"Forget it. If I look at this through the lens of those cultivation novels I read in my past life, Foundation Establishment is the true beginning of cultivation. One wrong step could affect my future cultivation path. There are still many things I haven't figured out. I should take it slow first. No more thinking, time to sleep, sleep."
Zhao Li suppressed the urge to break through immediately, deciding to stabilize his cultivation first. He lay spread-eagled on the bed and soon fell asleep.
The bright moon set in the west, and the sun rose. As the morning light sprinkled down, life on the land revived and gradually became bustling.
On the Dou Qi Continent's Eastern Region, within the Great Qian Empire's Imperial Capital, at the Zhao Family's side courtyard, a handsome young man was greeting the morning light, breathing in and out as he cultivated.
"Brother Zhao Li, the sun's on your butt! Hurry up, get up! Let's go wander around the Market Quarter together."
A clear call broke the tranquil scene. Several young boys and girls were gathered outside the courtyard, and a child of six or seven was knocking on the door.
Zhao Li got up and opened the courtyard door. Before him were several young boys and girls, the seven or eight-year-old child among them raising her hand, ready to knock again.
"Brother Ning, Brother Ze, Sister Yu, Little Zhen, why are you all here? Come in and sit."
"Brother Zhao Li, you came to open the door but didn't say anything! The door suddenly opening scared me."
"It's big brother's fault for scaring Little Zhen. Big brother will give you a small gift, okay? Will you forgive big brother?"
Zhao Li rubbed the girl's head, then took out a small toy and gave it to her.
She was Zhao Li's cousin, Zhao Zhenzhen, considered the youngest of Zhao Li's generation. Since childhood, she had loved following her older brothers and sisters and was known in the Zhao Family as a little shadow.
"Little Li, we don't have anything to do today. It's been a long time since we've been to the Imperial Capital, so we decided to get together and go for a walk. Want to come?"
Zhao Hongyu saw Zhao Li take out a spinning bamboo dragonfly to coax Zhao Zhenzhen and then spoke, inviting Zhao Li.
"Okay, Sister Yu. Wait for me a moment, I'll go change."
When Zhao Li heard the invitation, he realized it had indeed been a long time since he had gone out to play, so he didn't refuse. Due to the transmigration, although Zhao Li wasn't very close to everyone, he wouldn't alienate his clan members. He greeted them and turned back to change his clothes.
Soon, Zhao Li came out again:
"Sister Yu, Brother Ning, Brother Ze, let's go."
The young man, dressed in a dark robe, walked towards them, bathed in the sunlight. His facial features were like carvings, sharp and distinct, refined and handsome. Under the sunlight, he seemed to gain a hint of unrestrained charm. Below his sword-like eyebrows, his dark eyes were exceptionally bright, carrying a comfortable smile as he greeted everyone.
"Little Li, do you know that going out like this makes you very popular with the girls?"
"Exactly, exactly! When you dress up like this, you're incredibly handsome!"
The two older brothers teased Zhao Li, who scratched his head:
"Please stop teasing me, both of you. Let's go shopping."
Seeing their younger brother's reaction, everyone laughed, and for a moment, the air was filled with joy.
Danyuan City, as the Imperial Capital of the Great Qian Empire, was naturally bustling and prosperous. Even in the early morning, the streets were already crowded with people.
Zhao Li and his group had no specific destination and just wandered around the streets. Zhao Zhenzhen was particularly lively, constantly dragging everyone to various stalls, scampering around. If she saw something she liked, she would act spoiled towards everyone, and they were happy to tease their little sister.
Children's excitement comes and goes quickly. Perhaps she was tired, as Zhao Zhenzhen was now趴 on Zhao Ning's back, listlessly eating a sugar-coated hawthorn skewer she held.
"Let's go check out the Market Quarter. Maybe we can find something good."
After wandering for a long time, Zhao Li suggested this to everyone. In the novels he read in his past life, caves, market quarters, and auctions were all great places for protagonists to acquire goods. Protagonists could always find treasures in these places and rise rapidly. Although it wasn't his first time visiting a market quarter, Zhao Li still wanted to try his luck. What if he was the protagonist?
Everyone had no objections, and they wound their way through the streets towards the largest market quarters nearby.
"Young Master Li, are you looking to buy something? I'll have someone send it over for you."
As soon as they reached the entrance of the Market Quarter, Zhao Li was recognized by a guard. From the address, he should be a disciple of the Danyuan Sect.
Zhao Li nodded slightly in response and said:
"Nothing in particular, we're just browsing. You can continue with your duties. If anything comes up, I'll call you."
Then, the group walked into the Market Quarter. Looking at the scene where people were practically pressed against each other, Zhao Li couldn't help but wonder if his decision to come to the Market Quarter was a bit pointless.
Crowded, packed, chaotic. This was the market. It was also because the Great Qian's major families and the Pill Sect jointly maintained order that there were rarely any disturbances in the Market Quarter. Various vendors, if they had good items or strange treasures, were more willing to conduct transactions in this environment.
Zhao Li and his group followed the flow of people, browsing through the various stalls. Suddenly, they heard someone cursing loudly ahead:
"Why the hell don't you just rob people?! Selling a broken pot for 50,000 gold coins!"
Zhao Li and the others went closer and asked someone nearby, quickly understanding the situation.
It turned out the stall owner was doing something similar to opening blind boxes in his past life. He put things worth tens or even hundreds of thousands of gold coins, such as Cultivation Techniques and Magic Cores, along with some low-level medicinal herbs worth a few thousand gold coins, into pots and let people choose. Each pot cost 50,000 gold coins, but no one knew how much the item inside was worth, whether they would profit or lose. The person just now spent 50,000 and opened a ten-year-old Moon Orchid, which was basically worth a thousand gold coins. Naturally, he started arguing with the stall owner.
"Young man, before we conducted the transaction, I made the rules very clear. The decision to buy or not is in your hands. But what you open is entirely up to you. When you want to make a small investment for a big return and get rich overnight, you haven't prepared for the possibility of losing everything. Where in the world is there such a good thing? Why are you making things difficult for this old man now?"
The stall owner spoke unhurriedly.
"Heh, you say your pots contain Profound Tier Cultivation Techniques and Fourth Tier Magic Cores? Who has seen them? If you just put in some trash medicinal herbs to fool me, how would I know?"
"You don't need to worry about that. This old man is Wang Chen, and I can certainly produce these things." The stall owner suddenly condensed wings behind him.
"Wang Chen! One of the Ten Great Emperors of Great Qian!"
"Hiss, a Dou Emperor expert! I never thought I would have the honor of seeing a Dou Emperor expert."
Listening to the exclamations around him, Zhao Li also learned the old man's identity. He was one of the Great Qian Empire's Ten Great Dou Emperor experts, and the only rogue Dou Emperor. He enjoyed living a carefree life, and it seemed he had suddenly taken an interest in this.
"Senior, please forgive me. This junior was judging others by his own standards. This junior will leave now."
The person who had been yelling earlier wilted, bowing and apologizing profusely.
Wang Chen retracted his Dou Qi Wings and still spoke slowly: "This old man is not using force to oppress others. I did indeed put some treasures and strange items into the pots and sealed them. Now, even this old man doesn't know what's inside. The world is inherently full of unknowns, and it is precisely the unknown that is most appealing. Just like these pots, you will never know what's inside unless you open them. Isn't life like opening a pot? If you don't experience it, how will you know what it's like?"
In the crowd, Zhao Li was stunned.
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