Xu Xuan entered the prefectural city again without telling anyone.
He had made thorough preparations for this visit to investigate the abandoned garden, bringing plenty of emergency supplies.
Night fell, and the hour of the pig had just begun.
The moon was hidden, the stars sparse.
Clad in a blue robe, Xu Xuan slipped soundlessly into the old garden.
Weeds grew thick within the garden, among broken walls and crumbling ruins, as a chill wind rustled through.
There were indeed quite a few new traces around.
Xu Xuan went straight to the artificial hill, pressed his hand against the leather scroll, and infused it with spiritual power.
The leather scroll grew scorching hot and shot out a faint beam of light, which landed on an inconspicuous stone in the artificial hill.
Hum.
This time, a slight change appeared on the stone.
Space twisted.
The artificial hill actually transformed into a hazy gate of light, wide enough for one person to pass through.
Xu Xuan paused briefly.
Mist swirled inside the gate, obscuring the view, but pure spiritual energy drifted out.
Taking a deep breath, he stepped inside.
A sensation of heaven and earth spinning swept over him.
A moment later, the view before him suddenly opened up.
A narrow street appeared before his eyes.
A scattering of houses and shops lined both sides, their designs quaint and old-fashioned, with hanging lanterns casting a soft white glow.
Few figures walked the street. All wore robes, their auras obscure, and most gave off fluctuations of spiritual power.
Though their strength varied, all were cultivators.
Mist shrouded the end of the street, where there seemed to be a larger space.
Above all, the concentration of spiritual energy here far exceeded that of the outside world.
Even the bottleneck at Xu Xuan's third meridian wheel seemed to loosen somewhat.
"The greatest hermits hide in the marketplace."
"This is actually a cultivators' market hidden within a mortal city!"
Xu Xuan was somewhat surprised.
According to his memories of his previous life, markets for cultivators like this were mostly found among extraordinary peaks and deep valleys rarely visited by people.
Establishing a market here was rather unusual.
He settled his thoughts, restrained his aura, and walked slowly onward.
His Meridian Opening Realm cultivation could only be considered middling here.
The goods sold in the shops on either side of the street kept him lingering for a long time.
There were small talisman shops selling talismans that differed somewhat from the runic symbols Xu Xuan knew.
There were also pill shops, their medicinal fragrances filling the air, and magical artifact galleries blazing with splendid light.
There was even an alley dedicated to stalls buying and selling spiritual herbs and ores.
The spirit stones, pills, and cultivation methods he longed for.
All could be found here.
But the prices were steep, and most were reckoned in spirit stones.
His purse, meanwhile, was painfully light.
The spirit stones he had saved over these twenty years could be counted on his fingers.
Mortal gold and silver were no different from scrap iron here.
Only when refined into refined gold and silver root would they have any value.
Xu Xuan made a circuit and asked a few prices, inwardly shocked.
A flying sword magical artifact of the lowest grade cost ten low-grade spirit stones.
A bottle of Essence Condensation Pills, which aided cultivation in the Meridian Opening Realm, also cost five low-grade spirit stones.
As for what interested him-the cultivation methods of this world.
Even the lowest-tier Qi Refining Stage cultivation method required dozens of spirit stones, and passing it on to outsiders was strictly forbidden.
"Your face looks unfamiliar, fellow Daoist. Is this your first time at River Sun Market?"
A rather slick voice rang out.
Xu Xuan turned his head.
He saw a short, thin man approach, with a pointed mouth, monkeylike cheeks, and darting eyes. He also had cultivation at the early Meridian Opening Stage.
"And you are?"
"My name is Hou San. I hang around here, running errands and making introductions for people to earn my meals."
Hou San spoke with a grin.
"If you need a guide or want to buy or sell anything, fellow Daoist, I can make things easier for you. I charge only one grain of spirit sand."
Spirit sand consisted of offcuts from spirit stones, with roughly a hundred grains worth one low-grade spirit stone.
Xu Xuan considered briefly, then tossed him a grain of spirit sand.
"Tell me about this market's origins and rules."
Hou San caught the spirit sand, his smile broadening further.
"Certainly, certainly."
"This place is called River Sun Market. A few senior rogue cultivators established it in the past. It hasn't been around that long-about a hundred years."
