Chapter 53: Buying and Selling

When two figures were seen floating directly in mid-air over Yunxi County without the aid of any magical devices, the restless hearts of its people found peace at last.

The presence of two Foundation Establishment cultivators was assurance enough for the safety of Yunxi County, even with its city defense array still un-repaired.

Yunxi County quickly sprang back to life. Stores reopened their doors, and schools soon notified students to return to classes.

Of course, restaffing the various county departments was a pressing issue, as finding suitable personnel would prove to be no easy task.

However, it was by no means insurmountable. Non-essential tasks were postponed, and with a bare minimum of people, the departments managed to limp along.

Li Zhen also received notice from Second High School that classes would resume the following day.

Seizing the opportunity to be free from school, he decided to leave home.

The streets bustled with cultivators maintaining order. These cultivators, mostly in the Middle Qi Refining stage, donned clothing emblazoned with the insignias of the four great families.

few Policemen from the Security Bureau were seen; it was said that the bureau had suffered heavy losses, with Policemen being the primary targets of the monstrous cult’s attacks.

Li Zhen entered an open-spired spirit materials store, only to unexpectedly find that the store’s smart system failed to detect his identity bracelet upon entry.

Typically, when entering a shop, the smart system would scan a customer’s public identity to assist staff in better accommodating them.

As he entered, he noticed a customer hastily turning away, seemingly unwilling for Li Zhen to see their face. They then sidestepped and left the store.

“Young man, do you have something to sell? Let’s discuss it in the private room next door!” the salesperson who had attended to the departing customer asked Li Zhen, turning towards him.

“How did you know I have something to sell?” Li Zhen froze, perplexed.

He hadn’t spoken yet, and surely he wasn’t obvious enough to be here as a seller, right?

“Heh heh, amidst the chaos, some always manage to fish in troubled waters and come out with gains. Our store openly accepts various spiritual items, and we’ve taken in quite a few just today!” the salesperson explained with a grin.

Li Zhen finally understood why this store kept its smart system off. Without identity detection, those holding questionable spiritual items could conveniently offload them here.

“Let’s discuss this in a private room then,” Li Zhen nodded.

Upon entering the private room, Li Zhen waved away the waiter offering refreshments. He produced two low-grade tier-1 magical artifacts, both acquired from the remains of cultivators at the auction.

Though their origin was indeed murky, it wasn’t a major issue. Even if traced back to him, he could plausibly claim they were found along the road.

The waiter examined the two low-grade tier-1 magical artifacts and, with a smile, offered a price: “Young man, you’ve got quite the luck here. These two pieces amount to 8,000 credit points!”

Li Zhen inwardly cursed the rip-off. Even the worst low-grade tier-1 magical artifacts should fetch tens of thousands of credit points each, yet the offer was a mere 8,000 for both.

He knew he’d be selling at a loss, but nodded in agreement.

“Don’t feel like you’re getting a raw deal. Once our store purchases your goods, any future troubles with them are our responsibility. You’ll face no repercussions!” the waiter assured him while processing the payment.

Li Zhen scrutinized the transaction details. The waiter had used anonymous transfers, split into multiple transactions, with each transfer’s credit points not exceeding 1,000.

This method allowed them to bypass credit point regulations, demonstrating the utmost caution on the part of the shop assistant.

Li Zhen felt considerably reassured by this approach, believing other customers would likely feel the same way. If he had more items to sell in the future, this shop would undoubtedly be his first choice.

After exiting the establishment, Li Zhen used his retinal scanner once again to check his balance: 8,104 credit points.

Despite still possessing a vast array of spiritual artifacts, the sight of these 8,104 credit points left him more exhilarated than ever.

He dared not sell large quantities of such objects. Today’s experience could be considered fortunate; he’d stumbled upon a shop willing to accept illicit goods.

He understood that attempting to part with any exceptionally valuable spiritual artifacts might tempt the shopkeepers to ignore their own rules, potentially leading to dire consequences for him.

As the saying goes, “A child carrying gold invites danger.” He was truly like a child carrying gold in a bustling market, one misstep away from catastrophe.

Next, Li Zhen entered a talisman shop. Comparing it to those found in his previous world, he realized that despite being akin to small-town establishments, the variety and quantity of talismans in cloudmist County’s Xian Nation far surpassed those back home. It was as if their stores existed on entirely different planets.

