Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror-Chapter 60 Purchase

Li Xiangping and the others waited for a while. Finally, they simply started chatting by the lakeside, laughing as they recounted amusing stories from their childhood. At last, they saw a faint silvery light rising from the center of the lake.

"Is that the large ship that’s supposed to pick us up?"

They could see a long wooden ship swaying its way toward them from the middle of the lake, its sail draped with light white feathers. The ship itself was shrouded in a flowing spirit light, indicating it was a treasure of considerable worth.

Before the ship had drawn close, they heard a light call:

"Taoist fellows ahead, are you seeking passage to the Wangyue Lake market? How come you’ve arrived so late?"

"Indeed!"

Li Chijin and the others hastily responded, replying with deference:

"It’s our first time coming to the Wangyue Lake market; we are unfamiliar with the protocols and have missed the proper hour."

"Hahaha, Taoist fellows are too polite."

The person laughed heartily and steered the great ship toward the shore.

Li Chijin stepped forward and scrutinized the person with his spiritual sense, harboring some distrust in his heart. He cautiously asked:

"Taoist fellow, are you here to take us to the market?"

"Indeed!"

The man let out a hearty laugh. Seeing that Li Chijin and the others did not approach but watched him warily, he smacked his lips and then said:

"One catty of spirit rice or an equivalent spiritual object per person."

When the man named his price, Li Chijin’s mind eased considerably. With a pat of his left hand on his brocade pouch, a pale blue token flew out.

The token hovered in the air, slowly emitting a few large characters:

"Green Pond Sect, Qing Sui Peak."

Then Li Chijin spoke up loudly:

"I am Li Chijin, a disciple of the Green Pond Sect from Qing Sui Peak, just passing through this place on an important mission. I thank the Taoist fellow for granting us passage."

Upon seeing the token, the great ship shook violently and paused for a few moments, as if making some identification, and then an elderly man with graying hair came down, bowing respectfully as he answered:

"So, it turns out to be a disciple of the Immortal Sect. I have been disrespectful, please come aboard."

Li Chijin nodded, and after they boarded the large ship, they found the cabin was fully equipped with tea tables and sets, its decoration ancient and elegant, and quite luxurious.

"With no familiar faces from the market to accompany us, this old man was quite fearful, and dared not even emerge from the cabin to greet you. Only upon seeing this Immortal Sect token did I feel relieved."

The old man with graying hair smiled and apologized profusely.

"Not at all, when traveling abroad it is proper to be cautious."

Li Xiangping responded with a smile. Then, the old man suggested:

"Next time you come, it would be best to arrive at the hour of zi, when the nearby families enter the marketplace. It’s the most convenient time to buy spirit rice and sell spiritual objects."

"I see!"

After chatting with the old man for a while, they suddenly felt the ship lurch and heard a faint bustle of noise. They looked out of the window and saw the Wangyue Lake market.

The market was built on a small island in the middle of the lake, not very big—roughly the size of half a village. Along the street, small lamps emitting white light were hung, and even now there was quite a crowd. Every now and then, someone would stop to look at the goods at a stall and haggle with the vendor.

"This old man cannot possibly accept the crossing fee."

After mooring the ship, the white-haired old man quickly refused to take the spirit rice that Li Chijin extracted from his storage bag, insisting that he could not accept it.

The group had no choice but to say goodbye to the white-haired old man and walked along the streets in high spirits. Meanwhile, Li Tongya looked at the items on the stalls, silently making comparisons with what he’d seen at the Guanyun Peak market.

"The goods on offer are generally the same, but here at Wangyue Lake market, most of the items are priced in spirit rice, and the goods tend to be sold individually. Spells are sold one by one rather than in scrolls."

While pondering this, he heard Li Chijin ahead laugh and say:

"The quality of goods on this stall is mixed. If you want to buy something, it’s better to purchase it at the counter."

Li Tongya suddenly felt taken aback, remembering how he had aimlessly wandered the stalls at the Guanyun Peak market all day without speaking out.

