Chapter 233: Market

Thinking about it this way, this possibility is very high.

Because, the plan Senior Yun Fang spoke of is easy to understand: they want Empress Luofu to owe Shaman God Mountain to such an extent that she has no choice but to repay, yet can never truly repay, whether it’s resources or favors.

In this way, the remnants of Mount Luofu would have no other choice but to rely on the Shaman God Mountain lineage; they could be ungrateful, but that would incur Karma.

If one receives a favor and becomes entangled in an unpayable debt, then from then on, they would be firmly bound to Shaman God Mountain.

The Sun-Moon True Lead Cauldron, including the First Grade Dao opportunity within it, would naturally have to be left behind.

However, no matter what choice is made, only Empress Luofu has the right to choose.

Shen Shuibi dared not take sides prematurely, nor could she.

That’s why she wanted to distance herself from him, to prevent herself from becoming one of the bargaining chips used to force Empress Luofu towards Shaman God Mountain.

“Is that so… no wonder.” Li Qi sighed.

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

It was simply too probable; otherwise, he couldn’t think of a reason why Shen Shuibi would suddenly distance herself.

How to solve this?

Li Qi considered it repeatedly, and the result was that there was no solution.

The Shaman God Mountain brand on him was too deep; as long as this brand wasn’t removed, getting close to him would inevitably lead to such things happening.

No matter what was said, this point could not be denied.

“Sigh…” Li Qi rubbed his temples and turned to look out the window.

Think more, there’s always a way.

However, before he could think further, the carriage stopped.

Unbeknownst to him, had they already arrived at the banquet site?

“Alright, Disciple, get out of the carriage!” Zhu Fengdan seemed very happy, directly jumping out of the carriage and waving to put it away; the two Iron-Eating Beasts shook their heads and tails, trotting happily beside her.

Presumably, these two also knew it was a banquet, wagging their butts joyfully, drooling.

The carriage was put away, and Li Qi naturally followed suit, getting out.

Then, he found himself at the entrance of a palace.

This seemed to be a Grotto-Heaven, completely separated from the outside world; no Qi of Shaman God Mountain could be felt from here.

At the palace entrance, two teams of welcoming attendants stood in lines on either side of the road.

There were tea and wine servers, quick-moving personal attendants, and礼官 striking whips to present gifts, offering them to guests from all directions.

All around, there were singing and dancing, crafts and myriad objects, too many to take in.

Besides Li Qi and Zhu Fengdan, there were hundreds of other guests, each with their own Magic Carriage and ceremonial guard, splendid and varied canopies, with personal attendants carrying lanterns, music masters and musicians, and tens of thousands of lamps shining brightly, like a constellation of stars.

Golden auspicious towers overlooked the Clear River’s bend, white jade divine carriages arrived from the Profound Gate.

Green trees and azure peaks soared beyond the clouds, crimson towers and painted pavilions opened amidst the water.

Dragon boats looked down upon the Merfolk’s chambers, feathered banners flew high above the Phoenix Maiden’s terrace.

Countless processions, in turn, drummed and invigorated, with thousands of carriages and ten thousands of riders, of different races, like clouds surging and tides rushing, arrayed like scales and ants, slowly proceeding, gradually entering the main gate.

The sounds, sights, and cultural artifacts within were immeasurable and could not be fully described.

However, none of these grand spectacles belonged to Li Qi.

Everyone else had Magic Carriages and ceremonial guards, but his teacher had only a small carriage, pulled by two Iron-Eating Beasts that were not majestic at all.

Upon arrival, she didn’t even want the carriage, taking Li Qi to walk inside, with the two Iron-Eating Beasts still shaking their heads and tails, following behind, completely out of sync with everyone else.

But there was an advantage to this: they walked fast.

While others were still queuing, Zhu Fengdan had already taken Li Qi through to the inside.

On the way, Li Qi curiously stroked the head of one of the Iron-Eating Beasts.

It seemed very happy, rubbing against Li Qi and making squeaking sounds.

...So that's how they sound, he hadn't heard it before.

Following his teacher all the way, because their retinue wasn't grand and there was no particular Qi, no one paid much attention to them along the way.

After all, everyone else had a retinue of attendants, and strange mounts like mountain-bearing turtles or tower-carrying Phoenix, only their master and Disciple were overly ordinary.

However, Zhu Fengdan seemed to prefer it this way, and did not cause a commotion.

She led Li Qi directly through the main entrance into the palace, like attendants of other guests, even less eye-catching than their own attendants.

After walking inside, Zhu Fengdan stopped: “Alright, the banquet hasn’t started yet; the official start will probably be in seven or eight days.

I’ll go inside and catch up with old friends first.

