The Great River Market, located on the very edge of the Yu Ding Realm, borders the Eastern Wasteland Million Mountains.
According to a count by a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator who wrote a travelogue a few years ago, due to the market's location on a First Order Spirit Vein, tens of thousands of cultivators frequent this place yearly.
Made up mostly of rogue cultivators, those from the Great Sects do not stay long term and only remain here to look after their businesses.
Furthermore, this is cyclical; the managers of the shops in the Inner City area are replaced every few years.
So, the majority of the market activities are voluntary activities by rogue cultivators.
Like the rogue cultivators' market, there's a division between the large and small markets.
The large market happens once a month, while the small market occurs every first, fourth, and seventh day.
Of course, there are cultivators setting up their own stalls when the markets aren't happening, but the number of pedestrians is much smaller.
It had been ten days since the last small market.
A chubby figure rushed into the marketplace early in the morning.
Zeng Wen was lucky. This time he didn't stay in the mountains for long and managed to hunt a First Order Demonic Beast, acquiring thousands of pounds of demonic beast meat!
The volume of his storage bag was small, only one cubic foot, barely fitting the haul.
So when his harvest was nearly full, he knew he had to leave the mountains.
Ten pounds of First Order Demonic Beast meat can be sold for a Lower Grade Spirit Stone, plus the bones of the beast are also a type of spirit material. So, this time's haul just about cut it. It was enough to keep him carefree for a while.
After returning home yesterday, he found a familiar butcher to process the meat, and he couldn't wait to indulge himself at the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion.
The process, well, was a bit hard to put into words.
The beauty was excellent, and his performance was, as always, stable and efficient.
But compared to the prestige of beating up ten people last time, it was quite lackluster.
So he got up early in the morning and escaped from the tomb of heroes with tremendous willpower, to do business with that familiarly behaving youngster.
When he got to the south city marketplace, there were already people setting up stalls. Elder Chen, who sells talismans, was sitting leisurely on a small stool.
"Has Friend Xiao Luo not come yet?"
"No, he's at home refining pills!"
"Will he come to set up a stall today?"
"Usually if he's not here by this time, then he basically won't come on the day of the small market."
The disappointment was palpable.
Zeng Wen was quite disappointed and started chatting irregularly with Elder Chen about his hunting experiences in the mountains.
Seeing a customer coming to visit, he prepared to say goodbye.
But before he left, he saw Elder Chen cautiously stopping the dissatisfied customer.
"Friend, are you interested in our Divine Concealment Talisman?"
"What's that? Does it conceal one's breath?"
"Do you know about Ascendant Master Ling Yin from the Shen Fu Sect? Let me tell you..."
Zeng Wen looked somewhat peculiar. He had an uncanny feeling of deja vu about those few sentences.
It was only after he walked far from the market that he suddenly realized.
Wasn't that basically a replica of what Friend Luo said previously?
"Damn, the old man has picked up bad habits!"
He didn't think that Luo Chen had deceived him because when Luo Chen was selling him the Allure Pill, he never used definite words; he always used ambiguous language.
Also, the effects of the Allure Pill were exactly as Luo Chen described them.
He could only think that Elder Chen had plagiarized Luo Chen's eloquence.
As for the victim, Luo Chen, he was tucked away at home at the moment, donning an apron and worshipping Guan Yu.
"The last few pots all failed. I've pretty much used up all my cushion, there should be results today!"
"Second Elder Guan, I've offered you incense today; please make sure to bless me!"
Mumbling to himself, he continually fed medicinal herbs into the pot.
The processed Fire Dog Tail let out a natural stink, which melded with the fragrance of various medicinal materials and emitted an indescribable strange odor.
The process of boiling down the medicine continued from morning till afternoon.
After lifting the pot lid and looking at the deep red medicinal paste inside, smelling the refreshing fragrance, Luo Chen clenched his fist tightly.
"Good, this time the sixth pot was successful; it's a huge step forward!"
"Second Elder Guan, I knew you had me in your heart, even after reincarnation you're still looking out for me."
"I'll continue to strive hard tomorrow!"
...
Half a month later, Luo Chen looked satisfyingly at the fifty small jade bottles on his table.
This was the outcome of nearly a month's work.
There were thirty bottles filled with Fasting Elixir, hastily made over these two days.
