Lay Out Your Wares and Let Me See (Seeking Follow-up Reading)

Lay Out Your Wares and Let Me See (Seeking Follow-up Reading) Taihang Market was as bustling as ever, packed with people and clamorous voices.

Overhead, dense bamboo leaves cast patch after patch of golden light.

This blend of deep mountains and bustling market streets gave Ye Jingcheng an exceptional sense of enjoyment.

Unlike his first time entering the market, when he had been busy noting this and remembering that, this stroll was far more leisurely.

Unfortunately, he had come with a task this time as well.

And he still had to put on an anxious appearance.

The four of them had split up to browse separately. Ye Jingcheng was more than happy with that arrangement. None of them entered the market's shops; instead, they headed for the stalls.

People at the stalls wore all manner of clothing, and most had bamboo hats on, their heads lowered so deeply that their full faces could not be seen.

In the Cultivation World, using divine sense to examine another cultivator was an extremely impolite provocation.

Naturally, Ye Jingcheng would not do such a thing. Though he walked with apparent urgency, he took interest in every stall, as though he were desperately searching for something.

He paid particular attention to stalls selling Spirit Herbs.

If most Rogue Cultivators acquired good Spirit Herbs but felt the shops offered too low a price or tried to haggle them down, they would choose to sell them at the stalls instead.

Thus, quite a few stalls sold Spirit Herbs.

As for good Dharma Artifacts and Spirit Talismans, Rogue Cultivators did not even have enough for themselves, so naturally they would not put them up for sale.

Some stalls also sold spirit pills, but they were all First-Order Grade-Low and First-Order Grade-Middle. Ye Jingcheng examined them one by one several times, even symbolically asking about the Qi Return Pills, Qi Blood Pills, and other pills included in their large order.

The only response he received was a shake of the head.

Clearly, those pills on the market had already been swept clean by someone with ulterior motives.

The Earth Fire Rooms had also been controlled. Unless Foundation Building Cultivators refined such pills there, these types of pills likely would not appear again for several months.

After browsing more than a dozen stalls, Ye Jingcheng still had not found anything he liked, much less the Spirit Herbs needed for that mysterious pill formula.

"Fellow Daoist, are you looking to buy Qi Return Pills and Qi Blood Pills?" At that moment, a male cultivator with his face veiled suddenly spoke beside Ye Jingcheng's ear.

After speaking, the man deliberately walked ahead, only stopping once he reached an open area.

Ye Jingcheng followed him.

"You have them?"

The man did not answer at once. He turned his head to look around before replying, "I do, but the price will be a little higher!"

"Qi Return Pills, ten Spirit Stones each. Qi Blood Pills, nine Spirit Stones each!" The man continued cautiously. With a spread of his palm, two pill bottles appeared, only to be swiftly withdrawn again.

"How many do you have?" Ye Jingcheng asked.

"Two of each!"

"Too few." Ye Jingcheng shook his head.

"These are tense times. Don't you know the Ye Family is begging desperately for them? Old Dharma Artifacts can be cobbled together, but if there are no pills, then there are no pills!" the man replied coldly, glancing around again as though terrified of being discovered.

"Are you a stallholder?" Ye Jingcheng asked again.

That question immediately enraged the man.

"What business is it of yours whether I am or not? Buy if you want to buy; leave if you don't. Is this your first time at the stalls?"

"No. If you are a stallholder, I would not only buy these pills. I can also consider Dharma Artifacts and Spirit Herbs!" Ye Jingcheng did not get angry. He continued calmly, looking completely innocent.

The man hesitated for a while, then pulled his veil higher until only his eyes were exposed. Only then did he unwillingly spread his hand, revealing quite a few Dharma Artifacts, Spirit Herbs, and spirit pills.

There was also a yellowed Treasure Map.

"Do you want this Treasure Map? A map to the Inheritance Cave of a Foundation Building powerhouse—fair dealing for young and old alike!"

The corner of Ye Jingcheng's mouth twitched slightly, but he did not answer.

"I'll count it as ten Spirit Stones for you. Since you're buying pills, I'll give you a bargain!"

