Chapter 28: A gathering of casual practitioners!

Lu Changsheng walked into the small path.

The path ahead stretched endlessly, seemingly without end.

But after walking about a hundred meters, it was as if he passed through a layer of water, and the scene before him suddenly changed.

It transformed into a lush, verdant valley surrounded by mountains on all sides, filled with various flowers and plants.

Only the small path he had just entered from behind was blocked by a mist.

The valley was not large, covering an area of thirty to forty acres.

Ancient-style houses and pavilions were built on all sides, giving it the appearance of a secluded paradise.

In the central area of the valley, many people were setting up small stalls and ground stalls in an orderly fashion, like common vendors, with a bustling crowd around them.

The scene before him made Lu Changsheng feel a slight sense of daze, reminding him of rural markets and open-air farmers’ markets in his previous life.

If he hadn’t known this was a gathering place for Loose Cultivators, where most were Cultivators, he would have believed it was a mundane market.

“There should be a Spiritual Vein under this valley.”

“However, it’s probably an unranked Spiritual Vein, and the Spiritual Qi is much worse than that of Qingzhu Mountain Village.”

Lu Changsheng thought to himself, walking towards the central area of the stalls.

The Cultivators here were dressed in various ways.

There were scholars, monks, Daoists, and knights.

Some carried long swords and sabers at their waists, giant gourds on their backs, and even Spirit Beasts.

Of course, many, like Lu Changsheng, had their entire bodies enveloped in cloaks.

“High-Grade healing Medicinal Pills, Martial Dao Medicinal Pills, cheap prices!”

“Hundred-year-old ginseng, hundred-year-old fleeceflower root, all for just one Spirit Stone!”

“One Dragon tendon, highest bidder wins!”

“The Legacy Cultivation Technique ‘Nine Revolutions Golden Body Art’ left by True Venerable Transformation God, only ten Spirit Stones!”

“Strange stones found in an ancient Secret Realm, containing rare treasures, don’t miss out!”

People came and went at the stalls, and many were shouting and hawking, making it very noisy.

Lu Changsheng saw some stalls even displaying pots, pans, bowls, meat, fish, fruits, and other miscellaneous items, and he couldn’t help but shake his head.

It seemed that this Loose Cultivator gathering was even worse than he had imagined.

Or rather, this was the true appearance of the bottom-tier life in the Cultivation World.

Just like ordinary people struggling at the bottom of the mundane world.

The only difference was that one was in the mundane world, and the other in the Cultivation World.

Like the Lu Family of Qingzhu, no matter how bad they were, they still had a Foundation Establishment Old Ancestor overseeing them and their own Spiritual Vein blessed land.

After wandering for a while, Lu Changsheng had a good understanding of this trade fair.

The items sold at these stalls were varied, but most were relatively cheap, low-priced goods or fakes.

Only a small portion sold items usable by Cultivators.

In the pavilions of the surrounding houses, there were also a few shops.

The items sold inside were relatively more legitimate and high-end.

Given the scale of this Loose Cultivator stronghold, it would be impossible for him to sell all nearly a thousand Talismans he had on him here.

If he dared to do so, he would likely find it difficult to leave Niu Tou Mountain.

However, selling a portion was not a problem.

Immediately, Lu Changsheng imitated others, found an empty spot, took out a thick stack of Talismans from his Storage Pouch, and placed them in front of him.

On a wooden board standing beside them, he wrote: Low-Grade First-Order Talisman 1~2 Spirit Stones, buy five get one free.

Through his observations, Lu Changsheng hadn’t seen many selling Mid-Grade First-Order Talismans.

So, after some thought, he decided not to take out the Mid-Grade First-Order Talismans, as it might be too conspicuous.

As for prices, items like Magical Artifacts, Medicinal Pills, and Talismans were hard currency everywhere, and their prices generally didn’t fluctuate much.

To sell them faster, Lu Changsheng still offered a buy-five-get-one-free deal.

“Fellow Daoist, for this buy five get one free, can I choose any Talisman I want?”

Soon, someone came forward to examine the Talismans and asked.

“If you buy five Talismans worth two Spirit Stones each, you can choose any one you want. Otherwise, you can only choose from the one-Spirit Stone Talismans.”

Lu Changsheng spoke, his voice low and hoarse from within his black robe.

“Alright.”

Immediately, this Cultivator took six Talismans worth two Spirit Stones each and handed ten Spirit Stones to Lu Changsheng.

After the first sale, people came one after another to buy Talismans.

Talismans were relatively popular among Cultivators; almost everyone carried a few for self-defense.

At this time, with the buy-five-get-one-free offer, and the quality of Lu Changsheng’s Talismans, even an amateur could tell they were good based on the Talisman lines.

