The sky was just beginning to lighten, and the morning dew had yet to fade.
Bai Mo got up briskly, brushed his teeth with a willow twig dipped in salt water, and tidied himself up before heading out.
Today's market started especially early. Among the Loose Cultivators of Immortal Arrival City, there was a tradition of a small market every five days and a large one every half-month.
Today was the fifteenth of the tenth month—a large market day.
As Bai Mo stepped outside, he saw that the streets were already bustling with people. He was among the earliest arrivals.
Several disciples of the Sublime Dharma Sect, dressed in green robes and carrying weapons, walked up from the end of the road, their cold gazes sweeping over the crowd.
Bai Mo lowered his head as he passed by the law enforcement disciples, instinctively tightening his robes.
Beneath his long robes was a bag of Spirit Stones.
Whenever the market opened, the law enforcement disciples would appear everywhere, ensuring they were seen by all to deter any troublemakers.
Even so, everyone kept their money and valuables tucked away securely.
Stalls were being set up one after another along the roadside. Bai Mo's gaze swept over them, landing on the unfamiliar faces of the vendors.
Most of these people were tough-as-nails ruffians who scraped out a living in Celestial Barrier Mountain.
Unlike Lanshan, they primarily gathered herbs, mined ore, and felled trees in the mountains, only occasionally hunting Demon Beasts.
Market days, big or small, were the easiest times to find these people, and their stalls often had good things.
Bai Mo looked them over one by one, stopping before a silent, reserved vendor who had many fresh and rare herbs.
The man was a stark contrast to his shouting peers, either due to his personality or his confidence in his goods.
Seeing a boy of thirteen or fourteen stop at his stall, the heavily bearded vendor was a little surprised.
"Kid, where are your parents? My herbs are valuable; they're not for careless touching."
The vendor next to him, an old man, let out a chuckle.
"Brother Bai is no wet-behind-the-ears kid. He's already a pharmacy apprentice at his young age."
"Believe it or not, if he picks through your wares, he'll save you an hour of hawking your goods today."
Without certification from the Qimen, a Cultivator could only be called a pharmacy apprentice, regardless of whether they could actually produce pills.
In all of Immortal Arrival City, you could count the number of famous Pill Masters on two hands.
Hearing this, the bearded vendor looked quite stunned. He stared blankly for a moment before speaking:
"It seems I've underestimated you, young man. Please, see what you need."
Bai Mo smiled, crouching down to start sorting through the herbs on the stall.
The herbs were a bizarre assortment, some still caked with damp soil. He figured the vendor probably didn't even recognize everything he had.
Thousand-Zhang Red, Eight-Petal Orchid, Mind-Calming Grass, Earth Dragon Root…
Bai Mo's hands moved extremely fast as he picked out the herbs he wanted.
Among them were many useless plants that could only be called weeds, but Bai Mo didn't say anything.
The vendor's expression changed slightly as he watched Bai Mo select the herbs. When Bai Mo finished, the man counted the items and said hesitantly:
"All of these... young man, are you sure? Even if I round it down, it'll still be twenty Spirit Stones..."
Bai Mo nodded, fumbled inside his robes for a moment, and pulled out a little over twenty Spirit Stones. He counted out twenty and placed them on the stall.
"Please wrap them up for me."
The vendor seemed surprised that Bai Mo could actually produce twenty Spirit Stones.
"Right, of course..."
He quickly scooped up the Spirit Stones and grabbed a snakeskin bag he used for himself, placing Bai Mo's herbs inside.
The old man at the next stall watched with envy and quickly called out:
"Brother Bai, why not take a look at my things?"
Bai Mo merely glanced over and showed a look of disdain.
"How old are these herbs of yours? You haven't taken care of them; so much of their medicinal energy has been lost!"
The old man's face flushed, and he retorted with his neck stiffened:
"If my luck hadn't been so bad lately and I'd found some good things in the mountains, would they be like this?"
"Brother Bai, you come back next time and see how many rare goods I'll have!"
Bai Mo sighed. He knew the old man was getting old and lazy, and rarely went up the mountain anymore.
