Li Yan planned to go to the free market that he passed by before. He had other things to do on this trip, which was to buy some materials other than the main material of "You Wuqiong" for refining "Gui Yi Fen Shui Ci".
Before, he had only found some auxiliary materials in several shops, so he bought several of them. For Li Yan at this moment, spirit stones were no longer a problem.
Before he came to the market, he had only planned to buy one copy of each ingredient, but now he can prepare several copies.
Apart from the auxiliary materials, there were five main materials needed to refine the "Gui Yi Fen Shui Ci". Of course, "You Wuqiong" was not lucky enough to come across them. As for the other four main materials, he had asked several shop owners, but to no avail.
This was within Li Yan's expectations. If it was so easy to find, his luck would be too good.
Looking at the time now, it is still early before the appointment with the two senior brothers. After thinking about it, Li Yan decided to go to the free market again. Although the items there are not guaranteed, even if there is information about these main materials, it is good. Maybe he can really come across what he needs.
After visiting several shops before, Li Yan felt that visiting shops one by one was not as likely as visiting the free market in this time. Another difference between the free market and shops is that the categories are more complete and more concentrated.
Unlike shops that are more targeted, even a large shop like "Guiqulaixie" may focus more on the sale and purchase of magical instruments and magic treasures, and elixirs are not its main business categories. There are shops specializing in elixirs and refining instruments in the market.
Li Yan relied on his memory to walk along the way and did not get lost. The memory of cultivators is quite good. In the mortal world, geniuses such as having a photographic memory and being able to read ten lines at a glance are possessed by every cultivator.
Along the way, including when Li Yan was looking for a shop before, he met no less than a dozen cultivators from the Wuliang Sect. These people were all foundation-building cultivators and came from other peaks.
When they saw Li Yan, they were all stunned. They were obviously puzzled as to how a Qi Condensation Stage disciple like Li Yan could go out of the sect. Four or five of them even stepped forward to check Li Yan's identity token.
They thought that they were some low-ranking people who dared to impersonate the monks of the Wuliang Sect and cheat people outside. This made Li Yan laugh and cry. After taking out the token and explaining, they learned that Li Yan came with Wen Xinliang, and then they let Li Yan go in confusion.
Fortunately, there are only a few disciples in Xiaozhu Peak. Except for Li Yan, the others are all well-known among the foundation-building cultivators in various peaks. They all know Wen Xinliang, otherwise Li Yan might have been captured directly.
However, there were also a few monks from the Wuliang Sect who, after seeing Li Yan, just had a slightly puzzled expression on their faces, but walked away directly without saying hello. Li Yan guessed that those people were either cold-tempered or ascetic practitioners.
They tend to be indifferent and keep aloof from the affairs, usually just cleaning up the snow in front of their own door, which saves Li Yan a lot of trouble.
After turning a few streets, Li Yan saw the wide lobby from afar. It was already noon, but it was still very lively here. The gate was about fifty or six feet wide, and it seemed a bit crowded amid the constant flow of people.
Li Yan walked in slowly with the crowd. When he passed through the gate, he did not find anyone checking him. Apparently, only when there were stalls set up here would spirit stones be collected at designated places, while people who came to trade could come and go freely.
That's why it's even more lively here.
As soon as Li Yan entered the hall, he took a slow look around. The furnishings here were like a miniature version of the streets outside, divided into strips and lanes.
Each row of shops is next to each other. Each shop is small, with a chair and a table inside, and some things on the table.
Or there might be nothing in the shop except a monk sitting cross-legged on the ground with a piece of red cloth in front of him, which was filled with items.
"It is indeed a free market. Everything is very casual, but it is very natural. It makes people feel more intimate than those shops with magnificent decorations, and they are more willing to enter casually."
Li Yan looked at the people coming and going. Some of them stopped to watch, some squatted in front of the stalls to pick up an item and look at it carefully, and some bargained with the stall owners in a low voice. He felt a strong atmosphere of vendors.
After taking a look at the environment here, Li Yan began to stroll around casually. Along the way, he saw all kinds of strange and bizarre things, which broadened his horizons.
From fans, jade articles to hoes and lanterns, from ghost-exorcising talismans to protective amulets, from refined armor to a piece of rag, and from ordinary introductory techniques to mysterious fragments, there is nothing that Li Yan has not seen, only things he can't think of.
Li Yan occasionally stopped to watch, or asked the stall owner some questions, but never touched anything. After seeing Li Yan's cultivation level, the other party did not become too polite to his questions because of the Wuliang Sect clothing Li Yan was wearing.
Often all he got was a few words from the other party, or a few sentences. It was probably because Li Yan was from the Wuling Sect, so he didn't find the materials he needed.
This free market is not always harmonious. During this process, Li Yan saw several cases of monks and stall owners having conflicts, and some even wanted to fight.
Although they didn't fight in the end due to the rules of the market town, one could tell from the ferocious looks on both sides that the feud was set, and when the opportunity arose, there would be a fight.
The free market was really big, and the stalls were so dense that Li Yan spent more than half an hour walking around and only walked through three rows. Just as he turned into a row of shops, he suddenly heard a quarrel in front of him.
Li Yan had seen this kind of quarrel many times, so of course he didn't care. The noises in the previous few times were several times more intense than this. So he planned to bypass this place and go to the front to take a look.
Just as Li Yan passed by the crowd, he saw a lot of people gathered in front. He heard the quarrel coming from the stall inside. He recognized the voices of a woman and a man. He shook his head and planned to go around from behind the crowd.
