Zong Ziqi returned to his room.

Although Ding Shiping was reluctant, he couldn’t speak and could only return to his room, frustrated.

Jiang Xu sensed the 17 Cold Ice Talismans in his Storage Bag and walked out of the inn.

After leaving the inn, Jiang Xu stared at the street before him, a bit lost.

The entire Marketplace was immense, like a giant city.

The North District, where Jiang Xu was, was vast on its own.

It was about the size of a town from his previous life.

In a place like this, trying to find a specific shop was quite a hassle.

Jiang Xu had considered finding a Broker to help him search.

But hiring someone required Spirit Stones, and Jiang Xu didn’t have any on hand.

He could only rely on his own two feet.

...

It could be said that Jiang Xu was rather lucky.

The major shops and merchant guilds were all located in the North District.

As for the other districts, they contained places like the free trade market, gambling dens, and brothels.

Jiang Xu easily found his target—the Duo Bao Pavilion.

However, he didn’t go in directly. Instead, he continued to wander around the North District.

He noted the size and name of each shop, one by one.

At this moment, Jiang Xu was wearing a bamboo hat and had cast the Concealing Breath Spell, hiding his features.

This kind of attire wasn’t particularly conspicuous.

More than half of the Cultivators were disguised in some way.

It was just that their methods of disguise differed.

He spent the entire morning wandering around like this, memorizing most of the shops.

Not only that, but Jiang Xu also paid special attention to every customer leaving the various shops.

He checked whether there were any shady people following them, or if they had been marked in any way.

After a morning of observation, Jiang Xu discovered that aside from two or three small shops where this sort of thing occurred, the other major shops were all basically normal.

Unless those people were using tracking methods that Jiang Xu couldn’t detect.

’Selling fifteen Cold Ice Talismans is only worth thirty Spirit Stones. This time, it’s not conspicuous at all, so no one should pay any attention to me.’

’But with my level of Talisman Making, when the number of Talismans multiplies in the future, it’ll naturally become much more eye-catching.’

’So I need to plan ahead and prepare for it starting now.’

His guard raised, Jiang Xu silently compared the various shops in his mind before finally stepping into the Duo Bao Pavilion.

Upon entering, the first thing he saw were two rows of uniformly dressed, slightly revealing female attendants lining the main hall.

They were all Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer Female Cultivators!

’Whoa, how extravagant!’

Jiang Xu was startled.

In the spacious hall, large enough to hold over a hundred people, more than twenty Cultivators were browsing goods displayed on counters made of Purple Sandalwood, a Tier One Middle Grade Spiritual Material.

Each Cultivator was accompanied by an attendant.

Jiang Xu’s arrival was inconspicuous, yet he was still noticed by the sharp-eyed attendants. Soon, one of them approached gracefully, smiling as she greeted him.

"Sir, is this your first visit? What might you be looking for? Our Duo Bao Pavilion has the most complete selection of all the shops in the Purple Profound Celestial Marketplace. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed!"

Jiang Xu was a little puzzled as to how she knew it was his first time here, given his disguise.

’Perhaps it’s because I stood there in a daze for a while after entering.’

He made a mental note of it, then lowered his voice and altered its tone before asking the attendant:

"Does your Duo Bao Pavilion purchase Talismans?"

The attendant’s smile didn’t waver.

"Are you looking to sell Talismans? Yes, we do. Duo Bao Pavilion also purchases Talismans. In addition to Talismans, we purchase all sorts of other items as well.

However, I should let you know beforehand, our purchase price is five to ten percent lower than the market price.

Furthermore, if the items you’re selling require appraisal, you will also need to pay an additional appraisal fee."

"Five to ten percent?"

Jiang Xu winced.

’The total is only worth thirty Spirit Stones, and now I’m losing two or three right off the bat!’

Seeing Jiang Xu’s lack of response, the attendant, based on her past experience with customers, understood that he was hesitating because of the purchase price.

"If you feel the price isn’t suitable, you could go to the South District. You can apply for a stall there to sell at market price. Alternatively, you could check other shops for comparison.

Or, if you purchase items from our store at the same time as you sell, we can also offer a discount on your purchase, depending on the value of the items you’re selling."

’How sly of them!’

’With rules like these, if I sell and buy here at Duo Bao Pavilion, wouldn’t they be making money off me twice?’

’But since I need to buy some Talisman Paper anyway, it’s fine to do it all at once.’

Thinking this, Jiang Xu agreed and had the attendant lead him to a small private room.

After Jiang Xu entered, the attendant took a Token from her robes. She infused it with Magical Power, and a ripple of energy spread out, resonating with the room’s inner walls.

In an instant, the room’s surfaces rippled, and a faint film-like barrier appeared.

Jiang Xu’s pupils contracted. He was just about to cast all his various Magic spells again, but then he thought of something and his hands froze.

"Please don’t be alarmed, Sir. This is our Duo Bao Pavilion’s Array. It blocks sound, isolates Divine Sense, and provides a certain degree of Defense. It’s a protection we provide for every one of our customers. Now then, what kind of Talismans are you looking to sell?"

Jiang Xu took the 15 Cold Ice Talismans he had made from his Storage Bag and placed them on the table.

"Fifteen Cold Ice Talismans. You can count them."

"So many Cold Ice Talismans?"

The attendant exclaimed softly, the way she looked at Jiang Xu changing slightly.

"Are you... are you a Talisman Maker?"

"What? Are you not going to buy them if I’m not a Talisman Maker?"

Jiang Xu’s voice instantly turned cold.

"No, no, you’ve misunderstood!"

The attendant hastily explained:

"Of course, you can sell Talismans even if you aren’t a Talisman Maker. But if you are a Talisman Maker, and you don’t belong to any faction, please give our Duo Bao Pavilion strong consideration. As a top-tier merchant guild that spans the entirety of the Great Qi, we would definitely give you a satisfactory offer!"

"Don’t get ahead of yourself. I, Zo—I don’t know a thing about that blasted Talisman Making! Really, why is selling something so complicated? Just get on with it!" Jiang Xu feigned extreme impatience.

Jiang Xu had originally intended to say "Zong Ziqi," but he then recalled that Zong Ziqi was a "well-known" figure in the Sect and not easy to impersonate, so he had simply said his surname was Zong.

"Alright, sir, please don’t be so anxious!"

After being snapped at by Jiang Xu, the attendant pouted, timidly drew back, and with a swipe of her small hand in her Storage Bag, a small handful of Spirit Stones landed on the table.

"Please count them. There are thirty-six Spirit Stones in total."

"Thirty-six?" Jiang Xu blinked. "I thought you said it would be five to ten percent lower than market price? Why is it more?"