"Fairy, might you need a guide? I've lived in this market for over twenty years—no one knows it better than I do. Whether you're looking for a shop..."
"Fairy, if you're looking to rent a place, I have connections..."
"I only ask for a single spirit stone!"
As Chen Jinshu entered the market dressed in plain blue robes, several elderly mortals or low-level cultivators stepped forward to block her path. Though old in appearance, they were spirited and carried themselves with a certain pride.
Chen Jinshu frowned slightly. No one should be obstructing a cultivator's way in any market. These mortals were either ignorant of etiquette or emboldened by having cultivators backing them, behaving without restraint.
After all, most rogue cultivators who came to a small place like Qingping Market didn't have high cultivation levels. No wonder these people were acting so boldly.
"No need," Chen Jinshu replied coldly, lightly releasing the spiritual pressure of someone in the late Qi Refining stage.
The men immediately shuddered and scattered, no longer daring to stop her. A short while later, outside the Qingping Inn, she saw her master, Shui Huanmeng, now disguised as an old woman.
"You've arrived, Jinshu? I've booked you a quiet room—here is the key," Shui Huanmeng said with a warm smile.
"Thank you, Master!" Chen Jinshu looked at her master's kindly face and might've mistaken her for a real old woman.
Shui Huanmeng was currently revealing only her Foundation Establishment cultivation. Even so, she was among the strongest in the entire market. The strongest cultivator Chen Jinshu had seen on her way here had been at the seventh level of Qi Refining, and most hovered around the fourth or fifth level.
"Go explore the market on your own. If anything suspicious arises, report back promptly," Shui Huanmeng said via spiritual transmission, then pulled her inside the inn.
"But Master, I want to have a look around! It's rare for me to get out at all," Chen Jinshu protested with a hint of playful whining.
"You child! Fine, go, but don't stay out too long," Shui Huanmeng sighed, letting go of her hand with mock disapproval.
Just as Chen Jinshu left the inn, she ran into her senior brother and Dai Yuzhu. Both were revealing their cultivation levels—eighth and sixth stages of Qi Refining, respectively. The three exchanged brief glances and silently went their separate ways. Though their levels didn't require such caution, they had chosen to investigate separately to avoid alerting any demon cultivators possibly hiding nearby.
Chen Jinshu left Qingping Market and headed toward the vendor stalls. If one wanted to understand a market, the quickest way was through the vendor stalls and the inns and restaurants. The inns were handled by Shui Huanmeng. Her senior brother and other senior disciples were inspecting other businesses in the market.
Qingping Market wasn't large. Chen Jinshu soon found the stalls. Looking out, they were packed tightly together. These stalls had the highest flow of goods and news. While Chen Jinshu's mission was to investigate, she figured she might as well buy a few things along the way.
However, after browsing a few stalls, her interest waned. Most of the goods were either damaged, low-grade, or had little spiritual energy left. Even so, she continued to browse meticulously. She was still on a mission.
After visiting about ten stalls, Xiao Yin in her spirit beast bag began to stir, eager to come out. She altered its appearance to resemble a common sparrow before letting it out.
"Stay on my shoulder and don't fly off," she instructed as she resumed browsing.
Xiao Yin obediently perched on her shoulder, curiously observing the surroundings.
Chirp chirp!
Just a few steps later, Xiao Yin let out a lively call.
"Oh? Did you find something?"
Chen Jinshu glanced at the bird and saw it flapping its wing toward a stall diagonally across from them. Looking over, she saw that the stall displayed various spirit herbs, plants, and spirit rice. She calmed her rising emotions, patted the bird gently, and made her way casually over. The spirit herbs were all standard-grade. Nothing rare. But the spirit rice—piled in a coarse sack—was suspicious. She sniffed it and caught a faint sour stench.
"These spirit rice grains aren't quite right," she murmured, frowning as she activated a detection spell over her eyes. Soon, she saw faint traces of black mist clinging to the grains.
"Demonic aura?" Her face remained calm, but inside, a storm was brewing.
"How much for this somewhat-spoiled spirit rice?" she asked, her tone showing slight distaste.
"These were gathered from abandoned fields near Qingping Market. Due to their sour smell and weak spiritual energy, most cultivators didn't bother with them. I thought it'd be a waste to leave them, so I picked some up. How much would the fairy like?" The vendor seemed a bit embarrassed.
He'd just hoped to get lucky by selling what others discarded. There was some demand—poor cultivators would sometimes buy it. But he hadn't expected a well-dressed female cultivator to show interest, and it surprised him greatly.
"I'm a spirit farmer. I cultivate spirit rice. These wild grains piqued my curiosity—I want to take them back for research," she said casually.
"Ah, I see. How much would you like?" The vendor became friendlier upon hearing her identity.
Being a spirit farmer was tough, but far better than the life of a wandering rogue cultivator. At least they had land to grow on and stable harvests.
"I'll take all of it. Name your price."
There was about five jin (approx. 2.5kg)—worth two spirit stones at most.
"How about three spirit stones?" the vendor offered tentatively.
"One and a half. There's barely any spiritual energy in these—they're not even edible."
"Deal!"
As she took the bag of rice, she quietly checked the vendor's aura. Qi Refining level three, faint metallic spiritual power. No demonic aura. She handed over one and a half spirit stones and moved on, hoping to find more clues.
Soon after, another stall caught her attention. This one sold parts from low-level demon beasts. Chen Jinshu noticed abnormalities in the parts—many frog limbs had black bumps on the surface, and the meat was unnaturally dark.
She asked where they were gathered. As expected, they too came from the abandoned rice fields near Qingping Market. After investigating the rest of the stalls, she found nothing else unusual. When she returned to the inn, her senior brothers and sisters were already in Shui Huanmeng's room waiting. She immediately reported her findings.
"Since it was you who discovered the issue in the abandoned rice fields, Jinshu, you'll go investigate. If there's residual demonic aura, cleanse it. If it's absorbed enough spiritual energy to grow stronger, the surrounding towns could be at serious risk," Shui Huanmeng said after listening carefully.
Other disciples had also found leads and were assigned tasks to deal with demonic energy in various areas.
"I will not fail in my duty!" Chen Jinshu nodded solemnly.
"You'll all begin tomorrow. I'll also scout the area myself."