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Yin Mountain City.
Fragrant Cloud Restaurant.
He and his companions were resting and drinking when Su Yi asked, “Fellow Daoist Ling, do you perchance know where in the city spiritual medicines are sold?”
He’d come to the Great Xia for the sake of his cultivation.
The resources available in small nations like the Great Zhou, Wei, and Qin could no longer satisfy his needs.
It was only in the Great Xia that he could obtain resources sufficient to sustain his cultivation in the Origin Dao.
Ling Yunhe paused to think, then said, “The city’s trade associations and apothecaries do sell spiritual medicines and materials, but most are only suited for martial artists’ cultivation.
“Fellow Daoist, if you want to buy resources for your own cultivation, I suggest you visit Spiritbend City. It's one of the most prosperous places in the Southern Skies Province, and the Great Xia’s three peak-level trading companies all have branches there.
“In Spiritbend City, so long as you have sufficient wealth, purchasing spiritual materials and medicines tiers five and up isn’t difficult.
“Furthermore, every so often, Spiritbend City hosts a Spiritbend Assembly, where they auction off rare treasures, the types you normally can only find by chance.”
Su Yi was instantly tempted.
It hadn’t been long since he slew Madam Miaohua and her allies in the Great Chu. Between that and killing Qi Chongzi, Lai Changxiao, and Qiu Mochi in Cold Emerald Valley, Su Yi had obtained enough trophies to purchase several cities.
However, only a small portion of said trophies were useful toward his cultivation; he could thus only maintain his expenditures for a month.
The remaining treasures were about as useful to him as chicken ribs. He needed to sell them and purchase resources better suited to his needs.
Spiritbend City was unquestionably a good destination.
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Something suddenly occurred to Ling Yunhe, who said, “Right! Here, in Yin Mountain City, there’s a rather extraordinary ghost market. It’s famous throughout the Southern Skies Province. There, you can see all manner of rare and curious treasures. Of course, there’s no shortage of fakes, either. When you buy and sell in the ghost market, you have to rely on your own judgment.”
Su Yi nodded. Places like this so-called “ghost market” were all over the Nine Provinces of the Wilds.
Ordinarily speaking, cultivators who enjoyed such places were hoping to find treasure in a trash heap.
However, Su Yi was well aware that those who succeeded in finding treasure were rare; most who tried were instead ripped off.
“A ghost market? That sounds interesting! Master, how about we go check it out?” said Qing Ya eagerly.
“That’s up to Fellow Daoist Su,” laughed Ling Yunhe.
“If we’ve got nothing better to do, there’s no harm in checking it out,” said Su Yi.
……
The entrance to Yin Mountain City’s ghost market was in the garden behind a store called the “As-You-Please Workshop.”
It was a tunnel that led to the ghost market, which was built underground.
According to Ling Yunhe, the As-You-Please Workshop was backed by the Deathbringer’s Gate. Few people dared cause trouble for them, or at the ghost market they kept watch over.
Before long, under Ling Yunhe’s leadership, each of them paid their entrance fee—a tier-three spirit stone—and smoothly entered the ghost market.
Despite the name, the ghost market was really just an underground street lined with all sorts of booths.
Some sold spiritual materials and medicines, while others sold strange and ancient knick-knacks or glittering gemstones. Almost everything was somehow connected to cultivation.
Numerous customers shuttled between the various stalls. Sometimes, they stopped to look at the wares or haggle over a treasure. It was an extremely lively scene.
“So many cultivators!” exclaimed Yuan Heng.
Although most of the customers were in the Martial Dao, there was no shortage of Grain Avoidance and Origin Palace cultivators either!
“The ghost market of ‘Little Ghost City Fengdu’ is renowned throughout the Southern Skies Province. Every day, cultivators come here from all over the world,” explained Ling Yunhe with a laugh.
“Wah! That jade pendant is so clear and sparkly! It’s beautiful!” Qing Ya stopped at a booth and stared at a snow-white jade pendant.
The booth’s vendor was an honest-looking man, who laughed heartily. “Miss, you’ve got good eyes. This old man found that pendant not long ago, while picking medicine in the Cloud Python Mountains. I discovered it inadvertently while in the ruins of an immortal cave. I’m sure it’s an ancient treasure.”
The old man then sighed helplessly. “I have only myself to blame for my poor vision; I cannot discern its miraculous applications, and due to my rather urgent financial situation, I have no choice but to part with it, much as it pains me. Miss, since you’ve taken a fancy to it, make an offer. So long as I find it acceptable, the pendant is yours.”
Qing Ya batted her big clear eyes, then stretched out a fair, slender finger. “One tier-three spirit stone, no more.”
The old man was dumbstruck; it seemed he dared not believe it. He forced a smile and said, “Miss, you must be joking. This is an ancient treasure of mysterious origins. Earlier, someone offered me ten tier-four spirit stones, and I didn’t accept.”
Qing Ya gasped. “Is that true? He’s lucky he didn’t buy it! Otherwise, he would surely have cursed his own stupidity. That jade pendant is pretty, but it has no other uses. I’m willing to offer a tier-three spirit stone, but that’s just because I like the look of it.”
