101: Ancient County City

"Elder Zhang, because you have been in seclusion for a Breakthrough in your Realm for the past few days, I did not report to you."

"Wu Gaoqi left Xiaoyao City three days ago. I have been unable to investigate exactly where he went."

"He has not returned yet, and there is nothing unusual about the Wu Family."

After finishing the discussion about the business, Lin Ying reported Wu Gaoqi's whereabouts in detail to Zhang Qingxiao.

"Has he only been gone for three days?"

"That is still in time."

"Alright, you two go back first. I am going out on a trip tomorrow and might be delayed for some time before I return."

"If you encounter any problems that you cannot solve, you can go find the Li Family Foundation Establishment Cultivator."

"Given my Face and the business, he will certainly step in to help."

Zhang Qingxiao did not expect that Wu Gaoqi had only been gone for three days; this was clearly creating an opportunity for him.

What he did not know was that Wu Gaoqi had delayed leaving until now precisely because he had seen Zhang Qingxiao buy quite a few protective treasures that day, suggesting he might be going on a long journey, so he had specifically waited for him.

As a result, after waiting for more than a month, he did not see any intention from Zhang Qingxiao to go out.

Not wanting to delay any further, he left the Xiaoyao Sect first.

After seeing Lin Ying and Luo Fei off, Zhang Qingxiao did not continue to Cultivate, but instead accompanied Zhou Yun, Li Wanru, and Liang Qiaoer to stroll around Xiaoyao City for a day.

During this time, he also went to see Zhou Quan.

At this moment, Zhou Quan could be described as complacent, having a Foundation Establishment Stage son-in-law and having found a widowed female Cultivator to live with.

Every day, he was either bragging or on his way to brag.

Seeing Zhang Qingxiao come over, he naturally entertained him very politely.

In the evening, Zhang Qingxiao battled three hundred rounds with Zhou Yun and Li Wanqing separately, only then did he feel refreshed and satisfied as he rested in Li Wanqing's bedroom for the night.

Zhou Yun and Li Wanqing also knew that Zhang Qingxiao was going out for a while, so they had prepared all sorts of things for him early on.

In the morning, when Zhang Qingxiao saw Li Wanqing getting dressed, he was attracted to her again and they battled for a while before he got out of bed.

After finishing the breakfast prepared by Zhou Yun, he set off and left the Xiaoyao Sect.

With the Wind Riding Technique and the Jinghong Flying Sword on his person, his travel speed was much faster than usual.

The journey that would have originally taken seven or eight days only took Zhang Qingxiao five days to reach the outskirts of Ancient County City.

Along this journey, he encountered five Level 2 Yao Beasts alone.

Using his Flying Sword and Talisman, he killed one Early Stage Level 2 Yao Beast.

The remaining four were Middle Stage and Late Stage Level 2 Yao Beasts. Upon seeing them, he immediately controlled his Flying Sword and fled rapidly.

Fortunately, the Jinghong Flying Sword he bought was much faster than ordinary surpassing ordinary Magical Artifact Flying Swords.

Furthermore, his Wind Riding Technique had also reached the Great Master level, which could increase his speed significantly, allowing him to escape smoothly.

Otherwise, being entangled by Middle Stage or Late Stage Level 2 Yao Beasts would really be troublesome.

Apart from the Yao Beasts, he did not encounter any Cultivators robbing him.

Ancient County City was much larger than Xiaoyao City.

Within a radius of eight hundred miles outside the city, Mortals and some low-tier Cultivators lived there.

The entire Ancient County City was shrouded in a Formation, and everyone could only enter the city through a few city gates.

Just as he arrived at the city gate, he saw several Foundation Establishment Cultivators arriving via Sword Flight and entering through the city gate.

After arriving here, Zhang Qingxiao was exceptionally low-key and did not use Sword Flight.

Moreover, he had deliberately changed his appearance and restrained his Qi, looking like an ordinary old man of sixty or seventy years old.

Upon entering Ancient County City, Zhang Qingxiao found that it was much livelier than Xiaoyao City.

On the streets, the crowds were surging, and shops stood in great numbers.

