Lü Family Marketplace

Amid a vast expanse of overlapping mountain peaks, a sizable cluster of buildings stood in a mist-shrouded valley, with quite a few robed cultivators patrolling among them.

Quite a few people lived throughout the valley.

And inside one of the valley's towering buildings...

"What? Both Little Three and Little Two were killed?" a burly old man with a dark-red complexion and yellow hair roared in utter fury.

At the front of the hall, Third Elder Ma stood silent, his face livid. The bodies of the young man and woman lay before him!

"Damn it! Who did this? Does the Wang Household think nothing of our Ma Family?" the yellow-haired old man cursed furiously. He was clearly a man with an explosive temper. After a pause, his tone eased somewhat, and he hurriedly asked, "Did Wang Yanyu have anything to say?"

"No. Clan Chief Wang said nothing!" Third Elder Ma replied heavily, his expression ugly.

"Wait! What were you doing at the Wang Household?" As though something had suddenly occurred to him, the yellow-haired old man narrowed his eyes and glared at Elder Ma...

"Well..." The Third Elder choked at the question, abruptly realizing that he seemed to have made a mistake he never should have made. He hesitated, then knew he could no longer conceal it. "This is what happened..." He had no choice but to give a full account of the missing Moon-Embracing Purple Mountain Map and his visit to the Wang Household.

"What? You actually lost the trea-!" Before the Third Elder could finish, the yellow-haired old man erupted in rage. Halfway through, he forcibly lowered his voice and cursed, "Damn it! How could you lose the map? Who did it? I'll punish them without mercy!"

"It... was my granddaughter. Ah... it's a long story. I suspect she's already fallen, too!" the Third Elder said meekly. He let out a long sigh. "It looks like Wang Ziling killed her as well!"

"Wang Ziling!" the yellow-haired old man said bitterly. "So young, yet so ruthless. He's at major completion of the cultivation realm, and even two cultivators at major completion were no match for him... Tch! No wonder the Wang Household refused to sell... damn it!" He pressed a hand to his forehead in vexation and sank into thought...

"Yes! That was what I thought, too... that's why I attacked...!" the Third Elder explained defensively.

"Tch! What good does talking about that do now?" The yellow-haired old man smacked his lips and interrupted the Third Elder in a low voice. "You! What am I supposed to say to you?" He held his forehead in frustration...

"Clan Chief, shall I gather our people and try again?" the Third Elder asked grimly, a vicious gleam in his eyes.

"No!" The yellow-haired old man shook his head, then suddenly asked in a low voice, "The map ended up in Wang Ziling's hands, didn't it?"

"Yes!"

"Wang Ziling is only a cultivation realm cultivator. He certainly won't know what that map is for. Even if he does, he won't know where Moon-Embracing Purple Mountain is!" the yellow-haired old man said heavily. He paused before continuing, "And you've already beaten the grass and startled the snake. Both the Wang Household and Wang Ziling will be on guard. Making another move won't be easy!"

"Then what do you mean, Clan Chief?" the Third Elder asked with a frown. He actually favored attacking. After all, the Ma Family was somewhat stronger than the Wang Household... Besides, he truly could not swallow this insult, and naturally wanted to settle the score.

"Don't forget, the Wang Household is still our ally. Surely you haven't forgotten why our three lineages joined forces?" the yellow-haired old man said coldly, his expression chilling. After a pause, he continued, "Pass down the order. Have our people in the Wang Household keep watch on Wang Ziling's movements at all times. Once he goes out alone, find a chance to capture that brat alive!"

"Yes, Clan Chief!" The Third Elder's lips moved, but he ultimately answered obediently. Then, as though remembering something, he hurriedly asked, "Right! Clan Chief, isn't he coming back soon? Won't this be too late?"

"He won't be back so soon! Apparently, something has delayed him. We needn't be too anxious!" the yellow-haired old man said calmly.

"Oh! In that case, I'm relieved!"

The two murmured together for a while longer before the Third Elder finally left...

"Hmph! If you weren't his father, I would have already... hmph!" Watching the Third Elder's retreating back, the yellow-haired old man's previously amiable expression suddenly took on a chilling edge as he spoke coldly...

Wang Yan walked down a broad street. All around him, cultivators with extraordinary auras came and went, and their attire truly opened his eyes. There were strange outfits of every sort, worn by men and women, young and old...

This was the Lü Family Marketplace.

It was a Cultivator Market exclusively for cultivators to buy and sell, established near the Azure Spirit Mountain Range by the Lü Household, one of the three lineages. Cultivator Markets founded by cultivation lineages like this dealt only in goods cultivators needed, such as pills, materials, magic artifacts, talismans, and everything else one could want...

