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nItinerant Cultivator Market

nThe next day, Chen Daoxuan, who had finished his cultivation early, began to survey the market for spiritual artifacts in Guang’an Prefecture according to the plan.

n“The immortal city of Guang’an Prefecture is mainly divided into four areas, which are the central business district, the itinerant cultivator market, the cave abode rental district, and the Zhou clan cultivators’ residence, who are in charge of this immortal city.”

n“Today, we are mainly surveying two areas. The first is the central business district, while the second is the itinerant cultivator market.”

nThe central business district was, needless to say, the most prosperous district in the entire Guang’an Prefecture immortal city. Every inch of land here was precious, and most of the shops there could not even be purchased.

nIf one wanted to purchase a shop in this bustling business district, it was not enough to only have spirit stones; someone had to be willing to sell it in the first place.

nMost of the shops in the central business district were in the hands of the Zhou clan and several large foundation establishment cultivator clans. It was difficult for ordinary cultivators to get their hands on one.

nAs for the itinerant cultivator market, it was a business district that mainly comprised itinerant cultivators and small clans.

nThere were very few shops here, and most of them were stalls set up by itinerant cultivators.

nAs common knowledge dictated, itinerant cultivators were generally very poor. Their pockets were cleaner than their faces, and their spending power was naturally far inferior to that of the disciples of large cultivation clans.

nHowever, although the personal wealth of itinerant cultivators could not compare to that of the disciples of large cultivation clans, the number of itinerant cultivators was numerous.

nIn terms of population, the number of itinerant cultivators within 100,000 miles was dozens of times greater than the number of the disciples of large cultivation clans.

nTherefore, the seemingly messy itinerant cultivator market was the second most prosperous place in the entire Guang’an Prefecture immortal city, second only to the central business district.

n“Thirteenth uncle, why don’t we split our clansmen into two groups? This way, we can also speed up the survey process.”

nHearing this, Chen Xianhe thought for a moment before saying, “Alright.”

nThey discussed it and, in the end, Chen Xianhe chose to survey the central business district while Chen Daoxuan went to the itinerant cultivator market that the two of them were more optimistic about.

nThey rode on a cloud treading beast carriage.

nChen Daoxuan headed to the itinerant cultivator market in Guang’an Prefecture’s immortal city.

nAs soon as he stepped into the itinerant cultivator market, before he even got off the carriage, he heard a cacophony of noises outside.

nAfter paying the fare, he got off the carriage.

nOnly then did Chen Daoxuan carefully size up the largest itinerant cultivator gathering place in the surrounding hundred thousand mile sea region.

nCompared to the streets in the central business district, the ones here were much more spacious. Rather than calling it a street, it was more accurate to call it a square.

nOn both sides of the street, countless itinerant cultivators had spread out carpets lined with their goods, and were selling and hawking them to passersby.

nIt looked quite similar to the flea markets from his previous life.

nIn comparison, the actual shops on both sides of the street were much quieter. Itinerant cultivators seemed to prefer to exchange items at the street stalls as opposed to the shops.

nChen Daoxuan thought for a moment, and opted not to go to the more lively itinerant cultivator street stalls. Instead, he walked toward the deserted shops.

n“Treasure-sweeping Pavilion!”

nWalking over to a shop, Chen Daoxuan sized up the signboard and walked in leisurely.

nIt seemed that there had not been any customers here for a long time.

nWhen the shopkeeper of the Treasure-sweeping Pavilion saw that a customer had come to his shop, he was stunned at first. Then, with a big smile on his face, he trotted forward.

n“Fellow Daoist, may I know what you want to buy? We have all kinds of spiritual artifacts, pills, talismans, and spirit rice here. We also have all kinds of spiritual materials to choose from…”

nSeeing a customer, the shopkeeper of the Treasure-sweeping Pavilion gave a brief introduction, as if afraid that Chen Daoxuan would run away.

nAfter listening to the shopkeeper’s introduction, Chen Daoxuan gained a rough idea of how it operated. This shop basically sold anything and everything. However, he did not know the exact details or types of wares it sold.

n“Shopkeeper, you’re too kind.”

nChen Daoxuan cupped his hands and said in a low voice, “May I know what spiritual artifacts you have for sale in your shop?”

n“Spiritual artifacts!”

nHearing the words ‘spiritual artifacts’, the shopkeeper’s eyes lit up. It was a big deal!

n“The prices of different spiritual artifacts vary. May I know what grade of spiritual artifacts you wish to purchase?”

n“First-grade spiritual artifacts. High, middle, and low first-grade flying swords, one of each.”

nChen Daoxuan said straightforwardly.

nHearing this, the shopkeeper nodded. “Fellow Daoist, please follow me upstairs.”

nAfter saying this, he made a gesture of invitation.

nThey went up to the second floor.

nThe shopkeeper asked the waiter in the shop to serve tea while he personally brought the spiritual artifacts over for Chen Daoxuan to examine.

