"Rock-Armor Ox hide, fine artifact-refining material! Don't miss out if you're passing by!"

"Selling Qi-Gathering Pills! Selling Qi-Gathering Pills! Produced by Rogue Cultivator Stone Scatterer, quality guaranteed!"

"Fireball Talismans, Fireball Talismans! High quality at a low price! You won't lose out, you won't be cheated! Fireball Talismans for cheap!"

"Spirit Sprout Rice, freshly harvested this year! Come take a look, come take a look!"

......

The hour of Mao had passed, and the West Market grew lively. The cries of vendors rose and fell in cadence, seemingly no different from the mortal market a few days ago.

Gu An strolled leisurely, occasionally stopping to look around.

He had no urgent needs, so he wasn't in a hurry. He wandered with the mindset of broadening his horizons.

As he browsed, he indeed saw many rare things.

The venom glands of a Black Toad, the pincers of a Fire Cloud Scorpion, the honey of a Purple Source Bee...

Many things he had never even seen in the Scripture Pavilion, and even if he had seen records, he'd never witnessed the real objects. Walking through this market truly opened his eyes wide!

Snakes have their paths, rats have their ways. Rogue cultivators and small families also had their own channels to obtain spiritual items.

Right under the shadow of the Qingyuan Sect, in the cracks between the two sects, these people could still find their own methods of survival, struggling to pursue the Dao.

Of course, amazement aside, if you asked him to become a rogue cultivator, Gu An certainly wouldn't agree.

With a big tree to lean on, you enjoy the shade. Wasn't it comfortable being a Qingyuan Sect disciple?

He wouldn't go looking for hardship where none existed.

Stopping and starting, Gu An arrived at a stall and was drawn by the items on display, involuntarily halting.

The stall had three things: the venomous horn of a Poison-Horned Python, four pairs of segmented limbs from a Cold Jade Spider, and a jade jar. Through the jar, he could vaguely see something moving inside.

Gu An wasn't interested in the two spiritual materials. Pointing at the jar, he asked, "Fellow Daoist, what spirit beast do you have in this jar?"

The stall owner was dressed entirely in black, wearing a bamboo hat, exuding an aura of keeping strangers at a distance. He didn't hawk his wares either, just sat there. Hearing Gu An's words, he barely lifted his eyelids and said calmly, "First-Grade Lower-Tier spirit beast, Blood Moon Eel. A consumable spirit beast. It takes three years to mature. Eating it greatly replenishes blood and qi."

His voice was like sandpaper scraping-hoarse and grating, making one uncomfortable.

Gu An didn't mind his cold attitude. He simply opened the lid of the jade jar and teased the "blood-red threads" inside.

"Hiss!" The Blood Moon Eel fry seemed to sense the aura of flesh and blood and bit down on the moving finger.

Gu An quickly shook it off, but inwardly felt a slight joy.

This spirit beast seemed pretty good!

Back when Gu An had been short on funds, he had only bought some Black Spirit Fish fry at the Hundred Spirits Pavilion in Qingyuan Immortal City. Now that he was slightly better off, he naturally wanted to explore more possibilities of [Spirit Source Feedback], collect more spirit beasts, and see what rewards he would get when they died of old age.

Feigning indifference, Gu An flicked the water droplets from his hand and asked, "How much are you selling them for?"

"Blood Moon Eel fry, two spirit stones each." The black-clothed stall owner's tone was as calm as still water, as if he didn't really care whether the deal went through.

Gu An was somewhat surprised. He knew that spirit beasts varied greatly. For example, a First-Grade High-Tier White Jade Fox cub, which could control techniques and was adept at combat, was worth over two hundred spirit stones, while First-Grade Lower-Tier Black Spirit Fish fry sold for six for one spirit stone.

Of course, their uses were different. If they were adult spirit beasts, a First-Grade Lower-Tier Black Spirit Fish could sell for one spirit stone, while a White Jade Fox would depreciate significantly, only worth about a hundred spirit stones.

He wondered what was so special about the Blood Moon Eel that its fry could sell for two spirit stones each.

Instinctively, Gu An didn't think the black-clothed stall owner was trying to rip him off. First, because the Blood Moon Eel did look extraordinary, and second, because the man truly seemed unconcerned about whether the deal went through.

