Chapter 343: Visiting

Chapter 343: Chapter 343: Visiting

The stall was sprawling, and Bai Mo’s gaze swept across it.

Having studied the Pill Book extensively, he could identify about thirty percent of the items.

Not all of them were useful. Some were just novelties his predecessors had experimented with, found useless, and then casually noted down.

His discerning gaze immediately set him apart from the other Cultivators who were just browsing for entertainment.

A disciple tending the stall approached with a wide smile and stood beside him.

"Is there anything you’re interested in, Junior Brother?"

There were plenty of boorish onlookers, but those who truly knew their goods were rare.

The disciple understood that people like Bai Mo were the real customers.

Bai Mo pondered for a moment before sighing softly.

"The Sea Eye spews out such a diverse array of things?"

"Of course!"

"Countless ancient artifacts and creatures have been lost in it over the eons. Anything that hasn’t been ground to dust is a treasure."

"Now that they’ve resurfaced, they represent opportunities for all of us."

The disciple smiled and asked, "Has anything caught your eye, Junior Brother?"

"I’m still looking."

Bai Mo didn’t have many Spirit Stones on him, so he had to choose carefully.

After a moment, he selected a few items that radiated an ancient aura.

A piece of charcoal the size of a fingernail, a single emerald-green bead, two broken bones, and a chunk of yellow ore.

"Oh? Why did you pick all the odds and ends, Junior Brother?"

Bai Mo sighed.

"I don’t have many Spirit Stones. How could any complete item from the Sea Eye possibly be cheap?"

"I have no other choice."

The disciple said nothing, just smiled and tallied up the price for Bai Mo.

"That’ll be four hundred and seventeen Spirit Stones in total. You have a good eye, Junior Brother. Otherwise, these things would be very difficult to sell."

"I’ll take the liberty of rounding it down and charge you just four hundred Spirit Stones."

"Huh?" Bai Mo was surprised.

"Didn’t you just call them odds and ends, Brother? How can they be so expensive?"

The disciple pursed his lips.

"Don’t go thinking you can find a bargain here, Junior Brother. Everything we put on display has been appraised by our elders. We’re well aware of their value!"

’So knowledgeable!’

Bai Mo paid the Spirit Stones and asked curiously,

"If I may ask, who is backing this stall?"

"To let you know, Junior Brother, this is the stall of my Jinyu lineage!"

"If our peak wasn’t short on funds, we would never have put so many rare items up for sale..."

So it was the Jinyu lineage. No wonder they were so confident; the members of this lineage truly had an extraordinary eye.

They spent their years exploring tombs and delving into ruins of all kinds as if it were as common as eating and drinking. Without a sharp eye, they would have been ruined by losses.

However, as far as Bai Mo knew, while it was true the Jinyu lineage was wealthy, a great deal of their fortunes was spent on treating illnesses and lifting curses.

The formations and traps in tombs and ruins were not to be trifled with.

Even the ancestors of the Jinyu lineage, with their Great Divine Techniques and powerful methods, often met unfortunate ends in their later years.

With the transaction complete, Bai Mo suddenly pointed to a piece of flesh on the stall.

"This meat... could you cut ten pounds for me?"

The disciple nodded.

"Of course. It’s just the flesh of a powerful member of the Sea Race, though most of its essence has been worn away in the Sea Eye."

"I’m sure you can see its quality, Junior Brother. I’ll just charge you two hundred Spirit Stones."

But Bai Mo shook his head.

"Brother, look at the flesh. It was powerful, that’s true, but how much of its blood qi is left? It wasn’t completely dead, so the muscles are just contracting and twitching instinctively. There’s not much essence left."

"One hundred and fifty Spirit Stones!"

The disciple frowned instantly, but after a moment’s hesitation, he nodded.

"Fine!"

Having gotten what he wanted, Bai Mo prepared to leave.

Suddenly, the disciple spoke up.

"My martial uncle has already made it clear that this piece of flesh is all for show. Its divine might has completely dissipated, and it’s no longer of any great use."

"What are you planning to do with it, Junior Brother?"

Bai Mo didn’t hide his intentions, stating frankly,

"It’s true that it’s not of great use, but its origins are extraordinary. I’m after its inherent status, which happens to be something I need..."

After a lap around the market, Bai Mo had acquired quite a few odds and ends.

As dawn broke, Bai Mo finally turned toward his next destination.

