Chapter 62: A Trip to the Market
With the Taixu Secret Realm about to open, Master Qingxuan was planning to replenish a batch of materials for drawing special talismans.
The thought of all the wonderful things in the market made him restless. He abandoned his dignified and otherworldly image and enthusiastically began to personally select his troops.
"Yun'er! Pan'er! Shuang'er! Li'er! Come! Follow your master down the mountain to stroll through the market!" His voice was loud and clear, with a touch of childlike excitement.
Thus, Yi Xingfeng and his group of five, infected by their master's excitement that was completely at odds with his appearance, arrived at "Yun Shen Market," the largest market at the foot of Tianyan Sect Mountain.
The market was bustling with people and filled with noise.
The stalls were brightly lit, and the sounds of vendors calling out their wares and bargaining filled the air.
However, once he entered the purchasing phase, Master Qingxuan completely transformed into a price-hacking maniac!
"Shopkeeper! Your 'Star Pattern Sand' has a dim spiritual light and impurities are visible. It's clearly a second-rate product! Half price! That's the most I can offer!" He picked up a pinch of sand that was shimmering with a faint light, his brows furrowed, looking as if to say, "Don't even think about hiding this from my discerning eyes."
The chubby stall owner, a cultivator, nearly jumped up: "Senior! You can't just spout nonsense! This is top-quality star-patterned sand! Look at the starlight within! Half price? I can't even recoup my costs!"
"Tsk tsk! Look at this 'fire lizard skin'!" Master Qingxuan picked up another processed animal hide, pointing his fingertip at the edge: "Look! The leftover material is not cleaned properly! The tanning process is also a bit off, and it lacks toughness! How about we add some 'hollow blue stone' fragments? That would make up for the price difference!" He put on an expression that said, "You've already gotten a great deal."
The portly stall owner's face scrunched up in a bitter expression: "Senior... even scraps of azurite are considered spiritual materials..."
Tie Pan obediently followed behind. Every time Qingxuan Zhenren cut down an item, he silently took it and carried it on his shoulder. His massive frame and the ever-growing mountain of goods formed a stark contrast.
Mo Yun followed closely beside Master Qingxuan with a helpless expression, responsible for the final settlement.
Whenever his master and the stall owner got to a crucial point in their argument, he would step forward at the opportune moment, gently hand over the spirit stones, and secretly add a few more amidst Qingxuan Zhenren's grumbling of "what a loss," to appease the stall owner's resentment.
Ling Shuang crossed her arms and followed at a distance. Watching her master's behavior, which was completely inconsistent with his status as a Nascent Soul Ancestor, she couldn't help but raise her hand to her forehead, with an expression that said, "I don't know him."
Fang Li was about to burst from holding it in! She secretly took out a recording stone and quietly recorded Qingxuan Zhenren's "heroic figure" as he argued vehemently with flying spittle.
"Master! What happened to your image?! It's completely shattered!" she mentally complained.
[Click! High-definition and uncensored! Master's haggling history has been perfectly archived!] The system excitedly watched the show. [I've even thought of a title: "Shocking! The Peak Master of Tianyan Sect actually threw a tantrum in the street for three low-grade spirit stones!"...Hey? Host, look at the second-floor window of the teahouse on the right! Isn't that Xie Fox, the one in the flashy blue robe, waving a fan and flirting with you? (Sneaky)]
Fang Li subconsciously looked towards the teahouse on her right.
Sure enough, Xie Chen was standing by the window, dressed in a green robe, holding a jade fan, with a smile on his lips. His gaze fell on her, and when he saw her looking over, he elegantly raised the teacup in his hand.
Fang Li quickly put away the photo stone and pretended to admire the scenery.
A short while later, Xie Chen walked down from the teahouse with an air of elegance and came to the group. He bowed to Master Qingxuan and said, "Master, you seem to be enjoying yourself today."
Master Qingxuan was arguing heatedly with the stall owner over the price of a bundle of "century-old purple bamboo talisman paper" when he waved his hand haphazardly and said, "You've come at the perfect time! Help your master see if this talisman paper is worth the price!"
Xie Chen smiled and agreed. In a few words, he pointed out some minor flaws in the talisman while affirming its overall value, offering a fair price acceptable to both parties, and the transaction was successfully completed. The stall owner thanked Xie Chen repeatedly.
Master Qingxuan stroked his beard with satisfaction, feeling that his eldest disciple was quite useful at this crucial moment.
Xie Chen then walked naturally to Fang Li's side, magically produced an oil paper package from his sleeve, and handed it to her: "I just bought some osmanthus sugar cake and spirit fruit preserves. They taste pretty good. Junior Sister, would you like to try them?"
