Chapter 34: A Foundation Establishment Cultivator as a Security Guard, Hongdengzhao's Unpayable Kindness |
That night, on the street outside the Prefecture Cultivator's Manor.
"Do you think anyone will buy our talismans?"
Wearing a wooden mask, Yu'an looked at his older brother.
They were just here to stroll through the ghost market, naturally unable to afford much of anything. After all, they only had a little over ten spirit stones between the two of them.
"If no one buys them, we'll just drop the price. We really didn't draw those Thousand-Mile Talismans very well anyway. We're just here tonight to recoup our crafting losses.
"Losses are normal; anyone studying supportive Dao arts has to go through this.
"If we sell the Thousand-Mile Talismans soon, we can afford a cheap piece of spiritual material, craft a low-grade magical artifact, and sell that!"
Yulou's only goal at the ghost market was to unload the talismans they had drawn. Breaking even was fine; making a small profit would be even better.
Even if they lost a few spirit stones, the act of crafting the Thousand-Mile Talismans gathered golden light for the Jade Ruyi in Yulou's mind, making the loss sting a little less.
The artificing path was difficult. First, it was hard to get started; then, the restrictions posed a challenge; but the absolute hardest part was mastering the various details and secret traditions.
However, crafting low-grade magical artifacts was relatively easy to grasp. It required few restrictions and didn't involve complex details or secret traditions.
"If you ask me, we'd be better off borrowing two hundred spirit stones from my dad. Then we could stock up and start crafting right away."
This kid Yu'an truly didn't treat Yulou like an outsider. He didn't even hesitate to fleece his own father.
"Hahaha, no need. Master has already agreed to let us sell our own artifacts through Forge Peak Residence. That's more than enough. You need to have some faith in me."
Yulou didn't think the Wang Clan, having already been bled dry by the Red Lantern Illumination Sect, had much surplus left, so he tactfully declined Yu'an's suggestion.
"I have more faith in myself," Yu'an said, lifting his chin.
The gatekeeper outside the Prefecture Cultivator's Manor was one of Gao Jian's lackeys. He recognized something familiar in Yulou's height and build.
"Are you... Wang Yulou?"
Yulou was speechless. They were all acquaintances; let alone wearing a mask, a full suit of night-traveling clothes wouldn't have hidden him either.
Clear Stream Market's ghost market had absolutely nothing to do with a real underground trading market. It was purely a cultivation-world duty-free market set up by the Town Guardian Cultivator to line his own pockets.
"Shh, here's our invitation. Take a look."
The gatekeeping cultivator pushed back the invitation Yulou offered and said, "Yulou, now you're just treating me like a stranger. Go on, head inside."
The cultivation world was like this. No matter how vicious Gao Jian was, he was still just a dog; he couldn't monopolize everything.
He and his subordinates weren't total animals, either. At the very least, when facing Wang Yulou, they played human quite well.
"Tell Senior Gao that my master and I are leaving the market tomorrow, so I won't be attending the banquet for his new concubine tonight," Yulou instructed.
After leaving that message, he led his younger brother into Clear Stream Market's monthly ghost market.
——
Clear Stream Market's ghost market typically avoided high-profile auctions. The only reason they'd held one last time was because the major families and Jiang Baobian wanted to harvest a crop of leeks early, organizing it on short notice.
Under normal circumstances, the ghost market was just a temporary night market. Its location was the only unique aspect—it was held right in the backyard of the Prefecture Cultivator's Manor.
No matter how you looked at it, the situation was bizarre. The chief representative of Hongdengzhao's dispatched agency had innovated his own business model, brazenly opening Clear Stream Market's underground trading market right inside the Prefecture Cultivator's Manor.
But... everyone actually preferred it this way.
The Prefecture Cultivator's Manor was safe!
As long as the items you were selling weren't completely heaven-defying, the Foundation Establishment stage senior wouldn't care at all.
When viewed as a threat, a Foundation Establishment senior scared everyone to death.
But if he posed no threat to you, didn't setting up a stall in his backyard essentially mean having a Foundation Establishment senior act as your security guard?
A Foundation Establishment cultivator as a security guard—Hongdengzhao's unpayable kindness.
In a word—worth it!
The moment Yu'an stepped into the backyard, he was startled by the bustling activity of the ghost market.
Some stalls were covered in books and jade slips, selling ancient texts. However, these street-vended texts were rarely guaranteed to be authentic, let alone come with any after-sales service.
