Speaking Is Forbidden on Merchant Street

The Dao Sect's Immortal Artifact Appreciation Conference was a renowned grand event across the Nine Provinces, held once every century. Any cultivator could attend. For forces possessing immortal artifacts, it was a rare opportunity to exchange insights. Though it was called an appreciation conference, it was really a contest of immortal artifacts.

For other cultivators, it was a place to watch the battles, buy and sell treasures, and display their own valuables. The various merchant guilds were also rubbing their hands together in anticipation, stationing themselves there early, setting up temporary branches within the Dao Sect to sell and auction treasures, ready to make a grand showing.

With the Dao Sect vouching for the event, no one dared use their cultivation to bully others into lowering prices, nor would anyone dare murder and rob people after an auction ended.

More than eighty years had passed since the last Immortal Artifact Appreciation Conference. This time, because the Yin-Yang Heaven Seal had refined itself through one transformation, the Dao Sect convened the conference early.

"Are you going to browse Merchant Street?" Jiang Li asked after leaving Sealed Self Cave.

"Huh?" Pure Heart Saintess had not expected Jiang Li to ask such a question. She actually very much wanted to stroll through Merchant Street. She did not necessarily have to buy anything, but she definitely wanted to look around.

But with the flying boat incident as a lesson, and considering Jiang Li's personality, if she said she wanted to visit Merchant Street, he might simply say, "Then go ahead and browse. I'll be leaving first."

So, going against her heart, she said, "No. What's so interesting about Merchant Street? I'm not going."

"Oh, then you go ahead. I'll take a look around." Jiang Li left after saying that, walking off by himself and leaving Pure Heart Saintess standing there, disheveled in the wind.

Pure Heart Saintess stamped her feet in anger. Gritting her teeth, she still followed after him.

Just as Jiang Li had resolved earlier, he had come to the conference for a vacation. He had no particular goal, only wanting to wander around and visit friends.

"Hm, didn't you say Merchant Street was boring?" Jiang Li had been walking alone when Pure Heart Saintess unexpectedly caught up with him so quickly.

"Oh, what a beautiful flower." Unable to answer Jiang Li's question, Pure Heart Saintess turned and crouched down, pretending to be drawn in by the flowers and plants at a small stall.

And the flower really was beautiful. From its petals to its stem, it was snow-white throughout. A thin layer of frost had condensed over the petals, and under the sunlight, the frost glimmered faintly with seven-colored radiance.

"Fairy, you have a sharp eye. I squatted in the lands of extreme cold for an entire month before finally finding this Ice Crystal Flower. It is greatly beneficial to those with Ice Spiritual Roots and may give them a chance to comprehend Extreme Cold Ice Intent!" The vendor enthusiastically promoted the Ice Crystal Flower. Ice Spiritual Roots were mutated Single Spirit Roots, and cultivators possessing them were extremely rare. He had been troubled by his inability to sell the Ice Crystal Flower, so he had come to the Immortal Artifact Appreciation Conference to try his luck.

He thought Pure Heart Saintess was a cultivator with an Ice Spiritual Root.

After asking the price, Pure Heart Saintess bought it directly without bargaining.

She had a Wood Spiritual Root, and the Ice Crystal Flower was useless to her. But that was fine. As long as it looked good, that was enough.

Flush with money, Pure Heart Saintess bought whatever she saw, regardless of whether it was real or fake, and regardless of its use. Her only criterion for buying was whether it looked good.

Pure Heart Saintess was breathtakingly charming and extravagantly wealthy, quickly drawing people's attention.

Jiang Li, meanwhile, wore a mask, so no one paid him any attention. The mask looked exactly like himself.

The Human Emperor Jiang Mask, beloved by children, cost one Low-Grade Spirit Stone each.

"What a beautiful woman. Bring her to me. I want her as my eighth imperial consort!" the Wei Emperor's youngest son ordered his subordinate.

The subordinate hesitated, then tried to dissuade him. "Before the Imperial Concubine left, she specifically told you not to cause trouble in the Dao Sect."

