Divine Tang Era

After walking a distance, Xu Dan suddenly regretted his purchase, feeling that he had made a mistake.

The quiver is so long it's hard to carry on my back, how am I supposed to take it hunting? But it fits the arrows perfectly inside. I thought, oh well, I've already bought it and I'm too lazy to return it. Besides, the seller might not even want to return it.

This is typical of the "shopaholic" mentality: happy when buying, but regretful afterwards.

The market stalls sell all sorts of strange and unusual things.

After walking a few more steps, Xu Dan saw a stall filled with bottles and jars, each with a label attached: Lixiaowan, Zijinwan, Buxue Rongjinwan, Yangxue Zhuangjinwan, Chenxiangwan, Buyiwan, Yangqiwan, Wenshenwan, Zhenxinwan, Queguiwan, Bie San, Zouhuo Rumowan, and so on.

Xu Dan didn't care much about the other things, but the Onimaru and the Demonic Cultivation Pill piqued his interest.

He squatted down in front of the stall, put down his quiver, picked up a bottle of Ghost-Repelling Pills, looked at it, and asked, "Can I open it and take a look?"

"Okay," Erchen replied.

Xu Dan opened the bottle, poured out a round, black pill into his palm. It smelled faintly of medicine. He put the pill back, sealed the bottle, and asked, "Can this medicine really exorcise ghosts?"

"Of course, everyone here knows my medicine is good and inexpensive."

"How much?"

"Ten taels of silver per bottle."

"Your medicine is a bit expensive. Other people only sell a ghost-repelling talisman for 100 coins. You're selling ten pills for 10 taels, which is 1 tael of silver per pill. You could buy ten talismans with that money."

"Tch, how can a talisman compare to me?"

Erchen scoffed, "That talisman can only drive away ghosts, while my Ghost Pill can not only drive away possessing ghosts, but also repair the blood and energy damaged by ghost possession. Do you think it's expensive?"

"So it's not expensive."

After hearing his explanation, Xu Dan felt that the price was indeed reasonable.

He put down the Demon-Slaying Pill, then picked up the Demon-Slaying Pill and asked, "Can this really cure demonic possession?"

Erchen said calmly, "Why not? Qi deviation is nothing more than the disorder of meridians and the deterioration of qi and blood caused by distracting thoughts during cultivation. It can be more than enough to repair with the Qi Deviation Pill. It's just that this medicine can only treat Qi Deviation below the Innate level; it cannot treat those above the Innate level."

There were conditions, he thought. He thought it was miraculous that it could cure any disease.

According to the Taibao Divine Fist, a practitioner who opens up the microcosmic and macrocosmic orbits and connects all the meridians in the body is considered to have achieved the innate state; a martial artist who refines the skin, flesh, tendons, bone marrow, and internal organs is also considered to have achieved the innate state; if both are achieved, then it is the innate state within the innate state, laying a solid foundation for future cultivation.

In the cultivation world, the innate essence is called the Dao Body. Because it is cultivated later in life, it is also called the Acquired Dao Body.

"Huh, what's this?"

Xu Dan pointed to a gray cloth bag with the three large characters "辟邪散" (Pei Xie San, meaning "Evil-Repelling Powder") written on it in the corner of the stall and asked.

"Doesn't it say on it? It's called 'Evil-Repelling Powder.' Whenever you encounter ghosts or evil spirits, just sprinkle it on them, and they will all retreat three feet away. If evil spirits enter your body, you can swallow a little, but not too much, lest you damage your internal organs. This stuff is only effective against evil spirits, it cannot cure diseases," Erchen said.

"So powerful, it can handle any kind of ghost?"

"Of course not. It only works on ordinary ghosts. Once they reach a higher rank, it has no effect."

Xu Dan looked at the dazzling array of pills on the stall, thought for a moment, and bought a bottle of Qi-Nourishing Pills. He had only just begun to generate Qi, so buying them to nourish his Qi was perfect. He took the bottle, opened it, and smelled it. The Qi within his body flowed; it seemed the Qi-Nourishing Pills were quite effective.

He carefully put the Qi-Nourishing Pills away from his body, then noticed a large bag of Evil-Repelling Powder in the corner. His eyes lit up, and he smiled, "Big brother, I bought so much stuff, aren't you going to give me something in return?"

"Give it away?" Erchen's eyes widened; it was the first time he had ever heard someone say that.

"Yes?"

Xu Dan said seriously, "Your bottle of Qi-Nourishing Pills costs ten taels of silver, while a bun the size of an adult's palm at Meng's Bun Shop only costs five copper coins. That means the money for one bottle of Qi-Nourishing Pills can buy 2000 buns. An average person is full after eating three buns a day, so 2000 buns are enough to feed one person for 666.666 days, almost two years. Think about it, I'm spending the money for two years' worth of food for one person on a bottle of your pills, shouldn't you give me something in return?"