nIn about half the time it took to brew a pot of tea, the shopkeeper brought over three sword cases according to Chen Daoxuan’s request. Inside the sword cases were three flying swords, ranging from low-grade first-grade to high-grade first-grade.

n“Fellow Daoist, please take a look!”

nThe shopkeeper first opened the sword case on the far left, and a green flying sword with a cold glint appeared in front of his eyes.

n“This is a low-grade first-grade flying sword, Qingfeng Sword. This sword is incomparably sharp. If you inject true Qi into it, its sword light will reach two feet.”

nChen Daoxuan took the flying sword and injected true Qi into it. Immediately, a sword light that was longer than two feet shot forth from the tip of the sword.

n“How is it?”

nChen Daoxuan did not comment. He looked at the other two sword cases.

nThe shopkeeper did not care. He opened the second sword case.

nImmediately, a silver light appeared in front of his eyes.

n“This is a middle-grade first-grade flying sword, Silvermoon Sword. Its entire body is made of silvermoon stone. This sword can not only trigger five feet of sword light, but it also has the characteristic of being fire-resistant. It is the bane of fire element spells!”

nSeeing that Chen Daoxuan was dissatisfied with the first flying sword, the shopkeeper quickly introduced the second flying sword.

nHowever, when Chen Daoxuan saw the second flying sword, he already had a vague idea of the type of spiritual artifacts sold in this shop.

nWithout waiting for the shopkeeper to continue, he opened the third sword case.

nIt was as expected…

nChen Daoxuan’s face was full of disappointment, but he was extremely happy in his heart.

n“Shopkeeper, why are all the spiritual artifacts you sell second-hand items?”

nSeeing that Chen Daoxuan had revealed his secret, the shopkeeper’s face flashed with an awkward expression.

nChen Daoxuan did not spout nonsense. These three flying swords were all second-hand flying swords that had been previously used by others. Moreover, they had all been used for at least five years, and the spiritual essence on the flying swords had begun to dissipate.

nIt had to be known that the lifespan of a first-grade spiritual artifact was only about ten years.

nA flying sword that had been used for five years had already expended half of its lifespan. Unless the price of this kind of flying sword was extremely low, even itinerant cultivators would be unwilling to buy it.

n“Fellow Daoist, you have good eyesight.”

nSeeing that Chen Daoxuan had seen through his trick, the shopkeeper no longer concealed it. “The flying swords in our shop are indeed flying swords that the disciples of the large cultivation clans have previously used but replaced.”

nHearing that, Chen Daoxuan took a sip of tea and waited for the next part.

nSeeing that Chen Daoxuan’s attitude was indifferent, the shopkeeper continued, “Fellow Daoist, you should know that the Myriad Sea of Stars and the Cloud Nation have been in a constant state of war. The demand for spiritual artifacts at the frontlines has reached the point of crisis.”

n“Within the Myriad Sea of Stars, if we were to go to the seven immortal cities at the frontlines, flying swords of this quality, even if they are second-hand items, would have been sold out long ago!”

nHearing this nonsense, Chen Daoxuan could not help but laugh. “Then, why don’t you go over to the frontlines to sell these flying swords?”

nThe shopkeeper said that the front line lacked spiritual artifacts, and Chen Daoxuan believed his words. After all, spiritual artifacts would not last forever, and intense battles would sharply decrease the lifespan of spiritual artifacts.

nThe Myriad Sea of Stars and the Cloud Nation had been fighting for hundreds of years, so it was obvious that the frontlines lacked spiritual artifacts.

nHowever, it would be a complete lie to say that the cultivators on the frontlines were willing to settle for second-hand spiritual artifacts.

nThis was because cultivators fighting on the frontlines would have higher requirements for the quality of the spiritual artifacts they used.

nAfter all, no one wanted to lose their lives on the battlefield because the quality of the spiritual artifacts they used was too poor.

nAfter all, even if the Qianyuan Sword sect wanted the cultivators from the Myriad Sea of Stars to contribute to and participate in the war against the Cloud Nation, they could only rely on various cultivation techniques and cultivation resources to motivate them.

nWho would dare to force cultivators on the frontlines to use these inferior second-hand items? Would they not be afraid that the cultivators would rebel and turn on them at any moment?

nSeeing that he could not trick Chen Daoxuan, the shopkeeper had no choice but to lower the price of the flying sword repeatedly. In the end, he lowered the price of the Qingfeng sword to 50 spirit stones, but Chen Daoxuan still refused to budge.

n“Since your shop doesn’t have the spiritual artifacts that I want, then I won’t bother you anymore.”

nAfter saying that, Chen Daoxuan turned around to leave.

n“Fellow Daoist, don’t waste your time.”

nSeeing that Chen Daoxuan was unwilling to buy the spiritual artifacts in his shop, the shopkeeper’s attitude also became cold. “Whether it’s in our itinerant cultivator market or the central business district, the probability of you successfully purchasing a brand-new spiritual artifact is too low, really too low.”

nAfter that, the shopkeeper did not say anything further.

nHearing that, Chen Daoxuan paused, cupped his hands, and left the shop.

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