Only the poorest rogue cultivators would buy so-called spells, cultivation methods, and secret traditions from these stalls. Anyone with a bit of wealth would strictly shop at stores run by major clans and sects.
One stall consisted of an enormous carriage stacked with cages full of living creatures, selling demonic beast cubs, mounts, and spirit pets.
Demonic beasts were divided into spiritual food-type beasts and cultivatable beasts. The former were eaten, while the latter were raised as helpers in magical combat or as mountain-guarding spirit beasts for clans.
Rogue cultivators couldn't afford the former, but they were often willing to grit their teeth and buy a cultivatable one to raise at home.
The variety of mounts was vast, even including cubs that could grow to the Qi Refining stage.
Spirit pets were the most unique and expensive. They were fully tamed demonic beasts, ready to be used the moment they were bought.
These spirit pets were usually raised by cultivation clans or specialized sects, making them quite valuable.
Soon, Yulou found a cultivator whose stall was covered in various talismans.
"Fellow Daoist, do you buy Thousand-Mile Talismans here?"
The cultivator glanced up at Yulou, then peered at Yu'an trailing behind him, and said,
"Take them out and let me see. I'll buy them if the quality is decent."
Yulou pulled a stack of talismans from his robes and handed them over. The stall owner inspected them with his divine sense and quickly noticed something was wrong.
"Thousand-Mile Talismans grant the user the endurance of a winged steed, allowing for long-distance travel. Because of this, they are usually drawn with the blood of miscellaneous demonic beast grade blue-roan horses.
"But looking at the blood used in these talismans, it doesn't seem to be from a blue-roan horse. Forget a thousand miles—these would only let the user run a hundred at most!"
Yulou explained,
"Fellow Daoist, you misunderstand. I used spirit donkey blood—specifically, blood from a spirit donkey raised on spiritual items. It's not the same as a Thousand-Mile Talisman drawn with demonic blood; the side effects are far milder."
For this, he really had to thank Shopkeeper Tang for his help.
Crafting artifacts required learning restrictions, and mastering restrictions required gathering talisman-crafting experience. If the Spiritual Attraction Talisman was considered a basic activation switch, then the Thousand-Mile Talisman was one of the fundamental, entry-level talismans.
By borrowing the blood of the spirit donkeys from Flavorful Bistro, Yulou managed to save a significant amount of spirit stones that would have otherwise gone toward buying materials.
If Old Tang had restricted the supply of spirit blood, the brothers wouldn't have had a single spirit stone left to their names.
Additionally, while the Wang Clan's spirit donkey Thousand-Mile Talismans had a shorter duration, they possessed other unique advantages.
Demonic blood talismans would affect the circulation of the user's spiritual energy, but spirit donkey blood sidestepped this problem entirely.
Hearing Yulou's explanation, the stall-owning cultivator sized him up and asked probingly,
"Spirit donkeys? You're Yulou, aren't you?"
"Huh?"
Forget Yulou; even Yu'an was startled.
They could understand Gao Jian's lackeys at the gate recognizing them.
But a random rogue cultivator in the ghost market knowing who they were? Wasn't that a bit absurd?
"Haha, it's me, Wu Jinyan."
Wu Jinyan was Hongmei's close friend and the witness to the brothers' apprenticeship under Hongmei. Naturally, Yulou recognized him.
"Senior Wu, why are you selling talismans?"
The Wu Clan were miners; if they were going to sell anything, it should be spirit ores and spirit gold.
"Ah, just supplementing the family income, that's all. What about you two? Did you tell your master you were coming to the ghost market?"
"Of course we told him," Yulou replied.
Wu Jinyan smiled in understanding and said,
"How about this: I'll buy these few dozen Thousand-Mile Talismans for a flat twenty spirit stones. I won't let you lose out. How does that sound?"
Twenty spirit stones for a stack of Thousand-Mile Talismans of varying quality was indeed a fair price.
Yulou nodded. Figuring there was no need to seek out a second merchant since Wu Jinyan was an acquaintance, he asked,
"Senior Wu, we also want to purchase a spiritual item for artifact refining. Even including these twenty spirit stones, our budget is only thirty-five spirit stones. Do you have anything suitable on hand?"
A Foundation Establishment cultivator acting as a security guard—an unpayable kindness from Hongdengzhao.
In a word: worth it!
As soon as Yu'an stepped into the backyard, he was startled by the bustling activity of the ghost market.