At that moment, the Wei Emperor was still immersed in the grief of never seeing Red Dust Fairy again for the rest of his life. He had no interest in governing and no interest in attending the conference, so he had his youngest son attend the Dao Sect conference in his place.

The Wei Emperor's youngest son glared, frightening the subordinate into silence. Everyone knew that, relying on the Wei Emperor's favor, he acted without restraint in Great Wei, bullying men and tyrannizing women. His methods of dealing with people were also exceptionally cruel. If they had a choice, they would never want to serve the young prince.

"We received a report that you are causing trouble here. Come with us." Two Dao Sect disciples approached the Wei Emperor's youngest son expressionlessly. Seeing that he did not move, they prepared to take action.

"You dare?! I am a prince of Great Wei!"

The Wei Emperor's youngest son panicked. The Six Great Sects and the Nine Great Imperial Dynasties stood on equal footing. As a prince, he was equivalent to a Dao Sect core disciple. How could the Dao Sect dare treat him like this? The two Dao Sect core disciples curled their lips. Causing trouble beside Human Emperor Jiang? Never mind a prince—even if his father came, it would be useless.

The subordinate put up a token resistance, then watched helplessly as the prince was taken away by the Dao Sect.

As a Spirit Transformation Stage cultivator, it was normal for me to be unable to defeat Nascent Soul Realm cultivators from the Dao Sect, right?

"What did I even do for you to take me away?!" Seeing his subordinate ignore him and the Dao Sect show no fear of him, he panicked. I haven't even done anything bad yet! "Speaking is forbidden on Merchant Street!"

The Wei Emperor's youngest son stared at the noisy Merchant Street in disbelief. This excuse was far too perfunctory!

I could accept it if you said my left foot stepped onto Merchant Street first—no, I couldn't accept that either! The Dao Sect core disciples did not care what he thought and dragged him away.

From Jiang Li's perspective, Merchant Street was filled with bargains waiting to be picked up. A peerless sword art was engraved on a blade of grass, a dew-catching tray was actually the key to some Secret Realm, and a demon beast's leg bone contained a drop of true blood from a Body Integration Realm demon beast...

If Jiang Li wanted to pick up bargains, he could find ninety-nine percent of the good items on Merchant Street.

But those things were completely useless to him. He might as well leave them for the younger generation.

Jiang Li saw advertisements for an auction again. The advertisements listed the items to be auctioned and mysteriously claimed there would be a finale treasure, so he went inside to take a look.

"A Top-Grade Spiritual Treasure, the Demon-Slaying Flying Sword! Its power against the Demon Race increases by thirty percent! Starting bid: five hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones!"

"Five hundred and twelve!"

"One thousand and twenty-four!"

"Two thousand and forty-eight!"

"Four thousand and ninety-six!"

Jiang Li called out the first bid, causing the subsequent bids to rise exponentially. The auctioneer's face twitched as he listened.

He had worked in the trade for thirty years, yet he had never seen anyone bid like this. Couldn't they call out whole numbers?

What was even more interesting was that the Demon Race was most interested in this flying sword. They were the ones who drove up the price, and in the end, it was bought by a member of the Demon Race.

"Why is that?" Pure Heart Saintess could not understand. She had thought that the human race near the Bai Ze Imperial Dynasty would be interested in the flying sword, since they constantly faced attacks from demon beasts.

"It increases its power against the Demon Race, so wouldn't defeating their own kind become easier? That's how the Demon Race thinks." Jiang Li explained helplessly. "Defeat their own kind, the weak are meat for the strong, the strong are honored, bloodlines are honored—in short, there is no unity or drive to improve."

What followed were things like top-grade Longevity Pills, Dragon-Tiger Strength Pills, Yuheng Bronze Mirrors, Buddhist prayer beads, and so on, all fervently sought after by the cultivators below.

But to Jiang Li and Pure Heart Saintess, they were all quite ordinary things. Even if given to them for free, they would have no use for them.

The mysterious finale treasure was a Dao Artifact: a great hammer containing the Dream Dao. It could knock someone unconscious and send them into the Dream Realm.

Jiang Li thought about it for a long time but still could not understand what, exactly, this great hammer was supposed to do.