There was a vast array of talismans available, with no first-class high-grade talismans on display. Even if they did have some, they were likely not meant for ordinary cultivators.

Li Zhen purchased one thousand sheets of blank first-class low-grade talisman paper along with the corresponding ink for Fireball Talismans, Diamond Talismans, and Lightening Talismans. He briefly glanced at the first-class low-grade talisman pens but didn’t even need to consider them; they were simply too expensive.

The prices of blank talisman paper in the Xian Kingdom were transparent and standardized. A single sheet of first-class low-grade blank talisman paper cost one credit point, while the cost of talisman ink was also reasonable. The total amount of ink required to draw one thousand talismans would be no more than two hundred credit points.

The affordability of these talismans was due to the large-scale production of low-grade talisman paper and ink by the Xian Kingdom.

In particular, the Xian Kingdom had achieved a significant breakthrough in the raw materials used for their first-class low-grade blank talisman paper. They could now use the straw from first-class low-grade spirit rice as a raw material, essentially turning waste into a valuable resource.

In fact, in the Xian Kingdom, the greatest hurdle to becoming a talisman maker wasn’t the cost of talisman paper or ink, but rather the talisman pens.

As Li Zhen had just observed, the talisman pens sold in this talisman shop adhered to the Xian Kingdom’s principle of mass-producing magical tools using the least amount of spiritual materials possible.

As a result, talisman brushes became a consumable item in the Xian Nation, far less durable than those from another world.

Carrying talisman paper and ink, he returned home.

In his bedroom, he once again announced seclusion through his intelligent housekeeper Mei Yun, while in reality, he was about to travel to another world.

Perhaps due to his cultivation of the ‘Black Iron Body,’ he quickly recovered from the disorientation caused by the spatial transmission.

Emerging from the ‘Small Inverted Five Elements Array,’ he opened the door, ready to inspect the spirit field.

Just as he did, he heard an explosion—the sound of magical energy detonating.

Surprised, he wondered, How can there be a battle within the market?

He closed the door slightly, carefully observing the situation outside.

He noticed no cultivators were visible; even those who usually sat by the roadside had vanished.

“All cultivators, fear not! There is no external enemy invasion. The Lin family and Iron Sword Gang are handling the dispute, which will not affect other market cultivators!” A cultivator, wearing the protective robes of the market and wielding a magical device aloft, repeatedly announced in a loud voice.

This was done to reassure the people; if the cultivators in the market felt genuinely unsafe, the market would collapse overnight.

The existence of the market served two purposes: on one hand, it facilitated easier transactions for cultivators, while on the other, it attracted a concentration of cultivators.

The income generated from cultivator transactions paled in comparison to the steady revenue from having a group of cultivators planting spirit fields, inscribing talismans, forging magical artifacts, and concocting spirit pills. The key to keeping these cultivators in the market was safety.

Upon hearing the market guard’s announcement, Li Zhen’s unease diminished significantly. As long as the market wasn’t attacked by outsiders, internal power struggles wouldn’t affect him much.

What he didn’t know was that this conflict between the Lin Clan and the Iron Sword Gang had its roots with him.

The old shopkeeper’s disappearance from the Treasure Pavilion had been thoroughly investigated, but no suspect among the cultivators had been found.

And then, at precisely this moment, the Iron Sword Gang opened their own Gathering Treasures Pavilion next door—an obvious attempt to poach business.

Considering that the silent elimination of the old shopkeeper at the market could only be achieved by one of the major forces in the market, the move by the Iron Sword Gang now made them the prime suspect.

The conflicts between cultivator factions had the simplest solution: a duel.

The winner takes all, while the loser must leave.

More importantly, both the Lin family and the Iron Sword Gang were organizers of the market. This duel was no longer about the competition between the Treasure Pavilion and Gathering Treasures Pavilion; it was now a matter of who would remain in the market and who would be forced to leave.

Li Zhen shook his head; he didn’t want to get entangled with the conflicts between the two major forces in the market.

He had spent nine spirit stones for this opportunity, and he didn’t want to return so soon.

First, he cultivated for three hours. During these three hours of cultivation, his spiritual energy increased by 0.3. However, this cost was quite high; a round trip cost eighteen spirit stones, exchanging for only 0.3 spiritual energy. If not for his lingering desire to access the resources of this world, he wouldn’t have bothered.