Thus, Gu An grew even more curious: "What's so unique about the Blood Moon Eel? Why is it so expensive?"

"Buy it or don't." The stall owner frowned, somewhat impatient, and didn't intend to explain to Gu An.

"Just tell me about it. Then I can decide whether to buy or not." Gu An felt the stall owner was quite rude, but he really wanted the Blood Moon Eel, so he continued to pester him.

Seeing Gu An shamelessly refusing to leave, the stall owner was a bit helpless. After hesitating for a moment, he explained a couple of sentences: "It's a spirit beast specially bred by the Beastmaster Sect for Body Refinement. An adult one can sell for seven or eight spirit stones."

Gu An calculated in his mind and felt the value was decent. Though he was a bit pained about the spirit stones, he knew what was truly important for his foundation. Suppressing his reluctance, he said, "Give me ten."

The stall owner rolled his eyes and said, "No, I only have seven."

Seven would do. Gu An took out his spirit stones, counted them again, then handed them to the stall owner. He picked up the entire jade jar and put it into his spirit beast pouch.

The ten spirit stones he had just earned were all spent, and he had to fork over an extra four.

Truly, earn at a small gathering and spend it at the same gathering-not a single one could be taken home!

The stall owner curled his lips. This guy was way too stingy. He was already at the Qi Condensation stage-did he really need to count them one by one?

He then took out a small booklet from his storage bag and handed it to Gu An, saying hoarsely, "This is some of my summarized experience on raising Blood Moon Eels. You can take a look."

Gu An's eyes lit up. He overturned his earlier impression that the stall owner was impolite. The man just didn't like to socialize; his character was actually quite good!

He quickly took the booklet and thanked him repeatedly: "Fellow Daoist, you're too kind. My name is Gu An, a disciple of the Qingyuan Sect. I'm on a mission at White Mirror Lake in Blackrock Commandery. If you ever need anything, just come to White Mirror Lake to find me."

Of course, whether he would actually help depended on the situation.

The stall owner hesitated for a long time before finally forcing out a sentence: "You're a Qingyuan Sect disciple?"

"That's right!" Gu An was a bit puzzled. Couldn't he recognize the green cauldron on his chest?

The black-clothed stall owner's expression shifted repeatedly. After a moment, he took a deep breath, as if he had made a decision, and said in a muffled voice, "Can you get your hands on healing spirit pills? At least First-Grade High-Tier."

A flicker of suspicion passed through Gu An's eyes. This stall owner was a bit off. Why would he ask Gu An to procure healing spirit pills instead of going to Qingyuan Immortal City, which was only a few days' journey?

Then he thought about how the man was concealing his appearance at the Yun Kingdom Small Gathering and carrying specialty spirit beasts from the Beastmaster Sect.

Could this man be from the Beastmaster Sect?

Cursing inwardly, Gu An took a step back, gathering spiritual power in his legs and holding an Ice Arrow Talisman in his hand, ready to blast the man with ice arrows and flee the instant anything went wrong.

Seeing this, the black-clothed stall owner knew he had been found out. His face visibly turned bitter, and he said dryly, "What if I told you I have a grudge against the Beastmaster Sect?"

Gu An shook his head and took another step back.

"Wait. Take this Image-Retaining Stone and activate it." The stall owner pulled out a piece of jade and tossed it to Gu An.

Gu An sensed the faint spiritual power on it and caught it. He injected a thread of spiritual power, and the Image-Retaining Stone activated.

Seeing this, the black-clothed stall owner took a deep breath and started cursing: "True Person Black Flood Dragon, to hell with your ancestors! You dog-raised bastard! A stupid dog with no sons and no asshole..."

Gu An was dumbfounded. The Image-Retaining Stone in his hand was still faithfully recording, but it had become unbearably hot.

"Shut up! If you want to die, go die on your own! Don't drag me into this!" Gu An immediately cut off the Image-Retaining Stone and cursed loudly.

Even if he was an enemy, that was still a Golden Core True Person! How dare this bastard?!

Looking around nervously, Gu An quickly fled. This was far more dangerous than the man being a spy for the Beastmaster Sect.