Yunlai Market

Zhou Xuan didn't care in the slightest. With a light step, he soon left through the Sect's mountain gate formation.

He crossed a stretch of lush woodland, and the clamor of people surged toward him like a wave, growing louder as it drew near.

The view before Zhou Xuan suddenly opened up.

In his imagination, a so-called market was probably like the country fairs of his previous life: a muddy street, a few stalls on either side, and a crowd of people in ancient robes haggling over prices.

But when he saw the scene before him for real, he froze in place.

His eyes widened bit by bit.

His mouth fell open despite himself.

His eyeballs nearly bulged right out of their sockets!

"Is this what they call a market?"

Zhou Xuan couldn't help cursing. His voice even trembled.

What stood before him was no market at all!

It was a city!

A vast, imposing city built on the plains at the foot of the mountain!

Its tall, solid walls were built from enormous stones that glimmered with a faint blue light. Profound runes covered their surface, circulating with visible spiritual radiance beneath the sunlight.

The city gate was more than ten zhang tall and wide enough for four or five beast-drawn carriages to pass through side by side.

Above the gate, three forceful characters had been carved in sweeping strokes: Yunlai Market.

Inside and outside the gate, people streamed past in endless throngs, while carts and carriages rolled by in a steady flow.

Disciples in Spirit Sword Pavilion robes of every color mingled with wandering cultivators and merchants from all over, streaming back and forth without pause.

Every so often, an Inner Sect Disciple riding a Flying Sword flashed across the sky like a streak of light, drawing gasps and envious looks from the crowds below.

The streets weren't lined with stalls at all, but with grand, antique-looking shops and pavilions adorned with carved beams and painted rafters.

Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion, Hundred Herbs Hall, Divine Armament Pavilion.

One gilded sign after another gleamed in the sunlight.

Zhou Xuan stood at the city gate like a country bumpkin who had just arrived in the city, chin tilted up as he stared blankly at the sight.

He felt his whole worldview take a violent beating.

Damn!

A Marketplace at the foot of a cultivation Sect was actually more prosperous and fantastical than any first-tier city he'd ever seen in his previous life!

"Hey, you in front! What're you standing there gawking at? Going in or not? If not, get out of the way and stop blocking the road!"

Zhou Xuan jolted back to his senses and hurriedly stepped aside.

A few Outer Sect Disciples were staring at him with disdain, their eyes fixed on him like he was some country bumpkin who'd never seen the world.

He rubbed his nose sheepishly. Not offended, he joined the end of the line.

When his turn came, the two Deacon Hall disciples guarding the gate didn't even lift their eyelids.

One of them lazily held out a hand and said flatly, "Entry fee: one Low-grade Spirit Stone."

"What?"

Zhou Xuan's eyes went round again.

"They charge you just to get through the gate?"

The disciple finally raised his eyelids and glanced at him, undisguised contempt in his eyes.

"Yunlai Market belongs to the Deacon Hall. Those are the rules. If you don't have money, get lost. Don't waste everyone's time."

The other disciple yawned and added, "Or you can hand over something of equal value. A damaged Dharma Artifact, low-grade materials—if we like what we see, they'll do."

Zhou Xuan's face twitched violently.

Well, damn!

They really squeezed every last drop out of people!

With this many people going in and out every day, and each paying one Low-grade Spirit Stone, how much did the Deacon Hall rake in daily?

No wonder people said this place was a gold mine. This was practically robbery in broad daylight!

He cursed them inwardly, but didn't dare let it show on his face.

He really had come too suddenly. He hadn't even bothered to find out the most basic rules.

Suppressing the ache in his heart, he rummaged around for a while before finally taking a Low-grade Spirit Stone from his Universe Bag.

Aside from the three Qi Gathering Pills he had, it was the only hard currency he could hand over directly.

"Here."

He passed the Spirit Stone over.

The disciple took it casually and tossed it into a nearby box like a pebble, then waved impatiently. "Go on in."

Zhou Xuan took a deep breath, swallowed his annoyance, and walked through the towering gate.

He passed through the shadowy tunnel, and the scene beyond suddenly opened up before him. A clamor and bustle several times more intense than outside the mountain gate swelled around him.

The scents of all kinds of spirit herbs and Dharma Artifacts mixed in and washed over him!

