Chapter 126: First Entry into the Sea Market

The Liang Kingdom is located in the southwest of Yuping Zhou; while somewhat remote in terms of the cultivation world, it possesses several advantages.

The first is the Liuyun River; as one of the water systems of Yuping Zhou, this river is rich in spiritual energy and vibrant with life, and its flow into the sea naturally brings prosperity to the living things at the river mouth.

The second is that the terrain at the mouth of the Liuyun River is quite excellent; it is not only a fine natural harbor but also very convenient for transportation, connecting directly to overseas nations via ocean currents, which saves much trouble when conducting business.

The third is that the Dragon Lord of Liuyun Palace is an enlightened one, or perhaps one who also has his own needs, and is willing to jointly maintain the Liangjiang Sea Market and its shipping routes; otherwise, if the routes were unfavorable, this sea market trade could never have been established.

The Dragon Lord is the master of the Longgong; although this Liuyun Palace cannot yet be considered a demon kingdom, it can be counted among the ranks of the feudal lords, with a territory of nearly ten thousand li and no small amount of power, such that even Longhu Mountain must give him some face.

Lin Qinhu was in no hurry while with Chen Ci; seeing that the guests on the deck had mostly departed and the flow of people was thin, the two walked off the Treasure Ship and stepped onto the pier of the Liangjiang Sea Market.

"Although this Liangjiang Sea Market is not much different from ordinary workshops and also has cultivators from Longhu Mountain maintaining order, I must give you a word of warning."

Lin Qinhu said indifferently: "This place is truly a mix of fish and dragons, and the flow of cultivators from all directions is great; let alone the He Mountain Sect, even the name of Longhu Mountain is not that useful here, so don't go dying in some corner."

Hearing this, Chen Ci felt a chill, raised his hand, and replied: "Mm, I understand."

……

The Liangjiang Sea Market covers a vast area; although it is a product of immortal methods, it is actually still a place where immortals and mortals live together, and the proportion of mortals is over ninety percent.

There is no help for it; in all trades and professions, as long as it does not involve True Qi, Dharma Power, or changes in spiritual energy, if any position offers a high salary of a few taels of silver, plenty of people will break their heads to get it.

You try swapping in a cultivator?

The cost is right there.

Chen Ci directed his five little spirit ghosts to clean an ordinary residence inside and out, and only then did he nod with satisfaction.

Although this residence is not wealthy, it is fully equipped; not to mention the three rooms and one hall, there is also a quite large outer courtyard, which is very quiet.

Qingyun Fang has no other shortcomings, except that there are a few hundred million more mortals living in the vicinity.

"It's not that I can't afford to live in an immortal cave dwelling, but that an ordinary residence has a better price-performance ratio; such a residence only costs twenty taels of silver for half a year's rent, which is very comfortable."

Chen Ci appeared indifferent on the surface, but in his heart, he was already sour enough to be biting a lemon; that Lin Laohu went to live in Changsheng Fang without even mentioning bringing along his little brother, he really is as stingy as his mother opening the door—stingy to the core.

Changsheng Fang, a true immortal cave dwelling, is rich in spiritual energy and beneficial to one's Dao practice, with a rent of one Spirit Pearl per day.

Then there is Fugui Fang, with pavilions everywhere, kiosks standing in rows, energy rising, and clouds swirling; it truly has an immortal style, but in reality, all the money is spent on the hilt—it is useless except for looking good, and it has no great benefit to cultivation, with a rent of one Spirit Pearl per month.

Then there is Qingyun Fang, which focuses on 'being poor but firm in will, not abandoning the ambition of the blue clouds,' and is well-received by the vast number of cultivators in the Liangjiang Sea Market, with a rent of at most ten taels of silver per month, which Chen Ci took a fancy to at first glance.

"The Dragon Lord of Liuyun Palace's birthday banquet is on the second day of the second lunar month next year, five months away, but I heard from that cheap senior brother that Jiao Zhenren will arrive at the sea market before the new year; I wonder if there will be a chance to latch onto a big shot."

Chen Ci sat in the hall, watching 'Hongzhong' jumping up and down, directing his brothers to boil water and make tea; he rubbed his chin and chuckled, having thought of a piece of trivia.

Among the dragon species, dragon children have the distinction of being egg-born or womb-born, but it has nothing to do with the paternal clan, only the status of the maternal clan.

That is to say, if the maternal clan is womb-born, the dragon child is womb-born; if the maternal clan is egg-born, the dragon child is egg-born.

If a dragon child is egg-born, there is another problem: is their birthday the day the egg was laid, or the day they hatched?

Moreover, egg-born dragon children gestate in the egg for a long time, sometimes spanning several years, so some dragon species choose a day with a good omen according to their own wishes as their birthday, and the second day of the second lunar month is especially common.

It is possible that this Dragon Lord of Liuyun Palace is an egg-born dragon species.

