Sage of Humanity

Chapter 41 Setting Up a Stall

Qingyun Marketplace was a small marketplace, such marketplaces were countless across the entire Spirit Stream battlefield, where cultivators always needed places for trade and rest. Thus, these spontaneously formed marketplaces came into existence.

Since no one managed the marketplace, everything in it seemed quite chaotic, especially the buildings. Featuring different styles from across the Nine Provinces, they stood scattered and made the marketplace look like a hodgepodge.

These buildings were constructed by the cultivators who had lived there for many years. With several cultivation resources available in the nearby Qingyun Mountain, and a high safety factor, it naturally attracted many low-level cultivators, especially those independent cultivators without a sect or a school.

Each building was a shop, selling various cultivation supplies, and there were even teahouses and bars.

Low-level cultivators also needed food and drink, and because cultivators had more daily needs than ordinary people, such businesses were inevitable.

Lu Ye walked past several shops, looking but not buying, mainly because he had no money, and gradually understood the trading methods among cultivators.

Lu Ye didn't know what currency system was used in the common world of the Nine Provinces, but trade among cultivators was generally done with Spirit Stones, the hard currency of the cultivation world. In daily cultivation or combat, as well as in talisman drawing and array setup, Spirit Stones were very useful. For this reason, they became the standard measure in trades between cultivators.

Lu Ye had never seen a Spirit Stone; Although the third senior brother from Qingyu Sect had placed Spirit Stones in the Array during the talent assessment, he hadn't paid much attention at the time.

Only now did he realize that these Spirit Stones were semi-transparent crystals, about the size of a thumbnail, and they also varied in quality. However, perhaps because the cultivators here were of low level, they all used low-grade Spirit Stones.

It appeared that there should be better ones like top-grade Spirit Stones.

The majority of the shops in the marketplace sold elixir pills or miracle cures for cultivators, an enticing sight for Lu Ye who had no money in his hands.

However, after visiting multiple shops, he had a bit of an idea about the general prices of things.

Beside these regular shops in the marketplace, there was a street filled with many independent cultivators who set up simple stalls by the roadside, showcasing items they wanted to sell, with interested parties haggling over prices.

This street was incredibly lively, more so than any other street Lu Ye had passed, selling all sorts of things, bustling like a market open for business.

After spending most of the day wandering in the marketplace and seeing everything there was to see, Lu Ye simply found an unoccupied spot on this street, sat down with his legs crossed, took out several ore stones from his storage sack, and after a thought, also took out a fist-sized piece of origin magnetic ore.

He didn't intend to sell these ores; he primarily wanted to find out how much his items were actually worth.

After roaming around for most of the day, he was hungry and took out some beast meat to eat; he had hunted quite a few beasts earlier, cooked them, and stored them in his storage sack, which was enough to sustain him for a few days.

While eating, he watched the passing cultivators, observing them carefully.

The level of cultivation among the cultivators was a mystery to him; he only knew that those who were qualified to roam the Spirit Stream battlefield were at least at Spirit Stream Level 1, but he couldn't tell how much higher their cultivation levels might be.

This wasn't a good thing, as he would definitely have conflicts with others in the future, and not being able to determine the level of other's cultivation posed some danger to him.

If he encountered a cultivator who was far beyond his own capabilities, he might lose his life before he could even gauge the other's strength.

So through such observations, he hoped to pick up some clues, which might save his life in the future.

As cultivators passed by, Lu Ye observed each one carefully, but couldn't discern anything.

"Junior Brother, what are you looking at?"

Lu Ye's unusual behavior caught the attention of a stall owner nearby, a plump female cultivator dressed in a green robe. The garment had been washed many times, but it was still neat, her hair lightly coiled up, revealing her slender and fair neck.

Lu Ye had not noticed her before, but when he turned his head to look, he immediately saw a view of undulating hills.

Withdrawing his gaze, Lu Ye shook his head, "I wasn't looking at anything." He took a dry bite of jerky and sipped some water.

The female cultivator pursed her lips and said, "You weren't trying to gauge the cultivation levels of others, were you?"

Lu Ye was surprised, "Is it that obvious?"

The female cultivator laughed, "Because when I first entered the Spirit Stream battlefield, I looked just as clueless as you."

So everyone had the same idea... Lu Ye chuckled to himself.

"Being an independent cultivator is tough, with no one to guide you, no seniors to protect you, not even a shelter to shield you from the elements," the female cultivator said, evidently reminiscing about her own past experiences. She sighed deeply, no longer reminiscing, then advised, "Just relying on the naked eye won't tell you much."

Lu Ye sought advice, "Then what should I do?"

"Since you've reached Spirit Stream, you should have enough spirit force. Why not try activating your spirit force?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Ye was startled and cursed himself for his stupidity. He immediately tried as the female cultivator had suggested, channeling his spirit force to his eyes. The next moment, it was as if he had opened the door to a new world.

The cultivators coming and going before him were all enveloped in a layer of spirit light invisible to the naked eye, gently flowing. It was a sign of the spirit force circulating within the bodies of the cultivators.

At first glance, the spirit light looked no different, but if one discerned carefully, some differences could still be seen.

Some people had spirit light that flowed faster and was denser around their bodies, while for others, the opposite was true.

Lu Ye came to a realization, those with denser and faster-flowing spirit light undoubtedly had higher cultivation levels, and vice versa.

"Do you see it now?" the female cultivator asked again.

Lu Ye continuously nodded.

The female cultivator said, "If you could join a sect, these things would come naturally, but as an independent cultivator with no one to guide you, you have to figure things out on your own."

At that moment, Lu Ye noticed several peculiar individuals; they had not a trace of spirit light on them, which puzzled him. After those individuals passed by, he asked the female cultivator about this.

The female cultivator said, "It's quite normal. They either have a Spiritual Artifact that shields their aura or they have practiced some Secret Technique to conceal their aura. However, the cultivators appearing here don't have high cultivation levels, so they likely don't have the energy to practice such Secret Techniques. It's probably the former."

"I see!" Lu Ye nodded, understanding.

"Here's some advice," the female cultivator said earnestly, "in the future, if you encounter such people, stay as far away as possible, because they definitely come from some well-established powers, far beyond what we minor independent cultivators can match. Also, while this method can generally estimate one's cultivation level, it's not completely accurate.

You can only truly judge someone's exact cultivation level when they actually start using their spirit force in action."

Lu Ye expressed his gratitude, "Thank you for the guidance, senior sister." He thought for a moment, then took out a piece of jerky from his storage sack and handed it over.

The female cultivator chuckled, did not refuse his kind gesture, took it, and began to eat slowly, her eating much more graceful compared to Lu Ye's.