In just over an hour, the nearly hundred Talismans Lu Changsheng had displayed were sold out.

He earned a total of one hundred and thirty-three Spirit Stones.

“Indeed, having a skill is how you make money.”

Lu Changsheng was very satisfied and pleased with this first income.

The cost of one hundred Talismans was roughly twenty-two Spirit Stones.

But now he had sold them at six times the price.

If he had sold Mid-Grade First-Order Talismans, at a price of 3-5 Spirit Stones each, the profit could have doubled.

After all, using ordinary Talismans Materials, Lu Changsheng’s success rate for drawing Mid-Grade First-Order Talismans was also one hundred percent!

This was also Lu Changsheng’s confidence to leave the Lu Family and establish himself in this world.

After selling these Talismans, Lu Changsheng did not continue to take out more Talismans for sale.

Because other people selling Talismans only sold ten or so, at most a few dozen, his nearly hundred Talismans were already quite exaggerated.

If he sold more, he would likely be targeted, so it was better to be cautious.

Immediately, Lu Changsheng, holding the still-warm Spirit Stones, began to spend.

In a shop, Lu Changsheng saw Advanced Talisman paper and Advanced Spiritual Ink for sale.

However, their quality was very ordinary, even somewhat poor.

Talismans Materials are divided into ordinary, Advanced, and top-grade.

But depending on the raw materials and manufacturing process, there are also good and bad qualities.

The ones in this shop were not very good.

But he didn’t have many choices, so Lu Changsheng asked about the prices.

Talisman paper was five Spirit Stones for a stack of ten sheets, and Spiritual Ink was five Spirit Stones for a box.

This was five times the price of ordinary Talisman paper and Spiritual Ink.

It was considered a normal price.

If he bought these Advanced Materials to draw Mid-Grade First-Order Talismans, there would be no profit to be made.

But for Lu Changsheng, who could draw High-Grade First-Order Talismans, it was still a profit.

Immediately, Lu Changsheng bargained and spent sixty-six Spirit Stones to buy all twelve stacks of Advanced Talisman paper and three boxes of Spiritual Ink, which were the only ones in the store.

He continued to look around but did not see any top-grade Talisman paper or top-grade Spiritual Ink for sale.

This was also normal.

Materials for drawing top-grade Talismans were a bit too high-end for such a Loose Cultivator gathering.

While wandering, Lu Changsheng saw a stall selling Cultivation-related books.

Various Cultivation stories, travelogues, and notes, which he found very interesting, so he spent one Spirit Stone to buy ten books.

Afterward, he saw Five Elements Spiritual Materials for sale.

Lu Changsheng visited several stalls and shops, bought all the Five Elements Spiritual Materials he needed, and planned to use them to Cultivate the Immortal Appearance Art when he returned.

These Materials were all Mid-Grade First-Order Spiritual Materials, neither expensive nor cheap, costing a total of fifty-nine Spirit Stones.

Having spent almost all the Spirit Stones he had just earned, Lu Changsheng did not leave immediately.

He continued to wander, hoping to find a better Talisman brush for sale.

The Talisman brush he was currently using was the Golden Bristle Talisman brush given by the Lu Family.

It was a top-grade among ordinary Talisman brushes, but it had not reached the level of a Magical Artifact.

Although it could be used to draw High-Grade First-Order Talismans, it was still a bit lacking.

After circling around, he did not find a suitable Talisman brush, so Lu Changsheng had to give up.

Thinking that he still needed to visit the Crimson Whale Gang to find Li Feiyu and ask them to look after his family, he felt he should bring some gifts.

Lu Changsheng bought a few bottles of mundane Medicinal Pills at another stall.

These mundane Medicinal Pills were very cheap; they were unranked Medicinal Pills refined by Alchemy apprentices.

Their price was similar to basic Talismans, two bottles for one Spirit Stone.

Lu Changsheng spent two Spirit Stones to buy five bottles, feeling that it was enough, and did not continue to wander.

He went to the small path he had entered from and directly left the valley.

After leaving the valley, Lu Changsheng, seeing no one around, put the items he was carrying into his Storage Pouch.

Then, out of caution, he took out a Lightness Talisman from his Storage Pouch and used it on himself.

With a light tap of his toes, he became as light as a swallow and quickly descended the mountain.

However.

Just moments after Lu Changsheng left, three figures emerged from the valley.

“This kid’s Talismans are all excellent, clearly made by an Advanced Talismans Master.”

“But this kid is only at Lianqi Third Layer cultivation, and he’s so cautious when trading in a place like this. He must be a Loose Cultivator who has struck it rich and has good things on him!”

The three looked greedily and sinisterly in the direction Lu Changsheng had left, casting Wind Manipulation Art, and quickly pursued him.