The Wandering Immortal

Chapter 22 White Cloud Immortal Market
For more than a year, Jiang Yuan had been secretly inquiring about where there was a fairy market nearby.

Whether they are orthodox cultivators in the mountains or wandering cultivators in the martial arts world, they will gather in a certain place to set up a celestial market in order to find cultivation resources. Some are temporary, while others are permanent.

As a freelance cultivator, I need to purchase some commonly used items, otherwise it would be very inconvenient.

Such as storage bags for organizing, jade bottles and boxes for holding elixirs, jade slips engraved with immortal techniques, materials for refining weapons and rare herbs, and so on.

Only in the Fairy Market can one purchase all of these items at once.

Jiang Yuan was unaware of what currency was used in the cultivation world of the Tang Dynasty. In his previous life on Tianlong Star, it was spirit stones that were used for trading.

Of course, bartering is also possible. The most sought-after items are usually low-level pills, such as Qi-restoring pills and Rejuvenation pills. These are essential medicines for low-level cultivators at home and while traveling, and the demand is extremely high.

Since we haven't found the Immortal Market yet, it's always a good idea to stock up on some pills; they're definitely a valuable commodity.

After Qinghe advanced to the third level of Qi Refining, Jiang Yuan wrote out the formula for the Qi-Returning Pill.

Those herbs were not rare varieties, and you didn't even need to go out to pick them yourself. You just needed to tell the herb gatherers what herbs you needed, and they would bring them to you.

Qinghe cultivated a small herb garden in the backyard. Some herbs could be transplanted, and wood-based magic ensured their survival.

In this way, more than a year after the clinic opened, Qinghe had accumulated ten bottles of Rejuvenation Pills and fifteen bottles of Qi-restoring Pills.

They used inferior jade bottles they found at the antique market to hold the medicine, and then attached talismans to slow down the loss of its medicinal properties.

One day, I finally heard a patient mention that there might be a fairy city in Baiyun Mountain not far away.

This man was a hunter who, while hunting in Baiyun Mountain one night, accidentally stumbled into a hidden valley.

To his surprise, hundreds of people had gathered in the desolate mountains, some even setting up stalls to sell goods, and the area was brightly lit. The hunter thought he had seen a ghost and was terrified. A Taoist-looking man escorted him out, and in the blink of an eye, he could no longer see those people.

Jiang Yuan made an exception and personally examined the hunter's pulse for free, carefully asking him details such as which route he entered the mountains and how long he had been walking.

As of now, Jiang Yuan is still a mortal and has no right to enter the Immortal Market. He might end up being sent out like the hunter.

But Qinghe is a proper cultivator, and the most popular alchemist at that. Even though her current rank is too low, her potential for development should not be underestimated. No one would easily offend an alchemist.

Jiang Yuan searched diligently for the Immortal Market in order to broaden Qing He's horizons and help her improve her cultivation more quickly.

Qinghe was somewhat excited when she heard that she was going to the Immortal Market. It was rare to see a real cultivator, but her husband always said that there were tens of thousands of cultivators in the Tang Dynasty, which was hard to believe.

The next day, Jiang Yuan told his parents that he was going to Guangzhou to buy some items and would be back in three to five days, and then went out with Qinghe.

Baiyun Mountain is indeed not far north of Guangzhou, so it was natural to ride a horse along the official road. I also carried General Dingyuan's token to avoid being harassed by soldiers along the way.

They traveled a little over a hundred li in total and arrived at the foot of Baiyun Mountain in the evening. The couple rented an inn to store their horses and went into the mountain at night to search for the Immortal Market.

The White Cloud Immortal Market is located near a major mortal city, so it can't possibly be a high-level immortal market. It's probably just a gathering place for some independent cultivators. Even if there are some illusions, its level wouldn't be too high, otherwise the hunter would never have stumbled into it.

Following the hunter's route, they searched in the mountains for about two hours. It was already midnight when Qinghe noticed something unusual. The canyon ahead was shrouded in mist, like some kind of illusion.

