The old Daoist's face instantly broke into a smile. "Even with five spiritual roots, it doesn't matter. Your aptitude is at least that of an ordinary cultivator; with diligence, you can still achieve something. This fellow Daoist's Wood Spirit Root potential and Earth attribute potential seem the highest; it appears cultivating techniques and spells of the Wood or Earth element would be most suitable. I possess a vast collection of five-element cultivation manuals and spell scrolls; I have quite a few for Wood and Earth. I strongly recommend this Daoist choose one of these two categories to cultivate. However, these cultivation manuals are not for gold or silver; only Spirit Stones will do, and they are quite cheap—only one Low-Grade Spirit Stone for a single volume. I also carry the absolute finest scrolls of these categories in my satchel; they are slightly pricier, but the choice is yours. Which type of cultivation technique do you desire?"

"No need; I already have my own techniques."

Ye Qin flatly refused the old Daoist's recommendation, having no intention of spending Spirit Stones to purchase cultivation manuals from him.

Mundane objects like gold and silver could easily be acquired in any secular town through a quick act of "robbing the rich to aid the poor"—easy to obtain and inexhaustible. But Spirit Stones were essential for his cultivation and not easily found.

Besides, as the saying goes, one should compare prices before buying. Before he understood the general situation in Xian Yuan City, he was unwilling to waste precious Spirit Stones buying manuals from a local strongman. A dog-skin old Daoist like this, soliciting business at the city gates, could only have low-level manuals at best; there was certainly no chance of him having any good merchandise.

"Since the Daoist already possesses cultivation manuals, I shall not insist."

Seeing Ye Qin refuse his scrolls without hesitation, the old Daoist was not discouraged. He immediately and enthusiastically pulled out another palm-sized, ancient yellow scroll from his satchel and conspiratorially presented it to Ye Qin:

"Fellow Daoist, this is the newest edition of the Xian Yuan City Map scroll, made by the largest map scroll workshop in this city. I just received this shipment this month. By inputting a very small amount of magical power, it can project a ten-times-magnified panoramic illusory map of Xian Yuan City, detailing the location of every structure within the city and even providing descriptions. This is an excellent item! With this, you can roam Xian Yuan City as if it were your own garden. I normally wouldn't sell this to just anyone, but I feel a special affinity with you, Daoist, so I am specifically selling it to you. And the price isn't steep; it's clearly marked—only half a Spirit Stone. What do you think of this map scroll?"

Ye Qin took the map scroll out of curiosity and tested it. When he energized it with magical power, a panoramic map of Xian Yuan City indeed appeared on the scroll.

The top right corner of the scroll read: Xian Yuan City Map, Half a Low-Grade Spirit Stone per scroll. It was densely packed with no less than several thousand miniature phantom buildings. Above these buildings even floated tiny, sesame-seed-sized golden text descriptions explaining each structure. The characters were small, but discerning them was no difficulty for a cultivator.

He observed that the map scroll was small, convenient, and quite practical, allowing him to familiarize himself with Xian Yuan City in the shortest possible time, thus saving a considerable amount of time. After a moment's thought, he purchased the map for half a Spirit Stone.

The old Daoist rubbed his hands in delight and quickly pocketed the half Spirit Stone. He then pulled out other small items from his satchel and continued trying to hawk them to Ye Qin.

Suddenly, an angry roar echoed from a distance down the street: "Hey, you dog-skin Daoist! Give me back my Spirit Stones! You dare sell me a low-grade cultivation manual for three Spirit Stones? If I catch you, I will skin you alive!" A burly, towering, and fiercely imposing dark-faced man shouted furiously, striding towards them.

The sticky-like old Daoist was startled. He glanced back, spotted the fierce man, and his face instantly changed. He muttered, "Not good, the debt collector is here!" He hastily hoisted his satchel onto his back, not forgetting to say to Ye Qin, "Fellow Daoist, I suddenly have an urgent need... We'll do business another time, I must take my leave." With a quick burst of speed, he darted into the streets of Xian Yuan City.

"Don't run! Stop right there!"

Although the dark-faced man was burly, he was by no means clumsy. His steps were like the wind as he chased after him.

Ye Qin, holding the map, paused for a moment and let out a dry laugh.

Following the Xian Yuan City Map, he wandered through the city.

Xian Yuan City occupied a vast area and possessed a long history.

In the central district of the city, there were numerous ancient palaces constructed directly from rough, dark-green massive stones. Having endured countless years of wind and sun, they were mottled and worn, yet still magnificent and imposing enough to genuinely shock a newly arrived cultivator like himself.

The surrounding urban streets seemed to have been expanded later, primarily utilizing luxurious and precious wood and stone, with towering pavilions and bustling commerce. Since this was fundamentally a city for cultivators, the dense crowds often seen in secular towns were rarely encountered here.

Ye Qin walked casually to the largest marketplace near the center of Xian Yuan City.

This marketplace was one of the liveliest spots in Xian Yuan City, currently hosting at least two to three hundred low- and mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators setting up stalls to trade and exchange goods.

Moreover, because gold and silver were needed in many parts of the city, both gold leaves and Spirit Stones were used interchangeably here. Common daily necessities were priced in gold leaves, while more valuable cultivation items were usually priced in Spirit Stones.

At the entrance to the marketplace sat a thin, tall, green-robed elder in the third layer of Qi Refining, eyes closed in meditation. In front of his stall was a sign: Exchange services for different types and grades of Spirit Stones.

Ye Qin's mind stirred, and he approached a few steps to inquire, "How does the exchange rate for these Spirit Stones work?"

The green-robed elder opened his eyes and sized up Ye Qin. Seeing Ye Qin's ordinary attire, suggesting he wasn't wealthy, the elder spoke in a flat tone, "For exchanging different types of Spirit Stones, the exchange ratio is twenty for nineteen. That is, if you have twenty Low-Grade Wood Spirit Stones and urgently need a batch of Low-Grade Fire Spirit Stones, you can use those twenty Wood Spirit Stones here to receive nineteen Low-Grade Fire Spirit Stones. Low-Grade can be exchanged for Mid-Grade, and Mid-Grade for Low-Grade; the exchange rates vary." After speaking, he seemed uninterested in saying more and returned to his seated meditation, clearly not expecting Ye Qin to have any Spirit Stones to exchange.

Ye Qin thought to himself that profiting from the difference in exchange rates between different types of Spirit Stones—that was a good business. However, it likely required stockpiling hundreds or thousands of different kinds of Spirit Stones, demanding immense financial backing to operate. Otherwise, if a customer came to exchange stones but the vendor couldn't provide the requested type, it would ruin the vendor's reputation. The elder’s cultivation didn't seem very high; where did he acquire so many Spirit Stones?

Ye Qin looked over the old man and noticed a few small characters embroidered on the elder's sleeve: "Nan Liang, Lü." A member of the Lü Clan of the Nan Liang Kingdom?

He was inwardly startled. Shortly after entering the city, he had encountered the carriage procession of the Lü Clan of the Nan Liang Kingdom; just one convoy had included dozens of cultivators in the fourth or fifth layer of Qi Refining. He wondered just how many cultivators that family had in total. Such a family would naturally possess immense wealth and plenty of Spirit Stones.

After clarifying the exchange rates and seeing that the elder had no inclination to pay him any mind, Ye Qin rubbed his nose, turned away somewhat bored, and entered the marketplace to look around at other stalls.

The cultivators’ small stalls were casually placed directly on the ground.

Since the marketplace was quite large, there was usually a small gap between each stall. Occasionally, small groups of cultivators would pass by these stalls, inspecting goods and asking prices, resembling a secular trade market somewhat.

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