Cloud Dream Market (Please Bookmark, Please Vote)

Four months later.

On Azure Stone Mountain, inside a cave halfway up the mountain, Ling Pengyun sat cross-legged on a meditation mat, his expression helpless as he muttered to himself.

"Over these four months, I used six Qi Refining Pills and twelve Yellow Sprout Pills, yet I still failed to break through my current realm!"

"I am now only one step away from the Qi Training Fifth Layer. If I had a few more Yellow Sprout Pills to aid me, I would definitely be able to break through my current cultivation and step into the Qi Training Fifth Layer!"

He took out all the spirit stones he possessed and counted them. Seeing that there were as many as ninety-three, an idea came to him.

Of those ninety-three spirit stones, twenty were meant to activate Azure Stone Mountain's Mountain Protection Formation. Only the remaining seventy-three spirit stones truly belonged to Ling Pengyun himself.

Early the next morning, Ling Pengyun descended Azure Stone Mountain and informed Azure Stone Village's Village Chief, "Ling Dong," that he would be leaving for a time. He told Ling Dong to lead the hundred Lingxiao Guards of Azure Stone Village in conducting more frequent patrols over the coming days.

Afterward, he took out the map of Huai River County's power distribution that Ling Ruda had given him when he left the clan and studied it carefully. He then took a Linen Daoist Robe from his Storage Bag, changed out of his Ling Clan Daoist Robe, and disguised himself as an itinerant cultivator. With the Light Body Technique cast upon himself, he fixed his direction and sprinted away.

An Yang County, where the Ling Clan was located, bordered Peaceful An County, which was likewise part of Huai River County.

The overlord of Peaceful An County was the Cloud Mist Wen Clan. Like the Lingxiao Ling Clan, they were a great Foundation Establishment clan. The Wen Clan's overall strength was about equal to that of the Ling Clan, and their history was much the same. They had originally both been minor Qi Training clans, but after their Clan Heads broke through to Foundation Establishment, they followed the Hundred Spirits Sect in seizing territory and rendered meritorious service. In the newly developed Huai River County, the Hundred Spirits Sect bestowed upon them each a Second Rank spirit vein, allowing them to become great Foundation Establishment clans and dominate an entire county.

Within their own territory, the Wen Clan had established a small trading market for nearby itinerant cultivators and clan cultivators to trade spirit items.

Ling Pengyun's destination on this journey was the Cloudmist Gathering.

Although Cloud Mist Market was also over a thousand li away from Azure Stone Mountain, where Ling Pengyun was located, it was still half as far as the Lingxiao Market established by the Ling Clan and the clan mountain.

Basically, Foundation Establishment Families throughout the Cultivation World would establish small markets within their territories. This gave them another means of selling spirit items and increasing clan income.

As for the main customers who came to such markets to buy spirit items, they were mostly the biggest suckers in the Cultivation World—the itinerant cultivators.

Huai River County bordered the Ten Thousand Desolate Wilds Demon Python Lake region, where demon beasts roamed unchecked. Thus, although Huai River County had only been established for four years, quite a few itinerant cultivators had still drifted into the county city. This ensured that the markets established within the territory by the Five Great Clans, including Huai River Market Town, all enjoyed fairly good business.

The Ling Clan had likewise established a small market called Lingxiao Market near Lingxiao Mountain.

Clan members dispatched to guard low-rank spirit mountains were not permitted to leave their posts for long periods.

First, this was to prevent demon beasts from endangering the mortal villages established beside those low-rank spirit mountains.

Second, it was to prevent itinerant cultivators or demon beasts from seizing the low-rank spirit mountains, resulting in the spirit plants cultivated upon them being stolen.

It was precisely because he had considered these two reasons that Ling Pengyun chose instead to head for the closer Cloud Mist Market in Peaceful An County.

At night, after traveling more than a thousand li, Ling Pengyun arrived outside a valley shrouded in mist, following the location marked on the map in his hand.

"This mist outside the valley should be just like the mist outside our Ling Clan's market—it is formed by an array that protects the market. Normally, it merely blocks the sight of mortals, but if the market comes under attack and the City Protection Array is fully activated, this mist will surely intensify more than tenfold. Even Qi Training Late Stage cultivators would likely be trapped within it, unable to escape!" Ling Pengyun gazed at the vast sea of mist before him, a trace of wariness appearing in his eyes.

