Secular Immortal of the Nine Realms - Chapter 39

Chapter 39: Dragonback Lane

The carriage traveled across a small hill.

At this point, it felt like they had been transported to another world, as a bustling city appeared before their eyes even though they were in the middle of a remote mountain valley.

“A martial artist?”

There were several guards at the entrance of the mountain valley. Upon seeing Tie Ma, they turned their sight toward the carriage and asked, “Do you have the Dragonback Token?”

Tie Ma flashed the Dragonback Token to the guards before tossing a low-grade ki stone over.

The guards nodded. “You may enter.”

This was the Dragonback Lane, a place of gathering for cultivators. Fang Chen had already explored this area with his soul, and there were no cultivators here who could see his soul like Daoist Cloudcrane did.

The strongest cultivator here was only at Ki Refinement.

Dragonback Lane was huge, at the scale of a small town. Not everyone here was a cultivator. There were martial artists like Tie Ma too, but practically all of them were lackeys of a cultivator.

Fang Chen initially thought that this place was related to the Blood Spirit Cult, but when he followed the old woman into Dragonback Lane with his soul, he quickly learned that this was a trading hub.

The old woman had come here to purchase some resources she required for her cultivation.

“Wait for me on the carriage,” Fang Chen instructed the two of them.

He put on a mask, got off the carriage, and began exploring Dragonback Lane. However, he made sure to keep the old woman within his line of sight.

Most of the cultivators here were wearing masks. The old woman had also altered her appearance before entering this place. This suggested that Dragonback Lane might be a lawless place, so cultivators needed to exercise caution by being discreet.

“Selling three Strength Talismans for 6 low-grade ki stones. No haggling.”

“Southfire Sword, four daosoul imprint! You can unleash a devastating inferno by imbuing your spirit ki into it. It’s up for sale for 80 low-grade ki stones. Open for haggling.”

“Superior-grade Ki Condensation Pills. One for 5 low-grade ki stones, twelve for 55 low-grade ki stones.”

Vendors could be heard advertising their products along the street. These vendors were of lower cultivation, with the majority of them being at first stage or second stage Ki Refinement.

Other than these small vendors, there were also a few more proper-looking stores. The items they sold were much more exorbitant, and the cultivators stationed at the store were stronger.

Fang Chen stopped in front of a vendor selling talismans.

Not too far away, the old woman was buying Ki Condensation Pills. She was buying five of them and was haggling on the price.

“Brother, your Strength Talisman is made out of ordinary cinnabar and talisman paper, right? That shows in the quality. It’s inferior-grade at most. If you ask me, three of them are only worth 4 low-grade ki stones,” someone haggled with the vendor.

The vendor rolled his eyes and scoffed, “Do you know how taxing drawing talismans is? It’s difficult to even finish one in half a month, and a lot of spirit ki is depleted in the process. This is already my lowest price. Head elsewhere if you want to haggle!”

It’s difficult to finish one in half a month? Fang Chen looked at the vendor. Judging from the latter’s aura, he should be at second stage Ki Refinement too. Is talisman drawing that difficult?

He thought that the vendor was making a mountain out of a molehill, but the haggler hesitated before eventually forking out 6 low-grade ki stones to buy the talismans.

“This… Strength Talismans are easier to draw than Flitting Talismans and Protection Talismans. If I spend the day doing nothing but drawing Strength Talismans, I could do forty to fifty of them.” Fang Chen frowned.

Going by that, it would mean he could make a killing just by selling talismans. That moved him. He had already spotted quite a few artifacts similar to Daoist Xue’s Soul Suppressing Bell, and he was interested in them.

“Old woman, are you buying it or not? Get lost if you aren’t going to buy. I have already stated the individual price of these Ki Condensation Pills, and that is non-negotiable! You should at least go and ask around who I am,” an angry bellow echoed.

Fang Chen turned over and saw the vendor shoving his finger at the old woman and berating her. The old woman’s face turned livid, but she didn’t act up and instead obediently took out her ki stones to purchase the Ki Condensation Pills.

“It looks like there’s politics in the world of cultivation too. Despite being at fourth stage Ki Refinement, that old woman doesn’t dare to blow her top at a second stage Ki Refinement cultivator.” Fang Chen took note of the situation.

This was good news, as it indicated that the Blood Spirit Cult was not unrivaled in the region. However, it was also possible that the old woman had a lower position in the cult and dared not to kick up a fuss.

The old woman didn’t immediately leave the area after purchasing the Ki Condensation Pills. Instead, she found an empty spot and set up her own store. She laid out a few spirit herbs and special materials.

Fang Chen withdrew his gaze from the old woman. Now that I’m at Dragonback Lane, I should make the best out of what I can here. He first spent an hour touring the place so as to gain a deeper understanding of the prices here.

Dragonback Lane was reminiscent of an antique market.

There were a few people looking to pull off a one-time scams, evident from their extraordinarily high prices. Those were targeted at those who didn’t recognize their goods. However, there were also some who honestly did business.

Earlier, there was a man selling Southfire Sword, claiming it had four daosoul imprints. That meant that it was an artifact for fourth stage Ki Refinement cultivators, so its prowess ought to correspond to that.

A cultivator bought the sword, only to find two of the four daosoul imprints incomplete. Due to that, the sword was only comparable to a three daosoul imprint artifact. In other words, he had been scammed.

The vendor had already escaped by then, but the cultivator who bought the sword still angrily charged out of Dragonback Lane to search for him.

Fang Chen suddenly halted his footstep before a store selling something related to talismans. On display were ten brushes, quite a bit of cinnabar, and huge stacks of talisman papers. These items were emanating spirit ki, a sign that they weren’t ordinary materials.

“Brother, do you fancy talisman drawing? You’re in the right place! My brushes are made out of the finest ear hair of powerful monsters. As for my cinnabar, it’s evident from their rich spirit ki that they have been buried for a long time before being harvested in a spirit mine. Last but not least, my talisman papers are made out of a thousand-year-old ancient tree. Any talismans you make from them are guaranteed to be of superior-grade!” the vendor warmly hosted Fang Chen.

“How do you sell them?” Fang Chen asked.

The vendor assessed Fang Chen’s clothes and aura before replying, “Don’t worry, they are cheap! Fifty grams of cinnabar for one ki stone. A hundred talismans for one ki stone. As for the brushes, may I know which one you’re interested in? Their prices differ depending on their quality.”

Fang Chen picked out the brush with the richest spirit ki and asked, “How much does this cost?”

“You have good eyes, brother! This brush is incredible…”

“Tell me the price,” Fang Chen interjected.

“10 low-grade ki stones!” the vendor said.

“It’s too expensive,” Fang Chen left those words before taking his leave.

10 low-grade ki stones? Why don’t you rob someone instead? That’s enough to buy a one daosoul imprint artifact. Your brush might be rich in spirit ki, it can’t compare to an artifact.