26: Chapter 26: The Pimp of Spring Night Pavilion, His Eyes Open to New Horizons!

After the snow, there were far fewer pedestrians in the marketplace.

Ye Linchuan walked along the main street, his pace steady and unhurried.

He habitually observed his surroundings; this was a caution he had cultivated over many years.

"Fellow Daoist, please wait a moment." Suddenly, a somewhat oily voice rang out.

Ye Linchuan paused his steps and turned his head to look.

A Cultivator wearing a grey robe approached him, his face plastered with a smile, but his eyes darted left and right.

"Fellow Daoist, you look like a new face; is this your first time in the Inner City?"

"Would you like to experience the best place in our Inner City?"

Ye Linchuan frowned. "No need." He said, preparing to walk away.

The Cultivator stepped forward to block his path, lowering his voice. "Fellow Daoist, don't be in such a rush to leave."

"Our Chunxiao Pavilion is a respectable place."

He pulled a brocade pouch embroidered with gold thread from his robes and waved it in front of Ye Linchuan. "Inside are the personal fragrance pills of several of the pavilion's top-billed ladies."

"If you like a particular scent, Fellow Daoist, just bring the fragrance pill with you. Your first visit will be free of charge, and I guarantee you'll be satisfied."

"If you don't like female Cultivators, our Chunxiao Pavilion also has male Cultivators for you to choose from at will!"

Ye Linchuan's face darkened. "Move aside."

The Cultivator was stunned and wanted to say more, but Ye Linchuan had already sidestepped him and walked away quickly.

After walking a dozen steps, he could still hear the muttering behind him. "Acting all righteous... Qi Refining Level 4, what kind of big shot could he be..."

Ye Linchuan acted as if he hadn't heard it. He had always kept a respectful distance from such places.

If he had those Spirit Stones, it would be better to buy a dharma robe for Qingyan and Wanqing.

He arrived at the entrance of Qiwu Pavilion.

Ye Linchuan took a deep breath to calm his mood.

Today, he was here to broaden his horizons.

He stepped inside.

Shopkeeper Su was already waiting behind the counter.

Seeing Ye Linchuan enter, he gave a wink to let the shop assistant watch the store, while he led Ye Linchuan toward the backyard.

"Young Friend Ye, follow me."

The backyard was much quieter than the front hall.

Shopkeeper Su walked to an inconspicuous side room on the west side and pushed the door open to enter.

The room was empty, with only a bare stone wall.

"Wait a moment, Young Friend."

Shopkeeper Su walked to the wall and pressed several spots with his hand.

The wall slid open silently, revealing a stone staircase leading downward.

Glowing stones were embedded on both sides of the staircase, illuminating the path ahead.

"Please."

Ye Linchuan followed Shopkeeper Su down the stone stairs.

After walking about twenty or thirty steps, the view suddenly opened up before him.

A spacious hall appeared in front of his eyes.

The hall was circular, with a high, vaulted ceiling.

Dozens of night-luminescent pearls were embedded above, illuminating the entire hall as if it were daylight.

In the center was a raised platform, surrounded by dozens of seats.

Two or three dozen people were already sitting there, mostly wearing cloaks and masks.

He could not see their faces, nor could he sense their aura.

"Young Friend Ye, this is a Shadow-Concealing Cloak."

Shopkeeper Su took a black cloak from the side and handed it to Ye Linchuan.

"Once you put it on, it can interfere with the Divine Sense probing of Cultivators below the Foundation Establishment stage. Once the trading session ends, just return it."

Ye Linchuan took the cloak; it felt cold to the touch, and the material was neither silk nor linen.

When he draped it over himself, a faint sense of isolation washed over him.

"Many thanks, Shopkeeper Su."

Shopkeeper Su nodded. "Make yourself at home, Young Friend, and pick a seat. This old man still has to go greet other guests."

After speaking, he turned and went back up the stone stairs.

Ye Linchuan scanned the hall.

Some of the people sitting there were wearing cloaks like him.

Others were completely exposed, sitting in a bold, imposing manner with thick auras.

Ye Linchuan's gaze lingered for a moment on a few of them.

Qi Refining Level 9.

He remained calm and walked to a corner in the back row, finding an inconspicuous seat to sit down.

One after another, more people arrived.

Half an hour later, nearly a hundred people were sitting in the hall.

About thirty or forty were wearing cloaks, while the rest were Cultivators with their faces exposed.

Among them, no fewer than twenty were at the Late Stage of Qi Refining.