After walking a bit farther, where the stalls became sparser, several shopfronts appeared. Li Chijin looked around for a moment, picked a shop selling magic artifacts, and stepped over the threshold into the store.

"Go ask your shop owner if he’s interested in evil qi amidst fire."

The shop assistant who came to greet Li Chijin was taken aback and, seeing that Li Chijin looked at the many magic artifacts on the wall without uttering a word, he hurriedly went down.

Before long, a shirtless man hurriedly pushed through the back door and approached swiftly, the numerous iron tools hanging on his body clinking together noisily.

"Does the Taoist fellow have any news of the Evil Qi from fire?"

The man had a face full of stubble, a rough appearance, but his voice was quite gentle.

"Indeed, I am Li Chijin from the Green Pond Sect, and I have some Evil Qi from fire for sale."

"So you’re a disciple of the Immortal Sect,"

The rough man clasped his hands and smiled, saying,

"I am Chu Minglian, running a small shop in this market. May I know how much you are asking for this Evil Qi from fire?"

Li Chijin raised an eyebrow and spoke in a deep voice,

"Seventy Spirit Stones, but I would prefer to trade with goods."

Li Xiangping and the others, who were used to scraping by and splitting a single Spirit Stone in two for use, immediately widened their eyes, eagerly looking at Chu Minglian.

Chu Minglian shook his head and laughed,

"That’s a bit expensive, may I know what caught your eye in my shop?"

"Talisman Brush."

Li Chijin had little time and cut to the chase, pointing at the two Talisman Brushes hanging on the wall,

"Could the Taoist fellow introduce these to me?"

"Of course."

Chu Minglian nodded, took down the two Talisman Brushes, and explained while picking up the one of green hue,

"The body of this brush is made of Spirit Green Jade, and the bristles are from the tail of a weasel demon at the Fetal Breathing Peak—a good fit for both Fetal Breathing and Qi Cultivation stages, it costs fifteen Spirit Stones."

Setting it down, Chu Minglian picked up another Talisman Brush with a milky white body and said,

"This one has a body made of Bright Spirit Wood, with tail bristles from a fox demon at the Qi Cultivation Stage specifically refined for use by cultivators at the Qi Cultivation Stage and above, it requires sixty Spirit Stones."

Li Chijin waved his hand, naturally pointing at the Spirit Green Jade brush and smiled, 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"This one will do."

"Also, a Storage Bag, just an ordinary one suitable for the Qi Cultivation Stage."

Chu Minglian gave a light smile, took down a brown-grey brocade pouch from the shelf, and said in a deep voice,

"Three feet square, thirty Spirit Stones."

After some haggling, Chu Minglian happily traded the Evil Qi from fire for the two magic artifacts and an additional twenty Spirit Stones.

Li Chijin left the shop with the Storage Bag and Talisman Brush in hand, and before Li Xiangping and the others had time to feel the pain of their loss, they saw Li Chijin entering another shop.

"Three hundred Fetal Breathing Realm Talisman Papers, ten Spirit Stones."

Li Chijin pointed to three dozen tan yellow blank Talisman Papers on the counter and said in a deep voice,

"They are indeed made from Qing Ai Wood, aren’t they?"

"Indeed, indeed."

The shop assistant, recognizing an expert in Li Chijin, promptly responded.

Handing over ten Spirit Stones, Li Chijin also put the Talisman Papers into his brocade pouch and then finally handed the Storage Bag to Li Xiangping, muttering to himself in a low voice,

"Talisman Brush, Talisman Paper, Storage Bag, with ten Spirit Stones left, how shall I spend them."

The smooth operations of Li Chijin left Li Xiangping, the head of the household, exchanging glances with another person; they quickly stepped forward and said,

"The remaining Spirit Stones should be kept at home, just in case of an emergency."

Li Chijin then nodded and, seeing the crowd in the market slowly thinning, stretched and said with a smile,

"Is there still anything important to do at home?"