Chapter 55: Tan Brothers

The Mortal Realm

"Sir, you have excellent taste! This 'Netherworld Scripture' is a top-tier foundational Water-element cultivation technique!" The stall owner, a short, plump man in his thirties or forties, began his enthusiastic pitch before Qin Sang could even speak. "Among Water-element foundational techniques, the 'Netherworld Scripture' is absolutely second to none. After cultivating it, you can greatly temper your physical body and strengthen your five senses, far surpassing other techniques and giving you a distinct advantage in combat. I'm selling it for fifteen spirit stones, and it's absolutely not expensive at all."

Qin Sang flipped through a few pages. His own copy was incomplete, ending at the sixth level, but this one continued past it. As he flipped further, he found it contained all thirteen levels! The 'Netherworld Scripture' truly corresponded level by level with the Qi Condensation stage.

Qin Sang remained outwardly calm. As he had walked through the market, he had seen many foundational cultivation techniques for sale, most topping out at five or six spirit stones. It was clear these techniques were not rare in the cultivation world, yet this 'Netherworld Scripture' was being sold for fifteen spirit stones. His Water Barrier Talisman was only worth eight, meaning he would have to pay extra. Of course, he wasn't going to spend that exorbitant amount. Just as he was about to haggle, someone nearby suddenly shouted loudly.

"'You deceitful merchant, it's bad enough that you lie and swindle people, but for a few spirit stones, you dare to trick people into switching to the 'Netherworld Scripture'? Have you no conscience?!'" Qin Sang was surprised and turned to look at the speaker. He saw two youths who had just been buying items at an adjacent stall standing up. One of them, a burly youth with a rugged appearance and a full beard, was glaring angrily at the stall owner. The other youth, much thinner, anxiously pulled his companion's arm, offering apologetic smiles to both Qin Sang and the stall owner.

From his tone, could the 'Netherworld Scripture' have some sort of drawback? Qin Sang's brows furrowed tightly.

His good business suddenly disrupted, the stall owner glared angrily at the burly youth, cursing, "We're doing business here, a willing buyer and a willing seller. Nobody's forcing anyone. What business is it of yours? Who asked you to butt in!'"

The burly youth snorted, pulled free from his companion's grasp, and strode forward. His eyes wide with indignation, he declared, "'You swindling merchant, the 'Netherworld Scripture' is one of the most difficult foundational cultivation techniques to cultivate, with an extremely slow cultivation speed, and the difficulty of breaking through bottlenecks is much higher than other techniques! The slight benefits it offers are not worth mentioning compared to its drawbacks. No one would even want it for five spirit stones, yet you dare to sell it for fifteen! And you only mentioned its advantages just now, not its disadvantages, tricking people into switching to the 'Netherworld Scripture' and ruining their cultivation path. If that's not swindling, what is?!'"

Qin Sang was surprised to hear this. Throughout his own cultivation, apart from encountering a bottleneck when breaking through to the third level, he hadn't found it particularly difficult. Moreover, according to Zhen Ming, some cultivators never reached the tenth level of Qi Condensation in their lifetime. Yet he had cultivated to the fifth level in less than five years. Surely that couldn't be considered slow?

A thought struck Qin Sang, and he flipped back a few more pages. Sure enough, he found something. This copy of the 'Netherworld Scripture' contained not a single word about the Yama Banner!

The youth's loud voice attracted the attention of everyone nearby. The stall owner's face turned crimson; he wished he could lop off the burly youth with a single sword stroke, but firstly, fighting was forbidden in the market, and secondly, the burly youth's cultivation seemed no weaker than his own.

Unable to win a fight, the stall owner, exasperated, argued heatedly, "'I hadn't even finished my introduction! I was just about to mention the drawbacks of the cultivation technique when you jumped in, kid! Furthermore, this 'Netherworld Scripture' is not just the complete cultivation technique; it also includes many hand-picked Water-element spells that I selected. It's absolutely worth fifteen spirit stones. If you don't understand, don't meddle!'"

Qin Sang nodded. "There are indeed some," he said, "but they are all very common spells." He had noticed a list of spells at the end of the book, among them Object Manipulation Art and Qi-Gazing Art, along with others like Fog-Locked River and Ten Thousand Li Ice Seal, which sounded very powerful. Both the cultivation technique and the spells were things he urgently needed.

"'Brother, stop talking!'""'Senior, please forgive him, my brother was just impulsive...'"The thin youth desperately pulled his companion, repeatedly apologizing to both Qin Sang and the stall owner. He whispered a few words of persuasion into the burly youth's ear before finally managing to pull the huffing youth away.

Qin Sang hadn't expected there would be people with such a strong sense of justice in the cultivation world. It saved him the trouble of haggling. Seeing them about to leave, he quickly put down the cultivation technique, stopped them, and cupped his hands, saying, "My name is Qin Sang. It's a pleasure to meet you two. May I know your names?"

The thin youth seemed a bit shy and lowered his head slightly as he said, "'Tan Jie greets Senior Brother Qin. This is my elder brother, Tan Hao. My brother was impulsive and caused you trouble, Senior Brother Qin. I hope you won't hold it against him.'"

These two looked nothing alike; were they actually brothers? Qin Sang was secretly surprised, thinking, 'Why would I blame you? I should be thanking you instead!'

"'Younger Brother Tan, what are you saying? Qin Sang should be thanking you two for your guidance; otherwise, I might have almost gone astray. Our meeting was fated, and furthermore, you two brothers have shown me great kindness. There's a Drunken Immortal Inn ahead. Qin Sang would like to arrange a small banquet there to express my gratitude to both of you. Would you be willing to honor me with your presence?'"

He didn't know the background of the taverns on Bluestone Street and dared not enter them. However, taverns outside the market could be paid with silver.

Unexpectedly, Tan Hao didn't appreciate the gesture at all. He said coldly, "'I just can't stand that swindling merchant deceiving people. I would have done the same for anyone else; there's no need for your thanks. I don't have time for your drinks. Move aside!'"

"'Brother!'" Tan Jie grimaced, cupped his hands to Qin Sang, and said, "'Please don't mind, Senior Brother Qin, my brother just has that temper... We truly have important matters to attend to. We'll have a chance to drink and chat with you, Senior Brother Qin, another time.'"

The Tan brothers quickly departed. Qin Sang scratched his head a little. There were such hotheads even among cultivators! However, they had greatly helped him, so Qin Sang wouldn't fuss over such a minor matter.

Qin Sang glanced at the stall owner, then turned to leave.

"'Sir! Brother Qin! Please wait!'" The stall owner quickly strode out and grabbed Qin Sang's arm, saying righteously, "'Brother Qin, you absolutely must not be misled by that young fool! Choosing a cultivation technique depends entirely on its suitability for oneself; how can one be swayed by the words of others? And I don't just have this copy of the 'Netherworld Scripture'. Why don't you take another careful look, sir? The price is negotiable.'"

Having just heard Tan Hao's words and the whispers of the crowd, Qin Sang knew that very few people bought the 'Netherworld Scripture'. The stall owner had probably had it displayed for who knew how long, and having finally snagged an interested customer, he certainly wouldn't give up easily. That's why Qin Sang had feigned departure. He was right. Qin Sang allowed himself to be pulled back, feigning reluctance. He said hesitantly, "To be honest, sir, I'm not lacking in cultivation techniques myself. I just hadn't seen the 'Netherworld Scripture' before and thought of buying it to compare it with my own technique. But since it's so difficult to cultivate, it probably won't be of much use to me, and the price is so high...'"