Green Wutong Tower

The three of them struggled forward through the surging crowd.

The farther in they went, the more upscale and luxurious the shops lining both sides of the street became. The aura of the martial artists they encountered grew increasingly formidable as well. From time to time, they could even sense obscure fluctuations that sent shivers through the heart, making Chen Yuan secretly wary.

That was probably the Bone Forging Realm—or perhaps an existence at an even higher level.

At last, they pushed through a particularly congested stretch of street, and the view before them suddenly opened wide!

A massive bluestone plaza appeared before them, its ground carved all over with enormous anti-slip runes.

At the center of the plaza stood a nine-story glazed stone pagoda that towered into the clouds. Profound and unfathomable runes covered its body, radiating faint energy fluctuations that calmed the mind.

All around the plaza were densely packed stalls and shops, arranged in neat rows that stretched beyond sight.

The clamor of human voices rolled in like a tsunami. This was Tian Nan Prefecture's largest trading venue—the Vast Sea Market.

The market was bustling beyond compare. The radiance, medicinal fragrances, and spiritual pressure emanating from all kinds of rare treasures nearly dazzled the eyes and bewildered the mind.

Some stalls displayed rare medicinal herbs still clinging to fresh soil and brimming with spiritual energy, their rich, enticing medicinal fragrance spreading through the air. The entrances of some shops hung weapons and armor that glinted with cold light, runes flowing across them and their sharpness assaulting the senses.

Some stall owners hawked all kinds of Demonic Beast materials, from enormous hides and pale bones to razor-sharp claws. There were even Demonic Beast soul crystals sealed with special runes that still struggled and roared within.

More astonishingly, some people simply spread an unknown beast hide on the ground and placed upon it several thread-bound books that looked battered beyond recognition or broken jade slips. They claimed these were inheritance manuals left behind by some fallen senior expert, attracting crowds who gathered to comment and judge them, though it was impossible to tell what was genuine.

Shouts of hawking, haggling, and boasting rose one after another, weaving together into a noisy ocean:

"Crimson Sun Grass from a hundred years ago! Freshly gathered from the dangerous regions of Heaven Fire Mountain! A supreme-grade treasure for tempering qi and blood and breaking through bottlenecks! Only one hundred and twenty taels per stalk—no bargaining!"

"Produced by the Hundred Refinements Pavilion, a fine rune-inscribed long sword! It can slice hair as it blows past, comes with the 'Sharp Edge' rune, and has excellent armor-piercing ability! A copy of the first three forms of the Flowing Wind Sword Art is included! Only eight hundred taels!"

"Come and take a look! A complete Black Cloud Leopard pelt, an excellent material for making inner armor or a ritual robe! I'll only trade it for pills that can improve cultivation!"

"Complete ancestral cultivation method, the Overlapping Waves Force! Once mastered, your qi and blood will surge in overlapping waves, with boundless might, reaching straight to the Tendon Changing Realm! Only eight hundred taels or an equivalent amount of pills! You'll regret missing it for the rest of your life!"

"Buying all kinds of yin-attribute spiritual herbs and Demonic Beast materials! Good prices!"

Wang Meng's eyes shone as he looked around, and he was practically drooling. He wished he could rush up to every stall, touch everything, and ask the price, even though he could not afford most of it.

Sun Yun was clearly captivated as well. Her gaze lingered between a discreet stall selling various poisonous materials and concealed weapons and mechanisms, and another small stall overflowing with delicious food.

Chen Yuan, on the other hand, remained relatively calm. He secretly estimated the value of each item. The prices in the prefectural city startled him, and it seemed that the primary currency circulating here was gradually shifting from silver taels toward pills, materials, and the like.

Then Wang Meng found the Hundred Pills Hall with practiced ease, handed the list to the shop assistant, and watched as the assistant gathered the medicines. He skillfully checked the quality of the ingredients, occasionally breaking off a little to smell it. He looked rather experienced.

Chen Yuan and Sun Yun waited quietly inside the shop, taking the opportunity to observe this fairly large medicinal-materials store.

After finishing their purchases, Wang Meng led the two of them to the Thousand Forge Workshop.

When he learned that the custom knives would need another two days to be completed, he arranged with the shopkeeper to pick them up the afternoon after next.

Having finished their proper business, Wang Meng visibly relaxed. His shoulders drooped a little, and he returned to his lively self. "All right, business is done, and it's still early. Come on, Senior Disciple Brother will take you two around the Vast Sea Market properly. There are plenty of fun and interesting things inside!"

