Eating, Drinking, and Making Merry

"Deal!"

Since that fragmentary map could not have been traded for even a single Spirit Stone in the first place, now that someone wanted it, it would be traded no matter the price. Any amount was profit.

The Little Apothecary set down the fragmentary map, picked up the medicine bottle on the table, and left.

Long Xuan froze for a moment. So he had gone up just to sell one thing, and it was a broken fragmentary map at that. He was shabby to this extent and still did not find it embarrassing?

After the Little Apothecary stepped down, Long Xuan was now closest to the table. He did not waste words and simply took over, placing his items on the table one by one.

The materials listed in the Divine Ice Flame Formula were simply too precious and too rare. A considerable portion could only be acquired through barter and could not be bought with Spirit Stones.

There happened to be a Treasure Exchange Fair now, so he decided to gather some of the materials for the Divine Ice Flame Formula.

But to trade for so many expensive materials, he would inevitably have to bring out many valuable treasures. Otherwise, who would trade with him?

Yet revealing one's wealth could draw unwanted attention. There was nothing to be done about that. He could not possibly stop gathering those materials and abandon refining the Divine Ice Flame just because he feared danger.

Wanting to collect expensive materials while taking no risks at all was simply impossible.

This Treasure Exchange Fair was already the safest channel for acquiring resources. He could not give it up.

After so many years of accumulation, he could not produce treasures worth cities and kingdoms, but he still had quite a few things worth putting on the table.

For example, he often went to the Qian Clan Gambling Stone Shop to shear wool from the sheep, and had collected a pile of High-grade Spirit Insects. Most of them were useless to him, so he might as well dispose of them during this opportunity.

There were also all kinds of spirit pills he had refined years ago. Having gone unused for so long, they were nearly expired, so he would dispose of them all now and refine fresh ones himself.

These spirit pills were all common, universal pills rather than exclusive pill varieties, so he could sell them without concern.

He also took out all sorts of treasures he had found by picking up bargains at street stalls and had no use for. Before long, the table was piled full of treasures, forming a stark contrast with the Little Apothecary who had just stepped down. There was simply no comparison—without comparison, there was no harm.

The row of people below all craned their necks. Interest appeared in their eyes as they looked at the items he had brought out, and all of them seemed inclined to trade.

"I only want Millennium Ice Marrow, coldstone, firestone..."

Long Xuan listed a small half of the most difficult-to-collect materials from the Frost Divine Flame Formula.

The instant he finished speaking, Di Xin hurried over at once, as though afraid someone would beat her to the things she wanted.

"I don't have the most precious Millennium Ice Marrow, but I have twenty percent of the remaining materials. I want to trade for all your High-grade Spirit Insects and Mid-grade Spirit Insects."

Long Xuan gave her a surprised look. He had not expected that she alone could provide twenty percent of the materials in his Divine Ice Flame Formula. She was truly wealthy. As expected of an array master, her material collection was abundant.

For her to possess twenty percent of the materials for the Divine Ice Flame Formula could not possibly be a coincidence. It could only mean that her fortune was so fat that she had every kind of material. Long Xuan was certain she was a little rich girl beyond doubt, and could not help giving her a deep look.

What surprised Long Xuan even more was that she wanted all his Mid-grade and High-grade Spirit Insects. High-grade Spirit Insects were indeed precious, but that was only if one possessed the Gu Recipe related to that Spirit Insect. Otherwise, bringing it home would just mean feeding an idle mouth. Apart from constantly consuming resources, it would be utterly useless.

Thus, High-grade Spirit Insects were not especially easy to trade. Coupled with the possibility that displaying such things at a street stall could invite disaster, that was why he had accumulated so many.

Could Di Xin's collection of Gu Recipes truly be so extensive that it covered every Spirit Insect he had?

Long Xuan found it unbelievable. Just how many Gu Recipes had this woman stolen? How had she not been beaten to death yet?

"The values are more or less equal. Deal."

Long Xuan could not actually tell who lost a little and who gained a little, but since the values were roughly equivalent, he could not be bothered to fuss over it. If he truly calculated every single item in detail, who knew how long that would take? So he completed the trade readily.

Long Xuan's goods were highly sought after, and before long, everything had been traded away.

By then, he had already collected nearly half the materials for the Frost Divine Flame Formula. Though more than half remained uncollected, the remaining materials were ordinary supplies.

Other than Millennium Ice Marrow, every remaining material could be bought directly from the Qian Clan Merchant Association with Spirit Stones.

Unfortunately, he had come to this Treasure Exchange Fair to pick up bargains precisely because the Cockroach Gu market was saturated and he lacked Spirit Stones. He could only hope that the treasure map would bring him a pleasant surprise.

Everything was ready now except Spirit Stones. He prayed that the treasure marked on the treasure map would fetch a high price.

