Chapter 31: Zhu Yiqun
After walking out of the shop, Song Changsheng turned into a small alley, and when he came out again, he was already wearing a cloak, tightly concealing himself.
He also activated the Breath Concealment Art, a secret technique from the Daoist Scripture, which could not only hide his aura and cultivation level but also suppress spiritual fluctuations.
Let alone Qi Refinement cultivators, even Foundation Establishment cultivators wouldn’t be able to see through him without special means.
The reason he was being so secretive was mainly because he was self-aware.
During this period, he had not only gravely injured Chang Tianhua, but also publicly humiliated the Earthfire Sect with the artifact refining competition.
There was no way Song Changsheng believed the Earthfire Sect didn’t want him dead.
Although fighting was strictly forbidden in the marketplace, it was still best to stay cautious just in case.
"There really aren’t many people on the streets as usual. I should head to the central plaza and see if I can get anything good."
He had already learned from Song Luyuan that most cultivators in the marketplace usually conducted trades in the central plaza, so the streets were generally deserted.
As expected, the central plaza was bustling. Loose cultivators had set up stalls everywhere, selling all kinds of items. The endless shouting gave Song Changsheng the illusion of being at a lively market fair.
He wandered through the stalls with interest and did find a few things worth stopping for, such as an unremarkable talisman brush on an old cultivator’s stall.
Although it didn’t look impressive, based on Song Changsheng’s experience in artifact refinement, he could tell it wasn’t ordinary. It would be worth picking up for a talisman cultivator.
But for him, it wasn’t necessary.
After wandering around, he eventually stopped at a stall selling ores. The stall owner was a middle-aged man with a rat-like face. When he saw Song Changsheng pause, he immediately greeted him enthusiastically:
“Fellow Daoist, take a look, pick anything you like! These are all rare raw ores you won’t usually come across!”
Song Changsheng squatted down, eyes scanning the various ores, and casually asked, “Fellow Daoist, how are these stones priced?”
The middle-aged cultivator rubbed his hands and said, “One spirit stone each, everything’s one spirit stone.”
“Are you trying to scam fools or something?” Song Changsheng sneered. “These ores haven’t been smelted, they're all raw and definitely not worth that price.”
“Fellow Daoist, look at what you’re saying. I’ve got quite a few second-rank ores in here. If you pick one, you’ve struck it rich!”
The middle-aged cultivator smiled innocently, but not a single word he said did Song Changsheng believe.
There were indeed some second-rank ores in the pile, but all of them were defective and impossible to refine, buying any would mean a loss.
However, his target wasn’t any of those but a seemingly ordinary stone in the corner. It appeared to be a first-rank Kongming Iron.
But Song Changsheng faintly sensed a ripple of water-type spiritual energy within it, which Kongming Iron shouldn't possess, piquing his curiosity.
“Three spirit stones. Let me pick five. That’s all these goods are worth.” Song Changsheng took out three spirit stones.
“Deal, deal!” The middle-aged cultivator took the stones with a beaming smile.
After all, he had scavenged all these ores from abandoned mines, they cost him nothing.
Besides that piece of Kongming Iron, Song Changsheng picked four other decent quality metal ores. Even if the Kongming Iron yielded no surprises, the rest would still earn him a bit.
Putting the ores away, Song Changsheng continued browsing. After making another round, he spent ten spirit stones on a damaged formation base from one stall and five spirit stones on a broken jade piece from another.
Just as he was about to reach the end of the market, a skinny old cultivator suddenly blocked his path and said mysteriously,
“Young friend, I have a map of an ancient ruin here. I can see you have extraordinary talent and the makings of a future saint.”
“For just one hundred spirit stones, I’ll sell you this heirloom treasure map. What do you think?”
As he spoke, he lifted a corner of his robe to reveal a worn beast hide map.
Song Changsheng was immediately speechless, he actually ran into such a low-level scam.
He originally didn’t want to bother, but became curious to see what kind of forgery it was, so he feigned interest and said:
“Senior, you talk such a good game. At least let me take a look. Otherwise, how do I know if you're telling the truth?”
Seeing that Song Changsheng was hooked, the old cultivator eagerly handed over the map:
“Take a good look.”
Song Changsheng took it and examined it. Turns out, this guy was quite skilled at forgery. Regardless of the authenticity of the content, the aging effect on the map was done so well it could easily pass for the real thing.
Even with his sharp eyes, Song Changsheng could only find subtle flaws. If it had been a naive young cultivator, they’d probably be halfway convinced already.
Just as Song Changsheng was about to ask a few more questions, a familiar voice suddenly sounded beside him:
“You old man, still out here trying to scam people again? Fellow Daoist, everything he sells is fake. Don’t be fooled by him.”
The old cultivator immediately jumped in anger:
“Fat Zhu, what nonsense are you spouting!”
Song Changsheng turned to look and saw a richly dressed fat man standing behind him.
He vaguely recognized this man, he’d seen him when he first arrived at the marketplace. The man had even tried to befriend him. His name was something like “Zhu Yiqun”?
He had originally thought this man had ulterior motives, but now it seemed he actually had some chivalrous spirit.
Many could recognize this scam, but only this man had stepped in to stop it for a stranger.
“Fellow Daoist, every word I said is true. Believe it or not is up to you,” Zhu Yiqun said sincerely to Song Changsheng, ignoring the old cultivator hopping in rage.
Song Changsheng nodded in agreement:
“Indeed. Although the aging technique on the map is clever, it lacks that true aged decay that ancient beast hide should have.”
Hearing that, the old cultivator’s face changed drastically. In an instant, he gave up his ‘heirloom’ map and disappeared into the crowd.
Song Changsheng didn’t intend to chase him, he found this Zhu fellow far more interesting.
Seeing this, Zhu Yiqun shook his head with a wry smile, “So, Fellow Daoist had already seen through it. I was being presumptuous.”
Song Changsheng cupped his hands, “Fellow Daoist Zhu, we meet again.”
The fat man was a little surprised:
“Fellow Daoist knows me?”
“We met once outside the marketplace. Does Fellow Daoist still remember?”
Zhu Yiqun instantly realized who Song Changsheng was and laughed:
“So it’s you. But should I call you Fellow Daoist Shen or Fellow Daoist Song?”
Now it was Song Changsheng’s turn to be stunned.
“No need to be surprised, Fellow Daoist. After all, your name is truly well-known in this market. Half a year ago, I also witnessed your exquisite formation inscription skills here.”
“From that moment on, I knew Fellow Daoist Shen and Fellow Daoist Song were the same person. I always felt we were destined to meet, who would have thought that today we’d meet again, and I’d be putting on a show in front of a master.”
(Chapter End)