Chapter 28: Gathering of Independent Cultivators!

Lu Changsheng walked down the narrow path.

The road ahead seemed endless stretching as far as the eye could see.

After about a hundred meters he felt like he’d passed through a lake’s surface. The scene before him suddenly changed.

He found himself in a valley surrounded by mountains lush with various flowers and plants.

Behind him the small path he’d entered from was sealed off by a misty barrier.

The valley wasn’t large covering about three to four acres.

Ancient-style buildings and pavilions dotted the four sides giving it a sense of otherworldly charm.

In the center many people set up stalls and booths like a bustling Marketplace. Crowds milled about.

The scene reminded Lu Changsheng of farmers’ Markets and outdoor bazaars from his past life.

If he didn’t know this was a gathering place for independent cultivators he’d have thought it was an ordinary Market.

“There must be a spirit vein beneath this valley.”

“But it’s probably not even low-Tier. The Qi here is much weaker than at Qingzhu Mountain Estate.”

Lu Changsheng thought to himself as he walked towards the central Market area.

The cultivators here wore all sorts of outfits.

There were scholars monks Taoists and martial artists…

Some carried long swords and sabers others had huge Gourds on their backs or spirit beasts at their side.

Of course many like Lu Changsheng wore cloaks that covered their entire bodies.

“High-quality healing pills and martial arts elixirs at low prices!”

“Hundred-year ginseng and fleece-flower root just one Spirit Stone each!”

“Dragon tendon for sale to the highest bidder!”

“《Nine Cycles Golden Body Scripture》 left by a True Lord of the Nascent Soul realm only ten Spirit Stones!”

“Mysterious stone found in an ancient secret realm contains hidden treasures don’t miss out!”

People crowded around the stalls while vendors shouted their wares creating a noisy atmosphere.

Lu Changsheng saw some stalls selling everyday items like pots pans meat fish fruits and vegetables. He couldn’t help but shake his head.

It seemed this gathering was even more modest than he’d imagined.

Or rather this was the true face of life at the bottom of the cultivation world.

Just like ordinary people struggling at the bottom of mortal society.

The only difference was one group in the mortal realm the other in the world of cultivation.

Even a declining family like the Lu clan of Qingzhu Mountain had a Foundation Establishment elder and their own blessed spirit vein.

After browsing for a while Lu Changsheng got a sense of this Market.

The items for sale were varied but mostly cheap low-quality goods or fakes.

Only a small portion actually sold things useful for cultivators.

There were also a few proper shops in the buildings around the edge.

Those sold more high-end legitimate goods.

Given the scale of this place it would be impossible for him to sell all of his nearly thousand talismans here.

If he tried he might not make it out of Bull Head Mountain alive.

But selling a portion should be fine.

So Lu Changsheng found an empty spot and set out a thick stack of talismans from his storage pouch.

He put up a sign: “Tier 1 low-Tier talismans 1-2 Spirit Stones each buy five get one free.”

From his observations he hadn’t seen many people selling Tier 1 Mid-Tier talismans.

So after some thought he decided not to bring those out as they might draw too much attention.

As for pricing Artifacts pills and talismans were always in demand with fairly stable prices.

To sell faster Lu Changsheng offered the buy-five-get-one-free deal.

“Friend can we choose any talisman as the free one when we buy five?”

Soon someone came to look at the talismans and asked.

“If you buy five two-stone talismans you can choose any. Otherwise you can only pick from the one-stone ones.”

Lu Changsheng replied his voice low and raspy from beneath the black robe.

“Alright.”

The cultivator took six talismans worth two Spirit Stones each and handed over ten Spirit Stones.

After the first sale more people came to buy talismans.

Talismans sold well among cultivators as most carried a few for protection.

The buy-five-get-one-free deal plus the clearly high quality of Lu Changsheng’s talismans attracted customers.

In just over an hour Lu Changsheng sold out of the nearly hundred talismans he’d brought.

