Marketplace Observations

The marketplace was not on Hemu Island itself, but on a smaller island ten li away from Hemu Island.

A scattered cluster of islands lay around Hemu Island.

With Hemu Island as its main island.

Yue Shuo had not seen what those smaller island clusters looked like in detail, because quite a few of them had formations set up on them.

Yue Shuo followed Zou Chongying and Tian Wan.

They first arrived at the docking area.

Zou Chongying took out a jade token and summoned a small boat with a dedicated pilot. The three boarded it and headed toward the island where the marketplace was located.

Yue Shuo, meanwhile, took note of the marketplace's direction.

Then he casually joked:

"I thought we'd have to swim over!"

"Little Shuo, it's winter right now! Hahaha! Still, our constitutions are much stronger than before..."

Zou Chongying laughed at him first, but afterward, he was inexplicably tempted.

He glanced at the calm stretch of sea.

He was no longer a Mortal. He was now an immortal cultivator... It did not seem impossible to give it a try?

The eagerness in his eyes was far too obvious.

Tian Wan hurriedly held him back.

Zou Chongying struggled, and Yue Shuo stepped forward to hold down his other side. Together, they dragged him into the boat and kept him away from the rail.

"I was just looking!"

"Heh!" Tian Wan sneered, making it clear he did not believe him.

On the surface, Yue Shuo joined in persuading Zou Chongying not to court death again, at least not until he had mastered a few minor spells or reached Qi Refining Level One.

Yet inwardly, he was considering how he should act when he came to the marketplace alone in the future.

To travel back and forth, he would need to use the boats on Hemu Island.

Clearly, that required some sort of qualification.

Of course, if one's strength was sufficient...

Yue Shuo raised his head and saw a figure within a haze of light flying into the small island ahead, which was already visible to the naked eye, from another direction.

When they drew closer to the island.

He saw several more people skimming over the sea atop simple boat-like objects resembling turtle shells as they entered the island.

After looking a few more times, he heard Chong Ying explain.

"That's a Tier-One Low-Grade Spirit Turtle Boat. Once we reach Qi Refining Level One, we can refine Magical Artifacts!"

After Zou Chongying and Tian Wan scuffled for a while, they too looked at the other people heading for the marketplace outside the boat.

Their eyes were filled with envy and anticipation.

"How does one obtain a Tier-One Low-Grade Magical Artifact?" Yue Shuo asked Zou Chongying, who clearly knew more than he did.

Zou Chongying looked somewhat proud.

"If the Qin Clan's seniors take a liking to you when you reach Qi Refining Level One, your master or elders will give you one to three Tier-One Low-Grade Magical Artifacts!"

Tian Wan frowned and reminded him.

"Don't talk nonsense outside. Nothing has been settled yet, so we should guard against unexpected changes!"

Yue Shuo also said, "Chong Ying, listen to A-Wan after we get back. Better safe than sorry. Go into seclusion until you advance!"

Zou Chongying was not someone who could not accept advice.

He simply wanted to show off a little in front of his friends.

Hearing that, he nodded seriously.

He smiled brightly. "I understand!"

His father had once told him.

Those who agreed with everything you said might not necessarily be your friends.

Only those who worried about you and advised you were brothers and companions worth keeping for the long term.

For the rest of the journey, the three only discussed the marketplace in low voices.

When the boat docked, they jumped ashore.

Boats came and went here from time to time, and people also arrived from the sky and sea, all coming and going with clear purposes.

Yue Shuo noticed someone examining the three of them, but that person did not keep staring.

They seemed to have realized the three had no oil to squeeze.

"Follow the straight road. The marketplace is a few li ahead! Don't leave the road. This marketplace also does business with outsiders..."

Zou Chongying recited these words as though repeating them from memory.

"Usually, there aren't many outside cultivators here. It only gets a little livelier for three days at the beginning and end of each month, but we'd better not join that bustle!"

Yue Shuo calculated the date.

He had boarded a boat for Little Hemmu Island on the first day of the twelfth month. The next day, after his Spiritual Root was tested, he had been sent to Hemu Island.