Some stalls were piled high with books and jade slips, peddling ancient texts. However, street-side manuals like these were rarely guaranteed to be authentic, much less come with any sort of after-sales support.
Only the poorest itinerant cultivators would choose to buy so-called spells, cultivation methods, and secret inheritances from these stalls. Anyone with a bit of wealth would strictly visit the shops operated by large clans and sects.
Other stalls were simply massive carriages laden with cages of living creatures, selling demonic beast cubs and spirit pet mounts.
Demonic beasts were divided into spiritual food types and cultivable types. The former were meant to be eaten, while the latter were raised to assist in magical combat or to serve as mountain-guarding spirit beasts for a clan.
Itinerant cultivators couldn't afford the former, but they were often willing to grit their teeth and buy a cultivable beast to raise at home.
There were many types of mounts available, including cubs capable of growing to the Qi Refining stage.
The most unique were the spirit pets. They were the most expensive—demonic beasts that were already completely tamed, ready for use immediately upon purchase.
Such spirit pets were generally bred by immortal clans or affiliated sects, giving them substantial value.
Very quickly, Yulou found a cultivator whose stall was covered in various talismans.
"Fellow Daoist, do you purchase Thousand-Mile Talismans here?"
The cultivator looked up, glanced at Yulou, then at Yu'an trailing behind him. "Take them out and let me have a look. If the quality is acceptable, I'll buy them."
Yulou pulled a stack of talismans from his robes and handed them over. The stall owner probed them with his divine sense and quickly noticed something was amiss.
"Thousand-Mile Talismans provide the user with the endurance of a thousand-mile horse for rapid long-distance travel. Therefore, they are usually drawn using the blood of a miscellaneous demonic beast-grade green-mottled horse. But the blood you used for these talismans doesn't seem to be from a green-mottled horse. Forget a thousand miles—at most, these will only let a user run for a hundred!"
Yulou quickly explained.
"Fellow Daoist, you might not know this, but I used spirit donkey blood. Specifically, the blood of a spirit donkey raised on spiritual materials. It's completely different from a Thousand-Mile Talisman drawn with demonic blood; the side effects are much smaller."
For this, he had to thank Manager Tang for his help.
Artifact refining required learning restrictions, and refining restrictions required accumulating talisman-drawing experience. If the Spiritual Attraction Talisman was considered a foundational activation switch, then the Thousand-Mile Talisman was a foundational entry-level talisman.
By obtaining spirit donkey blood from Flavorful Bistro, Yulou had saved a considerable amount of spirit stones that would otherwise have been spent buying materials.
If Old Tang had been stingy with the spirit blood supply, the two brothers wouldn't have a single spirit stone left to their names.
Additionally, although the Wang Clan's spirit donkey Thousand-Mile Talismans had a shorter duration, they possessed other unique advantages.
Demonic blood talismans negatively affected the circulation of the user's spiritual energy, whereas spirit donkey blood had no such issue.
Hearing this explanation, the stall owner scrutinized him and asked tentatively, "Spirit donkey? Are you Yulou?"
"Ah?"
Forget Yulou being surprised; even Yu'an was caught off guard.
It made sense for Gao Jian's lackey at the door to recognize them. But having a random itinerant cultivator in the ghost market recognize them? Wasn't that a bit ridiculous?
"Haha, it's me, Wu Jinyan."
Wu Jinyan was Hongmei's close friend and had been the witness when the two boys acknowledged Hongmei as their master. Yulou naturally recognized him.
"Senior Wu, why are you selling talismans?"
The Wu Clan were miners; if they were going to sell anything, it should have been spirit ores and spirit gold.
"Sigh, just subsidizing the family's expenses, that's all. As for you two, did you tell your master you were coming to the ghost market?"
"Naturally, we told him," Yulou answered.
Wu Jinyan smiled knowingly. "How about this? I'll buy these few dozen Thousand-Mile Talismans for a flat price of twenty spirit stones. I won't let you suffer a loss. How does that sound?"
Twenty spirit stones for a stack of Thousand-Mile Talismans of varying quality—the price was indeed fair.
Yulou nodded. Since Wu Jinyan was an acquaintance and he didn't want to go through the hassle of finding a second vendor, he asked, "Senior Wu, we also want to purchase a spiritual item for artifact refining. However, even if we include these twenty spirit stones, our total budget is only thirty-five spirit stones. Do you have anything suitable on hand?"