He’d earned a total of 133 Spirit Stones.

“Having a skill really does pay off.”

Lu Changsheng was very pleased with this first pot of gold.

The cost for a hundred talismans was about 22 Spirit Stones.

But he’d sold them for six times that price.

If he’d sold Tier 1 Mid-Tier talismans at 3-5 Spirit Stones each he could have doubled his profit.

After all using ordinary materials Lu Changsheng had a 100% success rate in drawing Tier 1 Mid-Tier talismans!

This was why he was confident he could make his way in this world even after leaving the Lu Family.

After selling these talismans Lu Changsheng didn’t bring out any more to sell.

Other vendors only sold ten or at most a few dozen talismans. Selling nearly a hundred was already quite eye-catching.

Selling more might attract unwanted attention so it was better to be cautious.

Then Lu Changsheng took his newly earned Spirit Stones and started shopping.

In one shop he saw High-Tier talisman paper and ink for sale.

But the quality was mediocre even poor.

Talisman materials were classified as ordinary High-Tier and Top-Tier.

But even within each grade there were differences in raw materials and craftsmanship.

This shop’s products weren’t very good.

But with limited options Lu Changsheng asked about the prices.

The paper was five Spirit Stones for ten sheets the ink five Spirit Stones per box.

Five times the price of ordinary materials.

That was the normal price.

Using these High-Tier materials to draw Tier 1 Mid-Tier talismans wouldn’t leave much profit margin.

But for Lu Changsheng who could draw Tier 1 High-Tier talismans it was still profitable.

After some haggling Lu Changsheng spent 66 Spirit Stones to buy all twelve packs of High-Tier paper and three boxes of ink the shop had.

He looked around but didn’t see any Top-Tier paper or ink for sale.

That was to be expected.

Materials for drawing Top-Tier talismans were a bit too high-end for this kind of gathering.

As he browsed Lu Changsheng saw a stall selling books on cultivation.

Various texts on cultivation lore travelogues and notes caught his interest. He spent one Spirit Stone to buy ten books.

Then he saw some five-element spiritual materials for sale.

After visiting several stalls and shops Lu Changsheng bought the five-element materials he needed to practice the Immortal Posture Technique.

These were all Tier 1 Mid-Tier materials neither cheap nor expensive. In total he spent 59 Spirit Stones.

Having spent most of his newly earned Spirit Stones Lu Changsheng didn’t leave yet.

He continued browsing hoping to find a better talisman brush for sale.

The brush he currently used was a Golden Feather Talisman Brush given by the Lu Family.

It was top-quality among ordinary brushes but not quite a High-Tier brush.

While it could be used to draw Tier 1 High-Tier talismans it still fell a bit short.

After looking around and not finding a brush he liked Lu Changsheng gave up.

Remembering he still needed to visit the Red Whale Gang to ask Li Feiyu to look after his family he thought he should bring some gifts.

Lu Changsheng bought a few bottles of mortal realm medicine from a stall.

These mortal medicines were very cheap made by apprentice alchemists and not even tiered.

They cost about the same as basic talismans two bottles for one Spirit Stone.

Lu Changsheng spent two Spirit Stones to buy five bottles feeling that was enough he stopped browsing.

He went back to the small path he’d entered through and left the valley.

Once outside and seeing no one around Lu Changsheng put his purchases into his storage pouch.

Then out of caution he took out a lightness talisman and used it on himself.

With a light step he became as agile as a swallow quickly descending the mountain.

However.

Just moments after Lu Changsheng left three figures emerged from the valley.

“That kid’s talismans were all top-notch clearly made by a high-level Talisman Master.”

“But he’s only at the third level of Qi Condensation and so cautious about trading in a place like this. He must be some lucky independent cultivator with more good stuff on him!”

The three men gazed greedily and maliciously in the direction Lu Changsheng had gone then used wind-riding techniques to give chase.