Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

Senior Brother Linghui shared his experience with Zhuang Xing.

Zhuang Xing noted it down. When they went up the mountain, he and Yunling exchanged information. Besides some silver coins, Yunling only received ten blue banknotes, which were two levels lower than the black banknotes in Zhuang Xing's hands.

The two returned to Xuanqing Temple with the group. The children were settled in their lodgings, while Yunling and Zhuang Xing were summoned to Qiluzhai.

Master Qingxuzi took out two bundles of blue sword tassels from the rosewood box and handed them to the two men.

"From today onwards, you two are disciples of Qing Sui." Daoist Qing Xuzi smiled slightly. "I have heard about what happened down the mountain. Zhuang Xing, if it weren't for you eliminating the white-tailed jackal, those children would have suffered terribly. Before this winter, I don't know how many more innocent people would have died. You did very well. This is the responsibility that disciples of Xuanqing Temple should have."

"Come here," Master Qingxuzi called him.

The old Taoist priest closed his eyes, grasped his wrist, and took his pulse.

After a while, the old Taoist nodded: "Fortunately, there were no hidden injuries."

"Half a year has passed, and you two have absorbed the effects of the body-tempering liquid. These are Qi-gathering powders refined by Daoist Yuan Yan. Although they are not as effective as the body-tempering liquid made from the clam pearl, you can gradually increase your cultivation by taking them slowly."

The old Taoist priest took out two boxes of pills and handed them to Zhuang Xing and Yunling respectively.

"This journey has been fraught with difficulties and weary from the journey, so I won't ramble on any longer." The old Taoist then took out his precious pouch, took out two pieces of maltose, and placed them in Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling's palms. "You should go back and rest for three days, and then come back to the school to practice."

"Linghui has probably already told you about the situation in Shanshi. If you want to go to the city for a stroll, you can ask your senior brothers and sisters to take you in."

"Master, where exactly is that mirage?" Zhuang Xing asked, somewhat puzzled.

He stayed at Xuanqing Temple for a year and visited all the places he was supposed to, but he didn't see any place that looked like a market. He had some guesses, but he wasn't very sure.

The old Taoist priest said, "If it is a mirage, it is naturally in the mountains. You will understand when you get there."

Zhuang Xing silently looked down at his feet, while the old Taoist smiled mysteriously and stopped talking to them about the mountain market, simply seeing them off.

Chapter 102 Mountain Market

Zhuang Xing returned to his room. Da Chun wasn't there, so he went in by himself.

The room was exactly as it had been when Zhuang Xing left, spotless.

Zhuang Xing put down his luggage. He had rested enough at the inn last night. He lay on the bed for a while, enjoying the bed he had slept in for a year, and then went out full of energy to find the wheat that he and Yunling had planted.

When he arrived, he found that all the wheat had been harvested, leaving only straw stalks. He had been away for a while, and the wheat had already passed its ripening season.

Before leaving, he asked Bai Yu to take care of the wheat field for him, so he went to ask the children who were sweeping the floor and found Bai Yu in the kitchen of the canteen.

Bai Yu spoke to the cook, then took a small cloth bag from the grains pile and handed it to Zhuang Xing.

"This is the harvested wheat, about twenty jin," Bai Yu said.

"Thank you." Zhuang Xing took the wheat seeds and counted out fifty coins to give to them.

The price agreed upon initially only covered the wheat field, not the harvest.

Bai Yu did not refuse and accepted the money.

The cooked wheat was extremely difficult to eat. Although she didn't know why Zhuang Xing was growing wheat that even dogs wouldn't eat, she only cared about getting paid and doing the job, and didn't care about anything else.

Zhuang Xing happily took the bag of wheat away. Apart from leaving some for next year's planting, he could grind the rest into flour to make delicious food.

He's not a very ambitious person; he just likes to eat and drink.

It was evening when Da Chun returned home.

That evening, when the neighbors learned that Zhuang Xing had returned, they all came to greet him and ask him what it was like down the mountain.

There's nothing to do on the mountain, and since they can't go down, they naturally want to listen to Zhuang Xing tell stories to relieve their boredom.

Zhuang Xing didn't put on airs; he brought out a small stool and sat down under the eaves.

Before nightfall, the children in the neighborhood surrounded Zhuang Xing.

They brought out a wooden table, sat under the big birch tree, and some people even brewed tea and took out the winter dates they had bought to share.

