Seeing the trio’s unreasonable behavior, Mo Fan’s gaze gradually turned cold, but he quickly regained his composure and smiled at them. “That’s one way to look at it!”
With that, he opened his mouth and spat out a pile of spirit stones, then said to the blind vendor, “Besides those three Diamond Talismans, I’ll take all the talismans on your stall!”
“What?”
“Alright… alright!!”
The blind vendor was instantly delighted. With a wave of his hand, a surge of spiritual energy swept out, collecting the spirit stones into the storage pouch at his waist.
Seeing this, Mo Fan opened his mouth and swallowed all the talismans.
In truth, there weren’t many talismans—just two Thunderfire Talismans and ten Godspeed Talismans.
After collecting the talismans, Mo Fan ignored the greedy gazes of the trio nearby and asked the vendor, “Since you can craft talismans, you must know the art of talisman-making. Would you be willing to sell that knowledge as well?”
“Fellow Daoist, you jest,” the blind vendor said, frowning slightly. “The art of talisman-making isn’t so easily mastered, and it’s my livelihood. How could I sell it lightly?”
Mo Fan didn’t heed his words and said directly, “Name a price!”
“Fellow Daoist, please stop,” the blind vendor said, growing impatient. “This is my foundation. No matter how high your offer, I won’t sell!” With that, he turned and left.
Mo Fan sighed and left the stall as well.
“Boss, this guy’s way too rich!”
“Yeah, he’s a fat sheep. Should we…?”
“Shh! Keep your damn voices down! We’ll deal with this later. Third, keep an eye on him—don’t let him slip away!”
“Got it!”
As Mo Fan walked ahead, he caught their hushed whispers.
Though his cultivation was only at the mid-Demon Ding stage, his sensory and auditory abilities had been greatly enhanced by the Heaven-Devouring Divine Art. Even from several zhang away, he could still pick up faint sounds.
Mo Fan’s lips curled slightly. He felt no fear or dread—only a faint excitement.
He continued browsing other stalls but found most were selling ordinary magical artifacts, which even he looked down upon. They were mostly wooden trinkets, priced exorbitantly at hundreds of spirit stones.
After a full round, Mo Fan found nothing to his liking until he stopped at a stall run by a girl of about fourteen or fifteen.
Her stall was different, selling books. Though many people visited, they all left shaking their heads after asking for details.
“Fellow Daoist, what kind of books are you selling?” Mo Fan asked. “Are they cultivation techniques?”
The girl gave a wry smile. “Fellow Daoist, you’re joking. Cultivation techniques are extremely precious in the cultivation world. Even major sects guard them closely—how could they be easily shared? Let alone for us rogue cultivators.”
“If they’re not cultivation techniques, then what are they?” Mo Fan asked, frowning, a bit disappointed. If he could buy a human cultivation technique in this market, he’d be eager to purchase one, hoping to glean insights for his own cultivation.
But from the girl’s words, it seemed human sects tightly controlled the spread of such techniques, making them hard to obtain.
This made him think of the book he’d taken from the alchemy furnace room. Could it not be a cultivation technique after all?
Had he misunderstood?
As Mo Fan pondered, the girl spoke up. “The books on my stall aren’t cultivation techniques for us cultivators but martial arts manuals from the mortal world. They’re mostly body-tempering techniques. Though their power can’t match our spells, they can strengthen the physique and solidify one’s foundation.”
“Martial arts manuals?” Mo Fan’s frown deepened. After a moment, he said, “In that case, tell me about these so-called martial arts manuals. Are any suitable for demons to cultivate?”
“Demons?” The girl was taken aback, sizing Mo Fan up uncertainly. “Fellow Daoist, are you a demon cultivator?”
“Don’t worry about that. Are any of these books suitable for demons?” Mo Fan asked, expressionless.
“As far as I know, demon cultivators surpass human cultivators in physical strength, so all my manuals are quite suitable,” the girl said after thinking. She picked up a book from the stall and handed it to Mo Fan. “This is the Little Thunder Sound Fist Manual, a semi-body cultivation technique, likely the most suitable for demon cultivators.”
“Semi-body cultivation technique? What does that mean?” Mo Fan asked, not quite understanding.
“Body cultivators are a type of human cultivator who specialize in training their physique, somewhat similar to demon cultivators with their strong bodies and immense strength. This Little Thunder Sound Fist Manual, when mastered to a high level, is said to produce thunderous sounds. When paired with certain special constitutions, it can even yield unexpected effects.”
Hearing this, Mo Fan grew interested. “How much?”
“I’m not selling it outright. If you want it, you can trade five low-grade spirit herbs for it,” the girl said, staring at Mo Fan eagerly.
Five low-grade spirit herbs?
Mo Fan frowned. That was equivalent to fifteen low-grade spirit stones.
It wasn’t much, but was a mortal world fist manual really worth that price?
No wonder so many people had left shaking their heads—it was a bit outrageous.
Thinking this, Mo Fan shook his head. “Too expensive. If it’s three low-grade spirit herbs, I might consider it!”
With that, he turned to leave.
“Fellow Daoist, wait!” the girl called out urgently.
Mo Fan turned back, seeing her give a wry smile. “Three it is, then!”
Hearing this, Mo Fan frowned slightly but turned back. After thinking, he said, “I can’t read. Can you explain the contents of this fist manual to me?”
“What?!” The girl was stunned, not expecting such a request.
“If you explain it thoroughly, I’ll consider giving you an extra low-grade spirit herb.”
Under the temptation of Mo Fan’s offer, the girl quickly grew enthusiastic and began explaining.
After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Mo Fan had memorized the entire Little Thunder Sound Fist Manual and understood its more complex parts. He handed over four low-grade spirit herbs and was about to leave with the manual when he suddenly asked, “By the way, I’m looking to buy a suitable magical artifact. Do you know a good place?”
“Magical artifact?” The girl thought for a moment. “For magical artifacts, the Hundred Weapons Pavilion has the most variety and the best selection in the market. You should check it out.”
“Thanks!” Mo Fan nodded and left with the manual.
Though the manual was no longer useful to him, he’d paid for it and didn’t want to discard it carelessly. Perhaps he could give it to a subordinate demon in the future.
After asking around for the Hundred Weapons Pavilion’s location, he headed toward a tall building.
But just as he neared the pavilion, he heard screams and cries coming from nearby.