“....”  The old man fell silent, but his expression gradually darkened. Finally, he snapped, “Little girl, you’re just here to make trouble, aren’t you? If you don’t want to buy anything, hurry up and scram!”
Qing Ya said seriously, “Uncle, the way I see it, one tier-three spirit stone is enough to buy all your wares combined. Are you sure you won’t sell it to me?”
The old man’s eyes bulged, and he trembled with fury. “I won’t sell it, not even if you beat me to death!”
Ling Yunhe hurriedly dragged Qing Ya away.
“Master, why are you tugging me?” Qing Ya didn’t get it.
“In the ghost market, even if you see through a given treasure’s true nature, you can’t reveal it openly. Doing so is against the ghost market’s rules,” whispered Ling Yunhe.
“Oh!” said Qing Ya. “Then I’ll just look without saying anything.”
Su Yi watched this entire exchange play out. He laughed but said nothing.
With Qing Ya’s extraordinary talent, she could easily see through ordinary treasures and determine their quality. No matter how crafty the merchants were, they’d find it hard to rip her off.
The group walked and looked around, and they indeed found quite a few exquisitely-crafted trinkets.
Su Yi casually purchased a Spiritgrain Starjade hairpin. If a girl wore it, it could nourish her soul power. It was a rather decent spiritual tool.
When he returned to the Great Zhou, he planned to give it to Cha Jin.
Then, under Su Yi’s guidance, Yuan Heng and Bai Wenqing each went out and purchased various cultivation resources. None were cheap, but all were worth far more than they paid for them.
With the incomparably abundant knowledge and experience of his past life, he naturally wouldn’t draw attention to himself at a place like this.
Suddenly, a low, raspy voice emanated from afar. “This old blind man still has five ghost lanterns left! Each lantern contains a sarcophagus. Everyone, you’re welcome to offer your treasures in exchange. So long as your offering moves me, you’ll receive a ghost lantern and the sarcophagus within!”
Choosing a sarcophagus within a ghost lantern? Su Yi suddenly looked into the distance.
Not far away, he saw a strange booth by the side of the street. The vendor was a gaunt, bony old man with disheveled hair and a dirtied face. He squatted there lazily, as if he were a beggar, and his eye sockets were empty, hollow and strange.
He was indeed blind.
Five lanterns hovered above his booth. Each was made of black vellum and lit with unearthly, imposing, blood-colored candlelight.
Numerous people had already gathered before his booth. All were cultivators, no exceptions, and their ranks included a range of ages and both men and women.
“The old blind man’s back again. Every time he comes, he says he only has five ghost lanterns left, yet every time, new suckers fall for his tricks,” whispered a nearby vendor with a cold laugh.
“No matter what you say, the old blind man’s ghost lanterns are quite enticing. Not long ago, someone really did find an enormous stroke of fortune within a lantern’s sarcophagus!”
“That’s how the old man made his reputation. It doesn’t matter how many people lose their most precious treasures; it won’t stop others from fighting over the lanterns and sarcophagi,” said another vendor. He sounded conflicted, and his tone was envious.
As he listened in on their conversation, Su Yi quickly understood that the old blind man was an absolute legend amongst the ghost street’s vendors.
No one knew his origins.
They just knew that every time the old blind man appeared, he brought five ghost lanterns with him, and that he had three strange rules.
One, he would only trade his ghost lanterns for treasures he found satisfactory. If he wasn’t pleased with something, it didn’t matter how rare or precious it was; he wouldn’t trade.
Two, the sarcophagi within the ghost lanterns were all sealed. Once a customer chose their lantern, it didn’t matter what was inside it; it was too late to regret their purchase.
Three, he wouldn’t sell ghost lanterns to women.
Sometimes, the sarcophagi within the ghost lanterns contained shocking treasures. As a result, the old blind man occupied a transcendently lofty position within the ghost market.
Why did cultivators come from far and wide to visit Little Fengdu’s ghost market? Most of them were after the old blind man’s five ghost lanterns.
Powerful cultivators had attempted to get to the bottom of the old blind man’s origins, but without exception, all of them failed.
Even now, no one knew how the old blind man got to the ghost market, nor did they know how he left.
In short, his origins were a bundle of mysteries.
Upon learning this, Qing Ya couldn’t help but mutter, “If he’s here to do business, why won’t he sell to women? The old blind man’s just awful!”
“This world is full of strange people and circumstances,” said Ling Yunhe. “Since he made that rule, he must have his reasons.”
“Reasons?” Su Yi couldn’t help but laugh. “The old blind man didn’t make those three rules himself. As for why he doesn’t let women participate… Mm, if you want to know, I can tell you after we leave.”
His companions were stunned. They keenly realized that Su Yi seemed to have noticed something. Furthermore, he seemed to know the origins of the old blind man’s three rules!
“Let’s go have a look,” said Su Yi. He’d already started walking.
Inwardly, he felt a bit strange. I would never have guessed I’d encounter ‘choosing a sarcophagus within a ghost lantern’ here, in a ghost market of the Great Xia’s Southern Skies Province!
He couldn’t help but feel intensely curious about the old blind man’s origins.