Of course, Qinghe had never seen any illusion magic before; she had only heard Jiang Yuan describe some characteristics along the way.

Since it is a celestial city, it would not be completely closed to people; the maze was simply set up to prevent mortals from accidentally entering.

Sure enough, Qinghe used her divine sense to see through the illusion and stepped inside, only to find the place still desolate.

The scattered lights in the distance really did look like will-o'-the-wisps, hardly resembling the grand gathering of hundreds of people. But since we were already there, we should still take a closer look.

The two carefully approached a lighthouse, which was a small pavilion built in a tree, with the light inside.

Jiang Yuan was hesitating about how to greet him when the small curtain in the attic was drawn back, revealing a middle-aged Taoist-looking man with a look of surprise on his face.

The Taoist priest scanned Qinghe with his divine sense, confirming that she was a cultivator, before greeting her, "Have you two come from afar?"

Jiang Yuan cupped his hands in greeting, "We apologize for disturbing you, senior. We have indeed come from afar. We heard that there is a celestial market here, but we don't know why it is so deserted?"

The middle-aged Taoist priest invited, "If you two don't mind, you may come up and talk."

"In that case, I'll be troubling you."

The Taoist priest pressed some kind of mechanism, and a ladder slid down from the attic, with handrails on both sides.

Jiang Yuan and Qing He climbed up to the pavilion, which was quite simple inside, with only a few futons and a tea table, but the bamboo walls were covered with talismans.

The middle-aged Taoist priest could tell that Qinghe's cultivation level was at the third level of Qi Refining, which was similar to his own, but he could not see through Jiang Yuan's cultivation level. He then made a decision in his mind, thinking that this person's cultivation level must be too high for him to see, so he was quite polite.

This Taoist priest, surnamed Ruan, was a merchant who resided in Baiyun Immortal Market and mainly sold talismans.

Taoist Ruan said that Baiyun Immortal Market was only a small market, mostly frequented by independent cultivators. A small market was held once a month on the 15th of the lunar month (full moon), and a large market was held once a year on the 15th of the eighth lunar month, lasting for half a month, where several hundred independent cultivators would gather.

It was now late October, and Jiang Yuan understood that the hunter must have stumbled upon the grand market on the fifteenth of August.

Besides, there are only nine other merchants like Ruan Daoshi who are permanently based in Baiyunxian City, but they offer all kinds of goods.

The Taoist priest asked Jiang Yuan what items he wanted to buy this time.
Jiang Yuan casually mentioned that he wanted to see them all, and if possible, he might purchase some array plates and flags.

Master Ruan was overjoyed, "What a coincidence! My shop has array plates and array flags."

Jiang Yuan, of course, catered to their preferences. Who sells talismans without an array plate? Arrays and talismans are inseparable.

"However, I encountered some trouble earlier and have run out of spirit stones, so I can only exchange them for other things."

Daoist Ruan knew perfectly well that these two must have encountered enemies and exhausted their array flags, array plates, and spirit stones in a battle, which was why they broke into the Immortal Market in the middle of the night to exchange them.

"No problem, no problem. Bartering is fine too, as long as both parties are satisfied."

"We came in a hurry and only have some pills and talismans. We certainly wouldn't dare to embarrass ourselves by showing off our talismans in front of you, senior. I wonder if you would be willing to exchange them for pills?"

Ruan Daoren smiled awkwardly. As a businessman, he rarely engaged in magical duels and was not very receptive to elixirs. "Elixirs... vary greatly in quality and grade, and I don't know how to distinguish them."

"It's alright, take a look and then decide."

Jiang Yuan took out a jade bottle, removed the talisman sealing it, and poured out a Qi-restoring pill, instantly filling the room with fragrance.

Looking at the pill again, its surface was as smooth as a mirror, with a faint yellow light seeping out.

Even though the Taoist priest Ruan knew nothing about elixirs, he knew that this elixir must be of excellent quality, and he was dumbfounded.

(End of this chapter)