After hesitating for a moment, Ling Pengyun finally stepped into the mist.

After all, for a market to endure, it had to rely on its reputation. There was simply no need to damage that reputation by relying on the array to trap and kill a Qi Training Fourth Layer cultivator like Ling Pengyun.

After entering the mist, Ling Pengyun silently recited an incantation and cast the Aura Observation Technique.

With the Aura Observation Technique's aid, the mist that merely obscured one's vision was as good as nonexistent. Ling Pengyun quickly reached the entrance to the valley within the mist.

On a huge boulder above the valley entrance were carved four large characters: "Cloud Mist Market"!

At the valley entrance sat a middle-aged man in a Blue Daoist Robe, clouds embroidered along his cuffs.

When the man saw Ling Pengyun arrive, he rose to his feet and spoke in an indifferent tone.

"Fellow Daoist, I am a guard of Cloud Mist Market. Do you have an entry-and-exit token for Cloud Mist Market?"

Ling Pengyun sized up the blue-robed middle-aged man blocking his path. Seeing the pattern on his Blue Daoist Robe, which was the emblem of the Cloud Mist Wen Clan, he guessed the man's identity as a guardian of Cloud Mist Market. There was no need to guess at the man's cultivation either—Ling Pengyun knew he was at least at the Qi Training Late Stage.

Ling Clan's Lingxiao Market was likewise guarded by an Old Ancestor of the Ru generation at the Qi Training Late Stage.

Knowing the rule that one needed to spend spirit stones to purchase an entry token, Ling Pengyun said no more and directly tossed a spirit stone to the middle-aged man.

"I do not."

The blue-robed middle-aged man caught the spirit stone, took out a token from his robes with the character "Wen" inscribed on its front and the words "Entry and Exit" inscribed on its back, then handed it to Ling Pengyun.

He then said with a smile, "I hope Fellow Daoist will not lose this token. Our Cloud Mist Wen Clan's market recognizes tokens, not people."

"I have guarded Cloudwater Market Town for more than ten years. You look unfamiliar, Fellow Daoist, so I presume this is your first visit to our Wen Clan's market. Let me say one more thing: our Wen Clan Head is a Second Rank Low Grade Weapon Refiner, and our Wen Clan is also a Weapon Refinement Clan. If Fellow Daoist intends to purchase a magical artifact, you may go to the Cloudmist Hundred Weapons Hall at the very back of the market! The quality of the magical artifacts in that shop is guaranteed! They even have quite a few First Rank High Grade magical artifacts!"

Ling Pengyun was somewhat tempted upon hearing this. The Cloud Mist Wen Clan's reputation as a Weapon Refinement Clan was indeed no falsehood, and the quality of the magical artifacts they sold was indeed quite good.

The Mystic Iron Sword in his hand had been made by the Cloud Mist Wen Clan.

"Mm. If I need anything, I will certainly go there," Ling Pengyun said.

The blue-robed middle-aged man moved aside, clearing the path into the valley.

Ling Pengyun nodded lightly and followed the bluestone street beneath his feet into the market.

Azure Stone Market was not large, merely a small valley spanning a few hundred zhang.

Along both sides of the main street, more than a dozen cultivators who appeared to be itinerant cultivators had set up stalls. Seeing Ling Pengyun enter the market, they began shouting out the goods at their stalls.

"Fine Water Spirit Rice! Ten and a half jin for one spirit stone! Fellow Daoist, would you like to buy some? The spirit rice I sell gives you half a jin more than the market price!"

"Low-grade magical artifact, Gold Spirit Sword! Only thirty spirit stones! Fellow Daoist, come take a look!"

"..."

Five years ago, when the Ling Clan had still been a Qi Training clan and its clan grounds were in Cloudwater County, Ling Pengyun had once visited Cloudwater Market Town, where his parents worked.

At that time, he had followed his parents to the market's distinctive stall district. At first, he had been quite interested in how the stall district operated, but his parents told him there were scarcely any good items there. After confirming it for himself, he found that it was indeed just as they had said.

Thus, Ling Pengyun directly ignored the cries of the stallholders in Cloud Mist Market and headed straight for the five shops in the depths of the market.