Lingyuan Immortal

Chapter 9 Tianhe Market
Chen Mu looked inward at his dantian with his spiritual consciousness.

Twenty-seven drops of spiritual liquid gathered together, spread around the water lotus, and then condensed into a ball.

The color is a dazzling blue, shimmering with an alluring luster, like a mouthful of mellow and rich agar-agar liquid...

The realm has been stabilized.

Chen Mu opened his eyes and patted the storage bag on his waist. Suddenly, more than fifty spirit stones appeared in a pile in front of him.

"There are still fifty-four spirit stones left..." A proud look appeared on Chen Mu's face.

These were the spirit stones he had accumulated over the past three years without interrupting his cultivation. Most of them were won in the disciple competition...

It can be said that Chen Mu is now considered a wealthy spirit stone owner among the outer disciples.

He waved his hand, put away the spirit stone, stood up and left.

As soon as I reached the entrance of the valley, I saw Niu Dali waiting there.

"Let's go."

Niu Dali pinched his right hand slightly, put it to his mouth, and blew hard.

A loud whistle sounded in the sky... Soon, two cloud cranes circled over.

This was borrowed by Niu Dali specifically for this trip, and it was also the benefit of his promotion to an inner disciple.

Chen Mu and Niu Dali each sat on one, and then gradually disappeared into the horizon at the command of the whistle...

The place they were going to now was Tianhe Market, not far from the mountain gate.

Tianhe Market was founded by Shui Yunjian as a guarantor. It is not large in scale and is usually visited by independent cultivators.

There are many small-scale markets like this within Shuiyunjian's sphere of influence. Most of them were founded by sects, but some were also established by powerful independent cultivators...

Chen Mu and Niu Dali had been to Tianhe Market several times and were somewhat familiar with the place.

Originally, Chen Mu wanted to walk here as usual, but Niu Dali insisted on sitting on the Liuyun Crane...

After a stick of incense.

"We're here." Chen Mu said as he looked at the mountainside shrouded in clouds and mist ahead.

Chen Mu activated his magic power, filled his eyes, and looked at the clouds again.

Suddenly a scene appeared before his eyes.

Some pavilions and towers with simple exterior decorations are vaguely built on a large open space halfway up the mountain. There are also some shacks and stalls on both sides of the road, with stall owners in black robes sitting behind them.

Niu Dali waved his hand to disperse the cranes, his eyes sparkling as he said expectantly, "I hope you won't let me down..."

After entering the market, Chen Mu and his companions did not linger at the street stalls, even though several stall owners were shouting that they had peerless magical skills and heaven-defying magic...

After walking for a short distance, the two came to the entrance of a cave, where a Taoist priest with a crown on his head stood.

The Taoist priest greeted them with a bow, "Brother Niu, Brother Chen, it's been a while since we last met. You look even more charming than ever. Come in!"

Chen Mu and the other person followed the Taoist priest into the cave. The further they went in, the narrower it seemed. After walking a few dozen steps uncomfortably, they turned right and saw a spacious cave. Suddenly, they felt a sense of enlightenment.

At this time, there were already many people bustling in the cave, most of them were wearing black robes, and the spiritual energy fluctuations around them were about the fourth or fifth level of Qi Condensation.

The Taoist priest directed their gaze towards the center of the cave: "My master has been waiting for you two for a long time."

"My two dear nephews, come quickly." A middle-aged Taoist priest in a black brocade robe with gold thread waved.

Seeing this, Chen Mu and Niu Dali smiled and bowed, saying, "Senior Wu."

The middle-aged Taoist priest was named Wu Jinhai. He was a powerful and well-known independent cultivator in the area within a thousand miles, nicknamed Heimu Sanren.

His ninth level of Qi Condensation cultivation made him rarely rivaled.

Because he often held small exchange meetings in Tianhe Market, he got to know Chen Mu and others.

In addition, Wu Jinhai deliberately made friends with them, and at every exchange meeting he would use the voice-transmitting jade slips to tell each other what kind of precious spiritual objects were available, so they got along pretty well.

This time, Chen Mu and the others came for a magic weapon at the exchange meeting.

"Senior Wu, I wonder... has the senior who sells magic weapons arrived?" Niu Dali asked with a smile after paying his respects.

Wu Jinhai laughed heartily: "I will not let you two nephews down. That fellow Taoist has already taken his seat..." Before he finished speaking, his expression changed slightly: "Nephew Niu, you have entered the fourth level of Qi Condensation..."

Niu Dali said modestly, "I succeeded by chance the day before yesterday."

Wu Jinhai's eyes flashed with shock when he heard this, but then he smiled and said, "It's true that the waves behind push the waves ahead. My nephew Niu has amazing talent and is expected to have a bright future."

According to his understanding, Niu and Chen had been disciples for no more than four years, and one of them had already reached the fourth level of Qi Condensation, becoming an inner disciple of Shuiyunjian...

Niu Dali complimented him a few times, then found a place to sit down with Chen Mu, waiting for the exchange meeting to begin.

A quarter of an hour later.

Wu Jinhai stood on a small raised platform in the middle, raised his right hand high and said, "My fellow Daoists... Today is the 47th exchange meeting held by me. You are able to come, which means you trust me. I am honored... But if any fellow Daoist wants to try my black snake wood, you are welcome to try and cause trouble..."

"Brother Wu, everyone knows the reputation of your Black Snake Wood. Let's get started." A hoarse voice came from a black-robed monk on the left.

Wu Jinhai sneered and said, "Let's start." Then he walked off the stage.

The black-robed monk who was speaking was the first to step onto the stage and took out a piece of wood that was completely red and flashed red light from time to time.

