"Everyone, line up, line up... there's still Spirit Cuisine left. Don't worry, there's enough!"
"No tokens, no tokens! I've said it many times: we only take Immortal Marrow Jade Liquid and treasures that can nourish the Primordial Spirit!"
"Unfair? There's nothing we can do about that. Taiyi Mountain Master set these rules. We have no shortage of those things..."
Beneath the enormous, twisted mouth of the "horn," many shops along the rather quiet streets of the Flower Market stood deserted.
Only one shop, bearing a sign that read "Taiyi Spirit Cuisine Shop," was packed with people, with queues stretching out onto the street.
Whether they knew one another or not, they all craned their necks in hopeful anticipation.
Soon, someone squeezed hurriedly out of the crowd, beaming with delight yet wearing a guarded, wary look, then disappeared at the end of the street.
As one person vanished, still more squeezed inside.
On the second floor of a building not far from the shop, Zu Wenqiu released the curtain in his hand, withdrew his gaze, and looked gravely at a gray-haired old man inside the room.
"Martial Uncle Li, that's the shop. They've been releasing large quantities of Spirit Cuisine for years, causing our Spirit Herb sales to fall by as much as seventy percent..."
The gray-haired old man was none other than Li Zhongping, the leading figure stationed in the Market by the Jade Pot Realm.
Looking through the curtain at the bustling shop opposite, the old man frowned slightly.
"Just where did this Primordial Demon Mountain come from? I'd never heard of it before."
Zu Wenqiu shook his head.
"I don't know. Perhaps they've changed their name and appearance to avoid attracting unwanted attention. There have always been plenty of such factions. Still, to produce so much Spirit Cuisine