Open Your Stall and Let Me See (Please Follow)

Taihang Marketplace was as bustling as ever, crowded with people and roaring with voices.

Looking up, one could see dense bamboo leaves scattering patch after patch of golden light.

This blend of deep mountains and lively market streets made Ye Jingcheng enjoy himself immensely.

Unlike his first time entering the marketplace, when he had been busy memorizing this and noting that, this stroll was far more leisurely.

Unfortunately, he had come with a mission this time as well.

And he still had to put on an anxious appearance.

The four of them had split up to browse separately. Ye Jingcheng was more than happy with that arrangement. None of them went into the marketplace shops; instead, they headed for the street stalls.

The people at the stalls wore all manner of clothing. Most had on bamboo hats and kept their heads lowered, making it difficult to see their faces clearly.

In the world of immortal cultivation, using spiritual sense to inspect another cultivator was an exceedingly rude provocation.

Naturally, Ye Jingcheng would not do such a thing. Though he walked with apparent urgency, he showed interest in every stall, as if he were desperately searching for something.

He paid particular attention to stalls selling spirit herbs.

If most Rogue Cultivators acquired good spirit herbs but found the shop prices unsuitable or felt they were being lowballed, they would choose to sell them at street stalls instead.

Thus, quite a few stalls sold spirit herbs.

As for good magic artifacts and spirit talismans, Rogue Cultivators did not even have enough for themselves, so naturally they would not put them up for sale.

Some stalls also sold spirit pills, though they were all low-grade and mid-grade first-rank pills. Ye Jingcheng examined each of them several times and symbolically asked about Qi Recovery Pills, Qi-Blood Pills, and other pills from their large order.

Yet the only response he received was a shake of the head.

Clearly, someone with ulterior motives had swept clean all such pills on the market.

The earthfire chambers had also been controlled. Unless Foundation Establishment cultivators refined those pills there, such pills likely would not appear again for several months.

After visiting more than a dozen stalls, Ye Jingcheng still had not found anything he liked, much less the spirit herbs required for that mysterious pill formula.

"Fellow Daoist, are you looking to buy Qi Recovery Pills and Qi-Blood Pills?" At that moment, a male cultivator with his face veiled suddenly spoke beside Ye Jingcheng's ear.

After speaking, he deliberately walked ahead, only stopping once he reached an open area.

Ye Jingcheng followed him over.

"You have them?"

The man did not answer immediately. Only after turning his head and looking around did he reply, "I do, but the price is a little higher!"

"Qi Recovery Pills are ten spirit stones each, and Qi-Blood Pills are nine spirit stones each!" The man continued cautiously. He spread open his palm, revealing two pill bottles, then swiftly tucked them away again.

"How many do you have?" Ye Jingcheng asked.

"Two of each!"

"Too few." Ye Jingcheng shook his head.

"These are tense times. Don't you know the Ye Family is begging everywhere? Old magic artifacts can be cobbled together, but if there are no pills, then there are no pills!" the man replied coldly, glancing around again as though terrified of being discovered.

"Are you a stallholder?" Ye Jingcheng asked again.

At that question, the man immediately flew into a rage.

"What business is it of yours whether I am or not? Buy if you want to buy; leave if you do not. Is this your first time at the street stalls?"

"No. If you are a stallholder, I will not only buy these pills. I can consider magic artifacts and spirit herbs as well!" Ye Jingcheng was not angered. He continued calmly, looking utterly innocent.

The man hesitated for a while, then pulled his veil higher until only his eyes showed. Only then did he unwillingly spread out his hand, revealing quite a few magic artifacts, spirit herbs, and spirit pills.

There was also a yellowed treasure map.

"Do you want this treasure map? It is a map to the inherited cave abode of a Foundation Establishment master—fair dealing for young and old alike!"

The corner of Ye Jingcheng's mouth twitched slightly, but he said nothing.

"I'll count it as ten spirit stones. Since you're buying pills, I'll give you a bargain!"