The remaining twenty bottles were all filled with Allure Pills.
But unlike the Fasting Elixir, which had ten pills in each bottle, there was only one Allure Pill in each bottle.
In other words, he had only succeeded in refining the Allure Pills twice this time.
Out of nineteen sets of ingredients, only two batches yielded successful results, a success rate that couldn't be considered high, and even the quality of the elixirs was only lower-grade.
Lower-grade pills are highly limited; their medicinal properties are average, and excessive consumption can have serious side effects.
But that was not his concern. He believed that his fellow Daoists had strong self-control, and they should enjoy themselves without excess.
"At present, this is all I can achieve. But once my proficiency increases, the situation will certainly improve!"
"The future is promising, Chen, keep up the good work!"
After packing all the jade bottles into the bag, Luo Chen closed the door and rushed into the Inner City of The Great River District.
Today is the day of the grand market, and these goods must be sold well.
When he arrived at the market, there were still few people. Luo Chen had arrived too early.
Elder Chen had not arrived yet, but his old acquaintance Wang Yuan was already seated on the floor.
"Young man, you don't cherish your body at all. The floor is so cold!"
Murmuring to himself, Luo Chen greeted Wang Yuan and naturally squatted down in front of his booth.
"Eh, there's more stuff here!"
Compared to the last time, there were several more old books, and even a broken jade scroll.
There were also four or five more magic tools, some of which were smeared with blackened blood.
"Brother Wang, you've done some big deals recently!"
Wang Yuan, with his eyes drooped, said, "Look as you like, but don't touch indiscriminately."
Luo Chen looked eagerly at a few of the old books: "Five Essential Techniques During the Qi Refinement Period," "Discussion of Hundred Herbs," "Qi Refinement Chapter of the Longevity Technique"...
They were all things he wanted, but alas, he didn't have any Spirit Stones!
If Wang Yuan managed to sell all these items, along with the magic tools, he would make a fortune.
As far as he knew, even a lower-grade magic tool would start at one hundred lower-grade Spirit Stones. Medium and higher-grade products were even more expensive.
Killing and stealing treasures was undoubtedly the fastest way to make money in the Immortal Cultivation World.
Unfortunately, he was not good at such things. He was just a small cultivator who liked refining pills.
With a sigh, he picked up the unsold "Records of the Customs of Six Realms" and began to read it with great interest.
In the Six Realms of the Far East, there were six Ascendant Sects, such as the Yu Ding Sword Sect, Hehuan Sect, Shen Fu Sect, and Medicine King Sect; all of them had produced a Nascent Soul True Master.
However, apart from these sects, there were many other small sects and Immortal Cultivation Clans in each Great Territory.
The vast territories and abundant resources had produced many outstanding figures.
During each period, strong individuals would rise to prominence.
Along their paths to prominence, there were always fantastic tales and strange happenings.
The author of this "Records of the Customs of Six Realms" was a cultivator at the Ninth Level Qi Refinement Stage, who, having no hope for foundation establishment, wrote this book during his remaining years.
Due to his limited experience and level, many things in the book were heard through the grapevine.
But Luo Chen could still use this book to catch a glimpse of the tip of the iceberg of the Immortal Cultivation World.
Just those brief glimpses made him yearn for more.
"True Master Yu Ding, with a single sword, dominated the land and solidified his realm. Such charisma, how magnificent!"
After expressing his admiration, Luo Chen reluctantly put down the book, ready to set up his stall.
"If you like it, take it and read it. This travelogue has too many errors. It's been sitting here for months without selling."
Wang Yuan said calmly, pointing his finger. The book gingerly floated into Luo Chen's hands.
Luo Chen was surprised, then overjoyed.
"Thank you, Brother Wang, I'll return it after I finish reading."
With the book in hand, back at his bluestone stall, Elder Chen eagerly approached.
Seeing that old face, Luo Chen smiled slightly, "Are you going to tell me how good your business has been recently?"
"No, I'm going to remind you to pay back the money!"
"Eh!"
Luo Chen was shocked, he had just thought there were many good people in the Immortal Cultivation World.
However, after he set up his elixir for display, Elder Chen did tell him some good news.
"Recently, many Daoists have been asking for your Allure Pills. You're about to make a killing!"