Although Zhuang Xing had never been a storyteller, those events were, after all, his own experiences, and when he recounted them, they were quite dramatic and interesting, at least for these children who had little knowledge of the world.

The autumn air was crisp and clear, and the story continued until nightfall before it was finally finished.

The neighbors all cheered. After hearing the story, they also got to know the children who had come up the mountain that morning. After the lively atmosphere, the initial awkwardness faded and everyone became much more familiar with each other.

That night, listening to Da Chun's snoring, Zhuang Xing slept soundly.

The next day, he found his senior brother Lingyi and asked him about the matter of Nashan City.

"Tomorrow is the first day of the month. If you want to go to Nashan City, wait for me at the Sword Dance Platform at dawn tomorrow."

Zhuang Xing then realized that the reason why the temple had holidays on the first and fifteenth of each month was to prepare for the mountain market.

This market isn't open every day; it's like a market day, with fixed times. It only opens twice a month, and the temple closes on those two days specifically so that disciples can arrange their own time to go to the market to find what they need. With the times fixed, it's easier to do more business with people from outside the temple.

Zhuang Xing listened to his senior brother and went back to collect the money and tickets.

On the first day of the ninth month, before dawn, he went to the medicinal herb field to pick up Yunling, and the two of them went to the sword-dancing platform to wait together.

The senior brother arrived even earlier than them. He nodded and led the two forward.

They passed through the dining hall, the main hall, and the Seven Records Hall, and arrived at the very back of Xuanqing Temple, in front of that sheer cliff.

When Zhuang Xing and Yun Ling were still Bai Sui's disciples, they were not allowed to come here.

But today, with green tassels hanging from their waists and their senior brothers leading the way, no one stopped them.

They climbed the small stone steps and arrived at the stone wall.

The senior brother led them through a narrow passage beneath the stone wall. The passage wasn't long, and as soon as they entered, light appeared ahead.

Suddenly, after taking a step, everything became clear.

Zhuang Xing looked up and saw a tall stone wall above him. Stone steps wound upwards, and there were many shops of all sizes on both sides of the steps. He heard the clanging of blacksmiths striking metal. Some cultivators who were not wearing Taoist robes were bargaining with others. Many of his senior brothers and sisters had arrived at the market early and were strolling around.

The market wasn't large, but it had everything you needed: talisman shops, elixir shops, sword forging halls... everything was available. Paper lanterns hung on the shop signs; these were specially made magical artifacts that emitted a warm and gentle light, illuminating the surroundings in a cozy hue, like burning firewood at home on a winter night.

Zhuang walked up the steps and was surprised to find that Senior Sister Qiaoxia was also at the entrance of the talisman shop.

The senior sister actually sat directly in front of someone else's proper shop, spread out a cloth, and placed some talismans in front of her. She seemed to be there to set up a stall, and there were other disciples around her who were also setting up stalls like her.

"Senior sister, are you selling talismans?" Zhuang Xing asked.

"Oh, junior brother, you're here too." Qiaoxia giggled. "How about we buy a few talismans from your senior sister to keep on hand? The prices are reasonable, and we're honest with everyone. It's much cheaper than buying talismans inside."

"Although buying talismans from other disciples will be relatively cheaper, the effectiveness of a talisman is related to the skill of the person who drew it," Senior Brother Lingyi suddenly interjected. "The quality of talismans bought outside is mostly inconsistent. If you have the money, I suggest you buy them from a shop."

"After all, disciples who draw talismans that meet the standards usually sell them directly to shops to save themselves some trouble."

Hearing this, Qiaoxia glared at Lingyi with annoyance.

This was a veiled criticism that she wasn't good enough, but she wasn't so stupid as to not understand the implication.

"Fine, I won't buy it then..." Qiaoxia muttered, sounding a little aggrieved.

Zhuang Xing felt that his senior sister's talismans were actually quite good. Although the Thunder Control Talisman was less effective than what was taught in school, his senior sister's Swiftness Talisman and Iron Sand Talisman were quite effective.

Moreover, the talisman he used at the time originally belonged to his senior sister. Drawing a talisman requires both materials and energy, and it is not guaranteed to be completed. The more powerful the talisman, the more complex the drawing method. If a mistake is made halfway through, all previous efforts can be wasted.

