A Market Where Demand Outstripped Supply

"Surely you jest, Fellow Daoist. If you have connections and can purchase brand-new Magic Artifacts directly from an Artifact Forger, our shop would be willing to buy them at market price."

Inside another Artifact Shop in the Rogue Cultivator Market, the Shopkeeper sneered coldly.

Rather than becoming angry upon hearing this, Chen Daoxuan smiled and said, "Farewell!"

"Hmph!"

The Artifact Shop Shopkeeper watched Chen Daoxuan leave, his expression turning sour.

If this were not Guang'an Prefecture, a mere third-layer Qi Refining cultivator daring to be so disrespectful would surely have been taught a lesson.

After spending the entire morning at it,

Chen Daoxuan had visited nearly every Artifact Shop in the Rogue Cultivator Market.

He had reached only one conclusion.

Guang'an Prefecture's Magic Artifact market was in a state of severe shortage.

Forget brand-new Magic Artifacts—even slightly better-quality secondhand goods would be snatched up by Rogue Cultivators in no time, and at the price of normal Magic Artifacts.

Generally speaking, First-tier magical artifacts ranged in price from several dozen Spirit Stones to several hundred.

Even the finest High-grade First-tier Magical Artifact usually sold for no more than a thousand Spirit Stones.

In short, based on Chen Daoxuan's investigations that morning, opening an Artifact Shop in the Rogue Cultivator Market to sell Magic Artifacts held tremendous promise.

Moreover, unlike the Core Commercial District, where shops were difficult to purchase or rent, there was no such problem in the Rogue Cultivator Market.

Along the way, he had even seen several vacant storefronts awaiting sale or lease.

The reason was that the Rogue Cultivators setting up street stalls had stolen much of the shops' business.

It would have been one thing if the goods in the shops had been worth their price, but the key was that they sold nothing but secondhand goods and defective products.

In that case, Rogue Cultivators might as well try their luck at the street stalls, where at least the prices were cheaper.

If they were lucky, they might even pick up a treasure at a low price from some Rogue Cultivator seller who failed to recognize its value.

Having finished investigating the Artifact Shops in the Rogue Cultivator Market,

it was already noon. Remembering that several hours remained before his appointment with Chen Xianhe, Chen Daoxuan simply began browsing the largest street market in the Rogue Cultivator Market.

As he stepped into the street market,

Chen Daoxuan had the illusion that he was wandering through a flea market from his previous life.

If not for the various Talismans, Formation Disks, Spirit Mines, and other items used by cultivators spread across the stalls, he would truly have felt as if he had returned to Earth.

Shaking his head and casting aside those impractical thoughts, Chen Daoxuan set his sights on a stall and walked over.

"Fellow Daoist!"

Chen Daoxuan cupped his hands toward the Rogue Cultivator manning the stall. "How much is this Formation Disk?"

The Rogue Cultivator running the stall was a middle-aged man with a full beard, and he looked quite honest and simple.

Seeing a customer approach, the bearded middle-aged stall owner hurriedly rose from the Pouf he had been meditating on. Rubbing his hands together, he said, "Fellow Daoist, you have a keen eye. This Formation Disk is called the Wind Thunder Formation Disk. It contains a small Wind Thunder Formation. Once activated, it can lay down a great wind-and-thunder formation within a radius of ten zhang around you. It can trap enemies, kill enemies, and provide a certain degree of protection. It is truly a Magic Artifact with remarkably comprehensive functions!"

He pointed at a Bagua formation disk covered in cracks. "One hundred Spirit Stones, please!"

The bearded stall owner held up one finger, smiling broadly.

Chen Daoxuan remained impassive. "May I try it?"

"By all means!"

The bearded middle-aged stall owner waved a hand grandly.

Chen Daoxuan nodded, picked up the Wind Thunder Formation Disk, and infused it with a thread of true qi.

Who would have thought that the Wind Thunder Formation Disk, which the bearded stall owner had praised to the skies, would flicker with spiritual light a few times before abruptly going dark?

Not only that, the entire Formation Disk split apart along its cracks, turning into a heap of fragments that scattered across the ground.

Chen Daoxuan: "..."

The bearded stall owner: "..."

The atmosphere became slightly awkward.

Chen Daoxuan had wanted to purchase this Formation Disk solely because he was interested in this type of formation-disk Magic Artifact, which was not recorded in the family Artifact Forging inheritance.