That is getting a bit off-topic; Chen Ci took the health tea offered by Hongzhong and sipped it with satisfaction. He has to stay in this Liangjiang Sea Market for at least half a year; he has enough silver for daily life, but it is somewhat insufficient if he wants to advance his Dao practice.

That Lin Laohu is too stingy; although the cave dwelling in Changsheng Fang is a bit small, it wouldn't be impossible to squeeze two people in, and he wouldn't mind anything.

At worst, he could sleep on the floor.

Thinking of this, the tea in Chen Ci's hand suddenly didn't taste good anymore.

He noted it down in his little notebook; when he makes it big in the future, hmph, it's still the same saying: do not bully a man in his middle age for being poor.

However, the most important thing at present is to obtain Essence Refining to continue practicing the Five Ghosts Transportation Method.

Although one can practice the Five Ghosts Possession Great Method once the Five Ghosts Transportation Method reaches Great Completion, the gap between 'Great Completion 2/100' and 'Great Completion 99/100' is likely terrifyingly large.

Furthermore, the sea market is rich and full of rare treasures; since Chen Ci has finally come here, wouldn't it be a wasted trip if he didn't see the world and expand his sources of wealth?

*Cough*, his little notebook has a whole page filled with demon sirens, barbarian maidens, and Dragon Ladies; he doesn't know if his wallet can handle it.

Meeting the most expensive 'her' when one's body is in its prime is also one of the regrets of a man.

Let's go, time to make money!

Chen Ci drank the hot health tea in his hand in one gulp, stood up, and closed the door, full of momentum. Just a few steps out of the outer courtyard, a person darted out from the roadside, knelt on the ground, and asked with a fawning smile: "This master, do you need an errand runner, servant, sedan chair bearer, or carriage for transport? This little one's nickname is 'Know-it-all'; there isn't a thing in the entire Liangjiang Sea Market that this little one doesn't know. Even news from overseas, this little one can find out."

Since the Liangjiang Sea Market is a place where immortals and mortals live together, all the mortals naturally make a living around the cultivators; the spending power of cultivators is not something ordinary people can compare to.

From the moment a cultivator like Chen Ci moved into Qingyun Fang, he became a hot commodity for all trades and professions; for example, with the rent, a business of only twenty taels of silver, the landlord even wanted to give him two maids for free to wait on him, but it was rejected by Chen Ci.

As long as one is willing to spend silver, there are plenty of people in the sea market willing to work for cultivators, but the useful and reliable ones must be chosen by the cultivators themselves.

Chen Ci sized this person up for a few moments; he had no small amount of martial arts cultivation, looked quite honest, but his brows and eyes were very capable, and his clothing was quite clean and neat, giving a good first impression.

"Get up and answer."

Chen Ci thought for a moment that he did indeed need a local guide, so he asked: "What is your name and surname, and what is your price?"

"This little one's surname is He, given name Cheng, and I live at the eleventh household of Small Mud Alley in Chunan Fang. I am an errand runner for the Know-it-all Tower; this is my work badge."

The man named He Cheng stood up, first showed Chen Ci a wooden badge that was crafted quite exquisitely, and then continued: "This little one's daily wage is one tael of silver; any chores can be handed to this little one to do, but if it is something difficult, it will require some extra silver."

"You are actually organized?"

Chen Ci glanced at the wooden badge; it indeed had the characters 'He Cheng' on it, so it seemed to be something to verify his identity.

"To let the master know, if this little one does not do well and offends the master, you can go there to find this little one."

He Cheng said with a respectful attitude.

"Fine, it will be you."

Chen Ci pondered for a moment and then agreed.

"Thank you, master. May I ask for the master's immortal surname? Do you need this little one to call for a sedan chair or carriage for transport?"

He Cheng bowed respectfully and quickly entered work mode.

"That is not urgent; I have a question for you first."

Chen Ci looked at him and asked: "I want to purchase some Essence Refining; where should I go, and what is the price?"

He Cheng thought for a moment before replying: "If the master is asking about the kind of Essence Refining that high-level cultivators refine from living creatures, there are many merchant associations and treasure pavilions in the sea market where it can be purchased, but they cannot guarantee stock on hand; it may take two or three days. As for the price, it should be thirteen taels of silver per drop."

After a pause, the man lowered his voice and whispered: "However, there are some cultivator masters who also sell this item, with the price being about eight taels of silver per drop. As for whether there is stock on hand, the quantity, or the quality, I dare not say for sure; one would need to search and ask around."

Heh, this Liangjiang Sea Market is not bad; the price is much cheaper than that profiteer at the Baibao Pavilion in Xishan Market. If it weren't for the fact that Essence Refining is difficult to preserve and the Sea Market is far from Xishan Prefecture, one could probably have made a killing back then just by flipping the price difference.

Chen Ci chuckled, staring at the caller from the Hall of All Matters for a while, until he was sweating profusely, before saying indifferently: "I am surnamed Chen. Do your work well, and there will be no lack of reward money for you."

(End of this chapter)