Translator: AnubisTL
The Heavenly River Market could be broadly divided into three sections.
First was the stall area, primarily occupied by rogue cultivators engaged in trade, somewhat akin to the semi-annual trade fairs organized by the Liu Clan. However, the scale and quality of the stalls here far surpassed the Liu Clan's self-organized Rogue Cultivator Trade Fair. Setting up a stall was relatively straightforward; one simply needed to pay five spirit stones per day.
The second section was the building district, featuring a diverse range of establishments. This wasn't limited to shops selling pills, artifacts, formations, or talismans; it included restaurants, teahouses, inns, and other lodging.
Securing a permanent storefront in this area required an astronomical sum of spirit stones, so the Heavenly River Sect primarily leased these shops to cultivation clans. However, the rent was prohibitively high, far beyond the means of ordinary rogue cultivators.
Only cultivators who had reached the Foundation Establishment Realm possessed the financial strength and influence to afford such premises. Some prime locations in the central district even had shadowy connections to Core Formation True Lords.
The third section, at the very heart of the market, was the cave abode district.
The Heavenly River Sect had transformed the area with the highest concentration of spiritual energy into cave abodes. By activating a Spirit Gathering Formation to draw spiritual energy from the underground ley lines, they created an environment even richer than a Second-Tier Spiritual Vein.
However, these cave abodes were only available for long-term leases, with contracts starting at one year and exorbitant spirit stone fees.
In short, living here required an absolute abundance of spirit stones.
"This place is truly eye-opening!" Li Qing murmured, having just entered the Heavenly River Market and taken a quick look around. "I've already seen three or four Pill Pavilions just on this one street."
Li Qing swiftly reviewed his shopping list in his mind, prioritizing the most urgent items.
First and foremost were cultivation pills to enhance his cultivation and refine his mana. For a cultivator with mediocre talent like himself, these were crucial.
Next came high-grade spirit wood, preferably in seed form. In the cultivation world, anything labeled "high-grade" carried an exorbitant price tag.
Despite possessing over two thousand spirit stones, Li Qing knew that in the bustling Heavenly River Market, this sum would barely make a splash.
Aside from that, he had some artifact refinement tools and materials. After all, the Artifact Refinement Technique was his foundation. Now capable of crafting low-grade Magic Artifacts, he reasoned that with further refinement of his skills, leaving the Liu Clan and settling permanently in the Heavenly River Market might become a viable option.
"Huff! A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. One step at a time!" Li Qing clenched his fist briefly before turning toward an imposing building.
The Pill Cauldron Pavilion!
Gazing at the three gilded characters above the entrance, Li Qing swiftly recalled the pavilion's origins and reputation.
"It's said to be the Pill Pavilion established by the Heavenly River Sect within the market—the most comprehensive and trustworthy pharmacy, far surpassing the shops run by cultivation clans."
"Of course, their prices are a bit higher."
"Here, I don't have to be as cautious as I was in the Liu Clan. I can visit every pharmacy and spend a hundred or two spirit stones at each without drawing attention."
A mid-Qi Refining Realm cultivator spending a hundred or two spirit stones on pills at the Heavenly River Market would certainly not draw any attention.
With this in mind, Li Qing stepped into the Pill Cauldron Pavilion.
As his foot crossed the wooden threshold, a circle of restrictions surrounding the entrance lit up faintly.
"Huh?!" Li Qing glanced at the peculiar restriction in surprise.
"Fellow Daoist, there's no need to worry," a crisp, sweet voice chimed in. "This restriction merely blocks out the market's noise and prevents the pavilion's medicinal fragrance from escaping. It's not a surveillance-type restriction!"
A young female cultivator with rosy cheeks and a charmingly petite figure approached. Her eyes were clear and bright, and her modest height gave her an air of delicate grace.
"Oh! I see. Thank you for the explanation, Fellow Daoist!" Li Qing gave her a grateful look, inwardly shocked.
Late Qi Refining Realm!
As expected of the Heavenly River Sect—everyone here, living or dead, is more advanced than me!
Once Li Qing was fully inside the Pill Cauldron Pavilion, he confirmed that the girl's words were true.
The noisy, bustling atmosphere outside vanished as Li Qing stepped inside, replaced by a serene tranquility. A rich, invigorating aroma of medicinal pills permeated the air, instantly lifting his spirits.
The interior decor was classically elegant, though unremarkable. Along the walls, shelves overflowed with white jade porcelain bottles, each containing various types of medicinal pills.
"Fellow Daoist, what kind of pills are you looking for?" The young woman's smile was pure and charming, as refreshing as a gentle spring breeze.
Li Qing remained calm, his expression unwavering. "I'm seeking pills to enhance my cultivation and refine my mana," he replied. "Do you have any recommendations?"
The woman nodded with a smile and quickly led him to a shelf stocked with medicinal pills. "For enhancing cultivation in the Qi Refining Realm, the Pill Cauldron Pavilion offers three types of pills."
"Fellow Daoist, since you're in the Mid Qi Refining Realm, I recommend the Foundation Nurturing Pill and the Guangling Pill."
"I'm sure you're familiar with the Foundation Nurturing Pill. It's highly effective even for cultivators in the Late Qi Refining Realm."
"As for the Guangling Pill," the young woman explained, "it was accidentally created many years ago by True Lord Guangling, a supreme elder of our Heavenly River Sect, during his leisure time. Its unique feature is its low pill toxin content, making it highly effective for cultivators in the Early and Mid Qi Refining Realms. However, its potency diminishes significantly for those in the Late Qi Refining Realm."