"It's specifically here to make things convenient for rogue cultivators like us and cultivators from small lineages."
"The market's Steward Hall manages it, and fighting is strictly forbidden."
"It opens for three days each month, on the fifth, fifteenth, and twenty-fifth."
"Don't get the dates wrong next time you come, fellow Daoist."
Xu Xuan pondered, then asked, "Why wasn't it open in the years before this?"
Hou San looked at Xu Xuan in surprise. "Could it be that you're not a local cultivator, fellow Daoist?"
"You don't even know about the blood demon case sixty years ago?"
"The Heaven Patrol Bureau sealed this place for a full sixty-year cycle. It only reopened recently."
The blood demon case?
Xu Xuan shook his head. He indeed did not know.
"Who presides over the Steward Hall here?"
"On the surface, it's a few seniors at the late Qi Refining Stage. As for exactly who they are, I wouldn't dare inquire."
Hou San lowered his voice. "What are you looking to buy at the market, fellow Daoist?"
The late Qi Refining Stage...
Xu Xuan understood. Spiritual energy in this world was weak and waning; reaching the Qi Refining Realm was already quite a feat.
But he did not know whether the subsequent cultivation realms were the same as those of his previous life.
"Are there any books here recording strange tales, unusual events, and geographical wonders?"
"Or introductions to the nearby sects and powers?"
Xu Xuan urgently needed to understand the cultivation world here.
"Yes, yes!" Hou San nodded repeatedly.
"The Ten Thousand Books Pavilion sells miscellaneous books at cheap prices."
"As for news about sects..." A troubled look appeared on his face.
"Those great sects stand high above us. It's hard for rogue cultivators like us to learn much about them."
"But jade slips circulating around the market, like the Gazetteer of the Southern Region and the Overview of Immortal Orders, do contain some rough accounts. The Ten Thousand Books Pavilion sells those too."
"Lead the way."
With Hou San guiding him, Xu Xuan arrived at an inconspicuous bookshop, the Ten Thousand Books Pavilion.
He spent three grains of spirit sand to purchase an old jade slip titled "A Brief Record of Immortal Traces in the Southern Region."
Then, gritting his teeth, he spent two low-grade spirit stones on ten Evil-Warding Talismans of the lowest tier, to prepare for unforeseen needs.
He had very few spirit stones left.
"If you're short on spirit stones, fellow Daoist, you could take on some jobs at the Hundred Crafts Workshop."
"Or try your luck in the mountains outside the city, gathering spiritual herbs or mining some ore to sell."
"The market also buys these materials year-round," Hou San suggested.
Xu Xuan took note, then asked Hou San for some more details about the market.
After buying a new guiding talisman, he left in haste.
Outside the gate of light, the night remained unchanged.
Xu Xuan looked back at the artificial hill. The gate of light had quietly vanished, as though it had never appeared.
Clutching the jade slip and talismans in his hands, he was filled with emotion.
More than forty years of this second life had already passed, and he had finally pushed open the doors to the cultivation world.
Yet on this first visit today, he had already discovered that the Xu Household's predicament was pressing.
The income from the lineage's businesses amounted to immense wealth among mortals, but for cultivation, it was a cup of water against a cartload of burning firewood.
He needed to find a stable means of obtaining spirit stones as soon as possible.
His gaze deepened.
The Azure Mystery Gang, the Xu Trading Firm, and even the entire lineage needed to make new changes.
Returning to his separate residence, Xu Xuan disturbed no one.
In the quiet chamber, he sank his spiritual sense into the "Brief Record of Immortal Traces in the Southern Region."
The jade slip's contents flooded his mind.
The Southern Region's approximate boundaries, the names and characteristics of several well-known immortal cultivation sects, rumors about some dangerous lands and forbidden zones, illustrated catalogs of common low-tier spiritual herbs and demonic beasts, and a brief account of the basic cultivation realms...
The information was crude, but it pieced together a rough outline of cultivation in this world for him.
"Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Purple Mansion, Golden Core... It seems this world's cultivation methods share the same origin as those of my previous life."
"Three thousand worlds, different paths leading to the same destination."
He looked out the window at the lights of the prefectural city, rubbing the few remaining spirit stones in his hand.
"The market has appeared. The next step is to meet my need for spirit stones."