He had already lived on Hemu Island for half a month.

Today was the sixteenth.

It was precisely far from the days Chong Ying had mentioned, when there would be many outside cultivators.

It seemed this date had been deliberately chosen.

The three stepped onto the flat, straight road.

The road was broad and entirely paved with stone slabs.

Without mystical power, it would have taken ordinary people no short amount of time to complete such a project.

Outside the road.

Apart from a few buildings and shacks near the dock.

The deeper one went, the more desolate the surroundings became.

The terrain was uneven as well. Some places had small woods, while others were patches of white earth and black earth.

"Fighting is forbidden within the straight road..."

With that one sentence from Chong Ying, Yue Shuo immediately understood.

All three curiously looked around, but none of them dared to insist on venturing in for a closer look.

Yue Shuo found that these two kids were rather cautious too.

The next moment, they mentioned why they were being so careful.

Because they had both received letters from home, and their parents had repeatedly emphasized certain matters in those letters.

Letters?

Yue Shuo froze for a moment.

When he had first arrived on the island, he had also asked Gu Jiu to send a letter home for him. Why had his elder brother not replied yet?

Had something happened at home?

Doubt arose in Yue Shuo's heart, but he held it back and did not voice it.

He recalled that he had not written anything especially unusual in his letter. He had merely described what happened after he left home.

Taking a boat, spending one night on Little Hemmu Island, having his Spiritual Root tested, and preparing to become a spirit planter.

He had also mentioned that he would be unable to return home within a year.

As Yue Shuo was thinking about this, they had already reached the marketplace.

The three moved quickly. After Spirit-Drawing Entry, traveling this short distance did not tire them at all.

The marketplace gate was a lofty archway. Before they approached it, the road ahead had still appeared to be a straight road, and the archway could not be seen.

Only after coming within several meters did they see the marketplace gate.

Someone guarded the entrance.

When Yue Shuo and the others approached, the yellow-robed gatekeeper opened his eyes, his baleful aura as fierce as a tiger's.

His gaze fell upon them, and he shouted:

"Stop if you entered by mistake!"

Zou Chongying hurriedly took out his token and gestured for Yue Shuo and Tian Wan to take out their identity tokens as well. He said:

"We are guest disciples of the Qin Clan... These are our identity tokens."

The man reached out, accepted them, and inspected and recorded them one by one.

At that moment, Yue Shuo saw someone fly directly overhead and could not help looking over.

After inspecting their identity tokens, the yellow-robed man noticed his gaze and tossed the tokens back to them.

"Watch your words and actions! Don't go looking for trouble!"

"If someone comes looking for trouble with you, remember to call for help! There are patrol guards in the marketplace too, dressed like me! Understand?"

The three children nodded vigorously in unison.

The yellow-robed man said nothing more and closed his eyes at the marketplace gate, seemingly having no intention of paying them further attention.

The three did not dare say anything else either.

They bowed to him, then entered the marketplace.

After entering, it seemed even the air had changed. Yue Shuo sensed that the spiritual energy within the marketplace was somewhat denser than outside.

Inside were streets, like an exquisite ancient town.

It was far larger than the marketplace he had imagined.

On the distant streets, someone occasionally descended from midair, while others rose from the ground and flew away on tools.

Of course, there were still very few pedestrians on the nearby streets.

They walked one or two hundred paces before seeing a few people coming and going nearby. Shops lined both sides, but quite a few of them were closed.

It was their first time here, and all three were somewhat at a loss.

"Where... should we look?"

"Find a Qin Clan shop!"

Yue Shuo's goal was rather clear. He spoke up, and the three first headed toward the few open shops.

It was impossible to see what was inside the shops from outside.

The three cautiously walked up to one of them.

They raised their heads and saw a simple talismanic image resembling a rice stalk painted on one side of the signboard.

It was extremely similar to the one Yue Shuo had seen on the sleeves of Qin Clan cultivators. He was eighty percent certain that this was a Qin Clan shop.

Just as they were about to enter, someone came out from inside.

Yue Shuo found this person very familiar.