man with a dark purplish face and coarse features.

Then, Lin Xuan placed a small round object beneath his tongue. This, too, was something he had bought from the mundane martial world, a little item capable of changing one's voice.

Once everything was ready, Lin Xuan emerged from behind the large tree and continued following behind the young man at an unhurried pace. After walking for roughly a quarter of an hour, they arrived at a relatively secluded place.

It was time to act!

Lin Xuan looked around. There was no one nearby, so he quickened his pace. "Fellow Daoist, please wait!"

"You are...?" The honest-looking young man turned around and gave Lin Xuan a puzzled look. A trace of wariness flashed through his eyes as he hesitated before asking, "Fellow Daoist, why have you stopped me?"

Lin Xuan saw the guarded expression on his face perfectly clearly, and he could not help feeling slightly impressed. Though this young man looked slow and dim-witted, his mind was rather careful. He knew to be vigilant when encountering a stranger. Still, he was too green; the expression on his face was far too obvious.

Lin Xuan smiled and stepped forward, deliberately pretending not to see the other man's wary expression. "I am Zhao Gang. I wish to buy your Talismans."

"You want to buy Talismans?"

The young man was overjoyed and immediately flung his caution beyond the nine skies. "Fellow Daoist, you truly want to buy them? Wonderful! How many do you want?"

It was no wonder he was so delighted. He had set up his stall for three days without selling a single Talisman. Now that he finally had his first sale, of course he was excited. Most young people were impatient and impetuous; those as steady and mature as Lin Xuan were few and far between.

"How many do you have?"

Hearing the question in return, the young man was first stunned, then grinned so broadly that he could not close his mouth. "Hehe, Fellow Daoist, could it be that you need a great many? Let me count."

As he spoke, he pulled a thick stack of Talismans from his robes and bent his head to count them. Lin Xuan remained calm and unreadable, neither pleased nor impatient, waiting leisurely at the side.

He had chosen this place to stop the young man only after careful consideration. Very few people traveled this road; on average, someone would pass by only every half an hour or so. There was no need to hurry. They had more than enough time.

"There are one hundred and eight Talismans in total." The young man soon finished counting. "How many does Fellow Daoist want?"

"Mm, I'll take them all."

"All of them?" The young man's mouth fell open, joy rising to his brows. This was even better than he had imagined. Delighted, he said, "Since that is the case, I'll be straightforward as well. Originally, it was one low-grade Marrow Cleansing Pill for every two Talismans, but since Fellow Daoist is buying so many, I'll give you a discount. Just give me a round figure—fifty pills will do."

Fifty. Lin Xuan calculated silently. Based on the market prices he had learned today, that was not expensive. It was essentially just the cost of making the Talismans, and to him it was even less worth mentioning.

Though he agreed inwardly, Lin Xuan did not immediately take out the pills. Instead, he put on a pained expression and pondered for a long while. Only when the young man had waited so anxiously that he was nearly unable to remain composed did Lin Xuan sigh and say as if making an enormous decision, "Sigh, who told me I urgently need these Talismans? Fine, it's a deal."

Upon hearing those words, the young man finally let out a breath of relief and grinned foolishly as he chuckled.

"Sigh, I spent several hard years saving up these pills. This is my entire fortune." As Lin Xuan muttered, he took five jade bottles from his robes.

This was another sign of Lin Xuan's cleverness: he never overlooked small details. A single bottle could hold one hundred pills, but that would have been too conspicuous. So Lin Xuan had deliberately split them up, placing ten pills in each bottle. This created the illusion that they had been painstakingly accumulated over time, drawing no attention.

Payment in one hand, goods in the other. The young man happily accepted the pills, while Lin Xuan began checking the Talismans. There was no mistake. Lin Xuan did not wish to delay any longer. "Zhao bids you farewell."

"Take care, Fellow Daoist." The young man also cupped his hands in salute. This transaction had left everyone delighted.

After returning to the Post House and eating lunch, Lin Xuan used his identity waist token to remove the Restriction and return to his room. His gains that morning had been plentiful. Although these one hundred and eight Talismans were somewhat tasteless, their value lay in their sheer quantity. With them, his strength had increased by another fraction.

He had also gained a clear understanding of the market. He now had a rough grasp of the prices of all kinds of cultivation items, giving him a few more degrees of confidence in acquiring an intermediate cultivation technique tomorrow.

No, he was determined to get it!

Lin Xuan lay on the bed and rested for a while. Judging by the time, the cultivators should have all finished eating, and the afternoon market had begun. He decided to take another stroll. Staying in his room was boring anyway, and perhaps he might find some useful treasure to pick up.

With that thought in mind, Lin Xuan returned to the square. It was even livelier now, with the number of people increasing further. It seemed that as the Treasure Trade Fair drew nearer, more and more cultivators were arriving.

Though the cries of vendors were lively, there were not many useful things for Lin Xuan. He was merely a mid-stage Spirit Movement cultivator, but in terms of wealth, he was richer than most Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators. Naturally, ordinary items did not catch his eye.

Of course, it was not as though he gained nothing. After wandering around for the entire afternoon, Lin Xuan still bought a few things: Spirit Stones.

When he saw them at a stall, Lin Xuan was genuinely surprised. After all, these stones, containing abundant spiritual energy of heaven and earth, were immensely useful. They had great uses in cultivation, artifact forging, and combat, and rarely appeared in the hands of low-level cultivators.

Therefore, when he saw those two water-attributed Spirit Stones, Lin Xuan did not hesitate in the slightest. He immediately bought them and tucked them away.