"Ten spirit stones is fine, if you throw in that ugly flower!" Ye Jingcheng pointed at a spirit flower beside it.

"It is not an ugly flower. It is a Heartless Flower! I will not sell it for less than twelve spirit stones! Why do you keep causing trouble?" Though his face could not be seen, the stallholder's tone had become extremely poor, and he was even preparing to put everything away.

"Then twelve spirit stones, including the Heartless Flower!"

"At least fifteen. If my strength were not so low, I would have gone myself!"

"Fine. Let us hope your treasure map is real!" Ye Jingcheng nodded, taking out fifty-three spirit stones and putting away the two bottles of spirit pills, the treasure map, and the Heartless Flower.

After collecting them, Ye Jingcheng headed toward a nearby shop.

Not long after he left, that stallholder also vanished from the street stalls.

He appeared in a hidden tavern.

"That Ye Family brat bought everything. He is a greenhorn who does not understand many rules. The Ye Family must truly be desperate!"

"Idiot, you were exposed long ago. The moment he asked to see your stall, you gave yourself away. The treasures in the storage bags of ordinary Rogue Cultivators and non-Rogue Cultivators are completely different!"

"Fifth Brother, what should we do?"

"It's fine. There'll be plenty of hardship waiting for them later!"

"The family's goal isn't this transaction, but to make them lower their guard after their efforts succeed..."

Ye Jingcheng walked along the street, his face brimming with excitement.

He had naturally seen that the man was no ordinary Rogue Cultivator. Though he had put on a convincing act and chosen such a secluded spot, Ye Jingcheng had still noticed that he was not a qualified Rogue Cultivator.

Someone who took the initiative to approach others would surely not have too bad a temper, while someone with a bad temper would never come knocking on his own.

After seeing the items in the storage pouch, he became even more certain.

He simply had not expected to unexpectedly receive a Heartless Flower!

The Heartless Flower was a high-grade first-tier spiritual herb, worth around twelve spirit stones. Ten years of maturity was enough, but it was exceedingly difficult to find.

Even the entire Ye Family had failed to procure one!

With the Heartless Flower, his mysterious pill formula was only lacking Flamefall Grass and Red Dragon Fruit.

For the rest, he no longer intended to try his luck at roadside stalls.

Instead, he headed toward Supreme One Pavilion.

Supreme One Pavilion stood at the very center of the market, five stories tall.

Within the market, it was like a towering giant looking down from on high.

Cultivators flowed in and out without end, and its business was exceptionally good. Ye Jingcheng entered as well.

The pavilion's interior was not much different from the Ye Family's shops, except there were more than twenty wooden racks displaying items, covered with spiritual talismans, spiritual pills, spiritual herbs, formation disks...

A dazzling array that left the eyes unable to take it all in.

The prices were also somewhat higher.

Of course, even with the higher prices, its traffic was still far beyond anything other shops could compare to.

Even the attendants managing the counters held their heads high and looked down on others.

Yet even those buyers whose cultivation was somewhat higher still had to greet them with forced smiles!

The sight made Ye Jingcheng sigh again and again.

And sure enough, Ye Jingcheng spotted Flamefall Grass on the counter.

This made him exceptionally excited.

However, the Flamefall Grass cost far more than the Heartless Flower, requiring a full twenty spirit stones.

In the end, Ye Jingcheng gritted his teeth and took out the spirit stones to buy it.

After all, the Crimson Flame Fox was not only outstanding in battle now, but could also save him the expense of an earth-fire chamber, making pill refinement more convenient as well.

"May I ask, Manager, do you have any Red Dragon Fruit with a hundred years of maturity?"

Ye Jingcheng asked.

When the attendant heard Ye Jingcheng call him Manager, his face reddened slightly. Yet after glancing around, his expression relaxed considerably, clearly pleased by the address.

"Red Dragon Fruit is not commonly found. A hundred-year one is even rarer—it can only grow near large volcanoes. Wait for next year's auction. There should be one then!"