Chapter 10: The Girl in the Blue Skirt

At noon, Wang Changsheng appeared deep within the Green Bamboo Mountain Range, slowly descending outside a patch of green bamboo forest.

The Wang family, along with two other immortal cultivation families, had established a market town of similar scale to Green Bamboo Market. However, the family's market town was quite far from Ping'an County. Furthermore, his current duty was to guard Ping'an County. Without a special reason, if he rashly returned to the family's market town, he would be punished.

Beyond the bamboo forest was a narrow valley, overgrown with weeds, ending in a steep stone wall.

Wang Changsheng approached the stone wall. After a blue light illuminated his body, he walked towards the wall and passed right through it.

His vision blurred for a moment, and then he suddenly found himself on a neat bluestone street.

A few zhang ahead, a white stone archway stood, with four large golden characters "Green Bamboo Market" carved upon it. Behind the archway stretched a long bluestone street.

Buildings of various sizes lined both sides of the street, including five or six zhang tall pavilions and simple stone houses.

The street was bustling with people, all immortal cultivators. They frequently entered the shops on either side of the street, creating a lively atmosphere.

This was not Wang Changsheng's first visit to Green Bamboo Market, so he didn't linger and continued walking down the street.

Half a ke-zhong later, Wang Changsheng arrived at a spacious bluestone paved square, where dozens of small stalls were set up.

The stalls offered a wide variety of goods, including refining materials, alchemy ingredients, talismans, and spiritual artifacts, though most were of ordinary quality.

"Premium Gold Marrow Spirit Rice, come and see! Three spirit stones a jin!" "A mid-grade spiritual artifact, the Golden Moon Blade, only eighty spirit stones! Immense power, come take a look!" "A bottle of Qi Cultivation Pills, refined by an experienced alchemist! Don't miss out!"

As he approached the square, shouts and calls filled the air.

Most of the stallholders in the square were rogue cultivators. Unable to afford shop rents within the market town, they set up their stalls in the square, where no fees were charged.

Ningzhou had seven commanderies, and each had a small market town. To attract rogue cultivators, every market town designated an open space for them to set up stalls free of charge.

Of course, there were strict limitations on the stalls: they could not exceed one zhang in length or two chi in width. Exceeding these limits incurred a fee, which was implemented to protect the interests of cultivators who rented shops.

Rogue cultivators generally had a difficult life. Shops belonging to immortal cultivation families would not hire outsiders, and only a few independent cultivators or large shops would seek external help.

Most rogue cultivators lacked specialized skills. They either resold goods, worked as guides in large market towns, or took on odd jobs. As long as they could earn spirit stones, rogue cultivators would eagerly undertake even the most arduous or unpleasant tasks.

Most rogue cultivators made a living by hunting demonic beasts and gathering spiritual herbs. This profession was extremely dangerous, and countless rogue cultivators died each year at the fangs and claws of beasts. Despite this, a large number of rogue cultivators still became demon hunters annually, specifically to hunt beasts and collect herbs. Only a small fraction of rogue cultivators strayed onto evil paths, resorting to murder and plundering treasures, becoming infamous evil cultivators.

The lives of evil cultivators were even harder. Most rogue cultivators were impoverished, so robbing them yielded few spirit stones and might even result in a loss. As for disciples of immortal cultivation families or sects, they had strong backgrounds and elder protection, offering almost no opportunity for attack. Once their deeds were exposed, they would be hunted down and swiftly brought to justice.

Therefore, only a few cultivators who were truly desperate would resort to murder and treasure-snatching, and evil cultivators often did not live long.

Liu Qing'er had repeatedly warned him to stay put on Lotus Island and not wander around, lest he be targeted by evil cultivators.

Wang Changsheng, however, didn't take his mother's warnings to heart. He thought his mother was overly anxious, believing there weren't that many evil cultivators in the world. Who would become an evil cultivator unless absolutely forced? Even if there were evil cultivators, what were the chances they would specifically target him?

He found an empty spot, took out a coarse cloth, and placed a spirit egg on it. Beside the egg, he set a sign with a line of text: "Spirit egg laid by a Snow Cloud Chicken, for exchange with water-attribute spiritual items of equal value."

The spirit egg contained abundant spiritual energy and was suitable for all cultivators to consume. However, Wang Changsheng cultivated a water-attribute cultivation method, so he had a greater need for water-attribute spiritual items.

The spirit egg could hatch into a Snow Cloud Chicken. A first-tier low-grade Snow Cloud Chicken was worth much more than the egg itself, but the egg required sufficient spiritual energy to hatch. Even placing it on a first-tier spiritual vein would take over two months to hatch.

Although the section of spiritual vein he discovered was small, it was more than enough to hatch the spirit egg. However, he couldn't constantly guard it. If he weren't there and the spirit egg was found and eaten by a medicine-seeking mouse, he would suffer a significant loss. After careful consideration, he decided to go to Green Bamboo Market to exchange the spirit egg for a water-attribute spiritual item.

