31: Xuanwu is shrouded in dust, the Daoist enters the market!

"Elder, how much for this item of yours?"

Chu Xuanjin's voice broke the silence in front of the stall.

The old man, reeking of alcohol, lazily lifted his eyelids, his cloudy gaze sweeping over Chu Xuanjin.

Seeing his clean green robe, extraordinary demeanor, and the three outstanding young men and women following him, he knew they were not ordinary people.

"Good eye, honored guest."

The old man burped, pointing at the rusty iron piece in Chu Xuanjin's hand.

"This was dug out from the tomb of a former dynasty general, imbued with Dragon Qi! One price, ten taels of silver!"

Wang Duojin, standing by, curled his lips.

With a light flick of the abacus at his waist, he calculated that this old man had just climbed back from the mass grave outside the city last night, covered in bad Luck.

Chu Xuanjin ignored the old man's boasting, his gaze merely sweeping across the old man's body.

[Name: Liu Laosan]

[Root Bone: Mortal Grade]

[Luck: Gray (Will get drunk in the stinking ditch east of the city tonight and fall seriously ill)]

[Evaluation: An unremarkable drunkard, part-time tomb raider.]

Chu Xuanjin understood.

Fortunately, it wasn't some hidden powerful figure testing a junior.

He tossed the rusty iron piece back onto the stall, producing a dull thud.

"Ten taels of silver for this pile of junk isn't expensive."

His tone was calm, as if stating something self-evident.

Liu Laosan was stunned, not expecting the other party not to bargain.

His eyes darted around, and he immediately felt he had asked for too little.

"No, no, no, honored guest, what I said was the price for this one piece."

Upon hearing this, Chu Xuanjin looked up at him, his eyes unperturbed, yet Liu Laosan's heart inexplicably skipped a beat.

"Oh?"

Chu Xuanjin casually picked up the palm-sized, jet-black tortoise shell he had noticed.

"Then how much is this piece of charcoal, burnt by fire, worth?"

"Well..." Liu Laosan looked at the tortoise shell, unable to remember where he had picked it up.

He only remembered that this thing was black and hard, too rough even for cracking walnuts.

"This... this is a piece of an ancient divine tortoise shell, it can ward off evil and avert disaster! If you sincerely want it, honored guest, fifty taels of silver, and it's yours!"

He made an exorbitant demand, ready to make a killing.

Chu Xuanjin smiled.

He weighed the tortoise shell in his hand, then gently tossed it.

The tortoise shell arced through the air and fell back into the pile of scrap metal.

"Never mind."

He stood up and brushed off non-existent dust from his clothes.

"It seems the elder has no sincerity in doing this business."

With that, he turned to leave.

"Honored guest! Honored guest, please wait!"

Liu Laosan saw his fish about to escape and immediately panicked.

He quickly scrambled up from behind the stall and stopped Chu Xuanjin.

"The price is negotiable, negotiable!"

Chu Xuanjin stopped, turning back to look at him.

"One tael of silver."

"What?" Liu Laosan's eyes widened.

"Your entire stall, everything, I want it all."

Chu Xuanjin extended a single finger.

"One tael of silver, not one more coin."

"Honored guest, aren't you bullying me!" Liu Laosan said with a bitter face, "I... I have good things in here!"

"Is that so?" Chu Xuanjin's gaze once again fell upon the pile of junk.

"Then tell me, which one of these is worth one tael of silver?"

Liu Laosan opened his mouth, looking at the items on his stall whose names he couldn't even recall, and couldn't utter a single word.

Wang Duojin watched with great interest from the side.

Revered Master's move, brilliant!

First praise, then suppress, then feign retreat to capture!

This bargaining skill was ten thousand times more clever than anything he could calculate with an abacus!

"Sell, or not sell?" Chu Xuanjin's voice was devoid of emotion.

Liu Laosan looked into Chu Xuanjin's bottomless eyes, feeling as if all his petty thoughts had been seen through completely.

He gritted his teeth and stomped his foot.

"Sold! One tael of silver, take it all!"

Chu Xuanjin took out a piece of Broken silver (broken silver) from his sleeve and tossed it over.

He didn't bother to do it himself again, merely raised his chin at Wang Duojin.

"Duojin, go, gather up all the things we bought."

