Taihang Market, Moxiang Pavilion.
Chen Ping stood at the counter, one hand pressed tightly against the coarse cloth pouch filled with spirit stones. His knuckles had turned faintly white from the pressure.
"Shopkeeper, this copy of Elementary Talisman Primer... could you knock the price down a little?"
Chen Ping put on a placating smile, his voice carrying the particular embarrassment of a poverty-stricken rogue cultivator.
"Five spirit stones—that's nearly half a year's rent."
Behind the counter, the shopkeeper was a middle-aged cultivator with a goatee. He didn't even raise his eyelids as he rolled two iron balls in his hand and snorted.
"Buy it or don't. This is a proper inheritance of the Talisman Dao. It's only basic, but it includes detailed instructions for three talismans: the Purification Talisman, the Lightness Talisman, and the Fireball Talisman. Think it's too expensive? There are incomplete copies at the street stalls—three for one spirit stone. Go buy one of those and practice. If you practice yourself to death or cripple yourself, don't blame me for not warning you."
Chen Ping's Adam's apple bobbed. His heart ached.
The eighteen spirit stones he'd gotten from killing and robbing someone last night hadn't even had time to warm in his hands, and now a huge chunk of them was about to disappear.
But he also knew that most street-stall goods were traps. Moxiang Pavilion might be ruthless, but its wares were genuine.
"I'll buy it! I'll take it!"
Gritting his teeth as if he were cutting off a piece of his own flesh, Chen Ping counted out five Low-Grade Spirit Stones from the pouch and lined them up on the counter.
The stones clicked together with a crisp sound, each clink striking him right in the heart.
"That's more like it." The shopkeeper swiftly pocketed the