Before long, a plain-looking middle-aged man stopped in front of Wang Changsheng's stall.

"Fellow Daoist, I don't have any water-attribute spiritual items on hand. How about I buy it from you with spirit stones? How about ten spirit stones?"

A hint of shrewdness flickered in the middle-aged man's eyes.

Wang Changsheng shot the man a glance and curtly replied, "Do you take me for a novice who just embarked on the path of cultivation? If you want to take advantage, go somewhere else."

Some experienced rogue cultivators specialized in finding bargains in the square where rogue cultivators set up stalls. Only cultivation novices unfamiliar with market values would fall for their tricks. Wang Changsheng had received comprehensive cultivation knowledge and was not a rookie who had just entered the cultivation world; he wasn't so easily deceived.

The middle-aged man wasn't offended. He gave an awkward smile and said, "It seems Fellow Daoist is also an expert. How about I offer nineteen spirit stones for this spirit egg?"

If the spirit egg hatched into a Snow Cloud Chicken, selling it would yield a considerable number of spirit stones. Although it was time-consuming, time was something rogue cultivators had in abundance.

"No sale. I only exchange for water-attribute spiritual items of equal value," Wang Changsheng shook his head and refused.

"Alright then, twenty-one spirit stones, no more."

Wang Changsheng shook his head firmly, his attitude resolute.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man didn't press further and turned to leave.

Over the next half-day, people continuously stopped at Wang Changsheng's stall, all eager to trade with him.

Some offered spirit stones to buy it, others offered talismans, and some proposed exchanging spiritual artifacts, but Wang Changsheng refused them all.

As dusk fell, shops brought out their lighting tools, illuminating the market town brightly.

Stall owners also took out illuminating moonlight stones, lighting up their stalls.

Wang Changsheng pondered for a moment, then put away the spirit egg and began to stroll around the square, hoping to find something good.

The stalls were overflowing with goods. Wang Changsheng saw a few items that appealed to him, but his purse was too light, so he didn't make any purchases.

"Oh, what's this?"

Wang Changsheng let out a soft exclamation and stopped at a small stall.

The stall owner was a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl in a green dress. Her figure was graceful and slender, her skin was like snow, and her long, dark hair reached her waist.

The stall displayed several demonic beast materials, two bluestone wine pots, and two spiritual artifacts: a string of blue beads and a chi-long green dagger.

Spiritual artifacts were common weapons for Qi Condensation stage cultivators, with prices ranging from dozens to hundreds of spirit stones.

Wang Changsheng cultivated the Cloud Rain Art, making him sensitive to water spiritual energy. He could clearly sense that the water spiritual energy at the green-dressed girl's stall was richer than at other stalls, particularly around the blue string of beads.

He squatted down, picked up the blue string of beads, and examined it carefully.

He was certain that the blue string of beads had the effect of gathering water spiritual energy. Although the amount of spiritual energy gathered wasn't vast, wearing it during cultivation would slightly accelerate his cultivation speed.

"What is this spiritual artifact called? What are its effects? How many spirit stones?" Wang Changsheng asked directly.

"This mid-grade spiritual artifact, the Water Gathering Pearl, is an auxiliary spiritual artifact. It gathers water spiritual energy and was refined from the pearl of a first-tier mid-grade spiritual beast, the Azure River Clam. Although its effect isn't as strong as a first-tier Water Gathering Array, fellow Daoists who cultivate water-attribute methods will find their cultivation speed slightly increased if they wear it. All items on my stall are for exchange only, for items of equal value; they are not for sale," the girl in the green dress said slowly, pointing to a wooden sign on her stall.

Only then did Wang Changsheng notice a wooden sign in the corner of the stall, with the four large characters "Exchange Only, Not for Sale" written on it.

Wang Changsheng pondered for a moment, then took out the spirit egg and a faint blue talisman from his storage pouch.

"This is a spirit egg laid by a first-tier spiritual fowl, a Snow Cloud Chicken, and this is a first-tier high-grade Flying Talisman. How about I exchange these for your Water Gathering Pearl?"

The girl in the green dress was somewhat tempted and showed a pensive expression. Not long after, she said, "Add five more spirit stones, and I'll make the exchange with you."

Wang Changsheng frowned, expressing some dissatisfaction. "Your Water Gathering Pearl has clearly been used by someone else. One spirit egg plus one Flying Talisman is more than enough to exchange for your Water Gathering Pearl. If you're unwilling to exchange, then forget it."

"Just one more spirit stone, only one," the girl in the green dress raised a single finger.

Wang Changsheng hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and agreed. He simply couldn't refuse the Water Gathering Pearl, as it would accelerate his cultivation speed.