So Lin Xiye planned to use the Immortal-Appraising Treasure Mirror to upgrade and strengthen both the Spirit Poison Bottles and the Flame Talismans once he returned to Qiao Town!
With those and the Three Talents Formation Flags, a Spirit Nourishing Realm Law Treasure, in hand, Lin Xiye would be able to deal easily with even the Zhao Household's patriarch!
"Fellow Daoist, everything comes to a total of 52 Spirit Stone fragments."
"With a ten percent discount and the remainder rounded off, you only need to pay 46 Spirit Stone fragments, Fellow Daoist."
The old man personally brought all ten Flame Talismans, eleven bottles of Spirit Tempering Pills, and three Spirit Poison Bottles... before Lin Xiye.
Lin Xiye was very satisfied with the price.
After putting everything away, Lin Xiye did not linger at the Azure Shore Pavilion. Instead, he went outside and began wandering around...
Unlike the Azure Shore Pavilion, the other shops and street stalls in this cultivation market mostly sold necessities for Skin Refining and Blood Refining Realm cultivators.
Many of the street stalls were also stocked with fake "ancient treasures" meant to deceive buyers.
The stallholders watched the passersby and called out incessantly...
Of course, among these fake ancient treasures, there was also an exceedingly slim chance of finding one or two genuine articles.
"A two-handed sword Law Treasure just dredged out of Crimson Fierce Valley... It cuts through iron like mud, and it might be a Spirit Nourishing Realm Law Treasure! Just two Spirit Stone fragments now!"
"Foundation Establishment Law Treasure fragments! Come take a look! Genuine Foundation Establishment Law Treasure fragments, yours for just one Spirit Stone fragment each!!"
Listening to the cries around him, Lin Xiye swept his gaze over the wares. The so-called Foundation Establishment Law Treasure fragment was nothing but a pitch-black piece of scrap iron without a trace of Spiritual Qi.
As for the two-handed sword, which gleamed fiercely with cold light and bore ornate runes, it was an ordinary mundane weapon!
Even cultivators fresh out of the gate could tell at a glance whether these things were genuine or fake.
Yet cultivators still stopped to look at those street stalls from time to time.
Besides the many fake "ancient treasures," the stalls did have some genuine articles and some everyday items!
The cultivators gathered around the stalls were either hoping to get lucky or willing to give it a try...
Lin Xiye wandered around for half an hour and bought another batch of precious herb seeds. After making sure there was nothing else he needed, he prepared to leave the cultivation market...
Just then, however, the sound of an argument caught Lin Xiye's attention.
"This is a Foundation Establishment Grade Spirit Gathering Formation! Even though it's damaged, it still has value. I absolutely won't sell it for less than twenty-five Spirit Stone fragments!"
"A Foundation Establishment Grade Spirit Gathering Formation, you say? If this formation were intact, or if it could still gather Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, a higher price would be reasonable enough..."
"But your formation... only a tenth of its formation flags remain. Even if I bought it, it would be useless. At best, I could take it apart for some artifact-refining materials."
"Besides, even if I bought it for materials, only a tenth of its formation flags remain... There's very little material to be salvaged."
"Ten Spirit Stone fragments. Sell it or don't, forget it if you won't..."
Lin Xiye looked toward the voices and saw two men at Early Blood Refining haggling fiercely!
When he heard "Foundation Establishment Grade Spirit Gathering Formation," Lin Xiye's eyes immediately lit up, and his steps toward the exit came to an abrupt halt.
As its name suggested, a Foundation Establishment Grade Spirit Gathering Formation could gather Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to help Foundation Establishment cultivators cultivate faster...
Even the cheapest Foundation Establishment Grade Spirit Gathering Formation could sell for several hundred low-grade Spirit Stones.
The Falling Rosy Clouds Sect, where Lin Xiye had once belonged, possessed several Foundation Establishment Grade Spirit Gathering Formations!!
However, the Foundation Establishment Grade Spirit Gathering Formation beside the two Blood Refining Realm men was damaged to the extreme. Not only did just a tenth of its formation flags remain, but important materials had already been stripped from their surfaces.
Hardly one part in a hundred of its value remained.
Even so, as a Foundation Establishment Grade Spirit Gathering Formation, it could still sell for several dozen low-grade Spirit Stones.
Lin Xiye watched the two Blood Refining Realm men arguing without end. After pondering for a moment, he finally decided to step in and buy the Foundation Establishment Grade Spirit Gathering Formation.
If he could use the Immortal-Appraising Treasure Mirror to repair this Foundation Establishment Grade Spirit Gathering Formation even a little... he would make a killing!!
"Gentlemen, there's no need to argue."
"Fifteen Spirit Stone fragments. I'll take it!"
Lin Xiye walked toward the two Blood Refining Realm men and spoke indifferently.
As Lin Xiye spoke, the abundant Qi and Blood within him surged outward, instantly forming a powerful presence that bore down on the two Blood Refining Realm men like a mountain.
"Greetings, Senior..."
"Greetings, Senior..."
Feeling Lin Xiye's presence, the two Blood Refining Realm men turned pale with alarm and hurriedly bowed with the utmost respect.
The man who had hoped to buy the damaged Foundation Establishment Grade Spirit Gathering Formation for ten Spirit Stone fragments did not dare make another sound.
He was only at Early Blood Refining!
Lin Xiye, on the other hand, was unmistakably a Bone Refining Realm cultivator!!
Although fighting and killing were expressly forbidden inside the cultivation market, once they left it, no laws or rules would restrain them...
For the sake of a damaged Foundation Establishment Grade Spirit Gathering Formation, he did not dare offend a Bone Refining Realm cultivator!
The man selling the damaged Foundation Establishment Grade Spirit Gathering Formation felt his heart sink as well... He was somewhat reluctant to accept fifteen Spirit Stone fragments.
But after weighing the matter again and again, he still chose to compromise.
That was how harshly realistic this world was! If Lin Xiye had not been a Bone Refining Realm cultivator, the man would never have yielded an inch!
Strength was king, and the strong were revered! That was the rule of the cultivation world...
Fairness was forever built on strength alone!
Lin Xiye felt not the slightest burden of conscience over this kind of "forced buying and selling"!
He had never been a righteous gentleman to begin with.
He was merely one of the countless living beings beneath those cruel rules!!
Immortal cultivation had always come down to one word: struggle.
If you did not struggle, you would be forced to live beneath others. If you did not struggle, you would become someone else's stepping stone.
After putting down fifteen Spirit Stone fragments, Lin Xiye put away the damaged Foundation Establishment Grade Spirit Gathering Formation. Then he took a single step, his body turning into an afterimage as he left the cultivation market...
Lin Xiye's round trip had already taken several hours.
There was not much time left. He had to return to Qiao Town as quickly as possible and finish making all his preparations before the Zhao Household launched its full-scale attack!
He passed through forests and crossed rivers and marshes. Mountains and other perilous obstacles that mortals would struggle to traverse were like level ground before Lin Xiye...
If he exerted himself fully, Lin Xiye could cover the two hundred li in at most an hour!
But Lin Xi did not choose to do that. Instead, he conserved his strength throughout the journey...
When traveling outside, one had to keep one's strength up. Otherwise, upon encountering danger, one would be doomed beyond redemption and might even lose one's life.
These were lessons Lin Xiye had learned over a hundred years of cultivation!!