Chapter 162

Chapter 162: Transaction

Leaving the entrance of Yao Chi Pavilion, Zhou Luo finally arrived at the trading market.

Claimed to be a market, it was actually a crowd of people stationed in front of their stalls, frantically promoting their goods, with hawking and shouting constantly rising and falling.

It added more of the lively feeling from the secular world.

Just like in Panshi City back then, after strolling around the whole market, Zhou Luo selected several shops and then entered the first one carrying his items.

“Sir, what would you like to buy?”

As soon as he entered, a young fellow warmly greeted him.

Zhou Luo cast a glance at him and found that surprisingly, he had no spiritual energy fluctuation.

Thinking about it, it made sense; although this was a gathering place for cultivators, there were descendants of cultivators around.

Some of these descendants possessed spiritual roots, while others were no different from mortals.

“I’m here to sell things,” Zhou Luo said in a deep tone.

The fellow froze for a second, then immediately made a gesture inviting him in: “Customer, please come inside.”

Zhou Luo followed him to the back, where a richly dressed old man received him.

“What would the customer like to sell?” the old man looked at him smilingly.

Zhou Luo didn’t waste any words and directly handed over Liu Fu Chen’s storage ring.

Seeing the storage ring, the old man narrowed his eyes.

If even the storage ring could be sold, the contents inside must belong to someone else.

But the old man didn’t mind.

In the Longfeng Mountain range, murder and robbery were common occurrences, and his shop would frequently accept items from such sources.

Taking the storage ring, the old man scanned it.

Inside were many items: spiritual pills, spiritual symbols, magical artifacts, and more, everything was there.

Zhou Luo had kept only some important items; the rest he intended to sell.

After a long while, the old man withdrew his gaze and offered his bid.

“Ten medium-quality spiritual stones!”

This bid was within Zhou Luo’s acceptable range; he nodded: “Good.”

The transaction was completed.

The old man was a straightforward person; he directly took out ten medium-quality spiritual stones and handed them to him, and said kindly: “Customer, if you have other things, you can come to me for trading; I guarantee fair prices.”

“Certainly.”

Having said that, Zhou Luo turned and walked towards the next shop.

Half an hour later.

Zhou Luo had sold out all the unwanted items.

Altogether, he had gained twenty-eight medium-quality spiritual stones.

No wonder this was the market of the Longfeng Mountain range; the cost of living here surpassed Jiang City by an unknown number of tiers.

Zhou Luo tallied it up.

He currently possessed thirty-seven medium-quality spiritual stones on his body, along with over eight hundred ordinary spiritual stones.

Measured purely by wealth, he had already surpassed countless Qi Refinement cultivators.

On the path of cultivation, the essentials were wealth, partners, techniques, and land.

Wealth, ranked first, was critically important.

Having acquired such substantial wealth, Zhou Luo felt a surge of contentment.

No wonder murder and plunder were so prevalent in the cultivation world.

After five years in the Lin Family, barely scraping together seven or eight hundred spiritual stones through alchemy,

How could that compare to the simplicity and speed gained from killing and seizing treasures this time!

However, Zhou Luo didn’t plan to follow this path forever.

On one hand, it conflicted with his moral beliefs; on the other, such activities carried immense risk, a poor match with his style of action.

With the system by his side, he didn’t need to endanger himself like those bandits.

All he needed to do was marry wives and take concubines.

After selling his goods, Zhou Luo didn’t leave immediately.

Instead, he spent five more medium-quality spiritual stones to purchase a large quantity of high-grade materials.

They were all materials used for rune-making and alchemy.

His high-grade spiritual symbols and potions had been completely depleted during the fierce battle with Liu Fu Chen.

As he still needed to search for the dual cultivation technique and the Dragon Blood Grass, he had to prepare thoroughly.

The battle also made him realize that with his cultivation at the fifth layer of Qi Refinement, without an ample supply of high-grade spiritual symbols and potions, he could easily become prey to others.

As for ordinary spiritual symbols and potions, having some would suffice as long as they met his basic needs.

Only after acquiring a heap of materials did Zhou Luo leave the trading market.

The moment he stepped out, he keenly sensed someone trailing him from behind.

He had anticipated this, so it didn’t worry him.

Proceeding directly to the Tian Xia Restaurant, he flashed his VIP token and headed straight for the fifth floor.

The coveting cultivators who had been following him saw this and could only retreat, helpless.

A few persisted stubbornly, waiting silently outside, hoping to catch him upon his next departure.

Zhou Luo would indeed emerge again, but whether he’d wear the same face next time remained uncertain.

Returning to his room, he picked up the token and summoned a beautiful staff member of the restaurant.

"Can you prepare a furnace for me?" he inquired.

"Certainly, esteemed guest," she responded with a smile and a nod.

VIP privileges did come with many benefits.

Soon, the Tian Xia Restaurant brought an ordinary level furnace.

Zhou Luo tidied his clothes and began refining elixirs and making runes.

……

Jiang City.

Under Lin San’s arrangement, the entire Jiang City entered a state of lockdown.

Many people noticed something unusual about the Lin Family, but because the Lin Family estate was sealed off, they could not find any information.

However, some people had already started to stir.

Because they noticed that Jiang City’s defensive strength had significantly weakened, and in many places, only Qi Refinement third to fourth layer cultivators were guarding.

For those enemies, this was a signal.

Conquest among long-life families was a common occurrence, and even some ambitious forces would band together to seize cities.

Because the profits a city could bring were substantial.

With a city as a foundation, a force could constantly grow stronger, and the family could become more prosperous.

In the past, the Lin Family had paid an enormous cost to capture Jiang City, which was coveted by countless people.

Now that they finally had the opportunity, they naturally would not pass it up.

……

Longfeng Marketplace, Tian Xia Restaurant.

Zhou Luo had not gone out for five consecutive days, constantly refining elixirs and crafting runes.

These high-grade spiritual symbols and elixirs were very mentally draining to refine.

Only when he finally finished refining them did he feel a strong sense of security.

With these high-grade elixirs and talismans, his safety in the Longfeng Mountain range could at least be assured.

After completing all this, he took out a Concealing Qi Symbol and stuck it to himself.

The benefit of this high-grade spiritual symbol was that it hid his cultivation level.

Of course, this only worked against Qi Refinement cultivators.

Then, he used the Disguise Symbol to change his face and exited the Tian Xia Restaurant.

At the inn, those cultivators lying in wait were still persevering, unaware that Zhou Luo had already left and was walking toward the center of the marketplace.

In the central marketplace area, the places with the ability to handle so many Lifespan Pills were only Bao Ling Zhai and Zhen Yuan Tower.

It was rumored that a Foundation Establishment strong person controlled Zhen Yuan Tower, but the specific identity was unknown.

But it was the only trading hub that could rival Bao Ling Zhai.

Zhou Luo arrived in the very central area.

He saw a three-story pavilion built of white jade, exquisitely carved, lightly shining and standing tall.

The plaque above bore three big characters: "Zhen Yuan Tower".

Beside it, another three-story pavilion was made entirely of jet-black spiritual wood, decorated with images of exotic beasts, grand and imposing.

This was Bao Ling Zhai.

The two pavilions stood out prominently, and cultivators flowed endlessly at the entrances.

After contemplating briefly, Zhou Luo eventually chose Zhen Yuan Tower.

The reason was simple.

Since Lifespan Pills were controlled by the Qinyuan Sect, he could not sell them at their property.

Otherwise, he might be arrested before making any sales…

……