Mortal: Reborn in Yellow Maple Valley, Awakening the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts

The next morning, Chu Zifei got ready and prepared to head to Tianxing Sect Market.

He did not use the Seventy-Two Transformations to change his appearance. At present, he only had Feng Yue's aura in the world. If he rashly transformed into Feng Yue's appearance, he would easily expose himself if he encountered someone who knew that Feng Yue was dead. The risk was too great.

Thinking of this, Chu Zifei took out a concealing cloak to cover his body, the hood hanging down to cover most of his face, and then took the low-level flying magic weapon issued by Huangfeng Valley and set off on his journey.

Although the two places are only a hundred miles apart, traveling back and forth on foot is inconvenient, while flying on a flying device can reduce the trouble.

In less than half a day, Chu Zifei arrived in the territory of Yuanwu Kingdom, covered in dust. He did not head straight for the Tianxing Sect market, but instead inquired around the streets before finally choosing an inn near the market entrance to stay in.

This inn, named Ziwu, caters to traveling cultivators from both countries. Each room is equipped with a simple barrier to prevent divine sense from detecting them. Ordinary rooms are charged only one low-grade spirit stone per day, which is a fair price.

Chu Zifei stepped into the shop, only to find that the shopkeeper behind the counter, who was keeping accounts, was an ordinary person with no cultivation whatsoever.

Hearing footsteps, the innkeeper didn't pause with his wolf-hair brush in hand, nor did he raise his head. He spoke calmly, "Are you here for a meal or to stay the night? How many are in your party?"

"One guest room, for half a month's rent." Chu Zifei's voice was calm and even, without the slightest ripple.

The innkeeper then put down his pen, looked up at Chu Zifei, and said with a warm smile, "A half-month stay in a regular room costs a total of fifteen low-grade spirit stones. Thank you for your patronage, sir."

Chu Zifei took out fifteen low-grade spirit stones from his storage bag and handed them over. The shopkeeper took the spirit stones, and his eyebrows and eyes immediately lit up with a smile, revealing his vulgarity.

After putting away the spirit stones, the innkeeper immediately called over a waiter to lead the way upstairs. Chu Zifei followed closely behind, arriving at the guest rooms on the second floor.

The furnishings were extremely simple. There was a wooden tea table against the wall with a set of rough pottery tea utensils on it, and only a wooden couch in the center of the room. There were no other items.

Upon entering the room, Chu Zifei instructed the waiter not to come upstairs to disturb him if he was not summoned within half a month. He then dismissed the waiter, closed the door behind him, and activated the restriction.

He walked slowly to the window, pushed open half of the wooden window, and saw a wide view from here, with all the cultivators coming and going at the entrance of the market.

Chu Zifei felt somewhat relieved and made up his mind to stay at home for the rest of the day, waiting for Han Li to appear.

He moved the tea table to the windowsill, poured himself a drink, and casually glanced at the people coming and going downstairs, looking quite relaxed and content.

For several days in a row, Chu Zifei stayed in his room, looking out the window every day, without ever stepping out of the inn.

On the afternoon of the fifth day, a familiar figure appeared at the entrance of the market and instantly caught his eye.

Although Han Li was wearing a bamboo hat and disguised himself completely, Chu Zifei had already memorized his figure and his usual disguise, and recognized him at a glance.

He suppressed the urge to follow immediately, fearing it would alert Han Li. He quickly changed his mind and decided to first find Hyacinth, who acted as a go-between in the market, and enter the underground secret shop before Han Li.

He had previously spent a low-grade spirit stone to find out the locations of various hyacinths in the market from the innkeeper. The waiter seemed unremarkable, but he had connections with all sorts of people and was very useful for gathering information and introducing people.

Although he knew the general location of the secret shop, he dared not go there alone. The underground auction had its own set of rules; without an acquaintance's introduction, one could not even get near the door, let alone enter to bid.

Chu Zifei pushed open the door of the inn and went straight to a pill shop in the southwest corner of the Tianxing Sect market. He found the man who was thin, had sharp eyes, and had a mustache.

Just by looking at his face, one could tell he was a greedy and avaricious person. Chu Zifei coughed twice, interrupting his counting of pills.

Upon seeing a customer enter, the lean man immediately put on a fawning expression, quickly stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said with a smile, "Sir, are you looking to purchase some medicinal pills? Our shop has a full range of pills, all of superior quality, guaranteed to suit your needs!"

Chu Zifei had prepared his explanation beforehand and said calmly, "I need to find some rare pills that are hard to find in the market."

The lean man's eyes lit up upon hearing this, but he quickly became wary, sizing Chu Zifei up and down: "All the pills in my shop are legitimate; we have everything a common cultivator needs. Why would you seek out unorthodox methods, sir?"

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Chu Zifei took in his cautiousness and found it amusing. It was normal for someone who was pulling the strings behind the scenes to be suspicious.

He stopped beating around the bush and said directly, "The waiter at Ziwu Inn recommended me to this place. These ordinary pills in your shop are not worth my attention."

Upon hearing this, the guard on the lean man's face vanished completely, and his joy instantly filled his eyes. His tone also became lively: "Why didn't you say so sooner, esteemed guest! Since you were introduced by an acquaintance, it's naturally simple. Please wait a moment, and after I finish handing over my work, I, Wang Laowu, will personally lead the way for you."

Before long, Wang Laowu finished explaining the matters in the shop, returned to Chu Zifei's side, rubbed his fingers together, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes, and pretended to be hesitant to speak: "I can indeed recommend a secret underground shop, where all the items auctioned are rare and exquisite, but there's a catch..."

Chu Zifei saw through the other party's thoughts at a glance and said with a half-smile, "You acted as the matchmaker for Hyacinth, and the secret shop gets a share of the profits. Now you want to take a cut from me too. You're trying to profit from both sides. Aren't you afraid of upsetting me?"

Wang Laowu showed no sign of panic; instead, he became even more ingratiating: "Honorable guest, please don't take offense. I'm just a lowly person trying to make a living, and I had no choice in the matter. I hope you can forgive me."

Chu Zifei didn't care about a few spirit stones, so without saying much, he took out several low-grade spirit stones and handed them over.

Wang Laowu quickly took it with both hands, rubbing it repeatedly in his hands, his greedy expression impossible to hide.

"Let's go!" Chu Zifei exhaled lightly, his tone suddenly turning cold.

"I will lead our distinguished guest there right away!" Wang Laowu was overjoyed and quickly walked ahead to lead the way.

The two wandered through several alleys before finally stopping in front of a dilapidated hut. The wooden door was tightly shut, and there were no signs or markings outside; it was hidden at the end of an alley, completely inconspicuous.

Wang Laowu tapped three long and two short knocks on the door, and a moment later, a woman in her thirties pushed the door open and came out. The woman had an ordinary appearance and low cultivation level, and looked quite unremarkable.

Before the woman could speak, Wang Laowu stepped aside to let Chu Zifei behind him pass, and with a hint of smugness in his tone, he took the initiative to introduce, "Madam Zhang, I, Wang Laowu, have brought a distinguished guest who wishes to participate in today's auction."

Upon hearing Wang Laowu's words, Madam Zhang's face immediately broke into a smile, her tone warm and teasing: "You rascal, you've finally brought another distinguished guest. The guests you introduce are getting better and better each time."