You can pass the time yourself; I’ll call you when the banquet starts.”

“Yes.” Li Qi bowed to his teacher.

Although the fact that the banquet was still seven or eight days away was quite absurd… he had to get used to the time concept of Immortals.

He would use these seven or eight days to ponder how to deal with Shen Guniang's matter.

As for Zhu Fengdan, after saying those words, she pondered for a moment, then suddenly handed Li Qi a bag: “Here, take these.

Buy whatever you like, and go look around.

It’s a good opportunity to broaden your horizons.”

With that, she didn’t even say goodbye, abruptly disappearing from in front of Li Qi.

Li Qi held the bag in his hand, somewhat stunned.

Was this… pocket money?

Wait, these two Iron-Eating Beasts are still here!

“Forget it, you two probably can’t go in anyway, so just stay with me.” Li Qi shook his head, holding the bag in his hand, and began counting the items inside.

Holy cow, so much money!

Li Qi could see that inside this Mustard Seed Pouch were countless refined and purified Qi, all made into small beads, probably… one or two million of them?

Damn, is this the treatment of a rich second-generation?

But as soon as he opened the bag, the Iron-Eating Beasts beside him suddenly nudged closer.

The two adorable beasts rubbed against Li Qi, squeaking, drooling, and constantly rubbing against Li Qi’s legs.

Li Qi tilted his head.

They also tilted their heads.

Then, the two Iron-Eating Beasts exchanged glances, then left Li Qi, rolling on the ground and doing somersaults.

Because they were too fat, all the flesh on their bodies jiggled when they did somersaults.

After finishing, the two of them plopped down on the ground, showing Li Qi brilliant smiles.

Li Qi was speechless.

Then he simply emptied the Mustard Seed Pouch.

Countless Qi beads rolled out, and the two Iron-Eating Beasts happily bounced up, opening their mouths wide, and slurping them in with a rumbling sound.

With one slurp, thirty to forty thousand beads went in, and only then did the two finally stop, burping and happily circling around Li Qi, acting extremely affectionate.

Li Qi had a headache.

Looking at it this way… one or two million doesn’t seem to last very long.

However, in reality, for Qi of this quality, about ten thousand beads would be enough to buy his innate Divine Weapon.

In other words, this bag contained one or two hundred Eighth Grade innate Divine Weapons.

Fortunately, these two Iron-Eating Beasts were exotic beasts and lacked spiritual wisdom; otherwise, it probably wouldn’t be enough for them to eat.

Exotic beasts are also a type of cultivator, but they lack innate spiritual wisdom and do not walk the Demon Dao, so they cannot awaken their spirits.

Although they can increase their power and grade, they cannot possess spiritual wisdom.

However, for cultivation, spiritual wisdom is not actually a necessity.

Not awakening one's spirit is irrelevant to the Dao.

For example, the Heavenly Dao in most worlds does not have self-awareness and has never awakened its spirit, but this does not prevent the Heavenly Dao itself from being of a high grade, and it will react and respond to all external stimuli.

Spiritual wisdom is not a prerequisite for cultivation; one can have their own Dao regardless of whether they possess spiritual wisdom, and can even be purer and cultivate more swiftly.

At even higher stages, some exotic beasts completely abandon their self, and can even assimilate with a certain 'Dao', greatly increasing their own grade and becoming a type of objective rule in the outside world.

However, the two Iron-Eating Beasts before him were not so extreme, still belonging to the stage of having perception but no intellect.

Li Qi shook his head, thinking about these things was useless; it was better to listen to his teacher, go see this banquet, and broaden his horizons.

Then he would find a place to ponder how to communicate with Shen Shuibi.

Li Qi pulled himself out of his thoughts, shook his head, and said, “Alright, you two just follow me.

Let’s go, let’s explore this place.”

The two Iron-Eating Beasts naturally wouldn't say no, happily wagging their butts and following beside Li Qi.

He walked through the palace, heading towards the distance.

He wouldn't get lost; apart from the main hall inside, the rest of the palace covered only forty to fifty li horizontally and vertically, and he could already determine directions by sensing Qi alone.

After all, he was already Eighth Grade; a few dozen li was just a couple of steps.

“There’s actually a market in here, is it just for fun?” Li Qi wondered, it was clearly a banquet, how could there be a market, was it just for fun?

But upon closer inspection, he understood the reason.

“It’s for the children…” Li Qi sighed.

This market could broadly be divided into two types of people.

Those who buy things, and those who sell things.

Those who sold things were also people from Shaman God Mountain, but they should be very peripheral Disciples.

Just like the old lady from the Wang family he met in Li Prefecture back then.

The items sold were mostly clever curiosities, rare exotic objects, uncommon treasures, and astonishing strange techniques—all flashy, superficial tricks.