Listening to her description, Li Qing couldn't help but marvel inwardly.
These pills, which were rare finds at the Liu Clan's Rogue Cultivator Trade Fair, were now available in three varieties at the Pill Cauldron Pavilion.
"What are the prices?" Li Qing asked eagerly.
The young woman smiled sweetly and retrieved two porcelain bottles from the shelf. "These are Foundation Nurturing Pills, priced at fifty-five spirit stones each. This bottle contains Guangling Pills, which are only thirty-five spirit stones apiece!"
Not cheap, but still within his means.
Li Qing pursed his lips, then adopted an expression of reluctant hesitation. Finally, with a hint of pained reluctance, he said, "Hmm... I'll take five Guangling Pills and two Foundation Nurturing Pills."
The young woman's smile brightened even further as she quickly packaged the pills for him.
"That's a total of two hundred and eighty-five spirit stones!"
Alas, even the sweetest smile couldn't quite soothe the pang of regret Li Qing felt as he handed over the spirit stones.
Two hundred and eighty-five spirit stones! That was nearly a year's earnings for an ordinary spirit miner.
With the transaction complete, Li Qing left the Heavenly River Sect shop, his newly acquired pills in hand.
The bustling clamor of the market soon filled his ears once more, and Li Qing finally exhaled in relief.
"I need to hurry," he thought. "I only took a month's leave, and after accounting for travel time, I'll barely have a week to spend in Heavenly River Market."
Having secured his first batch of pills, Li Qing didn't linger. He resumed his leisurely stroll through the market's commercial district.
As he passed a coliseum-like structure, he could clearly sense the fluctuations of spiritual energy emanating from within, accompanied by enthusiastic cheers and shouts of encouragement.
"Fellow cultivator," Li Qing said, stopping a cultivator who had just emerged from the arena. "This is my first time in Heavenly River Market. What's this place?"
"Heh, that's the Heavenly River Sect's Beast Fighting Arena," the cultivator replied. "Some cultivators who raise demon beasts come here to participate in beast fights. Each victory earns them a tidy sum of spirit stones!"
"Even if you don't have a demon beast, you can still place bets," the cultivator said. "If you win, you can earn quite a few spirit stones!"
"Haha, enough talk! I made a small profit earlier, so I'm off to the Spirit Phoenix Pavilion today!"
The cultivator, visibly elated by his winnings, floated away toward another suspended island with an almost ethereal lightness.
A Beast Fighting Arena? Li Qing thought. There's really a place like that! The cultivators at Heavenly River Market sure know how to have fun. Their pastimes just keep getting more novel.
Li Qing glanced at the arena, briefly thinking of Fan Tong, but quickly dismissed the idea.
That blockhead Fan Tong has such mixed bloodlines. Even though he's a tiger-type demon beast, his combat prowess probably isn't much better than that of other demon beasts.
We've relied on each other for so long. There's no need to risk Fan Tong's safety just to earn a few spirit stones.
Li Qing shook his head and casually inquired about the admission requirements.
It turned out that the Beast Fighting Arena didn't operate regularly. Demon beasts were now exceedingly rare, and the arena only opened when enough beasts had been registered to compete.
The demon beast battles were generally fair, with participants matched according to their cultivation realm. It was rare to see an Early First-Order beast pitted against a Mid First-Order one.
This added to the suspense, drawing countless cultivators to the betting pools each time they opened.
"It seems a cultivator's life isn't all monotonous training after all," Li Qing mused. "Life needs other elements to add flavor." He had no intention of watching the fights himself.
The tickets were expensive—ten spirit stones for admission!
That was enough to rent a stall in the plaza's market district for two days. Besides, today's beast fight was nearing its end, making it a poor investment.
"I'll watch a few matches after leaving the Liu Clan," he decided. "Right now, neither time nor spirit stones permit it."
Acutely aware of his circumstances, Li Qing shook his head and headed toward a cultivation clan's Pill Pavilion to purchase more cultivation pills.
He knew all too well how poor his Four Spirit Root aptitude was. In the cultivation world, such roots were scorned as Mixed Spirit Roots, barely superior to the Pseudo Spiritual Roots of those with all Five Spirit Root types.
Initially, Li Qing believed his Four Spirit Root aptitude, capable of sensing four elemental attributes, was quite exceptional. It was only later, upon learning the truth, that he was utterly disheartened.
Lacking the Water element in his Five Elements constitution, he cultivated a fire attribute cultivation manual.
For ordinary rogue cultivators without abundant resources, reaching the Late Qi Refining Realm was practically their limit.
Li Qing estimated that without medicinal pills, it would take him at least twenty years just to touch the edge of the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining. After that, he would likely be stuck at a bottleneck for a long time, relying on sheer time to grind his way through.
If fortune favored him, he might reach the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining by his sixties or seventies, after which progress would become even more arduous.
It's worth noting that the lifespan extension for cultivators in the Qi Refining Realm is minimal. Even those in the Late Qi Refining Realm rarely live beyond one hundred and twenty years, a feat considered exceptionally rare.
This required a lifetime of uninterrupted cultivation, avoiding conflicts that could damage their Vital Energy and shorten their lifespan.
After all, disputes are inevitable in the cultivation world, whether driven by opportunities or grudges.
"Steady development, low-key existence!" Li Qing muttered to himself.
(End of the Chapter)
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