Back at the Arms Shop
Sun Fubai was actually quite surprised. Normally, when a person obtained a rare technique, it would be extremely precious. Even if it was his wife, children, or close friends, they wouldn't be allowed to see it.
What Li Qingshan obtained was only a remnant of a scroll that was worth a hundred or so spirit stones, and the value of the entire scroll was at least ten times that. Such generosity and lofty sentiments really made him sigh in amazement!
This was because Li Qingshan had his eyes set on the Nine Heavens. No matter how precious a technique was, it was just a process to him. Once he took this step, who knew how long the road ahead of him was waiting for him.
One's vision determined one's breadth of mind.
In the bookstore, Li Qingshan chatted with the old man for a while. He found out that the old man's name was Sun Fubai.
Sun Fubai was knowledgeable and experienced. After the conversation, Li Qingshan also felt that he had benefited a lot.
As they chatted excitedly, Sun Fubai gave Li Qingshan a few more books. They were all bound paper books. The paper had already turned slightly yellow, and the edges were even curled up.
Li Qingshan hesitated for a moment. Sun Fubai smiled and said, "Don't worry, these aren't those kinds of books. These are my favorite historical books."
Li Qingshan relaxed and casually flipped open the book. In the blank corners of the book, there were many notes written in red. It was obvious that these were the books that Sun Fubai usually read. For a book lover to give away the books that he usually read, it was really a great gesture.
He said respectfully, "Thank you, Uncle, for your generous gift!"
Sun Fubai said, "The youngsters these days only think about the secret techniques that can make them stronger overnight. How would they know the true essence of the books? I can see that you are brave and valiant, you have a heroic spirit and you are quite talented as a Qi Practitioner. In the future, you will definitely be able to stand out in the cultivation world. However, if you don't understand the ways of the world, no matter how strong you are, you will still be a boorish man who is controlled by others. You can read these books carefully, they will definitely be of great benefit to you."
Li Qingshan said, "I've heard people say that reading history can make you wise, and martial arts and secret manuals can only make people stronger, but real books can make cowards brave and stupid people smart. This kind of effect is something that no cultivation method can compare to. This kind of power is true power. "
Sun Fubai was very pleased. "It's good that you understand this."
…
At the center of the market was a lone three-story building that was not adjacent to any other shops.
Although it was a relatively tall building in the entire market, the building was still very inconspicuous. The vermillion paint on the upper floor was peeling, making it look extremely old.
Each bead hanging at the door was a precious jewel worth thousands of gold in the mortal world. It was a bit of a waste to use it as a door curtain. Moreover, because no one took care of it, its color had already turned yellow and dull.
Only the three gilded words "Sundry Goods Store" on the black signboard were still shining brightly.
There were countless general goods stores in the world, so it wasn't all that strange for a large city to have several dozen general goods stores. However, there was only this one store that could be opened in this market where cultivators traded. Moreover, in this market, there definitely wouldn't be a second general goods store that existed.
The moment Li Qingshan lifted the curtain and entered, he felt as if he had entered another world. In front of him was an inconceivably wide hall. The marble floor was smooth and shiny, and the noise on the street was completely blocked out by the curtain.
There were a few elegant women dressed in palace attire sitting at a tea table in the hall, chatting softly with each other.
If one raised their voice even slightly, it would create an echo effect in the hall. It was also a space expansion technique, but it was more than ten times better here than in the inn.
When the women in palace attire saw Li Qingshan, they exchanged glances and made excuses, seemingly unwilling.
In the end, a beautiful woman helplessly stood up and dragged her palace attire over to greet him. "What does Fellow Daoist want to buy?" Her face was lightly powdered. Although her smile was bright, it could be seen at a glance that she had been trained. Moreover, it was difficult to conceal the unwillingness on her face.
This woman in palace attire was actually a third layer Qi Practitioner. It was admittedly ingenious to use puppets as waiters in the Hundred Flavors Building, but it was even more impressive to have a Qi Practitioner act as hostess.
It was indeed worthy of being the center of the market, the headquarters of the school of miscellany.
Li Qingshan learnt quite a lot about the market from Sun Fubai. The name of the market was the Town of Flowing Clouds. It was not fixed to a single location. Instead, it constantly moved between a few locations with relatively more Qi Practitioners.
It was like a market for mortals, but they would stay for much longer. The reason why the market was located below the Green Vine mountain this time was because the Herb Gathering ceremony of the three mountains was approaching. It had attracted many Qi Practitioners, who were prepared to explore the underground.
Before the grand ceremony, talismans and spiritual tools that could increase one's strength were already selling like hotcakes. After the grand ceremony, Qi warriors would bring out all kinds of minerals and spiritual plants from the underground world, which would bring a new wave of sales.
All of this was managed by the school of Miscellany of the academy. They were responsible for the safety of all the Qi Practitioners in the market, as well as maintaining normal transactions. Otherwise, why would high level Qi Practitioners negotiate with low level Qi Practitioners? It would be much faster to just kill them and search for their corpses.
Although the Qi Practitioners in the teahouses and restaurants did not belong to the school of Miscellany, they all needed to pay a sum of spiritual stones to the school of Miscellany every year. Only then could they operate here.
When Li Qingshan asked where he could go to buy spiritual artifacts, Sun Fubai immediately recommended the "Store of Miscellaneous Goods". Although it was slightly more expensive than the stalls, the quality was relatively guaranteed. Li Qingshan did not lack spiritual stones, nor did he have a discerning eye, so this was obviously the most suitable place.
