As I walked into the cultivator market, I couldn't help but feel tense. And, from the suspicious glares that everyone threw at each other, I doubted that I was the only one. Still, I walked along the streets, carefully listening to the gossip, trying to learn as much as I could.

Unfortunately, there was only one topic that people were talking about.

"… I can't believe that the Onit family had been destroyed by a lone cultivator."

"… that's impossible. They have a Peak Foundation Establishment Ancestor."

"… I have seen that kid. He was merely a cripple at the Second Stage. How can he kill a Foundation Establishment Cultivator? It's nonsense."

"… No, I heard that he was already at the Peak of Qi Gathering, not at the Fifth Realm."

Those, and many other discussions gave me an idea of what had followed up the move of that crazy show I had seen. I couldn't help but shiver. The last time I had seen him, the young man was merely at the Fourth Stage, yet he not only rose five steps, but also managed to deal with a cultivator a whole Major Realm above.

Even with the System, I needed to work harder to keep myself safe.

It was another reminder of the unusual dangers of the world I found myself in. Not only there were many organizations that could deploy people that could threaten the whole kingdoms alone, kept back only by other cultivators, but also a random person could be strong enough to take down a strong cultivation family.

A scary world indeed.

While I was listening to them, I also learned what the Misty Mountains were. A large area with occasional pockets of Qi, where cultivators without a family tried their luck to replenish their Qi and search for spirit plants.

However, apparently, the danger was equally impressive, both from nature and from the other cultivators.

Rather than wasting my time listening to gossip that wouldn't be useful, I ignored those discussions as I watched people make deals and purchases, trying to get a sense of the market. Who purchased what, what were the going rates, the general pricing.

The first thing I noticed was the currency. No one used gold. Instead, they used some kind of stone that was filled with Qi, called spirit stones.

Well, filled was rather exaggerated. The stones were not uniform, neither in terms of size, Qi content, or even Qi type. The strongest I had seen had about half a strand of Qi, and most had only a fraction of it. Yet, they were being valued higher than I expected.

Clearly, their portable nature was the biggest part of their value. Even if there was no Qi in the environment, a cultivator could absorb it to cultivate, or refill their reserves for an extended battle.

Unfortunately, their value to me wasn't that high since I couldn't actually absorb them. I somehow use them through the Meditation Technique like I had done back in the Spring Palace, but that would require several seconds.

Useful for creating talismans and other crafting activities, but not as useful for battle.

I wondered how the System would treat them. Would they just turn into subdued Qi, or just give me more of the same low-quality stuff. Albeit, that was a question for the future. The market was too dangerous to try and manipulate people to trigger the System.

As I walked around, I noticed that, anything that was on sale in the stores and the stalls were low quality. Not only it was rare to see anything new and undamaged, but most of the goods were limited to Profound Low Quality — the lowest quality at which the Qi of the item could be contained — with only occasional Profound Middle Quality mixed in.

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Clearly, my talismans were rare enough.

I paid attention to the stalls and noticed that a lot of people were being swindled badly. Assessing the quality of the cultivation items wasn't a simple affair, and whenever people exchanged for talismans, I noticed they were receiving inferior products with some faults.

It was like trying to buy second-hand electronics, but only worse. Clearly, most of the cultivators here had a spotty cultivation base, which limited their potential. Their knowledge about production was even worse.

After walking back and forth twice, I went to a stall I identified earlier, which sold and bought various talismans. The owner was efficient, but greedy. "I want to exchange a protective talisman for a flame strike," I said.

"Two for one for the exchange, and no bargaining," he said immediately. "An offensive talisman is more valuable. Especially this close to misty mountains."

He didn't talk too much, which was one of the reasons I chose him to initiate the trade. I didn't want to talk too much. I much preferred someone to swindle me quickly, but didn't poke at my identity.

I quickly passed him two of my lowest quality low-grade protective talismans, and exchanged them with a poorly made flame strike talisman that looked like it might actually crumble in my hands if I tried to use it.

Luckily, I didn't intend to use it. I was confident that, with my talisman drawing ability, I could reverse engineer it. It wouldn't be as good as the System-given talisman plans, but still, it was good to have some offensive options.

Of course, none of those faults were easy to spot. Only thanks to my talisman drawing ability, I was able to see the truth of the matter. He might be an efficient trader, but he was certainly not an honest one. Well, it worked to my benefit.

Then, I looked around, then slid another talisman under the other two. "I have a middle-grade talisman as well. How much for it?" I asked.

His eyes widened slightly. The reason, the talisman I had passed to him was a high-grade one, rather than a medium-grade one, but assessing the quality wasn't as straightforward for an amateur.

"You look like a nice young man, so four spirit stones," he said as he pushed them forward, and took the talisman before I could get. They were better than average, each filled nearly half. Of course, considering the difference between the grades, he was paying me horribly.

Still, I didn't care. I hardly cared about losing some potential profit when I could replicate them easily. Making the trade without marking myself as a whale was far more efficient.

"R-really?"I asked. "W-what if I have three more?" I asked, looking shocked. "Would you pay the same price?" I said, and slid three more. Two middle grade, and another high grade, giving the impression that I either stole them, or found them.

Either way, it was an incentive for him to keep his mouth shut about surprisingly high-quality stuff he had received from me. After all, I clearly gave him everything I had, blinded by the incredible amount of money I received back. Why would he bother try to rob me, when he made such a good profit from me.

"Yes," he said and made the exchange.

"Wow. Talismans are more valuable than I thought," I muttered. "Maybe I should learn how to draw them?"

"Why not? If you have the talent, it's a lucrative career. You might even be invited as a guest elder," he said. "Of course, you need to find a teacher or a heritage."

"Really," I said as I examined the flame talisman I received from him, acting like an ignorant person insisting that the Earth was ruled by the Illuminati. "It doesn't look too complicated. I bet that, if I had some paper, I could replicate it."

"Well, I can sell you some if you want to test yourself," he offered immediately, not missing even a beat. He pulled three items. An old brush, a half-filled pot with its ink starting to clump, and a bundle of low-quality talisman paper. "Four spirit stones for all. Two for the brush, two for the ink and the paper," he said.

I looked at him, then frowned. "I don't need the brush, I have some with me already," I said as I reached the satchel and showed an ordinary calligraphy brush, acting like I didn't even know talisman making required a special brush to properly channel Qi. "Just give me more talisman paper. Four times should be enough."

A few cultivators passing near snickered softly but said nothing. Clearly, being cheated was common enough.

Interestingly, even the stall owner didn't bother correcting me, more than happy to abuse my lack of knowledge. "I only have this much," he said sadly. "But, I'll make sure to stock some for you the next time you return from misty mountains," he said. "Make sure to bring anything you get to me. Spirit plants, beasts, even … unfortunate remains. I'll give you a nice price."

"It's good to find an honest merchant," I said, somehow managing to say that in an honest tone.

As for visiting misty mountains, I had no intention of doing so yet.

Still, I left the marketplace in the direction of the misty mountains. After all, a mysterious place where people could discover many treasures was a good excuse to sell anything I could develop.