"But let's agree on this first: we're only looking, not buying... Uh, doing our best to buy as little as possible. Your Senior Disciple Brother doesn't have much private money to subsidize you."

He added that with an awkward laugh.

Chen Yuan's heart stirred. He did not want to attract too much attention over selling the Demon Serpent materials, so he said, "Fifth Senior Disciple Brother, Sixth Senior Disciple Sister, why don't we look around the market separately for now?"

"On our way here, I saw a bookstore by the roadside. I'd like to see whether they have books such as gazetteers of the prefectures and commanderies or miscellaneous travel records, to broaden my horizons. How about we meet beneath the stone pagoda at the market entrance in an hour?"

Wang Meng thought it over. The prefectural city was fairly safe, so he nodded in agreement. "That works. Take care of yourself, and don't go anywhere secluded. We'll meet beneath the stone pagoda in an hour."

Sun Yun also reminded him, "Be careful with your belongings."

Thus, the three of them parted at the street entrance. Chen Yuan watched them walk away, then turned and merged into the flow of people heading toward the market.

Chen Yuan swept his sharp gaze around, searching for a suitable target.

He needed to sell the Demon Serpent materials, so he had to find a shop large enough, reputable enough to offer a fair price, and unlikely to covet his wealth.

Soon, a five-story wooden building of simple elegance caught his attention: Green Wutong Tower.

The building was imposing, and most of those entering and leaving had steady auras. The words on the signboard and couplets—"Spiritual Plants Contain a Hundred Herbs, Rare Materials Hold a Thousand Treasures"—made its deep foundations even more apparent.

Stepping inside, he found a spacious interior with an elegant arrangement. Faint medicinal and sandalwood fragrances permeated the air.

The counters and shelves were mostly made from warm-toned spiritual wood. They displayed all kinds of medicinal materials, ores, Demonic Beast materials, and even finished pills and ritual artifacts. The variety was immense, yet everything was arranged in perfect order without the slightest trace of clutter.

The shop assistants wore uniform blue-green clothing and carried themselves with polished courtesy. A young assistant approached him. "What can I do for you, customer?"

Chen Yuan lowered his voice. "I have some Demonic Beast materials I'd like to sell. Does your establishment handle such transactions?"

The assistant's expression remained unchanged. "Naturally. Please move to the side hall and wait a moment. I'll invite the shopkeeper over."

With that, he led Chen Yuan to an elegant room partitioned off with screens and served him fragrant tea.

A moment later, faint footsteps accompanied by a delicate fragrance approached, and a woman walked gracefully into the side hall.

The woman appeared to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, at the very height of a woman's beauty.

She wore a lake-green embroidered gown, with matching dark patterns stitched along the hem. As she moved, it rippled like jade-green waves, glints of light flickering across it.

The long gown outlined her graceful figure. Her shoulders were slender as if carved, her waist trim as a wrapped silk band, and her curves rose and fell with enchanting perfection. A little more would have been plump, a little less would have been thin—it captured the charm of a mature woman precisely.

Her features were breathtakingly beautiful. Her skin was fine as jade, her brows like distant mountains tinted with blue, and her eyes like autumn waters rippling beneath the breeze. The only flaw was the faint anxiety between her brows.

"I am Shen Yuexin, and I have the honor of managing Green Wutong Tower. I heard that you have some materials to sell?" Her voice was gentle and warm, though it carried a trace of fatigue that was difficult to detect.

Chen Yuan rose and cupped his hands. "I am Chen Yuan. Greetings, Shopkeeper Shen. I do indeed have some materials to sell."

He removed the pack from his back and took out the carefully wrapped python hide, the jade box containing the snake gall, and the poisonous fangs and venom sac.

Shen Yuexin gave a slight nod, her eyes falling on the items Chen Yuan had taken out.

When the python hide was unfurled, its scales a deep black and gleaming with metallic luster—and especially when the dark-red snake gall, overflowing with vigorous qi and blood, appeared—her originally formulaic smile finally gave way to genuine surprise.

She stepped forward several paces, a faint fragrance sweeping over with her.

Extending her slender jade fingers, she carefully inspected the hide's completeness, feeling the astonishing toughness and elasticity of its scales.

Then she gently opened the jade box. An exceptionally pure and vigorous force of qi and blood immediately spread through the room. She drew a deep breath, and a strange light flashed through her bright eyes.

Next, she took out a specially made silver needle and cautiously tested the venom of the sharp fang. The needle instantly turned pitch-black.

