Keen Eye (Green): Your eyesight is sharp. You often have a chance to find treasures buried beneath the dust.
Eye... Keen Eye?
Shen Mo silently grumbled about the description of this Destiny trait. It really was concise.
Still, though the name was a little ugly, Shen Mo was quite satisfied with its effects.
Keen Eye—this was one of the essential skills for finding hidden treasures in the world of cultivation!
"Only, this special Destiny trait is green-grade. Its effects probably aren't as miraculous as those possessed by the male leads in web novels."
Shen Mo equipped it, then looked around at the various objects in his room. He couldn't sense any difference.
"Maybe it'll come in handy at a crucial moment."
Shen Mo consoled himself with that thought.
"Somehow, an entire night has already passed."
He looked up and saw the sun rising in the east beyond the window. The sky was beginning to brighten.
"Time to head out!"
After a night of cultivation, he twisted his stiff, aching joints from sitting for so long. He put away all his talismans, then strode out of his room with a swagger.
After leaving his residence, Shen Mo didn't immediately set off for the market.
Before he left, he still had to make a stop at Deacon Hall, located in the square at the River-Facing Sect's mountain gate.
Since he was going to the market today, he wouldn't be able to guard the mountain gate, so he needed to ask a deacon for leave.
Besides, today was the day the sect handed out its monthly stipend. He could collect it while he was at it!
Pushing through the crowds, Shen Mo walked straight to Deacon Hall.
Although it was early morning, quite a few disciples were already lined up at Deacon Hall.
The River-Facing Sect's Deacon Hall was where the sect assigned tasks to its disciples and distributed their monthly stipends.
Since today was stipend day, it was no surprise that there were so many people.
After waiting in line for roughly the time it took half an incense stick to burn, Shen Mo finally made it inside.
Deacon Hall covered a vast area and could hold over a thousand disciples. It had six windows in all.
A deacon at each window handled the disciples' affairs.
There were only a few disciples waiting at the first five windows, but the sixth had a long line.
That was because the sixth window handled matters for outer disciples. The numbers of River-Facing Sect inner disciples and outer disciples were as different as heaven and earth.
After joining the line at Deacon Hall, Shen Mo waited a while longer before it was finally his turn.
"What's your name? What's your sect duty? What do you need?"
A middle-aged deacon with half-white hair asked from behind the window without looking up.
"Outer disciple Shen Mo. I'm assigned to guard the mountain gate."
Shen Mo replied respectfully, "I've come for two reasons: first, to collect my monthly stipend; second, to request one day of leave so I can go to the market and buy some cultivation supplies."
"Shen Mo." The deacon searched through the register, nodded, and made a mark with his writing brush.
Then he took a low-grade Spirit Stone and three catties of spirit rice from his robes.
That was the monthly stipend for guarding the mountain gate.
"Thank you, Deacon."
Shen Mo accepted the Spirit Stone and spirit rice without complaining that it was too little.
After all, the River-Facing Sect regarded outer disciples as cheap labor to be exploited at will. No matter what sect duty they performed, they were never given good treatment.
Besides, he wasn't losing out. He spent every day guarding the mountain gate while slacking off and crafting talismans. He barely did any work, so it was a fair trade!
Thinking of it that way, he actually felt a little cheerful.
"Mm, I've recorded your leave. Remember to return tomorrow and resume your usual post guarding the mountain gate."
After making a few notes, the middle-aged deacon waved him off, telling Shen Mo that everything was taken care of.
With the Spirit Stone and spirit rice in hand, Shen Mo left the bustling Deacon Hall.
He put the spirit rice in his room, took all his Spirit Stones with him, and left once more.
"Now, it's time to head to the market!"
Walking across the mountain-gate square, Shen Mo thought to himself.
There were two markets where River-Facing Sect disciples usually traded.
The first was inside the sect, in Dao-Gaining Alley, directly to the right of the mountain-gate square.
The second was down the mountain, in Cloud-Gathering Town at its foot.
The difference between the two markets was that the first dealt exclusively with River-Facing Sect disciples. Even if they didn't know each other well, they could still track one another down.
That helped avoid a lot of scams and swindles.
But compared with Cloud-Gathering Town, Dao-Gaining Alley's market had far less foot traffic, and its selection of cultivation supplies was nowhere near as varied.
The market in Cloud-Gathering Town drew all the immortal-sect disciples from a hundred-li radius, as well as rogue cultivators and demonic cultivators who had heard of it. It was a motley crowd of all sorts.
Things were easier to sell quickly there.
This time, Shen Mo planned to go to Cloud-Gathering Town.
He intended to sell all his talismans, and in Dao-Gaining Alley, it might take a whole day and night to sell them all.
After passing through the mountain gate and showing his Identity Jade Pendant, Shen Mo made it down the mountain without a hitch.
He stuck a Lightness Talisman to his leg and soon came sprinting along the mountain stream.
The distance from River-Facing Mountain to Cloud-Gathering Town was about forty li.
At a normal pace, the journey took an hour.
But with the Light Body Talisman's support, Shen Mo reached this small town of cultivators in about half an hour.
"Going into the market? Register first."
When Shen Mo arrived in Cloud-Gathering Town, a burly man in black, with a face full of jowls, stopped him.
Wherever there were people, there were worldly disputes, strife, and chaos.
So for a market where everyone was willing to trade, someone had to maintain order and provide safety as a public service.
Otherwise, killings, robberies, and plunder would crop up at every turn.
Naturally, no one would be willing to come and trade.
The reason Cloud-Gathering Town's market was the only one of its kind within a hundred-li radius was that an Origin Core Realm patriarch was stationed there.
That patriarch had specifically assembled a group of enforcers to maintain order in the market.
The jowly man before him was one of Cloud-Gathering Town Market's enforcers.
He was responsible for registering the information of people entering and leaving the market, as well as collecting commissions.
According to Cloud-Gathering Town's rules, customers only needed to register their information. But anyone who wanted to set up a stall and sell cultivation supplies had to pay a commission.
It was the fee for enjoying the protection of the market's order.
"This is the deposit."
After registering his identity, Shen Mo took out a low-grade Spirit Stone and handed it to the man.
According to the rules, a cultivator selling goods only had to pay a commission based on the value of the goods sold before leaving the market.
But to prevent cultivators from getting in for free, they had to pay a deposit upfront.
Once the commission had been calculated, the deposit would be returned.
"Mm, all right. Go on in."
The enforcer carefully checked the information Shen Mo had written, then tucked the low-grade Spirit Stone away.
He waved Shen Mo through.
With permission granted, Shen Mo strode into this gathering place of cultivators, renowned across a hundred-li radius.
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