Mortal: I have a gathering technique

To the west of Guanggui City, Tainan Mountain.

In front of a hillside that is shrouded in mysterious, thick white fog all year round.

"This should be about it."

Fang Qing pointed to the mist ahead and said to Han Li beside him.

The two set off from Jiayuan City and arrived at Tainan Valley in less than ten days.

Han Li glanced at Fang Qing, seemingly lost in thought.

Along the way, he discovered that Fang Qing was not as familiar with Lanzhou, or even Tainan Valley, as he had imagined, which made him doubt Fang Qing's previous claim of "traveling" at the Mo Mansion.

"My so-called senior brother, although he knows more than I do, is probably just a novice cultivator like me."

"Otherwise, if he truly has been traveling the cultivation world for many years as he claims, how could he be unfamiliar with even the market town near his home?"

Fang Qing was unaware that the old demon had already seen through his secrets.

However, every cloud has a silver lining.

Because the old demon saw through his true nature, he lowered his guard against him.

In the old demon's eyes, Fang Qing should be like him, a young man who has not yet been corrupted by the great dye vat of the cultivation world.

"How do we get in?"

Han Li gazed at the boundless mist and asked curiously.

"Like this, we can give a greeting, and once the people inside notice, they will proactively release the array to receive us."

As Fang Qing spoke, he made hand seals and sent a beam of red spiritual light into the mist.

He learned this method from Jin Guang's memories; it's a common way to announce one's entry into the market in the cultivation world.

It is equivalent to a formal visiting card in secular society.

Not long after Fang Qing unleashed his spiritual light, the white mist suddenly began to churn, then split open as if cleaved by a knife, creating a path wide enough for the two to walk side by side.

The end of the path was faintly visible, not clearly discernible.

"Let's go."

Fang Qing called out and went in first, soon reaching the end.

The moment the two stepped out of the passage, they felt a blur before their eyes, and then a green valley filled with exotic flowers and rare herbs appeared before them.

The valley is surrounded by mountains on three sides and has a large overall area. In the center of the valley, there is a large complex of palaces and pavilions.

In front of the pavilion was a wide square paved with blue bricks, which was crowded with all sorts of cultivators.

Some of the cultivators resembled small vendors in the secular world, setting up their stalls in a neat and orderly fashion in the square.

Among these stalls, there were quite a few cultivators strolling around, but there were many who looked but few who actually made a purchase.

Fang Qing looked around before turning to Han Li. "Separate, or together?"

Without hesitation, Han Li replied, "Let's break up."

"OK!"

Fang Qing nodded, flipped his hand, and a blue cloth bundle appeared out of thin air, which he stuffed into Han Li's hand.

Here, your things.

With that, he left behind the promise to meet again in an hour and headed towards the square.

Han Li looked at the package in his hand, then at Fang Qing's back, and a smile gradually appeared on his face.

Since he didn't have a storage bag, Han Li left all his luggage with Fang Qing before setting off.

Of course, this was Han Li's deliberate act.

Besides a few sets of clothes, the package also contained two bottles of Huanglongdan (a traditional Chinese medicine) and a century-old Sanwu grass.

According to the market prices in the cultivation world, it's worth about a hundred spirit stones.

Don't think it's a small amount; this is almost equivalent to the wealth of a Qi Refining Master.

Based on the popular science explanation Fang Qing gave him and his own judgment, Han Li believed that most Qi Refining cultivators in the cultivation world would be unable to refuse this fortune.

But judging from the current situation, Fang Qing is clearly not among these people.

At this moment, Han Li finally felt a sliver of approval for this junior brother.

However, what Han Li didn't know was that Fang Qing was barely able to suppress a smile at that moment.

"Old devil, you think you can probe my limits with a mere hundred or so spirit stones? You underestimate my appetite far too much..."

As Fang Qing walked, she tried her best to suppress her laughter, afraid that she might burst out laughing.

……

After entering the square, Fang Qing walked around with his hands behind his back, just like the other cultivators, stopping and starting, his gaze sweeping over the stalls one by one.

Most of these stall owners are independent practitioners, and they sell a wide variety of things.

There are magical artifacts and talismans, qi cultivation techniques, medicinal herbs and seeds, as well as raw minerals, and so on...

Although Fang Qing possessed Jin Guang's memories and knowledge, he only recognized a large portion of them.

These items were common in the cultivation world, but even so, they broadened Fang Qing's horizons and increased his knowledge considerably.

However, just as Fang Qing was getting into the swing of things, a group of people suddenly blocked his way.

There was clearly a stall in the middle of the crowd, but it was unclear what it was selling that attracted so many people to watch.

Out of curiosity, Fang Qing also leaned closer. Peering through the gap between the heads, his eyes lit up instantly.

A sign was set up in front of the stall, with four lines of large characters neatly written on it:

Old religious artifacts for sale, a wide variety, cheap prices, first come first served!

Looking at the stall again, there was a three-foot square black cloth with five or six different shaped and colored ritual implements on it.

There was a small golden sword about a foot long, a black shield the size of a palm, a white bead that looked like a luminous pearl, and a normal-sized blue vase...

Moreover, these magical artifacts are of a high grade, mostly mid-grade, with one even reaching high-grade.

However, none of these magical artifacts are complete.

For example, the small golden blade has a serrated edge, with a notch in the middle that extends beyond the spine of the sword.

There were also shields, their surfaces rough and calloused, with several holes as thick as chopsticks along the edges.

There was even a brick-shaped ritual implement that broke into three pieces.

This level of damage is so severe that it cannot be called an old ritual object; it should be called "junk and waste."

A shrewd businessman, a complete shrewd businessman!

However, these things seem to have a special connection with me!

Fang Qing muttered to himself as he glanced at the stall owner.

The stall owner was a tall, thin man in his fifties with dark skin, thin cheeks, and a mustache.

This perfectly matches Fang Qing's image of a cunning businessman!

"Fellow Daoist, what is the price of this bead?"

Just then, a round-faced young man in the crowd couldn't hold back any longer and pointed to the white bead that looked like a luminous pearl, asking about its price.

As soon as he spoke, everyone around looked at the stall owner with expectant eyes, and some even showed regret on their faces, as if they were annoyed that they had acted too slowly.

The reason for this is that the white bead is the best quality among all the ritual implements.

Compared to other magical artifacts that are either broken or missing, this white bead only has spiderweb-like cracks.

It seems there's still some possibility of repair.

"Not expensive, only twenty spirit stones!"

Seeing that someone was asking about the price, the stall owner finally became enthusiastic.

However, the price he quoted caused an uproar among those around him.