"This is a Black Water Profound Python, on the verge of shedding its skin... The vitality contained in this snake gall is especially rare." She lifted her eyes to Chen Yuan. The sorrow in her expression seemed to have faded slightly, replaced by a little more curiosity.

"Young Master Chen, you have quite a skill. Even someone in the Tendon Changing Realm would find dealing with this creature no easy task."

"You flatter me, Shopkeeper Shen. I only succeeded through luck."

Chen Yuan answered modestly.

Shen Yuexin pondered for a moment, then resolve flashed through her eyes. "Young Master, you are a straightforward person, so I will not speak falsely either. This python hide is complete; I value it at three hundred and sixty taels. The snake gall is of excellent quality; I value it at eight hundred and twenty taels. The poisonous fangs and venom sac are worth two hundred taels. That makes a total of one thousand three hundred and eighty taels of silver. What do you think?"

The price was far beyond Chen Yuan's expectations and exceedingly fair.

Chen Yuan understood that this was not only because the goods were excellent; she likely also intended to establish a connection. He cupped his hands. "Shopkeeper Shen is fair. I have no objections."

Shen Yuexin nodded and said to the assistant waiting nearby, "Bring Young Master Chen one thousand three hundred taels in silver notes and eighty taels in silver. Make sure it is full-weight official silver."

The assistant acknowledged her and left.

While they waited, Shen Yuexin asked seemingly casually, "Young Master Chen looks unfamiliar. Is this your first time in the prefectural city?"

"That's right. I came here with elders from my sect to gain experience."

Chen Yuan answered cautiously.

"I see. For someone so young to have obtained such a harvest, you will certainly be no ordinary creature in a pond in the future."

Shen Yuexin offered him a word of encouragement. Her tone held a faint trace of envy, and perhaps also a hint of confusion about her family's future.

Soon, the assistant brought over a tray of snow-white silver. The ingots gleamed brightly, all of them fine-grade official silver.

After carefully counting it, Chen Yuan took out a cloth pouch he had prepared in advance and carefully placed the silver inside. Its weight settled heavily in his hand, bringing peace to his heart.

After putting away the silver, Chen Yuan did not immediately take his leave. Instead, he asked, "Shopkeeper Shen, does your establishment have any inner armor or ritual robes made from particularly durable materials?"

Shen Yuexin directly instructed the assistant, "Take Young Master Chen to the ritual-robe section and bring out the newly arrived 'Flowing Spring Robe.' Let him see it. Settle with Young Master Chen at... ninety percent of the price."

The assistant led Chen Yuan to a nearby shelf and took out a dark-blue outfit that felt cool and smooth to the touch, with the faint luster of water ripples. "Customer, this is the 'Flowing Spring Robe,' woven from 'Azure Water Spider Silk' mixed with 'Ice Silkworm Silk.' It comes with the minor runes 'Purification,' 'Minor Defense,' and 'Extended Underwater Breathing.' Though it isn't ranked, it is highly practical, especially for activities in the water. Its original price is three hundred taels."

Ninety percent made it two hundred and seventy taels. After examining it carefully and deciding that it truly suited him, Chen Yuan nodded. "I'll take this set."

He then noticed the women's hair ornaments displayed nearby and thought of his younger sister, Xiao Li. He chose a pair of hairpins carefully carved from pink Warm Jade in the shape of lifelike little fish. They were worth forty taels.

"Let's price the two items at three hundred taels in total," Shen Yuexin said softly.

After completing the transaction, Chen Yuan solemnly cupped his hands toward Shen Yuexin. "Thank you, Shopkeeper Shen. I'll take my leave."

"Take care, Young Master Chen." Shen Yuexin bent gracefully and returned the salute.

After leaving Green Wutong Tower, he wandered around the market for a while longer, seeing many wondrous objects but making no further purchases. Judging that it was almost time, he headed toward the stone pagoda at the market entrance.

After the three reunited, Wang Meng took them to a restaurant as well. Only after the sun dipped westward and dusk deepened did they finally leave, carrying a wealth of new knowledge and a touch of weariness, still reluctant to part, and return to their lodgings at the docks.

Back aboard the ship, Chen Yuan entered his cabin and immediately made the Flowing Spring Robe acknowledge him as its master before putting it on. As expected, it felt comfortable and fitted perfectly, and his entire body seemed much fresher.

He toyed with the pair of hairpins, imagining Xiao Li's delighted smile. Gazing at the resplendent lights of the prefectural city beyond the window and the faint clamor drifting over from the distant market, he felt his heart surge like a tide, impossible to calm.