The other two passengers jumped down from the cart as well and gazed toward the Desolate Ruins Market, but still exchanged no words.
Whenever their eyes met, the woman would give him a slight nod, while the old man remained like a wooden statue, making not a sound.
Lin Changheng merely smiled, untroubled.
Only by remaining sufficiently invisible could he avoid potential trouble. If everyone were eager to speak to him and turn their attention his way, that would be bad instead.
Soon, they reached the market ward with the caravan.
Lin Changheng immediately bade farewell to the caravan steward, who reminded him to return here at noon in half a month to travel back with them.
They could not wait if he was late; he must be sure not to miss the departure.
Lin Changheng nodded in acknowledgment, then turned to pay one spirit stone at the entrance, received a token, and entered the market ward.
Shops stood side by side along the bluestone road, their signs packed like fish scales. The streets teemed with people, shoulders brushing shoulders, bustling with life.
It was much larger than Zichuan Market, where he had spent twelve years, and its prosperity was far beyond anything that place could match.
This newly built market drew resources from all directions, its fortunes blazing like the midday sun; Zichuan Market, by contrast, was a sun sinking toward the western hills, its resources long exhausted and unable to attract people.
Lin Changheng tugged his bamboo hat lower, browsing as he walked. Magic artifacts, pills, talismans, materials, puppets, spirit beasts-it had everything.
After noting the locations of several shops, Lin Changheng kept moving through the crowd without stopping.
He also encountered two patrols dressed in specially made uniforms.
After making two broad circuits, Lin Changheng judged that no one should have been able to keep up with him. Only then did he change into a blue-green robe and replace his Human-Skin Mask in a secluded corner of an alley.
Once he had put his bamboo hat back on, he strode openly toward the shops whose locations he had noted earlier.
"Pill Refining Pavilion."
It was a medium-sized shop with a respectable flow of customers, presumably established by some lineage, though not the Xu Family.
Lin Changheng watched from outside for a while. There were no arguments or disputes, and everyone leaving wore a pleased, satisfied expression.
Its reputation ought to be fairly good.
Since he intended to sell pills, caution had to come first.
Knock, knock, knock!
After a brief moment of thought, Lin Changheng walked straight up and knocked on the open door with the back of his hand.
The shop assistant had just seen off a customer and was busy arranging the goods with his head lowered. At the sound, he immediately put down his work and approached with a smile. "Please come in, honored customer."
"What might you need? If it's a first-tier pill, our shop can supply just about anything you're looking for."
As he spoke, he even thumped his chest in assurance.
Lin Changheng shook his head and spoke in a hoarse voice. "No, I intend to sell pills. Does your shop buy them?"
The assistant paused, evidently seldom encountering such a request, but maintained his professional smile. "Of course. What kind of pills are they, and what quality?"
Then, still uneasy, he added, "We don't buy anything below standard pill quality."
He said this because the person before him was covered from head to toe, and the faint aura leaking out placed him at mid-Qi Refining. He might be difficult to deal with, so the assistant made the conditions clear in advance.
That way, he would not leave any opening for the man to find fault.
"Naturally."
Lin Changheng had not suppressed his aura too much. When traveling outside, constantly concealing his cultivation would only invite greater scrutiny, especially if he appeared to be at early Qi Refining.
But since he also ought to keep something in reserve, he had chosen to present himself as being at the fourth layer of Qi Refining.
"What pills are they, then?"
"[Wood Origin Pills]. Mm, premium quality."
Lin Changheng gave the name, then added a clarification after a moment's thought.
He had come here precisely to sell premium pills. Being vague served no purpose, so he might as well be straightforward.
"Premium pills?"
Surprise immediately showed on the assistant's face. He exclaimed softly, hastily excused himself, and went to the rear courtyard to fetch the shopkeeper.
A middle-aged cultivator hurried out from the rear courtyard, smiled at Lin Changheng, and told the assistant to return to his work.
"How many do you intend to sell, fellow Daoist? Could you show them to me for inspection?"
Instead of answering, the bamboo-hatted cultivator before him gave a hoarse chuckle and asked, "How many can your shop take?"
"Hahaha, however many you have, we can take them all. Our shop is backed by a great Foundation Establishment lineage. You needn't worry about that."
The middle-aged shopkeeper spoke with complete confidence.
"And the price?" Lin Changheng asked carefully.
"We follow the usual rate: seventy percent of the current selling price. Frontier reclamation is underway, so premium cultivation-enhancing pills such as [Wood Origin Pills] can sell for four spirit stones apiece. That makes our buying price two spirit stones and eighty grains of spirit sand."
"If you truly have a substantial quantity, we can make it three spirit stones each. How does that sound? That's the most I can authorize as shopkeeper."
The middle-aged shopkeeper offered an honest price with great sincerity, and even Lin Changheng could not help nodding slightly.
It was indeed a good offer.
Selling these pills back to the Xu Family, by contrast, would fetch two spirit stones and ten grains of spirit sand each.
The difference was considerable: ninety grains of spirit sand, almost an entire spirit stone.
Thus, Lin Changheng pushed a cloth bag forward. "Sorry for the trouble, then, shopkeeper. Please take a look."
At the sight of the three long wooden boxes before him, sealed with talismans to keep their spiritual energy contained, the middle-aged shopkeeper's eyes lit up. He took out a bronze mirror and began inspecting them.
The golden light filling his vision left him somewhat dazzled. Only after a moment did he draw a deep breath and say:
"They're all premium pills! Sixty in total! That comes to one hundred and eighty low-grade spirit stones."
"What do you think, fellow Daoist?"
"Good." Lin Changheng nodded, then added, "Could one hundred of those low-grade spirit stones be exchanged for a mid-grade spirit stone?"
The middle-aged shopkeeper froze briefly, a trace of conflict appearing on his face. After wrestling with himself, he said, "You should know, fellow Daoist, that a hundred low-grade spiritual roots can theoretically be exchanged for one mid-grade spirit stone. In practice, though, when exchanging a lower grade for a higher one, a hundred isn't enough. It takes more."
The bamboo hat concealed Lin Changheng's face, so the middle-aged shopkeeper could not make out his expression. When he remained silent, the shopkeeper eventually sighed and yielded. "Then we'll do as you ask."
Only then did Lin Changheng respond. "Thank you."
The middle-aged shopkeeper was decisive and wasted no words. He quickly took out a pile of spirit stones, eighty-one in total upon counting.
One was especially clear and lustrous, seeming to shimmer with dazzling light.
A mid-grade spirit stone!
With payment and goods exchanged, Lin Changheng did not leave immediately. Instead, he weighed his words and asked:
"May I ask, shopkeeper, whether your shop has any pill formulas for sale?"
"Pill formulas?"
The middle-aged shopkeeper's thoughts stirred. He had originally judged this bamboo-hatted customer to be seventy percent likely to be a marauding cultivator and thirty percent likely to be a pill master. After that question, however, he seemed seventy percent likely to be a pill master and thirty percent a marauding cultivator.
Still uncertain, he considered his answer before replying, "Pill formulas have always been passed down in secret. Our humble shop doesn't sell them to outsiders either."
"Is that so?"
At this answer, a flicker of disappointment crossed Lin Changheng's face beneath his bamboo hat. He did not ask further about mid-grade pill formulas; presumably, those were even less likely to be shared with outsiders.
He offered his thanks and turned to leave, only for the middle-aged shopkeeper to call him back.
"Fellow Daoist, finding pill formulas won't be easy. Everyone treasures even their own worn broom and refuses to reveal what they have. Still, it isn't as though there's no way..."