"Too."

Erchen was completely bewildered by what was said, and unconsciously nodded in agreement, but he felt something was off, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"I don't need you to send me anything expensive, just a little bit of the warding-off-evil powder to test its effectiveness. If it works well, I'll buy it again next time."

The warding-off-evil powder wasn't anything good either, so Erchen took out a bag from the side and grabbed some for him. Xu Dan knew when to stop, thanked him, took the bag, and immediately got up and left to avoid regretting it later.

After a while, Erchen realized that he had confused himself.

The Qi-Nourishing Pill is made from spiritual herbs, far superior to those large steamed buns made from beast meat. He initially intended to settle accounts with Xu Dan, but considering he had only given away a small amount of Evil-Repelling Powder, he decided against pursuing the matter.

After quickly walking past a few stalls, and seeing that the stall owners didn't chase after him, Xu Dan slowly continued strolling through the alley.

Ahead was a stall selling talismans. The exorcism talisman I bought at the Taoist temple last time was just the simplest kind. This stall had a much wider and more complete selection of talismans, including those for exorcising evil spirits, sweeping away evil spirits, suppressing evil spirits, striking evil spirits, controlling evil spirits, pacifying evil spirits and ensuring peace, pacifying evil spirits and bringing good fortune, warding off evil spirits, exorcising evil spirits, avoiding misfortune and turning misfortune into good fortune, purifying talismans, pacifying homes, thunder and fire talismans, light talismans, protective talismans, talismans for exorcising water ghosts, talismans for exorcising evil spirits and bringing peace, demon-subduing talismans, and talismans for slaying all kinds of ghosts and monsters...

Xu Dan examined all the talismans on the stall and found that most of them were used to subdue evil spirits and demons, and there were very few normal ones.

Are there many evil spirits and ghosts here?

Come to think of it, I've only been here a few days and I've already encountered three ghosts. If there aren't many ghosts here, then there aren't many anywhere else.

He had been in Jingning City for a while, and after making inquiries these past few days, he learned that the boundless wilderness outside the city was originally an ancient battlefield, where countless bones were buried, and the accumulated yin energy gave birth to countless ghosts. These ghosts dared not appear during the day, but would emerge at night. Especially when the gates of hell opened in July, the ghosts would appear in droves. They would come and go with a whoosh, utterly terrifying.

Jingning City has a protective array, so there's no need to worry about ghosts getting in.

But even the best formations have flaws, and ghosts often sneak in. Xu Dan was unlucky enough to encounter one.

"How much is your exorcism talisman?"

"It's not expensive, only eighty coins. If you buy more, young master, I can give you a few more for free," the stall owner said with a smile.

It was twenty coins cheaper than the exorcism talisman the chubby boy at Donglai Palace had sold him. Xu Dan picked it up, but felt the spiritual energy wasn't as pure as the one the chubby boy had sold him, so he put it down and picked up a protective talisman, asking, "How much is this?"

"The amulet is quite expensive, costing ten taels of silver."

"So expensive?" Xu Dan frowned.

"It's not expensive, just the price of a bottle of Qi-Nourishing Pills. If you'd like to buy it, young master, I'll give you two exorcism talismans as a bonus."

This stall wasn't far from the one selling pills, so it wouldn't be surprising if he was seen buying something. Xu Dan glanced at him and said, "You sure know how to do business? Unlike that pill seller, who had to beg and plead before he'd even give me a little bit of warding-off-evil powder."

"To be honest, young man, exorcism talismans really can't compare to evil-repelling powder."

The stall owner said sincerely, "That warding-off powder will make any ordinary ghost retreat three feet away as soon as it's released. If it encounters a weaker ghost, it might even die instantly. It can also be taken internally to remove the yin energy. On the other hand, the ghost-repelling talisman can only exorcise ghosts. There's really no comparison."

Xu Dan didn't expect him to be so honest, unlike some people who boast about their stuff as if it were the most amazing thing in the world, only to have their claims exposed and then refuse to admit it.

He didn't know that doing business here relies on word of mouth.

If your reputation is ruined, not only will your business fail, but your character will also be questioned, and you won't be able to survive in the city.

Seeing that the man seemed nice, Xu Dan bought a talisman and kept it close to his body, then left with two exorcism talismans given to him by the stall owner.

The stall owner quickly called out from behind, "Young master, if you need anything else next time, you can come to the East Gate. I have a shop there with all kinds of talismans. Buy more and you'll get a free gift!"

"Okay!"

Xu Dan waved his hand and walked away without looking back.