Going to Market

Several months later.

Outside a great city.

Fang Yu stood among the clouds, looking down at Anping Prefecture City with a slight frown.

"According to Wu Tong, this should have been wilderness. It's only been a little over fifty years, yet a city has been built here. I wonder if the small market is still held."

As he pondered, he descended on his cloud platform and landed on a secluded street in the city. He steadily withdrew his presence until he appeared to be an ordinary mortal.

After turning a few corners, he reached the eastern market. Whether because the time was wrong or for some other reason, the market, which should have been bustling, was nearly deserted. The vendors and shops lining the road also appeared to be doing little business.

Fang Yu wandered for a while before suddenly stopping. He looked up at the signboard of a building ahead. "I didn't expect there to be a Divine Maiden Pavilion here!"

A smile appeared on his lips, and he stepped inside. There weren't many people in the building either. A few brothel attendants were gathered, chatting. When one saw him enter, he got up slowly and came over to greet him. "You're here awfully early, sir. The girls haven't even washed up yet!"

Fang Yu turned his hand over and produced a Metal Fire Stone. "Do you recognize this?"

The attendant immediately jolted to attention and bent low, fear appearing in his eyes. "Forgive me, honored guest. I was blind and failed to give you a proper welcome. Please, come upstairs. I'll go fetch a divine maiden at once."

Fang Yu smiled and didn't make things difficult for the attendant. He gestured for him to lead the way and followed him to a room on the top floor.

Before long, the door opened. A cultivator who looked about eighteen or nineteen entered. She had a delicate, charming face, a stunning figure, and cultivation at the Qi Ingestion First Layer.

"I am Ziyan. Greetings, fellow cultivator. What brings you to our Divine Maiden Pavilion?"

Fang Yu looked Ziyan up and down and smiled. "There should have been a market here fifty years ago. Is it still held?"

"Of course it is," Ziyan said with a nod. "But because Anping Prefecture has been in turmoil in recent years, many Rogue Cultivators have stopped coming. So the small markets on the first and fifteenth of each month have been canceled. Only the annual grand market on the fifteenth day of the first month remains, and it's still held at the summit of Mount Anping outside the city."

"The fifteenth day of the first month!"

Fang Yu nodded and counted on his fingers. There were still more than three months until the next grand market.

"What's the current exchange rate for Dragon Gate Stones and Metal Fire Stones?"

Ziyan's eyes lit up. "The current rate in the upper sect is three for one. Here at the pavilion, we can offer two for one."

"Mm, then exchange a hundred Dragon Gate Stones for me first."

Fang Yu swept his hand, and two hundred Metal Fire Stones flew out.

Ziyan immediately checked them one by one. Only after confirming that there was nothing wrong with them did she take out a hundred Dragon Gate Stones and hand them to Fang Yu.

The Dragon Gate Stones were not much different in size from the Metal Fire Stones, but the marks on them were all from Mount Longmen, and the Spiritual Qi they contained was also much purer.

Since he intended to attend markets large and small in Jingzhou, he naturally needed to exchange for some local Spirit Stones. Otherwise, his origins could easily be discovered. Besides, if he traded directly with Metal Fire Stones, their value would certainly be driven down, possibly even below the official exchange rate.

Thus, exchanging some at the Divine Maiden Pavilion would make attending markets in the future more convenient.

After making sure there was nothing wrong with the Dragon Gate Stones, Fang Yu picked one up and placed it in Ziyan's palm. "Would Fairy Ziyan be willing to spend the night with me?"

Ziyan closed her hand around the Dragon Gate Stone. "Of course."

"Hahaha!" Fang Yu laughed aloud, wrapped an arm around Ziyan's waist, and pulled her into his embrace. He settled her on his lap, and his hands began exploring up and down.

Three months later, on the fifteenth day of the first month.

The silver moon hung high like a round disc, giving off a cold, clear light.

Fang Yu rode a red cloud leisurely toward the summit of Mount Anping. Once he entered the mountains, he saw numerous streaks of light speeding toward the peak from every direction.

Outside the immortal sects and Lineages, there were no permanent marketplaces, only grand and small markets held at fixed times and places. Cultivators who needed to trade spiritual items would come to market when the time arrived. As for safety, anyone reduced to going to market was bound to be a pauper, so robberies were instead rare.

After all, this was Mount Longmen's domain. Anyone who committed robbery or the like would be branded as belonging to the Demonic Path, the equivalent of having a red name, and anyone could kill them. Thus, unless the benefits were enormous, few people would make a move at a market.

"Hmm, what's that?"

Suddenly, Fang Yu looked down and saw a number of nimble mortals climbing toward the summit under cover of night.

"These people must be mortals seeking immortality!"

To mortals, even Rogue Cultivators were immortals. If they could reach a place where immortals gathered, they might perhaps obtain an immortal opportunity.

But the peak was extremely steep, and there was no path. Climbing it was exceedingly dangerous. One careless step...

"Ah..."

Suddenly, a cry rang out. A mortal missed his footing and fell from a cliff, screaming.

"The pursuit of immortality is hard!"

Fang Yu sighed. A faint red light appeared in his eyes as he looked at the mortals and saw that every one of them was wreathed in turbid Qi. His divine sense stirred slightly, and the strands of turbid Qi caught fire, turning into faint, invisible flames.

Using the mysteries of Molten Edge Flow to burn away these mortals' turbid Qi of the mortal world is equivalent to cleansing their marrow and purging their meridians. Even if none of them have an immortal opportunity, their bodies can return to the innate state. Whether they pursue scholarship or practice martial arts, they'll get twice the result for half the effort.

"What a kind heart you have, fellow cultivator. These mortals truly have extraordinary fortune!"

A voice suddenly rang out, and a white cloud drifted nearby. An old man holding a banner stood upon it.

Fang Yu looked closely and saw four ancient seal-script characters written on the banner in bold, soaring strokes: "Divine calculations, wondrous predictions."

His eyes immediately lit up. "Fellow cultivator, can you divine the secrets of heaven?"

The old man smiled. "I merely know a little of the Qi-Gazing Technique. I can't claim to divine the secrets of heaven. That's a great Divine Ability only a Purple Mansion True Person possesses."

"Is that so?" Fang Yun smiled. "Fellow cultivator, have you gazed upon my fortune?"

The old man nodded. "From a distance just now, I saw a wisp of purple qi rise from you, fellow Daoist. Your destined status is truly too noble for words."

Fang Yu's interest was piqued. "Could you tell me more, fellow cultivator?"

The old man nodded. "Of course, but..."

Seeing this, Fang Yu took out a Dragon Gate Stone and tossed it over. "Is that enough?"

"Of course!" The old man accepted it joyfully and pointed toward the summit ahead. "Let's talk in detail once we reach the mountain!"

Fang Yu readily agreed and followed him, saying to himself, This fortune-teller had better be able to lay out every point, from one to five. Otherwise, he wouldn't mind severing the man's fortune.

Below the summit, a middle-aged man had been on the verge of giving out when he suddenly felt a weight lift from his heart, and his entire body felt incomparably light. The Grandmaster bottleneck that had troubled him for more than ten years abruptly broke open, and a ceaseless stream of internal Qi began to well up within him.

"I-I've broken through to the Innate Grandmaster realm!"

Overjoyed, he looked up at the summit, whose top he still couldn't see, and said through gritted teeth, "This really is a place where immortals dwell. I must climb up and obtain an immortal opportunity!"