Even so, they were merely attendants here, smiling at any passing cultivator.
Alaric Ye noticed that the signs of both shops bore the inscription “Official Store of the Top Xuan Sect,” indicating that these shops were owned by the sect itself.
As Alaric Ye was about to enter the Treasure Pavilion, a smiling female cultivator blocked his way.
“Junior Martial Brother, you need at least a third-level Qi Refining cultivation to enter our Treasure Pavilion.”
Alaric Ye felt a bit embarrassed. It seemed that having money alone wasn’t enough; there were cultivation requirements too. Not that he had much money anyway.
He had hoped to browse and gain some knowledge even if he didn’t buy anything, but now that wish was dashed. Feeling a bit regretful, Alaric Ye continued deeper into the market.
The streets were sparsely populated, not crowded at all. Most of the people were cultivators wearing the robes of the Top Xuan Sect. Judging by their cultivation levels, there were few miscellaneous disciples; most were outer and inner disciples of the sect.
Alaric Ye also saw many cultivators wearing different attire, such as the elegant white robes of the Taiji Sect and the luxurious yellow robes of the Sky Above Sect.
Disciples from these two sects carried an air of arrogance, seemingly looking down on the cultivators of the Top Xuan Sect.
Alaric Ye also noticed a few independent cultivators dressed in particularly lavish robes. Though they appeared noble, they were often seen smiling and greeting cultivators from other major sects, not daring to offend anyone.
The further he walked, the more shops he saw, though none were as grand as the official stores of the Top Xuan Sect. Eventually, Alaric Ye arrived at the bustling and chaotic stall area.
Here, anyone could set up a stall to sell items by paying a daily fee of ten Spirit Stones. This place had the most diverse and abundant items, making it the best spot to broaden one’s knowledge.
The hawking of stall owners filled the air.
“Freshly forged, undamaged mid-grade Flying Swords, only a hundred Spirit Stones each…”
“Bah! Fellow Daoists, don’t trust him. His Flying Swords are all refurbished second-hand goods. I bought one before, and it broke after just two moves in a duel with an enemy. I barely escaped with my life. This man is utterly shameless and black-hearted.”
“You slanderous liar! Any Daoist skilled in artifact refining can come and appraise it…”
“Fellow Daoists, don’t miss out! All spirit pills and medicines are on sale at a ten percent discount. When traveling, always keep some pills on hand; one more pill could mean one more life.”
“Massive clearance sale! Freshly unearthed artifacts from ancient cultivator caves, each for only thirty Spirit Stones. Heaven-grade techniques and supreme dao tools await you!”
“Clearance sale! Various styles of mid-grade robes for female cultivators, from sexy to cute, noble to cold. Guaranteed to make any female cultivator fall in love at first sight!”
Alaric Ye wandered through the stalls, curiously observing and examining many intriguing and interesting treasures, but he didn’t dare make any purchases.
He only had seventy Spirit Stones and a slightly worn Blue Rainbow Flying Sword, making him feel quite poor and unable to afford much.
Alaric Ye couldn’t help but lament, “No wonder miscellaneous disciples are so rare. With their meager stipends, they’d likely leave here empty-handed, wasting a Spirit Stone just to enter. They must rely on sect contributions for their daily needs.”
As Alaric Ye saw more and more items, his desire to earn money grew stronger.
With enough Spirit Stones, he could buy whatever he wanted. That feeling was incredibly satisfying.
Reluctantly leaving the stall area, Alaric Ye arrived at a mid-sized shop called “Hundred Herb Hall,” where he was greeted by an elderly cultivator at the fifth level of Qi Refining, with white hair and a face full of wrinkles.
“Young man, what do you need? Our shop buys spirit herbs and medicines at eighty percent of market price and also sells seeds of spirit herbs and medicines. We even have spirit herbs over a hundred years old. Our prices are fair and honest!”
After inquiring about the prices of several Five Elements spirit herb seeds, Alaric Ye didn’t linger and continued to other shops selling spirit herb seeds.
Even though he had never bought anything before, he understood the importance of comparing prices before making a decision.
After visiting seven or eight shops, Alaric Ye found the cheapest one and spent a total of thirty Spirit Stones to buy five hundred seeds of Five Elements spirit herbs, a hundred seeds for each element.
Having bought the spirit herb seeds, Alaric Ye didn’t wander around the market anymore and returned straight to his temporary miscellaneous disciple dormitory.
He didn’t immediately take out the jade slips of the “Five Elements Primordial Art” and “Five Elements Vajra Technique” to read. Instead, he focused his thoughts and awakened Little White and Little Strong, who were sleeping in the space of the Ancient Ring of the Insect Emperor.
Since Alaric Ye couldn’t enter the space of the Ancient Ring himself, the task of planting the spirit herbs had to be done by Little White and Little Strong.
Unlike the initial barren desert, the space had transformed into a lush oasis over the past month after he had placed a single grass root inside. This gave Alaric Ye confidence that spirit plants would grow faster in this space.
Little White’s snake-like body could still be seen amidst the weeds, while Little Strong’s body was completely covered by them.
With a single thought from Alaric Ye, all the weeds quickly withered and fell to the ground, becoming part of the sand.
As the master of the Ancient Ring of the Insect Emperor, he could easily manipulate the many functions of this mysterious space. He could make the weeds cover the entire space or make it barren.
Since he was about to plant spirit herbs, he couldn’t let the weeds steal their nutrients. He wanted a space filled with various precious and valuable spirit herbs.
Soon, he placed the five bags of spirit herb seeds into the space. Little Strong excitedly took the bags and, following Alaric Ye’s instructions, used his large pincers to dig one big pit after another in the sand.
Under Little White’s mana control, the spirit herb seeds flew out of the bags one by one, landing in the pits, which then automatically covered the seeds with soil.
Cultivators planting herbs were naturally much more efficient than ordinary people.
Planting a hundred seeds in each row, a total of five rows, the task was completed in less than half an hour.
Little Strong said, “I can’t wait for the seeds to sprout quickly. Then I can sleep in the herb field and eat the spirit herb fruits when I wake up hungry.”
Little White added, “But for these spirit plants to grow quickly, we’ll need a lot of Spirit Stones. The growth speed of the spirit herbs depends on Master’s wallet.”
Feeling the pinch, Alaric Ye reluctantly placed ten Spirit Stones into the space of the Ancient Ring of the Insect Emperor.
“Let’s test with ten Spirit Stones first… Hopefully, it won’t be a loss.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the ten Spirit Stones turned into ten wisps of light blue mist that quickly spread throughout the space. Little White and Little Strong showed expressions of intoxication, as if they were absorbing Alaric Ye’s blood.
Little White exclaimed in surprise, “Master, the Spiritual Qi here has become exceptionally dense… It feels like not just ten Spirit Stones, but a hundred, even a thousand!”
As soon as it finished speaking, green sprouts emerged from the desert, and in the blink of an eye, the sprouts grew an inch long, with vibrant green leaves unfurling…
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