It was said that some Cultivator Markets established by major sects were as large as mortal cities. Core condensation realm cultivators flying on swords could be seen everywhere, and one might even encounter golden core realm cultivators.

Of course.

The Lü Family Marketplace was only a small marketplace, covering little more than a dozen li. In truth, it consisted of a number of houses built along the mountainside and a single street. Still, though the sparrow was small, it had all five organs: the pill shops, magic artifact shops, and other stores cultivators frequented were all there...

In fact.

The other two households in the Azure Spirit Mountain Range, the Wang Household and the Ma Family, also had Cultivator Markets of roughly the same size. But Wang Yan dared not visit them. He himself belonged to the Wang Household, and with a little bad luck, he might run into someone who recognized him there. As for the Ma Family, first, he had no goodwill toward them whatsoever; second, he had a thief's guilty conscience. He had come to the Cultivator Market to sell some unneeded magic artifacts and materials obtained from those Ma Family cultivators, along with demon beast materials. Most of these things had come from the Ma Family cultivators. If they were recognized at the Ma Family's Cultivator Market, he would be a lamb walking into a tiger's jaws. Naturally, he could not afford to be careless.

Thus, his only option was the Lü Family Marketplace.

Wang Yan had never visited the Lü Family Marketplace before, though he had heard where it was. It had taken considerable effort before he finally reached it by following a few cultivators.

As Wang Yan walked along, some cultivators looked him over, seemingly surprised that a boy barely in his teens had come to the Cultivator Market...

"Brat! Most people here are at least at major completion of the cultivation realm. There are hardly any at minor completion of the cultivation realm. You'd better be careful!" the Card Fairy warned Wang Yan through a voice transmission in his mind.

"Yes! Don't worry, I know what I'm doing!" Wang Yan hurriedly answered. Indeed, a low-level cultivator like him walking through the Cultivator Market drew attention. It was only right to be cautious.

Still, the Lü Family Marketplace stretched only a few li, and he soon walked through it all. Aside from the shops specially established by the Lü Household, quite a few cultivators had set up stalls along the streets. Their dazzling assortments of medicinal herbs, spirit pills, magic artifacts, and other goods made Wang Yan's eyes swim. He did not recognize most of them and did not waste time asking. Although the stallholders called out to passing cultivators, they did not bother calling to Wang Yan. Perhaps they thought that, given his young age and low cultivation, there was no fat to squeeze out of him?

Naturally, Wang Yan kept a low profile and stirred up no trouble. No one knew better than he did exactly how much weight he could carry...

After making a circuit of the Lü Family Marketplace, Wang Yan found himself in a quandary. He quietly slipped into a deserted corner and began discussing it with the Card Fairy in a low voice...

"Card Fairy! Card Fairy!" Wang Yan called softly. His current cultivation was nowhere near enough to communicate with the Card Fairy through divine sense, so he could only call out.

"What is it?"

"Card Fairy! I have too many valuable things on me now. If I take them out to sell, I'm bound to attract attention. Do you have any suggestions?" Wang Yan hurriedly asked.

"Uh... what suggestions could I have?" the Card Fairy said, somewhat at a loss. Then she hurriedly added, "Right! This Lü Household Cultivator Market must have an inn or something. Once you've sold your things, stay at an inn for a few days and find a chance to slip away! While we're at it, I'll teach you how to refine Immortal Cards. You'll also need to prepare some materials!"

"Yes, good idea. This Cultivator Market is the Lü Household's territory, after all. Even their own people wouldn't dare cause trouble, for fear of ruining their reputation!" Wang Yan thought it over, then asked, "So, Card Fairy, what materials do you need me to buy?"

"Buy an Array-Drawing Brush, some beast-blood cinnabar, and talisman paper...!" the Card Fairy listed everything in detail.

"Talisman paper? What do we need talisman paper for? Are we going to learn to make talismans, too?" Wang Yan asked in surprise.

"Of course not. It's for you to practice on, and it has other uses, too. Don't ask so many questions. Just buy it!" the Card Fairy hurriedly replied. After a pause, she reminded him, "Oh! Buy plenty, so we don't run short later!"

"All right!"

After discussing things with the Card Fairy, Wang Yan quietly left the corner and headed straight into a pavilion two or three stories tall. The sign above it read "Spirit Beast Shop." This place did not sell spirit beasts; rather, it purchased demon beast materials. Since Wang Yan wanted to sell some materials first, the Spirit Beast Shop was naturally where he had to go...

Two cultivators stood guard at the entrance to the Spirit Beast Shop. Both were at major completion of the cultivation realm and looked quite imposing, but, plainly speaking, they were merely doorkeepers.

Although the two cultivators gave Wang Yan a couple of glances as he entered, they saw that he was a cultivator and did not stop him...