He had not expected that a dignified Artifact Forger like himself would misjudge it. This was not a slightly damaged Magic Artifact at all, but one already on the verge of being scrapped.

This bearded stall owner was clearly fishing for a sucker.

Sure enough, seeing Chen Daoxuan "damage" his Magic Artifact, the bearded stall owner immediately shouted in righteous indignation, "What do you mean by this, Fellow Daoist? Why did you destroy my Magic Artifact worth one hundred Spirit Stones for no reason?

"Who would have thought that despite your young age and dignified appearance, you would do such a thing!"

Very quickly,

the bearded stall owner's booming voice drew the attention of nearby pedestrians and stall owners. People gradually gathered around, pointing and whispering as they watched the show.

"That damned Zhang San is scamming people again!"

"This young Fellow Daoist looks unfamiliar. There's a good show to watch."

"..."

Some Qi Refining cultivators with slightly higher cultivation even egged him on. "Zhang San, one hundred Spirit Stones is probably not enough for your Formation Disk. At least a thousand would do, wouldn't it?"

Hearing someone heckle him and undermine his act, the bearded stall owner named Zhang San became furious. Following the voice, he discovered that it came from Old Ghost Wei, a ninth-layer Qi Refining stall owner nearby, and immediately lowered his banner and beat his drums.

Once he began to consider backing down, Zhang San's words lost their force. He waved his hand and assumed a magnanimous pose. "Forget it, forget it. Seeing how young you are, you must be a junior who has only just entered the immortal path. I won't make things difficult for you."

After putting on a show, Zhang San continued, "Besides, I agreed to let you test the Wind Thunder Formation Disk, so I bear half the responsibility as well. How about this? Compensate me fifty Spirit Stones, and we'll let this matter rest. What do you say?"

Having said that, he wore an expression as though Chen Daoxuan were getting a bargain.

Chen Daoxuan was nearly angered into laughter by this scoundrel's manner. Shaking his head, he said, "Not at all!"

"Heh, kid, I'm telling you, don't refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit!"

The bearded man threatened, "Don't think I can't teach you a lesson in Guang'an Prefecture!"

With that, he rolled up his sleeves, making as though to teach Chen Daoxuan a lesson.

Yet Chen Daoxuan merely watched him quietly, utterly unmoved.

Seeing his reaction, the bearded man named Zhang San found himself stuck on the griddle instead.

Making a move in Guang'an Prefecture immortal city meant provoking the Guang'an Prefecture Zhou Family. Even if the bearded stall owner had a hundred and eighty times more courage, he would not dare do such a thing.

Now, whether he acted or not, he was caught between a rock and a hard place.

With the surrounding crowd constantly egging him on, Zhang San felt like he was riding a tiger and could not get off.

As the standoff continued,

Zhou Family patrol disciples quickly arrived.

"Make way! Make way!"

"Move aside! The Enforcement Team is here!"

"Make way!"

"..."

A moment later, two Zhou Family enforcement cultivators clad in cyan robes bearing Fire Spirit Pearls pushed through the crowd and squeezed their way in.

"What's going on? What are you two doing?"

At the sight of the Enforcement Team cultivators, the bearded stall owner's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly cupped his hands and pleaded, "Nothing, nothing. This little brother and I were just fooling around!"

"Is that so?"

The Enforcement Team cultivator looked at Chen Daoxuan and asked.

Chen Daoxuan glanced at the bearded stall owner. Seeing the pleading expression on his face, he nodded. "We had a small dispute over the price of a Magic Artifact. It's nothing serious."

Seeing that the parties involved wished to let the matter rest, the Enforcement Team cultivators had no desire to pursue it further.

Before leaving, the older Enforcement Team cultivator warned the bearded stall owner, "Zhang San, don't cause trouble here. Otherwise, you won't be as lucky as you were last time!"

"Yes, yes, yes! Zhang San understands."

Bowing and scraping, Zhang San saw the two Enforcement Team cultivators off.

With no more spectacle to watch, the crowd gradually dispersed, and the surrounding street stalls resumed their cries of sale.

"Brother, thank you for what happened just now!"

The bearded stall owner solemnly cupped his hands toward Chen Daoxuan.

"Don't thank me just yet. Let me ask you this: where did you get this Wind Thunder Formation Disk?"

Chen Daoxuan pointed at the fragments scattered across the ground and asked.