5: First pot of gold

By now, Gu Changan had figured out his current location: outside the Central Forbidden Land, near the direction of the East Region's Tianji Pavilion.

The town closest to the Central Forbidden Land: Desolate Heaven Small Town!

He had gained an understanding of his location and the distribution of various major powers across the world.

Gu Changan focused his attention on several items!

According to the record of cultivation revelations, his predecessor's longsword should be a Mortal Grade weapon.

The small shield should be a Magical Artifact—at least an Intermediate or Advanced one, and possibly even a top-grade magic artifact.

As for why it wasn't a Magic Treasure?

What kind of Magic Treasure could he possibly activate with his current level?

Gu Changan still had some self-awareness!

The blood lingzhi was likely a Rank 2 Spirit Medicine. In this current Dharma-Ending Age, Spirit Medicine was quite scarce!

That was why so many people were fighting over it; it seemed his decision not to sell the blood lingzhi was correct!

Of course, it wasn't just Spirit Medicine that was scarce in the Dharma-Ending Age; all sorts of Heaven And Earth Treasures were rare, and some had even gone extinct.

If he had the chance in the future to infinitely replicate these nearly extinct Heaven And Earth Treasures, wouldn't he strike it rich?

The Dharma-Ending Age had led to a drastic reduction in the Spiritual Qi between heaven and earth, so all sorts of Cultivators were collecting anything that contained Spiritual Qi.

Naturally, the Treasure Qi of various treasures still existed.

In the Dharma-Ending Age, Cultivators had mined Spirit Stone mines so extensively that the entire world suffered from a shortage of Spirit Stones. The only few remaining Spirit Stone veins were controlled by the four major powers.

They didn't trickle down to Loose Cultivators at all, which resulted in the scarcity of Spirit Stones on the market and kept prices sky-high!

This explained why a single ordinary medicinal herb could be sold for 5 spirit fragments.

As for the bronze small cauldron, Gu Changan felt it might be an Innate Spirit Treasure; as for it being a Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure, it probably didn't have such an overpowered function!

Looking at the bronze small cauldron in his hand, Gu Changan felt a bit of heartache seeing that the Treasure Qi inside the crimson gem had decreased slightly!

At least he knew one method now, but he couldn't kill people to collect essence blood yet. Gu Changan didn't have the strength, nor did he want to become a Devil Head.

Fighting and killing were never good things!

Since a Cultivator's essence blood contained Treasure Qi, what about a Yao Beast's?

Although Yao Beasts were even scarcer than humans in the Dharma-Ending Age, it was at least a potential method, wasn't it?

Gu Changan woke up early the next morning, unable to sleep at all.

Having just arrived in the cultivation world, he was curious about everything!

He was waiting to head out before dawn, but refrained only because he didn't want others to find him strange!

As soon as the Inn opened its doors, Gu Changan went out and began wandering around the town.

From a distance, he spotted the Treasure Pavilion, a magnificent four-story building located in the center of the town.

One could see the financial power of the Treasure Pavilion from this; they had built a branch right near the Forbidden Ground, even if it was just in a small town!

The location was the best, and the building clearly looked expensive to construct!

Gu Changan had some ideas; if he sold his herbs, he could go on a spending spree.

He just didn't know if he could afford it; he suspected the Treasure Pavilion might only accept Spirit Stones and not spirit fragments.

He dismissed those unrealistic thoughts!

Gu Changan circled the town a few times. Most Loose Cultivators had already begun setting up their stalls.

He also discovered several smaller Medicinal Pill shops.

Yesterday he had been too busy taking in the sights to pay attention to the shops!

He didn't know what the few bottles of pills on him were, so he didn't dare to take them blindly.

Only pills bought from a Medicinal Pill shop could be replicated with peace of mind.

He found a masked female Cultivator with several medicinal herbs laid out on her stall.

Gu Changan asked, "I have a few herbs, do you buy them?"

The masked female Cultivator glanced at Gu Changan and paused for a moment. "What herbs?"

Gu Changan took out the prepared herbs from his Storage Pouch. "Just these few types. I don't have many of each, just a few stalks!"

The masked female Cultivator looked at Gu Changan and then at the herbs in his hand, falling silent for a moment.

She was clearly considering how much of a low price would be appropriate. "4 spirit fragments per stalk, I'll take them all!"

Gu Changan was a bit annoyed. "Some of these sell for 5 spirit fragments a stalk, others for 6. You're lowballing me quite hard!"

"If I weren't too lazy to set up a stall, would I be selling to you?"

"5 spirit fragments per stalk and I'll sell the lot!"

"Otherwise, I'll find another buyer!"

The masked female Cultivator hesitated. She had been a bit excessive just now, but what if he had agreed?

"Wait a moment, I'll call my brother over!"

Gu Changan replied, "No problem!"

The masked female Cultivator waved toward a burly man selling mountain goods in the distance.

The burly man glared fiercely at Gu Changan. "You looking for trouble?"

Gu Changan didn't speak, but the masked female Cultivator beat him to it. "Brother, he wants to sell me herbs. Help me decide!"

The burly man's expression softened. "Oh! What herbs?"

"These few? 4 spirit fragments per stalk!"

Gu Changan laughed out of anger. "You two really are siblings!"

The masked female Cultivator felt a bit awkward. "Brother, let's agree on 5 spirit fragments per stalk. We can still make a profit!"

The burly man also knew that herbs were never hard to sell; lowballing was just a habit!

Gu Changan looked at the two of them and ended up selling a few more.

He sold over forty stalks for 200 spirit fragments.

Gu Changan felt that two Low-Grade Spirit Stones should be enough to buy one Medicinal Pill!

Gu Changan turned a corner and found a medium-decorated Medicinal Pill shop. The interior was very small, with only a single counter.

Behind the counter was a somewhat arrogant-looking little old man with drooping eyes. He didn't even look at Gu Changan, as if he hadn't noticed someone entering.

Gu Changan wasn't angry; after all, he was currently just an ant.

"Elder, what Medicinal Pills do you have for sale here?"

The little old man leaned back, slumped in his reclining chair, and didn't even open his eyes. "qi gathering pill, one Spirit Stone each!"

"Inedia Pill, one spirit fragment each, ten to a bottle!"

Gu Changan looked at the old man's dirty white robe and didn't dare to harbor any disrespectful thoughts.

"What's the price for a Medium Grade qi gathering pill?"

The little old man suddenly opened his eyes, sat up straight, and stared at Gu Changan. "You want a Medium Grade qi gathering pill?"

Gu Changan was startled. Why was this old man so temperamental?

He had only asked about the price!

"I can't afford it, I'm just asking the price!"

"I'll take one low-grade qi gathering pill."

As he spoke, he handed over a hundred spirit fragments!

The little old man felt a bit bored. "Don't waste this old man's time!"

"A Medium Grade qi gathering pill is 5 Spirit Stones each!"

"Only the Treasure Pavilion is wealthy enough to have them for sale!"

Gu Changan quickly lowered his head, his eyes fixed on the floor.

The little old man tossed a pill bottle to Gu Changan and then closed his eyes to rest.

Gu Changan cautiously walked out of the shop and only then breathed a sigh of relief.

What if that little old man had attacked him?

Who knew if fighting was allowed in the town?

It seemed he needed to learn more about the various rules.

While he was at it, he should scout for information to see where he could test his Spiritual Root Aptitude.

And which powers he could join.

He currently didn't know his own Spiritual Root Aptitude, nor did he know what attribute of Cultivation Technique to prepare!

Gu Changan pondered; the best place to gather information was either a restaurant or a teahouse.

He had just passed a place called the 'Welcome Guests' Restaurant.