"Fire ant wood is an excellent material for forging fire-attribute magical instruments. It can also impart some ant venom to the instruments... I don't need to explain its value. In exchange for three Spirit Crystal Flowers."

Seeing no one responding, he said, "Twenty spirit stones will do." He hadn't hoped to win success in the first place...

"A mere piece of fire ant wood is not worth so many spirit stones. I want fifteen." An old man in gray said.

The black-robed monk thought for a moment and said, "Yes!"

The two then went to the side to trade.

At this time, another person came onto the stage, but it was an old woman.

She spoke like a young girl, "Ten bottles of Qi-boosting pills, a total of fifteen spirit stones."

Qi-replenishing pills… Chen Mu’s expression changed. He was able to cultivate to the third level of Qi Condensation thanks to these Qi-replenishing pills… But as his realm improved, the Qi-replenishing pills were no longer of much use to him.

"I want two bottles!"

"I want six bottles..."

Pills are usually in short supply and are sold out very quickly.

"The egg of a first-rank, low-grade demon beast, the Liuyun Crane... Everyone is familiar with the Liuyun Crane, a mount carefully selected by the nearby large sect Shuiyunjian. It is docile and obedient, and after it grows up, it can be regarded as a helper at the third level of Qi Condensation... The price is two bottles of Xuanyuan Dan or fifty spirit stones!" said a short man in black robes on the stage.

As soon as these words were spoken, a cultivator in the audience, also wearing black robes, laughed out loud. "You little dwarf, you're dreaming! Xuanyuan Dan is a spiritual elixir that's effective even for those in the late stage of Qi Condensation, and you dare to ask for it... If it were a tamed Liuyun Crane, it would naturally be worth more than this. How dare you ask for so much for just an unhatched egg?"

The short monk was furious when he heard this and shouted, "What does it have to do with you? If you don't have any spirit stones, shut up! If you keep barking here, don't blame me for being rude!"

The man in the audience stood up and said, "I'm not afraid of you!"

There was a bang, but Wu Jinhai slapped the table and said in a calm tone: "Sit down and continue." There was no anger in his voice.

Please sit down in the audience and continue on stage.

"I don't think anyone here has the Xuanyuan Pill. If forty spirit stones are possible, I'll take it." A cultivator shouted from the audience.

The short monk also knew that it was good to be able to exchange one egg for forty spirit stones, so he agreed.

The next person to take the stage was a bald, burly man with a fierce look in his eyes. He raised his right hand, a small black-gold hammer dancing in his palm.

"The Mountain Shaker is a top-tier magical weapon. Made entirely of black gold ore, it's incredibly hard and can be sized up or down. Its power is even comparable to some mid-grade magical weapons... I'll only exchange it for seventy spirit stones!"

The moment Niu Dali opened his mouth, he had already fixed his eyes on the flying hammer, as if he was looking at his beloved beauty.

Chen Mu laughed inwardly. It was the first time he saw Niu Dali like this...

Seventy spirit stones is no small amount. For a moment, the audience was filled with the sounds of bargaining, bartering, and pleading...

"I want it!" Niu Dali stood up and said loudly.

Everyone in the audience looked towards the direction where the voice came from, wanting to see who was so generous?

It turns out he is a disciple of Shuiyunjian...

The bald strong man on the stage was also happy to hear this. He was really tired of the haggling and immediately walked towards Niu Dali.

"Brother Chen, lend me fifteen spirit stones and I will return them to you another day." Niu Dali turned around and said in a voice transmission.

Chen Mu immediately allocated twenty spirit stones to him.

Niu Dali smiled and patted Chen Mu on the shoulder.

After the transaction was completed, Niu Dali was overjoyed. He twisted and turned after sitting down, as if his heart was being tickled by a cat demon... If he hadn't been concerned about Wu Jinhai's feelings, he would have gotten up and left long ago.

Spiritual materials and elixirs were traded one after another, and the exchange meeting was about to end...

A young man who had just gone up on stage and exchanged some worthless things for spirit stones gritted his teeth and went up again.

"Everyone, I originally didn't plan to take out this item today, but I'm still short of some spirit stones, so..." The young man held a jade slip in his right hand and continued, "This is a talisman inheritance that I accidentally found. I regret that I don't have the talent to inherit it. Now I'm looking for someone with a predestined relationship. It contains three methods for drawing first-level low-grade spirit talismans and one method for drawing first-level mid-grade spirit talismans. I want fifty spirit stones..."

The audience who were originally interested suddenly dispersed.

"Fifty, you're crazy wanting spirit stones, right? Putting aside the question of whether it's worth it, even learning to draw spirit talismans requires dozens of spirit stones to master it. So, when it comes down to it..."

"It's just..."

Seeing everyone dispersing, the young man hurriedly shouted, "Forty pieces will do."

Everyone ignored them. Most of them were too old to spend dozens of spirit stones to learn the way of talismans, which might cost them nothing.

After a while, only Chen Mu and Niu Dali were left in the stage.

The young man's eyes lit up: "Are you willing to change?"

Chen Mu smiled slightly and said, "I'm willing to exchange, but I only have thirty-four spirit stones."

Niu Dali stood aside, silent.

The young man's eyes flashed, and he made up his mind: "Change!"

After the transaction was completed, Chen Mu and Niu Dali said goodbye to Wu Jinhai.

After coming out of the cave, Chen Mu and the other man smiled at each other.

On the way out of the market, Chen Mu bought some talisman paper and cinnabar for drawing talismans, and a fine wolf-hair brush from a stall he passed by.

Of course, Niu Dali paid the spirit stones.

(End of this chapter)