Following the long street and the directions from the town guards, Shen Mo soon arrived at Baoping Alley in Jiyun Town. Baoping Alley stretched for about three miles. Its broad street was crowded with bustling cultivators. Numerous stalls lined both sides of the street. Spiritual medicine, rare treasures, demonic beast meat, martial arts and cultivation methods, talismans and magic, divine weapons—everything imaginable was available. Among the hundreds of stalls lining the street, one could find almost anything for sale.
However, despite the bustling and diverse crowd, it wasn’t noisy or chaotic. This was because the vendors, unlike those in a mortal market, didn’t shout out sales pitches. Instead, they had erected large, eye-catching signs in front of their stalls, informing passersby of the treasures for sale and their prices.
This relative silence wasn’t because the cultivators were inherently of higher moral standing or particularly reserved. It was, in fact, a result of rules established by the governing authorities of the Market. Anyone who failed to follow these Market rules would be punished.
Yi District, thirteenth stall. Shen Mo held a stall Token in his hand. The Token had been given to him by the town guards before he entered the Market. Without it, he wouldn’t be allowed to set up a stall. Stall number thirteen in the Yi District was his permitted location.
After a brief search, Shen Mo quickly found his stall. It was located in the middle section of Baoping Alley, directly opposite a teahouse. On either side of his stall, two other cultivators were also selling their goods. One sold demonic beast pelts, flesh, and bones, while the other sold low-class Elixirs. The rightful source is N0v3l.Fiɾe.net
Shen Mo walked directly to his stall, spread out a cloth he had prepared, and laid out a veritable mountain of Lightness Talismans and Mind Concentration Talismans.
He observed the format of other vendors’ signs and quickly fashioned one for himself. It read: "For Sale: Lightness Talismans and Mind Concentration Talismans!" Below this, he detailed the effects of the two types of talismans and their prices.
With the sign erected and the stall set up, all that remained was to wait for customers.
After a short wait, a man in his thirties, dressed in a white robe, approached him. "Brother," he said, "I’m quite interested in these Lightness Talismans and Mind Concentration Talismans."
Seeing a potential customer, Shen Mo’s spirits lifted. "Feel free to take what you need according to the listed price," he replied. "If there’s anything you don’t understand, please ask."
"I’m familiar with the effects of these talismans," the man in white said, rubbing his hands together. "However, I feel the price is a bit steep. Could we perhaps discuss it?"
Negotiate? He wants a discount? Shen Mo’s eyebrows rose, and his interest immediately waned. The price he had set wasn’t low, but it definitely wasn’t above the going rate. Shen Mo was naturally unwilling to entertain such bargaining. Lightness Talismans and Mind Concentration Talismans were among the most common and best-selling low-class talismans; he had no worries about finding buyers.
Perceiving that this man wasn’t a straightforward customer, Shen Mo’s attitude cooled considerably. "Apologies, the price is fixed," he stated flatly.
"Come now," the white-robed man persisted, seemingly oblivious to Shen Mo’s change in demeanor, or perhaps choosing to ignore it, shamelessly trying to haggle. "We’re doing business. There’s always room for discussion. Why be so rigid with the price?"
Shen Mo remained unmoved and suggested he look elsewhere.
After a bout of pestering, seeing Shen Mo utterly unwilling to lower the price, the man finally left resentfully.
After the man departed, Shen Mo, somewhat drained by the encounter, quickly added a line to his wooden sign: "No Bargaining. Haggling Considered Rude."
With this addition to the sign, subsequent customers were much more straightforward. Transactions proceeded quite smoothly.
In less than a shichen (two hours), Shen Mo had sold over thirty talismans.
But this favorable situation didn’t last long. Soon, another unconventional customer arrived.
"Young man, your Lightness Talismans are of good quality." This customer was a down-and-out middle-aged man. He was disheveled, his face grimy, and his grey robe looked as if it hadn’t been washed in ages.
After sizing up the man’s appearance, Shen Mo pointed to the notice on his sign and stated preemptively, "The price is fixed."
"I’m not looking to haggle," the grey-robed man said, pausing for a moment before smiling. "Five Lightness Talismans for one Lower Grade Spirit Stone—that’s a very fair price." He continued, "However, I’m currently short on funds and don’t have Spirit Stones. I was hoping to trade something else for your talismans."
Barter? Hearing this, Shen Mo asked curiously, "What do you wish to trade?"
"Magic. A Lightness magic," the grey-robed man replied. "I wish to trade one Lightness magic technique for one hundred of your Lightness Talismans. Would that be acceptable?"
Magic for talismans? Shen Mo was somewhat taken aback. The value of magic was far greater than that of talismans! Even the cheapest, most basic magic could be sold on the Market for dozens of Lower Grade Spirit Stones. One hundred Lightness Talismans, at market price, were only worth about ten Lower Grade Spirit Stones. If this man was telling the truth, Shen Mo stood to gain massively from this trade.
"If you possess such a magic technique, why offer it to me at such a low price?" Despite the potential profit, Shen Mo’s expression remained calm as he asked earnestly, "You should know that one hundred Lightness Talismans are worth far less than a single magic technique."
Shen Mo believed that one could occasionally stumble upon good fortune in the world. However, he didn’t quite believe such a thing would happen to him. After all, he could perceive his own Fate: his Luck was merely average, not so abundant that he would encounter benefactors or stumble upon treasures wherever he went. Naturally, he didn’t indulge in fantasies about pies falling from the sky.
To dispel Shen Mo’s apprehension, the grey-robed man revealed his identity. His name was Gu Qingshan, and he had once been an outer disciple of the Above Cloud Sect.
"To be honest with you," Gu Qingshan began with a bitter smile, "I am... an outcast from the Above Cloud Sect." He had caused a great disaster by violating sect rules and secretly learning a forbidden sect technique. When the Above Cloud Sect discovered this, they ordered the Law Enforcement Elder to apprehend him, intending to cripple his cultivation to prevent the sect’s secret techniques from being leaked. Knowing the situation was dire, Gu Qingshan didn’t wait for the Elder to capture him. He fled in panic, escaping from the sect.
Shen Mo listened to Gu Qingshan’s account, and some of his doubts were alleviated. So, this makes sense then. He then asked, "So, you want these Lightness Talismans to help you escape? And the magic you want to trade is the secret technique you stole from the Above Cloud Sect?"
"That’s right," Gu Qingshan affirmed. "Young brother, if you are willing, I can impart this magic to you right now."
Shen Mo didn’t immediately accept. Instead, he remained hesitant. "Since it’s a magic technique that the Above Cloud Sect forbids from being spread, and I am not a disciple of the Above Cloud Sect, if I were to learn it, I’m afraid I couldn’t use it openly, could I?"
All major cultivation sects maintained strict secrecy regarding their unique magic, martial arts, and cultivation methods. If someone who wasn’t a disciple of their sect learned such techniques, it would be fine if they weren’t discovered. But if word got out, there would definitely be trouble.