"Alright, Revered Master!"

Wang Duojin excitedly ran forward, found a piece of tattered cloth, wrapped up the entire pile of scrap metal and junk, and hoisted it onto his shoulder.

He specifically held the jet-black tortoise shell in his hand, turning it over and over.

"Revered Master, what's this thing for anyway? Can't eat it, can't spend it as money."

Chu Xuanjin didn't answer him, merely led the three of them deeper into the street.

"Revered Master, where are we going next?" Wang Duojin asked from behind, carrying the bundle of junk.

Chu Xuanjin stopped, turning to look at the three Disciples before him.

He took out three small brocade pouches from his bosom.

"Inside, there are some taels of silver and a few Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

He handed the brocade pouches to each of them.

"The silver is for Mortal transactions. The Spirit Stones can be used to purchase Cultivator items, or for cultivation."

"Today, I'm giving you a day off."

A slight curve appeared at the corner of Chu Xuanjin's lips.

"This Tianluo City is quite prosperous. You can buy whatever you want, see whatever you want, it's all up to you."

"Consider it your second lesson in entering the Mortal World."

"An hour later, wait for me beneath the 'Wangjiang Tower' at the end of the street."

Wang Duojin's eyes instantly lit up like two Spirit Stones.

"Really? Long live Revered Master!"

Su Linger also found it novel; she clutched the small brocade pouch, feeling a bit unreal.

Ye Chenfeng remained calm, merely bowing slightly to Chu Xuanjin.

"Go," Chu Xuanjin waved his hand.

"Yes!"

Wang Duojin was the first to dart off, heading straight for a Materials shop not far away with a sign that read "Baibao Pavilion."

Su Linger hesitated for a moment, her gaze drawn to a nearby small stall selling various exquisite hairpins and bells, and she also walked over.

Ye Chenfeng glanced at an old blacksmith shop at the street corner and walked over in silence.

As his three Disciples dispersed into the crowd, the System's prompt sounded in Chu Xuanjin's mind.

[Ding! Host has gifted Disciples silver and Low-Grade Spirit Stones...]

[Triggering ten thousand times critical strike return!]

[Congratulations to Host for obtaining: One hundred thousand taels of gold!]

[Congratulations to Host for obtaining: One hundred thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones!]

[Congratulations to Host for obtaining: Ten thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones!]

Chu Xuanjin's eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly.

He touched the ancient myriad dao ring on his finger.

Very good.

The Sect's liquid funds were in place.

He turned and walked slowly towards the towering Wangjiang Tower at the end of the street.

He didn't go upstairs, but instead found an outdoor tea stall downstairs and chose a seat by the edge.

"Boss, a pot of the best 'Cloud Mist Tea'."

"Alright, honored guest, please wait a moment!"

The aroma of tea wafted, and voices buzzed.

Chu Xuanjin raised his teacup, watching the endless stream of people on the street, watching the Mortals bustling for their livelihoods, and the Cultivators searching for Opportunities.

He quietly took the jet-black tortoise shell from Wang Duojin's package and placed it in his palm.

He could feel the ancient Restriction called the 'Four Symbols Soul Locking Seal' slowly circulating within the tortoise shell.

This Restriction was extremely powerful.

Even with his current Great Perfection of Soul Transformation Stage cultivation, he could only barely shake it a tiny bit.

"It seems I need to find an Opportunity to properly study it."

He put the tortoise shell into the myriad dao ring and turned his gaze back to the street.

He saw Wang Duojin, spitting excitedly, haggling red-faced with the Baibao Pavilion shopkeeper over a piece of Artifact Refining Materials.

He saw Su Linger, squatting in front of a small stall, picking up a silver bell engraved with snowflake patterns, her face showing the pure delight unique to a young girl.

He also saw Ye Chenfeng, standing in front of the blacksmith's furnace, watching the sweating blacksmith forge a glowing iron blank into shape, hammer blow after hammer blow.

Ye Chenfeng's eyes held no impatience, only concentration.

It was as if each hammer strike resonated with his Sword Heart.

Chu Xuanjin's lips curved upwards again.

This was the tempering he wanted.

Not endless bitter cultivation, nor endless slaughter.

But to find one's own Dao and guard one's heart in this vast Mortal World.