"Ten Spirit Stones is fine, if you throw in that ugly flower!" Ye Jingcheng pointed at a Spirit Flower beside it.

"This isn't an ugly flower. It's a Heartless Flower. I won't sell it for less than twelve Spirit Stones! Why are you always making trouble?" Though his face could not be seen, the stallholder's tone had turned extremely poor, and he was even preparing to put everything away.

"Then twelve Spirit Stones for the Heartless Flower included!"

"At least fifteen. If it weren't for my low strength, I'd have gone myself!"

"Fine. Let's hope this Treasure Map is real!" Ye Jingcheng nodded and took out fifty-three Spirit Stones, collecting the two bottles of spirit pills, the Treasure Map, and the Heartless Flower together. After putting them away, Ye Jingcheng headed toward a nearby shop.

Not long after he left, the stallholder also vanished from the stalls.

He appeared at a concealed tavern.

"That Ye Family brat bought it all. He's a greenhorn who doesn't understand many rules. The Ye Family must really be desperate!"

"Idiot. You were exposed long ago. The moment he asked to see your stall, you gave yourself away. The treasures in the Storage Bags of ordinary Rogue Cultivators and those who aren't Rogue Cultivators are fundamentally different!"

"Fifth Brother, what do we do now?"

"No matter. They have plenty of suffering ahead of them!"

"The family's goal was not this transaction, but to make them lower their guard after their hard work succeeds..."

Ye Jingcheng walked along the street, his face brimming with excitement.

He could naturally tell that man was no ordinary Rogue Cultivator. Though he had put on a convincing act and chosen such a remote spot, Ye Jingcheng had indeed noticed that he was not a qualified Rogue Cultivator.

Someone who took the initiative to approach others could not have too bad a temper; someone with a bad temper would not come knocking on his door.

After seeing the things inside the Storage Bag, he was even more certain.

He simply had not expected to unexpectedly receive a Heartless Flower!

The Heartless Flower was a First-Order Grade-High Spirit Herb, worth around twelve Spirit Stones. Ten years of growth was enough, but it was exceedingly difficult to find.

Even the entire Ye family had failed to procure one!

With the Heartless Flower, his mysterious pill formula was only lacking Fallen Flame Grass and a Red Dragon Fruit.

For the rest, he no longer planned to keep trying his luck at street stalls.

Instead, he headed toward Taiyi Pavilion.

Taiyi Pavilion stood at the very center of the marketplace, a full five stories high.

Within the marketplace, it was like a towering giant looking down from above.

Cultivators came and went in an endless stream, and business was astonishingly good. Ye Jingcheng entered as well.

The layout inside the pavilion was not much different from Ye Family Shop's, except there were more than twenty wooden racks displaying goods, covered in Spirit Talismans, spirit pills, Spirit Herbs, Array Disks...

A dazzling array that left one's eyes unable to take it all in.

The prices were somewhat higher as well.

Yet even with the higher prices, its flow of customers was far beyond anything other shops could compare with.

Even the shop clerks managing the counters were arrogant and condescending, looking down on others.

And yet, even those buyers whose cultivation was somewhat higher still had to greet them with forced smiles! The sight made Ye Jingcheng sigh repeatedly. Sure enough, he spotted Fallen Flame Grass on the counter.

This made him extraordinarily excited.

However, the price of the Fallen Flame Grass was much higher even than the Heartless Flower, reaching twenty Spirit Stones.

In the end, Ye Jingcheng gritted his teeth and took out the Spirit Stones to buy it.

After all, the Crimson Flame Fox not only possessed exceptional combat strength now, but could also save him the expense of an Earth Fire Room, making pill refinement more convenient as well.

"May I ask, Manager, do you have a Red Dragon Fruit with a hundred years of growth?"

Ye Jingcheng asked. Hearing Ye Jingcheng call him Manager, the clerk's face reddened, but after glancing around, his expression relaxed considerably. He was clearly quite pleased by it.

"Red Dragon Fruits are not commonly found. Ones with a hundred years of growth require a large volcano to be possible. Wait for next year's auction—there should be one then!"

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