Fang Li was taken aback for a moment, then took the still warm oil paper package, smelled the faint sweet fragrance, and thanked her.
[Host, has Xie Fox maxed out his feeding skill? (→_→)]
Just as Master Qingxuan was basking in the joy of successfully acquiring another batch of "Golden-Eyed Ape Hair Brushes," a booming voice, as loud as a bell, suddenly rang out from afar, instantly drowning out the clamor of the market:
"Master Qingxuan! Fang Li! What a coincidence! You're here too?!"
Ji Qianqiu, carrying a "Cloud-Stepping Deer" even taller than himself, strode through the crowd with a bright smile on his face, the deer's antlers almost brushing against the stalls next to him.
He threw the still-dripping deer carcass to the ground with a thud, making the ground tremble, and grinned, "I just came back from the back mountain, and I hunted this big guy! How about we have a barbecue tonight? I'm a great cook!"
Looking at the Cloud-Treading Deer on the ground, brimming with spiritual energy and clearly meant for refining nourishing spiritual food, and then at Ji Qianqiu's naive and eager expression, Master Qingxuan's joy at successfully bargaining was instantly overwhelmed by an even greater joy.
His eyes lit up, and he immediately forgot all about talismans and pens. He rubbed his hands together, leaned closer to the cloud-riding deer, and exclaimed in admiration, "Wow! This deer is plump and full of spiritual energy! Good, good! Food included?"
Ji Qianqiu thumped his chest loudly: "Enough! Enough! The deer legs will be roasted to perfection for you, Master, until they're crispy on the outside and tender on the inside!"
Master Qingxuan immediately made the decision, his air of otherworldly elegance completely wasted: "Deal! Let's go! Back to the peak! Let's go for a barbecue! We're not buying anything today!"
Fang Li looked at her master, who had been instantly lured away by the delicious food, the huge deer carcass on the ground, and Ji Qianqiu, who looked like he had "planned everything," and couldn't help but facepalm.
Well, it looks like today's market shopping trip will have to be turned into a barbecue.
In the small courtyard of Bizhu Garden, the bonfire crackled, and the orange flames illuminated several faces with different expressions.
As soon as Ji Qianqiu placed the prepared large chunks of venison on the fire, the rich aroma of the meat eagerly filled the air, making everyone's mouths water.
Just as the atmosphere was getting warmer, a hearty laugh rang out: "Haha! Better late than never! Good meat can't be without good wine!" Master Qingxuan, carrying an antique black jade wine jar, walked into the courtyard with a cheerful smile.
He broke the seal, and a rich, intoxicating aroma of wine, mixed with the crisp scent of herbs and plants, instantly overwhelmed the aroma of meat and filled the air.
Even Ling Shuang, who had been standing in the corner with her arms crossed and a cold expression, couldn't help but glance at the wine jar.
"Come, come! Try my most treasured possession! 'Ten Thousand Year Jade Marrow Brew'! Don't be shy!" Master Qingxuan called out, personally pouring wine for the people sitting around the campfire. The jade-like wine fell into the bowls, filled with spiritual energy.
Ji Qianqiu squatted beside the fire, his movements extremely rough, directly flipping large chunks of venison over the flames, the fat dripping into the fire and sizzling, the edges of the meat having an enticing charred brown color.
Xie Chen, on the other hand, was much more elegant. He took out a set of small, exquisite silver knives and spice bottles, and slowly and methodically sliced the venison into evenly thin slices, sprinkled it with special spices, skewered it with slender silver skewers, and roasted it slowly over an evenly heated fire. The aroma was delicate and enticing.
Shen Yunzhou sat silently to one side, several skewers of venison laid out in front of him. He made no unnecessary movements, only occasionally flicking a wisp of cool air from his fingertips across the skewers to ensure even cooking, keeping the meat at the perfect low temperature, firm yet not burnt. He remained completely silent throughout.
Mo Yun smiled gently, took the large chunk of meat that Ji Qianqiu had roughly processed, skillfully brushed it with a layer of sweet honey, and patiently roasted it, controlling the heat perfectly, the aroma of the meat carrying a hint of sweetness.
Iron Pan...
A small pile of grilled meat skewers had already been piled up in front of Tie Pan. He was engrossed in eating, his mouth greasy with oil, and he was making satisfied humming noises.
Fang Li was caught up in the atmosphere, and the aroma of the jade marrow wine was so tempting that Master Qingxuan urged her, "Disciple, try it! This wine is full of spiritual energy and will be good for your cultivation!"
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