There were very few Spiritual Artifact and items that could be put to practical use; most were positioned as toys, but one had to admit, they were indeed very attractive.

And most of those buying things were like Li Qi, second-generations.

It seemed that those peripheral Disciples received news of the banquet and then brought these items to earn money.

It could also be considered a business opportunity.

However, the disparity of the world was evident in this place.

Li Qi walked into it.

But before he had walked two steps, a young man quickly approached him: “Young Master! Please wait!”

“Your Excellency is?” Li Qi turned sideways and bowed, looking at the young man.

He didn’t act arrogant because the other party’s status was inferior to his, but treated him as an equal as always.

However, he was also assessing the Qi on the other person.

It seemed not to be orthodox Shaman, which meant not from the Zhu, Bu, or Zong lineages; this Qi…

Is it ‘Qi’?

A Ninth Grade Qi Ren?

‘Qi’ means to cry out, referring to those who, when faced with disaster, call out and pray for blessings.

Qi Ren are a small branch of the Invoker lineage, responsible for communication, and their Divine Ability excels in long-distance communication, having a very close relationship with the Divine Path; the earliest methods of prayer were developed by the Qi Ren lineage.

This Qi Ren stepped forward, first bowed, then politely and courteously said to Li Qi: “Is this Young Master visiting this Hundred Forms Market for the first time?”

“Hundred Forms Market? A good name.

Yes, it’s indeed my first time encountering it.” Li Qi replied politely.

The Qi Ren let out a long breath: “Phew, then I wasn’t mistaken.

Since Young Master knows nothing about this, why don’t I guide Young Master through it and introduce you to the wonders of this Hundred Forms Market?”

“This… how much do you charge?” Li Qi, not being reserved, asked directly.

A tour guide, of course, would charge money.

The Qi Ren, however, was a bit surprised.

He had been doing this for quite some time.

This was the first Young Master who asked him about the price.

Other Young Masters never asked about prices.

But he quickly reacted and answered swiftly: “Of course, there’s no need to spend money.

It is my honor to help Young Master acquire some items you like and find fun.

Young Master doesn’t need to address me as Your Excellency.

My surname is Zhang, given name Zidu; Young Master can just call me Zidu.”

Li Qi now understood.

He gets a commission, then.

But it was also normal; people needed to make a living, after all.

With that thought, Li Qi nodded: “Calling you by your given name would be too impolite.

Your Excellency is probably a few years older than me, so I’ll call you Brother Zhang.

Brother Zhang, shall we go explore first?

Could you introduce me to what kind of event this Hundred Forms Market is?”

“Alright, Young Master, please.

We can talk as we walk.” Zhang Zidu nodded, then took the lead, walking ahead to guide Li Qi.

As he led the way, he spoke:

“Since Young Master hasn’t heard of the Hundred Forms Market, I’ll start from the beginning.

This Hundred Forms Market is an organization established by the Shaman God Mountain Disciples other than the Young Masters.”

“The main task of the market is to exchange what one has for what one lacks.

We each find some treasures, but if we don't need them ourselves, we bring them to the market for exchange.

Through this back and forth, it developed, and now the market is always involved in various Shaman God Mountain events, like now.”

Li Qi listened and asked: “Then why don’t the Young Masters participate? If it’s about trading, the Young Masters have greater financial resources, which should be of great help to the market.”

Zhang Zidu smiled bitterly and shook his head: “Young Master, you are truly in the mountain and cannot see the whole picture.

As I said before, this market was originally set up for mutual exchange of what one has for what one lacks, but the Young Masters have no ‘lack’.”

The Disciples of the Great Shaman are all personally overseen by the Great Shaman; anything truly lacking on their Dao path has already been supplied.

Lack? What are you thinking?

Li Qi shook his head.

He wasn’t very clear; he seemed a bit different from the other Young Masters.

Aside from this bag of Qi beads and the cultivation method, it seemed his teacher hadn't given him anything else...

No Dao Protector, no Spiritual Artifact either.

Oh, and he was given the identity of ‘Young Master of Shaman God Mountain,’ which directly led to the current conflict in Tang Nation.

Zhang Zidu casually skipped over the topic: “Alright, let’s not talk about these.

Let me introduce Young Master to the wonders of these items.”

Saying that, he pointed to one of the stalls, on which were several strangely shaped exotic beasts: “Young Master, look, this item is a pupil worm.

It can be implanted in the eye to give one many perspectives that were originally invisible.”

“For example, the human eye only perceives three colors; myriad colors are merely combinations of red, yellow, and blue.

That purple pupil worm can give one four-color vision; once worn, one can see red, yellow, blue, and purple.”

Zhang Zidu introduced.