Chapter 60: Purchasing

Li Xiangping and the others waited for a while, then simply started chatting by the shore, laughing and reminiscing about childhood anecdotes. Finally, a faint silver light rose from the lake.

"Is that the large ship meant to pick us up?"

In the center of the lake, a long, swaying wooden ship slowly approached from a distance. Its large sail was covered in light white feathers, and the ship itself glowed with spiritual energy, appearing to be a valuable treasure.

Before the ship drew near, a soft call was heard:

"Friends ahead, do you wish to go to Moon-Gazing Lake Market? Why are you arriving so late?"

"Precisely!"

Li Chijing and the others replied in unison, humbly answering:

"This is our first time visiting Moon-Gazing Lake Market, and we were unfamiliar with the rules, so we missed the appointed time."

"Hahahahaha, you are too kind, friends."

The person laughed heartily and steered the large ship towards the shore.

Li Chijing stepped forward, carefully assessing the person with his spiritual sense for a moment. Feeling a slight distrust, he cautiously asked:

"Friend, are you here to take us to the market?"

"Indeed!"

The person chuckled. Seeing that Li Chijing and the others did not approach but instead watched him cautiously, he clicked his tongue and said:

"One jin of spirit rice or equivalent spiritual items per person."

Seeing him state a price, Li Chijing felt much more at ease. He slapped his pouch with his left hand, and a pale green token immediately flew out.

The token hovered in the air, slowly projecting several large characters:

"Green Pond Sect, Green Grain Peak."

Only then did Li Chijing speak clearly:

"I am Li Chijing, a disciple of Green Grain Peak, Green Pond Sect. I am passing through here on important business, and I thank you, friend, for giving us a ride."

Upon seeing the token, the large ship jolted and paused for a few breaths, as if verifying something. Then, a white-haired old man disembarked and respectfully replied:

"So, you are a disciple of an immortal sect. My apologies for the oversight. Please, come aboard."

Li Chijing nodded. Once they were on the large ship, they saw that the cabin was fully equipped with tea tables and utensils, and its antique decor was quite luxurious.

"Since you had no acquaintances from the market accompanying you, I was quite apprehensive and dared not come out of the cabin to greet you. I only felt relieved after seeing your immortal sect token."

The white-haired old man smiled and repeatedly apologized.

"Not at all. It's only natural to be cautious when traveling."

Li Xiangping replied with a smile, then heard the old man say:

"Next time you come, it would be best to arrive around midnight. Local families enter the market at that time, which is most convenient for purchasing spirit rice and selling spiritual items."

"I see!"

After chatting with the old man for a while, the large ship suddenly jolted, and faint sounds of commotion reached their ears. Looking out the window, they saw Moon-Gazing Lake Market.

The market was built on a small islet in the lake. It was not large, roughly the size of half a village, with small lamps emitting white light hanging along the streets. At that moment, there was a fair amount of foot traffic, and people occasionally stopped to look at goods on display and haggle with vendors.

"I absolutely cannot accept this fare."

The white-haired old man moored the ship and immediately refused the spirit rice Li Chijing took from his storage bag, adamantly refusing to accept anything.

The group had no choice but to bid farewell to the white-haired old man and excitedly walked along the street. Li Tongya looked at the items on the stalls, secretly comparing them to those at Crown Cloud Peak Market.

"The items for sale are largely similar, but in Moon-Gazing Lake Market, most goods are priced in spirit rice, and items are more often sold in bulk. Spells, for instance, are sold individually, not in scrolls."

As he pondered this, he heard Li Chijing ahead of him laugh:

"The items at these stalls are a mixed bag. For good quality, you'll need to buy from a counter inside a shop."

Li Tongya froze, recalling the entire day he had spent wandering around stalls at Crown Cloud Peak Market, and found himself speechless.

After walking a few steps, the stalls became sparse, and several shopfronts appeared. Li Chijing looked for a moment, chose a magic artifact shop, and stepped inside.

"Go ask your shopkeeper if he's interested in Malevolent Fire Qi."

The approaching shop assistant was startled. Seeing Li Chijing turn his head to silently examine the numerous magic artifacts on the wall after speaking, the assistant immediately hurried away.

Before long, a shirtless man rushed in through a back door, approaching like the wind, the many iron implements hanging on his body clanging together.

"Friend, do you have any information about Malevolent Fire Qi?"

The man had a full beard and a rugged appearance, but his voice was quite gentle.

"That's right. I am Li Chijing of the Green Pond Sect, and I have a portion of Malevolent Fire Qi for sale."

"So you are a disciple of an immortal sect."

The rugged man cupped his hands and smiled:

"My name is Chu Minglian. I run a small shop here in the market. May I ask what price you are setting for your Malevolent Fire Qi?"

Li Chijing raised an eyebrow and said gravely:

"Seventy spirit stones, preferably exchanged for goods."

Having lived frugally, where every spirit stone had to be stretched, Li Xiangping and the others instantly widened their eyes, eagerly looking at Chu Minglian.

Chu Minglian shook his head and smiled:

"That's a bit expensive. May I ask what in my shop has caught your eye, friend?"

"Talisman brushes."

Li Chijing, short on time, went straight to the point, pointing at two talisman brushes hanging on the wall:

"Would you mind giving an introduction, friend?"

"Certainly."

Chu Minglian nodded, took down the two talisman brushes, and picking up the green one, explained:

"The body of this brush is made of spirit-jade, and its bristles come from the tail of a peak Fetal Breath Weasel demon. It's suitable for both Fetal Breath and Qi Cultivation stages and costs fifteen spirit stones."

Setting it down, Chu Minglian picked up the other talisman brush with an milky-white body and said:

"This one has a Fire Spirit Wood body, and its bristles are refined from a Qi Cultivation stage fox demon's tail. It can only be used by cultivators at the Qi Cultivation stage or above and costs sixty spirit stones."

Li Chijing waved his hand, naturally pointing at the spirit-jade brush, and smiled:

"That one will do."

"And also a storage bag, a common one suitable for Qi Cultivation stage cultivators."

Chu Minglian smiled faintly, took a brownish-gray pouch from a shelf, and said gravely:

"Three feet square, thirty spirit stones."

After some negotiation, Chu Minglian contentedly exchanged the Malevolent Fire Qi for the two magic artifacts and twenty spirit stones.

Li Chijing walked out of the shop, holding the storage bag and talisman brush. Before Li Xiangping and the others behind him could even feel the sting of the expense, they saw Li Chijing enter another shop.

"Three hundred Fetal Breath stage talisman papers, ten spirit stones."

Li Chijing pointed at three stacks of brownish-yellow blank talisman papers on the counter and said gravely:

"These are indeed Green Mugwort wood talisman papers, correct?"

"Precisely, precisely."

The shop assistant immediately recognized Li Chijing as an expert and quickly replied.

Counting out ten spirit stones and handing them over, and putting the talisman papers into his pouch, Li Chijing then handed the storage bag to Li Xiangping, muttering to himself:

"A talisman brush, talisman papers, a storage bag... and I still have ten spirit stones left. How should I spend them?"

Li Chijing's smooth, effortless transactions left Li Xiangping and the other head of the family looking at each other in bewilderment. They quickly stepped forward and said:

"Perhaps you should keep the remaining spirit stones at home for unforeseen needs."

Only then did Li Chijing nod. He looked at the market, where the crowds were slowly thinning, stretched, and smiled:

"Are there any other important matters to attend to at home?"