His senior sister never mentioned seeking compensation from Zhuang Xing. Instead, she took good care of him, even catching fish for him to cook soup. He thought he should also support his senior sister Qiaoxia's business, so he eventually bought a few talismans from her.

"Junior brother really knows his stuff." Qiaoxia visibly became happier, leaned over and gave Zhuang Xing a hug, and even rubbed her face against his.

Zhuang Xing thought to himself, "Senior sister really needs to change this habit. Even though he is still young, senior sister can't hug him whenever she sees him."

As Zhuang Xing was thinking, Yunling called her senior sister over, seemingly intending to buy two talismans from her as well.

Zhuang Xing felt it was a bit of a pity, so he carefully put away the talismans and stood aside.

Chapter 103 Sword Forging Hall

Senior Sister Qiaoxia was still waiting for someone destined to buy the talisman. After Zhuang Xing and Yunling each bought their own talismans, they stopped bothering her.

Zhuang Xing bought four talismans, two of each of the Swiftness Talisman and Iron Sand Talisman that he had used before.

Compared to protective talismans and fire-lighting talismans, this type of talisman is of an advanced level. Only disciples who specialize in talismanic arts can draw it. When drawing it, some demonic creature materials must also be used. Even for experienced people, the success rate is only about 60%. It is not a cheap product.

Even so, the price offered by Senior Sister Qiaoxia wasn't too expensive; two tickets could be bought with one blue coin.

When Zhuang Xing took out the black banknotes, Senior Sister Qiaoxia was overjoyed. She gave Zhuang Xing a total of four red banknotes and four blue banknotes, emptying her pockets. Before Zhuang Xing left, she also gave him an extra Thunder-Controlling Talisman.

The senior sister told Zhuang Xing that although five blue banknotes are equal to one red banknote, and five red banknotes are equal to one black banknote, there is a difference in purchasing power. The higher the grade of the banknote, the more things you can buy. This is a rule set up by the temple to encourage capable disciples to go down the mountain to carry out more commissions.

She recently took a fancy to a very good talisman-drawing brush, and with this black coin, she could finally bring home the jade wool soft-hair talisman-drawing brush she had been longing for.

"I absolutely adore you, junior brother! Come again next time!"

As she was leaving, Qiaoxia waved goodbye warmly.

Senior Brother Lingyi led the two to continue their stroll. When they arrived at the pill shop, Senior Brother seemed to have some matters to attend to, so he parted ways with the two.

"You two have had your fill of sightseeing, you can go back on your own, no need to wait for me."

Zhuang Xing agreed, and in the following days he wandered around the city to see what he could buy.

The market in this mountain town is truly diverse and bustling. Many senior brothers and sisters have set up stalls by the roadside, selling not only talismans and pills, but also trinkets they obtained from their journey down the mountain, as well as monster pelts and cores.

There were even people setting up stalls selling collected comic books and homemade chess and Go sets. These items didn't require cash or tickets to pay for; just like the market down the mountain, you could pay with copper coins or silver coins.

Next to the vendor, there was a fellow student who had set up a chessboard and a wooden sign next to him that read, "One game of white banknotes, the winner gets a blue banknote."

Wandering through this mountain city reminded Zhuang Xing of the scenery he experienced when he went to the market in his previous life.

Upon arriving here, he realized that there really were so many people in Xuanqing Temple.

After crossing the platform and climbing two more steps, he saw another familiar face.

It was the fat Taoist priest who led him up the mountain and escorted the team last year.

The fat Taoist priest actually opened a restaurant on his own in this market.

The restaurant was extremely popular, with long queues extending outside. A white sheet of paper with the menu written on it was hanging on a sign outside.

There are five dishes in total:

Imperial Yellow Queen Mother Rice, Soft Beef Intestines with Flower-like Flour, Raw Dried Fruit with Heart-Knot, Cold Toad Soup, and Five Raw Dishes.

Each dish has its ingredients listed.

The restaurant seemed to have just opened, and a pleasant aroma wafted into Zhuang Xing's nostrils.

That Tonghua Soft Beef Intestine is made with ordinary beef intestines and jade sheep bone marrow. The bone marrow is stuffed into the beef intestines to make a sausage-like dish. Zhuang Xing saw the Queen Mother's Rice on a table. It was a rice bowl made by steaming millet. The soup on the bowl had a small amount of purple orchid grass and bone-washing flower added to it.