Li Qingshan said, "I want to buy a weapon."
The women in the teahouses giggled softly. "What weapon? Can't you just call it a spiritual artifact? You can tell with a single glance that you're a country bumpkin who's just emerged from the jianghu. "" Don't tell me you've come to buy inferior spiritual artifacts! "" Ru Ping's going to make a fortune this time. "
Although she had suppressed her voice, Li Qingshan still heard everything clearly. As it turned out, this woman was called Ru Ping. That sure was familiar. As it turned out, these female cultivators were not just responsible for welcoming guests. They were also responsible for sales. It was no wonder they were so snobbish.
"Please follow me!" Although Liu Ruping couldn't hear what her companions were saying, she knew they were laughing at her, so she said coldly.
Liu Ruping swayed her hips and climbed the stairs. Her swaying buttocks made Li Qingshan involuntarily think of the innkeeper from last night. He wondered if this was one of the female cultivators he'd introduced to accompany him to bed. He turned around and looked towards the main hall. "Perhaps all of them are here!"
A Daoist wearing an azure robe walked through the door. Both his Daoist robe and the ancient sword on his back shone with spiritual light. In the world of Qi Practitioners, this was the appearance of a "rich person".
The women in palace robes almost all went up to welcome him. One of them with a sweet appearance said loudly, "It's my turn!" Only in the end did she go up. Like a victorious hen, she arrived before the Daoist. Her smile was much more sincere.
Although it was impossible for him to have someone accompany him to bed no matter what because of Little Ann's presence, he could not help but rejoice. Fortunately, he did not ask for one, or it would be far too unfair to him. He was still a virgin after all, so how could he allow himself to be ruined in the hands of a woman like that?
Arriving before a room on the second floor, his gaze was immediately drawn away by a signboard. To no surprise, the words "Arsenal of Arms" were written on the signboard. Back in Qingyang city, hadn't he bought the Tyrant's spear from the "Arsenal of Arms"? He had never thought he would actually see a branch in the city of cultivators.
However, most Qi Practitioners did not care about the gold and silver of the mortal world. Was there a need for a shop that sold spiritual artifacts to sell weapons in a remote, small city? The fact that they could open a store of Miscellaneous Goods in the school of Miscellany demonstrated their strength.
Liu Ruping introduced with a professional smile, "The Arsenal of Arms is renowned in our Clear River prefecture and even the entire Ruyi commandery. All the weapons here have been tested by masters, so they're definitely of the best quality, unlike those small stalls outside where the quality varies. They say they're low grade spiritual artifacts, but they'll crack after a few clashes with others."
"Then I'd like to take a look!" As soon as Li Qingshan set foot in the store, his heart shivered. All of his hairs stood on end. He felt like an army that had fallen into an ambush. Vicious killing intent swept over him. He took a step out instinctively, and all of his bones crackled. His aura rose up abruptly, like the will of an army with a commander at the very front, ready to kill his way out of the encirclement.
However, Li Qingshan immediately saw that there were no ambushes in the surroundings. There were only thousands of weapons arranged neatly on the weapon racks, stretching as far as the eye could see. A rough-looking, middle-aged man stood in the centre of the weapon racks, staring at him in shock.
"Sir, what's wrong?" Liu Ruping took three steps away from Li Qingshan and looked at him carefully. Just Now, in that single moment, this man with a peculiar figure who gave off an extremely honest and gentle feeling had suddenly turned into some sort of vicious beast, ready to pick a person to devour. For the first time, she felt that perhaps this man was not as simple as he seemed.
Only then did Li Qingshan realise the origins of the sharp killing intent. It came from these weapons. He erased his aura and asked in confusion, "Didn't you sense it?"
Liu Ruping was stunned. "Sense what?"
The rough-looking man walked over. "It's easy to sense the killing intent from people, but it's not easy to sense the killing intent from weapons. If you haven't gone through a few life-and-death situations and taken several dozen lives, how can you be so sensitive?" He clasped his hands at Li Qingshan. "I can tell with a single glance that you're someone who understands weapons. May I ask for your name?"
Li Qingshan said, "My surname is Niu. And how should I address you, sir?"
"Nice surname, nice surname. You really are as majestic as an ox! My surname is Zhang, so there's no need to be so polite. You can just call me little Zhang.
The woman laughed. "Old Zhang, you're pretending to be young again. Aren't you ashamed?"
Little Zhang said, "Cultivators all pursue longevity. I don't have any hope in this life, so why don't you let me talk about it? Isn't that right, Sister Ping?"
The shopkeepers in charge of the shops here were mostly not young qi practitioners. Their cultivation speed was ultimately not faster than natural aging. There was basically no possibility for them to continue improving, so they chose to live a more leisurely and comfortable life.
Liu Ruping spat. "Who's your Sister Ping? Don't talk nonsense. I've brought you a guest. Hurry up and help him choose a weapon!"
Just as Li Qingshan was about to speak, little Zhang raised his hand. "Don't be in a hurry. Let me guess, what weapon do you want?"
PS: I'm in Sanya right now. I'm out to play, but staying alone in an apartment for a day, writing eight thousand words while eating instant noodles at noon, then going to an internet cafe to post chapters. What kind of mental illness is this! I'm begging for guaranteed monthly votes. With your support, the Moral Emperor won't die!
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