At this time, the man's rough voice came again from inside.
"Why, can you, the Wuliang Sect, be unreasonable? You set up a stall here, I paid the price in spirit stones, and everything was agreed upon, but you don't want to sell anymore. What's the reason?"
At this time, a soft female voice came from inside.
"No, but..."
"What do you mean, but? Did I ask you the price?"
The burly voice seemed impatient and interrupted the woman to ask without waiting for her to finish.
“You asked for the price, but…”
The woman's voice was heard again, but before she could finish, she was interrupted by a rough voice again.
"I asked about the price, and you said it was 400 low-grade spirit stones per puppet. Is that true or not?" "It is 400 low-grade spirit stones, but..."
The woman's voice was full of grievance, and even sounded a little like crying.
"That's it. I asked about the price, and you said the price. Now you want to go back on your word? Even if you are a disciple of the Wuliang Sect, you still have to tell the truth today."
The gruff voice got louder, and it sounded a little bit angry.
Li Yan had walked behind the crowd at this time. Although he heard these words, he did not take them to heart. He also roughly heard that one of the parties was a disciple of the Wuliang Sect, but what did it have to do with him.
He was just a small Qi Condensation cultivator. Even if his cultivation was higher, he would not interfere in other people's affairs without reason.
But just when Li Yan walked to the back of the crowd and was about to move forward, several cultivators standing behind the crowd saw Li Yan. After seeing Li Yan wearing the clothes of the Wuliang Sect and seeing him walking towards the crowd, they were stunned and then quickly moved away.
However, as these few people moved, they alarmed the others in front. Everyone here was a cultivator, and at such a distance, everyone had sharp ears and eyes. They looked back and quickly understood what was going on, and they all made way.
However, the path that the crowd made way for Li Yan did not lead to the store, but led to the direction of the quarrel inside.
This sudden scene made Li Yan stunned. When he understood what was happening, there was no sound in this small area. There was only a passage. Behind the passage stood Li Yan, who looked a little dazed.
In front, near the shop, there was a young girl standing inside the shop and a burly man standing outside the shop.
At this moment, the big man and the girl stopped arguing and were staring at Li Yan with puzzled eyes.
As their eyes met, Li Yan finally reacted. He subconsciously put his hands behind his back to hide the logo on his cuffs. When he was about to explain that it had nothing to do with the matter, the girl in the shop glanced at Li Yan, and her misty beautiful eyes suddenly lit up.
Then, a weak voice reached the ears of Li Yan and the monks present.
"You are... Junior Brother Li... Li Yan from Xiaozhu Peak?"
When Li Yan heard these words, he let out a long sigh in his heart.
"I met more than a dozen fellow disciples today, but none of them recognized me. How come this foundation-building cultivator recognized me?"
It was difficult for him to leave now, especially since the other person called out his name. There was a rule in the sect that he roughly remembered its meaning.
"Disciples of the sect should help each other. When you see fellow disciples in trouble, unless the realm difference between you and the enemy is too great, you must step forward to help. Those who keep to themselves will be fined a large amount of spirit stones and cut off their cultivation resources for several years. In serious cases, their cultivation will be abolished and they will be expelled from the sect."
Although there was no question of life or death here, he would not be fined spirit stones even if he left, but if he was recognized, he could not pretend he didn't know, otherwise it would spread within the sect, and who knows what would happen in the end.
Before that, he immediately hid the golden bamboo logo on his sleeve and wanted to explain a few words before leaving. Anyway, there were tens of thousands of cultivators in the Wuliang Sect, and the other party didn't know him. He would not be able to find him if he went back, but his identity was exposed by others.
Under the gazes of a group of people, Li Yan had no choice but to nod to the girl and walked over with gritted teeth.
"Hey, this is interesting. There were no monks from the Wuliang Sect around here just now, but now one has come. Let's see how Sun Guoshu handles it?"
"But how come this person only has the eighth level of Qi Condensation? Isn't this too low?"
"That's right. His cultivation level is lower than that girl's. What's the point of coming?"
"Haha, cultivation? I don't think so. Just wait and see. Sun Guoshu is probably going to be in trouble today. He is a casual cultivator who used to just look for trouble with outsiders, but today he has the wrong mind..."
… …
As Li Yan walked inside, he heard a lot of discussions. His mind raced and he soon came to this conclusion.
"The burly man in front is called Sun Guoshu. It seems that many people here recognize him. He is either well-known in the surrounding sects or has been hanging around here for many years."
In an instant, Li Yan had already made some judgments about the person in front of him. When he looked up again, his expression had returned to its indifferent look.
Amid the discussions among the crowd, Li Yan came to the front of the shop. As he walked closer, the mist in the girl's eyes became thicker after she saw her fellow disciple.
The big man outside the shop has not said a word since Li Yan appeared, but stared at Li Yan without blinking.
The shop was not big, less than ten feet in size. There was nothing on the table. Behind the table stood a girl wearing the clothes of the Wuliang Sect, with the cultivation level of the initial stage of foundation building.
The girl was about 28 years old, with an extremely pretty face, delicate and fair skin, and shiny black hair hanging down on her shoulders. She had a round oval face and a pair of beautiful eyes with distinct black and white, which were already filled with mist at this time.
In her hands, she was tightly grasping something the size of a palm, but Li Yan couldn't see clearly what it was.
"Oh, help has come? So what? Are we going to regret a good deal?"
Just as Li Yan was observing the girl, a rough voice sounded again beside him.