After Long Xuan stepped down, Old Daoist Li took over. After greeting him, he placed all kinds of Internal Gu he had refined for harming people onto the table.

They were all things meant for stabbing people in the back. Many people below changed expression at the sight, their hearts pounding with fear. The way they looked at him changed, their eyes filled with wariness.

Naturally, Long Xuan was not interested. In his eyes, this was merely a minor path. It might strike true every time when used to ambush someone, but its use in actual combat was limited. The killing speed was simply too slow, giving opponents the chance to fight for their lives.

If Old Daoist Li had put his energy into the proper path, how could he have been so bedraggled during their last descent into the ancient tomb?

Though Long Xuan was uninterested, plenty of others were. After all, Gu Insects of this sort did not take up Gu Insect slots if they were not personally used, so one could prepare many of them.

Quite a few Rogue Cultivators went forward to trade, including the female Rogue Cultivator who had previously traded with Di Xin for the Soundproof Formation. She traded away all of Old Daoist Li's Rock Gu.

Long Xuan gleefully thought that this woman truly intended to ambush someone. He wondered which brother would suffer terrible misfortune next. That unlucky ghost should pray for his own fortune. Long Xuan silently observed a moment of mourning for him.

After Old Daoist Li stepped down and several more people went up, this trading fair finally came to a complete end.

Many Rogue Cultivators had not gone up at all, but their fortunes were too thin, and they were embarrassed to go up and make fools of themselves. They did not have the Little Apothecary's thick skin—going up with their entire fortune consisting of one broken map was simply disgraceful.

Otherwise, if all these Rogue Cultivators had gone up to show off their treasures, the Treasure Exchange Fair might have lasted the entire day.

After the Treasure Exchange Fair ended, everyone left one after another. Many wore satisfied smiles, seemingly having gained quite a lot.

Long Xuan also mingled among the crowd and headed out with them. He had gained much from this trip as well. Leaving aside those materials, that treasure map alone had earned him a fortune. It was impossible to say what treasure might be buried on it; perhaps it was truly worth several hundred million. He was greatly looking forward to it.

What he did not know was that three people were quietly following behind him. The leader was the female Rogue Cultivator who had traded for the Soundproof Array Disk, accompanied by two vicious-looking burly men.

"Are you sure it's him? He looks pretty young." One bald burly man transmitted through his soul.

After glancing at Long Xuan's back, the female Rogue Cultivator replied through soul transmission, "He may not be the fattest prey, but he is definitely the weakest. If we don't kill him, who will we kill?"

"The road to Great Stone Village is unavoidable for him. The only difficulty is that Great Stone Village is too close to the market and falls within the no-killing zone. That is why I specifically traded for an array disk today that can isolate the sounds of battle. It will ensure nothing can go wrong."

The other fierce-looking burly man nodded. "That road happens to be a stone road. I buried Rock Gu there long ago. With the three of us against one, nothing can possibly go wrong this time..."

At that moment, Long Xuan had no idea that someone had set their sights on him. Seeing that it was still early, he took another stroll around the market, then enjoyed a fine meal at the best restaurant in town.

The path of longevity should be about eating, drinking, and pleasure. Usually, one should farm a little and stay out of the Gu World's schemes and deceptions. Besides, cultivation could be left to his clone, making him all the more content to live leisurely.

A person's life was meant to be enjoyed, not endured in suffering.

If not for the fact that all the beautiful female Gu Cultivators in this world liked refining Love Gu, he would have gone to visit some entertainment venues.

After eating and drinking his fill, he wandered through the night market again. Only after playing until deep into the night did he head toward Great Stone Village, humming a little tune along the way and seeming to be in quite a good mood.

Little did he know that this action had thoroughly tormented the people lying in ambush along the road. They had hidden in the grass and fed mosquitoes for most of the day, waiting until the flowers had withered. They had waited so long that they thought he would never come.

Just as they were preparing to give up, they finally saw that figure they had been gnashing their teeth over. They immediately perked up, their eyes flashing with bitter hatred.

Long Xuan was not a god. How could he know that people were lying in ambush ahead, and that they were the same group who had traded for the Soundproof Array Disk? He had actually become the unlucky ghost he had spoken of. Disaster truly fell from the sky, and the world was impossible to predict.

However, though he had not anticipated this, it did not mean he would fail to act cautiously.

Ever since becoming neighbors with Old Daoist Li, who loved ambushing people, Long Xuan had been filled with wariness toward this world. Everywhere he went seemed dangerous to him, and he constantly feared that some old schemer might one day plant Gu on him.

He had been frightened into refining the Eye of Heavenly Secrets as early as possible. Whenever he traveled, he kept the Eye of Heavenly Secrets activated the entire time, magnifying everything ahead of him. He was cautious to an excessive degree.

And it was precisely this mouse-timid caution that saved his life today.