The broad bluestone streets were packed with people, shoulder to shoulder.

Some wore gray Servant Robes like he did, their eyes full of curiosity and timidity.

Others wore blue Outer Sect robes and traveled in groups of three or five, talking loudly and freely.

There were even Inner Sect Disciples dressed in white, wearing haughty expressions as they strode past without a glance, flanked by several attendants. The crowd parted around them.

Besides Spirit Sword Pavilion disciples, most of the people were wandering cultivators and merchants in all sorts of outfits. Some hawked their wares along the street, while others hurried between shops.

Zhou Xuan was like a drop of water merging into the sea, swallowed at once by the surging tide of activity.

He wasn't in a hurry to find a place to set up a stall. Like a proper country bumpkin, he wandered aimlessly through the enormous Marketplace with his hands tucked into his sleeves.

As he walked, he pricked up his ears and took in every bit of the chatter around him.

It didn't take long for him to figure out the basic rules of Yunlai Market.

The Marketplace was clearly divided into three tiers.

The outermost area, and the most chaotic, was the maze of narrow alleys and secluded streets where he was now.

There was no management here at all. Find an empty patch of ground, spread out your wares, and you could start selling.

The goods here were all over the place. You could find anything and everything.

"An ancestral treasure map! Just three Low-grade Spirit Stones! Don't miss out!"

"Come and take a look! An unidentified spirit herb, dug up just now in the Monster Beast Mountain Range! It might even be an ancient divine medicine!"

"Fellow Daoist, I can tell you've got extraordinary bones. I've got an incomplete Cultivation Method here. I'll let you have it cheap!"

Fraud and deception abounded, and it was impossible to tell what was real.

You might spend one Spirit Stone on a priceless treasure. More likely, you'd pay a hundred and come away with a pile of genuine trash.

This was paradise for bargain hunters, but hell for beginners.

Zhou Xuan turned his gaze away from a stall owner who was loudly pitching a divine beast skull, and began to weigh his options.

He continued farther in, where the streets grew cleaner and wider.

Neat little storefronts appeared on either side of the road.

The shops weren't large, but each had a proper sign, such as Li Family Smithy or Zhang Family Talismans.

There were clearly fewer customers here than in the outer area, but everyone who went inside had a specific purpose.

Zhou Xuan edged up to a shop called Hundred Goods Pavilion and listened for a while. Soon, he understood.

These shops had mostly been built by the Sect and rented out to disciples or merchants with connections or steady sources of goods.

They dealt in reliable materials: buying Demon Cores and spirit herbs, for example, or selling standard Dharma Artifacts and pills.

Their prices were fair enough, and they didn't cheat customers, but there was no chance of finding a bargain here.

Besides, the goods they sold were all common stock. There was nothing truly valuable.

"This place isn't right for me."

Zhou Xuan shook his head. If he tried selling his refurbished goods here, the shopkeeper probably wouldn't give them a second glance.

He passed through the rows of shops and eventually arrived at the central thoroughfare, the heart of Yunlai Market.

The sight before him stunned him all over again.

The thoroughfare was wide enough for ten beast-drawn carriages to travel side by side!

The street was paved with smooth, mirror-bright white jade, and grand pavilions with carved beams and painted rafters towered on either side!

Gilded signs in bold, sweeping strokes flashed dazzlingly in the sunlight.

At the entrance to every pavilion stood pretty maids in matching uniforms and sturdy guards.

Every cultivator who came and went was richly dressed and powerful.

Zhou Xuan even saw an Inner Sect Disciple arrive on a Flying Sword and descend in front of a building called the Heavenly Pill Pavilion. A manager hurried over at once, his face wreathed in smiles.

Now this was a real money pit!

To Zhou Xuan, it was more like one of those high-end luxury department stores from his previous life, the kind he could only dream of entering. The goods at any one counter there would probably take him decades to earn.

He'd heard that these places sometimes held Auction Houses. Anyone who got in was either a prominent figure within the Sect or a child of a wealthy cultivation Lineage.

"One day, I'll stroll in there like I own the place!"

Zhou Xuan clenched his fist, a spark of fervor flashing in his eyes before he calmed down again.

You had to eat your meals one bite at a time, and take your road one step at a time.

He stopped hesitating and turned toward the chaotic stall area on the outskirts.

That was the perfect place for a swindler like him to get his start!