"This Fellow Daoist, you look very unfamiliar. Is this your first time in Ancient County City?"

"I am the 'Know-It-All' of this Ancient County City. I wonder if you, Fellow Daoist, want to purchase any items, or if you want to settle down and buy property in Ancient County City?"

While he was observing the situation inside Ancient County City, a Cultivation Level 8 Cultivator suddenly ran over and stopped Zhang Qingxiao.

"There are so many people in Ancient County City, how can you tell that I am here for the first time?"

Although Zhang Qingxiao saw that the other party was only a Cultivation Level 8 Cultivator, he did not lower his guard.

"Fellow Daoist, there is no need to be nervous. Although there are many Cultivators in Ancient County City, from your behavior upon entering the city, I can guess a thing or two."

"I make a living doing this, helping people lead the way and run errands, and earning some Spirit Stones along the way."

The Cultivation Level 8 Cultivator quickly explained.

"Then do you have a map of Ancient County City?"

As Zhang Qingxiao spoke, he deliberately revealed a trace of his aura as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

"I am truly sorry, I was blind just now and did not realize that Senior is a Foundation Establishment Cultivator."

"I have a map right here. I will gift it to Senior as an apology."

The Cultivation Level 8 Cultivator did not expect that Zhang Qingxiao was actually a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, so he quickly apologized while taking out a map of Ancient County City.

"How many Spirit Stones for the map? I do not need your apology."

Zhang Qingxiao took the map and glanced at it. The locations marked on this map were very detailed, which satisfied him greatly.

He did not make things difficult for this Cultivation Level 8 Cultivator.

"Senior, three Low-Grade Spirit Stones will suffice."

The Cultivation Level 8 Cultivator, seeing that Zhang Qingxiao was not angry because he had approached somewhat rashly just now, tentatively suggested a price.

"Good!"

Zhang Qingxiao took three Low-Grade Spirit Stones directly from his Storage Pouch and threw them to the other party, then turned and left.

Following the markings on the map, he first found an inn.

He paid five Medium Grade Spirit Stones and found a small courtyard.

Then, while the attendant was taking him to the small courtyard, he asked about some situations in the city.

He learned that ten days later, the largest commercial building in Ancient County City would hold an auction.

It was said that there would be treasures such as Magic Treasures, ancient Pill Formulas, and Spirit Medicines.

The attendant did not know much about the items being auctioned; most of it was hearsay.

Zhang Qingxiao naturally did not get much information either.

After entering the courtyard to inspect it and confirming there were no problems, Zhang Qingxiao followed the attendant to the inn's lobby and ordered some food.

While tasting the delicious food, he listened to the various Cultivators in the lobby talking about various matters in Ancient County City.

After listening for a while, he had a rough understanding of the auction being held in Ancient County City this time.

After resting well for a night and recovering his energy and the True Qi consumed during the journey, he followed the locations marked on the map and found several medicinal shops selling Spirit Enhancing Pills and Purple Spirit Pills.

After some comparison, he purchased thirty Spirit Enhancing Pills and thirty Purple Spirit Pills from the medicinal shop with the cheapest prices.

The quality of these two types of Medicinal Pills in this shop was quite good, and the prices were slightly lower than what the Li Family Foundation Establishment Cultivator had mentioned.

The price of a Spirit Enhancing Pill was one hundred and eighty Medium Grade Spirit Stones each, and the price of a Purple Spirit Pill was seventy Medium Grade Spirit Stones each.

Even so, purchasing so many Medicinal Pills at once still cost him seven thousand five hundred Medium Grade Spirit Stones.

After buying the Medicinal Pills, Zhang Qingxiao came to the commercial association holding the auction.

The items sold here were very complicated; Magical Artifacts, Talismans, Pill Formulas, Medicinal Pills, and Spirit Medicines were all available for sale.

The prices also varied from high to low.

Zhang Qingxiao's main purpose for coming here this time was to see if he could buy the Pill Formulas for refining Spirit Enhancing Pills and Purple Spirit Pills.

The prices of these two types of Medicinal Pills were simply too high; even though he could earn several thousand Medium Grade Spirit Stones every month, he still found it somewhat unaffordable.