Eating, Drinking, and Merrymaking

"Deal!"

This fragmentary map had originally been impossible to trade even for a single Spirit Stone. Now that someone wanted it, he would trade it no matter the price—anything he got was profit.

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

Long Xuan was momentarily stunned. So he had come up just to sell one thing—and it was a tattered fragment of a map. Wasn't he embarrassed to be this shabby?

As the little medicine boy walked down, Long Xuan, now closest to the table, did not waste words. He simply took over and laid out his items one by one across the table.

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

There happened to be a treasure exchange gathering now, so he decided to collect some of the materials for the Divine Ice Flame formula.

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

Yet displaying one's wealth could attract unwanted attention. There was no helping it. He could not possibly stop gathering those materials and give up refining the Divine Ice Flame just because he feared danger.

Wanting to collect expensive materials while taking no risks whatsoever was fundamentally impossible.

This treasure exchange gathering was already the safest means of acquiring resources. He could not give it up.

After so many years of accumulation, he could not bring out treasures worth a city, but he still had quite a few things that were presentable.

For example, he often went to the Qian Clan's stone gambling shop to shear wool, and had collected a heap 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 the various spirit pills he had refined several years ago. Left unused for so long, they were nearly expired, so he would sell them all off and refine fresh ones himself.

These spirit pills were all common, general-purpose pills, not exclusive pill varieties, so he could sell them without restraint.

He also took out all sorts of treasures he had found by picking up bargains at street stalls, anything he did not need. Before long, the table was piled full of treasures, forming a stark contrast with the little medicine boy who had just stepped down. There was simply no comparison—without comparison, there was no harm.

The row of people below stretched their necks, all showing interest in the items he had brought out. Every one of them seemed inclined to trade.

"I only want Thousand-Year Ice Marrow, coldstone, firestone..."

Long Xuan named the most difficult-to-collect half of the materials in the Divine Ice Flame formula.

The moment his words fell, Di Xin hurried over at once, as though afraid someone would beat her to the items she wanted.

"I don't have the most precious Thousand-Year Ice Marrow, but I have twenty percent of the remaining materials. I want to exchange them 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 collection of materials was abundant.

Her possessing twenty percent of the materials for the Divine Ice Flame formula could not possibly be a coincidence. The only explanation was that her fortune was simply too fat, and she had every kind of material. Long Xuan was certain that she was a little rich girl, and could not help giving her a long look.

What surprised Long Xuan even more was that she wanted all of his Mid-grade and High-grade Spirit Insects. High-grade Spirit Insects might be precious, but that was only if one possessed the Gu formula related to that Spirit Insect. Otherwise, bringing it home would just mean feeding it for nothing. Aside from constantly consuming resources, it would be utterly useless.

Therefore, High-grade Spirit Insects were not particularly easy to trade. Moreover, putting such things on display at a street stall could invite disaster, which was why he had accumulated so many.

Could it be that Di Xin had an abundant collection of Gu formulas, enough to cover every one of his Spirit Insects?

Long Xuan found it hard to believe. Just how many Gu formulas had this woman stolen? How had no one beaten her to death yet?

"The values are roughly equivalent. Deal."

In truth, Long Xuan could not tell who was losing a little and who was gaining a little. But since the values were approximately equal, he could not be bothered to fuss over it. If he carefully calculated so many items, who knew how long it would take? So he completed the trade readily.

Long Xuan's items were highly sought after, and before long, they had all been traded away.

By then, he had collected nearly half the materials for the Divine Ice Flame formula. Though more than half remained uncollected, the rest were all ordinary supplies.

Other than Thousand-Year Ice Marrow, all the remaining materials could be bought directly from the Qian Clan Merchant Association with Spirit Stones.

Unfortunately, he had come to this treasure exchange gathering precisely because the Cockroach Gu market was saturated and he lacked Spirit Stones. He could only place his hopes on the treasure map giving him a pleasant surprise.

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

After Long Xuan stepped down, the familiar Old Daoist Li took over. After greeting him, he laid out various internal Gu he had refined for harming people.

They were all tools for ambushing others. Many people below changed expressions at the sight, their hearts pounding as they looked at him differently, their eyes filled with wariness.

Naturally, Long Xuan had no interest. In his eyes, this was a minor path. It might hit the mark every time when used to scheme against someone, but its usefulness in actual combat was limited. After all, it killed far too slowly and would give an opponent the chance to fight desperately.

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

Though Long Xuan was uninterested, plenty of others were. After all, such Gu insects did not occupy Gu insect slots if one was not using them personally, so they could prepare many of them.

Thus, quite a few Rogue Cultivators stepped forward to trade, including the female Rogue Cultivator who had earlier traded with Di Xin for the soundproofing array. She traded away all of Old Daoist Li's Stone Gu.

Long Xuan gloated inwardly. This woman really was planning to ambush someone. He wondered which brother would suffer terrible misfortune next. That unlucky fellow could only pray for himself; Long Xuan silently observed a moment of mourning for him.

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

Quite a few Rogue Cultivators had not gone up at all, but their fortunes were too meager, and they were too embarrassed to go up and make fools of themselves. They did not have the little medicine boy's thick skin, going up with their entire fortune consisting of one tattered map. It was simply disgraceful.

Otherwise, if all these Rogue Cultivators had gone up to show their treasures, the exchange gathering might have lasted the entire day.

After the treasure exchange gathering ended, everyone left one after another. Many wore satisfied smiles, clearly having gained quite a lot.

Long Xuan blended into the crowd and walked outside with them. He too had gained richly from this trip. Leaving aside those materials, the treasure map alone had earned him a fortune. There was no telling what it had buried; perhaps it truly could be worth several hundred million. He looked forward to it.

What he did not know was that three people were quietly tailing him. Leading them was the female Rogue Cultivator who had traded for the soundproofing array disk, accompanied by two sinister-looking burly men.

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

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

"The road to Great Stone Village is one he must take. The only difficulty is that Great Stone Village is too close to the marketplace, 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 be enough to ensure nothing goes wrong."

The other fierce-looking man nodded. "That road happens to be a stone path. I already buried Stone Gu along it. With the three of us against one, nothing can go wrong this time..."

At that moment, Long Xuan had no idea he had been targeted. Seeing that it was still early, he strolled around the marketplace again and treated himself to a fine meal at the best restaurant there.

Those pursuing longevity should eat, drink, and enjoy themselves. Usually, they should farm a little and avoid the Gu World's intrigues and deceptions. Besides, cultivation could be left to his clone, making him all the more content to be idle.

A person's life was meant for enjoyment, not suffering.

If the beautiful female Gu Cultivators in this world had not all liked refining Love Gu, he would have wanted to visit some entertainment establishments too.

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 all the way, clearly in a good mood.

Little did he know that this 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 had thought he would not come.

Just as they were preparing to give up, they finally saw the figure that made their teeth itch with hatred. They immediately perked up, their eyes flashing with resentment.

Long Xuan was not a god. How could he know that someone was lying in ambush ahead, and that it was the very group who had traded for the soundproofing array disk? He had become the unlucky fellow he had spoken of himself. Disaster truly fell from the sky, and the ways of the world were impossible to predict.

But although he had not anticipated this, it did not mean he would not act cautiously.

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

It had frightened him 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.