The Old Fox Shopkeeper

"You went to Yellow Sand Canyon?" Ji Ya was startled. "Weren't you trying out the Jade Purity Pill in your alchemy room these past few days?"

"Senior Sister, I told you I'm not interested in those bottles and jars. It takes hours just to start a fire, it's too boring. Besides, you told me I could go out and fight demonic beasts once I reached the fourth level of the Sea of Consciousness Realm." Han Weiwei's fair cheeks flushed slightly. A white night-blooming pearl hung from the ceiling of Ji Ya's alchemy room, emitting a soft white light. In the glow of the light, Han Weiwei's face was indescribably alluring. Some beauties don't look pretty with their features considered individually, only coming together to create a beautiful impression. But even looking at them one by one, Han Weiwei's eyes, nose, mouth, and so on were all incredibly exquisite. When combined, they exuded a delicate beauty with a hint of seductiveness. It was no wonder Wei Suo had sighed when he first saw her in Yellow Sand Canyon, lamenting that beauty and intelligence in women seemed to be inversely proportional these days.

Hearing Han Weiwei's words, Ji Ya gave a wry smile. Although she was now the owner of the Treasure Pavilion, the Treasure Pavilion had actually been passed down to her by her master, Han Fengzi. And Han Weiwei was her master Han Fengzi's only beloved daughter. Ever since her master Han Fengzi died in an alchemy accident, Ji Ya had indulged Han Weiwei in almost everything. What left her helpless was that Han Weiwei seemed to have inherited none of her master's talent in alchemy. Stroking Han Weiwei's soft hair, she said, "It was just two Stone-tailed Wall Lizards. You didn't even tell me, you just snuck out. What would I do if something happened to you?"

"Nothing will happen. Senior Sister, I'll listen to you very carefully. I won't go beyond the sky until I reach the fifth level of the Circulation Realm. I'll just wander around near Lingyue City at most." Han Weiwei stuck out her tongue.

"Alright, starting tomorrow, I'll allow you to go out and fight demonic beasts for experience." Ji Ya looked at Han Weiwei with gentle eyes, nodding as if she had made a decision in her heart. "But you have to tell me every time before you go out."

"Ah, I knew you were the best to me, Senior Sister." Han Weiwei excitedly kissed Ji Ya's smooth, fair face a few times. "Hmph, I'm definitely going to teach that guy a lesson."

Ji Ya smiled. "Silly Weiwei, Stone-tailed Wall Lizards aren't valuable."

"That's different. This is the first Rank 2 demonic beast I've ever caught. And that coward's cultivation is so low, he couldn't have snatched my Stone-tailed Wall Lizard even if he tried to grab it by force." Han Weiwei snorted, her fair face flushing red again. "And that guy actually pretended to have a stomachache and pretended he needed to take off his pants in front of me."

"There's such a guy?" A smile reappeared at the corner of Ji Ya's lips. "Exactly," Han Weiwei nodded vigorously and stood up. "Senior Sister, I won't bother you anymore. I'm going back to cultivate too. Tomorrow morning, I'll go to the Free Market outside the city first. Maybe I'll run into that guy."

"Go ahead." Ji Ya watched Han Weiwei leave the alchemy room. Since Han Weiwei truly disliked alchemy, Ji Ya wouldn't force her; as long as she was happy, that was enough. However, after Han Weiwei disappeared from Ji Ya's sight, Ji Ya's expression returned to its usual cold and frosty demeanor. "Dugu Yuyun," she said, and a man shrouded in a black robe, whose face was indiscernible, appeared at the entrance of her alchemy room.

"Help me find Tie Ce's people and have them protect the young lady," Ji Ya said indifferently.

"Understood." The man in the black robe nodded, said nothing more, and respectfully turned to leave.

There were three places for cultivators to trade near Lingyue City: the Free Market outside the East Gate of Lingyue City, the North Market of Lingyue City, and the high-end trading market in the south of Lingyue City.

The Free Market outside the East Gate was a place for passing cultivators to trade freely, not governed by anyone. No fees needed to be paid to Tianyi Sect for trading there. The items traded were diverse; one might find some good things, but it was also very likely to buy some fakes. The market in the north of the city consisted of dozens of shops. These shops were not large, dealing only in basic raw materials for refining talismans and pills, as well as low-grade talismans and magic treasures. The goods were guaranteed, with almost no fakes. As for the most powerful shops in Lingyue City, such as the Treasure Pavilion, they were all concentrated in the south of Lingyue City. In addition to their fixed specialty goods, these shops would also periodically accept commissions to auction off highly desirable items that low-level cultivators could only drool over.

Early in the morning, Wei Suo walked briskly towards the North Market.

The Ghost Nurturing Jar, which belonged to the Green Robe Old Man, was now stuffed under Wei Suo's bed. The reason for this was twofold: firstly, the Ghost Nurturing Jar itself was a Yin-attribute magic treasure for raising ghosts, and the Green Robe Old Man could not manifest during the day, making it useless to carry around. Secondly, for Wei Suo at this moment, if other things were stolen, it wouldn't matter, but if this item were stolen, Wei Suo would truly suffer a devastating loss. For safety's sake, Wei Suo had wrapped the Ghost Nurturing Jar in a thick layer of tree sap, making it difficult to break even if smashed with force. He had also smeared a layer of black ash on the surface, making it indistinguishable from an ordinary black tile jar. Even if some petty thief were so depraved as to break into the dilapidated hut of a poor rogue cultivator like Wei Suo, they would certainly not pay attention to this broken black tile jar casually stuffed under the bed.

"Qingshui Residence is buying Seven Star Fish Bones, price three low-grade spirit stones... Candle Shop has a large supply of Water Arrow Talismans..."

Stone announcement boards were everywhere in the North Market, displaying many messages. Some of these trading messages were very useful for low-level rogue cultivators like Wei Suo. However, Wei Suo didn't look at any of the announcements today; he walked straight into a small shop called "Carefree Workshop."

Currently, no matter what the news was, the speed of earning spirit stones couldn't compare to Wei Suo's own speed of hunting Fire Scorpions and refining Fireball Talismans. Although Wei Suo sometimes lacked patience, the fact that he, without any background, had been able to live in Lingyue City for the past few years was not only due to his sharp mind but, more importantly, because he was afraid of death... So he was usually very careful in everything he did, and he made thorough preparations before going out to kill demonic beasts. This time, going to hunt Fire Scorpions was no exception.

"Wei Suo, you're here." As soon as he entered, the owner of Carefree Workshop noticed him and greeted him with a smile.

"Old Fox," Wei Suo inwardly grumbled when he saw the smiling owner. The owner was an old man in his fifties, surnamed Hu. He always wore a yellowish-brown robe, and his face, which was like an old fox's, took up more than half of its width. He appeared to be extremely enthusiastic and kind to every customer, but when it came to business, he wouldn't go easy even on acquaintances. Wei Suo had known this guy for several years, and even the Azure Water Blade, a technique Wei Suo now knew, was bought from him. Yet, over all these years, Wei Suo had never gotten the slightest bargain from him. That's why Wei Suo always called this guy Old Fox.

(I'm in Changsha now, and the updates are here again. Everyone keep supporting, and there will definitely be no shortage of updates tomorrow.)