Xuan Can Hall, the territory of the inner sect’s Medicine Peak.

Xuan Can Hall was located in a secluded area. It was where the Medicine Peak sold Spirit Medicines to the public, with disciples constantly coming and going.

When Bai Mo arrived, he saw that the vast pavilion was filled with numerous spiritual materials, all brimming with Spiritual Qi and exuding a fragrant medicinal scent.

Cultivators were gathered in small groups, discussing the Alchemy Dao.

An old man with a compassionate look in his eyes conversed with a disciple of Xuan Can Hall, then took some medicinal herbs and left.

It wasn’t just Alchemy Cultivators who came here; cultivators who focused on the path of medicine, healing the sick and saving the world, were also frequent visitors.

Even those who prepared Spiritual Meals would occasionally come to select usable ingredients.

Bai Mo quickly gathered everything Li Wuji needed and hurried away.

However, just as he stepped out of Xuan Can Hall, he was unexpectedly stopped.

"Are you Brother Bai?"

Bai Mo stopped in his tracks. He saw a Cultivator who hadn’t even reached the Foundation Establishment Realm being carried by others.

Such a cultivation level was quite conspicuous in the inner sect.

Just from the lingering, un-washable smell of animal feed on the person, Bai Mo knew he was a disciple of the Beast Taming Peak.

"I am." Bai Mo sized him up.

From top to bottom, he had probably broken quite a few bones, and his face was ashen.

Judging by his weak and unstable aura, he must have just broken through to the Qi Refining Fifth Layer. He was undoubtedly a new disciple who had recently joined the sect.

"Junior Brother, how did you get injured so severely?"

"Sigh... I suffered both internal and external injuries while moving a Demon Corpse at Budu River. A senior brother promised to get me treatment and brought me here."

The Beast Taming Peak disciple spoke up:

"But let’s not talk about that. Your shop’s clerk is looking for you, did you know, Brother Bai?"

"Hm??"

Bai Mo was stunned and quickly asked,

"Where is he?"

"He came back with my peak’s beast caravan and has been settled on the outer sect’s Beast Taming Peak."

...

Bai Mo left the market, piloted his Flying Ship through the wall of clouds, and made his way to the Beast Taming Peak with practiced ease.

Before long, he saw Qin Wen, who had heard of his arrival and came running.

Qin Wen was carrying a heavy bundle on his back. He bowed respectfully.

"Greetings, Shopkeeper."

Bai Mo waved his hand dismissively.

"Enough of that. We don’t stand on such ceremony at our shop."

With that, he asked in some surprise,

"Why the sudden visit? Is something wrong at the shop?"

Qin Wen quickly waved his hands and took the bundle off his back.

"No, it’s because you requested Spirit Stones, so I came to deliver them."

"No one else at the shop is skilled in combat, so they had me make the trip."

Bai Mo took the bundle. It was heavy in his hands.

"This feels like at least ten thousand..."

Qin Wen nodded.

"Twenty thousand Spirit Stones exactly. Wei An only kept enough for the shop’s operating funds; he had me bring all the rest to you."

"As for the bundle, we acquired it from someone before. It has some storage properties. We usually use it to transport valuable medicinal herbs."

The timing was perfect.

Bai Mo was in dire need of Spirit Stones, and twenty thousand would be of great help.

However, the gates of the Xuandao Sect were not a place an outsider could easily enter. Bai Mo thus asked,

"Who brought you through the sect gates?"

Qin Wen replied, "It was an immortal master from the Beast Taming Peak."

"As you know, Shopkeeper, the shop does a lot of business with the beast caravans. They used ’delivering medicine’ as a pretext to let me tag along. I’ll be returning with the caravan in a couple of days..."

Bai Mo nodded slightly.

"How is the shop doing now? Tell me about it..."

It was a rare chance to see one of his own clerks, so Bai Mo didn’t rush off, chatting with Qin Wen for a bit.

News of the shop, the city, the mountains, and some close acquaintances...

Qin Wen told him everything he could remember in a single rush.

"Everyone’s doing well. These days, the city’s restaurants and teahouses are usually full, so business isn’t hard to come by."

"And how are you doing in the sect, Shopkeeper?"

It was too complex to explain simply, so Bai Mo just said,

"Cultivating within the sect is certainly convenient, with more opportunities to glimpse the Great Dao."

"I’m getting by quite happily with my alchemy work, so my skills haven’t gone to waste..."