Sights at the Market

It was already evening when the two entered Inkstone City, and by the time they reached the Separation Valley Market, darkness had fallen.

Yet Blue Brick Square was still bustling. A stone glowing with pearly white light stood before every stall, and their combined radiance lit up the entire Separation Valley until it looked scarcely different from daytime.

Just as Xu Yan was surveying the Separation Valley Market, Du Fei's voice sounded beside him.

"Brother Xu, we've reached the Separation Valley Market. Shall we stay together, or part ways here?"

During the half-day he had spent with Du Fei, Xu Yan had already told him his name. Now, after giving Du Fei's question a moment's thought, he decided to go alone.

He barely knew Du Fei. He had only traveled with him to draw out some information, and now that he had achieved his aim, there was naturally no need to remain together.

Besides, he did not want anyone to know that he intended to purchase a first-tier, low-grade Fire Array.

These thoughts flashed through his mind. Then he shook his head at the plump youth and said, "Fellow Daoist Du, since we've reached the Separation Valley market, let's go our separate ways here."

Xu Yan's answer suited Du Fei perfectly. He had intended to split up anyway, which was why he had asked.

Before leaving, however, he felt he ought to remind the young rogue cultivator before him of something. An amiable smile appeared on his round face as he said, "In three days, Senior Qi Yun will officially recruit five nominal disciples. We can both try our luck. It'll be at Azure Peak Terrace deep within Separation Valley. Let's meet there then."

Du Fei's kindly reminder warmed Xu Yan's heart a little. After half a day together, he had already seen that the plump youth was no wicked sort.

He could certainly go and watch Qi Yun recruit nominal disciples and broaden his horizons. After a brief moment's consideration, he nodded gently to Du Fei.

Their pleasantries over, Xu Yan turned and followed the crowd toward Blue Brick Square.

"Young brother, don't pass up this chance! The flesh of first-tier Azure Wolf Demon Beasts is wonderfully nourishing. Eat it, and you can improve your cultivation!"

Xu Yan had barely taken a few steps when a butcher-like man called out to him. Three wolf carcasses lay conspicuously on a bloodstained wooden counter.

The wolves were covered in blue-green fur, their wide mouths bristling with fangs. They looked utterly savage.

Before Xu Yan could speak, however, a mocking laugh sounded nearby.

"Heh, you can only fool young fellow Daoists who haven't seen much of the world. Those are plainly gray wolf carcasses smeared all over with green plant juice. They aren't Demon Beasts at all!"

Xu Yan turned and saw a burly, square-faced man standing before the wooden counter, his expression full of disdain.

"Hmph! I am the Seven-Kill Rogue of Wild Boar Ridge. May I ask your name, fellow Daoist? Once this gathering is over, I'd like to learn a few moves from you!" Furious at having his deception exposed, the butcher-like man picked up the bloodstained saber on his counter and glared hatefully at the square-faced man.

"Hah! You think I'm afraid of you? I am Mo Changqing of Red Maple Valley. I'll be waiting for you at the exit of the Separation Valley Market!" The square-faced man gave the butcher a disgusted look.

"The Mo Lineage of Red Maple Valley..."

At those words, the butcher's expression shifted slightly, and much of his bluster immediately drained away. The Mo Lineage of Red Maple Valley was a cultivation family, reportedly guarded by an ancestor who had reached Qi Refining Perfection. They were far beyond what a lone rogue cultivator like him could afford to provoke.

Xu Yan's heart tightened slightly at the sight. Once again, the Cultivation World's law of the strong devouring the weak had played out right before his eyes.

He had never intended to buy the supposed Azure Wolf Demon meat anyway; he had only stopped to broaden his horizons. Still, the square-faced man's kindly warning lifted his spirits considerably. He cupped his hands to the man and continued deeper into the square.

Just as the plump youth Du Fei had said, the Separation Valley Market's trading gathering, held once every five years, was lively indeed. Many rogue cultivators had set up small stalls to sell the spiritual goods they possessed.

Many stalls displayed wooden boards listing the owners' prices and what they sought.

After walking a dozen or so steps, Xu Yan was drawn to a scene ahead.

Several rogue cultivators had gathered around an old man dressed as a Daoist.

The old Daoist sat cross-legged on the ground. A dozen or so white porcelain bottles were arrayed before him, all uncapped. Looking through the crowd, Xu Yan saw that each bottle contained three pills the size of longan fruit.

"Daoist Qingyun, I'll take these two bottles of Qi Gathering Pills!" said a cultivator dressed as a middle-aged scholar in front of the stall.

"You're disregarding the rules, fellow Daoist. Fellow Daoist Qingyun has only brought out three bottles of Qi Gathering Pills this time. Isn't it a little improper for you to buy two all by yourself?" A scar-faced rogue cultivator beside him looked displeased.

"Indeed, you're going a little too far. I'm at the peak of the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining, and I was just about to buy a bottle to break through my current bottleneck," an old man in yellow chimed in.

While they argued, Xu Yan had already reached the stall. At a glance, he recognized the pills in three of the porcelain bottles as identical to those he had obtained from the Golden Light Daoist's Storage Bag.

He had approached to check the price of these Qi Gathering Pills.

"One Qi Gathering Pill costs three Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

Xu Yan soon learned the price of Qi Gathering Pills from Daoist Qingyun's stall. He currently had two bottles in his Storage Bag, and now he knew their value.

Having achieved his purpose, Xu Yan left.

The trading gathering held once every five years truly lived up to its reputation. Xu Yan's eyes had been thoroughly opened. Like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden for the first time, he could not help stopping wherever he went to broaden his knowledge.

After browsing for roughly half an incense stick's worth of time, Xu Yan stopped in a secluded corner in the northwest of the square.

Before him stood a stall covered in all kinds of Talisman Paper. Its owner was an old man wearing a ragged Daoist robe, looking for all the world like an elderly beggar.

At that moment, the old man was reclining behind his stall, his eyes half-closed as though he were dozing.

"Sir, how much does this Spirit Talisman cost?" Xu Yan asked, pointing to a sheet of Talisman Paper glowing white in one corner of the stall.

The Talisman Paper Xu Yan pointed to was the same as the one the plump youth Du Fei had attached to the back of his leg, except that its glow was stronger and it seemed to contain more spiritual energy.

Xu Yan was sorely tempted by this Talisman Paper. He had seen with his own eyes how fast the plump youth had moved after attaching one.

"A first-tier, low-grade Swift Speed Talisman. Five Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

Xu Yan's question instantly roused the old man from his drowsiness. He abruptly sat up and held out five fingers to him.

“Five Low-Grade Spirit Stones.”

Xu Yan shook his head at the price. He simply could not afford it. He only had six Low-Grade Spirit Stones, and without knowing the price of a first-tier, low-grade Fire Array, he dared not spend them recklessly.

With that thought, Xu Yan decisively left the stall.

Before long, Xu Yan had spent two hours wandering the blue-brick square, yet he had not encountered a single rogue cultivator displaying formations at their stall. He began to feel frustrated, for his purpose in coming to the Separation Valley market was to obtain a first-tier, low-grade fire formation.

"Surely a trading gathering held once every five years ought to have formations for sale. Could I be looking in the wrong place?"

Doubts could not help rising in Xu Yan's mind.