Ye Linchuan even vaguely felt that two people in the front row had auras as deep as an abyss, far surpassing Qi Refining.

Was it Foundation Establishment?

He dared not look too much and lowered his gaze.

At this moment, someone walked onto the high platform.

It was a middle-aged Cultivator wearing brocade robes, with a fair, beardless face and a gentle smile.

"Greetings, Fellow Daoists. I am Su Wen, the manager of Qiwu Pavilion, and I will be presiding over today's private gathering."

"Everyone knows the rules: the highest bidder wins. If you don't have enough Spirit Stones, you can use items of equivalent value to exchange. Now, let us begin with the first auction item."

He clapped his hands.

A maidservant carried a jade tray onto the high platform.

The jade tray was covered with a red silk cloth.

Su Wen lifted the red silk.

Three Medicinal Pills the size of a dragon eye lay quietly on the tray.

The Medicinal Pills were milky white, with cloud patterns swirling on their surfaces, emitting a faint, refreshing fragrance.

"beauty-preserving pill."

Su Wen's voice was calm, yet it made the audience instantly quiet.

"A Tier 2 Medium Grade Spirit Pill; taking it can preserve one's youthful appearance for thirty years. For female Cultivators, its value goes without saying. For male Cultivators... it is also an excellent item to gift to a Dao Companion or a beloved."

"The starting price is thirty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones. Each bid must be increased by no less than ten."

As his voice fell, a collective intake of breath echoed through the hall.

Ye Linchuan's eyes went wide.

A beauty-preserving pill!

Preserving one's youthful appearance for thirty years!

Qingyan and Wanqing... If he could give them one each...

His heart raced, and his hand subconsciously touched his Storage Pouch.

Inside the Storage Pouch was all his worldly wealth.

His Talismans, Medicinal Pills, and Materials, when calculated, were worth about one hundred and twenty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.

Adding what he had earned from today's sales, it was less than one hundred and fifty.

The starting price was thirty, perhaps...

"Fifty!" A female Cultivator in the front row spoke up first, her voice crisp.

"Sixty!" "Eighty!" "One hundred!" The price soared instantly.

Ye Linchuan's hand slowly moved away from his Storage Pouch.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

He couldn't afford it.

Even if he bet all his worldly wealth, he couldn't afford one, let alone three.

In the end, the three beauty-preserving pills were auctioned off to a masked female Cultivator for the price of three hundred and fifty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.

Ye Linchuan calculated silently in his heart.

One beauty-preserving pill cost nearly one hundred and twenty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.

He worked hard at Talisman Making and Alchemy, and after deducting expenses, he could save seventy or eighty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones a year.

It would take nearly two years of saving to buy just one.

And this was only the opening of the private gathering.

Next, one auction item after another was presented.

"Tier 2 Low Grade Purple Bamboo Talisman Brush, starting price eighty Mid-Grade Spirit Stones..."

"Hundred-year-old Blood Lingzhi, starting price one hundred and twenty..."

"..."

Ye Linchuan sat in the corner, saying nothing.

He just watched and listened.

He firmly memorized the name and price of every auction item.

He also memorized the items that were competed for most fiercely.

That represented scarcity, represented demand.

And it also represented... profit.

An hour later, more than half of the auction items had been sold.

Ye Linchuan had completely calmed down.

This was not a stage he could participate in at the moment.

Coming here was to watch, to learn, and to gather information.

Another half-hour passed.

The private gathering ended.

The Cultivators rose one after another and left in an orderly manner.

Ye Linchuan, wearing the cloak, followed behind the crowd and then returned the cloak to its owner.

When he walked out of Qiwu Pavilion, twilight was approaching.

He circled the marketplace a few times to ensure no one was following him, and then walked quickly toward Lingyun Courtyard.

What he had seen today stirred his emotions.

beauty-preserving pills, Tier 2 Talisman brushes, hundred-year-old Spirit Medicine, Tier 2 Pill Formulas... Each one was something currently out of his reach.

But at the same time, it made him see his direction clearly; he needed to work hard from now on.

As he was walking, someone suddenly turned out from the alley entrance of the small courtyard ahead.

Ye Linchuan paused his steps.

The person was a woman.

She was wearing a blue-purple dharma robe, had a slender figure, and a red mole between her eyebrows.

"Fellow Daoist, are you the Alchemist who recently moved from Yuteng Alley?"

"...Tsk tsk, to be able to move into Lingyun Courtyard at Qi Refining Level 4, it seems you are quite something yourself!"