Back when he had no Spirit Stones, he'd often bought cheap goods from the old man's stall just to study their medicinal properties.
"It's been so long since I've seen anything good from you."
"By the way, are you sure you don't want some Qi Absorption Pills? At your age, a little more cultivation would give you more strength for the mountains."
Bai Mo asked.
The old man waved his hand dismissively. "I'm too old. It's hopeless."
"Better to save my Spirit Stones and try to become a rich old man. Son of a bitch, the stall fee went up by one Spirit Stone today."
He said quickly, then turned to hawk at a group of early morning pedestrians walking by.
Just then, Bai Mo's herbs were all packed.
The vendor handed the snakeskin bag to Bai Mo. As Bai Mo took it, his arm sank unexpectedly from the weight.
The vendor was a Cultivator who made a living in the mountains, so he could carry the snakeskin bag with ease. Bai Mo, on the other hand, could not.
He was a Qi Refining Second Layer Cultivator who had only just stepped onto the path of cultivation and had not yet practiced any methods for building physical strength.
"I don't recognize all of these herbs," the vendor said, "but I know some of them are very difficult to process."
"Has your Alchemy Skill already reached such a level, young man?"
Bai Mo took a breath, swung the snakeskin bag onto his back, and then replied:
"Not quite, but understanding the medicinal properties of herbs is a profound skill. You can't go wrong spending more effort on it."
The vendor nodded in admiration. "The young man is truly a pharmacy apprentice. To have such insight at such a young age..."
Seeing more and more people gathering around, Bai Mo hoisted the snakeskin bag on his back and started to leave.
By now, a few people had also gathered at the old man's stall. Having known him for a while, Bai Mo wished him a few successful sales in his heart.
The cries of vendors echoed from both sides of the street as the crowd of pedestrians grew larger.
Bai Mo just needed to buy a few more materials, and then he could head back to open his shop.
He absolutely could not let this kind of foot traffic go to waste.
But before he got far, he overheard a conversation.
"Have you heard? The Demon Beasts in Celestial Barrier Mountain are rampaging again."
Bai Mo stopped in his tracks. Following the sound, he saw that the speaker was one of the customers at the old man's stall.
"Hah! How long has it been since there was a stir like this in Celestial Barrier Mountain? How many people died this time!?"
"It's not as dramatic as you think. It's probably just a small commotion caused by some beast pack going into heat."
Someone else interjected, "Even so, it'll be tough on those who hunt demons. If they run into it, who knows how many will make it back."
"Son of a bitch! No wonder those servants looked so pleased when I came out today. Who knows how many new guards, thugs, and maids they'll pick up this time!"
The surrounding pedestrians listened with indignant expressions.
The fall of a Cultivator affected not only themselves but also their friends and family.
If they lacked the power to protect themselves, who knew what schemes the great families of Immortal Arrival City would use against them, devouring them until not even bone dust was left.
"Hey, everyone, everyone! Since there's trouble in Celestial Barrier Mountain, the supply of goods will be low for a while. Why not take a closer look at this old man's stall..."
It was the old man's voice.
Bai Mo started walking again. Before long, he indeed saw several people dressed as household retainers searching along the street.
They weren't here to buy or sell, and he didn't know what they were looking for.
Bai Mo knew that Lanshan had entered Celestial Barrier Mountain yesterday.
He was a man of his word, a man of principle. Based on his own dealings with him, Bai Mo sincerely hoped nothing had happened to him.
'Everyone has their own fate.' Bai Mo walked toward a familiar stall at the side of the road and, amid the owner's enthusiastic greetings, began picking out some of his usual herbs.
The last time he failed the selection for Daoist Child, he had also been threatened by the wicked servants of a great family.
If he hadn't succeeded in refining a pill, he would have already sold himself to a noble house.
With his talent, which had allowed him to participate in the Daoist Child trials, he wouldn't have been reduced to a pig or sheep herder. But being forced into Celestial Barrier Mountain to search for herbs, or to provide blood for refining ink...
That would have been all too common.